Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1934: The Guardians of… Ether

Lily remembered that, just moments before her death, she had seen a golden sparkle in the corner of her vision.

In her final moments, she had seen Aether’s pained expression, the anguish etched across his face as he watched her slip away. Then, the golden light had gradually consumed her vision.

She had thought that was how she was going to die, that the light was merely the last thing her fading consciousness could perceive. But instead, she had suddenly found herself beneath a bright, pristine sky, her body resting on soft, grassy ground as a gentle warmth spread throughout her limbs.

It had felt as though she were cradled in her mother’s arms once more, sheltered from every sorrow and fear that had tormented her.

And just like that, wrapped in the comforting embrace of that familiar feeling, her vision had finally closed completely.

Now, standing before the portal and watching those same golden sparkles dance around its edges, Lily could not help but remember that final moment.

The resemblance was too striking to dismiss as a coincidence.

Her gaze slowly shifted towards the cloaked figure standing before her.

Why would this person save her and Penelope?

And how had he known about Penelope when only her parents and she knew about this person?

How was he even aware of her existence?

Most importantly… how the fuck had he used magic?

Then, something suddenly clicked.

“A-Aether?”

The name escaped her lips in a trembling whisper.

She stared at the cloaked figure, her eyes widening.

The figure flinched almost imperceptibly.

“W-What are you talking about?” he asked, his voice deliberately flat and robotic.

Lily barely seemed to hear him.

“You are… Aether,” she said, nodding slowly as she took a cautious step closer to him.

The more she considered the possibility, the more certain she became.

The figure grew even more tense beneath his cloak. “I am not sure what you are talking about,” he replied, trying to maintain his composed tone.

Internally, however, he was screaming.

How the hell had she figured it out?

Even if her father had told her the name of his best friend, that hardly meant she could identify a random cloaked figure as Aether.

There was absolutely no way she could have figured out his identity from so little information. Right?

Yet Lily continued staring at him, her expression gradually shifting from uncertainty to realisation. Suddenly, she brought a hand to her forehead and facepalmed herself.

“How foolish of me….”

The words came out as she recalled everything that had happened earlier that day.

In her confusion and distress, she had overlooked something that should have been obvious from the beginning.

When he had brought her here, what had he done?

He had moved at an incredible speed, hadn’t he?

His movements had been so fast that she could barely follow them with her eyes.

And as far as Lily knew, the only person capable of moving at such a ridiculous speed was… Aether.

How the fuck had she not realised it sooner?

She had questioned his movements earlier, wondering how someone could move so unnaturally fast, yet she had never connected the dots.

Or perhaps she had simply been caught in such an overwhelming emotional roller coaster that she had failed to notice what was right in front of her.

Whatever the reason, she finally understood.

The person who had come to save them, the person who somehow knew about Penelope, and the person standing before her now…

It was Aether.

Lily’s eyes immediately grew teary. Before the cloaked figure could react, she rushed forward and threw her arms around him, burying her face against his chest as the tears she had been holding back finally spilled over.

“Aeethhherrrr…!”

Her voice cracked as she called his name, the sound carrying all the fear, relief, and desperation she could no longer keep inside.

The cloaked figure stiffened in utter confusion. For a moment, he stood there with his arms hanging awkwardly at his sides, unsure of what he was supposed to do.

He really wanted to push her away and insist that she had mistaken him for someone else.

But then he felt her trembling against him.

When he looked down, he caught sight of her tear-streaked face and the exhaustion in her eyes. She was clinging to him as though she had been carrying an unbearable weight for far too long and had finally found somewhere to put it down.

His resistance faltered.

He let out a quiet sigh. ‘What the fuck is going on here?’ he wondered, genuinely unable to comprehend the situation.

‘Why is she crying like this? And why the hell is she so convinced that I’m Aether?’

After a brief hesitation, he slowly pulled down his hood. His features gradually became visible, and he looked down at the girl still clinging to him.

“How did you know it was me?” he asked, his voice returning to its natural tone.

Lily only cried harder.

