Fate's Slave - Shadow Slave X Honkai Star Rail

[Your Shadow has evolved.]

Sunny blinked as he gently massaged his neck, red handprints colored into his skin from the roughness of Fu Xuan’s grip.

It took him a moment to realize what happened, despite the clearness of the Spell’s announcement. He was still a little dazed from the intensity of combat...

’Oh.’

Tingyun’s evolution was complete... though, it was a bit too late for that. Nightmare had already put the Heliobus to sleep, after all.

Still, he was pretty satisfied. He had been missing the nagging voice in his head — soul, technically — telling him what to do. Sending a glance down at the sleeping tiger, Sunny summoned Tingyun into his Soul Sea. A mere moment later, her melodious voice resounded in his mind.

[Bene—]

She suddenly froze. Sunny raised a brow.

’What is—’

[It’s not asleep!]

Sunny stilled. The beating of his heart halted for an eternity.

He whirled around, pushing Fu Xuan out of the way. Pain explosively surged from his hand, causing him to grit his teeth.

Jing Yuan’s maw was clamped down around his hand. Three of Sunny’s fingers were torn off immediately, and his wrist threatened to rip, as well. A jagged tooth pierced through his palm, leaving him completely stuck until his hand was separated from the rest of his arm.

Fury burned in Sunny’s dark eyes, his other hand reaching out and grabbing the fur off Jing Yuan’s head in a crushing grip. The snake pendant around his neck glowed with golden light, and a moment later, two shackles appeared on his wrists — both the normal one and the mangled one. Chains of Destruction shot out and coiled around the white tiger’s head, tightening and clamping down so that he couldn’t release Sunny’s arm.

By the time Fu Xuan, who was still startled from when she was pushed, was able to properly comprehend what was happening, it was already too late.

Releasing his Awakened Ability, Jing Yuan’s lightning coursed directly through Sunny’s arm, frying his entire body. The pain was unfathomable, furious screams escaping his lips as he forced his body to tighten its grip. The only reason Sunny wasn’t dead yet was because Jing Yuan didn’t have the power of a proper Saint, as his Flaw had been exploited to the point of having strength on the power of a Master.

That would change soon. Sunny’s vision was beginning to darken... or was that just the effects of Jing Yuan’s Ascended Ability?

In any case, it was clear what was soon to happen. If Sunny didn’t find a way out of this situation, he would die. Jing Yuan was already running away from Fu Xuan, slamming his head — and Sunny himself — through cargo containers.

He bit his tongue, trying to come up with a plan... but all his thoughts kept slipping away from him. That shouldn’t have been possible, with [The War], but clearly, it was happening now.

That damn Attribute hadn’t been doing its job for a while, now. Sunny began forgetting key pieces of information despite his supposedly perfect memory. His battle sense, which, while not necessarily decreasing, had become less optimal and mechanical.

And now, he couldn’t even think properly while under something as trivial as pain.

Perhaps he should release the chains? No, it would be easier for Jing Yuan to crush him if he did that. The potency of his lightning had been weakened, and Sunny had to rely on it to buy him time.

For the first time ever since he was infected by the Spell, Sunny did not panic due to some odd social situation, or because he felt lost on what he should do. Right now...

He was fearing death.

’What do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, whatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdo—’

He couldn’t die! Not yet, not here, and not to some damned Heliobus. This was no longer about vengeance or spite, or because there was nothing better to do than staying alive. He hadn’t even done anything yet, not a single thing of worth! He had to see it, he had to see his sunset, even if just to understand. He needed to destroy it, he needed to drown in its warmth, he needed to win, he needed to not lose, he needed to not die, he needed to live!

Sunny roared out — he thinks he did, at least. He couldn’t hear anything as he pushed his able hand back.

He slammed it down against Jing Yuan’s eye. He barely bruised it.

He slammed it again. And again. And again. And again.

And one last time.

Jing Yuan did not flinch when a ghostly stiletto appeared out of nothing, blinding one of his eyes. Rather, Cirrus did not feel affected by the pain or loss of sight. They focused on only two things. Sending Jing Yuan away from Fu Xuan, and trying to kill Sunny as swiftly as possible.

...Sunny couldn’t see anymore. He was effectively blind, deaf, and mostly disconnected from his shadow sense. He thinks his wrist was fully ripped off, leaving him handless, but his sense of pain and touch was so dulled that he couldn’t tell.

He felt something rush out of him(?) in a frenzy, as well as the vague feeling of air rushing against his body. There was something against his face — or was it the entirety of his frontside? He felt himself linger there for an indefinite amount of time. His senses were slowly returning to him; a pace so damn slow that it might have been weeks for all he knew.

Sunny did feel his hand get moved by someone, as well as an indistinct male voice. A cold, armored(?) hand laid against his. The hand suddenly disappeared for a few seconds, and he felt the temperature around him rise violently. It cooled down, and he felt himself be passed from one pair of hands — the steel ones, he noted — to another, seemingly belonging to a much smaller figure.

...He felt like he missed something indescribably important to him. He felt himself move his own hands, absentmindedly clutching onto the one carrying him. Two syllables escaped his lips, words he hasn’t spoken since childhood.

He didn’t know why the person carrying him froze. He felt something against the back of his head, threading through his hair.

Sunny lost consciousness.