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Dan Heng steals a not-so-surreptitious glance at the bird perched on the rooftop, as he walks two steps behind Silver Wolf and… that man.
How did he end up in this situation again?
He wonders whether Sunday’s still tuning in. Perhaps the bird is listening in to his conversations… well, not like there’s much conversation being done. Blade has gone silent, and Silver Wolf is busy tapping out messages to who knows who.
Of course, thinking of Sunday leads to thinking of the Express, thinking of home, and soon enough Dan Heng finds his thoughts drifting to Stelle again. As they usually do.
He sighs.
“So help me, brat, if you sigh one more time I’ll make sure you meet the pointed end of my sword.”
“Hey,” Silver Wolf pipes up before Dan Heng can retort. “Play nice.”
“This is the sixth time,” Blade snaps.
Silver Wolf raises an eyebrow.
“In five minutes.”
“That’s an overreaction,” Dan Heng retorts.
Surely it’s only been three times at best. And really, can anyone blame him? So far on this planet Dan Heng’s been unwillingly roped into a General’s strange schemes, forced to play the part of an assassin, and sent on a wild goose chase to find this guy out of all people.
And he hasn’t seen Stelle once.
He’s heard of her antics in passing of course, and he’s been kept up to date with pictures and videos she keeps sending him. Apparently she’s the head of that growing journalist company – the one with the cute animals that look a little like her.
Dan Heng wants to visit that place. He wants to see her.
Why did he choose to split up again?
“We’re here,” Silver Wolf says, with a pop of gum.
Dan Heng looks up to see the flickering neon lights of a late-night convenience store.
“What?” both him and Blade say in unison. The older man glares at him.
“I thought we were searching for your missing detective?” says Dan Heng.
“We are,” Silver Wolf replies. “But I want to drop in and buy something first. I won’t take long.”
And without waiting for an answer, she slips inside the store, only pausing to shoot a quick ‘don’t kill each other’ as she leaves.
And Dan Heng is left standing outside with Blade.
Alone.
Surprisingly enough, Dan Heng has realised he’s not afraid of the man anymore. If anything, all he feels is a pang of pity for Stelle’s maybe-father. The thought that Shuhu’s flesh might be consuming his body like a parasitic fungus, even as he stands here idle, is enough to make his skin crawl.
But even though he may not be afraid of Blade, every cell in his body is still wary. The man may seem docile at the moment, but if Yao Guang’s prophecy is to be trusted, then that could change at the drop of a hat.
Not for the first time, Dan Heng wishes that the Stellaron Hunter known as Kafka was here. According to Stelle, only she has the power to subdue the mara that threatens to consume Blade.
Who’s idea was it to bring this guy to the planet of Elation without the woman who acts as his leash?
“Your thoughts are too loud. Stop thinking,” Blade growls.
“You would do well to try it sometime,” Dan Heng retorts, before he can stop himself.
Ok, perhaps he is still a little sour over the numerous attempts Blade has made on his life. Along with the fact that he (and all of the Stellaron Hunters, in fact) abandoned Stelle without a second glance. Even if they did have their mysterious, undisclosed reasons for doing so.
Blade stands with his back to the wall, busy fidgeting with the bandages on his hand. Dan Heng can see spots of blood begin to blossom from underneath the wraps.
“Why are you here anyway?” Dan Heng says, before he can stop himself. “The Planet of Elation… it doesn’t seem like the type of venue to fit your…”
He looks pointedly at the man.
“...tastes.”
‘Emo-edgelord’ he can hear Stelle grin in his mind’s eye. Dan Heng fights the urge to smile.
“...Elio asked me to act,” Blade replies after a lengthy silence. Well, at least he isn’t ignoring him.
Suddenly, Dan Heng realises that this is the perfect opportunity for a little interrogation. If he’s being forced to travel with this man, the least he can do is take some information away with him to relay to Stelle. She’s always asking questions about the Stellaron Hunters, questions neither he, nor the data bank, have any answers to.
How to begin though…
“Are you Stelle’s father?” Dan Heng asks, with all the subtlety of a crashing train.
Whatever Blade was going to say dies in his throat as he shoots Dan Heng the most withering glare he’s ever received from the man. For a second Dan Heng wonders if Blade is about to draw a weapon on him.
He summons a little Cloudhymn magic to his hands… just in case.
“What type of question is that?” Stelle’s maybe-father hisses.
