Collapse, but Stand users

The gate of Qianyu Academy unfolded its lively outline in the morning light—the vermilion gateposts were wrapped with blue, pink and gold ribbons, which fluttered in the wind, like crushed spring flowers hanging on the branches.

The three gilded characters "College Season" in the center of the lintel were pasted on by the student council overnight using gold leaf. When the sunlight fell on them, the reflected light was so dazzling that it made one's eyelashes burn.

Even the pair of stone lions guarding the school gate were adorned with colorful ribbons decorated with blessing cards by the students. The words on the cards, such as "Wishing the music club's concert a complete success" and "Wishing the drama club's box office great success," exuded the unique vibrancy of youth, yet also revealed a touch of seriousness.

The stone path from the school gate to the gymnasium has long been woven into a dense net of people.

Students in blue and white school uniforms walked in twos and threes. Some carried their sketchbooks and hurried toward the art exhibition area. The oil paint that was not yet wet on the paper smeared on their sleeves, but they were only concerned with protecting the works in their sketchbooks.

Some people held up homemade cheering signs, the surface of which was carefully drawn with markers—the spinning little figures drawn for the street dance club had traces of the wind, and the words "The pen falls with the force of wind and rain" written for the literature club had sharp strokes.

Club members, dressed in distinctive costumes, handed out flyers: the anime club cosplayers wore soft Lolita skirts, the floral patterns on the skirts glistening with morning dew, yet they still smiled brightly.

The boys from the street dance club performed frozen poses, eliciting restrained gasps from the girls; the students from the baking club carried samples of cookies, the aroma of butter mingling with the morning light, making people want to stop and watch.

The stadium was bustling with noise, but it quieted down a bit when Eden stepped onto the stage.

The stage was decorated with pink gauze curtains and silver gears in a particularly fitting way. The pink gauze curtains were chosen by Ellie, who said they should be "as soft as the song of Eden"; the silver gears were made by Velvi from discarded mecha parts and were attached to the edge of the gauze curtains in different sizes. When they turned, they made a soft "click-clack" sound, like a little surprise hidden in gentleness.

The white piano with outstretched wings on the backdrop was drawn by Eden herself a few days ago. Even the sheet music scattered next to the keys was drawn exactly like the one she usually uses, and even the arc of the notes was delicate.

Eden stood in the center of the stage adjusting the microphone. Her long, wine-red hair was loosely tied back with a silver ribbon, the ends of which fell over her shoulders and gently brushed against her collarbone as she lowered her head.

She wore a beige knit sweater with the sleeves rolled up to her forearms, revealing a silver bracelet on her slender wrist—a bracelet she had bought in Canghai City, engraved with tiny musical notes that made a soft clinking sound when she raised her hand.

"Hello, can you hear me?" She whispered into the microphone to test her voice, which came through the modified sound system by Velvi—a system that Velvi had spent three days modifying, adding three surround channels, saying, "It can make the singing run around the stadium three times, and even the last row can hear the resonance of their heartbeats."

As the sound check ended, a few restrained cheers came from the back of the audience: "Senior Eden's voice is so clear!" "I'll definitely come tonight!"

Eden smiled and nodded to the back row, his wine-red eyes filled with warmth, as if he had blended the morning light into his eyes.

She walked to the piano, her fingertips gently brushing the keys. The keys had just been tuned yesterday, and the familiar touch made her feel at ease.

"Eden, I've arranged the sheet music in order!" Ellie ran onto the stage carrying a dark brown sheet music book, her pink skirt sweeping across the stage floor, leaving a faint mark.

She gently placed the sheet music on the piano, turned to the first page, revealing a colorful bookmark tucked inside: "Red is for slow songs, like 'Volona's Lullaby,' and I wrote 'Sing softly' next to it; blue is for fast songs, like 'The Wind of the Valley of Falling Stars,' and I marked it 'You can wave and interact'; green is for choral pieces, and I even drew a small diagram of the clapping rhythm, so everyone can understand it at a glance!"

Eden bent down to look at the sheet music, his fingertips brushing over Ellie's crooked handwriting, and couldn't help but laugh: "Ellie is so meticulous, she organized it even more clearly than I did myself."

She remembered last night at the hotel, when Ellie was squatting on the carpet with her sheet music, looking up "concert interaction tips" on her phone, and even forgot to eat dinner. In the end, it was Toulong who handed her the warmed milk.

"After the concert tonight, let's go to 'Sweet Berry House' for strawberry cake. We'll have the double cheesecake you mentioned last time. I've already ordered it from the owner."

