Fate's Slave - Shadow Slave X Honkai Star Rail

Rivet Town was an area of the Underworld that was uninhabitable due to the Fragmentum that consumed it. It was relatively common to find Shadewalkers and the like roaming it’s streets, making it a very treacherous area to be in.

Even deeper within the town, there was a cloud of fog, unmoving like a veil to isolate the outside world. The fog took the place of what should have been a hill, completely enshrouding it within. If one were to somehow step into the fog, they would be blinded completely.

However, what if they didn’t lose their ability to see?

The space within seemed hundreds of times larger from the inside compared to the outside. In the midst of the area, a building stood tall — an orphanage.

From an outsider’s perspective, they might catch a glimpse of icicles being shot through the walls, barreling at terrible speeds as they pierced whatever stood in their path. Other times, they might witness strange, purple flashes of light and illusory butterflies through the windows.

They would also hear some very, very loud screams. One of which would sound like steam was being released within a cave of ice, while the other sounded like a boy who’s voice had no business being so high-pitched.

And on the rarest occasions, they may hear a certain word be shouted out:

"Damnation!"

"Damnation!"

"Damnation!"

Sunny’s dire shouts echoed throughout the corridors, causing Seele to wonder if any neighboring towns could hear him. He held a bat in his right hand, and an amulet with the symbol of a sun in his right.

There he was, sprinting away from the supposed Ascended Terror with a look of pure horror on his face. The eerie abomination was a blur as it bounced off the walls, miniature spears of ice rocketing towards him as he somehow maneuvered around them.

Meanwhile, Seele was chasing after the specter herself, attempting to damage it while Sunny was a distraction. Unfortunately, it was simply too elusive for her to make contact with. Somehow, the wraith was able to avoid her and pursue Sunny with ease.

[Come on... you won’t be able to cut it even if you landed an attack. Just switch with me!]

Ignoring Veliona’s desperate pleas, Seele snarled as she appeared next to the abomination, the Moonlight Shard already raised to stab into it. As expected, the entity disappeared into an incorporeal form. It then reappeared directly behind Sunny, it’s turquoise claws poised to gouge into his torso.

To her surprise, he whirled around with a malicious glint in his eyes, slamming the bat into it’s claws as a shockwave caused cracks to spread across the walls. The Terror’s ingrained weapon chipped, the eerie roars that it exuded intensifying from what she guessed was pain.

The being disappeared once more, causing the two of them to begin running again lest they become unmoving targets for it.

The battle that took place was... unusual. It was something Seele wouldn’t be able to believe if she was told about it the day before.

The three of them were fighting on the physical level, using normal attacks with a bat, a pair of claws, and a dagger. Naturally, they used these weapons to destroy the body of the other, whether through blunt force or penetrating power.

As such, it was a constant chase where getting hit even once would put one side at a severe disadvantage. It became obvious to Seele, as even though the specter kept changing it’s form to remove the physical injuries, it slowly became more sluggish. Not to a degree where the two of them could jump it, but to the point where they could barely manage to survive.

Of course, this was simply on the physical level.

The peculiarity of this conflict stemmed from the nature of their abilities. Sunny had the ability to step into the shadows, allowing him to take on their form as he moved without risk of physical damage. He was also able to instantaneously teleport between shadows, increasing his mobility exponentially.

Seele had her Fluttering Shift, which gave her the ability to swiftly phase between two points. The space between the two points was affected by whatever attacks she had readied before using the Ability.

In simpler terms, she would bring up her weapon before using her Awakened Ability. Once she did use it, her weapon would be in the position that concluded an attack. The time between the readying of her weapon and the end of her attack would be placed between the two points of movement, allowing a singular attack to register for anything in the space between.

...She was able to attack while phasing. The specifics didn’t matter too much.

Lastly, the wraith had the ability to become incorporeal — just as it’s namesake suggested. If they were still within the fog, then it would have been able to teleport in the same manner that Sunny did, but that ability was limited due to the fact that they were in the orphanage. As such, the only thing of note was that it was extremely difficult to touch it.

