Fate's Slave - Shadow Slave X Honkai Star Rail

Dan Heng’s gaze lingered on Cocolia for a moment, before cautiously asking:

”So you don’t doubt our identity?”

Cocolia replied in a humorous tone as she tittered.

”Do you wish me to doubt it? Or perhaps you’re not confident in that identity yourself? Haha... No, I do not doubt it. I can see that you are not from this world.”

Cocolia’s eyes shifted to the monumental paintings on the walls of her office, gazing at them reverently.

”The Architects remember the history well, else we should forget it. I know that in the distant past, before the Eternal Freeze descended or the Legion invaded, this world was once prosperous beyond measure...”

”An Aeon connected our planet to other worlds, and we discovered the endless possibilities of the boundless universe. We also came to know of Qlipoth, the Amber Lord. Under THEIR attentive gaze, we built the city walls.”

She looked back at the trio of outsiders before her.

”...So, do not be surprised. For seven hundred years, the Architects have received no further communication from the stars... but I knew of your existence. Tell me why you have come.”

’Well that makes things easier.’

Dan Heng had thought that a full explanation would have been in order. Fortunately, the Supreme Guardian was not completely ignorant about the world outside their planet; especially compared to the rest of Belobog.

He glanced back at his two companions. March seemed to be daydreaming about something; which was made apparent by the distant expression on her face. Meanwhile, Sunny seemed... strangely out of it. He kept rubbing his eyes for whatever reason.

’Is he tired?’

Anyways, it seemed like the role of explaining everything fell upon him. March would probably get sidetracked in the midst of it, while Sunny was the newest member of the Express. He wouldn’t know all the relevant information.

”We came here for something known as a Stellaron.”

Cocolia had an inquisitive look grace her features.

”A Stellaron?”

”Objects that fell from the blue on separate worlds. Their appearance spelled disaster. Many of the planets we’ve visited have suffered their effects. You mentioned invasion by the Antimatter Legion. Soon after their arrival, this planet suffered the Eternal Freeze. At the same time, the phenomenon known as Fragmentum space corrosion began to occur. Correct?”

Cocolia paused for a few seconds.

”...Correct.”

Dan Heng nodded.

”The Stellarons were cast by the Aeon of Destruction.”

March suddenly chimed in, seemingly having snapped out of her daydream.

”Which is why the Antimatter Legion and Stellarons often show up together! Worlds seeded with Stellarons give birth to Fragmentums. As for the Eternal Freeze... it must have been a product of the Stellaron — unique to the environment of your world.”

March placed her hand on her hips.

”You can see us as... kindhearted interstellar public servants, lending a helping hand to any world affected by a Stellaron!”

Cocolia frowned slightly.

”Your analysis of our current circumstances is clear. We have indeed suffered the disasters you speak of, some of which prove vexatious to us even today... but why should you care? Even if this Stellaron you speak of did bring about disaster, I fail to see its connection to you. I don’t believe that anyone would go to such lengths to help a world unrelated to them... unless they had something to gain.”

It was to be expected that she would be suspicious of completely unknown people being willing to help with such a crisis. Dan Heng would have thought that she might have been incompetent if she wasn’t at least a little skeptical.

”You’re right. Our reason for coming here is not purely selfless. If we don’t seal the Stellaron, we cannot leave this planet.”

Cocolia pursed her lips, her eyes widening by a fraction. Her reaction seemed quite strange, but maybe Dan Heng was just overthinking things.

”You... know how to seal the ’Stellaron’?”

Dan Heng simply shrugged. He wasn’t quite sure how it was done, but Welt had some sort of technique to seal the Stellarons.

”We have the relevant means.”

After a few moments of contemplation from Cocolia, she finally agreed.

”Very well, I believe you. If our present situation is truly the result of this so-called Stellaron, then your arrival is the hope that Belobog has waited seven hundred years for. I am willing to assist you in any way possible to help you locate the Stellaron.

She checked a clock on her desk.

”It’s getting late, and you must be tired. I will arrange for you to stay in our most comfortable hotel. Rest there, and get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow, at noon, I will dispatch someone to escort you here, and we can discuss this urgent matter in greater detail.”

