Fate's Slave - Shadow Slave X Honkai Star Rail-Chapter 459: Serpentine Advice

The dark waters of the Soul Sea rippled faintly as Sunny turned his attention toward the coiled presence resting somewhere beneath the surface of his skin.

For a few seconds he simply stood there in silence, arms folded, gazing across the endless expanse of black water and unmoving shadows. The countless silhouettes scattered across the sea remained motionless, their shapes stretching across the mirror-like surface like an army of ghosts waiting patiently for a command that would never come.

Sunny sighed quietly.

"Serpent."

The response was immediate.

The tattoo wrapped around his torso stirred.

At first the movement was subtle — a faint shifting sensation crawling across his skin as the coiled image began to move. The dark ink slid slowly along his ribs and shoulder like living shadow, the pattern writhing as though something beneath his skin had begun to awaken.

Then the tattoo peeled away.

The black lines detached from his body in long, fluid strands that fell downward onto the surface of the Soul Sea like droplets of spilled ink. The darkness spread across the water before gathering again into a twisting mass that rose upward in slow, deliberate coils.

The creature that emerged from the liquid shadow was enormous.

Serpent’s body uncoiled gradually from the black sea, its obsidian scales glistening faintly beneath the dim halo light cast by the four Shadow Cores above. The snake’s body was thick enough that Sunny couldn’t even wrap both arms around it, and its length stretched outward across the water in layer after layer of silent coils. If the creature had chosen to extend itself fully, Sunny suspected it could easily have swallowed several humans whole without difficulty.

Its head rose above him like a living tower.

Two black eyes stared down at him, each one deeper than the void beneath the sea.

They were not simply dark.

They were absence.

The moment Sunny met those eyes, he felt the brush of alien presence slide across his thoughts. It was not speech in the traditional sense — Serpent did not move its mouth or produce sound — but rather a quiet pressure against the edges of his consciousness as something ancient and cold pressed words directly into his mind.

"My lord."

Sunny rubbed the back of his neck and looked up at the massive snake.

"Yeah. That’s me."

Serpent watched him in silence for a moment, its vast body shifting slightly across the water with slow, effortless grace. The creature did not blink, but Sunny could feel its attention examining him with quiet scrutiny.

"You have progressed well."

Sunny shrugged faintly.

"Yeah, I’m pretty awesome."

Another ripple of mental influence flowed into his mind.

"More strength is required."

Sunny snorted softly.

"That much is obvious."

Serpent’s enormous head tilted slightly.

"You must collect many mates."

Sunny blinked.

"...What?"

The snake remained completely serious.

"Your bloodline must spread. Strong offspring will strengthen your legacy."

Sunny stared at it for several seconds before dragging a hand slowly down his face.

"...That’s your advice? The hell?"

Serpent elaborated nodded.

"Is companionship not what you seek?"

Sunny blinked slowly at the enormous serpent towering above him, then folded his arms as if that alone might restore some control over the direction this conversation had taken.

"It definitely is."

The words left his mouth smoothly, confidently.

Then his mind caught up with what he had just said.

Sunny frowned.

That... had not been what he intended to say.

’...Damnation.’

Serpent remained perfectly still, its endless coils resting upon the dark water while those abyssal eyes studied him with quiet patience. The creature did not seem surprised by his answer.

Sunny immediately opened his mouth to refute that statement.

"I absolutely want companionship— FUCK!"

His grimace twisted as his cheeks reddened.

A faint ripple passed through the surface of the Soul Sea as Sunny slowly lowered his head into his hand.

"...That is not what I meant to say."

The silence that followed was painful.

Sunny closed his eyes for several seconds before exhaling heavily through his nose.

His Flaw had always been inconvenient.

At times like this, it was outright humiliating.

Then he stared at the water beneath his feet as if it had personally betrayed him.

Serpent observed him calmly.

"The truth reveals itself."

Sunny dragged both hands down his face.

"Can we please pretend none of that just happened?"

Serpent did not respond.

’...This bastard was cuter when they weren’t a smartass.’

Sunny groaned quietly and turned away, staring out across the endless sea of shadows while trying to regain some semblance of dignity. Unfortunately, the longer he remained silent, the more his mind kept replaying the last several sentences he had accidentally confessed out loud.

