Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1864: When He Thought No One Would Stay… They Stood Beside Him: Part 2

Allen’s heart trembled.

He immediately stood from his seat and moved beside him. Sitting down, he placed a hand on Aether’s shoulder and gently shook him.

“Aether…”

His voice softened.

“She is… just leave it, Aether. Let her go.”

Allen swallowed hard.

“She didn’t deserve you.”

He shook Aether’s shoulder again, trying to bring him back to himself.

“Come on, buddy. Don’t cry…”

His own voice began to crack.

“Y-You’re making me sad. I’ve never seen you this broke, man…”

Allen had never seen him break like this.

Not once!

He had seen Aether angry. He had seen him frustrated. He had seen him exhausted after working for days without proper sleep.

But he had never seen him completely fall apart.

Aether slowly shook his head.

His red, tear-filled eyes emerged from behind his hands.

“What should I deserve?”

His voice was barely audible.

“What did I do wrong?”

He stared at Allen as though he genuinely expected an answer.

“Why does the world… hate me so much?”

His lips trembled.

“I… I’m trying my best.”

He looked down again.

“I really am…”

His breathing became uneven.

“I…”

The rest of the sentence disappeared.

Aether’s eyes slowly turned vacant.

“I have nothing left, Allen.”

“Nothing left to look forward to. Nothing left to see in the future.”

Aether stared toward the window.

“All I see is… blank.”

His lips curved into a faint, lifeless smile.

“Just an end.”

Rainwater streamed down the glass behind him, distorting the lights of the city into long, trembling streaks.

“I’m going to die alone…”

He laughed quietly.

“Pathetically.”

His fingers curled against his knees.

“Not even my dead body would be buried.”

Another broken chuckle escaped him.

“Hah… even that shit costs seven thousand dollars.”

He laughed again.

“Hehehe…”

Allen stared at him in disbelief.

“Aether… Look at me.”

Allen reached for his shoulder.

“She is not the whole world. You can still find someone better tha—”

“There wouldn’t be anyone better.”

Aether interrupted him immediately.

His voice was quiet, but there was absolute certainty in it.

“Not everyone could love this Aether the way she did.”

He wiped his cheeks with the back of his hand.

“She is the only one.”

Aether smiled painfully.

“My one, Allen.”

He slowly turned toward the window.

He watched the rain pouring down from the darkened sky, each drop falling freely as though the heavens had finally let go of everything they had been holding inside. For some reason, the sight made him wonder if freedom was nothing more than finally releasing everything that had been weighing you down.

“Maybe… Maybe I should leave this place.”

Allen’s face tightened.

Aether continued staring at the rain.

“I’m… done. I… I can’t move anymore, Allen.”

“I can’t.”

“This is…is… tiring me.”

He closed his eyes.

“I’m…. tired.”

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then he whispered, “Maybe… maybe giving up isn’t so bad.”

Allen froze.

Aether’s expression became strangely peaceful.

“Maybe I can finally rest—”

SLAP!!

The sharp sound echoed through the private room.

Aether’s head snapped to the side.

His eyes widened.

For a moment, he didn’t seem to understand what had happened.

Slowly, he turned back toward Allen.

Allen was crying.

Tears streamed down his face, but he didn’t blink. His eyes remained fixed on Aether with an anger born from fear.

With a broken voice said,

“Y-You fucking asshole! You’re ready to give up your life over a woman?”

His hands trembled.

“Is that really all your life is worth to you?”

Aether stared at him.

Then, strangely, he smiled weakly.

“What else should I do? I don’t have a purpose in my life. All I ever wanted was a happy family.”

Aether looked down at his hands.

“Nothing else. I never wanted to become some big figure. I never wanted fame, power, or anything like that.”

A faint smile appeared on his face.

“I just wanted a normal life.”

He swallowed.

“A home. Someone I loved. Someone who loved me back. Maybe children running around the house… ahah…”

His smile disappeared.

He looked toward the window again.

“But she left because I couldn’t give her what she wanted.”

His voice became increasingly hollow.

