Sid hands slipped across the steel rung, the metal slick with mist. At first, he thought it was just a miscalculation— an off grip. But then he saw it. The bolt holding the rung had been loosened, barely hanging on. His stomach dropped, a rush of cold panic shooting through his chest.

"Whoa— what the— no, no, no!"

Sid’s voice screamed through the wind, adrenaline spiking as his hand slipped.

"AHHHH!!"

The chat went wild instantly.

[Chat]: HE’S FALLING!

[Chat]: SOMEONE HELP HIM!!!

[Chat]: MY HEART—

Morgana’s voice cracked through the headset.

"SID!!! NOOOO!!! SID, HOLD ON! WHAT HAPPENED?!"

Her hands flew to her mouth, tears streaming freely. Big D’s voice was frantic, loud enough for everyone to hear on the feed.

"BRO, WHAT THE HELL!?!? HANG ON! HANG ON!"

Sid’s mind raced. He barely had time to register the fall before gravity took hold. His body dropped, twisting through the air as the wind screamed past him. He reached, clawing at a dangling maintenance cable, his gloves burning from friction. The cable held, just barely, but the second it snapped, he plunged another ten meters.

"Ahhh— fuuuuck!"

He yelled, pain stabbing through his side and burning down his arm. Every collision hammered his ribs, scraped his bloodied hands, and sent fresh stabs of agony through the wound above his hip. His vision blurred, the city below spinning like a twisted carousel.

"Chat... don’t die from heart attacks yet..." he coughed weakly, trying to keep his humor alive through the panic. His voice cracked, ragged from shouting and pain.

The first collision was brutal, a service scaffold at 350 meters.

CRRRAAANG!

It crumpled beneath his weight, jarring him violently. Sid rolled instinctively, but the impact twisted his right knee unnaturally. Pain screamed through his leg, white-hot and unrelenting. He gritted his teeth, breathing harsh and shallow, trying to orient himself as his body tumbled.

"I... I can’t die here... Not now..." he gasped.

The next collision came faster, a protruding balcony jutting from the tower.

THUUUUD!

His shoulder slammed against it, spinning his body, scraping skin raw. He could feel ribs threatening to crack, and blood began streaking down his face. But somehow, the balcony slowed his momentum, and his free fall reduced slightly.

Below him, the city seemed impossibly far, and the viewers on the livestream erupted.

[Chat]: NOOO! HE’S GOING TO DIE!

[Chat]: SOMEONE HELP HIM!!

[Chat]: MY HEART CAN’T TAKE THIS!

Morgana’s voice broke completely.

"SID! DON’T YOU DIE ON ME, YOU IDIOT! I SWEAR, IF YOU DIE..."

Her sobs swallowed her words. Big D’s hands shook, phone raised high, unable to stop watching.

"BRO! BRO! HANG ON! I’M SEEING THIS LIVE AND I CAN’T BREATHE!"

Sid’s brain screamed at him to think, to react, to do something. He tried to calculate every impact, every grab, every possible way to slow his descent. A hanging cable— grab it. A steel rung— push off it. Anything to stay alive. His right knee was nearly useless, each jolt sending white hot pain shooting through his leg, but adrenaline drowned it out. Panic cutting through the rush of air, as he shouting,

"C’mon, Sid... think! I need to slow down— anything, so I have a damn chance to live! F*ck! I’m not dying here, not now! I still have more to do! GAHH— my leg!"

His hand snagged a dangling pipe, scraping skin and bleeding more, but it stopped some of the downward momentum. Another beam smashed against his shoulder. Pain flared everywhere— side, knee, ribs, hands but somehow, he twisted his body enough to land feet first on a lower balcony.

WHAM!

His knee buckled immediately. The joint screamed under his weight, almost giving way entirely. He grunted, face pressed against the steel as he forced a shallow crawl forward. His hands left grooves in the rusted metal, blood dripping and mixing with sweat. He gritted his teeth so hard it hurt his jaw, trying to stay conscious.

"C’mon... just a little more... please, just let me reach the bottom..."

His voice shook, barely audible above the wind. The camera wobbled violently, showing the dizzying distance still below him. Every viewer on the livestream held their breath.

[Chat]: HE’S STILL ALIVE???

[Chat]: I CAN’T— MY HEART—

[Chat]: SID, I LOVE YOU!!!

Morgana’s tears fell freely now.

"Sid... please... just breathe... just survive... I can’t lose you!"

Big D’s voice was hoarse from yelling.

"KEEP GOING, BRO! YOU GOT THIS! I’M SEEING HISTORY!"

Sid’s body ached beyond imagination, but he forced himself to take a shaky, crawling step. One hand, then the other. The metal under his fingers felt impossibly cold, but his grip held. His right knee screamed, threatening to collapse, but he pushed, forced it forward, refusing to let gravity win this time.

"I... I’m not done... not yet..."

He whispered, voice trembling, eyes watering from pain and windburn.

"Not until I see... the bottom... not until I see... Morgana... not until I see Big D..."

With one final, agonizing effort, he crawled toward the last section of the lower beams. Each movement was excruciating. The world tilted around him, every second stretching like an eternity. And as he finally saw the faint glow of the van lights below, a sob escaped his cracked lips.

"I... I’m... almost there..."

Every person watching held their breath, hearts pounding in unison with his fractured movements. Sid’s body was battered, bloodied, and broken but the stubborn spark in his eyes refused to die.

Up above the ruined skyline, a man stood in the shadows of the old broadcast tower. His coat flapped faintly in the wind, dust swirling around his feet. The screen of his phone glowed pale against his face, reflecting Sid’s live feed— still trembling, still chaotic, still broadcasting to nearly three hundred thousand viewers.

A faint smile curved the man’s lips as the live feed showed Sid slipping— his body colliding with the beams on the way down, each impact sending a sickening clang through the speakers. The man leaned closer to the monitor, his eyes reflecting the flashing light of the stream. His voice trembling with twisted satisfaction, as he muttered.

"Huhaha... hahahaha! Perfect! Just like how you ruined me, asshole."