Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1222: Aether? Aether? Really?

!~Ding~!

[Trinity: 10↑]

The black figure yanked him violently back out of the door, slamming it shut in one motion.

”One second over,” the figure said, indifferent, as its gaze locked on him.

Head Aether... No!

Full Aether!

Aether’s body was now fully visible, not just a floating head. Though he still resembled ghostly mist, his limbs and torso had taken shape. He panted heavily, gripping his temples as pain wracked through him, his mind screaming under the weight of what he had just touched.

His pure black eyes bled.... Blood poured from them, staining his face, dripping into the void.

Blood?

How?

Aether’s eyes trembled as he looked back at the figure,”W-What have you done?” he muttered in a horrified tone.

The black figure merely smirked. Just smirked, nothing more or Nothing less and with a single flick of its hand, it waved him away.

Aether’s soul was flung back violently, shot through the void as if swallowed by a storm.

His gaze blurred, his body weightless. He blankly watched as the black figure grew smaller and smaller in his vision, shrinking into a dot, fading into the abyss...

What did he see?

An understanding of the soul... it wasn’t something he read, or studied, or even reached for.

It was just... there. Like a truth forced into his mind, a comprehension that bypassed words.

The Souls—he grasped something about them, yet it still slipped through his fingers, not fully his.

Anyway... the important thing wasn’t the knowledge.

It was what he felt.

Aether couldn’t explain it... The instant he entered the door, his consciousness was smothered, nearly suffocated, by blood.

For a single moment—just one second—he felt it.

He felt everything.

Hatred.

Killing intent.

Fury.

... Revenge?

And worst of all... the blood of his beloveds.

The hands that were too stained to be called be saint!!

J-Just what the hell happened to No. 27? And what the hell had he done?!

Aether had never harboured this kind of madness. This wasn’t him. It was like comparing oil to water... his soul had no place for these things. Yet they had still poured into him, burning into his core.

So many questions... Too many.

Yet Aether forced his eyes shut, and the moment he did, the blood dripping from them vanished. His body eased—then suddenly—

He was flowing into the rope!

The stream of water that had resisted him before was now pulling him along, dragging him forward, carrying him with it. The current was too strong to fight, but this time, instead of pushing him out, it made him flow.

Meanwhile, outside—

Nightfire’s heart almost skipped a beat when she saw Aether’s body slowly disappearing, fading away like mist.

”WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING!!” Nightfire shouted. She rushed forward, her hands grabbing for him, only to feel them pass through his body as if he wasn’t even real anymore.

”As if he’s just... air,” she gasped, her eyes wide.

Starla, standing nearby, frowned, her gaze sharp. ’Hmm? Why is his reality crumbling?’ she wondered silently, her eyes narrowing as she leaned closer to Aether with a mix of caution and curiosity.

”Aether! Talk to me!! Are you alright?!!” Nightfire cried out, her voice breaking. In her desperation, she reached through the bond and contacted his other sisters... something Aether had already given her permission for.

/ OI! He’s doing something dangerous again! His body is disappearing... Fucking shit!! Come and help him!!! /

For a long second, there was silence. Then—

/ First timer? /

/ Yeah, first timer it seems. /

/ First timer... oh, so funny. /

/ First timer... shit, she’s going to panic as usual. /

/ Haha... like us... First timer! /

Hearing those voices, Nightfire blinked in disbelief, her breath hitching.

Were these bitches laughing?

Laughing?! When his body was literally vanishing right in front of her eyes?!

Her heart twisted.

Was this really love? Was this what they called caring?

Nightfire honestly felt lost.... Were these girls even loving him?

Why the hell were they so casual about this? His fucking body was disappearing, crumbling into nothing, and they dared to laugh?

’A-Am I the only one who loves him?’

Of course, she didn’t know the others had gone through the same hell she had.

Of course, she didn’t know they had suffered just as deeply.

She honestly felt like she was the only one who truly loved him.

Honestly, Aether’s women... nowadays, they had gotten used to his recklessness. They even felt wrong if they worried about their husband!

If anything, he’d piss them off with his stunts—doing something insane and leaving them crying, pacing, hearts broken with worry. And then he’d grin, flash that cheeky, lovely smile... the one that made them melt, calm down, and want to punch him at the same time.

And then, of course, he’d make love to them, deep and shameless, just so they wouldn’t be sad anymore.

Honestly... this bastard was doing it on purpose!

Wasn’t he?!

So yes, of course, they worried. But they wouldn’t show it. After all, this man had come this far, endured this much, and proven again and again that danger was just another playground to him.

They believed he’d go further still—it wasn’t even that much of a threat anymore, not compared to everything else he’d done.

If he did something reckless so dangerous, he would ask their help... that’s when they knew this was serious.

But Nightfire... she was new to this. She hadn’t been hardened yet, hadn’t been broken in by his madness.

