Fate's Slave - Shadow Slave X Honkai Star Rail

’Huh.’

Sunny had been hoping to get Shadow Strike from Kurt’s Aspect, which would allow him to damage shadows. His own shadows would be able to target flesh as well.

But, although his lethality hasn’t increased in that regard... it seemed that his nature as an unkillable cockroach has become more apparent.

The shadows in the room danced around with a mere command from Sunny, forming simple shapes. It didn’t seem that they were capable of complex commands just yet, but it looked like that Sunny was able to control any and all wild shadows within a certain range.

Kurt’s Shadow Manipulation was different from Sunny’s own Shadow Control. Sunny’s Dormant Ability gave his shadows sentience, and allowed him to give them complex commands that they could complete without his direct input. Of course, he also got the benefit of the augmentations his shadows give.

Meanwhile, Kurt was able to control both his own shadow and the ones belonging to inanimate objects, hence, manipulation. However, this came with a few caveats. The only benefit to controlling other shadows was to either hide in them or to enable his Awakened Ability; Shadow Strike.

One thing that changed the effectiveness of Shadow Manipulation was the difference in affinity.

Sunny’s [Child of Shadows] Attribute was much better than Kurt’s [Shadow Sworn] Attribute. After all, wouldn’t the shadows prefer to follow the commands of one of their own, rather than someone who was simply sworn to the shadows? Plus, Sunny was a Divine Aspect holder. The chances of anyone with a shadow-related Aspect being as powerful as him was practically zero.

Not only was Sunny’s control of the wild shadows much more sophisticated, but his range far surpassed anything Kurt could do as an Awakened. His range was increased thanks to his Shadow Sense, which spanned multiple kilometers.

And since Sunny already held the Shadow Slave Aspect, he gained plenty of benefits from this Ability. He could control the shadows to follow him, concealing himself in a mass of shadows. He could also move the shadows to a place where there weren’t any, increasing the flexibility of Shadow Step.

If his foes believed that they were safe in the light... then he’ll bring the shadows to them.

’Oh, that’s a nice line. I’ll have to remember it for later...’

Summoning the Cruel Sight, Sunny poked Kurt’s corpse. The killer’s body was enveloped in white flames. In mere seconds, he was turned to ash.

Ignoring the smell of burning flesh, Sunny’s gaze was drawn to the softly glowing Soul Shard that was left in the pile of ash that the killer had turned into. Just like with Nightmare Creatures, the strange nature of Sunny’s Aspect left the crystal intact despite absorbing the Shadow Fragments. If an ordinary Awakened was in his place, the shard would have formed empty and cracked.

Sunny had never dug into the corpses of his human victims to retrieve one, so this was his first time seeing a Soul Shard left behind by one of his own kind.

Sunny bent down, picked up the luminescent crystal, and hid it in the Covetous Coffer. His face twitched slightly at the smell.

***

Later that evening, Sunny sat at the bottom of the stairway that led to Qlipoth Fort. Besides him was Seele, who was watching the dwellers of the Overworld walk past. Every once in a while, there would be someone that seemed to be from the Underworld.

Sunny glanced to his side, wondering why Seele was wearing her hair in a ponytail. Couldn’t she just choose a hairstyle and stick with it? What a lack of commitment.

He wasn’t complaining though. The nape view he was getting with his shadow was pretty nice.

Through another one of his shadows, he saw Bronya walking down the stairs with a skittish expression. She seemed to constantly adjust the jewelry she wore on her person, her gaze a little lost.

Idly turning around to look at the woman he had sensed approaching, Sunny stood up.

”Hey, Bronya. Let’s get going.”

As Bronya walked down the steps in casual, yet tasteful clothing, her gaze lingered on Seele. The purple-haired girl tilted her head in confusion.

Bronya blinked a few times, before asking:

”I’m sorry if this comes off as rude, but... why are you here, Seele?”

The girl in question looked at Bronya as if she had grown a second head.

”Uh... same reason as you?”

Bronya’s eyes widened in what seemed to be horror, as she sent Sunny a very particular look.

He raised a brow in confusion, but just shook his head instead of asking any questions.

”I’ve got no idea what this is about, but we should go now. Dan Heng and March have been waiting for a while.”

Curiously, Bronya had a baffled expression on her face when he mentioned the other two Trailblazers. In a short span of time, she seemed to go from confused, to enlightened, to relieved as she made a sound of realization.

”Oh... oh!”

Sunny pursed his lips.

”Do I want to know?”

Bronya shook her head with a laugh.

”No, no... I just made a couple... assumptions.”

***

”Ugh... I feel sick.”

”Just don’t throw up on me.”

