Fate's Slave - Shadow Slave X Honkai Star Rail

Beads of sweat trailed down Sunny’s face as the reality of the situation settled in with crushing clarity. Seventy-seven seconds. Just over a minute. That was all the time they had before the Nightmare Gate fully manifested. It was not an abstract warning or a distant threat — it was right there, visible from the balcony, forming in the very heart of Belobog’s central square. The sight of it made his stomach tighten.

The Gate did not look like a conventional tear or rupture. Instead, it resembled a vertical distortion pressed into reality itself, like an invisible blade had carved a shallow wound into the world without breaking it open completely. Light bent unnaturally around it, refracting in warped angles that made it difficult to focus on directly. Even from this distance, Sunny could feel it. The inaudible screams emanating from it were somehow the loudest thing in the world, a silent chorus clawing at the edges of his perception. It had not yet become a true rift, but it was close. Too close.

At the same time, he felt the Call of Nightmare tugging at him, a familiar yet unwelcome sensation that urged him to pull on his anchor and descend into the Dream Realm. If he did, he would arrive somewhere near the Nightmare Seed that had birthed this Gate. Under normal circumstances, that would have been the worst course of action. This time, however, Sunny momentarily considered it, though rejected it in the end. His instincts told him that stepping into the Dream Realm right now would only complicate things further.

His phone remained in his hand, the alert still glowing on the screen, but his eyes had already moved past it. He noticed, almost absentmindedly, that there were multiple missed messages from Bronya. That alone should have been alarming, but he forced himself to ignore them for now. There was no time to sift through conversations when the world was about to tear itself apart in less than two minutes.

His thoughts raced, colliding into each other as he tried to piece together a plan. Nightmare Gates had been appearing frequently on Jarilo-VI lately, but there had always been a pattern to them. They opened far enough away from Belobog that the Silvermane Guards could establish a defensive line before the Nightmare Creatures began to pour out. Even then, the city itself had never been directly threatened, with the worst threats only being Fallen Nightmare Creatures.

This was different.

This Gate had formed inside Belobog, right in the center of the population. There would be no buffer, no defensive perimeter, no time for an organized evacuation. Civilians were already within the danger zone, and with only seventy-seven seconds to react, most of them would not even realize what was happening until it was too late.

Sunny’s jaw tightened as he ran through the probabilities again. A Category 2 Gate had only a ten percent chance of forming. The remaining ninety percent was split between Category 3 and Category 4. There was no point in hoping for the lowest outcome. Luck only ever worked in his favor at the last second, and with his [Fated] Attribute constantly dragging him into the worst possible scenarios, he had no reason to believe this time would be any different.

Seventy-seven seconds might have been a long time for someone like him, but it was nowhere near enough to prepare for what was coming.

If it turned out to be a Category 3 Gate, then there was still a slim chance of survival. It would begin by releasing Corrupted Nightmare Creatures, each one a full Rank above Sunny. Fighting even one of them was difficult. Fighting a horde would push him and Seele to their absolute limits. They might be able to manage the Corrupted Beasts, Monsters, and even Demons if they worked together efficiently.

But the moment a Devil emerged, everything would change.

Whether it was a Gate Guardian or just another creature in the swarm, a Devil would be enough to break their defense. And that was not even considering the civilians who would inevitably get caught in the chaos. Protecting them while fighting something of that level would stretch them too thin.

Beyond that, the situation became even more hopeless. Tyrants, Terrors, and Titans were all possibilities. Sunny had faced a Corrupted Tyrant before, but that had been under very specific circumstances. The Abundant Ebon Deer had not been focused on killing him, but on protecting the Ambrosial Arbor. Trying to replicate that outcome here, against something actively trying to slaughter everything in sight, was unrealistic.

If it was only a Category 3 Gate, then there was one possible solution. Clara.

As a Saint, she was a Transcendent, placing her on equal footing with Corrupted Nightmare Creatures. On average, a Saint could contend with a Devil. Considering Clara’s past as a Sovereign before being reduced back to a Saint, her experience alone made her far more dangerous than most at her Rank. If they could get her involved quickly enough, she might be able to stabilize the situation.

But if it was a Category 4 Gate...

Sunny felt a cold weight settle in his chest.

There would be no solution.

Saints had no business fighting Great Nightmare Creatures. The gap between those levels was not something that could be bridged through strategy or teamwork. He had seen that firsthand during the encounter with Phantylia. Even weakened, even holding back, she had nearly killed him and three other Saints. That had been a battle where everything had gone in their favor, and they had still almost died.

If a Great Devil, Tyrant, Terror, or Titan emerged from that Gate, Belobog would fall. It was as simple as that.

Sunny turned his head and looked at Seele. She was still staring at her phone, her expression tense as she processed the information. The earlier conversation between them, the confession, the rejection — it all felt distant now, overshadowed by the immediacy of the threat in front of them.

Veliona’s words echoed faintly in his mind.

Death has come for Belobog.

Sunny grimaced.

Then, without warning, he reached out and took Seele’s hand. The sudden contact made her flinch slightly, her attention snapping back to him. Confusion flickered across her face, mixing with the lingering tension from before.

"Sunny...?"

He smiled faintly, though there was something undeniably sad in the expression.

"Sorry. I can’t let you be a hero today."

