Kael didn't get to breathe.
Not really.
The kill was done. Ledger Guard — gone. His balance — restored.
But the system didn't rest.
It retaliated.
---
> [System Alert – Zone-Class Threat Status Persisting]
Null-13 (Kael Rivenhart) – Active Anomaly
Coinverse Grid Response: LOCKDOWN INITIATED
Zone Status: Drift – Isolated. Undermarket – Sealed.
---
Across Drift, the grid pulsed gold, surging like a heartbeat.
Not life — containment.
---
Coin streams froze midair.
Bounty terminals blanked.
Street gates flickered red: BALANCE ACCESS DENIED.
Players stood still — not by choice. Every move now cost 2x.
---
Kael watched from the broker's doorway.
No escape routes.
No zone shifts.
Only system light flooding the streets, painting his face on every surface.
---
> [Ledger Mark – Applied]
Target: Null-13
Player Reporting Mandate: Active
Refusal = 50C Fine + Balance Mask Suspension
Reward: 5,000C + Temporary Auction Control Pass
---
Kael's image flickered — no mask, no alias. Just his face, balance, and the title that wouldn't fade.
> "Balance Killer – Tier III"
"Zone Threat – Anomaly Class"
"Public Auction: Broken by User"
---
People didn't cheer.
They moved.
Some ran.
Some hid.
And some — desperate — followed the balance trails toward his last known location.
---
Inside the den, the broker cursed under his breath.
"They just made you every player's payday."
Kael didn't look at him.
"I'm not for sale."
---
The broker laughed. Not kindly.
"You think that matters? You're ledger-marked. That means everyone has a price now — and you're it."
Kael stepped outside.
---
> [Balance: 1,000C – Stable]
Burn Status: Dormant
Corruption: High – 78%
Risk: Skill Instability Rising
---
He felt it — in his bones, in his HUD, in the way the air itself seemed to press coin cost into every breath.
The system was bleeding him.
Slowly. Deliberately.
---
> [Passive Drain – Active]
Zone Lock Maintenance: -2C per minute
Effect: Escape impossible. Fight mandatory.
---
Kael flexed his fingers.
No tremble.
Not yet.
---
Jace pinged him.
"Kael. Don't go street-side. Players are moving. Fast. One team's already looting broker zones for balance traps."
Kael didn't reply.
---
He walked.
Each step was coin lost — but power gained.
Because he knew now:
The system feared him.
---
> [Trace Level: Reset]
All actions recorded. Response: Adaptive.
---
The next move wouldn't be just bounty hunters.
Kael smiled faintly.
It would be the Coin King's move.
And Kael would be ready.
---
The bounty wasn't just a number anymore.
It was a beacon.
Kael walked through Drift's silent streets, and everywhere he went, the system marked his steps, his balance, his threat level.
---
> [Public Alert – Null-13 Location Pinged]
Distance: 0.2 km from Auction Tower Six
Active Status: Zone-Class Threat
Reward Claimed: None
Total Hunters Active: 89 Players
---
Kael didn't run.
He let them come.
---
In the shadows above, masked players watched from rooftops, their balance feeds jittering. Some coordinated via private channels, others waited for someone else to die first.
---
Jace's voice cracked through comms.
"You're being hunted by half the city, Kael. What's your plan?"
Kael's eyes tracked the rooftops.
"Let them try."
---
In the distance, a chime echoed — not system, not bounty.
Auction tone.
---
> [Incoming Bid – Coin King Guild: Contract Team Release]
Objective: Null-13 Capture
Reward: Coin King Favor + Balance Vault Access
Squad Balance: 4,500C (Shared)
Approach: Active
---
Kael's HUD flickered.
"They're sending a squad."
Jace cursed.
"That's not just bounty hunters. That's guild elite."
Kael smiled.
"Good."
---
He moved.
Through alleys, past locked stalls, each step drawing attention.
Each step inviting war.
---
The first strike came fast — a coin trap disk flared on the ground.
Kael stepped on it — on purpose.
---
> [Trap Activated – Forced Auction Attempt]
Initiator: Unknown
Bid: 200C
Kael: Counter Bid – 10C
Trap Override: Declined
---
Kael touched the Black Coin in his pocket.
---
> [Signal Jam – Activated]
Trap Disabled
Cost: 50C
Balance: 1,000C → 950C
---
The trap fizzled.
Above, a player swore — then vanished into the rooftops.
Cowards.
---
Kael kept walking.
The guild team wouldn't be cowards.
They'd come direct.
---
> [Warning – Coin King Contract Team Approaching]
Distance: 100 meters
Squad Balance: 4,500C
Active Skill: Coin Vault Slam (x3)
---
Kael stopped.
Inhaled.
His fingers burned — balance itching beneath his skin.
---
> [Skill Available – Coinburn Domain: Spike Form]
Cost: Ongoing Burn
Risk: Balance Decay Accelerated
Activate?
Kael smiled.
"Let's make it cost them."
---
Kael's breath came slow.
Measured.
He stood in the street, balance ticking, hands crackling with that gold-black edge of something not system-approved.
The Coin King's squad moved fast — four masked players, armor gleaming, balance feeds blinding.
---
> [Contract Team Approaching – Squad Balance 4,500C]
Skill Active: Coin Vault Slam x3
Risk: Fatal if struck directly
Suggested Action: Flee
Kael didn't flee.
