Fate's Slave - Shadow Slave X Honkai Star Rail

Two figures moved through a war-torn snowfield. The clouds that perpetually enshrouded the world were parted, revealing a radiance of the sun; a sight alien to the inhabitants of the planet, who haven’t borne witness to what lay beyond for centuries.

Blackened obelisks of ice stood tall — some were large, while others were only small chunks, lying around like shrapnel. The cut-stone ground, revealed by the parted snow, had multiple scars on it’s surface.

Looking over the snowfield — which was actually a mountain — was a mangled behemoth of ancient technology. The Engine of Creation’s head was nothing but warped steel, and it’s entire chassis was littered with impaled spikes of darkened ice. It stood unmoving, as if it was never awake to begin with.

Clara squinted her eyes, her vision shifting as she saw a singular, blindingly radiant anchor of light deep within the robot’s chest. That anchor had thin, illusory cables that stretched all across the Engine of Creation, providing it with fuel despite it’s current state.

She felt an ache in her skull. Pressing her red sleeve to her head, strange ravings began to speak to her. Unclear, yet familiar.

After a few moments, she lowered her arm. Looking back at the Engine of Creation, she turned to the towering figure beside her with a tentative expression.

"Mr. Svarog... how old was it again?"

The singular pink eye on the cyclops an automaton’s head flickered, as if he was blinking.

"The Geological Reconstruction Unit was built during the time of the first Supreme Guardian. A minimum of seven hundred years."

Clara was silent for a moment, a strange glint in her eyes.

"I see..."

Svarog’s mechanical eye stared at Clara with absolute silence.

’Observation: Clara has grown one centimeter taller within the past five minutes. Deduction: This event is an abnormality.’

There was a pause as his systems began to process the information he had gathered.

’Action: Observe Clara and her surroundings for any changes.’

***

Sunny whistled an original and obnoxious tune as he walked through the Astral Express. In his hands was a stack of cardboard boxes, which he carried with ease as he went about his business with a skip in his step.

’...Wait a second.’

Sunny froze for a moment. With a short mental command, he found himself in his new room as he used Shadow Step to teleport. Putting them down, he placed his hands on his hips as he looked around with barely concealed glee.

’A bed, a shelf, a bathroom, a couch, a desk, a computer... wait, a computer?’

He stared at the three excessively large screens in the corner of his room. Although he remembered ordering them, he didn’t remember setting anything up yet. They were opened to the startup screen, waiting for him to create an account.

Blinking, Sunny mindlessly wondered if Welt or Dan Heng had taken matters into their own hands. Fair enough, he supposed. He didn’t know enough about computers to be confident about putting one together, and with his strength, he was very likely to break something.

At the very least, Welt and Dan Heng only had to worry about the latter. One was an Awakened, and... he didn’t want to delve into the can of worms that was Mr. Yang.

’Why would anyone have a can of worms anyways?’

Dismissing the thought, Sunny was slightly annoyed that his own room had been intruded on. Luckily, he had brought a very specific object to deter intrusive activity. Opening one of the cardboard boxes with the Moonlight Shard, he fished out a whiteboard which was magnetic on the back. Grabbing a marker that came with it, he thought for a few moments, before writing something on it.

’Sunny’s Room! Walk in, and face the consequences!’

He paused for a second, before adding an angry face. Surely, nobody would dare to trespass now!

Exiting his room for a moment to place the sign on the door, he looked around the place that he could now call his own.

Sunny’s room was... massive, to put it bluntly. It seemed to be quadruple the sizes of the rest of the rooms. Hell, even his personal bathroom was probably the size of the data bank — Dan Heng’s room.

Due to it’s size, Sunny’s room was rather empty. Despite the bed — with crispy white sheets — couch, desk, massive computer station, and empty shelves, his room was quite lacking. He wasn’t one for decorations, but even he could tell that it wasn’t much of a home yet.

’I need something to fill the shelves... but what? I don’t have any particular hobbies. Books about Nightmare Creature anatomy and Dream Realm explorations? Wait, no, that doesn’t count...’

