Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1108: The Winner of the Third Trial is...

While everyone was busy trying to calm down the situation, back in the academy,

Dora stood still, blankly staring at the glowing Origin Pillars, her eyes reflecting the strange light they emitted.

Delphine, standing beside her, glanced at the flickering glow, concern tightening her face. She asked softly, yet with a nervous edge, ”Principal... what’s happening here? Why are they glowing all of a sudden?”

Dora kept her eyes locked on the Pillars, not answering at first. Her lips finally moved after a brief pause. ”The winner of the Third Trial...” she muttered quietly.

Suddenly, the air around the Origin Pillars distorted and flickered with strange energy. Without warning, eleven swirling white mist portals began to form in front of them—shimmering and pulsating like they were alive.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!...

The heavy sound of boots echoed as figures stepped out from the portals.

Dora’s gaze shifted toward the Chosen Ones... each one now summoned by the will of the Origin Pillars.

Everyone who emerged from the glowing portals looked around in confusion, blinking as if pulled out of a dream.

Just moments ago, they had been scattered across the empire, helping injured citizens and trying to restore order. Then, without warning, they were summoned here—each of them called by the Mother through their Origin Cards, which were once known as Rainbow Cards.

As the group reassembled, all eyes instinctively turned to one figure... Nyxshadowfall.

Nyxshadowfall didn’t even glance in their direction. She stood in silence, her expression unreadable, as if the weight of everything that happened no longer mattered to her.

Dora and Delphine slowly stepped back, giving space to the group as they began moving toward their respective Pillars.

The tension was thick, and the confusion among them was almost palpable.

”Who could be the winner this time?” Leon muttered, glancing around with a mixture of curiosity and unease.

”Nyx is out of the question... obviously,” Kai said, his voice tinged with anger. His fists clenched at his sides, eyes fixed on her with bitter resentment. ”I saw it myself—so many people died because of her reckless, idiotic decisions!”

Nyx briefly glanced at Kai, but said nothing. Her silence only added to the storm swirling around them.

Aqualina frowned deeply, her brows furrowing as she shifted her gaze toward Aria and Helena. In her eyes, they were the most deserving. After all... they were the ones who actually tried to take charge of the situation.

She, along with Raven, remained quiet. Both of them knew they hadn’t done enough to help.

Everyone watched with bated breath, waiting for the moment the Mother would reveal the true winner.

Then, without warning—

Blink~

Only one Pillar blinked, its light growing brighter and brighter until it outshone the others.

Everyone turned in unison toward it... and what they saw left them frozen in disbelief.

”N-Nyx?” Kai muttered, his voice trembling in disbelief and horror.

Not just him—every single person stood in shock.

Somehow, Nyxshadowfall... was the winner of the Third Trial.

They couldn’t process it. They couldn’t make sense of it. It didn’t add up.

Aqualina clenched her jaw, anger and confusion bubbling beneath the surface. ”How the hell is this even possible? She practically abandoned everyone. She let them die... and this is the result?”

Aria gave a slow, uncertain nod, her frown deepening. ”Yeah... something doesn’t feel right about this.”

”She must’ve done something behind the scenes,” Kai growled, shaking his head. ”There’s no way she won fair and square. I can’t believe this...”

But Nyx didn’t react to any of their words. She didn’t flinch or speak.

Without a word, she walked toward her designated Pillar. Her steps were steady, slow, yet strangely calm. As she stepped onto the circular platform, a burst of intense light surrounded her and the Pillar—blocking everyone’s view and cutting her off from sight.

Meanwhile, standing at a distance from the group, Delphine and Dora watched the entire scene unfold, still trying to understand what had just happened.

”I... I don’t get it,” Delphine whispered, her voice barely above a breath. ”How can she be the winner? After everything she’s done...?”

She turned to Dora, silently hoping for clarity—some kind of explanation.

But Dora just continued to stare at the Pillar, her expression unreadable.

Meanwhile,

Inside the radiant, blinding light,

Nyx stood motionless, her breath held as she faced the glowing feminine figure before her—the one known across the Empire as the Mother.

She bowed respectfully, lowering her gaze and holding the hem of her clothes tightly, ”It’s an honour to meet you, Mother Goddess.”

”Fu~Fu~ This is the first time someone has greeted me with such genuine honour,” the ethereal voice echoed softly from the light, laced with amusement. But then, her tone turned firm and solemn.

”You have completed the trial, Nyx Shadowfall. As the rules state... I will answer one question of your choosing.”

Nyx raised her head gently, a small, thoughtful smile appearing on her lips.

The Mother continued, ”But be careful. Think carefully before you ask. This might be your only chance to see me—let alone speak with me—”

”Who will be my husband?”

Nyx asked calmly, without hesitation.

There was a long pause.

”... Pardon?” the Mother blinked. Her voice cracked slightly, clearly stunned. ”Did I... hear that right?”

.....

....

Meanwhile,

Outside the Pillars, the Chosen Ones were gathered. Though none of them said it aloud, each felt a strange pressure in the air.

They didn’t know why, but all of them remained nearby, chatting among themselves and trying to make sense of the events in their own empires.

”So far, a lot of buildings have collapsed,” Aqualina muttered, arms crossed tightly. ”We’re still working on rescuing those trapped underneath.”

”Some people got stuck in the ground cracks. Thankfully, others stepped in to help pull them out,” Helena added, her voice laced with concern. ”Most of them were from small housing sectors, so it wasn’t a total disaster... but we still haven’t confirmed the total number of deaths.”

”Since most of our dragons can fly, the sky tribes avoided major damage,” Raven noted in a calm tone. ”Aside from structural destruction and ground ruptures, we’re mostly fine.”

Aria let out a long, tired sigh. ”We suffered the most... a lot of people were seriously injured. When the impact hit, the monsters used the opportunity to break into several territories. It turned into pure chaos. We’re still struggling to stabilise things.”

Kai, Leon, and Finnian watched the women as they spoke—quietly realizing how much closer they’d grown during the crisis.

Finnian eventually turned to the two men beside him. ”So... what were you guys doing when all this destruction started?”

Kai and Leon exchanged glances, then sighed in unison. ”Well... we were kind of asleep. In a hotel.”

Finnian stared at them in disbelief.

Kai’s eye twitched as he snapped, ”Hey! As soon as we felt the tremors, we rushed out and immediately started evacuating people underground. What were you doing?”

Finnian blinked rapidly, then looked away, a faint blush creeping onto his face. He definitely couldn’t tell them what he had been doing in that room...

Kai snorted and turned his attention to Kaelen, who had remained oddly quiet throughout the conversation.

Just then,

The light surrounding the Origin Pillars began to slowly fade, the glowing intensity dimming.

And from that light... Nyx emerged once more.

She stepped off the circular stone platform with steady grace.

Her eyes swept across the group until they settled on Kai—for a moment longer than the others. Then she finally spoke.

”You’re wondering why it was me, aren’t you? Of all people... why was I chosen?”

Everyone nodded, unable to hide their confusion.

Nyx gave a small, sly smirk. ”Because I understood what the Trial was truly about. You all did your best—you tried to protect, to save others, to prove your worth. And you all did well... but this trial wasn’t about that.”

Aqualina narrowed her eyes, uncertain. ”What do you mean?” she asked slowly, her voice low with suspicion.

Nyx turned her gaze toward her and smiled with quiet confidence.

”This... was the Endurance Trial.”

A sudden wave of realisation hit the group.

Aqualina’s eyes widened—and so did everyone else’s.