He burned.
---
> [Coinburn Domain: Spike Form – ACTIVATED]
Cost: 50C per 10 seconds
Effect: Area Burn – All enemies lose 5% balance/sec
Bonus: Balance Drain on Contact
Risk: Self Burn Active – No Cooldown
---
The world shifted.
A pulse — then the street lit in black-gold flame, spiraling from Kael's feet.
System lines flickered, zone feeds crashed.
---
> [Warning – Zone Distortion Detected]
Drift Sector 7: Instability 12%
Cause: Coinburn Spike Form
---
The squad didn't hesitate.
The leader stepped forward — balance glowing 1,200C, weapon a vault lance dripping coin code.
"Null-13," he said.
"Yield. You're worth more alive."
Kael stepped into the burn.
"No."
"You can't stop us all."
Kael smiled.
"Don't need to."
---
He moved.
> [Spike Lash – Activated]
Balance Burned: 100C
Contact Made – Target 1
Balance Drain: 200C gained
New Balance: 1,050C
The first attacker screamed, collapsing — balance gone.
---
The others moved — coordinated.
Vault lances thrust, coin blasts flared.
Kael let them hit.
---
> [Balance Hit: -300C]
Self Burn Triggered: -50C
Balance: 1,050C → 700C
---
He burned again.
> [Spike Field – Area Burn]
All enemies lose 150C per second
Duration: 5 sec
Net Drain: 600C
---
Screams.
Coins fell like ash.
One by one, their balances collapsed.
---
> [Squad Defeated]
Coins Earned: 4,500C
New Balance: 5,200C
Burn Status: CRITICAL
Corruption: 92% – Instability Rising
---
Kael stood, chest heaving.
Street empty.
Coins in hand.
But at what cost?
---
> [System Warning – Corruption Approaching Threshold]
Black Coin Skill Mutation Possible
Control: Unstable
Kael smiled faintly.
"Good."
---
Kael didn't move.
Not at first.
Coins still drifted like ash around him, rising in slow spirals from the bodies of the Coin King's squad — their balance broken, their contracts null.
---
He stood alone in the burn zone, air shimmering with residual fire, hands clenched at his sides.
And still, the system wouldn't stop screaming.
---
> [Zone Violation Logged – Sector 7 Collapse: 22% Instability]
Cause: Coinburn Spike Form – Prolonged Activation
Risk: Thread Collapse Imminent
Resolution: Termination or Containment
---
Kael exhaled, balance ticking.
> [Balance: 5,200C]
Burn Cost Active: -50C per 10 sec
Corruption: 92% → 94% → 96%
His heart pounded — not from fear, not from exhaustion, but from instability.
He could feel it now — the Black Coin residue crawling under his skin, in his veins, in his mind.
---
The price was coming due.
---
Jace's voice cut through the static.
"Kael—what the hell was that?! You burned down the whole sector!"
Kael didn't answer.
He was watching his HUD distort, color flickering from system white to something darker — the color of broken balance.
---
> [Corruption Warning – THRESHOLD NEARING]
98%
Burn Risk: Uncontainable
Black Coin Mutation Trigger: Pending
---
The broker staggered toward him from the alley, eyes wide, coughing.
"You survived that? You're not human."
Kael turned slowly, eyes lit gold-black.
"I'm expensive."
The broker paled.
"Yeah? Well that price just doubled."
---
> [Public Alert – Zone-Class Threat Escalated]
Null-13 now classified: Ledger Breaker
All system functions rerouted.
Coin King Directive: Bounty UPGRADED – 250,000 Coins.
---
Kael blinked.
250,000C.
Every player in Coinverse would hunt him now.
Every guild. Every faction.
He wasn't just worth killing.
He was worth owning.
---
The broker stared at the alert.
"They're going to throw everything at you."
Kael looked down at his hands — fire flickered without command.
The burn wouldn't stop.
His balance ticked again.
> [Balance: 5,200C → 4,900C]
Drain: Unstable
Corruption: 99%
---
He dropped to one knee.
Breath ragged.
Vision fracturing.
He reached for the last Black Coin residue from the Ledger kill.
It pulsed — waiting.
---
Jace shouted through comms.
"Don't use it! You'll overload!"
Kael smiled faintly.
"Exactly."
---
He crushed the residue.
---
> [Black Coin Residue Consumed]
Mutation Triggered – CODE BREAK
Skill Rewriting… Processing…
---
Kael's HUD glitched, went dark — then flared.
> [NEW SKILL UNLOCKED – COINBURN DOMAIN: ASH FORM]
Effect: Total Balance Burn – Area-wide. All balances decay on contact.
Bonus: Immunity to Coin Decay
Risk: Cannot turn off. Permanent Balance Drain: -10C/sec
Burn State: Irreversible
---
Kael staggered upright.
Fire erupted from him — not like before.
This wasn't gold-black.
This was white-hot ash, consuming the air, the street, everything.
The broker ran — screaming.
Jace's voice cut out.
The system failed to log it.
---
Kael breathed fire.
Balance flowed.
> [Balance: 4,900C → 4,600C]
Ash Form Active – Spread: 30m radius
Status: Uncontainable Threat
System Response: Unavailable
---
No alerts.
No override.
Kael had broken past the system's limits.
---
He stood alone, burning the world, and for once?
He felt alive.