The sky cracked at 3:17 PM.
Not thunder. Not lightning. Just... coins.
Kael Rivenhart stood frozen on the cracked sidewalk, one foot in a puddle of oil, the other inside the convenience store he'd just been fired from. The manager's voice still echoed in his ear.
> "You're late again, Rivenhart. We don't pay you to be worthless."
Didn't matter now.
Because the sky was raining gold.
Thin disks, falling in a slow spiral, glimmering with soft light—so light, they didn't make a sound as they touched the ground. People stared. Someone laughed nervously. Another started filming on their phone.
Kael blinked, raising a hand.
One of the coins hovered midair, spinning.
[SYSTEM SYNC COMPLETE.]
Welcome to Coinverse.
A cold pulse shot through his chest. Kael gasped and stumbled back, hand clutching his shirt. A searing line of text burned into his vision, floating just past his eyes:
> Coin Balance: 1
Status: Active Player.
Objective: Earn. Survive. Dominate.
Starting Funds: 1 Coin.
"What the hell…" Kael muttered.
The coin floated closer. He grabbed it on instinct, and the moment his fingers closed around it, the rest of the world exploded in sound.
Everyone was screaming.
---
Across the street, a man lunged at someone, punching him to the ground. Coins flew from the man's body—real coins, torn from his balance—and vanished into the attacker's hand with a mechanical ping.
> "You're worth 500," the man growled, and walked away richer.
Kael stumbled backward, nearly tripping on the curb. His hands shook. His head was spinning. Around him, people turned on each other like animals let out of a cage.
He glanced up.
A screen—no, a hologram—flashed high above the city, projected across the sky.
> THE COINVERSE HAS BEGUN.
All Players Active.
All Actions Final.
Your Wealth Is Your Power.
---
Kael's phone buzzed violently. He yanked it from his pocket.
New app. Installed on its own.
[A.U.C.T.I.O.N.] – OPEN?
He tapped it.
Balance: 1 Coin
Skills: None
Weapons: None
Zone: Z-1 Spire
Protection: None
Kill Rights: Anyone Above 0 Coins
He froze.
> "Anyone above zero…"
Kael's heart dropped as a man's shadow loomed behind him.
---
Kael turned—slowly.
The man behind him wasn't smiling. He didn't need to. His Balance floated above his head in gold letters: 42 Coins.
"You're worth one," the man said, stepping closer. "Not much. But it's better than zero."
Kael stumbled back. "Wait. I don't—I didn't do anything."
The man shrugged. "Don't matter. Rules are rules. I take your coin, I level up. You? You disappear."
---
A sharp sound. A blade slid free from the man's coat—a sleek, digital edge that flickered with light.
Kael's hands went up. "You're insane. This isn't real—this can't be—"
> [AUCTION ALERT: Weapon Use Initiated. Cost: 5 Coins]
The attacker's balance dropped to 37.
The blade gleamed brighter.
---
Kael's breath caught. This wasn't a mugging. This was a transaction.
> [Coin Warning: Your Balance is too low to defend.]
[Death will result in permanent Coin Loss.]
---
He ran.
Bolted into the alley behind the store, lungs burning, feet slipping on the slick pavement.
The man followed casually. He didn't need to hurry. Kael had no skills, no money, no chance.
> [Kill Attempt Authorized.]
Kael hit a wall.
Literal and figurative. Dead end. Trash bins and chain-link fence. No exit.
He turned—and the man was there, blade raised.
> "You're done, broke boy."
---
[AUCTION INTERRUPT: ERROR DETECTED.]
Both froze.
A new message flashed in Kael's vision—red this time.
> Black Coin Detected. User: Unregistered.
A small, dark shape rolled across the pavement to Kael's foot.
A coin.
But not gold. Not silver.
Black. Matte. Cold.
It pulsed, once.
Kael's hand moved on its own.
> [Black Coin Claimed.]
Skill Unlocked: Buy Death
Cost: 1 Black Coin.
Target: Confirmed.
---
The attacker lunged. Blade swinging.
Kael blinked.
The black coin vanished from his palm.
> [Buy Death: Activated.]
The man stopped mid-swing.
Eyes wide.
Balance: 37…
36…
35…
It drained, faster than Kael could process.
1…
0.
The man collapsed, blade clattering on the ground.
---
> [You have earned 37 Coins.]
Black Coin Use Logged.
A.U.C.T.I.O.N. Alert Triggered.
Kael stood there, panting, staring at the body.
His balance ticked up: 38 Coins.
But that wasn't what made him shake.
It was the message that came next.
> "Congratulations, Player Kael Rivenhart."
"You have entered the Black Market Tier."
"You are now a target."
---
Kael stumbled backward, chest heaving.
The body at his feet didn't move. Coins no longer floated in the air. The glow faded. The silence felt louder than the earlier chaos.
He should run.
But his eyes were locked on the black coin—gone now, dissolved into nothing after it triggered that… whatever that was.
"Buy Death." That was the skill's name.
He hadn't touched the man. Hadn't spent a single normal coin. He'd just held the Black Coin, and the system did the rest.
His first kill.
---
> [System Alert: Bounty Posted]
Player: Kael Rivenhart
Cause: Illegal Coin Use / Balance Anomaly
Bounty: 1,000 Coins (Auto-Generated)
Zone: Spire — Last Known Location
---
Kael's eyes snapped wide.
His name was public now. People could see him, track him, and kill him for profit.
His balance ticked again: 38 Coins.
Not enough to hide. Not enough to fight again.
> [Proximity Alert: Three Players Approaching]
Balance: 200 / 75 / 60 Coins
Intent: Hostile
"Shit."
---
Kael turned and ran. Again.
Back alleys blurred past. Distant shouts echoed. His breath burned in his lungs.
> [Zone Exit Detected: Drift Access – Locked]
Coin Toll: 50 Coins
He slid to a stop in front of a metal gate, glowing faintly.
Coinlocked.
His hand trembled. He pulled up his balance.
38 Coins.
> Not enough.
---
> [Use Balance Theft?]
Requires Black Coin. Status: Unavailable.
He slammed a fist into the wall.
Think. Move. Now.
Then—a shout behind him. The three players, laughing.
"Hey! It's him! The bounty guy!"
Kael looked back.
No time. He reached into his pocket, felt the stolen coins, and stepped toward the gate.
A thought hit him.
Could he trick the toll?
He pressed a hand to the scanner.
---
> [Offer: 38 Coins]
Toll: 50 Coins
Status: INSUFFICIENT.
> Override Detected… Processing…
Glitch Status: Black Coin Residue Found.
Gate opened.
---
Kael slipped through, just as hands reached for him.
---
> [Zone Entered: Drift]
Protection Status: None.
Balance Status: Public.
Kael collapsed behind a trash bin, heart pounding.
He was broke again, hunted, and now in a zone with no rules.
But he was alive.
And the system was watching.
---
> "Welcome to Drift, Player Kael."
"Survive your next 24 hours to claim a skill."
"Fail, and your balance returns to zero."
Kael swallowed hard.
No one had warned him the system could speak.