Fate's Slave - Shadow Slave X Honkai Star Rail-Chapter 494: Side Story: The Master Plan II

Dan Heng did not speak immediately, which in itself was concerning, because he was not the type to hesitate unless something had genuinely gone wrong. His thumb hovered over the screen of Sunny’s phone, scrolling slowly, then faster, then stopping altogether as though his mind had finally reached a limit it could no longer process. The longer he stared, the more his expression shifted, composure eroding in subtle increments until what remained was something far closer to quiet horror than mild concern.

"I... think this is impossible."

Sunny blinked, leaning back in his chair with a faint frown as he watched the slow collapse of Dan Heng’s mental state with idle curiosity.

"Why’s that?"

Dan Heng did not answer immediately. Instead, he dragged a hand up to his head, fingers brushing against the curved golden Dromas horns that had become an increasingly inconvenient part of his existence, as though grounding himself in something physical might help stabilize the sheer absurdity of what he was witnessing.

"Sometimes, I wonder if your Aspect has something to do with seduction. Stellaron Hunters, Chrysos Heirs, Emanators... and now this. Why do you have a Lord Ravager in your direct messages?!"

Sunny’s expression flattened.

Then, slowly, he leaned forward.

"What? Khaslana? He’s just an Emanator of Destruction, not really a Lord Ravager..."

Without waiting for permission, he snatched the phone from Dan Heng’s hand and glanced down at the screen, his eyes scanning the conversation before widening in genuine, unfiltered disbelief.

"What the fuck? I’ve never even met this Celenova chick!"

There was a pause as he processed that.

Then another.

Sunny inhaled deeply, dragging a hand down his face in a rare display of actual fatigue.

"Geez... it’s a good thing this isn’t canon whatsoever. I can’t help but hope my actual self isn’t going through this crap, and is happily living his monogamous life with Cassie. The lilac one, not the blonde."

Dan Heng stared at him.

"...What?"

Sunny sighed, as though burdened by knowledge far beyond what anyone in the room should reasonably possess.

"Well, this is just a spin-off. The author plans to write me out of the story temporarily by the time this point of the narrative is reached, which means I logically shouldn’t be sitting here right now. Also, some depressing stuff is about to happen in the next few Chapters, so this is basically an early consolation gift for the readers."

Dan Heng’s face did not change.

If anything, it became more blank, as though his mind had simply refused to engage with that information on any meaningful level.

"So... you’re telling me... that the real you isn’t a womanizer. But I got stuck with this version instead."

Sunny snorted, leaning back again with a saddened expression.

"I said I hope he’s monogamous. I never said he actually is."

Then, without warning, he raised his middle finger toward the ceiling.

"Fuck you, Elio!"

A beat passed.

Then Sunny blew a kiss.

"And thanks!"

Dan Heng watched that entire sequence unfold with a growing sense that reality itself had begun to unravel around him in ways that he was neither equipped nor willing to understand. Still, despite everything, he forced himself to refocus, because if he allowed Sunny to continue unchecked, the situation would only worsen.

He took the phone back.

Scrolled again.

And immediately regretted it.

"In any case, you somehow forgot about Herta and Ruan Mei... even though you told them you would meet up."

Sunny blinked again, though this time his reaction was far less dramatic.

"Yeah, that’s not what you think. I got dragged into some nonsense about creating a Shadow-human hybrid while also testing how my Lineages interact with a Beyonder of the Door Pathway. Specifically today, which is incredibly inconvenient. Also, I hate Ruan Mei’s guts, so that’s not happening."

Dan Heng sent him a long, deeply pitying look.

"...Just don’t do anything you might regret. Otherwise, you might get teleported into the Void." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Sunny scoffed immediately.

"When have I ever done anything stupid — don’t answer that!"

Dan Heng rolled his eyes, already moving on.

"You also forgot Silver Wolf."

Sunny laughed.

"That’s funny. We’re just going to play a game."

Dan Heng made a noncommittal sound that conveyed exactly how little he believed that.

"Sure. Anyway, that’s two bodies accounted for. You can probably share one between those two twins—"

Sunny’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Dude!"

"—I know what kind of man you are. Which means you still need five more bodies. Which you do not have. Laziness is really starting to catch up on you."

He paused.

Then his expression shifted.

"...Six bodies, actually. Guess it never mattered if you were lazy or not."

Dan Heng shivered.

"How did we forget about the Imperator?"

Sunny stared at him for a second.

Then giggled.

"Heh. IMPerator. Get it? Because she’s short like an imp. And is also literally an imp."

Dan Heng did not laugh.

"She will execute you. If you want to live, you should prioritize her. In fact, just throw multiple bodies at her."

Sunny waved a hand, utterly unconcerned.

"Relax. She’s probably too busy committing genocide to care about me. I can totally skip this one."

***

Far away, in the warped, abominable lands of the Dream Realm, where reality twisted into something hostile and wrong, a battlefield stretched endlessly beneath a fractured sky.

Nightmare Creatures howled as they were torn apart.

Armies clashed in brutal, unrelenting waves.

Amidst it all stood a single, small figure.

A royally petite woman with light blue hair sat upon a throne that had been carved from something that had once been alive, her cold gaze fixed upon an empty seat beside her. Around her, soldiers of every Rank before Supremacy fought and died in her name, their struggle nothing more than background noise to her simmering displeasure.

Her fingers tapped once against the armrest.

Twice.

Then she sneered, her voice quiet but absolute.

"Death to the Jester."

The air itself seemed to shudder in response to the future Black Emperor’s words.

***

Back on the Astral Express, Dan Heng stared at Sunny with the distinct, unshakable certainty that he was about to witness a tragedy unfold in real time.

Sunny, meanwhile, leaned back in his chair, completely oblivious, a smug grin still plastered across his face as he tapped his fingers against the table like a man who believed himself untouchable.

Dan Heng exhaled slowly.

"...You’re going to die. And I might just let it happen."