“Now what do I have, Allen?”

He looked at his friend.

“What else is there in my life for me to keep living for?”

Allen’s lips trembled.

“Me?”

Aether blinked.

Allen stared directly at him.

“What about me? Aether… what about our friendship?”

He placed a trembling hand against his own chest.

“Did it never occur to you what it would do to me?”

Aether remained silent.

Allen continued.

“I would be fucking devastated if my friend left me because I wasn’t there for him.”

He wiped his tears with his sleeve.

“Do you really think I could just wake up one morning and accept that you’re gone?”

Aether slowly shook his head.

“You don’t understand, Allen…. Once you have your own life with someone you love…”

He paused.

“I’m nothing but a secondary person.”

Allen frowned. “Don’t say that.”

“It’s true.”

Aether looked down. “Especially when you have children. I’ll never occur to your mind anymore.”

Allen opened his mouth, but Aether continued before he could interrupt.

“You’ll need to take care of your family. Your wife. Your children. Your responsibilities.”

He gave a faint laugh.

“You won’t have time to think about some old friend sitting alone somewhere.”

Allen shook his head.

“Aether—”

“I’m a selfish man, Allen.”

Aether looked at him.

“I wanted to be another person’s first priority. That’s all. I just wanted someone to remember me first.”

Aether gave a small, painful smile.

“Not after everyone else.”

He gestured faintly toward the future as though he could already see it.

“You’ll meet someone. You’ll get married. You’ll have children. You’ll travel with them, build a home with them… And I’ll still be standing here.”

“Alone.”

The smile disappeared from his face.

“Your road will keep going, Allen.”

His fingers traced the edge of his glass.

“Mine already stopped.”

Allen lowered his eyes.

He understood what Aether was trying to say, and somehow that made it hurt even more.

“Even so… I’ll come and see my friend, won’t I?”

Aether looked up.

Allen wiped his face and forced himself to smile despite the tears still sitting in his eyes.

“Hell, by that time, you’ll probably have found your own wife.”

Aether turned silent…

Allen clicked his tongue in frustration before grabbing Aether firmly by the shoulder, forcing him to turn and look directly at him.

“Then promise me this. Until the day I finally get my own life together, you are going to be my top priority. You are the only friend I have ever truly believed in and loved like family, so promise me that you will keep moving forward until that day comes.”

Aether stared at Allen’s hand as it remained extended between them, and something faint seemed to flicker behind his exhausted eyes.

It was not happiness, nor was it anything strong enough to be called hope, but there was still a tiny spark of life struggling beneath all the exhaustion and despair.

His lips slowly curled into a weak smile as he looked at Allen and muttered,

“That is a very gay thing to say, bro, especially when we are sitting here drinking together.”

Allen’s lips twitched slightly,

“If you still have enough energy to make fun of me right now, then you certainly have enough energy to make the fucking promise. So stop avoiding the question and promise me that you will keep moving forward.”

Aether stared at Allen’s outstretched hand for several long seconds without saying anything.

He had already lived this long while carrying disappointment after disappointment, so perhaps another few years would not change anything significant in his life.

And… Allen was not looking at him with disappointment, pity, or expectations about what Aether should become.

He was simply looking at his friend as though Aether’s existence itself still mattered.

Aether’s expression softened as a genuine smile slowly appeared across his face. The emptiness that had consumed his eyes earlier was still there, but it had been pushed back by something warmer, something that reminded him he was not completely alone in this world.

“Yeah, alright, then. Deal,” Aether finally said with his usual haughty tone before reaching forward and firmly shaking Allen’s hand.

Allen’s lips trembled slightly as he nodded, and without giving Aether any opportunity to complain, he pulled him into a tight embrace. He patted Aether several times across the shoulder while holding him close, as though physically reminding his friend that somebody was still standing beside him.

“I knew you could keep going, because you are stronger than you think you are. You are my best friend, Aether, and… I am not going to let you throw yourself away because somebody decided they no longer needed you.”

