Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1542: Official Engagement of Elysiumis Aurora: Part-1

”Why is it taking so long?” the High Priest asked, her brows knitting together as she stood tall upon the vast ceremonial stage. The heavy folds of her ceremonial robes shimmered under the sinking sunless light while her sharp eyes remained fixed on the distant Teleportation Station.

”It has already been an hour since we received word of the Archpriest’s arrival,” she continued, ”Yet... Where are the ones sent to escort him with devotion?”

The sky above slowly bled from gold into molten orange.

”It will grow dark soon,” she muttered more to herself than to anyone else, clicking her tongue, ”The ritual must start before nightfall. Guards, go at once and check on them immediately—”

”1! 2!”

The thunderous chant struck the air like a war drum, and the wooden beams of the stage trembled beneath their feet.

Priests, guards, and followers flinched in startled unison, heads snapping toward the source of the echoing rhythm that rolled like distant thunder growing closer.

”1! 2!”

What they saw turned confusion into disbelief.

Far across the open ground, hundreds of thousands of bodies moved together in staggering harmony.

Hands interlocked with hands, wrists bound in human chains, shoulders pressed against shoulders. The first ring formed the base, an enormous living circle, and upon those shoulders stood another circle, and above them yet another, rising layer upon layer until the structure resembled a towering mountain sculpted from flesh and... willpower?

”What in the sacred heavens are they doing?” the High Priest whispered. Around her, other priests stared wide-eyed, unable to comprehend the magnitude of what unfolded before them.

The structure moved inch by inch, every synchronised step measured, every breath shared. Legs quivered violently beneath crushing strain, muscles trembling as though the mountain itself pressed down upon them.

Veins stood out against flushed skin, and faces twisted with pain that they refused to acknowledge.

”1! 2!”

Blood seeped down calves and dripped from shoulders where the weight bit deep into flesh. Fingers locked tighter, refusing to separate even when knuckles split, and nails tore. Their eyes bulged with pressure, yet within those reddened gazes burned something stronger than agony... Pride?

No... Faith?

No....

Then?

A Love!

They were not merely carrying a body. They were carrying their Love!!

”1! 2!”

The chant came again, hoarse yet powerful, as the colossal human mountain shifted forward another inch. Dust rose beneath their synchronised steps, mixing with the metallic scent of blood and sweat that thickened the air.

”Look... look!” someone in the crowd screamed, voice cracking with overwhelming emotion. ”O-Our Archpriest is at the summit!”

Thousands of heads tilted upward toward the peak.

There, seated upon the shoulders of several men whose muscles shook violently beneath him... was Aether.

He sat calm and upright, his silhouette framed by the dying sunless light, hair fluttering in the evening wind like a banner of quiet divinity.

A gasp rippled through the masses like wind through tall grass.

”Oh merciful heavens...”

One by one, people collapsed to their knees.

Then hundreds...

Then thousands...

The earth thudded as foreheads struck soil, dust smearing against skin wet with tears. It looked less like submission and more like worship carved from desperation and Love!

”Thy Archpriest!”

The cry rose from countless throats.

Shirts were torn open without hesitation, revealing chests inked with Aether’s face, sacred and permanent!!

Their hands beat against their hearts as if trying to synchronise with the man above.

”You have returned for us... for this unfaithful follower who doubted, who faltered...” a man sobbed openly, clutching his chest. ”Even after our weakness, you have not abandoned us!”

Tears streamed freely. Some rushed forward, not to ease the weight of the human mountain, but simply to draw closer, to feel the air around him... to exist within the radius of his presence.

And to shoulder his Archpriest!

”ARCHPRIEST!”

”ARCHPRIEST!”

”ARCHPRIEST!”

The cry echoed again!

Meanwhile, inside the brides’ chamber overlooking the vast courtyard, Helena stood frozen by the window, her fingers gripping the wooden frame. Her reflection trembled faintly against the glass as she struggled to comprehend what she witnessed.

