In Manhattan, New York, a building belonging to a subsidiary energy company under Stark Industries suddenly suffered a collapse.
There was no warning whatsoever—the collapse happened abruptly. The entire building was now leaning, much like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Given the gravity of the situation, George Stacy, the Commissioner of the New York Police Department, personally stepped in to oversee the investigation.
"Commissioner, preliminary estimates suggest that damage to the supporting steel reinforcements at the base of the building caused the collapse," an on-site investigator reported after an initial inspection.
"And the cause of the damage?" George asked, narrowing his eyes.
"We'll need to excavate and locate the damaged structural sections before we can determine exactly how the supporting steel was destroyed.
However…"
"However what? Speak plainly." George frowned impatiently.
"To damage the foundation steel of a building like this through conventional means would require high-powered explosives.
But we've found no residue or traces of explosive detonations.
So either it was some kind of new explosive… or the perpetrator possessed supernatural powers," the forensic specialist speculated.
One thing was certain: this was absolutely not a normal accident. First of all, there had been no earthquake in New York—and even if there had been, it wouldn't have affected only a single building.
Secondly, it was obvious that only a specific section of the foundation's steel reinforcement had been destroyed, making it almost certain that this was a man-made incident.
Moreover, Stark Industries' construction standards were well-known for their reliability. There was no way this was a shoddy project that could collapse from a random mishap.
In fact, even after the base collapsed and the building tilted, there was no additional structural damage elsewhere—clear proof of the building's exceptional construction quality.
George nodded thoughtfully and issued orders:
"Continue excavating and determine the exact cause—and the method—used to damage the steel reinforcements.
Also, speed up the evacuation of civilians and staff inside the building.
Although the structure is still largely intact for now, it's leaning as a whole. There's no telling when a secondary collapse might occur, which would be extremely dangerous."
As he finished speaking, George stared at the tilted building, deep in thought. What kind of power could destroy the foundation steel of a hundred-meter-tall building?
"Gurongi?"
He immediately thought of the Gurongi they had been dealing with recently—but quickly dismissed the idea.
The Gurongi's methods were always blatant: whenever they appeared, they directly used their abilities to kill. They would never go through the trouble of causing this kind of structural destruction.
"Then… Gaia Memories? They hadn't caused much trouble before, but once something happens, it's really a big one."
Although the collapse itself caused relatively few casualties—far fewer than even a fraction of the deaths caused by the Gurongi—the commotion was enormous.
A commercial skyscraper collapsing without warning in Manhattan's bustling business district would stir up far greater public outcry across the United States than hundreds of murders committed by the Gurongi.
George felt displeased, but he had to admit that, in the eyes of many high-ranking officials, this was exactly how things were viewed.
"Still, Gaia Memories have been appearing in New York for quite some time now. Their users haven't done anything this extreme.
So why suddenly cause such a massive incident? Did something change that we haven't caught wind of?" George wondered.
Gaia Memory users were indeed affected by the memories' toxins, which subtly altered their personalities over time.
However, they were usually still able to use their powers rationally, maintaining a fair degree of self-control.
Only when a user experienced intense negative emotions—such as rage or hatred—would the toxins rapidly react, causing the user to lose control.
Some Memories, however, inherently possessed immense destructive power and were filled with negative information that directly provoked such emotions.
For users with weak willpower, losing control was almost inevitable.
The Magma Memory was one such example.
Because of its overwhelming power, Kingpin had originally intended to find a suitable user among his own subordinates. However, the magma's power was simply too difficult to control, and no suitable candidate had been found.
Now that Kingpin had released the Magma Memory into circulation, it immediately caused a major incident.
"This is quite the headline—Stark Industries' building," Kingpin remarked with apparent admiration as he watched news footage of the collapsed skyscraper in the Fisk Tower executive office.
"The Magma Memory user was a weapons engineer who lost his job after Tony Stark shut down the weapons manufacturing division," David explained after reviewing the buyer's information.
"After leaving Stark Industries, he was unable to find suitable work for a long time.
He'd harbored resentment toward Tony Stark and Stark Industries for quite some time. Combined with the constantly boiling, overwhelming power of the Magma Memory,
it's no surprise that he went straight for the Stark Industries energy division building to carry out his destruction."
"This is only the first one," Kingpin said with a smile.
"Next, the actions of these out-of-control Gaia Memory users will draw the attention—both overt and covert—of all those watching the Gaia Memories.
And while they're distracted, I can calmly unify New York's entire underground world."
Clearing his throat, he spoke in a solemn, almost sacred tone:
"When that happens, all of New York will be shrouded in fear of me.
I have a strong premonition that the Terror Memory may evolve by feeding on this fear. When that happens, it will unleash power beyond its limits—far beyond imagination."
Clap, clap, clap…
"Excellent. A very interesting idea. As expected, Lord Eternal did not misjudge you," Evolto suddenly appeared in the room, applauding and praising Kingpin.
Kingpin withdrew his fanatical gaze, his expression returning to calm neutrality.
"It's just a hypothesis. Whether it can truly be achieved remains to be seen."
Evolto cast a meaningful glance at him.
"You really don't need to worry. You're capable of uncovering the deeper potential of Gaia Memories and gaining even greater power.
The Foundation and Lord Eternal would only be pleased.
The reason the Foundation allows Gaia Memories to circulate is precisely to enhance their power through users with sufficient aptitude."
"Oh?" Kingpin's eyes gleamed. "Then do you think my idea can actually come true?"
Evolto tilted his head slightly, as if pondering. After a moment, he replied with a playful tone:
"In theory, absolutely. The Terror Memory is the embodiment of the concept of 'fear' from life on Earth.
If you can absorb enough fear, it's only natural that the Fear Memory's power would break through its current limits.
However, the prerequisite is that your own will must be strong enough to withstand such immense fear. Otherwise, you'll be completely swallowed by it.
It's extremely dangerous—so take care. Don't end up dragging yourself down with it."
Kingpin smiled confidently.
"I will succeed. I won't disappoint the Foundation."
"As long as you know what you're doing. This is a new batch of Gaia Memories," Evolto said, nodding lightly as he placed a briefcase onto Kingpin's desk.
(End of Chapter)