Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1225: By order of Her Imperial Majesty, Aether shall be arrested for his sin of stealing

!~Ding~!

[Skill: Null-Return]

[Effect: This skill allows the user to designate a single ”Save Point” in their personal timeline. Upon death—or by Wish (Currently Unavailable)—the user’s existence rewinds to that Save Point, known as the Null-Return. All memories, experiences, and knowledge gained up to the moment of death are retained.]

[Additional Benefits: The Null-Return can be re-designated after a certain period of time, enabling the user to update it to a moment that feels safer, more advantageous, or more strategic, depending on the situation they find themselves in.]

[Limitations: Only one Null-Return can exist at a time. Once the user revives from a Save Point, that specific point is consumed and can never be used again. The user may only activate a Null-Return point again after a minimum of 24 hours.

If the user dies immediately upon revival at the Save Point, the skill automatically rewinds them even further—24 hours prior to the original Save Point—forcing a deeper reset in the timeline.]

[Cooldown Period: Altering the Null-Return requires a cooldown period of 48 hours before another one can be made and consumes Affection points, which may vary depending on how many consecutive times the skill has been used.]

!~Ding~!

[Notice📢: The skill Null-Return can only be used as long as the user maintains the Eternal Contract with Nyx Shadowfall.]

Aether’s eyes widened in surprise as he realised something.

’So that means... if I die again and again... doesn’t matter how many times... the time will keep reversing, pulling me back before the point when Nyx made the contract with me. Then... what happens after that?’

!~Ding~!

[The skill will be deleted, and you will be returned to the point of the Completed Seduction List.]

Aether hummed with a thoughtful expression, his brows furrowing as his voice lowered to a mutter, almost as if he was speaking to himself. ’What makes Nyx so different from the others? Is that the reason why... when I died in the twin realm, or whatever that place was called, I returned to Nyx instead of going back to the last seduction point? Could it be that she changed the rules entirely?’

!~Ding~!

[Affirmative! The moment the contract between the user and an incomplete soul was established, you became unable to return to the seduction point.

Due to Nyx Shadowfall’s unique soul constraint, even if you die now, you will most likely return to a point 24 hours prior to your death. As long as the contract between you two is maintained, you will no longer be required to return to the seduction point!]

Aether raised his eyebrows, ’Then... there’s no longer a need to keep reducing the seduction list, right? I don’t have to worry about the order anymore?’

!~Ding~!

[Affirmative!]

Aether sighed again, this time with a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Now, even if he were to die, he no longer needed to carry the burden of worrying about the seduction list growing longer and longer with each attempt.

”A-Aether?”

Aether flinched as he turned to Nyx, who stood before him, looking at him with a slightly worried yet still indifferent expression.

Aether sighed. As soon as she returned to her body, her face went back to its usual stoic mask... not that he cared anymore.

He had seen her life, felt her pain, and touched her memories. He understood her now, and that understanding burned into his chest. She was just a—

”Stupid,” Aether muttered, making Nyx flinch. For a second, her lips pressed into a faint frown, but before she could respond, Aether pulled her straight into his embrace.

”Hmm!”

Nyx fell against his chest in sudden surprise... But then, as her ear pressed close enough to catch the steady rhythm of his heartbeat—soft, fast, alive—her lips curved into the smallest of smiles.

”I am not... stupid,” she whispered stubbornly, her voice trembling even as her fingers clenched tightly into his shirt, refusing to let go.

Aether chuckled and hugged her back, his warmth pressing into her until, for a moment, neither of them spoke. The silence lingered, fragile and comforting, until—

”Hmm... Okay, I think it’s enough of a show.”

Nightfire’s voice echoed, sharp and teasing. Both Aether and Nyx flinched as they looked up and saw... everyone. Literally every single one of the ghosts around them was grinning like mischievous spectators at a play.

[+5000 AP]