Rewinding time to the previous day.
At five in the morning, almost none of the Valkyries at St. Freya Academy had woken up yet.
The sky was just beginning to brighten, and only a tiny sprout of the sun could be seen emerging on the horizon. Everything around was quiet.
Of course, there were some exceptions. Quite a few Valkyries from Shenzhou had already started their morning exercises.
As a habit cultivated since childhood, they had carved waking up early into their hearts.
Among them was Fu Hua.
She didn't have the white hair and red eyes she had as the Guardian of Shenzhou, nor was she clad in fire, walking on white clouds.
As a Valkyrie, she wore red-rimmed glasses, her long hair tied with a red string, and was dressed in the simple blue and white Valkyrie uniform of the Far East Branch.
Since Valkyrie uniforms could be customized, Fu Hua chose a style that reflected her hometown.
The design, as light as a martial arts suit, allowed her to launch attacks freely.
Her temperament was reserved and silent, like a pool of clear water that would never flow.
The serious Fu Hua, combined with her unique uniform.
Once led newly enrolled Valkyries to mistake her for a teacher at St. Freya Academy.
And whenever a Valkyrie requested Fu Hua's guidance, she would never refuse.
She would, true to her character, seriously and strictly guide the students who sought her help.
This also meant that there was an inexplicable sense of distance about Fu Hua.
It made it difficult for people to get close, let alone become friends.
"Inch Power: Rock Smash!"
At this moment, Fu Hua shouted, throwing a punch into the void!
The fist technique, containing special skills, brought about a whistling sound of breaking air!
It sounded exceptionally crisp in the dark and quiet pre-dawn.
After throwing a hundred consecutive punches.
Fu Hua changed her stance, her feet firmly planted on the ground, standing as still as a mountain.
She twisted her fist into a single force, focusing the entire center of gravity of her body onto the tip of her clenched fist!
As her body's strength gathered, at a certain moment, she finally released the power of her fist.
"Inch Power: Cloud Mist!"
Fu Hua threw a punch suddenly, her right foot kicking back. The ground she was standing on sank several centimeters, and the dust kicked up swirled into the sky. Like a clap of thunder, her right fist slammed into the sandbag in front of her.
A loud "Boom!" rang out as the sandbag, like a worn-out ragdoll, let out a pained groan.
This was with Fu Hua holding back her strength; otherwise, a single punch would have exploded the sandbag.
This was her daily morning exercise; if she skipped her boxing for even a day, she would feel as if something was missing.
This habit had been formed since Fu Hua was very, very young.
Back then, her father had forced her to do it, and it was bitter and exhausting, but she gradually grew accustomed to it.
Unknowingly, tens of thousands of hours had slipped away like sand through her fingers.
Fu Hua suddenly remembered the past.
From her hazy and broken Remembrance.
She seemed to see that little girl from before, gritting her teeth and covered in wounds, throwing punch after punch at the sandbag.
A sliver of light before dawn shone on the girl's profile; the scabs on her scraped face had not yet set. At that time, she never thought she would live so long, nor did she ever want to become a hero or an immortal watched by thousands.
What did she want to do? What were her dreams for the future?
Her most precious memories were not entrusted to Fenghuang Down; she remembered that she actually wanted to... make friends.
Sincere friends.
Not many, just one or two would do.
It's just that now, it seems this wish has not been realized. Regulating her breath, she collected her thoughts in silent meditation.
Just as Fu Hua finished her morning exercise and sat on a lounge chair within the Academy, gazing at the gradually rising sun.
Suddenly, she heard a calm female voice: "Fu Hua, up so early for morning exercise?"
Turning her head, Fu Hua saw Yunduo yawning.
She was wearing a pure white sports jacket and matching white lantern pants. This relaxed and thin attire accentuated Yunduo's slender figure. Frog buttons lined the front, and the lingering night and faint sunlight hovered from her shoulders upward, blending seamlessly with the surroundings, cool and simple.
It was very much in the Shenzhou style; speaking of which, Yunduo was also from Shenzhou.
"Yunduo... you do morning exercises too?" Fu Hua was surprised; she really hadn't expected the usually lazy Yunduo to come out and exercise.
"Mmm~ actually I just suddenly felt like getting out of bed. A long, long time ago, I used to do morning exercises every day, just like you, Fu Hua."
Yunduo spoke thoughtfully as she sat down beside Fu Hua with a carefree air, making the already narrow lounge chair feel even more crowded.
"Speaking of which, that time passed long ago, but I still think of those days from time to time. Those were my happiest moments."
She exhaled, and a misty white vapor drifted up from her pink lips.
Fu Hua's eyes were hazy as she listened intently.
At first, she was a bit unaccustomed to someone sitting beside her, but as Yunduo spoke, that sense of unease gradually vanished.
There was a pleasant fragrance on Yunduo, a faint and delicate body fragrance, like a combination of light cream and honey. Taking it in would leave a sweetness on the teeth, and upon savoring it between the lips and teeth, one would sense a certain warmth.
The orange-yellow glimmer of the dim streetlights climbed up her profile, as if all the beautiful afterglow was hidden within that slight smile, passing through faith and the future to curl up at the corners of her upturned mouth.
"What's wrong? Why have you suddenly—stopped moving while looking at me?"
Yunduo's sly words suddenly woke Fu Hua from her daze, leaving her startled and somewhat embarrassed.
What was wrong with her?
For some reason, Fu Hua felt an impulse to be close to Yunduo.
It seemed she felt their personalities were very similar, but upon reflection, they were actually different. Others called her a wooden person, the emotionless Fu Hua, while Yunduo, though very lazy, was very popular with their classmates.
In that case, their personalities weren't similar at all; in fact, they were polar opposites.
But where did that illusion come from?
Fu Hua remained silent, puzzled by this deep-seated illusion.
"Because I feel you are very strange," Fu Hua said softly.
"Strange? Why do you feel that way? Is being a lazy dog... considered strange?" Yunduo asked in surprise.
"No," Fu Hua shook her head and said seriously, "I feel you have two faces. One is your usual self—lazy and indifferent, appearing easy to approach, yet deep down, you are indifferent to everything except for a few people."
"And the second is you in abnormal situations."
"For example, when a Honkai Beast tide attacks, you become like a completely different person. Your emotions are complex and varied; sometimes you're irritable, and other times you're very steady. These are temperaments that would appear in many different people, yet they contradictorily overlap perfectly within you, as if someone took these inherently conflicting personalities and kneaded them together by hand before forcing them into your body."
After speaking, Fu Hua felt it wasn't quite right and lowered her voice, saying:
"That's just my feeling. I'm sorry, I put it a bit harshly."
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