Fate's Slave - Shadow Slave X Honkai Star Rail

The cold bite of winter hung heavy over the Silvermane Guard Restricted Zone, a jagged expanse of rusting iron and steel shrouded in thick layers of frost. The stone streets of Belobog were covered by a thin layer of snow — most likely cleared by the soldiers.

The horizon was a blur of greys and whites, where the thick, swirling snowstorms seemed to bleed into the very air itself. A distant mountain range loomed like forgotten sentinels, their peaks jagged and sharp, coated in a thick veneer of ice. The land beneath was scarred with old industrial scars — fallen towers, shattered cogwheel-laden walls, and the twisted remnants of once-mighty machines now decaying in the relentless chill.

Naturally, the Silvermane Guards vigilantly patrolled the area. Barricades were left in random positions, being held on standby in case more were needed at the border between the non-corroded areas and the Fragmentum.

A low hum of machinery reverberated through the cold earth, the constant sound of gears turning and pistons pumping. The walls were a patchwork of riveted steel plates, some new and gleaming with the glint of polished metal, others old and corroded, streaked with rust from years of neglect. Lanterns, their glass globes encrusted with frost, flickered weakly along the edges of the zone. The light they emitted was a dull, sickly glow, barely pushing back the encroaching darkness of the winter evening.

The air itself seemed to be made of ice, and every breath was a struggle, a sharp sting in the lungs as the bitter cold nipped at any exposed skin. At least, that would have been the case if Sunny didn’t have the blessing of Trailblaze. For the mundane soldiers however, it must have been dreadful to continuously operate in such frigid conditions.

Serval led them to the entrance of Silvermane Guard Restricted Zone. March nervously glanced around.

”They’ve jacked up security alright... how the heck are we gonna sneak in? Serval, we need one of those brainwaves.”

Sunny tilted his head.

’What does that even mean?’

Serval confidently replied:

”Leave it to me. Stick close guys, and don’t get spotted.”

Listening to her advice, the four of them slipped behind her as they formed a line. The scene was reminiscent to a group of children following behind an adult.

They followed Serval as she approached a Silvermane Guard in charge of watching over the gate. As usual, they wore the same ridiculous helmets; they were supposedly designed to prevent snow from piling on top of them, but the balance issues convinced Sunny that it was an elaborate, yet cruel joke by the creator.

The guard immediately spoke once they got within a certain distance, his helmet echoing his voice.

”This is a military base. Trespassers aren’t allowed in.”

Although Sunny couldn’t see under his mask, he could tell that the guard was intently staring at Serval.

”Wait, isn’t that... Ah! Serval! Long time no see!”

She sent him an amiable smile.

”Well, if it isn’t Franz, long time no see! You’re still watching the entrance?”

He shuffled around awkwardly.

”Well you see, I... Bah, you haven’t changed Serval. Still nailing us to the wall...”

The guard who was now identified as Franz regained his bearings despite the obvious jab from Serval’s question.

”So... what brings you over here at this hour? And who are the guys behind you?”

Serval calmly answered, seemingly having planned out her response for such a scenario.

”My brother said the restricted zone energy lines were malfunctioning — told me it was urgent. He doesn’t trust those contracted maintenance workers... so he got me in for free. These guys are my assistants. We need to overhaul all the installations here.”

He paused.

”Uh... I didn’t hear anything about the energy lines malfunctioning...”

She simply scoffed in response, unperturbed even though her cover seemed to have been blown.

”Oh please, this is a Technology Division issue. Why would they tell you guys? Come on, let us in already. If the heating system goes down in the middle of the night, are you gonna be responsible for all the frozen corpses?”

Franz froze.

”N—No, that’s uh, not something I could handle... Seeing as you’re Captain Gepard’s sister, it should be fine...”

He walked over to a crate, pulling open the lid as he fished something out. In his hands were five cards.

”Okay, here are some temporary passes... Oh, and remember to give them back to me when you leave.”

As he personally passed them out to each of them, Serval beamed at him.

”Thanks, Franz. I’ll put in a good word for you with my brother and get him to promote you!”

He frantically shook his head.

”No, no, Captain Gepard hates all that under-the-table stuff. I’d have a better chance if you don’t mention me at all...”

He mumbled something to himself as they proceeded onwards. Meanwhile, Sunny was starting to witness the power of nepotism firsthand.

Once they got a decent distance away from where Franz was stationed, Serval whirled around with a grin.