I should have asked Silver Wolf.
“Stelle’s talked about you before,” he elaborates. “Apparently you were close enough to fight alongside each other back when she was a Stellaron Hunter.”
Blade somehow manages to adopt an even sourer look than before. If the situation wasn’t… whatever it is, Dan Heng would even be impressed.
“Why are you talking to my daughter?” Blade snaps.
Dan Heng gapes at the man. Is he… serious?
“We’re–” Dan Heng cuts himself off from saying ‘married’, just in the nick of time. He still doesn’t know whether that little secret has managed to make it to the Stellaron Hunters, and he certainly doesn’t want a blade to his throat for his efforts– “...close. Also, we live together? It would be impossible for me not to speak to her.”
Blade mutters a vicious Xianzhou curse-word under his breath, along with something that sounds like: “I knew I should have brought the shotgun.”
Dan Heng decides that it’s long past the time for a change in subject. Unfortunately, nothing but Stelle comes to mind.
He kicks a few stones into the gutter, staring up at the moon again. Unconsciously he begins to wonder: is Stelle staring up at this same Phantasmoon too? He wonders whether she’s faring ok as a Supplicant (but of course she will be, it’s Stelle), and whether she’s missing him as much as he is her.
After his 1000 year trek on Amphoreus, Dan Heng’s separation anxiety has reared its ugly head like a vengeful dragon. He’s been slowly and surely trying to tame the unhealthy panic, but it still manifests despite his efforts. Sometimes it gets so bad it physically aches.
Planarcadia seemed like the perfect opportunity to do his duty as the Guard of the Express, and focus on the mission Himeko gave him. The planet was low-stakes enough that he could trust March and Stelle to stay safe without his need to be there.
That was… until Stelle went ahead and joined the Phantasmoon games.
He sighs again, and is quickly greeted by the sound of Blade unsheathing his sword. Quick as lightning, Dan Heng’s gripping his spear in his hand and deflecting a sharp attack to his chest.
“Really?” he grunts, shifting his grip on his weapon.
“I warned you,” Blade hisses.
“Alright, alright, enough,” groans the third voice in their party.
Silver Wolf walks out of the convenience store, a copy of ‘Fluffy Across the Blue’ in hand and two slushies in the other.
“What did I say about killing each other?”
Blade huffs, and sheaths his sword. After a few seconds of wary tension, Dan Heng dismisses his own weapon.
He almost misses the slushie getting thrown his way, relying on his quick reflexes to catch it in time. Blue raspberry – Stelle’s favourite flavour.
Dan Heng blinks at Silver Wolf. He didn’t think she was actually serious.
“Thank you,” he says.
“Don’t mention it,” she replies with a wave of the manga in her hand. “Think of it as a thank you gift for protecting our little Anomaly back in Amphoreus.”
Blade huffs. “He didn’t do a very decent job. Did she not die on entry?”
A flash of blood, dripping from his fingers, a halo of grey hair underneath a still body. Dan Heng freezes as the images barrel into him, still raw like an open wound even after over 2000 years.
“Shh,” Silver Wolf hisses. “It was part of the Script.”
“Hm,” Blade says. His piercing gaze finds Dan Heng. “I suppose… you did put effort into finding her. That in itself is a… commendable act of utter foolishness.”
If Dan Heng didn’t know any better, he’d think that was almost a compliment.
“Never let her die again though,” Silver Wolf tells him. “Or this guy is going to aim a shotgun to your head quicker than you can say ‘I’m a simp,’”
Dan Heng kicks off from the wall and begins walking again, a small frown creasing his brow.
“I am not a simp,” he retorts.
Silver Wolf snorts into her slushie. “Blade. Bladie. You hearing this? Mr. ‘I miss my wife’ is trying to defend his record-level yearning.”
Blade has clearly decided that he’s had enough, because he shuts his eyes and does not reply.
“I love Stelle, that much is true, but that doesn’t make me a…” Heat rises to the base of his neck. “...whatever.”
“Sure, sure,” Silver Wolf says. “It’s not like it’s written in the Script or anything.”
“What is?” Dan Heng replies. Does he have to have a strong word with Destiny’s Slave too?
“Nothing,” Silver Wolf says, with a very March-like grin. Dan Heng wisely decides to let the subject drop.
“Anyway,” she continues. “I’m surprised you didn’t sign up to be a Supplicant. According to the Script there was a small chance of you obtaining a mask… but by the looks of it you’ve decided to stay backstage for this mission.”