A full sound resounded throughout the large room.

Cocolia’s gaze suddenly shifted away from Dan Heng, staring at where Sunny should have been. Out of curiosity, he looked back to find out what happened.

’...He couldn’t have been that tired, right?’

Dan Heng resisted the urge to facepalm. Sunny was lying face down on the floor, having seemingly passed out without warning. He obviously wasn’t dead, since his body slightly moved with each breath he took.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t exactly wake him up. Although Dan Heng wasn’t sure what happened, he knew that Sunny was probably in the Dream Realm right now. They would have to wait for a full night worth of hours before he would wake up, and that was assuming he went back to the gateway as soon as possible.

’So problematic.’

***

Sunny pressed his lips together as he walked away from the gateway. It seemed that this... ’narcolepsy’ decided to act up and send him to sleep. At such a pivotal moment as well!

’Honestly, how could I be so unlucky?’

Actually, Sunny knew why it had happened at such an important time. He was [Fated], so his luck was always going to be extremely amazing, or terrifyingly horrendous.

Sunny wasn’t sure whether it was a blessing or a curse, but he didn’t think that it would stop causing him problems anytime soon.

Walking along the stone pathways of the Sanctuary of Noctis as he waved to those that greeted him, Sunny really hoped that Cocolia didn’t decide to execute him because she saw his sudden collapse as a sign of disrespect. She seemed pretty agreeable from what he had seen...

Speaking of seeing, Sunny saw an... interesting sight in front of him.

His jaw almost dislodged from his skull as he gaped at the scene before him. He took a couple of steps back, not wanting to be seen.

Even if Cocolia didn’t execute his real body, he’d end up dying from this psycho!

There were two women discussing something with each other. Sunny recognized the first of which, as she was the lone Saint of the Sanctuary. The world held a completely different atmosphere around her, almost like the wind bent to her will.

Which was true, as she was Saint Tyris, also known as Sky Tide.

The second woman however... was not someone he was expecting to see.

She was a young woman with long purple hair and light purple eyes. She wore a purple scarf with red and white details, as well as a white, black, and purple leotard with black shorts. On her left arm was a red band tied together with a purple sleeve, and on her right a fingerless glove that goes up to her elbow. She also wore a pair of black and blue boots of different lengths.

Sunny really did not want to see this woman, nor her psychotic Flaw ever again!

Unfortunately, it seemed that fate had a thing for putting him in bad situations.

’What was her name again... Seele?’

At least, that was according to that alter ego of hers. Wait, but what if it wasn’t an alter ego, and was actually the original personality? What if that wasn’t her real name in the first place?!

For someone who gets off on killing, there was no way that lying was deemed as a line she wouldn’t cross!

’This lady is no good, no good at all!’

His mother had warned him about such women, and Sunny was anything but a bad son!

Stepping into the shadows with his Aspect, Sunny moved to a larger mass of shadows, blending in with the environment. He slowly moved closer, wanting to hear about whatever they were discussing.

”...So it is not possible for a Saint to take you to another Citadel?”

The so-called Seele shook her head, a serious expression on her face — a far cry from the hedonistic violence that Sunny had seen earlier.

’Hm... her eyes aren’t red this time.’

”No... I—the place where I’m from doesn’t let people leave or come in. And from what you told me, I doubt that anyone would even know where it is in the first place.”

An isolated world? In that case, it would be quite difficult to move her to another Citadel. The only possible way was for a Saint to come to the Chained Isles themselves, before going on a long trip back to their own Citadels.

Seele averted her gaze, staring straight at where Sunny was hiding. He almost tried to escape, but her eyes weren’t focused on him. She must have just been looking in his direction by pure chance.

”...Anyways, Awakened don’t really exist where I’m from. I’ve never even heard of them until a guy I know explained it to me after I was already a... Dreamer, I think it was called? All this time, I thought when someone became one of those monsters, they just got infected by a disease.”

Saint Tyris nodded with her emotionless visage.

”The Nightmare Spell does operate similar to a disease. Those who are infected might die in the Nightmares or the Dream Realm, and there is always the risk of going insane from it all.”

”However, for those who are able to withstand the dangers of it, such as yourself, they are granted extraordinary powers. It’s both a blessing and a curse, depending on who you’re asking.”

