"Run!" people screamed as chaos broke out, their voices carrying pure terror while they fled in every direction. The ground itself was tearing apart, splitting open with violent force and leaving behind a vast, yawning void. Everything nearby was dragged down into it, swallowed without mercy. This was no ordinary fissure—it was a rift, one that lead straight into the pocket universe, leading directly to that dimension overflowing with countless black holes.
"Mom!" a child cried out desperately as she lost her footing, her small body pulled toward the edge. In an instant, she was gone, sucked into the pull of the rift—until a hand caught her.
The mother gasped, relief flooding her heart as she looked Down. There, holding her daughter safely in his grip, was a white-haired man with a blindfold covering his eyes. With his other hand, he clutched firmly onto the crumbling edge of the ground, anchoring himself in place to keep from being dragged into the abyss below.
"Get going, kid," David said firmly as he tossed the child upward with ease, sending her safely over the edge and back into her mother's arms. He then pulled himself up in one smooth motion, his body unaffected by the violent pull of the rift as though its force meant nothing to him.
"Thank you," the mother said breathlessly, clutching her daughter tightly in relief.
David gave a small nod in acknowledgment before urging them onward. With that done, he turned and sprinted without hesitation, rushing to save as many people as he could from the spreading disaster.
'Space is unstable… I can't use the Limitless,' David thought as he pulled the blindfold away from his eyes. He had teleported into the area, only to discover immediately that the distorted space here refused to bend to his control. Manipulating it was impossible.
Without hesitation, David shifted his approach. He poured his curse energy into his body, strengthening every muscle and nerve, sharpening his reflexes until his movements blurred into near invisibility. At that speed, the world slowed before him. One by one, he caught people before they could tumble into the abyss. The task wasn't difficult—not for him. The rift had only just appeared, and his speed strength outpaced its pull with ease.
"Help!" The cry came from an elderly voice, weak but desperate, and it immediately drew David's attention. His eyes shifted toward a building that was being torn apart by the spreading rift. Inside, clinging to the remains, was an old woman who was being pulled closer and closer toward the void. At her age, how could she possibly hold on for long?
David stepped forward once, then launched himself with all the strength he had. In a burst of power, he rocketed across the collapsing structure, reaching her just in time to grab hold and pull her away from the edge.
But the moment he looked around, his heart sank slightly—it wasn't just her. This was a retirement home. David let out a quiet sigh, realizing the scope of what needed to be done. Without wasting another moment, he moved at his full speed. The world around him seemed frozen in place as he blurred through the halls and rooms, scooping people out of danger. To onlookers, it was almost as if he were a speedster. Sadly, he wasn't, and he had to remain careful with every step, mindful of how much force and speed he poured into each motion.
Too fast, and if he touched someone, all of that energy would surge through their body, tearing them apart from the inside out. Because of that, David kept himself in control, using sharp, measured bursts of speed. He didn't push himself hard enough to cause a sonic boom, but he moved quickly enough to reach each person, slowing down at the last possible second to catch them safely before racing off toward the next.
The pull of the rift clawed at everything around him, but David brushed it aside without effort. For him, resisting it was nothing more than a light task, easily managed with his physical strength. Yet there was no time to take comfort in that fact. The rift was spreading, advancing further and further, forcing him to keep moving without pause. Every second mattered as he reached for as many people as possible.
"How long do you need?" Mister Terrific's voice carried over the chaos, steady despite the tension. His T-spheres floated rapidly around him, scanning and adjusting, but he himself remained seated within his chair at a safe distance. Getting closer wasn't an option—if he tried, the rift's pull would drag him in instantly.
"What do you mean?" David asked lightly, his tone calm even as his hands moved with care. He leaned down, handing a baby back into its mother's trembling arms. Along with the child, he placed a small toy into the infant's grip, hoping to quiet the cries that cut through the already frantic atmosphere.
"Do you need to scan the space-time, so you can use your power properly around this rift?" Mister Terrific explained. His words left David momentarily stunned, caught off guard by the clarity of the observation.
"My T-spheres detected how the space around you shifted unnaturally when you caused their attacks to simply pause. It took some time, but it seems like your meta human ability is controlling space." Mister Terrific continued, his tone confident. "And the fact that you can't teleport as freely as before only proves that my guess might be correct."
David gave a light nod in response, acknowledging the truth in his words.
"I don't know how long I need… how long can you buy me?" David asked, his tone calm but serious.
Mister Terrific's gaze shifted forward, locking on the rift's path. It was heading straight toward the hospital, the same one David had already cleared much of. Still, countless patients and staff remained trapped inside, unable to flee for a hundred different reasons.
"I'm not giving you any promises!" Mister Terrific snapped back. With those words, he shot forward, his chair surging into motion as his T-spheres scattered ahead of him. They raced into the hospital, scanning every corridor and room in rapid succession. He wasted no time, shattering windows wide open while his chair maneuvered through the halls.
Each time he scooped someone into the seat, the chair sent them safely to the ground below, freeing space for the next passenger. Back and forth he went, darting through the hospital at full speed, determined to save as many lives as he could before the rift reached them.
Some people were guided onto the barrier created by the T-spheres, the shimmering platform carrying them steadily down to the ground. Others who had made it to the roof were lifted onto the T-craft, which ferried them to safety before circling back for more. The process was constant, a cycle of rescue and return, each trip buying precious seconds.
Meanwhile, David wasted no time. He focused entirely on studying the space around the rift, his mind dissecting the chaotic distortions. The task was anything but simple—space itself twisted and writhed like a storm—but David's talent allowed him to read it with uncanny speed. He didn't even need a full minute to understand what he was dealing with. Still, time was slipping through his fingers, and he knew he was running short.
"Hurry!" Mister Terrific shouted, his voice sharp with urgency as the rift crept closer to the hospital. David's expression tightened, his jaw set, but soon, the rift slammed into the building. The structure split apart instantly, walls crumbling and floors collapsing as countless people were pulled screaming into the void.