Sunny’s sent a cautious glance at the queasy expression on Seele’s face. It seemed that some people had a bit of a problem with the Space Anchor.

The Space Anchors allowed for multiple people to be pulled along with the Trailblazer that was using it. Since it wasn’t reliant on the individual’s power, but the power of the Path as a whole, Sunny was able to pull multiple people along despite being only an Awakened.

He couldn’t quite think of an explanation for how Seele somehow got... motion sickness? Was that even possible for Awakened?

As he led Seele and Bronya through the different compartments, they came across the theater room. For whatever reason, someone decided to fill the place with rows upon rows of velvet chairs, with a large screen at the end of the wall. What kind of movie night needed so many seats?

”Hey! Sit over here!”

Somewhere near the middle of the room, March and Dan Heng were seated. The latter was holding a remote, and there seemed to be multiple buckets of popcorn available.

Sunny sighed as they walked down the aisles of the mostly empty theater. Taking a seat next to Dan Heng, he asked:

”Could someone actually tell me what this movie’s about? If it’s boring, I’m leaving.”

While March handed the three arrivals some popcorn, she wagged her finger.

”Why would I spoil you before the movie starts? Are you stupid?”

Sunny clicked his tongue.

”It’s common sense to know what you’re going to watch! And no, I’m not stupid.”

Dan Heng sighed, contrasting the evil glimmer of mischief in his eyes.

”Well, I’m about to start the movie. I’m sure you’ll figure out what it’s about in... the first five seconds.”

Sunny blinked. Was it just him, or did Dan Heng seem to be stifling a laugh?

’I’m a little scared now...’

What the hell could get that guy to laugh?!

With a click of the remote, the screen turned on.

The first thing Sunny saw was an intense storm above a raging sea. Lightning flashed in the sky, revealing a vague silhouette moving across the surface of the ocean.

Sunny squinted his eyes. There seemed to be a man... riding on something? Kind of like he was surfing. His hands looked to be grabbed onto some kind of rope — or was it seaweed?

As the screen zoomed in, Sunny scunched up his face at the man’s appearance. Tall, painfully handsome, and carried himself with a roguish charm. He had black hair and black eyes... the typical protagonist of any power fantasy.

He was also naked, for whatever reason. Revealing rows of chiseled muscles.

He had a grin on his face, speaking to himself.

”Come on, Sharkie. You can go faster than that, right? Unless... you want to be eaten?”

The thing that the man had been riding on suddenly accelerated, leaping out of the waters as it revealed itself. It was a massive shark with sharp fins and a jagged maw, a hive of eyes covering it’s head. Despite the gruesome appearance of the creature, the man seemed unperturbed.

Then, while they were still flying in the air, the screen froze. Sunny blinked, wondering if Dan Heng paused the movie.

His questions were answered when the man started to monologue, his words bringing up a feeling of dread in Sunny’s chest.

”Hey there, esteemed audience! My name’s Sunless. Now, you must be wondering how I got into this situation. It isn’t everyday that a guy is having a radical time on the back of a Corrupted Devil, good old Sharkie — but you could call him my *cosmic profanity*. Now, where was I... oh, right. So, it all started when I, a completely normal teenage boy, got infected by the Nightmare Spell...”

Then, without any time to comprehend what was happening, three words appeared on the screen.

’Absence of Light. Based on a true story.’

’No, no... this can’t be happening!’

Seele choked out through shattered laughter:

”W—Wait... there’s no way that edgelord is Sunny! And why the hell does he have a movie about him anyways?!”

Bronya turned away, covering her mouth as she continued:

”Pfft... uh, it must be another person of the same name. Maybe Sunless is a common name across the Universe...?”

She sent a look at Sunny, who was covering his face with his hands in embarrassment. Bronya looked away once more, her laughter growing a little louder.

”M—Maybe, maybe not.”

March playfully punched his shoulder as she mockingly repeated:

”Hey guys! This is Sharkie, my *cosmic profanity*!”

Sunny looked up from his hands in confusion.

”How are your words being censored? Can I do that...?”

Dan Heng replied with an amused tone:

”You already did.”

”That... that tall bastard isn’t me! I mean, just look at that cocky smirk... oh, actually, he’s kind of pulling it off. But he’s too tall!”

March stopped punching him, her laughter dying out.

”...That’s what you’re worried about? Not that, you know, they think you rode a Corrupted Devil as a Sleeper?”

’Oh... so this is about the Forgotten Shore? Couldn’t tell with the guitar solo in the background.’

”Eh. My memory about that time isn’t too clear, but I wouldn’t be too surprised. I mean, I killed a Great Devil before Awakening.”

All laughter disappeared.

Yes, Sunny was going to keep using that line for as long as possible.