Dan Heng thinks back to Yao Guang’s ‘attack’ with the mask, and winces guiltily.
“Believe me… if I had known Stelle was a Supplicant… I would have taken that mask without a second thought.”
“Simp,” Silver Wolf points out, and Dan Heng rolls his eyes. She may have a point. “Though as I see it, this might be a better turnout for you.”
Dan Heng waits for her to turn the corner before he follows, just in case the Hunters have planned an ambush. He still isn’t trusting of them yet. He doesn’t think he’ll ever trust them.
“How so?”
“Now you won’t be in the running against Stelle. As a Supplicant, you might’ve been forced to fight her close to the endgame.”
“I would have dropped out before that ever happened,” Dan Heng points out. “I’m not in it for the victory. I just… want Stelle to be safe.”
There’s a strange look on Silver Wolf’s face as she replies: “You’re a good guy, Dan Heng.”
Blade scoffs.
He doesn’t have time to process that statement before a whirring sound catches his ear. In a flash, Dan Heng grabs his spear and whirls it around, only to realise that Blade’s done the exact same thing. They shoot twin glares at each other.
“Great,” Silver Wolf says. “The imagenae are here.”
Cruel, grotesque shadows bubble up from the corners of the street, their faces twisted in paintings of tragedy. It reminds Dan Heng eerily of a theatrical mask.
All of them are covered head to toe in red, bloody handprints.
“What the–”
“I’ll handle this–” Silver Wolf says, holding out a hand.
“No need,” Blade replies. “You focus on finding our target. We’ll get rid of them.”
We? Dan Heng thinks with some offence. Blade making the decisions irks him more than he expected it to.
But he can’t trust Blade to dispose of the enemy without the mara taking over… and this will also be a good opportunity to see if the man tries to backstab him in the middle of a battle.
“Follow my lead,” Dan Heng says, and then he heads into the fray.
The first thing he notices is that the shadows are big, but slow. It’s easy work to dispose of them with a spear thrust here, a stab there – even a well-aimed punch gets rid of the imagenae in a foul-smelling explosion.
The second thing he notices is that they don’t stay down.
“What–?”
On the floor lies an imagenae he speared through the chest, writhing and twitching. Like a zombie from those terrible horror films Stelle likes to watch, it rises from the dead and locks eyes on Dan Heng once again.
All around him, the beasts he’s killed rise one by one, limbs snapping back into place. Dan Heng backpedals and takes on an offensive stance.
What is this? Mara? How do I kill these–
“Brat!” shouts a gruff voice.
From the other side of the clearing, Blade is surrounded by fallen bodies. His sword drips with ink as he swipes at another one of the enemies, cleaving its mask in two.
“Aim for the mask!”
Dan Heng watches as Blade’s opponent falls to the ground, lifeless. So that’s the strategy.
Brushing off his irrational annoyance at that guy being the one to figure out the weakness first, Dan Heng picks up his spear again and stabs it directly through the mask of the first imagenae. With a warbly scream, it collapses to the ground and doesn’t twitch again.
He has momentum now. Another swing, kicking off of a body and spearing another one through the mask. One by one, he fells the imagenae, until the only ones left are the ones crowded around the entrance.
Both him and Blade rush for the remainders, knocking shoulders, then weapons and then scowling at one another.
“Out of my way,” he hisses.
“I’m on your side,” Dan Heng spits back. “Why are you fighting me?”
“You’re the one who attacked me first.”
It’s only in the nick of time that Dan Heng hears the imagenae sneaking up behind him. He whirls around and pierces its mask, but not before it can graze his arm with those wicked talon-like nails.
He hisses in pain. Trust Blade not to cover his blind side. If this was Stelle, she’d be giving the imagenae a home-run before it ever managed to come within 6 feet of Dan Heng.
Speaking of Blade… the man is busy finishing up, swinging his sword with furious, well-placed strikes. For a former blacksmith, he sure knows how to uphold his warrior stance.
In fact… that stance is eerily similar to Stelle’s, the one she uses when she’s wielding her baseball bat–
“Hey, Dan Heng, eyes over here.”
Snapping out of his reverie, he whirls around to face Silver Wolf, who’s holding out her phone for him to see. With faint surprise, he realises the street is completely clear of enemies now.
“What is this?” he asks, lowering his spear.
