House of the Sun

❝ Nature is always accompanied by predation and sacrifice – its antithesis is known as Order ... ❞

SUNDAY is an upcoming playable character within Honkai: Star Rail. He hails from Penacony, the Planet of Festivities, and acts as the main antagonist for the Trailblazer's adventures there. He is a Halovian – a humanoid race with a set of wings placed predominantly on their necks (additional wing(s) may be found in other places), and a circular halo hovering somewhere above and/or behind their heads. Sunday is, within the Penacony story, the acting head of the Oak Family, until after the story's climax, wherein he reveals his true intentions and actions towards the people of Penacony. Once defeated and his plot foiled, he is arrested by The Family. Following his arrest, his title as Head of the Oak Family is revoked. Later, he is relased, and his current status is unknown.

The main draw of Penacony, the Planet of Festivities, is the Dreamscape. The Dreamscape is, as the name implies, a world within dreams. Essentially, your imagination is your limiting factor. Practically anything and everything is possible. Everything on Penacony and within the Dreamscape is maintained by The Family, a group of individuals blessed by Xipe, The Harmony. The Family maintains Penacony, and the Family maintains the Harmony. Xipe appears as a serene being with three faces, thus THEY are called “The Triple-Faced Soul” by dedicated followers of The Harmony.

Additionally, Sunday is both a follower of Xipe, The Harmony, and of, Ena The Order. Ena fell during the Swarm Disaster and was assimilated into Xipe, since the paths of Harmony and Order overlapped. The Harmony is broad, representative of harmonious joy in all its forms. The Order is niche, striving for the most orderly path forward for the universe. After all, if the universe is marching through its orderly path, doesn't that imply the harmony of its people?

Sunday's ultimate goal for Penacony was a world of blissful Harmony via the eternal safety of the Order. His ideal was, in his words, “seven rest days. Following Sunday, there should ensue a second, a third, and indeed an infinite procession of Sundays.” Thus, he trapped the people of the Planet of Festivities in a deep slumber, and confined them to the Dreamscape, where all was perfect, and Harmony and Order were infinite.

❝ Who can comfort the purest of souls when even they get led astray? ❞

Sunday is heavily inspired by religous imagery – most notably, Christianity. Halovians themselves envoke angels with their wing and halos, and Sunday is no different. His halo contains several pieces that are similar to eyes in appearance, akin to the "biblically accurate" angels of pop culture. Another notable connection is his role as a priest of the Harmony (shown above), wherein he took Confession of the people's sins and forgave them on behalf of the Harmony. It is taking these Confessions where his perception of the world is changed. Among the Confessions we hear is one from a stowaway, who claimed he sold everything he owned to get to Penacony, where he would raise the funds needed to bring his family there with him. He did indeed raise those funds, but the same man was captured before a coup, and when Sunday asked about his family and children, the man seemed to deny having any. Sunday learned that people lie – they make claims under false pretenses, and hide their true intentions. I am absolutely obsessed with Sunday's role as a priest, and I think it's this specific event that begins to guide him towards the Order.

Also, the Christianity connections don't end there. I'd argue to say Sunday narratively aligns with Jesus. He quite literally sacrifices himself to ensure what he percieves to be the happiness of the people of Penacony, and he is reborn with the Harmony and the Order's power as The Great Septimus and the Embryo of Philosophy. Leaks of his playable kit include references to the Glorious Mysteries. His poses allude to Christ imagery. It's so rich, but completely honestly, I don't have the knowledge of Christianity or its imagery to draw many more conclusions or connections.

On another religious note – his splash art alludes to The Hanged Man of the Major Arcana. Upright, The Hanged Man may represent sacrifice, indiscision, feeling trapped. Reversed, The Hanged Man may represent discontent, detatchment, stagnation, a need for change. I think some of the Upright interpretations reflect Sunday following the Harmony and the Order rather blindly, to the point where his ultimatum was self-sacrifice to ensure the safety of Penacony, while simultaneously trapping everyone in a dream. I look forward to seeing if any of the Reversed interpretations reflect a post-release Sunday.

❝ Bathed in my light, my people shall flourish, while all evil shall be eradicated ... ❞

Now, I struggle to really say Sunday chose the path of the Order for himself. I think ultimately, he knew he wanted to keep Penacony safe, and he believed Gopher Wood at face-value; thus, he didn't realize he had been manipulated down such a harmful path until after his defeat. He truly believed that the way forward into Harmony for his hime was through Order. He had good intentions, and he truly believed he was doing what was best, but simply didn't know better. He wanted everyone to be free to enjoy their lives, to have such pleasant dreams at all hours of the day and night, but didn't recognize the harm in infinite rest and happiness. He's very much the antagonist of the Penacony arc, but he is by no means a villain. He plotted and schemed, no matter how nefarious it seemed on the outside, just to ensure his own dream of Harmony for Penacony.

Most villains don't really get a second chance, after their defeat. Again part of why I think Sunday is no villain. His intentions were just, even if his actions were the opposite. We're obviously going to see a return from him, and I look forward to seeing it. His story has only just begun again. We've seen his dreams shattered. I hope we get to see him rebuild in a new light. After all, he has the chance to be redeemed, if the people of Penacony so choose to offer it to him.

❝ Ultimately, only “heroes” like yourselves manage to achieve success. ❞

I love Sunday so much. I genuinely can't even describe it. He tried, and tried his best, and had the purest goals imaginable, but was twisted down a path that held nothing but pain and sacrifice that was too much to bear. He wants and wants but has yet to have it. We've seen his childhood, how he came to the Harmony and the Order for solace and guidance, and how his own faith led him astray. I hope we get to see him find it again. Next we see him, it'll be his lowest point. But he has nowhere to go but up.

Image Credits: Eidolon PNGs are from the Sunday Mains Discord Server with Sunday's kit leaks. GIF in “bathed in my light” is from the Echo of War: Salutations of Ashen Dreams. GIF from “only heroes” is from Sunday's kit leaks.