Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 705 We are all waiting to see... The Happiness you will find for YOU

Aether frowned deeply. "Why didn't he receive the seduction mission?" he asked, his voice laced with frustration. This iteration, though determined to do whatever it took, didn't receive the seduction mission. Instead, he was killed by Stella during their very first encounter.

!~Ding~!

[Because he didn't meet the required conditions.]

Aether's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Conditions? Are you saying there are actual conditions to activate the seduction mission?"

[Affirmative! You'll understand everything if you look at the rest of the details!]

Aether focused on Iteration No. 19. He noticed how oddly clingy this version was toward his mother. However… yup, there she was again—his bitchy mother returned as always. Yet, despite her hatred, No. 19 remained stubbornly clingy, as if trying to hold onto something fleeting.

"I suppose that's got to be a one-in-a-million kind of scenario… right?" Aether muttered to himself, a faintly amused expression tugging at his lips. His gaze lingered on his mother for a moment—perhaps longer than he intended—before everything shifted back to normal. And once again, the boy died.

However, this iteration followed a different path… one that led him to kill Stella before she could kill him!

Aether's eyebrows furrowed in astonishment. "Wait—how? Wasn't she far more powerful than me at that point in time?" His tone carried a mix of disbelief and curiosity as he watched No. 19 standing over her lifeless body before fleeing the scene.

But then, his expression darkened, 'Come to think of it… her powers… whenever she was Stella, she seemed weaker. What's really going on with her?' Aether's thoughts swirled as he continued watching No. 19.

This version roamed the woods, acting like a rogue hero, eliminating anyone who dared to cross him. With his slave mark constantly blinking, he mostly lived in isolation, killing monsters to level up and grow stronger.

"Hmm..." Aether nodded thoughtfully, considering the possibility. No. 19 had become a rogue, desperate to escape the curse. His ultimate demise, however, came at the hands of… Helena and Finnian.

They had finally exacted their revenge!

Aether bit his lips in frustration. What was he even supposed to say at this point? A heavy sigh escaped him.

!~Ding~!

[Initiating Iteration No. 20...]

But this time, the iteration received the seduction mission… to seduce Stella!

Aether raised his eyebrows slightly, intrigued. "Wait… don't tell me… are you using a trial-and-error method here?" His expression shifted to one of mild shock as if he had just stumbled upon a crucial revelation.

!~Ding~!

[Didn't you know? The #### has been

"Haha… as weak as you are, you sure know how to run your mouth," No. 27 sneered, his disdain palpable.

"Listen carefully. I showed it to you so that they—those you lost—can at least live on in your memories, even if not in reality. At least as distant observers, you'll carry their legacy and their stories."

Aether fell silent. For the first time, he noticed a faint, almost imperceptible sadness in No. 27's tone.

No. 27's voice softened, but only slightly.

"The past is what shapes perfection in the future.

Even though we were one, we are not the same. We are individuals, each fighting to survive. And because of that… you at least have their deaths etched in your memory.

Because… We are Eternally Forsaken." He paused, his gaze locking onto Aether's.

"But you… You are Our HOPE.

The special part of ourselves that none of us could ever become. You have something no one else does. Me… the future me… I will protect you."

With that, No. 27 removed his helmet.

Aether's eyes widened in astonishment. Before him.... the most handsome man he had ever seen—long, flowing white hair reminiscent of a character from a Chinese epic, a face sculpted with elegance. Yet, his beauty was marred by the heavy sadness, pain, and seething anger etched into every line of his expression.

"Protect me? What are you even talking about?" Aether asked.

"Hah… what you've seen are merely the lives of our past mistakes.... What you haven't seen are the futures of our..... Origin, Our Hope to end this maddening cycle!" No. 27 replied with measured calmness.

"You mean Iterations No. 25, 26… and you?" Aether pressed for clarity.

"Indeed," No. 27 confirmed.

"When the time comes, we will meet again. By then, you will have found most of your answers with your own hands. Until that day, trust in nothing but yourself.

Future me… We are all waiting to see... The Happiness you will find for YOU. Until then… I will protect you."

With a wave of his hand, black tendrils wrapped around Aether's body, pulling him toward a dark portal.

"Wait!" Aether gritted his teeth, resisting the pull of the hands. No. 27 raised an eyebrow in mild surprise, a flicker of amusement crossing his face. 'Indeed… he is special,' he thought.

"I still don't understand! Why do the other iterations die and fully reset, while I return to checkpoints? And what do you mean by protecting me? Are you trying to take over my body, fucker?" Aether demanded, his body trembling with the effort of resisting the hands.... His neck, previously cracked, finally healed completely as if his defiance itself restored him.

No. 27 sneered. "Are you truly one of us? Too much knowledge of the future would disrupt the balance, creating butterfly effects that could unravel reality itself. Can't you even comprehend that?"

Aether's lips twitched in reluctant agreement. "Well… you're not wrong... still, tsk..." he admitted grudgingly. Then, as if on impulse, he asked, "Do you… hate our mother?"

No. 27 fell silent for a moment, his icy blue eyes narrowing as he processed the question, not his final question but rather the previous one,

"A death cannot claim a living essence... and a death... should always stay dead!"

There was a hint of sadness and longing in his tone.... He waved his hand, and with a swift motion, more tendrils surged from the void, wrapping around Aether's body, completely encasing him in their grip. In an instant, the tendrils began dragging him toward the swirling portal, pulling him into the darkness once again.

As the portal swallowed Aether, No. 27 stared at the empty space where he had disappeared.

Slowly, a sly grin spread across his face.

"Hehe… my only hope~"