Chapter 628: Song Seishan

The stars twinkled in the vast emptiness of space as the atmospheric curvature of The Blue made itself known.

A hand concealed by a complete leather glove carefully glanced against the window, as if afraid that it would shatter from the measly force. Then, it pushed with just a little more strength, before parting from the perfectly transparent glass.

Seishan released a breathless sigh, staring at the reflection of her own sharp hazel eyes. A roguish hood was drawn over her features, yet failed to conceal the head of long, honey brown locks that curled around her forehead, or the inhuman pallor of her grey, pigmentless skin.

Considering she was staring into a lightless abyss, however, it seemed the only attention she could draw would be from out of place clothing.

Better that than something less distinguished...

An abnormally elongated fang pierced her bottom lip, drawing blood that she licked up with fervor. It wasn’t quite her preferred flavor, as it came from herself, but it would do.

She wasn’t feeling particularly thirsty, anyways.

Or so she thought, until her nose twitched.

’O-Oh... I miss this.’

Unseen by anyone, her lips gracefully curled upwards and elegantly parted, revealing pearly white teeth — her canine teeth a few centimeters longer than average. She almost couldn’t contain her joy; scratch that, she definitely couldn’t.

Seishan’s plan was to simply wait here until a certain someone met up with her. Then, after a short meal, the two of them would wait for a pair of less certain someones.

It seemed the first part of her plan was to end earlier than expected. She brushed her bangs, wondering if she looked properly regal at the moment. Recently, she felt as if she put in a little too much effort in maintaining her image, even around her dear sisters and... brother. An odd expression made its way on her face at the thought.

Still, she believed it to be necessary. Seishan couldn’t allow anyone else to know...

Then again, she was about to face the only living person who did know, so perhaps it wasn’t as necessary as she thought.

She wished he didn’t.

Eying the reflection slowly inching closer to her own, Seishan stifled any corrupting thoughts, delicately turning around as she lowered her gaze. In contrast to the bright grin on her face, her voice was pleasant, velvety.

"Sunless—"

Seishan froze mid-greeting, eyes not locked onto a childish face, but a chest. A very nice-looking chest, if the tight, black shirt concealing it was any indication — part of a Transcendent armor? Seishan was once again awed by the developments of human civilization.

Back in her day, armor actually looked like armor.

...That was an odd sentence to think. She inwardly panicked, wondering if she had gotten the wrong person — but who else had such a lovely scent? Did it get even stronger than last she saw him?

As she raised her gaze to look at the stranger she had mistakenly addressed, her worries were quickly quelled.

It was difficult for her to remember that the one who gave her both retribution and freedom had been a child, once. It was a little pathetic, actually.

Sunny had grown over the years, that much was true, certainly. No longer was he a scrawny boy of skin and bone, his figure now carved from sculpted marble. He was dressed in a black, sleeveless compression shirt, a navy blue zipperless denim jacket with cloud markings inscribed on the back and sleeves, as well as loose harem pants that ended in steel-toed combat boots.

A silver necklace depicting a serpent of insectoid wings hung around his neck, a snowflake engraved on its head. Under his sleeves, Seishan spotted what seemed to be black bandages wrapped around his forearms, ending in fingerless gloves with two differing symbols on the back of his palms.

There was a sliver of a tattoo marking his pale skin, visible only when his jacket drooped lower on his shoulders. Seishan inwardly frowned.

’Couldn’t he cover up better?’

The armpit was a lethal weak point...

When she looked up at his face—

’A-Argh—?!’

Seishan did her absolute best to not visibly reveal that she was completely blinded, unable to truly comprehend what she was looking at. The first time she looked at it, she barely registered her vision as she was stuck in her thoughts, but the second time...

It was... it was like staring at the morning sun! She was about to burn to a crisp!

...Oh, right. That was her sister’s Flaw.

That messy mop of hair she had never been able to properly untangle was somehow smoother than shaved ice, hanging over his onyx gems like a curtain of mystery. The naturally pale skin of his childhood had become almost completely colorless, now matching the strange, pigmentless grey of her own, though his retained an unnatural, almost luminous quality. The androgynous, almost girlish prettiness of the boy she remembered had matured without disappearing, his delicate features now sharpened by a defined jaw, prominent cheekbones, and striking onyx eyes framed by absurdly long lashes.

Something in Seishan’s brain couldn’t quite connect this textbook definition pretty boy to the image in her own memory.

