Cael connected the final cable, and the blue sphere began to emit a soft hum.
His hands trembled as he checked the connections one last time, acutely aware of the cameras, executives, and silent audience watching him.
The sphere glowed with an intense blue radiance, casting flickering lights across the stage table.
Cael took a deep breath, feeling the weight of every gaze on him.
"Here goes…" he muttered, pressing the activation button.
At first, everything seemed to work.
The sphere sent out a pulse of energy, and nearby objects—a pen, a notebook, even a chair at the stage's edge—began to float a few inches off the ground.
The audience gasped, some leaning forward with wide eyes.
Victor Kade, the Director of Research and Development, removed his glasses and wiped them with a handkerchief, as if unable to believe what he saw.
Elena Marrow stopped taking notes, and Darius Holt, ArcanTech's president, leaned forward, his white beard gleaming under the lights.
Cael felt a fleeting wave of relief.
'It's working,' he thought, a shy smile forming on his face.
But then, something shifted.
The sphere started spinning on its base, faster than it should, and the hum turned into a high-pitched screech.
The floating objects began to shake, and a glass of water on the executives' table rose too high, spilling its contents into the air.
◇◆◇
Yuna sat on the couch, eyes glued to the TV.
The live broadcast of ArcanTech's Innovation Event showed her brother on stage, and Yuna clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms.
She was furious. She knew how much Cael hated public speaking, how crowds made him so nervous he'd stammer.
'Why did that bitch put him in a show like this?' she thought, cursing Lena in her head. 'She knows Cael can't handle this. Why didn't she get him a private meeting?'
When the sphere kicked in and objects began to float, Yuna felt a brief surge of relief.
"That's it, Cael!" she shouted, leaning toward the TV.
The audience seemed impressed, and for a second, she thought everything would be fine.
But then she saw the sphere's erratic spinning, the screech that distorted the TV's audio.
"No, no, no," she whispered, her heart in her throat. "Cael, turn it off…"
◇◆◇
Back on stage, Cael tried to stay calm.
"It's just a tweak," he said, his voice shaking as he tapped the holographic screen that had appeared in front of the sphere.
But the system's options weren't responding as they should.
The sphere spun faster, and now it wasn't just small objects floating—the entire table began to lift, tilting dangerously to one side.
The audience screamed, some shrinking back in their seats, and the executives stood, their faces etched with alarm.
"Turn that off now!" Elena Marrow shouted, jabbing a finger at Cael.
"I'm trying!" Cael shot back, sweat streaming down his forehead.
He pressed every option on the screen, but nothing worked.
The sphere let out a blinding flash, and then, with a deafening BANG!, it exploded.
Shards of blue crystal sprayed across the stage, and a shockwave made the ceiling lights flicker.
The table crashed to the floor with a heavy thud, papers scattered through the air, and the glass of water shattered, splashing Darius Holt.
The silence that followed was pierced by the audience's screams.
Cael stood frozen, hands trembling, ears ringing.
The stage was littered with crystal fragments, broken cables, and spilled water.
He looked around, searching for Lena, hoping she'd appear to help him.
But she wasn't there.
Lena had vanished, leaving him alone to face the wreckage.
The host, who'd retreated to the stage's edge, stormed back with the microphone, her face red with anger.
"Mr. Blackwood, what the hell was that?!" she snapped, gesturing at the mess. "This is your grand invention? You nearly destroyed the stage!"
Cael opened his mouth, but no words came out.
He was in shock.
The sphere had worked perfectly last night, and in the room with Lena too.
He'd taken every precaution, checked every circuit, every connection.
'What went wrong?' he thought, feeling the ground sink beneath him.
Victor Kade stood, adjusting his glasses with a trembling hand.
"This is what you call manipulating mana?" he said, his tone dripping with contempt. "You can't even keep an object floating without causing a disaster! How dare you come here with something so unstable?"
Darius Holt, his shirt soaked from the spilled water, wiped his beard with a napkin.
"This is a mockery," he growled, his voice deep and furious. "If you think you can fool us with a cheap circus trick, you're gravely mistaken. We'll sue you for the damages, boy!"
Cael felt the air drain from his lungs.
"No… that wasn't supposed to happen," he stammered, raising his hands. "I'm sorry, really. This shouldn't have gone like this. The sphere worked before, I swear. I can fix it, let me try again…"
Elena Marrow let out a cold laugh.
"Fix it? With what money?" she said, crossing her arms. "You're broke, aren't you? Thought you'd get rich with this ridiculous idea? This is a waste of time!"
Her words cut like knives, and Cael felt his eyes sting with tears.
He wanted to scream, to defend himself, to explain he'd worked months without sleep, caused a neighborhood blackout just to make the sphere work.
But he knew they wouldn't listen.
The audience was already laughing, some recording with their phones, and the cameras kept rolling, capturing every second of his humiliation.
'It's being broadcast…' Cael thought, his chest tightening.
Yuna was watching this.
The whole world was watching. He tried to breathe, but the air wouldn't come.
He searched for Lena again, desperate for a familiar face, but she was still gone.
'Where are you?' he thought, a mix of anger and despair swirling inside him.
◇◆◇
Back at the apartment, Yuna had her hands on her head, staring at the TV with tears in her eyes.
The broadcast showed Cael on stage, head bowed as the executives tore into him with insults.
The host cracked jokes to lighten the mood, but Yuna couldn't stand it.
She grabbed her phone and opened social media, only to see Cael's name already trending.
The comments were brutal:
[ArcanTech's Failure]
[What a loser, thought he could fool them]
[This is what happens when a nobody tries to be famous]
Yuna threw her phone onto the couch, her heart breaking.
"It's not fair!" she yelled, punching a cushion.
Cael had worked so hard, sacrificed everything for that sphere. And now the world was ripping him apart for a mistake he didn't understand.
'This shouldn't have happened,' she thought, wiping her tears. 'Something's wrong. That sphere worked. I saw it with my own eyes.'
◇◆◇
On stage, two security guards climbed up, their faces stern.
One grabbed Cael by the arm.
"Come with us," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "You're paying for every cent of the damage you caused."
Cael tried to pull free, his voice cracking.
"Please, let me explain," he pleaded. "I don't know what happened. The sphere was fine, I swear. I didn't mean for this…"
The other guard scoffed.
"Explain? Save it for the judge," he said, shoving him toward the stage's edge.
The audience booed, some even clapping, as if this were part of the show.
The host raised the microphone, forcing a smile.
"Well, ladies and gentlemen, it looks like we need a quick break to clean up this… disaster," she said, her tone mocking. "We'll pause and return with the next inventor. Don't go anywhere!"
The stage lights dimmed, and the giant screen flashed the ArcanTech logo as the audience kept murmuring.
Cael, escorted by the guards, was led off the stage, head down, fists clenched.
He didn't understand what had gone wrong.
He'd checked everything, every detail.
The sphere shouldn't have exploded. But now, his work, his dreams, lay in pieces, just like the blue crystal scattered across the floor.