Moving around with a contemplative expression, his eyes landed on a particular wall.

’This entire wall is empty. Maybe I could turn it into a snack place? Add in a fridge too... and across from it, I could have a counter to engage with delicacies...’

Wiping the imaginary drool from his mouth, he looked over to his bed — or rather, the window behind the headboard, which revealed Jarilo-VI snowy landscape. Unlike before, the sun visibly shone down upon the frigid planet.

The Eternal Freeze was gone. It would take time — most likely years for the planet to return to a normal climate, but there was no apocalypse approaching anymore.

However, that was not Sunny’s concern.

’Damn it, I should have gotten a curtain! I’m lucky that my room is elevated... otherwise, people could just peak in whenever they desired!’

As for how Sunny had the basic furnishing, it was quite simple. Due to the isolation of Jarilo-VI, which still hadn’t been lifted over the course of the past month, he simply got everything from Belobog. He doubted any delivery service would come over to some unknown planet, so that was really his only option.

Not that he minded.

Belobog sold some comfy blankets.

Remembering to get a curtain during his next trip to Belobog, Sunny grabbed a change of clothes out of another cardboard box — a white sweater and gray sweatpants — as he walked into his bathroom.

It seemed like Sunny would be bathing in luxury.

A pristine, spacious, L-shaped bathtub rested next to the window, which provided a view of Jarilo-VI’s wilderness. Their was an inbuilt table — although Sunny didn’t know what it was used for, it made him feel rich. Above the tub were dangling, spherical lights, radiating warm light.

The sink was relatively simple, but it was accompanied by a very tall mirror. So tall in fact, that Sunny’s head didn’t even reach a quarter of it’s height. A small shelf was positioned next to it.

The shower itself was also quite simple. Similar to the bathtub, spherical blue lights hanged from the ceiling, providing a gloomy hue to that specific corner.

If one were to look closely, they’d find a content grin on Sunny’s face.

After all, he was about to experience something that reserved for the wealthy.

The bath had already been filled with soapy water, bubbles floating into the air. Sunny had no need to take a bath currently — he had showered only a few hours ago. Rather, he was just enjoying himself.

For within his bath, were petals. Rose petals.

’I feel so rich!’

Methodically stripping down so as to not ruin the experience, he dismissed the Finality’s Farewell to his Soul Sea. Taking off his clothes, coiled, defined, yet slender muscles were revealed. A black snake tattoo wrapped around his body like a second skin, seeming almost alive.

The contours outlined by his porcelain skin revealed a body that was built for precision, not power.

Rolling his shoulders, Sunny thought deeply:

’Left foot, or right foot?’

After a full minute of indecisiveness, he chose the secret third option:

Shadow Stepping into the bath, Sunny found himself immediately soaked as he rose from underwater. As if aware that he had an audience, he majestically pulled himself out of the water with closed eyes, shaking his head as water droplets sensually rolled down his pale skin.

’So rich...’

Feeling content with entering the bath with more style than any wealthy individual, he stopped the act as he leisurely rested against the edge of the tub. His body slid down, barely revealing his closed eyes. The rose-scented bath soak assaulted his nose, causing his body — which was prone to always being tense — to completely unwind.

’I’m never leaving...’

Feeling a tingly sensation, his gaze moved to the three shadows on the ceiling; Gloomy, Haughty, and Happy.

The three of them seemed to be cheering for the momentous occasion. Naturally, what was Sunny’s was theirs, so his luxurious experience was shared with them.

During the fight with Cocolia, Sunny had come to a singular conclusion; his shadows were himself. To be specific, they were fragments of his personality exaggerated to the greatest extent.

At first, he had believed that they were semi-seperate entities — extensions of his soul. Yet, when he felt his own will align with Gloomy’s, he came to realize that despite the defective personalities, they were just a part of him.

And yet, he couldn’t help but regret that he had to share the same traits as those three idiots.

His thoughts were broken up when his phone vibrated on the window sill. Blinking, Sunny picked up his cellular device, finding a text message on the lock screen. Seeing the sender, he sighed in exasperation.

It seemed that he was going to be busy today.