Fate's Slave - Shadow Slave X Honkai Star Rail

”...What do you mean?”

Sunny narrowed his eyes at the absurdity of the thought. The Night Temple was guarded by multiple Masters and a Saint. There were few things on the Chained Isles that could deal with all of them at once.

Sparkle’s usually jolly expression dimmed down.

”It’s completely gone. The entire island was destroyed before the remains fell into the Sky Below.”

She paused.

”That’s my guess at least. Maybe the island decided to take a trip to the other end of the Chained Isles. The point is, it’s not where it’s supposed to be.”

Sunny thought for a few moments. The first possibility was more plausible. He had seen an island be annihilated by the Crushing himself, after all. Even participated in it. If all the chains connected to the island holding the Night Temple were shattered, then it definitely could have been lost to the Crushing.

And nobody would know, considering that it was in a far corner of the Chained Isles, bordering the Hollow Mountains.

’This... changes things.’

From what Sunny knew, Mordret seemed to have been imprisoned there. He had planned to go and rescue him to gain his aid in the Second Nightmare, but for all he knew, the mysterious mirror man may have been dead. The plan was already risky, considering that Mordret may have been a dangerous threat.

After all, the Night Temple was guarded by a Saint. What kind of creature would warrant that?

Not only that, but the ivory knife that was supposedly held within the Citadel is now nowhere to be found. That meant that Sunny would need to challenge the Nightmare with less preparation than what would be ideal.

’Damnation!’

He sighed. On the bright side, at least they’d be able to save some time.

’...What kind of silver lining is that?!’

***

”Imagine you’re fighting someone, but you teleport everywhere, all at once. Then, they’ll turn around like nothing happened, than... gah! They get cut into a thousand pieces!”

”...What?”

”Come on, just trust me!”

Sunny sighed as he heard those familiar voices. He had spent the last couple of days returning from the shipwreck on his own, as Sparkle had kept the Abyss Watchers there with no chance to rest, much to their dismay.

’Should have read the fine print.’

Either way, during his journey, he had stumbled on a few Nightmare Creatures. Not only did he have chances to test the efficiency of the Undying Chain, but he even got a few more Shadow Fragments.

Shadow Fragments: [2000/3000].

Only a thousand more Fragments until he became a Devil.

Hopping off the massive chain link to land on soft grass, Sunny announced himself:

”Hey.”

Three pairs of eyes turned to him in surprise; Dan Heng, who was staring at a few Soul Shards in the grass, nodded towards him before redirecting his attention back to radiant crystals. March paused in her special attack demonstration, staring at his new Transcendent armor. As for Seele, she stood with her scythe in hand, frowning a little.

Dan Heng and March had originally travelled to the Chained Isles when Sunny had gone missing. Once he had returned and asked them to challenge the Second Nightmare, they changed their anchor from a Citadel bordering the Chained Isles to the Sanctuary.

Sunny wondered for a few moments why Dan Heng was paying so much attention to the Soul Shards, but simply shrugged as he turned to March.

”That kind of attack is pretty useless. Sounds like a waste of Essence.”

She rolled her eyes.

”Don’t be a killjoy! Don’t you at least think it’d be cool?”

Sunny paused for a few moments.

”...I guess. It’s still useless and impractical. A single attack is enough. Especially if it’s coming from her...”

Sunny trailed off, turning to Seele with a raised brow.

”...Why are you looking at me like that?”

She glanced at March, then to Dan Heng, who seemed lost in thought, and said:

”Uh... give me a second.”

A few seconds later, she grabbed Sunny’s arm, before dragging him a few meters away. Then, she asked in a hushed tone:

”So, about that secret organization of yours...”

Sunny cringed.

”Wait, please don’t call it that. Uh... how about Sunny Squad? Sunny’s Secret? What do you think?”

Seele stared at him with pity.

”Those all sound horrible. Anyways, aren’t I supposed to do... secret stuff? Like a spy?”

...In all honesty, Sunny had never meant to create any secret organization in the first place, so he never bothered with the details. Still, he supposed that he needed to give some sort of explanation.

He coughed into his fist, then placed his hand on Seele’s shoulder.

”Listen, young one. If I were to compare you to a blade, you’d be a rare, yet dull—”

”Please... shut up.”

”...Right.”

Releasing her, Sunny began to feel really awkward. Really, despite the benefits of a secret organization, the distribution of resources would affect his own growth. He wasn’t nearly strong, or rich, enough to be able to provide for his underlings.

Well, he supposed the Abyss Watchers were provided for, in a way. But that wasn’t really managed by Sunny himself.

What would Seele even be in comparison? An elite force? Sunny felt like any of the Abyss Watchers could wipe the floor with her, simply due to her lack of experience.

Maybe she’d be more like an investment.

”You’re thinking too much.”

Sunny was drawn out of his thoughts when Seele poked his cheek. He scoffed in annoyance.

”Oh yeah? Well... you think too little!”

Seele squinted her eyes.

”I wasn’t insulting you.”

”I was.”

Seele huffed in annoyance, sending him a burning glare. Just as she turned around to leave him, Sunny said:

”You don’t need to understand everything. Just know... I have you right where I want you to be.”

She blinked, before turning around.

”...Were you waiting to say that?”

”Yeah.”

Seele stared at him in disbelief for a few seconds, before snorting in amusement. Sunny crossed his arms in embarrassment for a moment, before turning towards Dan Heng.

”What’s up with him?”

Seele shrugged.

”I don’t know. He’s been doing this for days. Like he’s trying to do something.”

Sunny stared at Dan Heng as he fiddled around with the Soul Shards, before brushing it off. Everyone had their weirdo streaks...

”Hey, Sunny!”

March jogged over to him and Seele, seemingly not comprehending that they were having a super secret conversation.

”...What?”

She seemed especially cheery and energetic, for whatever reason.

”So, when you were gone, the Dream Tournament was announced! You’re going in, right?!”

Sunny tilted his head.

”The what?”

March stared at him incredulously.

”You know... the biggest yearly intergalactic tournament in existence? Sponsored by plenty of worlds? Oh, it’s hosted by Valor this year, by the way.”

Sunny frowned.

”Do I look like I have time to play with kids in a playground? I have real things to do, you know!”

March blinked.

”Huh. I would have thought that you’d want the prizes. Well, me and Dan Heng are participating, so make sure to cheer us on! If you change your mind, just use your Dreamscape pod.”

Sunny’s expression subtly changed.

He looked at Seele, who returned a similar look. It seemed they had the same idea, as she mumbled:

”Prizes?”

He remained silent for a moment, then asked in a very disinterested voice:

”Oh, really? There are prizes? Huh, how curious. What, uh... what kind of prizes are we talking about, exactly?”

It seemed like he had something for Seele to do after all.