The last time Sunny was in Stargazer Navalia, the situation had been chaotic.
Apprehend the Stellaron Hunter; that was the task given to the Astral Express at the time. One so utterly ridiculous and unreasonable that Sunny could hardly believe what he was hearing. Jing Yuan must have been mad, asking two Masters and a random old man to deal with Kafka, of all people.
Granted, it was likely that Jing Yuan had planned to send Fu Xuan in the first place, but... even so, he was practically sending them off to their deaths. No Master could last more than a few moments against a Saint — with very, very few exceptions.
Whether the General had calculated Sunny to be one of those exceptions was a mystery. Not that it mattered. The deciding factor of their battle wasn’t reliant on how ’special’ Sunny was. Rather, his life had been dangling in Kafka’s hands, and if she decided to reveal just a little murderous intent...
Sunny certainly would have been caught in her web without reprieve.
There was just something... off. About her, that is. Something that made the edges of his mind skitter in familiarity and dread, both in equal measures.
Blade’s presence had been malevolent, evil in a way that no matter how much someone etched and inked, no amount of human skin could possibly convey the pure wickedness concealed under thin lines of sanity.
Firefly had been hot and indomitable, wild and infernal in nature. Sunny’s never seen the twisted Slaver’s flames in an offensive capacity yet, but he could only presume that the moment she released the wildfire burning beneath her skin, the world would melt, giving way for the chaos she spread.
As for Silver Wolf... it was a little odd. There was hardly anything outstanding about her, on first glance. Nor the second or third. But after a fair amount of time, all spent glancing and peeking, one would eventually conjure an image in their head.
That of an empty glass, waiting to be filled with something beautiful.
But why did Kafka trouble him so much? What could have possibly put her above the depths of sin, an ocean of raging flame, and a vessel of limitless potentiality?
The answer was simple. What he had described was simply the objective sensation felt when within the Stellaron Hunters’ presence. Saints and Masters stood out in that kind of way, and while Sunny was far keener when it came to these kinds of things — things that could kill him, that is — that did not mean that he was exaggerating.
The mysticality of it all made it difficult to explain, but...
There was something fearful, animalistic... primal, whenever Sunny saw Kafka. Something in the very back of his mind, buried under numerous other observations.
It was telling him to run. To avoid becoming prey. To live on, even if only for a few more instances...
Or to kill her first.
He had brushed it off as an instinctual precaution, something he commonly did when finding himself surrounded by powerful, as well as not-so powerful people. Assume that they may try to kill or subjugate him unless proven otherwise.
But that was fueled by logic. And rationale, and intelligence, and caution, and all the things that kept Sunny alive in a world that lacked them.
Kafka was different. It was like his soul was telling him that the two of them couldn’t coexist. And perhaps he would have believed it, if the voice wasn’t so feeble and tiny.
Somehow, Sunny’s intuition was telling him that it really was just him. That it wasn’t an effect of her Attributes or Aspect Abilities, and that it wasn’t her own fault that he felt like that.
Was it [Sunless], perhaps? Maybe that wretched Slave thought it was about time to wake up, now that his dear Master had come to play.
There was no way to know. No way to ask without sounding suspicious or like a lunatic. He was definitely not going to ask Kafka herself.
There was only so much information Sunny could hide, and the wrong question may reveal his ill emotions. That wouldn’t be ideal whatsoever.
Jingliu, who Sunny and Sushang were trailing, terrified him in a similar, yet far less subtle way. It was more natural — why wouldn’t it be? That woman was a true demon when it came to swordsmanship, refining the fundamentals to a degree beyond absolution. A single cut may cleave the heavens, and should the heavens split, it would not rift. Jingliu’s blade would sever so cleanly that none would notice that the heavens were torn asunder in the first place.
That was rational. It was logical, and it made sense. Why shouldn’t Sunny be scared of a swordswoman who embodied perfection?
Kafka was an anomaly. One that he wasn’t sure he wanted to figure out.
...Wait a minute, how did he distract himself for so long? He had more important things to pay attention to!
***
Dan Heng eyed Jingliu with poorly hidden anxiety.
Stargazer Navalia was where the starskiffs were manufactured, as well as where they were docked. He found himself surrounded on all sides by ships, sleek and swift as if they were all designed to be able to operate in dogfights. Even the non-military ones, the ones unused by the Cloud Knights, but used by civilians and merchants, instead.
It was oddly quiet, as well. Dan Heng felt like there should be some activity here. He was aware that there was a bit of a fight here, a few months ago during the Stellaron crisis, but considering the lack of visual damage, it all must have been repaired.
So why were there no workers? No tourists? Anyone?!
The scene was perfect for crime. Especially the murderous kind.
While Dan Heng questioned if today was going to be his last day as Dan Heng, Jingliu paused before a control panel. She looked at it with an unreadable expression, one that was only made more unpredictable by the concealment of her eyes.
As Dan Heng stared at the panel from a distance, vaguely realizing what it was for based on the loose scattering of keywords.
"You... want to assemble a ship?"
Was that her getaway plan? Although she said that she would return to the Shackling Prison, there was no rule saying that she couldn’t lie.
Rather than directly answer his question, not that it needed one, she deigned to ask a question of her own, caressing her chin as she wore a thoughtful expression.
"Imbibitor Lunae, have you ever heard of Baiheng, the Foxian pilot?"
Teal eyes widened as every last joint in his body locked up. Something... something...
"If memories are returning to you, share them."
...There was something, wasn’t there?
No, no, no...
Dan Heng’s lips, feeling dryer than ever, parted.
"I can’t remember anything."
Jingliu hummed, as if unconcerned with the contents of his answer despite being the one who questioned him in the first place. Or second place? Whatever the case was, she seemed unbothered by his response.
"But you’ve learned how to lie. Well... that’s all in the past now. The reason we came to Stargazer Navalia is because I wanted to pay tribute to her here."
Ignoring her jab, no matter how true it may be, he specified:
"The Foxian soul-soothing ceremony?"
She nodded, gazing inquisitively at the screen.
"I never had the chance to bid farewell to her... and neither did Dan Feng, for that matter."
The reincarnation of said man frowned for a few moments. Jingliu continued, yet, oddly, never touched the screen.
"As for procuring a starskiff, I know they can be manufactured here... but I know nothing of the process."
...Well, that explained why she had been doing nothing. Dan Heng sighed, pinching his brow.
"I can’t—"
"Ah, I already know that you’re completely inept at such things."
...At what? Technology? Dan Heng considered himself as familiar with it as anyone else — not familiar enough as to operate a machine like this, however.
...It was just then that Dan Heng realized that Dan Feng likely wasn’t the type to own a phone, much less any other devices of a more sophisticated kind.
"What are we doing here, then?"
He allowed a tinge of annoyance to seep into his voice. Not only did she imply he was far less capable than he was, but she dared compare him to that... to that...
...When did Dan Heng get so prideful?
Jingliu didn’t seem to particularly care about the discrete glare aimed at her. Instead, she turned around slowly... before pointing towards a docked starskiff.
"You. Mind assisting us?"
Was she... talking to a starskiff? To make another starskiff? This was terrible. Dan Heng was regretting following that letter.
"I do mind, actually! But I’ll help anyways, considering I’m so generous."
Hearing a familiar voice, Dan Heng groaned into his hands.
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