”Why are they carrying him like that?” she asked softly, ”Why do they move as though the weight upon their shoulders could crush a mountain? He is just... one man.”

Beside her, Sera watched with an expression that held no surprise, only quiet understanding. The orange glow of sunset brushed against her features, illuminating eyes filled not with shock, but with fierce pride.

”Yes, they are carrying a mountain,” Sera replied gently, ”and... it’s called Aether”

Helena turned toward her, brows furrowed deeper. ”What do you mean?”

Sera’s gaze drifted upward to Aether, seated at the summit as wind danced through his hair.

”They are not bearing his body alone,” she said slowly, ”They carry their faith, their hope, their guilt and... their longing. They carry every prayer they ever whispered in his absence... They carry their sins,” as her eyes glinted softly at Aether, ”And his weight of this soul”

Helena swallowed as she was utterly baffled, ”Weigh his soul? I am lost, Archpriestess....” As she looked at Aether again... she didn’t see anything different.

”Indeed,” Sera answered as she looked at Helena with a serious expression,

”Mother once told me that... A soul can be lighter than a feather and heavier than the world at the same time.”

Helena looked back through the window, ”Heavier than the world... ah?” she murmured.

As they watched the people moving inch by inch slowly.

Meanwhile... Aether was utterly like... ’What the fuck?’ expression.

He didn’t know this would turn into quite disastrous!

For some reasons they were unable to lift him, and even though he told them he could walk, they begged him to step on them and... he was literally on top of everyone!

Below, Aether looked down at the sea of faces and bodies with an unreadable expression.

The chanting, the tears, the blood, all of it churned beneath him like a living tide.

Aether sighed slightly as he glanced back, his eyes tracing the long, uneven trail of blood that stained the ground behind the living mountain.

Crimson droplets marked every inch they had crossed, some thick and dark, others thin and fading into the dust, each one proof of torn skin and trembling muscle.

He knew very well how much they had suffered just to move him forward a single step.

Their shoulders had split under pressure, their veins had bulged against straining flesh, and still they had advanced without hesitation, without complaint, without even a flicker of doubt in their eyes.

”I am starting to worry about what will happen if these fanatics ever get out of hand one day...” he murmured under his breath with slight fear.

If these people could go this far... then what would happen if some random asshole said something vile about Aether, spat out a few careless insults in the marketplace, laughed as if it meant nothing... and the very next day that same man was found dead under mysterious circumstances?

A chill crept along his spine!

Aether shook his head, ’At least the elders and pregnant ladies were put aside,’ he thought as he looked down at the outer ring of the humongous circle of people. There, elders, pregnant women, and even small children walked beside the formation, their expressions tinged with slight disappointment because Aether had not allowed them to bear his weight.

They followed anyway... as if simply walking beside him counted as an honour carved into their souls.

It took several more long, straining minutes before the living mountain finally reached the foot of the stage.

The chanting grew louder with every inch gained, swelling into a wave of joy that washed across the courtyard.

”Aether!”

”Our Archpriest!”

”Welcome back!”

Smiles stretched wide across tear-streaked faces.

Aether offered a soft smile as he slowly unfolded his legs from where he had been seated at the summit. With deliberate care, he shifted his weight and began to descend. When his bare foot pressed against the back and shoulders of those beneath him, their bodies trembled violently under the sudden pressure.

Pain shot through them like lightning, yet their expressions transformed into something close to bliss.

To them, his touch was not weight.

It was absolution!!

”Archpriest...”

”Archpriest...”

”Archpriest...”

They chanted in unison, their voices low and reverent!

As Aether stepped downward, those who had been locked shoulder to shoulder adjusted instantly. They bent their knees and crouched, reshaping their formation into a steady stairway of human backs so that he would not stumble.

The coordination was terrifyingly precise, their movements flowing as though guided by one shared heartbeat.

Aether raised an eyebrow, a faint sweat formed on his forehead, ’These guys are really going overboard,’ he thought, though warmth flickered quietly in his chest.

