Day 29: Manifestation

The sound of the firefighters’ sirens was intense.
They were overwhelmed, unable to contain the fire.

The evacuation of the surrounding buildings became increasingly difficult due to the rapid spread of the flames. From different points, firefighters requested support from other public safety services.

People recorded what was happening.

The fire glowed in shades of purple, violet, and red, illuminating the night sky.
From it, small glimmers emerged, similar to frost.
They flickered in the air before fading away.

A group of firefighters moved through the rubble, carrying Sally on a stretcher.

Her condition was critical.
She had lost both legs.

—Have the reinforcements arrived yet? —one of them asked over the radio, his voice tense.

—Yes, they’re on their way —his partner replied.

Dodging the fire and the remains of the building, they managed to get out.

Paramedics were waiting with another stretcher to transfer her immediately to the ambulance.

—Hurry up, we’re losing her! —one of them shouted to the driver.

The ambulance sped off at full speed.

Sally was losing a lot of blood.

They applied tourniquets to the missing limbs and pressed down on the wounds on her torso.

Suddenly, Sally woke up.

She coughed violently and screamed in pain.

The energy inside her began to circulate with uncontrollable intensity, causing the bleeding to worsen.

That same energy was trying to prevent her from bleeding to death.
But at the same time, it sought to regenerate the damage done to her body.

The pain intensified.

The paramedics, astonished, could barely hold her to keep her from hurting herself further.

Sally was beside herself.

Then, a large shadow surrounded them.

It had multiple eyes, their gazes distorting as it moved.

The shadow vibrated, expanded, warping space itself.

Several tentacles emerged from it and separated the paramedics from Sally.

The energy distorted everything around them.

Little by little, that energy took the shape of the lost limbs.

Her legs regenerated.

Sally began to calm down.

The shadows released the paramedics and withdrew.

The ambulance doors opened on their own.

Sally jumped out.

In the distance, Said was watching her.

She ran toward a nearby alley.

Dark markings appeared on her new legs.

She sat down, breathing heavily, trying to calm herself.

The shadows began to contract.

The glimmers —that frost born from the fire— returned to Sally’s body.

The flames, instead, transformed into flowers.

Said approached.

—Hello —he said.

—You were dead —Sally replied, still gasping.

—You should be dead too, don’t you think? —he replied.

—Let’s get out of here —he continued—. The security cameras could catch us.

Sally extended her hand.

Said helped her to her feet.

Both climbed up to a nearby rooftop.

Said imbued Sally with his energy.

They floated and passed through walls as if they didn’t exist.

Up above, they began to talk.

—Now I really want to know how you’re still alive —Sally said.

—You already know that —Said replied—. Thanks to the awakening of the soul.

—You saw it too —he continued—. That which you long for.

—That with which you feel a genuine sense of calm.

—Finding balance within yourself.

—Making your soul awaken.

—Being able to control energy in its entirety.

Said paused.

—Understanding our feelings and what surrounds us allowed that.

—But above all… pain.

The pain of being alive.
Of being human.

That pain is born from feeling trapped in a body and a life that go beyond the material and the physical.

It resides in empathy: in the ability to feel another’s suffering, to understand the damage caused by greed and the degeneration of being.

That awareness leads to a deep void.

One that opens the door to the search for something… something that often manifests in what brings us calm.

But not everyone is capable of understanding it.

Few are those who have the fortune —and the misfortune— of suffering this pain.

They represent what it means to be truly human, and at the same time, are deemed unworthy of being so.

To be truly human means to embody that which once defined humanity: the ability to believe, to care, to seek, and to create from a midpoint, from balance.

However, that very condition makes them unworthy. Not due to lack, but because humanity, as a species, has degenerated and lost that essential capacity. What once defined its true form no longer aligns with what it has become.

That is why those who still preserve that essence remain human, yet at the same time go beyond what being human means today. They understand both what humanity was and can still become, as well as what it has ended up turning into.

And it is precisely within that understanding that their pain resides.

Sally remained silent for a few seconds.

—But there’s something we’re leaving out —she finally said.

—It’s as if something else is still missing to awaken.

—Like that soldier in the video.

Meanwhile, on the news, different reporters covered the fire.

They spoke of how, out of nowhere, the flames had turned into luminescent flowers.

The news fueled the protests even further.

Police and military forces were deployed to prevent major incidents.

—There’s little left until the conclusion —the witch murmured.

She smiled.

—I think I’ll have to name those two’s abilities.

She raised a finger.

—Sally’s will be…

ANIMA: OVERWRITE PROTOCOL.

—It works as both virus and antivirus.

Then she added:

—And Said’s will be…

CATALYST NEXUS.

—Support. Assistance.

The witch’s smile widened.

—How interesting this story is becoming.