Of course, Veliona would still be able to interact with it’s lines even after it becomes untouchable.

[If you understand, why aren’t you letting me out?!]

’Just shut up...’

[No, you shut up!]

Feeling another consciousness take control of her body, Seele almost tripped as she attempted to resist, pulling back control.

’Stop doing that!’

[No, you stop doing that!]

’I’m going to kill it!’

[No, I will!]

A splitting headache caused Seele to see double. Red lines flickered in her line of sight, a strange sense of dread rising within her.

They were something that no human should see, something that defied the natural order of the universe. There was no rest to be found after death... all she could see was...

The End.

"Ah...]

Seele... Seele(?) felt something converge within her, her soul feeling like it was being dried up. Her eyes rolled up, glued to the intersecting lines that were drawn across the ceiling. Her voice seemed to echo a second time with each word she spoke.

"Just... die...]

***

Sunny ignored the thud he heard until he felt the wraith’s shadow move away from him. It didn’t disappear, as he could clearly sense it moving through the physical realm. He turned around, his eyes widening at the sight.

Crumpled over on the floor was Seele, who hadn’t been injured in the slightest — besides the nosebleed which she vehemently rejected to explain when they first got to the orphanage. Could she have been that exhausted?

He had no time to contemplate such things, as the specter was already lunging towards her.

Fortunately, his other two shadows had returned a few minutes ago. Sending one out, Sunny called upon Saint. The graceful stone knight stood before Seele’s fallen form, shielding her from the wraith’s approach.

The entity stepped back when Saint appeared, deterred by her presence. Instead, it attempted to attack Sunny again, continuing their deadly chase.

He smirked in amusement, sprinting away.

’It’s smart enough to know not to fight Saint without the fog to assist it, but not smart enough to realize that she’s too injured to put up a good fight.’

As he evaded the wraith, he recognized a certain spot ahead of him. It was the entrance that they had used to initially enter the orphanage.

Suddenly, he tripped, rolling across the floor a few times before setting himself on his back. He looked at the wraith with nothing but fear and trepidation on his face.

It slowly approached him, it’s form reminiscent of an arachnid. It crawled towards him patiently, preparing to impale him with one of it’s many legs.

Sunny frantically moved back, scrambling away as he tried to escape. Of course, his attempts were futile.

Raising one of it’s ice front legs to pierce him, the Terror made a horrific sound. Sunny raised his hand, closing his eyes with a resigned expression as one of his shadows moved from his body to the floor. Another crawled up his hand, coating a small object he held.

It’s leg fell with terrible speed, stabbing into Sunny’s skull.

"Or so you’d think."

Instead, the wraith suddenly caught on fire. An amulet with the symbol of a sun was held between Sunny’s head head and the wraith’s leg, a smoldering light flashing at the point of contact. A split second later, a gunshot reverberated against the walls, a bullet denting it’s body. Due to the impact, the wraith stumbled away from Sunny’s downed position.

Bronya stepped out of one of the rooms, smoke wafting from the barrel of her gun. She smiled at Sunny, glancing at the amulet he held within his hands.

"I’m glad that you were able to find a use for that Memory. For some reason, it never worked the way it was supposed to..."

Standing back up, Sunny grinned as he ignored the rampaging, burning specter. It seemed to be crashing into the walls, screeching as it attempted to put the fire out. He raised the amulet that had started the inferno.

"Actually, it’s only effective against spirit-like creatures. I guess the flames are more like a purification ritual...?"

Most of the Memories that Bronya had given him were useless — he either had a better alternative, or their functions weren’t very good. Only three of those Memories were kept, while the rest were fed to Saint. Even then, two of them were going to be used by the stone knight more than he did himself.

Everwinter Night — a charm that provided a small resistance to the cold, while providing a strength boost in the same conditions.

Sky Reacher — a great sword that had the ability to extend it’s reach, while also becoming sharper based on the user’s will to survive.