Eventually he forced himself to speak again.

"My point still stands."

The words came out a little sharper than intended.

"No self-respecting woman would ever agree to the kind of ridiculous arrangement you’re suggesting."

Sunny shook his head firmly.

"If they did, I’d assume they didn’t actually want me very much."

The admission slipped out easily.

Sunny grimaced again, but at least this time it had been intentional.

"If someone really cared about you, they wouldn’t want to share you with a dozen other people. That’s just common sense. Anyone who was fine with that would either be lying to themselves or not care enough in the first place."

Serpent watched him quietly.

Sunny crossed his arms.

"Besides, I don’t need a relationship. Not now. Not later. I’m perfectly prepared to live the rest of my life without anything like that."

He hesitated briefly.

"I will live the rest of my life without anything like that."

Sunny paused, then looked mildly annoyed.

"...That sounded way more certain than I intended."

The serpent’s presence pressed against his thoughts again.

"Your loneliness is obvious."

Sunny snorted.

"Everyone is lonely."

Serpent’s gaze did not waver, though, fortunately, the topic changed.

"You must become cooler."

Sunny blinked.

"...Cooler?"

"Yes."

The answer carried absolute certainty.

"Of course, you are already the coolest, my lord. But even the coolest can become cooler. Shadows are not feared for their splendor, but by the constant, creeping presence of Finality."

Sunny stared up at the ancient but not really Shadow Creature for several seconds before scratching the back of his head.

’...Oh. So, Serpent’s kind of a kid? Yeah, that makes sense. Compared to Saint and Nightmare, they’re only a few years old — assuming they were born the moment I unlocked the first step of Shadow Dance. A really distinguished kid, though.’

The creature simply continued studying him with that same silent, unblinking attention.

After a moment, Sunny sighed and shifted the conversation to something that was hopefully less embarrassing.

"Alright, let’s talk about something useful."

He glanced up toward the four eclipsed Shadow Cores hanging in the sky above the Soul Sea.

"You were given to me by the Shadow God himself. That means you probably know how someone like me is supposed to grow stronger."

Serpent’s presence deepened slightly, the mental pressure of its attention becoming heavier.

"I will give three pieces of guidance."

Sunny nodded.

"Good."

The first answer arrived immediately.

"Kill."

Sunny frowned faintly.

"That’s not exactly groundbreaking advice."

"Kill as many living beings as possible, my lord."

Sunny gestured toward the countless figures standing across the dark waters.

"I’m already doing that. That’s how I collect Shadow Fragments."

Serpent’s coils shifted again.

"You misunderstand."

Sunny’s expression grew mildly skeptical as Serpent continued:

"Kill. Kill for the sake of killing. Kill to feed the shadow. Kill to not be killed. Kill because the world demands it. Kill those who flee. Kill those who resist. Kill those who do not yet know the must die. Kill the weak, then kill the strong. Kill the beings who think themselves eternal. Seek those who cannot be killed. Be killed by them. Understand killing. Understand what it takes. Understand the fear before. Understand the solace that follows. Understand the mysteries between. Understand the moment when a life ends. Understand th moment when yours will. Become killing. Become the blade of destined death. Become the hand that holds it. Become the reason it must fall. Become the inevitability at the end of every Path. Then..."

Serpent paused.

"Kill yourself."

Sunny blinked.

"Wha...?"

"Kill the self that fears. Kill the self that hesitates. Kill the self that begs the world for mercy. Kill the name you were given. Kill everything that believes it deserves to live. Only then..."

Serpent lowered in reverence:

"May you become death."

***

Sunny squinted at his Serpent for a moment, before turning to look at the audience. He stared directly at... you. Yes, you.

’Are you hearing this? Yeah? Great, I’m not losing my marbles... whatever a marble is.’

Sunny frowned. Why was Serpent so edgy? Was this what it felt like to deal with Sunny? If so, he apologized to everyone that he has ever met. Except Phantylia. And Solvane. And Sparkle, because why not?

Moreover, what did any of that even mean? Surely, some of those couldn’t be literal...

Right?

After a brief pause, the second piece of guidance arrived.

"Become one with the world’s shadows."

