Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1107: End of Third Trial: Part-4

Fourth Collision.

Just when the worlds had begun to breathe again... just when hope blossomed from the ashes of chaos... celebration erupted like a long-awaited festival across all corners of the four Empires.

”Thank goodness... it’s finally over.”

”Arcane has protected us... Our God did not abandon us!”

The voices of men, women, and children echoed across the cities, carried by the wind, mixing with the distant ringing of bells. Relief washed over the people like a long-needed rain after a harsh drought.

Raven, Sandra, Dora, and Sera stood in their own Empire, gazing across the horizon with weary smiles.

Sera let out a shaky sigh. ”Finally... no casualties. Not even a single soul lost this time.”

Dora muttered to herself, ”If it hadn’t been for Aether’s guidance... his last-minute correction of the route... we would’ve suffered a massive disaster” as she looked at the joined edges slowly mending and healed softly.

But just as the weight began to lift from their hearts—

/Everyone, brace for impact!!/

Aether’s voice suddenly roared across their minds, thunderous and urgent.

Women flinched.

Before anyone could react or even understand what was happening, every pair of eyes turned toward the sky. What they saw up there made their blood freeze.

An enormous black mass tore the space.

The Umbrionis Void Empire—had suddenly appeared right above them, faster than any Empire ever moved!

”EVERYONE BRACE FOR IMPACT!!!!”

Marisandra, Isadora, Raven, and Sera’s voices cried out across the Empires, amplified by magic and desperation, booming like war sirens.

It was no longer a warning... It was a scream of survival.

BOOOMMMMMM!!!!

The sound wasn’t just heard—it was felt. A monstrous crash that shook the heavens and cracked the earth. The four Empires were violently pushed to the side, as if struck by a mountain-sized hammer. Entire cities slid across the land. People stumbled and screamed.

The ground itself groaned.

Massive buildings shattered like toys, their stones crumbling under the force.

Towers broke in half... Temples collapsed.

”W-What’s happening?!”

”Wasn’t it over?! WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?!”

Panic flooded the streets. People held onto walls, grabbed each other, and clutched the ground beneath their feet. But it was no use.

TTTRRRDDDDTTTTT!!

The collision wasn’t a single impact. It was a wave—a horrifying bounce of energies. The Void Empire struck their side, recoiled slightly, then slammed down again. The sheer mass of it rattled the Empires like pebbles.

Buildings kept shaking, tilting, then crumbling completely. Streets split. Giant cracks formed like open wounds across the capital.

People screamed and ran... Some were trapped... Others disappeared beneath the rubble.

”OH, GOD! PLEASE HELP US!”

”SHOW MERCY, ARCANE! HAVE MERCY!!”

Their cries echoed into the storm of chaos.

Dust clouds rose high.

And then... silence.

Everything stopped.

No more shaking.

A calm... But not the kind that brought peace.

It was the kind of calm that follows a massacre.

/W-Where are you, Aether?!/

His women called out telepathically at once. Their voices overlapped with desperation, trembling with dread and panic. He was out there—beyond the skies. Outside the atmosphere. Had he been caught in the collision?

Was he alive?

/...I am... fine./

His voice came back—faint, tired, but alive.

When they heard it, their trembling hearts settled for a brief second. Breath returned to their lungs.

Without wasting a moment, Dora, Raven, Sandra, and Sera dashed toward the edges of their Empires’ borders, the exact point where the two colossal forces had nearly collided.

”Aether!” Sandra shouted.

He was already there—floating high above the shattered skyline, his body glowing faintly, covered in bruises. His once-pristine clothes were singed and torn, hanging off his frame like rags. His chest rose and fell, but his eyes were sharp, locked on the edge of the Empire.

Sandra flew up to meet him, eyes wide with concern.

”You’re hurt! Aether, are you okay?” she asked, her voice strained, her gaze scanning his injuries.

Aether gave a slow nod, his face serious but calm. ”I stopped the worst of it... If I hadn’t slowed its descent... I don’t know what would have been left behind.”

He didn’t need to explain further. The trajectory had been deadly. The Void Empire had nearly obliterated them. Had he not intervened—had he not teleported at the last second, throwing his body against the collision zone—he would’ve been crushed beneath the entire base.

Sandra turned her head toward the edge.

What she saw made her breath catch.

The edge of the Void Empire was torn and cracked. Chunks of buildings and stone floated eerily in the space.

And the people of the Void Empire...

