Kael walked alone through Vault Tower Six, each step echoing.
No crowd.
No auction.
Only the burn of coin in his veins and the silence of fear he'd bought with balance.
---
> [Coinburn Domain – Fading]
Zone Control: Terminating in 2 minutes
Cost: 200 Coins drained
Balance: 1,100C → 900C
---
Kael exhaled — slowly.
The fire didn't leave his hands. Not entirely.
Power like that — it didn't come free.
His balance ticked down even as he moved.
> [Passive Decay – Triggered]
Corruption Level: Moderate
Burn Cost: 5C per minute
---
He stepped through the last gate of the tower.
Drift's sky greeted him — wrong-colored, streaked gold and black from the auction's collapse.
A world changed — because of him.
Kael didn't smile.
He calculated.
---
> [Trace Level: 94%]
Status: Zone-Class Threat – Ledger Guard Deploying
Time to Contact: 7 minutes
---
"Seven minutes," Kael whispered.
Not enough.
He'd need more balance — or something worse.
---
His comm crackled.
Jace.
"You alive?"
Kael: "No."
"You've got six, maybe seven before Ledger arrives."
"I know."
---
Silence.
Then Jace's voice dropped.
"There's a place—an old broker. South Drift. Guy sells skill mods. Not legal. But fast."
Kael paused.
"How much?"
"Not coin. Burn."
---
Kael looked at his hands.
Still glowing.
Still losing coin.
---
> [Corruption Warning – Self Burn Risk Rising]
Effect: Skill misfire chance increased.
---
"Send coordinates," Kael said.
"Now."
---
The message pinged.
Kael ran.
Each step cost him.
---
> [Balance: 900C → 880C → 860C]
Passive Decay Active
Burn status: Unstable
---
He didn't care.
This was the price of power.
He'd just make someone else pay it next.
---
South Drift was quiet.
Not safe — just empty.
Everyone had seen the broadcast, seen Kael burn through a challenger, break the auction, and declare war on balance itself.
Now no one wanted to be near him.
Except the system.
---
> [Trace Level: 97%]
Ledger Guard Deployment: Imminent
Escape Zones: None
Balance: 860C → 840C
Kael turned a corner, breath tight.
His coin burn was accelerating.
Each minute felt heavier — not just coin lost, but clarity.
---
He found the broker's den — a shattered vault door, coin marks carved into the walls, an auction sigil overwritten with Black Coin script.
It wasn't legal.
Perfect.
---
Inside: stale air, stacked mod chips, a half-lit terminal, and a man — eyes flickering, balance masked beneath layers of coin code cloaks.
"You're Null-13," the broker rasped.
"Thought you'd be taller."
Kael didn't smile.
"Thought you'd be faster. I need the mod."
---
The broker squinted.
"Coinburn Spike, right? Upgrade's dangerous. Might kill you."
Kael tossed the Black Coin onto the counter.
"So will Ledger Guard."
The broker's eyes widened.
"You brought them here?"
Kael's screen blinked.
> [Trace Level: 99%]
Deployment in: 10 seconds
---
The broker didn't hesitate.
"Fine. You'll need to hold still."
Kael's fingers twitched — not from fear, but from burn pressure.
His balance dropped again.
> [Balance: 820C → 800C]
---
Then the room shifted.
Reality pulsed.
---
> [SYSTEM STRIKE – LEDGER GUARD DEPLOYED]
Threat: Zone-Class Null-13
Ledger Enforcement: Active
Balance Lock: Engaged
---
A shape tore through the wall — no footsteps, no warning.
System armor, gold-white, face blank, coin halo rotating, each step draining balance from the air.
---
"Null-13," it intoned.
"Balance overdue. Prepare for deletion."
Kael's body tensed.
His arm still unmodded.
He moved.
---
> [Coinburn Spike – Activated]
Balance Burned: 100C
Effect: Chain burn failed – Skill not upgraded
Damage Output: Partial
Risk: High
---
Gold-black flame struck the guard — it staggered, but didn't fall.
Kael gritted his teeth.
"Now!"
---
The broker stabbed the mod chip into Kael's arm — code spiked pain through his veins.
---
> [Skill Mod Applied: Spike Chain (Unstable)]
Risk: Corruption Maxed
Self Burn: 25% per use
Bonus: Spike stacks now x3
---
Kael turned to the guard.
"You should've come sooner."
---
The Ledger Guard stepped forward — precise, silent.
No rage. No words. Just coin authority enforced by code and execution.