Aether smiled gently, and a faint spark of life returned to his eyes. After everything that had happened, it felt as though he had finally found another small thing to hold on to, another reason to keep moving forward with his life.

Then, as usual…

“But this is still extremely gay, bro, so get the fuck away from me before I start regretting this entire conversation.”

Allen immediately released him and burst into laughter, his expression becoming deliberately ridiculous as he raised both hands toward Aether.

“Hahaha! Come here, then, little baby. Come to mommy, and let me give my poor heartbroken boy a nice little kiss before he starts crying again.”

Allen puckered his lips dramatically and leaned toward Aether.

“Shit! Get the fuck away from me, you disgusting asshole!” Aether shouted while pushing Allen away from him, though he could no longer stop himself from laughing.

Only a short while earlier, the room had felt suffocating, but now it was filled with the kind of stupid laughter that only close friends could share.

Allen eventually wiped his eyes from laughing too much before suddenly straightening himself.

“Fuck, I really need to use the restroom. I drank too much!”

Without waiting for Aether to respond, Allen hurriedly left the room, still laughing under his breath as he disappeared through the door.

“Drank? Bro, you barely drank the whole jug…”

Aether watched him leave, and the smile on his face gradually became quieter and more genuine. He turned his attention toward the half-empty beer sitting in front of him before slowly lifting his eyes toward the large window beside the room.

The rain that had been hammering against the city for hours had finally stopped, leaving countless droplets clinging to the glass while the streets outside reflected the scattered lights of the city.

Above those distant lights, the clouds slowly began separating, revealing a pale moon that had been hidden behind them.

Such a beautiful view… It always comes after the rain, doesn’t it?

Aether remained silent for several moments as he watched the moon emerge from behind the clouds, his thoughts finally becoming clearer after everything that had happened.

“Maybe I really can keep moving forward somehow, even if everything does not suddenly become better tomorrow…. Maybe she was never supposed to be my entire world in the first place.”

He leaned back against his chair and released a quiet breath.

“Did I finally sober up, or… am I simply drunk enough to start thinking positively again?” he muttered with a quiet smile, unable to determine which possibility was more ridiculous.

THUD!

The sudden sound of the door opening made Aether turn his head toward the entrance.

Someone stood there completely drenched from the rain, breathing heavily as water dripped from his clothes and hair onto the floor.

Aether blinked several times before finally recognizing the familiar face.

“Jonath—”

Before Aether could finish his sentence, Jonathan crossed the room and immediately wrapped both arms around him in a tight embrace.

“Are you alright? Allen told me what happened, and I came here as soon as I possibly could because I was worried about you.”

Aether’s eyes widened at the sudden hug and gently nodded against Jonathan’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I am fine now, so you can stop looking at me like I am some wounded animal that needs emergency treatment.”

Jonathan pulled away and carefully looked Aether up and down, checking his face, clothes, and general condition before finally releasing a breath of relief.

“I swear to God, fuck that bitch for doing this to you.”

Jonathan folded his arms across his chest and continued speaking with an increasingly irritated expression.

“Who cares if she left you anyway? It is her loss, and she is going to realize that eventually when she discovers what kind of idiot she actually chose instead.”

Jonathan shook his head aggressively before continuing his rant.

“I knew she was never the right woman for you.”

Aether could not help but smile slightly as Jonathan continued pacing around the room.

“And now look at you! You are sitting here looking like some abandoned dog that got kicked out into the rain.”

Jonathan’s face became even more irritated as he imagined Penelope standing in front of him.

“If I ever see that woman again, I swear I am going to tell her exactly what I think about her. I might even punch her face again and again until no man wants to marry that ugly bitch!”

Aether quietly chuckled while shaking his head.

Jonathan pointed toward him with an almost offended expression.

“And another thing, you were the one who dumped her, remember that important little detail. She did not dump you, so stop sitting here acting as though she threw you away like some useless piece of garbage.”

“She was never worth destroying yourself over, Aether. She lost diamond in search for gold!”

Jonathan took a deep breath before looking away and muttering under his breath.

Aether stared at Jonathan for several seconds before giving him a weak but genuine smile.

