Chapter 25: The Cost of Power

Medics rushed toward me across the rubble-strewn street, boots crunching over broken concrete while firefighters shouted orders and guided the last civilians away from the stabilized building.

I remained on my knees in the middle of the chaos, chest heaving, sweat and dust streaking down my face. My arms felt like dead weight. The ancient pressure in my chest had eased, but it left behind a deep, hollow exhaustion that made every breath hurt.

“You did it,” Soren said through the comms, his voice calm. “Civilians are clear. Hold position. Medics are coming to you.”

I didn’t feel like I had done anything good.

The medics reached me first. One dropped to a knee beside me and started scanning with a handheld device. “Vitals are unstable. Heart rate through the roof. We need to get him back to the mobile command unit immediately.”

“I’m fine,” I muttered, pushing their hands away weakly. “Just… give me a second.”

But I wasn’t fine.

The rescued crowd stared at me from a safe distance. Not with gratitude. Not with relief or cheers. Their eyes were filled with fear. Parents pulled their children closer. Some people slowly backed away, like I was more dangerous than the dungeon breach that had nearly killed them.

A firefighter helping an elderly woman paused and looked at me, his face pale. “What the hell was that?” he muttered to another rescuer. “No normal hunter stops a building like that. Keep the civilians moving. Stay clear of him.”

I felt their fear like a knife in my gut. My stomach twisted painfully.

“They’re scared of me,” I whispered, mostly to myself. “They’re not cheering. They’re backing away like I’m the real monster here.”

Soren’s voice came through the comms again. “They don’t understand what they saw, Elias. Give them time. You just saved their lives.”

“Time?” I laughed bitterly, still on my knees. “They saw me hold an entire building in the air with one hand. Of course they’re terrified. I would be terrified of me too.”

One of the medics tried to help me stand. “Come on, sir. We need to check you properly. Your readings are all over the place.”

I shrugged him off and forced myself to my feet. My legs shook badly. The hunter suit felt suffocating. I looked around at the crowd again. A group of survivors huddled together, whispering urgently while staring at me with wide, frightened eyes.

“They think I caused this,” I said quietly. “Don’t they? They think I’m the reason the breach happened.”

Before Soren could respond, a small child, the little girl I had seen through the broken window earlier, broke away from her mother and pointed straight at me.

She started crying uncontrollably. Loud, terrified sobs that cut through the noise of the street like a blade.

“Mama! The monster!” she wailed, hiding behind her mother’s leg. “The monster man made the building fly! Don’t let him hurt us! Mama, please!”

Her mother quickly scooped her up and backed away fast, shooting me a frightened look as she retreated with the rest of the crowd. Other civilians followed, creating more distance between us.

The words hit me harder than anything else that day.

I stood there, frozen, staring at the child’s terrified face as her mother carried her further away.

“They’re all scared of me,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I risked everything to save them… and now they’re running from me like I’m the dungeon itself.”

Soren’s voice softened slightly in my ear. “Elias, this reaction is normal. They’ve never seen power like yours before. It will take time for them to process it.”

“Normal?” I choked out, tears stinging my eyes. “A little girl just called me a monster. I saved their lives and they look at me like I’m going to kill them next. What’s the point of any of this if everyone hates me for it?”

The medics tried to approach again, but I stepped back. “Just stay away from me. Please. I don’t want to hurt anyone else.”

The crowd continued backing away slowly. More whispers. More fearful glances. Even some of the hunters kept their distance, watching me carefully like I might snap at any second.

I looked down at my trembling hands, the same hands that had just stopped a building from crushing dozens of people.

The blue system interface suddenly appeared in my vision, flashing with cold red text.

CONTAINMENT STRESS DETECTED

EMOTIONAL SPIKE REGISTERED

STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY: 92%

Another percent gone.

I sank back down to one knee, pressing a hand against my chest as fresh pressure built inside me. The ancient presence stirred again, feeding on my pain and isolation.

The medics moved closer cautiously. “We really need to get you checked out.”

I waved them off weakly. “Just… give me a minute. Please.”

The crowd kept their distance. No cheers. No thanks. Only fear.

I had saved them.

But at what cost?

To everyone else, I wasn’t a hero.

I was the monster who could move buildings with his hand.

And that truth hurt worse than any drop in structural integrity.