It was as though the moment she saw his face, every emotion she had desperately tried to suppress came rushing back at once. The tension that had kept her on edge, the fear that had haunted her, and the pain she had endured all seemed to collapse beneath the simple reassurance of having him in front of her again.

She had been holding herself together for so long that she no longer knew how to stop crying.

Aether watched her silently, his expression growing increasingly complicated.

He had questions, plenty of them, but he decided against asking anything else for the moment.

Whatever was happening, she clearly needed time to compose herself.

He gently guided her towards the bed and sat down on its edge, allowing her to remain close until her trembling gradually subsided.

After a few minutes, Lily’s sobbing finally began to ease. Aether reached for the edge of his cloak and carefully wiped her running nose, then looked at her with a mixture of concern and bewilderment.

“Are you feeling better now?” he asked.

Lily sniffled and nodded, wiping the remaining tears from her cheeks.

Aether released a long breath, as though he had been holding it in throughout the entire ordeal. He rubbed his forehead briefly before turning his attention back to her.

“Alright, can you explain what’s going on here?” he asked.

Lily’s expression gradually changed.

The relief she had felt moments ago was replaced by hesitation as she considered his question.

Would he believe her if she told him the truth?

What would he think if she admitted that she had returned to the past with all her memories intact?

Would he assume she had lost her mind?

After all, even she would have struggled to believe such an absurd story if someone else had told it to her.

She lowered her gaze, her fingers nervously intertwining in her lap.

Noticing her hesitation, Aether’s expression softened. He gently patted her shoulder, offering her a reassuring smile.

“You don’t have to hide anything from me, dear,” he said. “Whatever it is, you can tell me. I’ll protect you, no matter what you’re going through.”

Lily slowly raised her head to look at him.

For a brief moment, she simply stared.

A faint smile appeared on her tear-stained face.

“I know,” she whispered.

Aether’s smile faltered.

Something about those two words felt strange. She had spoken with the quiet conviction of someone who already knew what he was capable of.

Why did she look at him as though they had already shared a lifetime together?

Taking a shaky breath, she finally lifted her eyes towards him.

“I… I am a regressor,” she confessed in a quiet voice.

Aether stared at her, his expression turning blank as he processed the words she had just spoken.

“…”

A regressor?

Does that mean she’s from the future?

What the fuck?

“A regressor? Wait… you mean you’re from the future?” Aether asked, staring at her in disbelief.

“I-I know how this sounds. I’m not insane, I promise. It’s just… I’m from the future. Exactly two weeks from now.”

Lackey fell silent.

‘Just two weeks? That’s way too short a period for a regressor,’ he thought, feeling slightly disappointed.

However, another question immediately surfaced in his mind.

Why only two weeks? And how had she regressed in the first place?

‘Does this mean she has the same bloodline as me? The Ether One?’

He pondered the possibility, but the only person who might know the answer was…

Grace.

Aether glanced at the little fairy sitting on his shoulder, expecting her to offer some sort of explanation.

However, instead of her usual cute expression, he found her staring at Lily with widened, utterly shocked eyes.

And… An unmistakable murderous aura began radiating from her tiny body.

!!

Aether frowned.

He recognised that feeling. It was the same sensation he had experienced when he had first encountered Grace.

Pure, unadulterated killing intent.

‘Elder Sister?’ he called out telepathically.

Grace continued staring blankly at Lily for a few seconds before slowly turning towards Aether.

Then, in a deadpan voice that sent an inexplicable chill down his spine, she declared aloud,

“Kill her.”

“…Huh?”

Aether stared at her, utterly taken aback by the sheer intensity of her words.

Meanwhile, Lily blinked in confusion. She had heard another voice, but she couldn’t see anyone besides Aether in front of her.

She glanced around the room, wondering where the voice had come from.

Aether quickly turned his attention back to Grace, trying to calm her down before the situation spiralled out of control.

‘Elder Sister… please calm down,’ he pleaded telepathically, hoping to persuade her to explain herself first.

Grace didn’t take her eyes off Lily. She continued staring at the girl with an expression so cold that Aether couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.

“HMM!!!”

Grace suddenly clenched her tiny fists as Aether began tickling her foot.