Sunny thought that this might have been the most he had heard Sky Tide speak to someone. To be fair, he only met her a handful of times, but it still seemed out of character when compared to the image he had of the expressionless Saint.

However, Sunny was somewhat intrigued. According to Seele, she had never heard about Awakened, and by proxy, the Nightmare Spell before now. Even Sunny, who was a mere outskirt rat had known what it was.

At the same time, the universe was quite vast. Sunny didn’t know where she was from, but there was always the possibility of her upbringing being worse than his.

He wasn’t so arrogant as to believe that he had it worse.

Seele seemed to be wondering about something for a minute, before hesitantly asking Saint Tyris something.

”Um... do you know a guy with grey hair and gold eyes? Actually, maybe they were black?”

’A guy with grey hair and gold eyes? Pfft, what a ridiculous combination.’

Sunny giggled in the shadows for a couple moments. His laughter slowly died down, leaving nothing but silence in this world of shadow.

’...Wait, she’s talking about me!’

It seemed that the resident Saint of the Sanctuary of Noctis was also confused for a second.

”...You must be referring to Awakened Sunless. I was... also surprised by his appearance the last two times I saw him.”

If Saint Tyris was surprised, then she certainly had never looked it. Honestly, how does one communicate with another without even making basic expressions? People would assume that she is heartless!

...Maybe he should stop with the rude thoughts. She was a Saint, so she had four Aspect Abilities. That was four chances for a mind reading ability!

Seele’s face brightened up considerably before her face suddenly froze. She seemed to find the ground interesting as she went back to a more serious demeanor.

”Right... so... this Sunless guy. Do you know where I could find him? I think he was the one who brought me back...”

’Yep. Greatest conclusion of the century, everybody. Who could have guessed?’

Sunny dryly remarked in his head. It wasn’t like either of them knew he was here, so there wasn’t any purpose in worrying about Seele finding him.

”He’s right there.”

Sunny blinked twice in his shadow form, wondering if he was imagining things.

Tyris just pointed at the shadow that he was hiding in. Seele followed her finger in confusion, ending up with her eyes landing on him.

’...Does she actually have the ability to read minds?’

If so, that wasn’t very consistent with the whole weather manipulating thing Sky Tide had going on. Sighing, Sunny materialized from the shadows with his best, and fakest, smile.

Seele jumped back with a bewildered expression on her face.

Bowing towards Sky Tide with the hopes that he wouldn’t be murdered for eavesdropping, he asked her a question.

”So... how did you know I was there?”

She looked down the stone passage, back to where Sunny had stepped into the shadows.

”I saw you use your Aspect over there, so I just followed your shadow.”

Sunny’s lips slightly parted in amazement. That was... actually pretty simple.

’I guess I need to step up my game.’

For an assassin like him, being seen by others was not good whatsoever!

Tyris looked between the two of them, before nodding to herself.

”I have business to attend to. Awakened Sunless, would you show her around? As you must know, she is new to the Sanctuary.”

’I only knew that because I was listening in.’

Not wanting to concur the wrath of a Saint, Sunny agreed immediately. He was already lucky that he wasn’t executed on the spot for being suspicious, so he shouldn’t push his luck any further!

Actually, how come Tyris didn’t have any issue with his sneaking around?

As she left them behind, jumping into the sky to transform into a massive predatory bird, Sunny looked back at Seele hesitantly. The girl kept looking between himself and the floor next to him in confusion.

”...That’s not normal, is it?”

Sunny’s gaze lingered on her for a moment, wondering where she had gotten those Memories. She didn’t have anything when he had first met her — or rather, the more insane version of her.

’I should probably ask about that weird Flaw.’

The only thing stopping him from doing so was that Seele might ask him what his own Flaw was. It was generally a taboo to ask those you didn’t know about their Flaw, but Sunny doubted she knew that.

Of course, he would be doing the same thing. The only difference is that Sunny would be forced to answer, and she wouldn’t.

Thinking about the best way to answer her question, Sunny simply shrugged.

”You know, I thought about disappearing, and I disappeared! It’s a pretty good party trick... not that I’ve been to any.”