He stepped carefully from back to back, the people beneath him shifting smoothly to keep him balanced until his feet finally reached the ground.

There remained a short distance between him and the stage stairs. He could have leapt across it easily. His body was more than capable. But the man still supporting his descent would be crushed if Aether leapt.

So he stepped fully onto the ground—

”No!”

”Archpriest, please wait!”

”Let me support you!”

”Allow my hands to carry you!”

”I will carry you, Lord!”

Dozens rushed forward, arms outstretched, desperate for the privilege of bearing even the smallest fraction of his weight.

They had sworn among themselves that his feet would not touch tainted soil, that he would step only upon the sacred stage prepared for him.

The crowd surged.

Then a small voice cut through the chaos.

”Big Brother.”

Aether blinked and lowered his gaze. Before him knelt four children, their small hands lifted together in offering.

Their faces were a blend of nervousness and eager determination.

Aether’s eyes trembled... as he recognised them instantly. They were the same children his No.25 had once groomed and protected in the previous timeline.

They were kneeling now, looking up at him as though asking permission to become his bridge.

Around them, adults panicked.

”You cannot hold the Archpriest’s grace!”

”You are not ready yet!”

”You will be hurt!”

But the children did not move... They smiled instead, eyes shining with unshakable trust.

Aether’s gaze softened. Without hesitation, he stepped onto their small outstretched hands.

The entire area inhaled sharply.

Some covered their eyes... Others braced themselves for the sound of cracking bones, for a scream, for blood!

Yet... only silence!

When they dared to look again, disbelief rippled across every face.

The same man who required hundreds of thousands to carry him like a mountain now stood effortlessly upon... four tiny palms?

What the...

Even more, the children did not tremble.

Not even slightly!

Their hands were steady as stone.

One boy blinked in confusion and tilted his head. ”B-Big Brother... are you eating well?” he asked awkwardly, lifting his palm a little higher as Aether moved up, ”You feel very light.”

Another child nodded with visible worry. ”Yes... You are not skipping meals, right?”

The third puffed his cheeks slightly. ”You look thinner.”

The smallest one, shy and stammering, added softly, ”W-We can hold you... So you are not heavy at all.”

In truth, they felt nothing... His presence rested on their palms like empty air, like holding air yet not there!

Aether’s lips curved upward, a quiet chuckle escaping him. ”Haha...” as he ruffled their hair one by one, careful not to disturb their balance.

His touch was affectionate, brotherly, almost painfully soft.

The crowd watched this exchange in stunned silence. Then their expressions shifted... Tears welled not from fanaticism, but from understanding.

They began to see.

To those burdened by guilt and desperation, his soul weighed like a mountain.

To those holding only simple, innocent affection, he weighed nothing at all.

”He truly is...” someone whispered, voice breaking.

”He is the one.”

”Our only one.”

The murmurs spread, trembling with awe and warmth.

[+4000 AP]

[+4000 AP]

[+3000 AP]

[+3000 AP]

....

...

Aether stepped lightly from the children’s hands onto the stage. He turned back to them with a bright, sincere smile,

”Thank you for asking about me,” he said, ”Yes, Big Brother is eating well. And what about you four? Are you eating well?”

The children nodded enthusiastically.

”We are!”

”I eat a lot now!”

”Look at my hands, they are bigger than before!”

”I-I am strong too!”

Aether laughed softly at the shy one’s effort and nodded approvingly.

”Good.”

The children beamed as though he had gifted them the world.

With that, Aether turned and walked further onto the stage, his expression calm and serene, the fading sunlight outlining his figure like a quiet halo.

The High Priest and the gathered clergy immediately bowed deeply, their foreheads lowering in synchronised reverence.

”Welcome back, Archpriest!”

Aether inclined his head gracefully. ”Thank you.”

Inwardly, however, he let out a quiet breath of disbelief. ’This is the most insane welcome I have ever had in my life,’ he thought, suppressing a faint chuckle as the roaring devotion of thousands echoed beneath the evening sky.