The child shifted slightly atop Dan Heng's shoulders, her small hands resting against his head with a kind of casual familiarity that made the entire situation feel even more absurd than it already was. She tilted her head, bright eyes moving between the three of them as though she were carefully assessing their reactions, before finally speaking with a tone that carried both confidence and a faint trace of mischief.
"My name is Bailu."
The introduction was simple, almost polite, yet it did nothing to ease the tension that had quietly settled over the group. Sunny's gaze lingered on her for a moment longer than necessary, his mind already moving ahead of the conversation as it pieced together possibilities that he did not particularly like. There was something fundamentally off about the situation, and while that alone was not unusual given their circumstances, the specifics were beginning to form a pattern that felt… inconvenient.
He glanced at Dan Heng.
Then back at Bailu.
Then back at Dan Heng again.
A thought surfaced, uninvited and deeply suspicious.
'Does he have a habit of kidnapping children?'
Sunny did not voice it aloud, though the look he gave Dan Heng suggested that the question had very much crossed his mind.
March, on the other hand, had no such restraint.
Her expression shifted into something far more suspicious, her eyes narrowing slightly as she crossed her arms and leaned forward just enough to make her skepticism clear.
"Why are you bringing kids around?"
There was a sharpness to her tone that had not been there before, a rare edge of genuine suspicion that contrasted heavily with her usual demeanor. Dan Heng exhaled quietly, the sound carrying a level of fatigue that suggested he had already anticipated this line of questioning.
"Don't ask me. She was following me around, so I decided to humor her. It is not as if I have anything better to do."
Bailu, entirely unbothered by the implications of the conversation, continued speaking as though she were simply elaborating on an amusing anecdote rather than explaining a potentially serious situation.
"Those old fools were trying to teach me Cloudhymn Magic so that I could be the next High Elder, so I ran away. It is a bit stupid, really. My True Name is not Drinker of the Moon, so how could I be Imbibitor Lunae?"
Silence followed.
Not the casual kind.
Not the comfortable kind.
The heavy, suffocating kind that came from three individuals simultaneously processing information that carried far more weight than it should have.
Sunny's expression stilled.
March's mouth opened slightly, though no words came out.
Dan Heng slowly craned his head upward, his gaze locking onto Bailu with an intensity that had not been present before.
For a long moment, none of them spoke.
Sunny's perception shifted instinctively, his awareness brushing against Bailu's soul as his shadow sense refined itself to a level that bordered on invasive. What he saw only made things worse.
A single Awakened Soul Core.
Nothing more, nothing less.
He did not know what to say.
As far as he understood, Dan Heng bore the True Name Drinker of the Moon, while Imbibitor Lunae was not merely a title but a position intrinsically tied to that name. Each reincarnation carried it forward, each life inheriting the same identity, the same role, the same expectation. Dan Feng had held it. Dan Heng, by extension, carried its remnants.
Which meant...
Sunny's gaze flickered back to Bailu.
'That's not how that works.'
And yet, here she was.
Claiming otherwise with complete certainty.
The implications settled slowly, like something heavy sinking into place.
There was a problem.
A significant one.
Dan Heng, whether intentionally or not, had effectively walked away with someone who was apparently meant to become the next Vidyadhara High Elder. Regardless of his intentions, the optics alone were disastrous. Given his history — given Dan Feng's history — the situation carried a level of risk that extended far beyond simple misunderstanding.
They needed to return her.
Quickly.
And quietly.
At the same time, they needed to ensure that Dan Heng's identity remained concealed. If the Vidyadhara connected him to Dan Feng, the consequences would escalate beyond anything they were prepared to handle.
The three members of the Astral Express exchanged glances, a silent conversation passing between them in the span of a heartbeat.
March moved first.
"H—Hey, Bailu."
Her tone shifted instantly, softening into something almost overly friendly as she stepped forward with a bright, practiced smile.
"Wouldn't you rather follow a pretty big sister like me? I mean, Dan Heng is kind of dull and boring, so—"
"I do not see a point in associating with a fabrication."
The interruption was immediate.
March froze.
The shift in her expression was subtle at first, a flicker of something darker passing through her gaze before it settled into something far less forgiving. The way she looked at Bailu changed in an instant, the warmth draining out of it completely.
Sunny, standing off to the side, had to physically restrain himself from laughing.
Dan Heng, meanwhile, tilted his head slightly, confusion evident in his expression as he tried to parse both the statement and March's reaction to it.
Choosing not to involve himself in whatever tension had just formed, Sunny adjusted his grip on the bags he carried before speaking in a tone that suggested he had already decided on the next course of action.
