Sunny snapped the picture almost on instinct — a full-frame shot of the massive jade vessel floating outside the Astral Express like some myth given form. His phone struggled to focus for a moment before the name appeared in the corner of the screen.
Xianzhou Luofu
Sunny stared at it like it had personally offended him.
"…What?"
March leaned in over his shoulder, before gasping.
"I have no idea where we are, but that name is giving me ideas."
"A ship? A planet? No! A fucking planet-ship…! Can't even take a nap in peace on this train!"
Sunny rubbed the bridge of his nose, a faint sense of irritation prickling along the back of his neck. It wasn't just confusion — it was the feeling of being moved, of something shifting beneath him without his permission. He hated that feeling.
March's voice broke into his thoughts again.
"Wait. Dan Heng. He should've woken up too, right? He always wakes up early."
Sunny shook his head.
"No. He's not here."
March blinked.
"You didn't check."
Sunny rolled his eyes.
"I'm always checking. Come."
He didn't wait for her to catch up. He moved, quick and quiet, strides clipped with annoyance. March, to her credit, kept pace. They reached the data bank, and Sunny pushed it open without hesitation.
The room was neat, minimalistic, exactly the way Dan Heng kept it. The digital archives on the wall seemed completely untouched. Nothing was wrong with his stuff, either.
Except for the large, rectangular gap in the wall.
March gasped.
"His pod!"
Sunny stepped closer, expression tightening as he took in the empty space — bolts, wires, brackets, all neatly removed, not ripped out. Someone had taken the entire pod, with Dan Heng asleep inside.
March swallowed.
"…Sunny… someone kidnapped Dan Heng."
Sunny hummed.
"Where I'm from, that means you're probably going to get your organs harvested and sold to cannibals in broad daylight. Eh, he has new organs now, anyways."
March's voice rose a pitch.
"That is not reassuring!"
Sunny didn't argue. He didn't bother to explain the cold certainty settling into his bones, the familiar sense of something he couldn't see tightening around his neck. He only turned and walked toward the Parlor Car.
March followed, fidgeting with her sleeves.
"Shouldn't we… check for signs? Or try calling Welt? Or—"
Sunny cut her off.
"If Welt did this, he had a reason. And if someone else did this… then we'll deal with it when they show themselves."
March frowned.
"That's not comforting either!"
Sunny almost said it wasn't meant to be, but he didn't get the chance.
Because halfway across the Parlor Car, he froze.
A ripple in the air. A presence. Something stepping into being behind them.
Sunny turned sharply, shadows surging towards his heels, ready to tear.
A hologram flickered to life — soft blue light forming into the shape of a woman. She was inhumanly beautiful in a way that didn't reassure, but ensnared: smooth, symmetrical features framed by soft violet hair, lips curved in a smile that understood far more than it revealed. Even her stillness carried the poise of a spider at the center of its web, threads invisible yet unmistakably present. The faint tilt of her head, the lazy half-lidded gaze — all of it suggested someone who had already wrapped the entire room, the ship, and everyone in it in silk, and was merely waiting for them to realize they were caught.
Kafka.
Sunny's muscles went rigid. His throat tightened instinctively, an old reflex from a life he couldn't fully remember.
March tensed beside him.
"W-who—"
Sunny scowled.
"A Stellaron Hunter."
Kafka tilted her head, her voice sliding out smooth and lazy, like silk over glass.
"Hello, you two. You're awake. Good."
March bristled.
"Why are you on the train?!"
Sunny facepalmed.
Kafka smiled faintly.
"Relax. I'm not here in person. If I were, you wouldn't still be standing."
Sunny's jaw clenched.
That voice… that tone… something deep inside him recoiled at it. Recognition without memory. Instinct without understanding. His two shadows stirred uneasily.
Kafka continued, unbothered.
Kafka continued, unbothered.
"Three weeks ago, we took Himeko. Welt followed us to negotiate. He's on the Xianzhou Luofu now — dealing with a Stellaron crisis the Cloud Knights believe we started. As usual, their suspicions are…"
She gestured vaguely.
"…Inconvenient."
March stiffened.
"You kidnapped Himeko?!"
"Mm. Yes."
Kafka's calmness made it worse.
"She's safe. For now."
March looked horrified. Sunny felt nothing.
Kafka went on.
"Blade was taken by the Cloud Knights. I want him freed, so Welt will make sure of that. And I told Welt that Dan Heng would be important."
Her eyes slid to Sunny.
"So he took the boy with him."
March's hands balled into fists.
"And Pom-Pom? What did you do to them?"
Kafka blinked slowly.
"Nothing. I don't know where they are. But they're still on the train."
Sunny's eyes narrowed.
"…What?"
Kafka almost smiled.
"You'll see."
Then her gaze sharpened, pinning him.
"I'm offering you the same deal I gave Welt. Help stabilize the Stellaron crisis. Help me retrieve Blade. In return, you'll have Himeko back — alive — and avoid the unfortunate deaths of… oh… at least half the Luofu's population."
March sucked in a breath.
"Sunny, we can't just—"
"No."
His voice cut through the car like a blade.
Kafka raised a brow.
"No?"
Sunny folded his arms.
"Nah. I think I'll be just fine doing absolutely nothing."
March's mouth fell open.
"Sunny!! She's kidnapped!"
"And I'm not dying for her."
Kafka didn't look offended. She didn't look anything.
She simply tilted her head.
"Then half the Luofu dies. Including innocents. Children. Entire generations. You could stop it."
Sunny didn't even blink.
"Not my problem."
He dove into the shadows, vanishing from the Parlor Car in a smear of black.
Kafka's hologram dissolved behind him just as March called his name, voice cracking.
***
Sunny reappeared in his room, glancing around for something. Turning to his bed, he found a small folded note.
He stared at it for a few seconds before picking it up.
Two lines. Neat handwriting.
Whatever was written there made him snort — a humorless, begrudging sound.
"These guys can really make a deal, huh?"
He had noticed someone appearing in his room through his shadow sense. Seeing that a small object was placed, he had a couple suspicions when comparing to previous events. Such as his computer being put together without his input, the Soul Shards from the Dreamscape Tournament being left in his room… it was quite obvious what was happening, now that this note was left on his bed.
Sighing, he used the chance to put on some mundane clothes, pulling them out his closet at random.
A moment later, he came back into the Parlor Car.
March jumped at his sudden reappearance. Sunny held up a hand before she could speak.
"We're going."
Her eyes widened.
"W-wait— really? Just like that?"
He shrugged, already walking.
"Yep. Also, we need to get anchored to a new Gateway. The Chained Isles are too dangerous, after… you know."
The figure in white as well as the endless puppets still sent shivers down his spine.
March blinked, completely thrown off — but her relief was visible.
She followed him quickly, almost smiling.
Sunny didn't look back.
'I do need a new sword…'