Lastly, there was the amulet he held within his hand.

Memory: [Sunflare Talisman].

Memory Rank: Awakened.

Memory Tier: VII.

Memory Type: Tool.

Memory Description: [The lost have a tendency to roam where they don’t belong. As such, the Sunflare Talisman was created by the Sun’s followers for the sole purpose of cleansing malevolent beings who disrupt the world’s cycle of life.]

Memory Enchantments: [Incinerate Anthem].

Enchantment Description: [This talisman produces flames when in contact with spirits.]

Naturally, Bronya wouldn’t be able to deduce the functions of the Sunflare Talisman without being able to see the enchantments. The description was too vague to understand, and she must have tested it in multiple ways. Who would have thought that it had to be used specifically on spirits?

Besides, he doubted that she would encounter a wraith-like entity often on Belobog. The same was true for the Dream Realm...

Sunny blinked. Now that he thought about it, besides Seele, where were Belobog’s Awakened stationed at? Realistically, they should have met someone from the outside world within one of the citadels.

Filing the question away for later, Sunny turned towards the burning phantom. At some point it stopped screeching, portions of it’s body melting away before fading into ether.

Although the Memory was only of the Awakened Rank, it’s weave was exceptionally complex. There was only a single enchantment, so it gained the maximum amount of effectiveness that it could possibly have. Not only that, but the hyperspecialization of the enchantment made it excessively lethal to the revenant.

And it was of the seventh tier, meaning that it was obtained from an Awakened Titan. It was only natural that the wraith would have a difficult time withstanding the flames. As an Ascended Terror, it was a Rank higher, but a Class lower.

Even so, the main reason that it had no hope for survival was because it was no longer within it’s element. Without the fog to strengthen it, the specter was nowhere near the terrifying might of a Ascended Terror. It was a Devil at most, which was something that Sunny might have been able to beat even if the odds weren’t in his favor.

So, he patiently watched it burn with murderous glee.

He paused, forcing Gloomy to slide off his body.

’What a psycho...’

His thoughts trailed off as he saw a figure appear at the end of the hall. Sunny turned to Bronya for a moment, before looking back.

It was Seele.

However, something was... off.

"...That reminds me... why wasn’t Seele with you?"

At Bronya’s words, he shrugged, keeping his eyes on the silhouette that was slowly approaching them.

"She passed out, but I guess she’s fine now."

Under the crackling of the purifying flames, Sunny breathed a sigh of relief when he found that Saint was right behind her. Maybe it was simply his imagi—

His eyes widened when purple and red butterflies filled the hall, disappearing the moment they made contact with something. Above the burning mass of ice was Seele, plunging down on it with the Moonlight Shard in her hands.

A panicked expression appeared on his face.

’My Shadow Fragments!’

Before he could stop her from stealing his... Ascended... Terror... that’s twelve Fragments, the dagger already stabbed into the wraith.

’No!’

The specter started to crumble apart, disappearing in motes of light.

A sudden announcement from the Spell distracted him from lamenting the Shadow Fragments that HE had worked the hardest to obtain.

[You have defeated a Fallen Terror, Architect of Lost Preservation.]

[Your shadow grows stronger.]

[You have recieved a Memory...]

’Huh?’

The kill had been counted as his own. Breathing a second sigh of relief, he felt a surge of excitement at the new Memory he had recieved. However, he ignored it to look at Seele.

Her hair shadowed her eyes, disguising whether she was Seele or Veliona. She pulled the Moonlight Shard out of the wraith, dismissing it as she jumped off it’s crumbling corpse. She took a few steps towards Sunny, extending her hand towards him.

Hesitant, Sunny cautiously did the same. Grasping his hand, he felt something flow into him.

[You have recieved a Memory: Moonlight Shard.]

He blinked as he felt his Memory return itself to him. He looked up from their hands, staring at Seele’s covered face. She also looked up at him...

A pair of mismatched orbs looked into his own.

Crimson gazed at him. Violet stared at him.

Gold blinked in confusion.