Before she can answer, he spots a glimpse of silver hair and golden eyes.
“Stelle.”
Silver Wolf grins.
“Seems like your lover–” Behind him, Blade hisses through his teeth– “has arrived at Star Rail FEST already.”
Dan Heng breathes a sigh of relief as he spots Stelle walking with Himeko and March. At least the girls are together. He can trust them all to keep an eye on each other in case things go south.
Which… will probably happen, he thinks with a sigh. Their track record so far on this planet hasn’t exactly been spotless. And this was supposed to be a break from everything.
“That’s good,” he says, and then almost in an undertone: “I hope she doesn’t agree to do any interviews.”
“Why?” Silver Wolf asks. “You don’t trust her media skills?”
“I don’t trust any of our media skills. But also, from my experience the press has a way of… twisting motives. I only hope that doesn’t happen to Stelle this time.”
“Even if it does, Stelle can handle it,” says Silver Wolf. “She isn’t one to be influenced by public opinion.”
“It’s not that,” Dan Heng replies. “I’m afraid of the amount of negative wishpower she might attract.”
“Hmm. Well, guess we'll have to wait and see.”
As Silver Wolf begins to dispose of the imagenae in a pocket aether-space, Dan Heng muses over their worst-case scenarios. If Stelle’s looking to win this competition (and if he knows Stelle, then she is definitely looking to win), then she’ll have to get as much wishpower as possible to stand a cut above the others.
He has no doubt that she could achieve that. Stelle is… breathtaking. Dan Heng may be a little biased, but even a stranger would know that Stelle’s very aura is captivating. One can’t help but look at her, be drawn in by her.
(Romantically too. He keeps seeing comments on the Furbobo website about a certain ‘Ashveil’ who everyone keeps shipping with Stelle. He’s half a mind to announce to the entire of Planarcadia that their beloved Baseball Raccoon is already taken.
But, of course, news of their marriage is being kept under wraps… for now. He still would like to have a stern word with this so-called Ashen Detective though.)
However, if Stelle attracts the necessary amount of wishpower needed to win… then it could have negative consequences. Too much concentrated power is a bad idea for a normal person.
For Stelle, with the Stellaron in her chest? That’s a disaster waiting to happen.
But neither Himeko, nor Mr. Yang, nor Stelle herself, seem concerned with this outcome. Is he being overly paranoid? Or is no-one else taking this seriously?
Dan Heng can’t tell.
“Stop frowning and hurry up,” says Blade from the corner.
He’ll have to put his trust in Stelle and assume she knows what she’s doing. She is much more perceptive than she lets on. She’s probably weighed out the pros and cons already.
Still… Dan Heng wishes he could speak with her. Once this mission for Yao Guang is over, he’s heading straight over there and checking whether she’s ok.
For now, he dismisses his spear with another (quiet) sigh and follows the two Stellaron Hunters with anxiety still simmering in his gut.
He has a bad feeling about these games.
“Yingxing,” says the man known as Ashveil.
If Dan Heng wasn’t on edge, he certainly is now.
The Detective was supposed to be none of his business. He’d stepped aside to let the Stellaron Hunters talk with the guy, keeping a wary eye on them all (he’s seen the news – apparently this guy was partly behind the attack on the city)... until Ashveil had started talking about the Finality.
Stelle’s already told him all about the Finality, of course. Along with the fact that she’s apparently fated to become the Finality.
(“Can someone’s Destiny be changed, Dan Heng?”
“I think… it can. You’ve shown me it can.”
“I have?”
“Of course. You changed my Destiny, didn’t you?”
Dan Heng, the exile of the Vidyadhara, fated to be alone forevermore. Just the fact that he has a family now is proof that his destiny was never set in stone.
But it goes beyond that. Stelle’s very presence changed his fate. Because if she had never joined the Express, and if she had never grown alongside him, wheedling her way into his heart in Belobog, and if she had never been beside him during their whole time in the Luofu… then Dan Heng thinks he might have taken up Jing Yuan’s offer to become the High Elder again.
“Dan Heng belongs to the Astral Express!”
He would have never wanted to leave the Express crew… but if Stelle wasn’t there fighting for him, a part of Dan Heng might have felt guilty enough to stay. For Jing Yuan, for Bailu, for a thousand other reasons that were too convincing for his guilty conscience to just ignore.