“You really did come here just to insult her for me, did you?”

Jonathan immediately shrugged as though the answer were completely obvious.

“Of course I did, because somebody has to do the important work while you sit here drinking yourself into unconsciousness.”

Just then, Allen returned from the restroom and stopped at the doorway when he saw Jonathan.

Jonathan turned toward him with an enormous grin.

“It is on me tonight, because this is officially drinking therapy for my bro.”

Before either of them could object, Jonathan raised his hand and called the bartender over, ordering several more beers for the table.

The three friends continued drinking together, and before long, the conversation became louder, stupider, and considerably more cheerful than it had been earlier that night.

Jonathan and Allen eventually began arguing over which one of them could drink more without passing out.

Aether simply watched them from his seat, occasionally laughing whenever one of them said something ridiculous or tried to prove that he was somehow more sober than the other.

For the first time that night, Aether did not feel like he was sitting inside an empty world that had suddenly lost all meaning.

He glanced down at the beer in his hand and remembered what Allen had told him earlier.

The medicine.

The thing that had actually made him forget his pain was not the alcohol sitting inside his glass.

It was the two idiots sitting beside him and refusing to leave him alone with his thoughts.

His friends were his real medicine.

His eyes slowly became heavier as the alcohol finally caught up with him, and the room began to blur around the edges of his vision.

Sometimes, it was simply having two friends beside you when you desperately needed someone to stay.

Aether leaned back against his chair as his eyelids slowly began to close.

…

..

.

“Huffff!”

Young Aether suddenly gasped as his eyes fluttered open, his lungs desperately drawing in the cold night air as though he had been underwater for several minutes.

He blinked repeatedly, struggling to understand where he was. His vision remained blurry, and his entire body felt unnaturally heavy as he slowly pushed himself upright from the ground.

The rain had stopped.

There was not a single person around him on the deserted street.

He was lying directly in the middle of the street.

His clothes were completely drenched, his hair clung messily against his forehead, and his entire body was covered with dirt and grime from the wet pavement.

Nobody had dragged him toward the sidewalk, called for medical assistance, or even bothered to move him somewhere safer.

He had simply been left there.

Young Aether slowly lowered his gaze toward his trembling hands before forcing himself to stand. His knees almost buckled beneath him, but he managed to regain his balance after several seconds.

With his clothes dripping water onto the pavement, he began walking away from the street without saying a single word.

^Your heartbeat was the only reason I did not contact emergency services. You collapsed in the middle of a public road, Aether.^

RIN’s voice echoed in his earpiece.

After all, Aether had collapsed right in the middle of the street, leaving RIN with very few options.

She could not simply contact the emergency services without risking someone examining his body and discovering that his physiology was not entirely human.

The only reason RIN had remained silent and refrained from taking further action was that she could still detect his heartbeat.

Young Aether did not say anything after waking up. He simply dragged his exhausted body through the empty streets, his soaked clothes clinging heavily to his skin while water continued dripping from his hair and sleeves.

Where was he going?

He had absolutely no idea.

There was no destination waiting for him, no particular place he wanted to reach, and no reason compelling him to continue.

He was simply walking because standing still felt even worse.

He only knew that he had to keep moving.

He just kept going.

Going…

Going…

Go—

~FLIP~FLAP~

“Distance, worlds…”

Something suddenly landed on his back.

A pair of arms wrapped comfortably around his shoulders while someone’s legs settled securely against his sides.

Then a soft, seductive voice whispered directly beside his ear.

“Even death… what are they before our pure love? Nothing but dust beneath our feet, dear~”

Before he could even turn around, the mysterious figure gently lifted his head, forcing him to look upward.

Two beautiful crimson eyes stared directly into his own.

Golden strands of hair fell gracefully around a delicate face, framing features that looked almost impossibly beautiful beneath the faint light of the night.

Then her lips slowly curled into a smile.

It was the most beautiful smile Aether had ever seen.

It was also the most terrifying smile he had ever seen.

“Mommy will always find you, dear~”