’I’m too old for this...’

...Why was he bowing?

***

The moment Sunny had arrived on the docking bay, stepping out of the long elevator shaft, he immediately locked on to an Ascended shadow. Figuring that this had to be Song Seishan, one of many princesses of the Great Clan Song, he took no detours.

The Herta Space Station was unreasonably massive. Each major area was separated by multiple kilometers, and were only connected through the long elevators that rode against the edge of the ship, revealing the vast expanse of space. With how complex the megastructure was, however, the elevators sometimes moved horizontally.

It was really strange to Sunny, and he couldn’t quite explain the reasoning behind this design philosophy, but he guessed it was cool?

Normally, it wouldn’t be too much trouble for Sunny, since his shadow sense extended over a dozen kilometers. However, the docking bay and the Master Control Zone were on opposite ends of the Space Station, and so... he had to take the mundane route.

Spotting who he believed to be Seishan, Sunny walked over with a polite smile on his face. He managed to get rid of the dog drool on his face by washing it with the Endless Spring — there was now a puddle in the Space Station — but he wasn’t sure if he smelled like slobber now.

Making a good first impression was important!

He didn’t miss the way her shadow slightly shifted, revealing that she was eying him using the reflection of the glass window.

It was to be expected. Before she was royalty, she was an elite warrior.

That was what it meant to be a Legacy.

He used this chance to profile her physical appearance. She was likely doing the same, if she was anywhere as professional as he was. Sunny studied her from head to toe, committing every detail to memory.

Seishan’s attire was perhaps the most unexpected part of her appearance. For someone brought into one of the Great Clans, she certainly wasn’t dressed like a princess. Instead, she wore a set of dark leather armor designed for mobility, its fitted plates and reinforced seams forming a roguish silhouette more suited to an assassin or scout than a member of Song’s royal family.

A deep hood rested over her head, casting a subtle shadow across her features while leaving her sharp hazel eyes clearly visible beneath it. The leather seemed carefully maintained despite its practical appearance, with belts, straps, and concealed pouches integrated into the outfit without making it look cumbersome. It was the sort of clothing that could disappear into the darkness as easily as its wearer.

The hood concealed most of her hair, but Sunny could still see enough to make an educated guess. The way the fabric rose behind her head and maintained its shape suggested that the honey brown hair beneath it wasn’t hanging loose. Rather, it was likely gathered into a voluminous ponytail that descended along the inside of her robes, hidden from view except for the bangs framing her forehead.

Her grey, pigmentless skin was almost unnaturally smooth beneath the dim station lights, making the warm hazel of her eyes stand out sharply. The only other feature that immediately demanded attention was her mouth, where slightly elongated canines gave her an almost predatory appearance. They weren’t quite monstrous, but they were unmistakably fang-like, especially when she smiled.

Why was she smiling? Sunny felt weirded out.

But not too weirded out. It was no question that Song Seishan was a beauty to behold. Her supple figure and delicate features were a combination that would send any man over the edge.

For all the roguish practicality of her clothing, there remained something distinctly regal about her posture and bearing. More importantly, Sunny really wanted to see it taken off. But alas, he was a professional.

So, even as she turned towards him with an almost stupid grin on her face, Sunny continued with the plan. He slightly leaned forward, preparing to bow—

"Sunless—"

Seishan’s soft voice abruptly cut off, causing him to freeze mid motion. In fact, it looked like Sunny hadn’t moved at all. Seishan simply stared at him, expression unreadable. When her gaze rose to his face, her shoulders lowered. Then, she looked at it again, her eyes twitching.

’Wait. What do I do? I was supposed to greet her first, right? I was supposed to show that I knew my place, right?’

He hadn’t expected her to speak first. He felt like that was a faux pas for a woman of her standing. Then, she cut herself off. Was that all she wanted to say? Was she expecting something of him?

Sunny was confused. So confused, in fact, that he wasn’t even sure that confusion was the proper word for his lack of understanding.

But Sunny was a professional. He didn’t show his confusion. He just went along with his plan.

Sunny pitched forward at a perfect 135 degree angle, one arm placed over his chest, while that other crossed behind his back.

"Lady Seishan. It is my pleas—"

’Am I pleased? Not really...’

"Lady Seishan, I am hono—"

’No, not honored at all, actually.’

"Lady Seishan, this humb—"

Sunny gave up.

"Hi."

So much for being professional.