She was lost now... helpless in the love storm.

Meanwhile, Aether’s focus was entirely on the rope. The purplish energy flickered between Nyx’s body and her soul, threads twisting violently. A grey line connected them, buried deep inside the rope itself. Suddenly, a black-and-white light surged in, slamming through the point where Aether’s hand clutched the rope, interrupting the balance.

A Bright white Light Exploded!

*****

”Hmm... hmm... hmm...”

A woman with dark black hair, tinged faintly with purple, stood in a blank space, her eyes wide with confusion. Her expression shifted as she looked around, realising she was standing alone in a strange expanse.

”Where am I? Is this the afterlife everyone talks about?” she murmured with a half-smile, her curious eyes glimmering with a strange excitement.

She tilted her head, smirking, her voice light. She wondered what awaited her. The last thing she remembered was being swallowed by darkness, then... this white space.

How exactly was this supposed to work?

”Hehe... is anybody here? My name is Nyx Shadowfall!” She waved her hand like a playful girl, calling out into the silence.

But there was no answer.

Moments passed. Her curiosity dimmed, giving way to silence... and then to memory.

Her smirk slowly crumbled into a faint, gloomy smile. ”I hope... my family is happy there,” she whispered in a weak tone, clenching her hand as her eyes blinked against an ache she couldn’t name.

”And... Aether.”

Just saying his name made her tremble. Her lips caught between her teeth, biting hard. She knew he’d be furious if he learned the truth.

But this was it.

”I... really don’t know how to say this to him... I going to die?...” Her voice cracked with pain, her expression twisting. ”I... I don’t know. But I felt fear when I thought of telling him... Why?”

Her thoughts spun.

”Is it because he’s my family? No... if that were true, then I wouldn’t have told my entire family, right? So why... why did I hesitate to tell him the truth?”

She rubbed her head awkwardly, shoulders hunching, trying to laugh it off. ”I wonder what he’s doing now? Maybe... making babies with Nightfire... or even Lia?” She forced a weak chuckle, pretending it was a joke... yet a tear rolled down her cheek.

”Oh? I-I can cry here too?” she whispered in a shaky tone, surprised at the warmth of her own tears.

Nyx’s body trembled as she crouched down, hugging her knees tightly, lowering her head as her breath broke into uneven gasps. Aether’s face kept flashing in her mind, again and again, as if... that was the only thing she needed now.

”I... I’m sad... I... I miss him more than my family...”

Her voice cracked, fragile.

”Maybe... maybe he misses me too... After all, I am his wife, right? ... Right?” she muttered, her words growing faint, desperate, as though she was trying to convince herself.

”U-Until the end... I... I was never loved by a life...”

Her trembling hands clenched hard at her sides, her nails digging in as her fingers shook violently. Her voice was nothing but pain, broken by a truth she had carried too long.

From the beginning to the end... she was just... just moved around like a pawn, never truly loved by the living. The only ones who ever loved her... were the dead.

Yet she couldn’t be with them if she weren’t alive.

What a cursed creature she was.

If only she had been born with full flesh...

No. No.

If only she had been born as a lich, so she could spend eternity with her family...

But... No. No...

If she had been, she wouldn’t have been able to spend time with Aether.

Aether.

Aether.

Aether this, Aether that.

When did he become so important to her?

After all, he was the only man who had accepted her without hesitation, without remorse, without fear. He saw her—not what she was, but who she was... And he loved her for that.

If... if only she had the chance to meet him again.

If only she could be reborn, carry her memories, and return to his side—she would do the same thing all over again.

”Haha... hah... Ha—” Her voice cracked, laughter tangled with sobs.

”So... done with your monologue?”

Nyx flinched, freezing when she heard a voice. That voice. Gentle and Familiar.

Her tear-streaked face slowly lifted, her eyes wide, her lips trembling as she saw him... Aether.

Standing before her, smiling gently, like a treasured soul, she was.

She stared at him, then let out a broken sigh. ”I started to delude myself too much,” she muttered, lowering her head again, ashamed.

”Oi! I am not a delusion, my idiotic ghost wife.”

Her body jolted, her eyes snapping open as she whipped her head up again. ”Aether?”

Aether nodded once, firm and certain.

”Aether? Aether? Really?”

He nodded again, slower this time.

”You mean really, really—”

”Tsk.” Aether clicked his tongue before he leaned forward, grabbed her, and pressed his lips against hers.

Nyx’s eyes went wide, shocked to her core. But then—then she remembered... This kiss.

That warmth... The way it made her feel, down to her soul.

Her trembling hands rose, gently pressing against his chest before she pushed him back, just enough to whisper his name. ”Aether...” Her voice cracked as she touched his cheek, her fingers trembling but tender.

Aether smiled warmly.