'What... in the actual fuck?!'
The world gently swayed below Sunny.
The moon shined down from above, casting a ghostly hue to his already greyed-out, lifeless skin. Naturally, its surreal glow was incapable of being reflected in his dark, deep orbs. Waves crashed against a tenebrous, blackwood-like material. It wasn't, appearing far too lightless. Darker than the artificial night sky, even.
The smell of sea salt sent a rush of stimulus through Sunny's nose, and the crashing of the tides reminded him of where he stood. Or sat. Whichever worked.
Across from him sat Kafka.
The woman's presence was a constant; a symbol of control, manipulation, and fatal seduction. Her arms were crossed under her chest, one long leg looped over the other in sort of manner that was casual yet dangerous. A small, pleasant smile was gracing her painted lips, and based on the dullness of her eyes, she was wearing contacts.
When Sunny found out she wore contacts — for the purpose of seeming more intimidating, he assumed — he had found the idea more than just hilarious. Actually, it was kind of adorable. Adorable in the morbid 'I want my enemies to feel terror incarnate when they look into my eyes' kind of way.
Yet, as he kept his eyes locked onto the beautiful, magenta-haired woman — though, she wasn't the one holding most of his dire attention — he could understand the purpose behind the act. It was rather ingenious...
...And it was something Sunny has implemented himself before. Relatively recently, even.
Intimidation was a powerful tool. Throughout society, and even nature, the ability to intimidate others, whether they be friend or foe, was a major strength.
Awakened officials intimidated the mundane. No normal human would dare commit a crime if an Awakened is nearby... not unless they were completely insane, of course. Ascended intimidated the Awakened, lessening the odds of an abuse of power. Transcendents kept the Masters in check in much the same way.
...So, who did the Transcendents answer to? The Supreme champions of humanity, of course.
Whether Sacred humans existed even above the Sovereigns was not something Sunny was able to know, not at his lacking level of power.
The fact that he even knew about the hidden presence of Supremes as a mere Master was only because of Fu Xuan, before they fought Phantylia...
What kept the hierarchy balanced was intimidation. Those without power are afraid of those with power, even if only on a subconscious level. Why antagonize someone who could rip your spine from your body using only your head as a handle?
Unsurprisingly, the same thing occurred with Nightmare Creatures. Even mundane animals, actually.
In the Chained Isles, for example, a Fallen Beast wouldn't dare step into the territory of a Corrupted abomination. An entire island could be a Corrupted's land, and the act of stepping into it was the same as death.
Nightmare Creatures did not like to have competition. The same went for humans, but that usually only applied for the benefits they could receive. The Master Diviner of the Luofu, for example, has committed crimes that could certainly be considered treason. Exposing Jing Yuan's Aspect and Flaw to Sunny was deserving of execution.
And yet, she had taken the risk. Because winning against Jing Yuan and dealing with the Heliobus was a major contribution that led to more benefits for herself. Perhaps a promotion, later down the line.
And the only role above the Master Diviner was the General.
So, it was really just Fu Xuan trying to get rid of the competition in more ways than one. By accomplishing what Jing Yuan failed to do, which involved resolving his mistakes, she made herself seem more credible and reliable to the Sovereign of the Xianzhou Alliance.
Then, by telling Sunny his weaknesses and skills in a martial battle, she left a dagger in his hands. If Sunny were to ever let the Luofu General's weakness slip, then Jing Yuan's own reputation would take a huge fall, making him seem incompetent.
This wouldn't be traced back to Fu Xuan, since Sunny would be unable to say that she was the one who told him, revealing their collaboration. Naturally, that was a breach of contract.
Of course, she likely didn't know that he had escaped their agreement. To be more specific, the punishment involving it.
However, Nightmare Creatures despised competition because souls were not an infinite resource. They needed to eat to survive, and they needed to consume to grow. If another Nightmare Creature enters their feeding grounds, then it was assured that one of them would become food.
So, in order to avoid the more lethal, most harrowing abominations, the weaker Nightmare Creatures needed to feel intimidated. It was a survival skill that reflexively initiated their fight-or-flight response.
And the same could be said for humans.
In the Dreamscape Tournament, plenty of Sunny's competitors were unnerved and terrified of him. After all, someone disguised as Mongrel, a dangerous war criminal who already wore an eerie and creepy mask along with a macabre suit of armor, carrying that same edge of lethality against his blade, was slaughtering opponents left and right.
And, through that intimidation, his opponents grew fearful and made hasty mistakes. Even if their lives weren't in danger.
Clearly, Kafka was making use of this fact. By making her gaze seem empty, emotionless, and completely lacking of humanity, the sense of nervousness that her enemies had to endure could make them restless and prone to taking unnecessary risks.
But there was another level to this.
Sexual intimidation.
As far as Sunny knew, there were two ways to go about it.
The first was weaponized beauty. In situations like negotiations, stand-offs, or the like, appearance was not just for show.
It was a misdirection, and Kafka understood that. She understood it so well, actually, that she used her contacts to do just that.
Looking into Kafka's eyes was a difficult thing. There was just nothing comfortable about her cold, uncaring gaze. The sharp contrast with her facial expressions, which had a surprisingly wide range, left people unnerved, feeling like she was truly a machine of murder.
So, they don't look at her face. They look at her body. That may lead to them looking at her chest. Maybe her waist. Her hips. Her thighs.
The point was clear. Her form was addictively sinful. Men were lustful and women were envious — sometimes it was the other way around, and Sunny would just like to say that he respected that.
Addictions were distractions. And people were less intelligent when those addictions came into play. That was what Kafka placed her bets on, and what she took full advantage of.
Some may call it slutty, but Sunny would call it ingenuity. In part because... well, he was getting to that.
The second form of sexual intimidation was... threats. Sexual threats.
Sunny didn't think he needed to explain.
Generally speaking, threats of murder and violence were the default. They were widely effective, after all. People feared pain, and they feared a world without pain even more.
But... on the rare occasion, there were those... honorable folks.
The kind that didn't fear death, and could withstand pain. For they have sworn an oath, either to themselves or to their liege.
To die was honorable.
To be violated was not.
It was an act of defilement, the loss of purity, and in their own eyes, made them lesser.
That was when they crumbled.
Most of the time, at least.
Frankly, Sunny thought it was stupid.
When it came to the victims that were forced to experience such heinous crimes, when it went beyond empty threats, he couldn't find them dirty or disgusting. In the Outskirts, women weren't really safe, so he's seen and heard of these kinds of situations.
Maybe they'd feel better about themselves if they killed their aggressor. Sunny knew he would.
In any case, it was quite obvious which of the two Kafka made use of. The latter was... actually, quite likely to fail, coming from her.
As for Sunny, he's used both.
...Don't look at him like that! He'd never actually act on it!
He threatened Bronya back when they first met, though, he had to be really indirect about it due to his Flaw.
...Looking back on it, maybe he should have been a bit nicer to her.
...Then, there was Fu Xuan. Sunny thinks he used weaponized beauty properly, mainly by getting real up close and personal to get her as uncomfortable as possible. Now that he thought about it, revealing that he stalked her in her bath probably made him a sex offender...
Sunny's expression soured.
Well, those were his thoughts and evaluations on the matter. Understanding how someone as skilled and subtle as Kafka operated was important, and further served his own skills in the realm of subterfuge and espionage.
But that wasn't what shocked him. It had nothing to do with Kafka.
Instead, his mind was occupied with the bullshit he just saw Jingliu pull off.
And the inspiration that came with it.