Honkai: You're telling me this difficulty is from Honkai Impact 3?!

The colossal sword plunged from the sky. After a blinding flash, both the sword and its target vanished without a trace.

Shu floated in the air, still in his attack stance, staring blankly ahead. He felt like he'd forgotten something important…someone important…

Or maybe…it wasn't important after all?

The world returned to normal, but the melted buildings, charred streets, the gaping hole in the sky, and the lingering glow on Shu's sword all testified to the events that had transpired.

But what events?

Shu didn't know. He only felt an overwhelming exhaustion, a strange pressure building within him.

Wait, I'm…high up in the air!

How did I get up here?!

His eyes widened. Beneath him was nothing but empty space. He flailed, trying to grab something, anything, but found nothing.

So, they chose a nice open spot for this, huh… This was his last coherent thought before succumbing to the exhaustion, plummeting towards the ground.

"Shu's coming down?" Kallen shielded her eyes from the sunlight filtering through the clouds, watching his rapid descent. "Is this how people who can fly…land?"

"I doubt it," Otto quipped, ever the unhelpful observer. "I think he's just out of gas." Despite his words, he remained rooted to the spot, seemingly content to let Shu fall.

"Out of gas? What will happen?" Kallen asked, puzzled. "He can fly. He can't just…fall to his death, can he?"

Otto shrugged. Fu Hua quickly intervened, nudging Kallen. "Kallen, catch him! He's unconscious!"

"Huh?!" Kallen's eyes widened. The flying guy was actually about to go splat!

Without another word, she dashed across the charred ground to where Shu was falling, catching him in her arms.

Fu Hua breathed a sigh of relief, then glared at Otto.

He offered a flippant, insincere apology, then followed Kallen, stepping onto the burned ground.

The temperature was normal, no lingering heat. It seemed more than just the flames had been dispersed… Otto paused, picking up some black soot from a charred car and sniffing it. Just normal combustion, no unusual properties. Its appearance and composition were identical to any normally cooled material, no sign of crystallization from rapid temperature drops…

He narrowed his eyes. So…did that sword strike also somehow accelerate or alter spacetime? Or was it some other method I don't understand?

It made sense now. He'd felt no targeting, no binding force from that sword strike, yet it had found its mark with pinpoint accuracy.

It seemed Shu's claim of "being able to do anything" was…true.

Slap!

A sharp sound echoed through the air. Otto looked up, sighing as he glanced towards Kallen and the others.

"Otto, Otto! Come quick, something's wrong with Shu!" Kallen rushed over, carrying the unconscious Shu.

Otto examined him. A bright red handprint marked Shu's left cheek. Kallen had clearly attempted the "reboot slap."

He checked Shu's pulse, then listened to his chest, a blend of Eastern and Western medicine. He raised an eyebrow.

"Relax, our hero is just asleep." He waved a dismissive hand, and everyone visibly relaxed.

"What do we do now?" Fu Hua asked, watching the peacefully sleeping Shu. A strange feeling lingered in her heart.

For a moment, she'd seen figures behind Shu, familiar figures, their hands resting on his shoulders. But when she looked again, they were gone.

Instinct told her it was real, and somehow connected to Shu. But he was asleep now, post-battle exhaustion being perfectly normal. She couldn't wake him just to satisfy her curiosity.

So, they'd have to wait until he woke up naturally…or until someone else woke him up? No, no, that would be too cruel.

Fu Hua sighed. Otto, using the excuse of "letting him sleep," had taken the faintly glowing sword from Shu's hand. He'd held this sword before; he knew its weight, its construction. Li Sushang had always been happy to let others admire it.

Stealing it, however, was a different story.

But now, holding the sword, his expression shifted. The weight was the same, but an almost tangible aura of solemnity emanated from it, impossible to ignore. This wasn't just a visual impression from its design; it was a palpable, almost abstract "presence."

He examined the blade, then cautiously placed a fingertip on the edge. With the slightest pressure, the blade sliced a thin cut into his skin.

This sword wasn't this sharp before.

Frowning, he swung the sword at a nearby building.

"Otto, what are you doing?" Kallen jumped, startled by his sudden action.

Just swinging a sword shouldn't scare me like that.

Otto paused, then looked away from the white mark etched into the building's wall.

"Nothing. Just admiring Shu's form. Thought I'd give it a try." He smiled, offering the sword hilt-first to Li Sushang. "Here, take your sword."

Li Sushang stared at it for two full seconds before slowly taking it, hugging it to her chest. Otto winced as he felt a stinging sensation on his hand, watching her carelessly tuck the sharp blade against her body.

Is she really not going to get cut?

Surprise flickered across Li Sushang's face. She examined the sword again, then hugged it close once more.

So, it's fine…

Otto looked at Shu, now settled into the passenger seat of the car by Kallen, and murmured, "Perhaps…this is what you call a Divine Key?"