Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1151: Nyx Shadowfall’s True Face: Part-2

An empty, barren land stretched out infinitely in all directions, as if the entire world had been erased and replaced with nothingness.

There was no end in sight. Not a single object, not even a pebble or scrap of grass. No ruins, no mountains—just a vast, lifeless plain.

A pure, silent wasteland. The ground was cracked and dry beneath their feet, coated in a faint grey dust, while overhead, the sky loomed in deep, endless darkness. Countless stars flickered brightly, scattered across the heavens like shattered diamonds, as if their glow alone was enough to illuminate this land.

Aether and Ashara stepped cautiously onto the barren surface, their boots stirring small clouds of dry dust with each movement. They looked around slowly, their eyes scanning every direction, but the silence was absolute.

Not even a breeze passed through. The air stood still—dead still.

’Something’s wrong. I feel danger now,’ Nightfire’s voice suddenly echoed through Ashara’s mind. A chill ran down her spine. The sensation was all too familiar— The stillness, the emptiness, the way her instincts screamed.

Ashara swallowed hard and glanced sideways at Aether. His face was tense, jaw clenched, eyes narrowed as he examined their surroundings with growing concern.

’This feels exactly like that personal space I entered before... But why? Why does Nyx have something like this?’ Aether thought to himself as he looked over at Ashara.

”Can you sense her presence anywhere?”

Ashara didn’t answer right away. Instead, she lowered her gaze to the ground, her sharp eyes tracing the dusty surface. Then, her breath caught. Amid the lifeless soil, there was a faint trail—a glistening path of liquid, clear and sticky, snaking across the ground.

”I see something... The trail is still here,” she whispered. Her voice trembled slightly with surprise.

She nodded and gestured ahead. ”Follow me.”

Without another word, they began walking. One step at a time. Then more. And more. The minutes blended together as they continued forward. The trail didn’t stop—it stretched on and on, like an endless ribbon.

Neither of them knew how long they had been walking.

Aether furrowed his brow as he kept his gaze on the trail. He couldn’t help but feel puzzled—His nectar was leaking?

Dripping from her like this?

’But... how? Wasn’t it supposed to be drawn back inside her body?’ he wondered, confusion swirling in his mind.

Eventually, something appeared in the distance—a shape. Small at first, then gradually growing larger as they approached.

Aether narrowed his eyes. ”Is that... a casket?”

Lying right in the middle of the barren land, there it was—a wooden casket.

Ashara flinched in fear!

Everything about this place screamed danger. Not just the silence, but the weight of the air, the pressure in her chest, the dread tightening in her gut. She had no reason to be here—no obligation, no mission. If it weren’t for Aether, she wouldn’t have come this far. Wouldn’t have risked it.

Aether’s eyes darkened. His expression became rigid and unreadable. Something deep inside him—it wasn’t a voice, not quite—warned him. Screamed at him not to approach. Whatever lay inside that casket... it was not something to disturb. And yet... he couldn’t stop. His legs moved forward as if compelled.

His heart pounded faster.

He had to see.

He had to know.

Nyx Shadowfall.

Who was she really?

One moment, she smiled sweetly, almost warmly. The next, she was cold, distant, as if he didn’t exist. And then, without warning, she was viciously digging the grave.

What was she?

He needed to understand.

Aether inhaled slowly and stepped toward the casket. Ashara hesitated. Still, she followed him closely.

The wooden casket lay before them, crafted from new and good wood as if it had recently been made.

They stood over it. The size matched her body—Nyx’s body. Almost exactly.

Aether stared at it for a long second. Was she really inside this thing?

”Vampires...” he muttered. ”Don’t they usually rest in caskets?”

His thoughts spiralled.

’Nyx is not a Vampire, though?’

Too many questions. No answers.

He slowly lifted his hand. His fingers trembled slightly, brushing against the wooden lid. With deliberate care, he slid it open—inch by inch.

And there she was.

Nyx Shadowfall.

Lying still inside the casket.

Her eyes were closed. Her long, dark lashes rested gently on her pale cheeks. Her arms were crossed over her chest, hands placed delicately on her shoulders. Her skin was a pale, almost ghostly white. Dry. Her lips colorless, her body unmoving.

She looked... peaceful.

Like she was simply asleep.

”Nyx...” Aether whispered softly, his voice barely audible.

She looked so calm.

”Wait...” Ashara’s voice suddenly broke the moment. She stepped forward quickly, eyes fixed on Nyx’s chest.

”She’s not breathing?” she asked, panic creeping into her tone. Her sharp eyes scanned Nyx’s body again. ”Her chest isn’t moving!”

Without thinking, Ashara rushed to the other side of the casket, her hands already moving to lift her up.

”Wait, don’t—” Aether reached out instinctively, trying to stop her.

But then—

Thud!

”W-WHAT?!!”

