Fate's Slave - Shadow Slave X Honkai Star Rail

Sunny solemnly watched as the citizens of the Underworld boarded the cable cars that would take them to the Overworld. There were dozens of them — most likely reserved for the special occasion.

He heard the delighted laughs of children running around, recognizing a few of them. There was enthusiastic chatter between the adults, speaking of this or that, and reminiscing about the times when the two worlds weren’t seperate.

Clara was somewhat panicked, attempting, but failing to stop the other children from playing around the machinery. Sunny mused:

’I guess there won’t be any dictatorship anytime soon... or is this the origin story?’

He was brought out of his thoughts when a woman with bluish hair and a small, yet joyful smile stood beside him — Natasha.

”For Oleg and I, not to mention the other adults, reopening the passageway means rediscovering old ways of living — a return to ’normality’. Survival is no longer the top of the agenda...”

After a moment of contemplation Sunny replied:

”But for the children who were born into this era, who grew up in this isolation... this will be a new life altogether.”

Natasha nodded, before sending him a knowing smile.

”Always worried about the children, huh?”

Sunny blinked a few times. Then, with a sigh, he shrugged.

”Kids are simple. They have no agendas, no convoluted convictions... they fulfill their desires, doing as they please.”

He clicked his tongue.

”When I have an intense conversation with my food, it’s creepy, but when one of those brats do it, it’s adorable! This world favors the simpletons who can’t even comprehend the complexities of human society!”

Natasha gave him a concerned look.

”Is... that so?”

Sunny fervently nodded. After a few moments, he continued:

”The place I lived in was very similar to the Underworld. Most people didn’t have names, parents, or even a chance to live until adulthood. Nobody had any real agency...”

He scratched the back of his head.

”It’s a good thing, I suppose. That the citizens of both the Overworld and Underworld can decide the path they want to take, without having to worry about the Fragmentum or starvation.”

Natasha hummed in agreement, her expression softening.

”It is.”

Sunny closed his eyes for a moment, reaching out to his connection with the shadows. His Shadow Sense spread far, enshrouding a few kilometers. He listened, searching for living shadows.

He filtered his search to shadows that were deeper than usual — a sign of Awakening. He located Natasha, March, and Dan Heng this way. The latter two were actually nearby, watching over the citizens entering the cable cars just as he was, just on the other side of the crowd.

’...Where’s Seele?’

He thought for a moment, before shrugging. Wasn’t his problem.

Sunny walked away from his position, turning towards an alleyway.

”There’s something I need to do. I’ll be there for the succession ceremony, so... see you later!”

As the shadows veiled his image, he used teleported away before Natasha could give him a reply.

***

Seated on the roof of Qlipoth Fort, Sunny checked a message he had just recieved on his phone. After a few moments of looking down at the crowd gathering in the Administrative District — a mix of citizens from both the Overworld and Underworld — he allowed himself to become a shadow once more.

Qlipoth Fort stretched deep below the ground, not deep enough to intrude upon the Underworld, but still exceptionally deep. Using Shadow Step to both swim through the shadows, while also teleporting every once in a wild, Sunny was able to cross a large distance.

So, passing through the numerous facilities ran by the Architects, Sunny ended up reaching the very bottom of Qlipoth Fort. The lowest floors were quite empty, so he didn’t need to be worried about being disturbed. If he used Shadow Step to go lower one more time, he’d end up falling from the bottom of the Overworld.

Exiting the shadows, Sunny sent a cursory glance around. Behind him were numerous locked gates, bound by mechanisms he couldn’t understand. The room itself was dark and cold, and, using his ability to see in the darkness, Sunny found that there weren’t any light switches.

’Like whoever went down here wouldn’t need one...’

The Lance of Preservation. It’s molten glow would certainly be enough to illuminate the small corridor.

Fortunately, Sunny didn’t need to summon it. Not yet, at least.

Ahead of him was another gate, except, rather than being forged of durable steel, it was structured with methodically-cut stone. It was perfectly symmetrical, with no bumps or uneven edges.

Sunny narrowed his eyes.

He knew it was a gate only because of the small opening between both doors. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have ever guessed.

He couldn’t feel the shadows behind it.

’It’s the Ebony Tower all over again.’

Sunny sighed in exasperation, before slowly approaching the stone gates. Once he was near it, he placed his hand against it, pushed against it a couple times, and even tried knocking.

Of course, it didn’t open.

Sunny placed his hand on his chin — finding that he wasn’t too frustrated.

’The people who are allowed to be inside there should have the Lance of Preservation, right?’

Deep in his thoughts, Sunny absentmindedly augmented himself with the Haughty shadow. At the same time, the cold atmosphere began to be expelled as an amber light parted the shadowy depths of his eyes like a curtain.

As warmth radiated from him, Sunny suddenly felt a shift in the air — and the stone gate.

The large slabs of stone pushed away from each other, the opening between them spreading further and further. Sunny grinned in appreciation of his genius, stepping inside as the he found himself allowed entry.

