Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1521: Remember... The Answer has already been given

”There is... nothing inside?” Delphine muttered, her voice carrying a faint edge of surprise as her eyes swept across the vast hall. White pillars, their smooth surfaces reflecting the soft white glow that filled the grand temple.

She took a few slow steps forward, listening to the echo of her own breath as she tried to make sense of the emptiness before her.

”Yeah, there is nothing inside,” Snowflake said softly, peeking out from Delphine’s cleavage. Her small face turned left and right.

”Haha... that’s why one should always look beyond the surface, or... You will be a fool and be fooled!” the Prophetess said in a gentle whisper as she followed behind Delphine, the steady tapping of her staff against the floor echoing with quiet authority.

Delphine hummed under her breath. After taking one last, careful look at the surroundings, she turned back toward the Prophetess, ”I thought there would at least be a statue of Mother or Arcane inside. It’s a temple, right? A temple built for a God, or something close to it.”

Prophetess calmly answered, ”No, child. I don’t believe in Gods, and also... There is no place here for a God.”

Delphine felt a flicker of surprise ripple through her chest. ’For a Prophetess, she doesn’t believe in Gods? Isn’t Balsemphy or whatever?’

Shaking her head as if to scatter those thoughts, Delphine spoke again, her tone hesitant. ”Well, I would... hmm... I was hoping you might help me with something.” Her lips pressed together briefly as awkwardness crept into her expression.

It felt strange standing here like this. The Prophetess was her blood mother, a truth that carried weight despite their near absence from each other’s lives. They had met only once before, and even now, asking for help felt weirder than Delphine expected.

”Haha... if you think this old, poor lady could help you, then go ahead,” the Prophetess replied, slowly circling Delphine.

”Well... I know this might sound strange coming from me, but... You are my blood mother, right?” Delphine said quietly. Her gaze followed the Prophetess’s movements.

”Indeed... I am your blood mother. There is nothing to lie about it,” the Prophetess answered.

Delphine nodded slowly, gathering her courage. ”So... since we are related, I have an ability to see the future, just like you. It’s not always shownup, but it’s there, and it won’t leave me alone.” Her fingers curled slightly as if grasping at something unseen.

”Okay,” the Prophetess said, nodding with calm acceptance.

Noticing that reaction, Delphine let out a small sigh. It became clear that her blood mother already knew about her ability,

”So the thing I need to know is this,” she continued, her voice lowering. ”Is it possible to interact with your future self? I mean... could tomorrow’s me speak to who I am now? Through dreams, or visions, or maybe something more real?” She paused, her expression twisting as doubt crept in.

”I don’t know if I’m explaining it properly.”

Even Snowflake looked confused.

For several long seconds, the Prophetess remained silent as she still circled. Finally, she spoke.

”Yes, it is possible for the future to interact with the present. But it cannot happen directly in reality. Doing so disturbs the flow of time, and when that balance breaks, even reality itself begins to collapse.”

”That is why such contact comes through dreams, reflections, or indirect signs.”

”... Okay,” Delphine said quietly, drawing those words deep into her chest. After a moment, she asked again, almost in a whisper,

”But why? Why would the future try to reach back now? And why does it feel so different?” Her voice trembled despite her effort to stay composed. ”Even though it was me, it felt strange and dangerous, like I was standing before someone else entirely.”

”Why?” the Prophetess echoed, ”That is a simple word, but it carries a very complex answer.”

”Complex?” Delphine repeated.

”Think of it this way,” the Prophetess said, suddenly halting right in front of her.

”If you were given the chance to speak to your past self through dreams or any indirect means, what would you do?”

Delphine blinked, her brows knitting together as uncertainty settled in her eyes. ”Well... I don’t know. I mean... I don’t really have anything to say, I guess,” she answered.

The Prophetess shook her head softly, clearly aware that Delphine was not being honest with herself. Instead of pressing her, she shifted her attention and asked calmly,

”Tell me, Snowflake. What would you do if you were able to contact your past self? Let’s assume you could speak to yourself from one week ago. What would you say?”

Snowflake flinched at first, then tilted her head cutely as she pondered the question. ”Hmm... I guess I would tell myself that Master is going to wake up soon, so there’s no need to cry anymore,” she said slowly, her eyes lighting up. ”I would also tell myself to prepare a feast for him when he wakes up, and... ah, yes, I couldn’t catch the beast that escaped from my grasp. I would tell myself that too.”

The Prophetess nodded gently, ”See? Just for a single week, she already has so much she wishes to tell her past self. That alone should tell you how terrifying this ability truly is.” Her voice was calm.