But Stelle had fought for him to stay. They all had. That was the moment that Dan Heng truly became a Nameless. It was the moment he finally escaped the High Elder’s shackles of Destiny.
All because Stelle believed he could.
“I believe you can change your Destiny,” Dan Heng smiles. “Nothing’s ever set in stone.”
“Heh. Saw right through me, huh?”
“I always do.”).
And then Ashveil had called out Yingxing’s name and they’d started talking, and now Dan Heng decides it’s long past time to make himself scarce. He doesn’t exactly want Ashveil recognising his face – a Detective could probably see Dan Feng in him just from a single glance.
Especially a Detective who might have apparently known his predecessor.
But it seems luck isn’t on his side after all, because as he’s sneaking into the shadows again, Ashveil’s voice calls out after him.
“Hey wait, kid!”
So much for not getting recognised.
He can’t exactly run away now, so Dan Heng draws his hood over his head in a feeble attempt at shadowing his face, and then walks forward. Thankfully, neither Blade nor Silver Wolf seem interested in him right now; they’ve both gone off to discuss their next plan in low voices, tapping out something on a complicated communications device.
“Leave the disguise kid,” Ashveil says. “I already know who you are.”
Dan Heng winces.
“I should’ve expected that.”
Ashveil scoffs. “Shadowy look, muttering about fate, travelling with the Stellaron Hunters. It’s abundantly clear to a Detective like me.”
Dan Heng waits for the reveal, silently hoping that Ashveil doesn’t interrogate him about Dan Feng’s past (after making peace with Dan Feng on Amphoreus, the memories of him have only grown hazy and distant) or even worse, about Blade–
“You must be Elio!”
Dan Heng’s jaw drops open.
…he can’t be serious?
But no, Ashveil is practically preening under his assumption, shooting confident side-glances to Dan Heng and waiting for… waiting for what? Praise?
Instead he gets a correction.
“Uh… no. My name is Dan Heng. I’m not… Destiny’s Slave.”
Ashveil looks crushed for about 0.2 seconds, before the emotion is quickly replaced by what Dan Heng can only describe as muted glee. He’s beginning to wonder whether he should just hang by Blade and Silver Wolf instead – at least Blade’s levels of insanity are somewhat tolerable – when Ashveil opens his mouth again.
“You’re Woof Woof Dan?! Ohh, Mr. N is going to have a fit knowing he missed out on this.”
“Who is Mr. N?” he asks, mostly to be polite.
“My sidekick,” Ashveil replies, and then pulls out his (pitifully thin) wallet and opens it to reveal a picture of…
“...is that a monkey?”
Suddenly he’s getting flashbacks to a very specific memoria virus, and Dan Heng decides it’s not worth the braincells to continue conversing with this guy. If this is the state of the Detectives on Planarcadia, then he has very little hope for the rest of the games.
He’s about to walk away, when Ashveil clears his throat again.
When he next speaks, there’s no trace of levity left in his tone. The complete turnaround sends shivers of fear up Dan Heng’s spine – a purely instinctive reaction.
“Hey, kid. You’re Stelle’s husband, right?”
How did he–?
Not even Boothill or Jing Yuan or anyone other than the Express Crew know that. So how did Ashveil…?
“I’m not a Detective just for show, you know.”
Dan Heng doesn’t bother to grace that with a reply.
“I’m not wearing a wedding ring. What gave it away?”
“I spent my fair share of time on the Xianzhou,” Ashveil replies, looping a set of keys around his finger. They create a discordant jangle in the air. “There’s plenty of details on Stelle’s coat that gave it away – I mean, come on man, a dragon wrapped around a red jewel? That’s hardly subtle, ‘Imbibitor Lunae’.”
The sound of his title makes every hair stand on end.
“But the biggest giveaway had to be the same calligraphy on your outfits. Same pen stroke and everything. Did you do that? Nice work! In fact it’s one of my favourite poems!”
He can’t discern whether Ashveil’s telling the truth.
“It’s certainly romantic, I’ll give you that,” says the Detective. “Sharing calligraphy was an old tradition between lovers back in the day, was it not?”
“Only the Vidyadhara lovers,” Dan Heng replies, old memories surfacing, unbidden. “As a physical memento between different reincarnations.”
The sigh Ashveil heaves is tinged with nostalgia. “Ah yeah, the Vidyadhara always were a romantic folk. Sang well too.”