Just like how the Lance of Preservation would have been required to see in the dark room, ownership of the weapon would be registered by the gate. So, even if he didn’t summon it, Sunny suspected that it recognized some sort of signature from the energy excreted from the Preservation.

In any case, he found himself in a much brighter room.

Sunny stepped cautiously into the chamber, the echo of his boots swallowed quickly by the dense silence. Dust motes floated lazily in the amber-tinted light that spilled from a fractured skylight above, bathing the stone walls in a molten hue. The room had been sealed for centuries, maybe more, yet it still exuded an eerie kind of vigilance — like it was waiting.

The person who enforced the restriction on the Underworld wasn’t Cocolia, but a previous Supreme Guardian. Naturally, the area would be unopened until now.

Murals stretched across every wall, painted in ochres and golds that had faded only slightly with time. Scenes danced along the curved stone — abstract at first glance, but the longer Sunny stared, the more he saw. Figures cloaked in fire and shadow. Circles of power drawn around ancient trees. And symbolic amber and gold. The amber was a vast construct, seeming as if it was watching over a lush landscape. The gold seeped from the eyes and mouths of dark humanoid figures, falling from the sky like raining corpses.

At the far end of the room, near a semi-collapsed archway, a pedestal stood. It’s surface was ringed with etchings, and at it’s center was a narrow, conical hole. Instinctively, Sunny stepped closer, preparing to summon the Lance of Preservation. It seemed like it would fit perfectly.

He hesitated, his gaze catching on to... blood.

Sunny’s heart quickened.

The blood was smeared around the pedestal in intricate patterns, revealing themselves to be runes. For a moment, he almost thought that they were the result of a ritual... but they weren’t. Runes used for sorcery weren’t so coherent, and were much more abstract. Even if he didn’t know this particular language, it wasn’t too alien for him to deduce a few similarities.

The Nightmare Spell refused to translate them, leaving him to read the unfamiliar script in broken language.

”Blasphemy of Choice... rebellion against true nature... no, Apsects? Formulaic paths to divinity... led to immeasurable conflict...”

The rest dissolved into symbols too unusual to interpret. He frowned.

’Formulas?’

He stood, eyes flicking back to the runes. The blood was dried... whoever engraved them must have did so a few centuries back. After the Eternal Freeze, most likely.

Someone — or something — had created formulas that led to... becoming a god? He assumed so, even if the runes didn’t directly say just that. There was also the statement about defying Aspects. Were these two subjects related, or was this all engraved in the midst of mad hysteria?

”Why was this engraved here in the first place?”

Sunny mumbled as he dissected the strangeness of the location. It was quite common to encounter ancient languages in the Dream Realm. After all, that was where they originated. However, he was reading a language that shouldn’t belong in this world.

In actuality, it wasn’t that weird if he considered the probability that it was someone from the Waking World who did this — for whatever reason. It was the abnormality of the information that confused him.

This wasn’t a simple tidbit about how people used to live.

This knowledge was... practically heresy, based on how it was written at least.

Sunny’s gaze lingered on the runes for a moment, before turning to the slot in the pedestal. Without any more understanding of the runes, he wouldn’t be able to understand it. So, he might as well finish what he came for.

A burning spectacle danced in his palm, quickly materializing into the firm form of the Lance of Preservation. Twirling it around for a moment, he held it up by the handle as it aimed downwards. Sunny took a deep breath.

’This better work...’

He carefully inserted it into the indent, hoping that it wouldn’t be damaged. He pushed it in until it stopped.

There were a few moments where nothing happened.

Then, something happened.

Sunny’s vision doubled.

In an instant, a geographical blueprint was seared into his mind, a faint silhouette detailing buildings, roads, and miscellaneous things that Sunny didn’t think were important. Amber lights flickered all throughout, some moving, and others still. A large amount of them were congregating towards a specific point, and there seemed to be a massive structure in the center of the blueprint.

He was seeing the entirety of Belobog, along with every living soul within it.

Then, shining runes appeared before him.

Restriction: [Divulgence of the existence of superhuman individuals to mundane citizens in the lower sector.]

The runes were transparent, seemingly indicating that they couldn’t be interacted with. He assumed that lower sector referred to the Underworld.

Right below them was another set of runes.

Punishment: [Termination of the disclosing individual.]

’So it just happened to translate into a heart attack...’

Which meant that Sunny would have still died despite his unbeating heart on the off chance that anyone noticed he was an Awakened. He was really gambling with his life, huh?

The runes were normal, lacking any transparency. Focusing on them, he enforced a different punishment.

Punishment: [The divulging individual sends sends a stray insult to March 7th while complimenting Sunless.]

Sunny cackled.

Why shouldn’t he stick with it? It was funny!

Removing the lance as it dissipated to embers, Sunny took one last look at the crimson runes.

’Could... could the person who created the rule in the first place be the same person who inscribed that?’

Sunny did not know.