The elevator couldn't reach the top floor. If only it had.
Part of the upper section of the mall was half-destroyed, and none of them wanted to take the risk.
They only went up to the 21st floor.
---
"I know many of you are wondering, 'What's happening?'" A handsome man with long hair tied back in a ponytail paced atop a podium. He was tall, lean but broad-shouldered, with a tattered black coat billowing behind him. His face was marked by scars, but his gray eyes—cold yet burning with something that wasn't hate, but the certainty of someone who always commanded the scene—dominated everything. A trimmed beard framed a smile that wasn't quite mocking, but defiant. In his left hand, a pistol hung loosely, as if he didn't need it. "Why are we in this situation? What do these people want?"
The man gestured around the grand hall, where his armed men stood, weapons trained on the crowd.