"Yay!" Ellie jumped up immediately, then remembered something and turned to run offstage. "I'll go get Toulong and Qianjie to move the spare speakers! Wilvi said the speakers are too heavy and she's worried you'll get tired while moving them!"

As she ran through the audience, she waved to her classmates as they passed by: "Come to Eden's concert tonight! There will be a mechanical gift at the end!"

In the audience near the stage, Kevin was looking down at his physics notes.

The notebook was the one Mei had lent him last time. It had a dark blue hard cover and was filled with Mei's annotations. The handwriting was so neat it looked like printed text, and there were even small auxiliary diagrams next to the formulas. For example, on the page about "quantum entanglement," Mei drew two entangled spheres with the label "analogous to collapse energy resonance."

Kevin watched for a long time, but his gaze kept drifting towards the stage: Eden's gentle adjustment of the microphone, Ellie's lively jumping, and the discussions coming from the art exhibition area in the distance all made it impossible for him to concentrate.

He recalled practicing swordsmanship in front of the mirror in his dormitory last night. The sword's wind swept through the air, but he felt an emptiness in his heart.

Sue says she wants to study medicine to save more people, Mei is focused on quantum mechanics to fight the Honkai, Velvet uses machinery to create weapons to protect everyone, Eden gives people strength with her songs, and Ellie uses her purification abilities to dispel the gloom...

But what about him? Apart from knowing a little swordsmanship, he doesn't seem to be good at anything.

Previously, when fighting the mutated zombies in Willow Creek Town, it was Toulong and Qianjie who rushed to the front; when dealing with Honkai energy anomalies at school, it was Mei and Velvet who found the problem; even when helping Ai Li fix her toys, Velvet had to be there to guide her...

He was like a superfluous person, unable to even grasp the direction of the future.

"Kevin."

A familiar voice came from behind, its tone steady and with a touch of composure.

Kevin turned around abruptly and saw Su standing behind him, her gray bangs neatly hanging down in front of her forehead without the slightest mess, and her face showing no sign of the urgency of being in a hurry.

Sue was carrying a black suitcase with a small European badge hanging from the handle—a badge they had bought from a small shop near the Louvre in Paris, engraved with the Latin word for "friendship."

"I've completed the leave of absence procedures." Su sat down next to him, her movements calm and unhurried. "I'll stay in Changkong City from now on, study at Qianyu Academy with you, and also prepare to study medicine."

He paused, his fingertips gently stroking the handle of his suitcase, and said earnestly, "Last time in Willow Creek Town, I saw an old doctor staying up until the early hours of the morning to prepare medicine for patients with Honkai disease, and he even forgot to eat. He said, 'A hand that can save lives is more powerful than any weapon.' At that time, I realized that instead of studying aimlessly in Europe, I should learn something that can actually help people."

Kevin was stunned, and the notebook in his hand almost slipped to the ground.

He looked into Su's eyes—there was no hesitation in her bluish-gray eyes, only a firm light, like a ship finding a lighthouse.

After a few seconds, he managed a weak smile and helped Su move her suitcase further inside: "That's great... Now we can have breakfast together in the cafeteria and do our homework together in the library."

Before he could finish speaking, Kevin lowered his voice and looked down at his notes.

Mei's article, "Quantum entanglement can be used for monitoring Honkai energy," caught his eye, and he suddenly felt useless. Su could save lives, and Mei could delve into knowledge, but what could his sword do besides killing soldiers?

If they encounter a Herrscher, can his sword protect everyone? If his companions are injured, can he heal them like Sue does?

"Still struggling with your future direction?" Su noticed his dejection but didn't press him. She simply spoke softly, her tone like an autumn breeze—gentle yet powerful. "Before, when I was in Europe, I spent my days attending classes and practicing the piano, feeling like my life was very empty. It wasn't until I met the old doctor in Willow Creek Town that I realized direction isn't something you think about, it's something you do. Don't rush things now. Take your time, and you'll eventually find something that gives you confidence."

Looking at Su's composed profile, Kevin felt a little lighter in his heart.

He was about to speak when a pink figure grabbed his wrist.

"Kevin! Sue! Come with me!" Ellie gripped their wrists with a strength that belied her small stature, her pink skirt brushing against their knees. "Eden's rehearsing 'Vorona's Lullaby' is on! Velvet said they'll be giving out mechanical badges after the rehearsal, badges that light up to the music. I've picked out the designs for you. Kevin's is an eagle, and Sue's is a kitten!"

Kevin was pulled forward by Ellie, feeling the warmth of her palm on his wrist.

The noise of the stadium filled my ears—the discussions in the art exhibition area, the buzzing of the sound system as Wilvi adjusted it, and Su's calm reminder from the side: "Slow down, don't fall."

