Fate's Slave - Shadow Slave X Honkai Star Rail

Seele climbed over some rubble with an annoyed expression. She was caked in dirt from the amount of times she had tripped over random obstacles, like the overgrown roots of living trees, pitfalls that were supposed to land her into the maw of some creepy hole-digging creatures, and and plenty of risky tussles against all kinds of monsters.

Although she made multiple stops to rest, she hadn’t gotten any sleep in the days it took to travel. She got lost a couple of times, considering the directions she had recieved were simply to ’keep walking until you reach the edge.’

’Couldn’t he have just took me along? Does he need ’alone and edgy’ time, or something?’

Seele’s lampooning came to a halt.

Several Nightmare Creatures lay dead on the ground, some of them cut to pieces, some strangely lacking any wounds, but utterly broken — as though something terrifyingly powerful had crushed their bodies with inhuman strength.

The shadows suddenly moved, and a split second later, Seele was already holding her scythe in the same manner Sunny had taught her. After a few moments, she lowered it in relief.

Out of the shadows, a tall and graceful figure in elaborate black armor stepped out, two ruby flames shining behind the visor of her helmet. In one hand, she wielded a steadfast kite shield forged out of dull steel, and in the other, an austere sword, it’s blade still dripping with rancid blood of the slaughtered abominations.

Seele’s gaze lingered for a few moments.

"H—Hey, Miss Saint... where’s that sneaky bas— I mean, Sunny? Where’s Sunny?"

The taciturn demon tilted her head a little, stared at Seele for a few moments, then silently turned around and walked away.

’I guess I should follow.’

The pair — a stalwart knight and a young girl — walked along the edge of the island. Seele’s eyes glimmered with awe as she saw the vast landscape beyond the Chained Isles, connected by a massive chain stretching towards a crumbling fortress. Soon, the heavenly smell of roasting meat reached her nostrils.

A few seconds later, Seele froze, her mouth hanging open.

A firepit was built in the shadow of an ancient wall, strips of juicy, generously seasoned meat roasting over the coals.

But that was not all.

There were also fresh vegetables and succulent fruits, a copper cezve producing the unmistakable smell of freshly brewed coffee, and a few more things that people very rarely saw in the Dream Realm.

The person responsible for all this revelry was sitting in a comfortable folding chair, lazily enjoying a slice of melon.

When he saw her, an impish smile appeared on his face.

"Oh, you actually made it! Looks like you’re not hopeless, after all..."

With that, the young man jumped out of the chair, reached into a pot full of ice, paused, then sent her a questioning look.

"Hey, Seele... are you old enough to drink...? Actually, who cares? You’re old enough to kill things, so catch! Don’t tell Nat!"

Seele reflexively clasped the frosty bottle of cold, expensive beer with an astonished look.

Sunny grinned.

"No need to thank me! But if you insist... maybe do something about that smell. Seriously, all that blood and sweat is going to ruin the vibe."

***

Some time later, Seele had satiated their hunger, cleaned herself up with the Endless Spring, and was sleeping with a dreamy expression on her face. Sunny had given up his folding chair and was now sitting on the ground. He was inwardly lamenting the fact that Covetous Coffer was not large enough on the inside to fit several... at least not yet. Maybe after he becomes a Master, things would be different.

It was late at night, and there were countless stars sprinkling the dark sky. Sunny began to ponder if the Dream Realm had any stellar activity, or if those stars were just for show.

Staring at Seele’s resting form for a few moments, he considered getting some sleep as well. Interestingly, his narcolepsy didn’t have much of an effect when he was in the Dream Realm. Which clearly meant that it was a problem associated with his real body, and not his soul.

He wondered if it would be fixed when he became a Master. If not, would he have to deal with his narcolepsy in the Dream Realm as well? That sounded very dangerous.

Pulling out a sleeping bag from the Covetous Coffer, Sunny was just about to tuck himself in when Seele, or rather, Veliona, jolted awake.

Her eerily glowing crimson eyes glanced at the remains of their feast, then Sunny, then the folding chair she had been sleeping on, then the sleeping bag Sunny pulled out, then back to Sunny himself.

"...Are you rich?"

He didn’t feel very safe anymore. Sunny sighed.

"Maybe if you’d pay a little attention, you’d know that I’m the most successful entrepreneur on these damn islands. Actually, maybe even in the entirety of Belobog. I’m not made of money — unfortunately — but I can definitely make a statue of myself out of credits."

She frowned.

"I didn’t ask all that. Are you rich or not?"

Sunny snorted in annoyance.

"Yes, I am. Why, exactly, do you feel the need to bring this up now?"

Veliona shrugged.

"Sunny, I have a serious question... think about it before answering... take your time, too. Will you marry me? No, seriously! I am reformed. Instead of killing you, maybe you could give an eyeball at our wedding."