Sunny frowned.

"That sounds important and also completely meaningless."

Serpent continued:

"The darkness around you is not separate from you."

Serpent’s presence flowed through his thoughts.

"You are its child. And yet, the shadows of this world are not aware of your name. Let them embrace you, and embrace them in turn."

Sunny rubbed the back of his neck.

"...And what exactly does that mean?"

Serpent did not answer.

Several seconds passed.

Sunny waited.

Nothing came.

"...You’re just going to leave it at that, aren’t you?"

The snake remained perfectly still.

Sunny exhaled slowly through his nose.

"Not very fantastic."

Then the third piece of advice arrived.

"It is improper for a Divine Shadow to exist without a Servant."

Sunny raised an eyebrow.

"...A Servant? Aren’t I the slave here?"

"Or a Messenger. That works as well, though, I’d be displeased to share my space with a reptilian."

Serpent’s admission was... a bit hypocritical, considering that Serpent was a reptile themself. Besides, reptiles were the best! Lizards, snakes, dragons...

Sunny shook his head to snap himself out.

"I already have Shadows."

"We are extensions of you. You are not an extension of us. Thus, we do not function properly as a Servant."

Serpent replied calmly. Sunny frowned again.

"...Then what are you talking about?"

Serpent did not elaborate.

The enormous creature simply stared down at him in silence. Sunny folded his arms and waited.

Nothing happened.

"You gave me three pieces of advice and explained none of them."

Serpent did not respond.

Sunny stood there for several seconds before finally letting out an irritated sigh.

"...What a bad boy— uh... thing? Bad snake, I mean."

The serpent’s vast coils shifted slowly across the dark water, but it offered no further clarification.

Sunny scowled faintly.

’Where’s my silly snake...?’

As he thought those words, Serpent subtly tilted its head.

Sunny waved a hand dismissively.

"You can go back to being a tattoo."

Serpent obeyed immediately.

The enormous body collapsed inward as if its physical form had never truly existed. Darkness spilled across the water before rising upward again in thin streams that crawled across Sunny’s torso like living ink. Within seconds the familiar serpent tattoo had reformed across his ribs and arms, its shape settling into stillness against his skin. Living scales seemed to shift, and Serpent’s fangs seemed to glint as the tattoo’s head settled right over his heart.

Sunny glanced down at it briefly.

"...Thanks for nothing."

The Soul Sea fell silent again.

For a moment he simply stood there, staring out across the endless expanse of shadows while thinking about the serpent’s cryptic advice. None of it made much sense yet, but the creature had clearly believed what it said.

Eventually Sunny shifted his attention toward another presence resting within his soul.

"Saint."

A tall figure stepped out from the darkness several meters away.

Saint emerged silently from the shadows, her onyx armor gleaming faintly beneath the dim light of the Shadow Cores. Ruby eyes stoically glinted from under her visor.

She had a sword and a shield, but both had been destroyed, and didn’t seem to return when she healed.

"...Right."

Sunny scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"I need to figure something out with that."

Saint did not react.

He cleared his throat.

"I wanted to ask you something."

No response.

Sunny waited a moment before trying again.

"...Saint?"

The tall knight remained perfectly still, her gaze fixed somewhere beyond him as though she were carved from black stone.

Sunny frowned.

"You can talk, right?"

Nothing.

He stepped a little closer.

"I was hoping you might know something about Nether? You know, the guy who made you?"

Saint remained silent.

"And the war between the Gods and the Daemons? You were there, right? Maybe?"

Still nothing.

Sunny stared at her for several seconds.

"...Are you ignoring me?"

The Ascended Demon continued staring into the distance without the slightest change in expression.

Sunny sighed quietly.

"Maybe you’re just shy."

Saint did not respond.

After another moment Sunny rubbed his face and shook his head.

"...My favorite Shadow is antisocial."

He waved a hand.

Saint vanished instantly, dissolving back into the depths of his soul without a word — not before sending him a glance.

The Soul Sea returned to stillness.

Sunny stood alone beneath the eclipsed sky once more, surrounded by thousands of silent silhouettes standing across the endless dark water.

He folded his arms and stared out toward the distant horizon.

"...This is going to be a long night."