Chapter 55 Witnesses to a Miracle
Chapter 55 Witnesses to a Miracle
Hundreds of civilians and responders stared upward in stunned disbelief, their faces illuminated by the harsh glow of floodlights that lit up the suspended building like a frozen disaster hanging impossibly in the night sky.
I stood in the middle of the plaza with my arms still spread wide, every muscle in my body screaming in agony as I held the entire facility in place through sheer force of will. The massive structure hovered above us, flames still licking from broken windows and smoke pouring from shattered openings, but no longer collapsing. Dust and small debris drifted down slowly around it like gray snow falling in slow motion.
Soren stood right beside me, his hand steady on my shoulder. “You’re doing it, Elias. They’re almost all out. The last groups are clearing the lower exits. Just a little longer. You can hold it. I know you can.”
My arms shook violently under the impossible strain. Sweat poured down my face, stinging my eyes and mixing with the dust and ash. “It’s too heavy… I can feel it slipping. The Core doesn’t want to hold anymore. It wants to let go. It wants everything to break. I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up.”
News helicopters circled overhead, their rotors chopping through the smoke-filled air. Bright spotlights swept across the scene, broadcasting everything live to millions of viewers across the country and beyond. I could see the red recording lights blinking on their cameras, capturing every second of my struggle, every tremble in my arms, every tear on my face.
A reporter’s voice carried faintly from one of the helicopters through a loudspeaker. “We are live above the facility where an unidentified hunter is somehow holding an entire collapsing building in the air. This is unprecedented. We have no scientific explanation for what we’re seeing right now. The Hunter Association has not issued a statement, but sources say this individual is the sole survivor of the recent Abyss Gate incident.”
I gasped for air, my vision starting to blur at the edges. “They’re all watching me. The whole world is watching me break apart. I can’t… I can’t do this much longer. My strength is fading too fast. It feels like I’m disappearing.”
Soren’s grip tightened on my shoulder. “You’re not disappearing. You’re still here. You’re still fighting. Those people down there… they’re alive because of you. Keep holding for them. Just a few more minutes. The last evacuation groups are almost clear.”
A group of survivors near the evacuation tunnel looked up at me. One woman held her child close, tears streaming down her face. “He’s saving us,” she whispered to her daughter, voice carrying faintly on the wind. “That boy up there… he’s saving us all. Look at him. He’s holding the whole building.”
But not everyone saw it that way. Some responders backed away slowly, eyes wide with fear. A firefighter muttered to his partner, loud enough for me to hear, “That’s not natural. No one should be able to do that. What if he drops it on us? What if he’s the reason this happened in the first place?”
My knees buckled slightly. I forced them straight again, arms trembling harder. “They’re scared of me, Soren. Even now. Even after I saved them. They think I’m going to kill them all. They think I’m the monster.”
“You’re not,” Soren said firmly. “You’re holding it. You’re protecting them. Focus on that. Not their fear. Not the Core. Them. The ones you’re saving right now.”
Cracks began forming along the outer walls again, spiderwebbing rapidly across the concrete. The building groaned louder, fighting against my will. Small pieces of debris broke free and hovered for a moment before falling to the ground with heavy thuds.
“I’m losing it,” I gasped, tears streaming down my face. “It’s too much. The Core is pushing back harder. I can feel it laughing at me inside. Like it knows I can’t hold this forever. Like it knows I’m going to break.”
A little girl in the crowd pointed up at me, her small voice carrying through the stunned silence. “Is he going to die?”
Her mother quickly pulled her closer, but the words hit me harder than anything else that night.
I felt my arms starting to drop. The building trembled violently in the air above us. More cracks spread. The pressure in my chest ground deeper, like my heart was being crushed under the impossible weight I was trying to carry.
Soren’s voice grew desperate. “Elias, hold on! They’re almost clear! Just a few more seconds! You’re almost there!”
My vision blurred completely for a moment. The system flashed urgently in my sight.
\[STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY: 75%\]
\[CRITICAL POWER DRAIN\]
\[COLLAPSE IMMINENT WITHOUT INTERVENTION\]
I kept my arms raised, sobbing openly now as the numbers kept dropping. The little girl’s words echoed in my head.
\[Is he going to die?\]
I didn’t know the answer anymore.
All I knew was that I was still holding.
Still fighting.
Still choosing them over the easier path.
Even as the Core inside me whispered that I was already losing.