He looked at the bouncing Ellie before him, her pink hair tips like little peach blossoms in motion; he looked at the composed Su beside him, her eyes beneath her grayish-blue bangs filled with certainty; he then thought of Eden on stage, head bowed, organizing sheet music, her long, wine-red hair gleaming softly in the light…

The confusion in my heart suddenly faded away, like fog dispelled by the morning light.

The backstage space wasn't large, but it was kept very organized.

Toulong was helping Velvi lift the spare speaker, his stone hands easily supporting the bottom of the speaker. There was a small sticker drawn by Ellie on the speaker – a little person holding a microphone, with the words "Go, Sister Eden" written next to it.

Vilvi stood by and directed, her mechanical prosthetic arm holding a screwdriver, adjusting the wiring from time to time: "A little to the left, yes, closer to the power source, easier to connect, saves us from having to wind up the wires later."

Qianjie leaned against the corner of the wall, holding a small wooden piano in his hand, which he had stayed up all night carving the night before.

The body of the instrument is made of paulownia wood with clear grain. The keys are inlaid with white shell pieces and can be pressed gently. The inside of the lid is engraved with the first few bars of "Vorona's Lullaby", which he carved bit by bit from Eden's score. His fingertips were red from the wood shavings, but he didn't care.

He bent down and used fine sandpaper to polish the legs of the violin, afraid that any splinters might prick Eden, his movements as gentle as if he were handling a precious treasure.

"Dragon's Roar! Thousand Calamities!" Ellie dragged Kevin and Sue in, her voice as crisp as a wind chime, "Eden's rehearsing! Come listen!"

Toulong put down the speaker, turned to look at Ai Li, and a faint smile appeared on his stone-like face: "Okay, coming right away."

Qianjie also stopped what he was doing, carefully put the wooden piano into his pocket, and followed Toulong toward the stage.

Eden was already seated at the piano, his fingertips gently touching the keys. First came a few simple notes, like raindrops falling on a lake, rippling outwards.

Then the melody slowly unfolded, as gentle as moonlight—it was "Vorona's Lullaby," the one she sang to everyone by the fireplace in the hotel last time.

At that time, Ellie fell asleep with her head on her shoulder, Toulong and Qianjie sat opposite her, and Wilvi was disassembling mechanical parts next to her. Even the air felt warm.

Ellie sat on a small stool next to the piano, holding a sheet music book in her hand, and hummed softly along with the melody. Her pink voice was soft and sweet, like it was coated with honey.

Toulong and Qianjie stood to the side of the stage, listening quietly. The stage lights reflected in Toulong's stone-like pupils, while Qianjie's hand quietly touched the wooden piano in his pocket, as if he could hold warmth in his hand.

Vilvi leaned against the speaker, her prosthetic arm tapping gently to the rhythm, a rare gentle smile playing on her lips; Sue stood beside Kevin, her gray-blue eyes calm, occasionally nodding slightly in sync with the rhythm.

Kevin looked at the scene before him and suddenly felt a surge of satisfaction.

He recalled the time at the Willow Creek Inn, when everyone sat around a warm stove eating dumplings, and Eden's pork rib soup was stewed until tender.

He recalled a rainy day in Changkong City when everyone was huddled in a hotel, and Eden taught him to read.

Recalling Su's calm demeanor when he said, "Direction is something you create," these images, like strings of pearls, shine brightly in my heart.

Perhaps, he doesn't need to rush to find the answer. Right now, being able to cherish this warmth, fight against the Honkai with his companions, watch Eden's concert, help Su adapt to her new life, and wait for Mei to return from Mu Continent, is enough.

He clenched his fist, the thin calluses from practicing swordsmanship showing on his fingertips—this was how he could protect everyone now, and it was also his "direction" at this moment.

The setting sun shone through the windows of the stadium, bathing the stage in a golden light.

Eden's song continued, gently circling the stadium, softening even the air; Ellie's humming, Wilvi's light patting, Sue's steady accompaniment, and the distant noises intertwined to create a song about youth and companionship.

Suddenly, Ellie turned around, smiling and waving at Kevin and Sue: "Come on, sing along! Eden said it's more fun when everyone sings together!"

Kevin and Sue exchanged a glance and smiled. Kevin strode towards the stage, his confusion long gone; Sue followed behind, her gray-blue eyes filled with calm certainty.

Eden's smile deepened as he watched the two approach.

She raised her hand, her fingertips landing on the keys again, the melody becoming lighter and more cheerful—this was a newly written song, about companionship, about warmth, about hope that still thrives amidst chaos.

She thought that this concert during the college season was not only for everyone to hear, but also for her precious friends and for this rare time.