”Tsk...” Dora clicked her tongue, her expression darkening as she stood at the edge of her Empire, staring out into the chaotic void beyond. Her sharp eyes locked onto the countless lifeless bodies drifting in space. Some were shattered, their limbs twisted in unnatural ways. Some were torn apart entirely. And some... some were just floating, motionless and cold, eyes wide open, staring at nothing.

”May the gods grant you a better life in your next,” Sera whispered, her voice heavy with mourning. She stood at the edge of her Empire, her face pale, her hands clenched at her sides. Her gaze lingered on the distant, broken silhouettes of people who had perished in seconds—souls erased in the blink of an eye.

”...” Raven didn’t say anything. No words came. She let out a low hum, the sound barely audible, and turned away from the devastation. She had seen enough.

She needed to take care of her people.

Aether remained silent. He didn’t blink, didn’t breathe too deeply. His eyes stared into the sea of corpses without expression. He looked down from the sky like a god watching the price of failure.

Sandra stood beside him, her gaze torn between the sky and the man she loved. Aether’s face was empty, cold, but she knew him better than anyone. That blankness wasn’t calmness—it was suppression.

He was holding it all in.

His eyes drifted slowly over the floating debris. Broken buildings, torn statues, scattered belongings, and countless people. Who knew how many were still trapped inside the structures? Crushed without warning? Screaming for help in their final seconds?

Sandra took a step forward and wrapped her arms tightly around him from behind. She didn’t say anything. No words were enough right now.

Aether stood still for a moment.

He didn’t know why, but his chest ached.

He hadn’t known any of them. These people weren’t from his Empire or any other he related to. He had no personal ties to them. But seeing so many corpses... just drifting in the stars like forgotten fragments of life... it gnawed at something deep inside him.

He clenched his jaw, then bit his lower lip hard, trying to snap out of it. His mind screamed to stay focused.

”Celestia...” he muttered under his breath.

From the shadows beside him, Celestia emerged. She was no longer dressed as a maid. Instead, she wore a sleek black outfit with fur lining, practical yet regal, fitting of her new position. She stepped silently into the light, waiting.

”Go to the Void Empire,” Aether said, his voice low but commanding. ”I want a full status report—how much damage, how many survivors, and... find Ashara. I need to know if she’s still alive.”

Celestia gave a firm nod and vanished back into the shadows without a word.

Aether turned back to Sandra. His tone softened but stayed grim. ”Get me the casualty report from our side as soon as possible. Inform the others too. I want everyone accounted for.”

Though he had diverted the worst of the collision, he couldn’t say they were untouched. The force had been immense. Buildings might have collapsed. Roads cracked. Somewhere—someone—had likely died. Even if just a few. Even one death was too many.

Sandra gave a slow nod and turned away to relay the command.

Aether glanced once more toward the Void Empire, then slowly looked up at the sky—vast, endless, and cruel.

”You really are something else...” he whispered, as if addressing the force behind it all.

The Law of Nature, the will of worlds itself.

Ssssshhhhhh~

A soft breeze moved around him. It carried no heat, no cold—just a gentle reminder.

Aether stood in silence, letting it pass.

Everyone moved quickly.

Aqualina coordinated the rescue operations near collapsed buildings, working nonstop to pull out survivors and treat the wounded.

Sandra managed the borders of her Empire with rigid focus—three sides of her territory now directly touched the other Empires due to the sudden shift in geography.

Maelona, Aria, Kaelen, and Liora worked around their own territories, counting the dead, organising the injured, and standing at the broken frontlines waiting for instructions from the borders.

Raven, Selene, and Emberlyn dealt with housing damage and tracked casualties, while Drakhairs, Thalia, and Lyirrs stood guard at the weakened boundaries, making sure nothing else crept through the chaos.

Sera raised a massive barrier around their region, shimmering with Mother’s energy, due to his connection, she didn’t get backlash. Meanwhile, Helena and Snowflake moved among the wounded, offering healing and comfort, calming the terrified survivors.

And Aether... Aether didn’t stop.

He visited each and every Ebon Stone, except the one in the Void Empire. One by one, he confirmed they were intact.

Each Ebon Stone stood like a titan. They were shaped like a giant ’T’—a towering vertical pillar reaching almost to the heavens, topped by a massive horizontal slab. Both top and bottom were wrapped in thick roots, holding them in place with a grip. The roots did not sway, did not move.

They simply stood.

As if... everything had truly ended.

As if the storm had passed.

But had it?

The Origin Pillars... began to glow.