The unexpected sensation snapped her out of her thoughts. She immediately turned towards him and shot him a death glare.

‘W-Where are you touching, Little Brother?!’

She demanded telepathically.

Aether smiled innocently.

‘You’re the one who started acting weird…’

Grace blinked, seemingly realising that she had momentarily lost herself. She took a slow breath, and the murderous aura surrounding her gradually subsided. Her expression grew stern as she turned her attention back to Lily.

‘This girl… didn’t merely regress with her memories intact. A part of her soul originates from another timeline itself.’

Aether’s eyes widened in shock.

He slowly turned towards Lily, who was sitting before him with an awkward smile, seemingly unaware of the silent conversation taking place between the siblings.

“See… I told you that you wouldn’t believe me,” she said, biting her lip as her smile faltered. For a brief moment, her expression grew lonely, as though she had already prepared herself for his disbelief and rejection.

Aether fell silent.

He had a great many questions about what Grace had just revealed, but for now, he needed to focus on Lily.

He turned towards her and offered her a gentle smile.

“I believe you…”

Lily froze.

“You… will?”

Aether nodded without hesitation. “Of course. I mean, I’m literally someone who was reborn in another world. If something like that is possible, then I don’t see why regression would be impossible.”

He shrugged slightly, smiling as though he had just explained something perfectly reasonable.

Lily blinked at him, momentarily unable to respond. Then, a gentle smile slowly spread across her face, and a single tear slipped down her cheek.

“Hey… why are you crying?” Aether asked, raising his hand to wipe away her tear.

Lily tried to answer, but her voice came out in broken fragments.

“I-It’s just… I don’t know. I… I…”

She couldn’t find the words to explain what she was feeling.

Even she didn’t fully understand why she had suddenly started crying. It was as though her emotions had become too complicated for her to put into words, leaving her unable to distinguish between relief, happiness, and the lingering pain buried deep within her heart.

Aether watched her quietly, his expression softening.

He didn’t press her for an explanation. Instead, he gently pulled her into his arms and held her close, allowing her to rest against him.

“It’s alright,” he whispered. “I’ll believe you. You’re not alone here, Lily. I’m here.”

Lily’s eyes widened at his words. For a moment, she remained motionless.

Then, she slowly nestled into his embrace and nodded, her tears beginning to fall once more.

[+4000]

“…”

Aether’s face turned slightly pale when he received that notification.

He was trying his absolute best to act as though nothing had happened, especially with Lily still nestled in his arms.

He had no intention of doing anything to her.

Aether shifted his attention towards Grace. His expression turned serious as he addressed her telepathically.

‘What do you mean when you say that a part of her soul originates from another timeline?’

Grace nodded, her expression equally serious.

‘Her soul… I could see a thin, almost imperceptible thread connecting it to another timeline. A fragment of her soul’s existence is linked to a reality that doesn’t belong to this timeline.’

Aether frowned as he carefully considered her explanation.

‘Just like me?’

Grace shook her head.

‘No. Your situation is anomalous. I couldn’t sense anything unusual about your soul in that regard. You fit this timeline completely, as though you were born into it and had always belonged here.’

Her brows furrowed as she continued pondering the matter. Even she was struggling to understand why Aether was so different, especially when his existence seemed to fit the current timeline perfectly despite everything she knew about him.

‘But this girl…’

Grace glanced towards Lily again.

‘Her situation is fundamentally different from yours. There was a definite difference in her soul. As if… a small part of her soul had somehow managed to come from another timeline. It’s impossible…’ Grace shook her head in disbelief.

She knew how souls worked, and even if Aether had somehow affected the timeline, the souls were only replaced, not connected to souls from another timeline.

Unless…

Unless……

Grace slowly turned towards him, her eyes narrowing with a deeply judgmental expression.

‘What the fuck did you do now?’

‘Huh? Why does this have to do with me?’ Aether protested, feeling genuinely offended by the accusation.

Grace, of course, remained completely unfazed.

‘Look at your Domain. You’ve already done something I have never witnessed in all my existence. Now this girl has a fragment of her soul that originated from another timeline, and somehow she is involved with you?’