How does he know that? Dan Heng thinks, shifting his stance once again. He torn between taking the defensive in front of this man who knows a lot more than he should do, or stepping forward to demand answers about Stelle’s wellbeing
Eventually, as expected, Stelle wins out.
“You were at Star Rail FEST with Stelle, right? How is she? I heard she got into a fight.”
Against some low level thugs, but still. There’s been rumours about a cult floating around, according to Sunday and Silver Wolf, and the last thing he wants is for Stelle to get mixed up in that sort of thing. Joining a cult by accident sounds like exactly the sort of thing she’d do… especially if they offered her an incentive like 10,000 credits or something.
To his surprise, Ashveil doesn’t brush off his worries straight away. His eyes flicker to the Stellaron Hunters, and then back at Dan Heng, as if he’s trying to come to a decision.
That sends every alarm bell ringing in Dan Heng’s mind.
“What is it?”
“Stelle…” Ashveil mutters. Whatever internal decision he was deliberating over, it seems he’s made a decision. “Alright, kid. Out of everyone, I’ll have a feeling you’ll understand this the most.”
“Understand what?”
Ashveil heaves a sigh. “Back at Star Rail FEST, your family fell through… let’s just call it a chasm in Planarcadia’s scroll. I don’t have time to go into the details – I’m sure your companions will tell you all about it anyway – but I saw something there that I think might be too dangerous to just ignore.”
If Dan Heng wasn’t stressed before, he certainly is now.
“What kind of danger?” he asks slowly. He can handle weapons, factions – he’s even managed to stave off an emanator before. Surely with the whole Express family, it shouldn’t be too much of an issue–
“Uh,” Ashveil says sheepishly. “My current bet is that it’s an Aeon.”
You have got to be kidding me.
“You saw an Aeon?” Dan Heng deadpans. He doesn’t quite believe the Detective. How can an Aeon be on Planarcadia and escape everyone’s notice??
“I get it sounds insane, but trust me on this,” Ashveil taps his nose twice. “This trusty thing never lies. The scent of this Aeon is the same stink that won’t ever leave my room, no matter which planet I run to.”
“The Hunt?” Dan Heng asks quizzically. He remembers Stelle telling him that Ashveil was apparently a Galaxy Ranger.
The Detective heaves a sigh. “Be grateful it isn’t. If Skybow was after your girl, you’d have much bigger fish to fry.”
“Wait.” All the blood in Dan Heng’s body chills. “The Aeon you encountered… it’s after Stelle?”
“Well, why the hell do you think I’m telling you all this, kid?”
His heart skips a beat and Dan Heng begins to pace. An Aeon? With its gaze on Stelle? Aha? Nanook?
“Ouroboros,” Ashveil mutters, so quiet Dan Heng thinks he’s imagined it. He hisses a sharp inhale. “I’d bet my boots on it.”
The Voracity?? After Stelle? She hasn’t texted me about it yet… but then maybe she hasn’t had time. They’ve barely managed to catch a breather after Star Rail FEST.
What did they say to her? What are they after? The Stellaron? The power of a Supplicant? Or something related to Terminus themselves?
Dan Heng doesn’t have the answers and it tears at him. He can’t let Stelle fall into any danger. Should he contact her? Make sure she’s ok?
But how in the universe is he supposed to fight an Aeon??
(A part of Dan Heng knows he would, without question. Even if he had to ascend to Long themselves – he would face-off against anything to keep Stelle safe. Even an ancient, long-dead Aeon).
“Cheer up, kid,” Ashveil says, and Dan Heng startles as the man places a hand on his head and ruffles his hair. It’s the sort of grandfatherly gesture that Mr. Yang would give him. “Stelle’s not going to come to any harm if I can help it.”
Dan Heng crosses his arms, trying to appear like he wasn’t just agonising over the possibility of Stelle being in grave danger… again. Judging by the knowing gleam in Ashveil’s eyes, he’s not doing a very good job.
“How can you promise that?” And the unspoken question: “what do you know that you’re not telling me?”
He sighs. “I can’t. But I doubt Aha’s going to let their 'prized supplicant' go anytime soon. And I doubt that kid’s weak enough to let an Aeon get to her that easily – especially with that… thing in her chest.”
Dan Heng can’t help but agree with that.
“And then there’s you guys – the Nameless! Is Woof Woof Dan really going to give his beloved Baseball Raccoon up without a fight? That doesn’t sound like the adorable little creature I know.”