Delphine’s face tightened into a sour frown. ”But those are things she wants to do. Things she likes,” she argued. ”What if the things the future wants to tell you are things you don’t like? Things you would never agree with?”

The Prophetess stepped closer, ”Not liked?” she muttered. ”Did you see a dream where your future self did something you did not like?”

Delphine’s body stiffened like ice, her breath catching in her throat.

”I see,” the Prophetess said with a slow nod. ”The people you see now will not remain the same until the end.

People change.

Their surroundings change.

Hardship reshapes them, suffering forges them, happiness guides them, and loss scars them. Everything changes a person.”

”An innocent child who witnesses their parents being killed before their eyes may grow into a wicked monster, willing to do anything to survive or... to take revenge. That sweet innocence never returns.

It is lost forever.”

She paused, letting the words sink in before continuing, ”So tell me. The things you cherish now, the choices you believe in now... are you certain you will still like them in the future?”

”Of course!!” Delphine shouted, her voice trembling with denial.

”Maybe but not the future, right?”

Delphine’s face turned pale as she bit her lips hard. ’D-Does that mean... something is going to happen between me and Aether, and... then I will kill him? What the...’ The thought sent a shiver through her entire body.

The Prophetess simply stared at Delphine’s struggling expression. A gentle smile formed beneath her hood as she murmured,

”This is what it means to hold power that you never asked for.”

Delphine flinched, snapping out of her spiraling thoughts. She glared at the Prophetess, her confusion and fear turning into frustration.

”There are things that are given to individuals,” the Prophetess continued calmly, ”and there are things that are forced upon them. Sometimes it is a test, and most of the time... it is fate.” Her voice sharpened slightly.

”It is up to the individual to grasp which one it is. Fate or test.

In the end, you will choose.”

”Choose fate if you want the power to control.

Choose the test if you want to control the power itself, and prove that you can be more than a name written by destiny and forced upon you.”

Delphine did not fully understand her words, yet for some reason, she felt a small burden leave her body. It was subtle, like the release of a weight she had been carrying without realising it, something close to... wisdom?

The Prophetess softly motioned her hand, signalling Delphine to lower herself.

Delphine slowly crouched down until she was at the same level. Even then, she could not see inside the hood, as if something invisible blocked her vision. Meanwhile, the Prophetess stared deeply into Delphine’s aqua pupils.

They were beautiful, innocent, and pure, yet... they were moving. The pupils trembled unnaturally, like living organisms. The perfect circles quivered and shifted, their edges rippling like an amoeba’s membrane, as if they were trying to split into two or... even three?

”But,” the Prophetess added quietly, ”neither of them is easy to achieve.”

It felt like the final word to her earlier declaration.

Delphine blinked, biting her lips as her body trembled. ”Can you... teach me?” she asked, her voice barely holding together, ”How to control these powers? How to know why these will happen? I need to understand... Please”

The Prophetess chuckled softly and patted Delphine’s cheeks with a gentle hand. ”Oh dear. This incompetent mother of yours, unable to fulfil her daughter’s wish...” Her tone carried a sadness so deep it made Delphine’s chest ache... Why ache?

The Prophetess stepped back. ”I no longer hold the authority to teach you. Even if I did, it would harm both of us, child. So forgive me.”

Delphine clenched her fists, her eyes shaking. ”B-But I need to understand what I’m holding. These powers, this strange itchiness in my eyes... I feel something changing inside my body, and I don’t know what to do.” Her voice cracked. ”And most of all, my love is on the line. I need to protect him. Please... if you need money—”

”They will come,” the Prophetess interrupted calmly.

”Huh?”

”Once it begins, they will come and teach you how to control your power,” the Prophetess said.

”Until then, you must wait patiently.”

Delphine shook her head, utterly confused. ”They will come? Who? I don’t understand. You are the Prophetess, right? I need YOUR help, not someone else’s. Please!”

The Prophetess smiled softly. ”It was nice to meet you, my daughter.” She raised her staff.

Tap!

Thud.

”Huh?”

Delphine found herself standing on an empty path, the same one she had walked moments ago. Forest surrounded her on all sides, sunlight filtering through the leaves.

”What the fuck?” Snowflake exclaimed, staring up at the bright sky where birds flew freely.

As Delphine and Snowflake stood frozen in confusion, Delphine’s ears twitched. She heard the Prophetess’s voice one last time, echoing gently through the air.

”Remember... The Answer has already been given.”

”... What?” Delphine muttered in confusion.