Ashara fell back hard onto her butt, her eyes wide with terror, mouth slightly agape. Her entire face had turned deathly pale, as if she had just witnessed something far worse than death itself.

”What happened?”

Aether blinked in confusion, his eyes darting from Ashara to the casket. Nyx still looked the same—peaceful, unmoving—so why was Ashara reacting like this?

Concerned, he quickly circled around to the other side of the casket and knelt beside her, gently placing a hand on her trembling shoulder.

”What’s wrong? What did you see?”

Ashara didn’t speak immediately. Her lips quivered, her breath shaky and shallow. She slowly raised one arm, her hand trembling as she pointed toward the casket.

”C-Can’t you see?” she whispered, voice barely escaping her throat.

Aether frowned, puzzled, and turned his gaze back toward the casket.

”See what—” His words cut off.

His breath caught in his throat.

The side of the casket facing them now... it looked different. Not like before. The wood was dark, aged, brittle—rotted and crumbling like it had endured centuries of weathering.

Aether’s heartbeat thudded violently in his chest.

He leaned in closer, squinting to see more clearly.

And then—

Ba-dump—

His heart nearly stopped.

He stumbled backwards and fell on his hands, eyes wide in horror.

Lying inside the casket was no longer the peaceful, slumbering figure of Nyx Shadowfall.

It was a skeleton.

Aether’s hand trembled as he slowly pushed himself upright again, forcing himself to look—forcing his mind to accept what his eyes were seeing. He focused. Blinked once. Twice. It was still there.

Inside the casket... lay a skeletal corpse.

The bones were clean and dry, yet clothed in the very same outfit Nyx always wore. Her dark cloak, her jewellery, even the braids he did for her—everything was the same, but the body was nothing more than a skeleton.

Hollow and dead.

”...”

Ashara’s voice cracked through the silence.

”A-Aether... what in the grace’s name is this?” she asked, her voice raw, horrified, barely holding together.

Aether didn’t respond immediately. His eyes remained locked on the figure in the casket.

Was it Nyx?

Could it be?

Was she dead?

Or somehow... both?

Half living... half dead...

Mary’s haunting words echoed inside his mind.

Aether swallowed the lump in his throat and stood up slowly. He took a shaky breath and moved around to the centre of the casket, where the lid split. He now stood right at the middle—his heartbeat rapid and loud in his ears.

From this angle, he saw it clearly for the first time.

The casket itself... was split down the middle.

The left side was pristine, made of fresh, polished wood—new and untainted. But the right side was dark, worn, and decayed... like it had been buried for a hundred years.

And inside...

Inside was something monstrous.

Nyx Shadowfall.

But not as they knew her.

Half her body was alive—beautiful, pale, and untouched. Smooth skin, curves, closed eyes, hair spilling like black silk. But the other half... the other half was death.

Her right arm, right ribs, and half her face were completely skeletal—no flesh, no skin. Just bone. Dry, white, and perfectly preserved. A perfect divide.

As if death and life had struck a deal and split her body in half.

Aether stood frozen, unable to speak. His breath caught. His eyes widened. It was wrong—unnatural.

Her left eye was closed peacefully. But her right eye... was nothing but an empty socket.

Aether could even see the fine line where her living face turned into bone. One side of her lips still full and pink, the other side just a bony jaw.

He couldn’t look away.

Ashara, curious despite her terror, shifted beside him and glanced in the same direction. Her eyes followed Aether’s line of sight.

And then—

”KYAAAA!!!”

She screamed in pure horror, stumbling back again and clutching her mouth.

Aether snapped out of his daze just in time to catch her, wrapping an arm around her waist to keep her from collapsing completely.

”Easy! Easy!” he muttered, holding her close as she shook in his grasp.

Ashara clung to his shirt, eyes wide with tears brimming. ”W-What is that thing, Aether?! T-That... that isn’t Nyx, right?! That can’t be her!”

Aether opened his mouth to speak, to explain, to guess, to lie—but then—

Crack...

A sudden, sharp cracking sound echoed through the air.

Both Aether and Ashara froze.

They turned their heads at the exact same time, stiffly, like dolls on a wire.

And there...

Inside the casket...

Nyx moved.

She slowly... sat up.

Her motion was jerky, unnatural—like a puppet being forced upright. Her spine creaked audibly. Then, from the skeletal half of her face, her empty eye socket suddenly burst into light.

A flame—purplish blue—erupted in the void, burning inside her right eye like a soul trapped in the void.

”Trrrrr...”

She let out a low, eerie sound—almost like a broken toy winding down. Her jaw twitched. Her tongue clicked. Her voice was warped, fragmented, robotic.

And then—

The still, silent land suddenly changed.

A wave of cold swept through the air—bone-chilling, unnatural, creeping along their skin like fingers of the dead.

The sky above them... began to shift.

Stars started falling.

One by one, the brilliant lights above began crashing down like burning comets.

Aether’s face tensed.

’Fuck.’