Well… he has a point.
“Alright,” Dan Heng mutters. “...thank you for telling me.”
“Don’t mention it! Just promise me this: don’t do anything too reckless, ok kid?”
Ashveil’s gaze shifts over to Blade, a melancholy look creeping into his eyes. His tone drops.
“I don’t want a disaster happening again, no matter what happens. I’ve seen too many terrible disasters to be able to stomach one more.”
(And suddenly Dan Heng's given a memory that isn't his own: Dan Feng watching glowing sigils surrounding the corpse of his dead friend, blood on his hand, in his mouth, Yingxing with Shuhu’s flesh in hand, Yingxing screaming in agony.
“Dan Feng!! Yingxing! Why?! Just tell me why?!”
Jing Yuan’s agonised voice, Jingliu’s broken expression, the taste of permanence in the air, power crackling and surging. A beast. A monster. A man.
This was not his disaster.
And then another memory: Stelle waking up beside him with a smile on her face, Stelle running off ahead to point out some curiosity to him, Stelle teasing him with a grin as they sat under the starlight and leaned on each other.
In this terrible game, everyone is watching Stelle… Aeons included. Sometimes it feels as if the universe’s very gaze is permanently set on her as it assesses the actions of the Anomaly. Will Aha find her worthy? Will Ouroboros steal her first?
Dan Heng doesn’t know and he doesn’t care – he knows his mission. He just wants Stelle to live a long, happy, life… as a Nameless, together with their family. She deserves it, and he would do anything to give her that.
Even if it means he has to bring about another disaster.)
Ashveil gets a strange, pensive look on his face. He tuts and sighs, shaking his head with a fond grin.
“Yeah, should’ve known you could never promise me something like that. You care about that girl too much.”
Dan Heng bows his head, embarrassed. “I do.”
“Good on you, Vidyadhara kid. Good on you.”
Suddenly they’re interrupted by the sound of Silver Wolf clearing her throat, and Blade’s generally annoyed glare (Dan Heng absently wonders whether he's even capable of another expression) as he stares the two of them down. Clearly the Stellaron Hunters have finished up with their business.
“You done?” yawns Silver Wolf. “If we want to get over to our next stage before this guy goes insane, we’d better get a move on.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Ashveil chirps, kicking off into motion. He pauses by Blade, clapping him on the back. “Hang in there, old friend. I was just telling your buddy over here about how I want this whole thing to go smoothly. Though judging by the way the games are going, that might just be a fool’s dream.”
Blade hisses: “he’s not my ‘buddy’” before Dan Heng can even get a chance.
“Bad blood?” Ashveil asks cheerily. Silver Wolf looks at him like he’s grown a second head. “Well… I guess naturally there would be.”
Well, obviously, Dan Heng thinks with a sigh. Despite Blade being a bit more… lucid compared to when we last met on the Xianzhou, we’re not exactly back to how Dan Feng might have been–
“Considering he’s married to that little Stellaron Hunter-turned-Nameless and all!” Ashveil finishes with a laugh.
In the ensuing silence, Dan Heng thinks he might hear Aha laughing away, in hysterics, at the disaster that is their little group.
He raises his eyes to the heavens. Silver Wolf squawks in shock and Blade actually growls through his teeth.
“He’s what?!” they shout in unison.
“You didn’t know?!” exclaims Ashveil in return, as Silver Wolf begins to barrage him with questions: "When? How? When did you find out? Did Stelle tell you? There's no way Elio knew! No-one tells me anything in this damned faction!"
And all Blade has to say is a barrage of Xianzhou curse words that would likely make a Xianzhou elder faint in shock, and then mutter: "But... why him??"
Dan Heng can't help but feel slightly offended by that.
As they begin to walk, Silver Wolf - having clearly realised that Ashveil as a detective is about as useful as Blade as a driver - diverts her attention to Dan Heng instead, barraging him with question after question.
He purses his lips into a thin line and does not answer. Stelle and him deserve some privacy after all, especially since all their other secrets seem to be common knowledge to almost everyone.
Silver Wolf aims a kick at his shins and Blade grumpily mutters something about a shotgun again as they begin walking. Ashveil is on the phone to a 'Mr. N', who doesn't actually sound like a monkey at all and Dan Heng thinks about Stelle and sighs for what might be the thousandth time since he stepped foot on this planet.
...how did he end up in this situation again?