Chapter 45 - Three Minutes
Three minutes is a long time when a city is screaming.
It is very short when your father has been dying for seven years.
Eli stood in the Hearth chamber beside Jian.
The Maw filled the furnace behind them, weaker now but still enormous.
The People's Ladle glowed white-hot.
[Dissolution: 91%]
Jian's body flickered between flesh and golden flame.
"If this fails—"
"Don't."
"Eli."
"You don't get a dramatic goodbye. You already used your disappearance quota."
Jian laughed weakly.
Mei's voice came through speakerphone.
"Listen to boy."
"Yes, dear."
"And when home, we discuss seven years."
Jian looked genuinely frightened.
Reggie whispered, "Monster was easier."
The first minute passed.
93%.
Too slow.
Eli poured Insight Qi into Burden Return.
His core cracked.
[Warning: excessive authority load.]
"Noted."
Second minute.
96%.
The engine ceiling split.
Black teeth pushed through reality.
Ren braced the final conduit with his Fasting Dao.
Victor, still restrained, shouted instructions to stabilize pressure.
Nobody thanked him, but they followed the useful ones.
Madam Sato anchored the north lines.
Tasha held three pastry arrays together with frosting bags because cultivation remained ridiculous.
Grant coordinated covenant revocations.
People across the city sat with one another through cravings.
No points.
No rewards.
No guarantee their small action mattered.
They did it anyway.
[System observation: Audit conclusion reinforced.]
Third minute.
98.7%.
Ren's eyes met Eli's.
Time was up.
Eli saw his uncle prepare to sever containment.
"Wait!"
Ren hesitated half a second.
The Maw erupted.
Jian screamed.
Eli's Hearth Core cracked completely.
The system displayed an emergency option.
[Become New Living Keystone]
[Containment guaranteed.]
[Estimated service term: 27-61 years]
[Accept?]
The old command was gone.
The system was not forcing him.
That almost made the choice harder.
Eli could save everyone instantly by replacing his father.
One sacrifice.
Clean.
Efficient.
Exactly how the old system always solved problems.
He rejected it.
Jian stared.
"Eli!"
"No more one-person furnaces."
He took the cracked Hearth Core inside himself and did the opposite of condensing.
He broke it apart.
Six Dao principles separated.
Then divided again.
And again.
Tiny sparks traveled through every consenting Hearth node.
[Core dissolution initiated.]
[Warning: Realm loss possible.]
"Fine."
[Warning: permanent cultivation damage possible.]
"Fine."
[System comment: You say fine when things are not fine.]
"Family habit."
His personal core became ten thousand smaller hearth sparks.
No one carried enough to become a prisoner.
Everyone carried almost nothing.
The burden spread.
99.4%.
99.8%.
Then the Maw stopped roaring.
The wooden bowl inside it became whole.
100%.
The endless mouth closed.
Not dead.
Completed.
The furnace went dark.
Jian fell into Eli's arms.
For the first time in seven years, the city had no Living Keystone.
And it did not collapse.
---
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