Her eyes narrowed further.

‘You expect me to believe this is a fucking coincidence? I don’t believe that for a second!’

Aether fell silent. As much as he wanted to argue against her accusations, he had to admit that he really didn’t have anything to say in his defense.

But seriously, what had he done wrong?

All he had done was…

Then, Aether’s expression twisted as though he had just swallowed something utterly disgusting.

‘Don’t tell me… it was because of her previous timeline’s dead body? But all I did was give her a proper burial…’

Grace stared at him for a moment before asking a single question.

‘Was she really dead?’

Aether was about to nod when his expression suddenly froze.

No.

When Lily had been on the verge of dying, he hadn’t wanted to watch her take her final breath. So, before she could actually die, he had placed her inside his Sanctum.

He remembered that moment clearly. He had wanted to spare himself the sight of her death, and he had acted without giving much thought to the consequences.

Grace noticed his sudden silence and slowly pieced the situation together.

‘That must be it… You placed her inside your personal realm, which somehow isn’t affected by the normal flow of time. And by doing so… you brought a whisker of her soul into this timeline.’

Aether remained silent.

Had he really fucked up this badly?

‘Well, it’s not that bad. I mean…’

‘No!’

Grace interrupted him with a cold, emotionless tone.

‘Unlike you… she is different, Little Brother.’

Aether fell silent. Something about her tone made it clear that this wasn’t a matter he could simply brush aside.

He swallowed nervously. ‘What will happen now? Would this affect her body?’

‘No. She will be perfectly fine but…’ Grace lowered her gaze towards Lily, who was still nestled in Aether’s arms.

‘They will come for her.’

Aether frowned.

‘Who?’

Grace swallowed, as though she were afraid even to utter those words. She glanced around before motioning for him to come closer.

Aether tilted his head towards her, bringing his ear closer to her mouth.

Grace whispered so quietly that her words were barely audible.

‘The Guardians of… Ether.’

***

YOUR POV

The view shifted away from Aether, rising above him as the scene gradually pulled back into a wider perspective. From high above, the building grew smaller until it became little more than a distant silhouette beneath the night sky.

The view then shifted towards the right before surging forward.

As the view continued forward, thick plumes of smoke became visible in the distance. Police officers and soldiers could be seen shouting and scrambling around the area, their voices carrying through the night as emergency lights flashed across the surrounding streets.

Yet the view paid no attention to the chaos.

It continued moving forward… until it finally reached a familiar graveyard.

The View slowed to a halt before descending towards a particular grave beneath a… tree.

The very same place where Aether had once buried Lily’s dead body.

However…

The burial site had been dug up, leaving a gaping hole in the earth.

Muddy water had collected at the bottom, and the disturbed soil lay scattered around the edges of the grave.

Lily’s dead body remained inside, covered in mud and rainwater.

Sluckk!

A wet, muddy splashing sound echoed through the otherwise quiet graveyard as someone approached the burial site.

A figure emerged from the darkness and stopped beside the open grave.

“Master… The Fourth Key has appeared.”

A blond-haired woman wearing a maid outfit knelt beside the grave. Her clothes were stained with dirt, and her knees were soaked from the muddy ground.

Despite her dishevelled appearance, she maintained a respectful posture as she lowered her head before the person standing nearby.

The man stepped closer to the edge of the grave.

He looked down at Lily’s lifeless body without displaying the slightest trace of emotion. Slowly, he raised his hand towards the burial site and,

“May Ether bless you!”

PUFFFFF!!!!

In an instant, Lily’s dead body was engulfed in pure, ice-blue flames.

The flames erupted with a brilliant radiance, illuminating the entire graveyard.

The white-haired man stood motionless, his silver eyes fixed coldly upon the burial site.

Within moments, her corpse began to disintegrate, breaking apart beneath the unnatural fire until not even a single ash remained.

Everything vanished as though she had never been meant to exist in the first place.

____

[A/N: Guys, tell me if chapters are getting longer and if you didn’t like it, just tell me; I will try to reduce as much as I can]