The words did not make sense to her, not immediately. Her brows furrowed as she tried to interpret what he meant, but before she could ask, something moved behind her.

There was no warning.

A shield slammed into the back of her head with precise, controlled force. The impact knocked her forward, her body going limp almost instantly as consciousness slipped away. She collapsed before she could even react, her grip on reality severed in a single moment.

Sunny caught her before she hit the ground.

A thin line of blood trailed down from where she had been struck, but it was shallow. It would not kill her. Even if there was internal damage, her Ascended healing factor would take care of it within a few days.

Behind her stood Saint.

The Ascended Demon remained completely still, her onyx armor absorbing the fading light of the sky. Her burning eyes locked onto Sunny, silent and unwavering, as if awaiting further instruction. There was no hesitation in her actions, no doubt. She had done exactly what was required.

Sunny exhaled slowly, adjusting his grip on Seele’s unconscious body as he prepared to move.

That was when something strange happened.

The air shifted.

A flurry of red butterflies erupted into existence nearby, their wings tattered and uneven, as though they had been torn apart and stitched back together. They moved in chaotic patterns, gathering into a single point before collapsing inward.

From that distortion, another figure stepped out.

Seele.

No — Veliona.

Her presence was unmistakable. Her eyes burned with a deep crimson hue, and streaks of the same color ran through her hair, contrasting sharply against the rest of it. There was an ease to her posture, a confidence that differed entirely from Seele’s usual demeanor.

Sunny blinked, momentarily caught off guard.

"You... can separate?"

Veliona shrugged as if it was nothing worth explaining in detail.

"Ascended Ability, though, we’re weaker like this. You know what to do."

Her gaze lingered on him and the unconscious Seele in his arms, and for a brief moment, something softer passed through her expression.

"In case you didn’t know, she and I feel the same. Lucky you."

Before he could respond, she vanished.

Her body dissolved into afterimages, red butterflies scattering in her wake as she launched herself toward the Nightmare Gate with terrifying speed.

Sunny reached out instinctively.

"Wait! Where are you—"

His words were cut off by a deafening explosion.

In the distance, a massive cloud of dust and debris erupted into the air, rising high above the city as something tore through the Overworld with overwhelming force. The ground trembled beneath his feet, and the sound of collapsing structures echoed across Belobog.

Sunny’s attention snapped toward the source.

Three presences rose into the sky.

Each one radiated power on a level that made his instincts scream.

A section of the Overworld had been completely destroyed, the massive plate breaking apart as it collapsed downward into the Underworld below. The screams of civilians carried upward, blending into a chaotic chorus of panic and destruction.

As the dust began to settle, the figures became clearer.

The first presence was actually two.

Svarog descended rapidly, his massive frame cutting through the air as he fell back toward the ground. His body had changed. The new chassis was more refined, the plating denser and more compact, as if every component had been optimized for efficiency and power. The single ruby eye at the center of his head glowed brighter than before, casting a faint light across the surrounding area.

Sunny’s sight pierced deeper, looking beneath the surface.

Soul Essence flowed through Svarog in controlled streams, drawn from five Transcendent Soul Shards embedded within his system. The last time Sunny had seen him, there had only been three.

On Svarog’s shoulder stood Clara.

Her white hair and red coat fluttered in the wind as her gaze locked onto one of the figures above. Her expression was focused, unwavering, completely devoid of hesitation.

High above them, the other two figures remained suspended in the air.

One of them was being held.

The other was the one doing the holding.

The man wore elaborate armor, its design almost excessive in its detail. Spade motifs ran across its surface, shifting between shades of blue, green, and black. A mask-like helmet concealed his face entirely, and atop it sat a fedora, tilted at a casual angle that contrasted sharply with the intensity of the situation.

His hand gripped the neck of his opponent with effortless strength.

Sunny’s perception shifted again, looking deeper.

The man’s soul was... wrong.

It was filled with Corruption.

Not the uncontrolled, chaotic corruption of a Nightmare Creature, but something restrained. Controlled. The sheer density of it rivaled that of a Corrupted Rank creature, yet it remained contained within his being, as if it had been tamed. Furthermore, he wasn’t attacking Clara despite his defiled soul.

A Saint with an Aspect tied to Corruption?

Sunny frowned. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Then his gaze shifted to the figure being held.

And his expression changed.

Recognition struck immediately.

Cocolia.

Or what remained of her.

Time had not been kind. The last time he had seen her, she had still retained a largely human form, albeit one already touched by the Stellaron’s influence. Now, that humanity had been stripped away almost entirely.

Her body had transformed into something monstrous.

Her blonde hair had faded into a pale, almost lifeless shade. The frozen horn protruding from her forehead had grown larger, more pronounced. Her legs had twisted unnaturally, the joints bending in reverse. Her skin had taken on a cold, bluish hue, as though the warmth had been drained from it completely.

A mask of ice covered the lower half of her face, leaving only her golden eyes visible.

Her limbs were elongated, stretched beyond normal proportions, ending in jagged claws of ice. In one hand, she held a spear formed from solid frost, its surface uneven and sharp.

She drew it back.

Then thrust forward, aiming directly for the man’s head.

Sunny’s perception pierced deeper one final time.

Where there had once been a human soul, there was now only Corruption.

Pure, unfiltered, absolute.

And in that moment, Sunny understood.

This was not something that could be saved.