---
> [Balance Lock Engaged – Target Null-13]
Estimated Kill Probability: 94%
Coin Cost to Survive: Unknown
Kael's balance ticked.
> [700C → 680C]
Passive Decay: Active
Corruption: Maxed
He could feel it now — not just in numbers. In pain. In vision blur. In the way his fingers twitched like sparks waiting to jump.
---
He didn't hesitate.
He burned first.
---
> [Spike Chain Activated – x1]
Balance Burned: 100 Coins
Damage: Moderate
Self Burn Risk: 25% – Passed
Gold-black flame lashed out — hitting the guard's shield.
It fractured, code lines cracking, but didn't fall.
---
The guard didn't flinch.
It stepped forward.
---
Kael's balance fell again.
> [Balance: 580C]
> [Spike Chain – x2]
Burn: 120 Coins
Penetration: Partial
Self Burn: Passed
Pain raced up his spine.
Still moving.
---
The guard responded.
---
> [Ledger Strike: Balance Theft Pulse]
Target: Null-13
Attempted Drain: 400C
Kael's HUD glitched — coins ripped away.
> [Balance: 460C → 60C]
Death Threshold: Critical
Self Burn: Active
---
Kael collapsed to one knee.
Vision flickering. Breath jagged.
But he wasn't dead.
Not yet.
---
He triggered the third burn.
> [Spike Chain – x3]
Balance Burned: All Remaining (60C)
Emergency Override Engaged
Risk: Self-burn 50% – Survived
Effect: Full Penetration
---
The world went gold-black.
The guard screamed in static, shield collapsing, armor dissolving into code ash.
A pulse — then silence.
---
> [Ledger Guard Eliminated]
Reward: Black Coin Residue x2
System Alert: Ledger Kill Logged – Class One Breach
Balance Surge: 1,000C Restored
---
Kael hit the floor.
Breathing. Shaking.
Alive.
---
The broker staggered forward.
"You—killed a Ledger Guard."
Kael didn't answer.
He was watching the feed.
---
> [System Status: Null-13 – Marked]
Zone Alert: Ledger Response Escalated
All Zones Locked – No Escape
Bounty: 100,000 Coins
New Title: Balance Killer – Tier III
Bonus: All kills yield x2 coin.
---
Kael's fingers curled into a fist.
He was richer.
Stronger.
And wanted beyond reason.
---
> "You're insane," the broker whispered.
Kael rose.
"No."
"I'm expensive."
---
The system didn't speak.
It screamed.
---
> [LEDGER GUARD TERMINATION LOGGED]
Class One System Breach
Threat: Null-13 (Kael Rivenhart)
Status: ZONE-CLASS THREAT – ACTIVE
---
Every screen in Drift lit up.
Even the dark zones — even the places system light never touched — projected Kael's face, balance, and kill feed.
Players froze mid-step.
Mask dealers shuttered their stalls.
Auction rings collapsed trades.
---
> "He killed a Ledger?"
"Not possible."
"System's broken."
"No — he's breaking it."
---
Kael didn't hear them.
Not yet.
He stood outside the broker's den, air crackling, balance stabilized at 1,000C, but his hands?
Still burning.
---
> [Corruption Status: Spreading]
Black Coin Residue Saturation: 68%
Side Effects: Balance Instability / Burn Risk Permanent / Unknown Skill Mutation Imminent
---
Kael flexed his fingers.
The Black Coin residue from the Ledger kill pulsed in his inventory.
He should wait.
Rest.
---
He didn't.
---
He absorbed one.
---
> [Black Coin Consumed]
Effect: Unknown – Overcharge Detected
Skill Unstable: Coinburn Spike evolving…
---
Pain lanced up his spine.
Not the clean kind.
Not balance loss.
This was code rewriting muscle.
System pushing back — and failing.
---
> [Skill Update – Pending]
Coinburn Spike → Coinburn Domain: Spike Form
Effect: Area Burn, Balance Drain on Contact, No Cooldown
Risk: Self Burn Constant. Cannot be disabled.
---
Kael dropped to one knee.
Breathing hard.
Worth it.
---
Jace's voice cut through.
"Kael… what the hell did you do?"
Kael rose.
"I paid the price."
---
> [New Bounty Alert – Null-13]
Reward: 100,000 Coins
Bonus: Access to Auction Tower Control for capture
Sponsor: Coin King – Verified
---
Kael laughed.
Finally.
---
"Let them come."