"Why don't you two give Dan Heng a bit of a makeover, yeah?"
March's expression brightened almost immediately, the earlier hostility vanishing as quickly as it had appeared.
"Oh. Oh, that's a great idea."
Bailu, entirely unaware of the underlying motive, perked up at the suggestion.
"A makeover?"
Sunny did not wait for further questions.
He simply turned and walked away, ignoring the way Dan Heng's expression shifted into something that could only be described as quiet despair.
If the two of them covered Dan Heng in enough makeup and forced him into sufficiently distracting clothing, there was no realistic way the Vidyadhara would recognize him at a glance. It was not a perfect solution, but it was a functional one.
Bailu would be returned.
Dan Heng's identity would remain hidden.
The only real casualty would be his dignity.
Sunny considered that an acceptable trade.
***
He stepped into a narrow alleyway, the noise of the Sanctum fading slightly as the shadows deepened around him. Without hesitation, he allowed himself to sink into them, his form dissolving into darkness before reappearing in another alley at the outer edges of Aurum Valley.
The transition was seamless.
Effortless.
He stepped forward, his gaze settling on a familiar sight.
The same closed restaurant.
This time, however, he was standing right before it.
A small security camera mounted near the entrance was angled directly toward him, its lens fixed in a way that made its purpose obvious. Sunny stared at it for a moment, then lifted a hand in an awkward wave.
"…Hi."
There was a brief pause.
Then the door opened.
Inside stood Silver Wolf, her attention firmly fixed on a handheld gaming device as her fingers moved with practiced precision.
"What're you doing here? We don't need you right now."
Sunny shrugged, stepping closer.
"Sensed you guys. Wanted to make sure nothing was about to explode. If everything's fine, I'll leave."
He turned to go.
He did not get far.
Silver Wolf's hand shot out, grabbing the hood of his denim jacket and pulling him back with surprising force.
"Just come in. Blade made pancakes."
Sunny froze.
Then his eyes lit up.
"Pancakes?!"
The enthusiasm in his voice was immediate and entirely unrestrained, his earlier caution evaporating in an instant. Silver Wolf visibly faltered for half a second before recovering, dragging him inside as though she had just caught a particularly excitable child.
The door shut behind them.
Sunny barely had time to take in his surroundings before he noticed the other two occupants.
Kafka.
Blade.
Both of them were looking at him.
Just… looking.
Sunny hesitated, a flicker of self-awareness creeping in as the reality of the situation settled over him. Two Transcendent-ranked war criminals, both of whom could end him without much effort, were staring at him in complete silence.
He shifted slightly.
"…There's no pancakes, are there?"
Silver Wolf shrugged.
"I might have lied."
Sunny slowly turned his head toward her, his expression flattening into something that promised future retaliation.
Kafka sighed softly, the sound carrying a distinctly maternal disappointment.
"Silver Wolf, if you were feeling lonely, you could have just kept Sam company."
Silver Wolf immediately grabbed something and threw it.
Kafka caught it without looking.
It was a brick.
Sunny chose not to question where it had come from.
"I don't get lonely, you meddlesome woman."
Blade, leaning against the wall with an unsettling stillness, raised a brow but said nothing.
Kafka's attention shifted.
"Oh? What's this?"
Before Sunny could react, she had already crossed the room, effortlessly vaulting over a couch that had no logical reason to be inside a restaurant. She plucked the bags from his hands, her curiosity evident as she peeked inside.
Her smile faded.
"…Kiddo."
Her tone shifted into something gentler.
"Listen, I understand that you may not have had the best guidance growing up, and that you might still be figuring things out about yourself…"
Sunny blinked.
"…but this isn't something to be ashamed of."
He blinked again.
"You're young. You're allowed to explore who you are. Whether this is just a phase or something more permanent, you'll find your answer eventually. Right, Bladie?"
Sunny stared at her.
Behind her, Blade nodded solemnly.
"Of five, three have learned to become women. It was not a bad experience."
Sunny's brain stalled.
Then it restarted.
Then it crashed.
"…What?"
He snatched the bags back immediately.
"Those aren't for me!"
The three Stellaron Hunters looked at him with varying degrees of disbelief.
Silver Wolf didn't even look up from her game.
"If you become a woman, I'm robbing you."
Sunny turned toward her, genuinely confused.
"Why would you care? Not that I was going to, or anything..."
She rolled her eyes.
Turning back to Kafka and Blade, Sunny took a breath, deciding to abandon that entire line of conversation before it could spiral any further.
"So… why are you still here? Sightseeing?"