Fate's Slave - Shadow Slave X Honkai Star Rail

”I was sent into the body of a young priestess whose duty was to tend to the High Priestess of the Night Temple... the One in the North. In this era, the Night Temple still belongs to the cult of the Goddess of the Black Skies — of Storm God. The deity of darkness, stars, and guidance. And so, no light is allowed on the temple’s premises.”

Dan Heng rubbed one of her golden horns.

”The acolytes spend long years living in the darkness, and blind themselves before becoming priestesses. For that reason, they are known as the Eyeless. Many of the Eyeless are seers, and possess powers of prophecy and divination. Obviously, I’m neither blind, nor do I have an Aspect related to divination.”

Dan Heng paused.

”The body I’m in was designed to have a longer lifespan. Although it was deemed a failure, the body I’m inhabiting had spent hundreds of years tending to my lady, even though it’s only of the Awakened Rank. The One in the North, the Oracle of the Night... she was not unkind. She treated me well enough, and I have learned a lot from her knowledge and wisdom. Still, she went mad, developing a certain apathy. Over the centuries, my lady grew indifferent to most things happening in the world, or even to herself.”

She sighed.

”That didn’t mean that she was powerless or without responsibility, though. All of the northern reaches of the Kingdom of Hope were under her authority and protection. There were many villages and several towns full of mundane humans who relied on the Night Temple for safety and guidance. For that reason, the One in the North ruled not only over the blind priestesses, but also over a small, but fearsome army comprised of both mundane warriors and Awakened. Their numbers might not have been as large as those of the armies of the Ivory City and the Red Colosseum, but due to their prowess and my lady’s prophetic gift, the north was never attacked by either. The people rarely suffered from the Nightmare Creatures, as well.”

Dan Heng grew silent, and a scowl slowly appeared on her beautiful face.

”...But as the One in the North grew more and more indifferent, that slowly started to change. Still, when I found myself in the Night Temple, things were still more or less fine... for a while. It started soon after I entered the Nightmare, but no one paid it much attention at first. There were just strange rumors that reached the temple, resembling scary stories that people like to tell each other when the sun is gone and darkness envelops the world. Rumors of a pleasant voice that came from the fog.”

She gritted her teeth for a moment.

”Perhaps if my lady’s affliction was not as severe, we could have done something then. After all, in this world, scary stories often come true. And this one was more ominous than the rest, because it had to do with the fog. The Night Temple stands at the boundary of the Hollow Mountains, after all... and of the mist that shrouds them. But she was distant and uncaring, and so, we have grown aloof, too.”

Dan Heng somberly shook her head, then continued, her low, deep voice enveloping the room and her three listeners:

”As time went by, the rumors started to change. They grew more menacing and dire, telling tales of people who listened to the fog and disappeared without a trace. At that point, the Eyeless grew concerned, suspecting that a corrupted creature had found its way into their land. Many of them possessed a high affinity to revelation, after all, and they could feel it... unease, threat, danger. So, a priestess was sent to investigate, escorted by a squad of experienced Awakened soldiers. And at the same time, it was decided that a divination will be performed.”

She lingered for a moment.

”The divination showed no result, and the priestess... she failed to return with useful clues. In fact, she did not return at all. She and her escort disappeared without a trace, as though they had never existed. Just like the people from the rumors... only, by then, no one thought of them as mere rumors anymore. Finally, we became alarmed. The army was summoned, and many hunting parties were sent out to find the creature. Mundane soldiers, Awakened warriors, Ascended champions, the Eyeless... everyone was determined to catch the abomination. But despite all our efforts, we failed... how could we catch the fog?”

Dan Heng continued:

”And all the while, people continued to disappear. First one or two at a time, then scores of them, and then, one day... we found a whole village that stood empty, not a sign of its inhabitants in sight. Everyone there — every man, woman, and child — was taken by the fog.”

She grew silent for a moment.

”And then, hunting parties started to disappear, too. Powerful, experienced soldiers... we even lost an Ascended. The worst part, however, was that there was no pattern to the creature’s movements... at least none that we could recognize. It could attack a settlement far to the west one day, and then suddenly take someone far to the east the next. It was almost as if it could be in several places at the same time. Because of that, we couldn’t throw all our forces into one location and corner it on a single island. And so, we constructed a trap for it... all we needed was a lure, and I volunteered to become one.”

After a short pause, she continued:

”That’s when I met the man who calls himself the Prince of Nothing.”