”See! That was easy.”

A look of astonishment was on March’s face, seeming somewhat envious of the usefulness that a family member’s name could bring.

”You’re Gepard’s sister alright...”

The blonde woman childishly huffed.

”Hmph, I don’t want people to see me that way... I’m doing this for you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be using my brother’s name.”

She turned around, facing ahead as she pointed off in the distance. There was a massive gear the size of a city block in the middle of the Silvermane Guard Restricted Zone. It was old and decayed, multiple pieces of it having completely crumbled off over the passage of time.

What was completely out-of-place, however, was that this area seemed to be a residential district of sorts. Essentially, the massive gear was built in the middle a town, serving as an extremely dangerous platform of sorts. Sunny questioned the architectural designs of Belobog, as it was obvious that such a thing shouldn’t exist in this location.

”Do you see that mechanical gear bridge? When you cross over to the other side, you arrive at hell on earth.”

Sunny blinked in confusion. Although he was familiar with the concept of hell, he wasn’t sure that the denizens of Belobog would be as well. Not only had the concept became more obscure after the descent of the Nightmare Spell — with countless people believing that the Dream Realm was hell itself — the existence of Aeons sprouted religions created by THEIR followers.

Sunny wasn’t very familiar with the followers of Aeons, so he wasn’t too sure if hell was a commonly agreed upon concept.

”The Architects follow Qlipoth. Do they believe in hell?”

Serval seemed curious about the nature behind his question, but she answered nonetheless.

”They do. The Architects believe that hell can exist on any world — a plight that will inevitably come to be without intervention.”

Her tone shifted, as if she was reciting another’s words.

”In the future, a terrible catastrophe will arrive. If, under Qlipoth the Preservation’s guidance, we fail to construct a barrier, that catastrophe will sweep away the stars, plunging all worlds into hell. That’s the belief of the Architects... but for us, hell is an endless Fragmentum, a few exhausted Silvermane Guards... and the stench of death in the air.”

...Sunny believed he understood. Rather than a literal hell, both the Architects and the citizens of Belobog believed in a metaphorical hell; even if the precise idea that both demographics have are completely different.

Serval continued:

”If we want to progress further north, we will need to cross that hell. Are you ready?”

Sunny looked at the other three. In a joking manner, he said:

”It’s never too late to retreat...”

Somehow, March was unable to detect the humor behind his words, frowning as she said:

”Look how far we’ve come! Don’t chicken out on us now.”

Sunny awkwardly stared at her before facepalming.

***

Once they approached the gear, they found a major problem: they couldn’t walk past it. As the platforms were broken, they were most likely going to have to take part in a stupidly impractical puzzle which would only be a hindrance to the guards stationed here...

Fortunately, they were all Awakened. With their superhuman capabilities, there was an extremely simple method to get past this obstacle — jumping.

They had learned their lesson from when they couldn’t get past the gate at Svarog’s Base. In reality, every obstacle could be overcome by jumping.

And so, the five of them easily leaped from onto the gear that was used as a platform. As it was connected to the opposite side, they leisurely walked ahead as they approached the front line.

Suddenly, Sunny paused.

”...Serval, how confident are you in being able to convince your brother?”

She seemed to be surprised by the sudden question, but casually answered:

”I’ve probably got a thirty percent chance, or less. Why?”

’...Not very confident, huh?’

Sunny sighed.

”It’s nothing much. It’s just... your brother is ahead of us, and he’s looking in this direction like he’s aware we’re coming, shield in hand and stuff. I know, it’s a crazy thought...”

His eye twitched.

”So, how exactly did he happen to know we were coming? I mean, I’m not saying that you told him through some magical means, but...”

’I’m definitely insinuating.’

March elbowed him in the side. It didn’t hurt, but it was rather annoying. He turned to her.

”What was that for?”

”You’re being mean.”

Sunny’s eye twitched again.

’Mean? Mean?!’

That didn’t mean that he deserved her elbow rubbing up all over him!

Meanwhile, Serval simply ignored his accusations as her expression contorted in confusion. Then, a look of realization appeared on her face.

”Crap. I forgot about that Memory Gepard had.”

Seeing that everyone present was waiting for her to elaborate, she continued:

”It’s a Memory that lets him mark another person. With it, he could... uh... sort of speak through his mind? I guess it’s just telepathy. Anyways, he must have marked Franz... that snitch!”

Once again, Sunny could only watch as this older sibling acted like she was the younger one.