He sneered.

"No. Denied. You shameless gold digger. Also, are you drunk?"

Normally, he wouldn’t need to ask that question, but when it came to Veliona, who knew? He didn’t even have a sip of any alcohol — both because he knew someone needed to keep an eye on her, and also because he hates it, for whatever reason.

The day he gets drunk is the same day the world ends, which is not anytime soon, he hoped.

Veliona made a disappointed face, before shaking her head.

"I’m not drunk. I can’t get drunk."

Sunny raised a brow.

Then, she got up from the foldable chair.

"Hey, there’s some food on your cheek. Let me get it for you..."

’There it is... the usual attempt to end my life.’

Sunny narrowed his eyes as he planned out his escape, before suddenly flinching.

’What the...’

Sunny didn’t expect it, so he almost lost his composure. He had not known that he possessed such an ability, but it seemed that the evolution of the Blood Weave had enhanced his eyes, as well.

Suddenly, he was able to peer beneath the surface of Veliona’s soul, just like he was able to peer beneath the surface of Memories and Echoes to study their weaves.

As a living soul, Seele and Veliona did not possess a spellweave, of course. However, they did possess their unusual variations of a Soul Core — two of them, in fact, known as Duality Cores.

They looked like a pair of twin moons, one reflecting a serene azure, while the other shone with a red and bloody brilliance.

Sunny was so lost in his observations that he didn’t notice when Veliona sat beside him until she began poking his face. He immediately flailed away, patted down his face to make sure nothing was missing, then sighed.

"Idiot. There’s no crumbs on my face. I can see myself whenever I want!"

That’s what his shadow was for.

She pouted, then grinned as she tucked herself under the sleeping bag — which belonged to him, by the way. She patted the exceedingly narrow space beside her.

"Huh. Looks like we’re going to have to share. What are you waiting for?"

Sunny stood up, sending her a very particular look.

"I want to keep my life, actually."

’How else am I going to continue eating my precious syrup vessels?’

At the thought, Sunny’s mood lifted instantly. Then, sitting back on the comfortable folding chair that Veliona abandoned, he thought for a few moments.

"Aren’t you too tired for this? Seele passed out right away after she finished eating."

Veliona turned in the sleeping bag she stole from him, and explained:

"Actually, I was taking a nap on the inside. Don’t tell her that secret, though. She might start calling me out to get some sleep."

Sunny stared at her, baffled. Then, he laughed.

"That’s smarter than anything I thought you could do."

She seemed to have a proud expression on her face.

"Well, I’m something of a genius..."

She wasn’t aware that he was insulting her.

Veliona paused for a few moments.

"I guess she’ll figure it out anyways when she wakes up. That’s fine, though. That weakling needs all the sleep she can get!"

Sunny sighed.

"Don’t you think you’re talking too much? I don’t know about you, but I actually want to sleep."

She blew a raspberry at him. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

There were a few moments of silence. They heard the distant cries of Nightmare Creatures in the background, but they weren’t very concerned. After a few moments, Veliona said with an unreadable gaze:

"You know... I don’t think I’ll be around forever."

Sunny raised a brow, then shrugged.

"If you say so."

She gaped.

"You’re not even going to ask what I mean?!"

Sunny huffed.

"I don’t particularly care. All things die at some point. Shouldn’t you know that better than everyone?"

Veliona scowled for a few moments, before turning back towards him.

"You’re weird, you know that? Compared to others, you have so many lines on your body, like death has it out for you. But... they all look so fake. Wrong."

Sunny snapped awake.

"What... what does that mean?"

"Dunno."

Sunny’s mouth hung open for a few seconds. Then, he sat back in his chair, disappointed.

"Why do I even keep you around?"

Veliona grinned.

"I know why I keep you around!"

He replied dryly:

"And why is that?"

In the end, she didn’t answer. Instead, she asked:

"...Can you promise me something?"

Sunny nodded, not caring if she saw him or not. He was getting pretty sleepy.

Veliona continued:

"You’ll keep protecting Seele, right?"

Sunny blinked a few times — whether from drowsiness or confusion, he didn’t know.

’...So that was her agenda this whole time.’

It was simple, really. Seele was the single constant in Veliona’s short existence, so it’s natural that she’d want to protect it. That may have been the only thing that stood between Sunny and death itself.

He hummed in response.

"With all the effort I put into coloniz— I mean, saving Belobog, it’d be weird if I threw away the single employee I got as a reward for doing so."

’Phew. Almost let my grand plans slip.’

Veliona tucked under the sleeping bag, completely hiding herself until he couldn’t even see her head. Sunny faintly heard a muffled:

"That’s good."

Sunny’s gaze shifted to the empty beer cans. He should probably get rid of those before any alcoholic Nightmare Creatures smell them from kilometers away.