The sound of clinking coins echoed through the guild hall like a heartbeat.
Not one of victory — but of warning. Every pouch that jingled reminded Kai Everain just how deep they'd sunk.
He sat slouched at a table surrounded by half-eaten meals and unopened bills, one eye twitching at the bold red letters stamped FINAL NOTICE.
"Do you ever think," he said, pushing a paper aside, "maybe the real treasure was the friends we made along the way?"
Lira didn't even look up from her ledger. "No. The real treasure was the treasure we didn't make. Because someone bet it on cabbage futures."
Kai squinted. "In my defense, cabbage prices were booming until the—"
"The Cabbage Crash," Lira snapped, slamming the book shut. "You tanked an entire vegetable market!"
Behind them, Yumi was humming softly while telekinetically stacking plates, her mind clearly somewhere far away. Even she looked tense — and she was usually the calm one.
The tension wasn't just about money this time.
Ever since their last dungeon run, something had followed them back. Something that whispered like a debt collector in the dark.
Kai felt it too. That presence in his shadow. The faint echo of laughter that wasn't his.
He'd seen it for just a second in the mirror this morning — a silhouette wearing his grin.
The Debt King's mark, the guild master had called it.
A curse that linked him to Kai, feeding off his debt, his stress, and his doubts.
"Alright," Kai muttered, stretching his arms, "new plan. We clear two small quests, pay off a fraction of the debt, and maybe exorcise the immortal soul leech that's attached to me. Easy day."
"Or," Lira said dryly, "you finally take this seriously before the Debt King starts sending collectors that aren't human."
At that, the lights flickered.
And every candle in the hall went out.
The darkness didn't feel empty — it breathed.
A slow, ragged inhale that seemed to suck the warmth from the air.
Kai froze mid-joke.
"That… wasn't me, right?"
"No," Yumi whispered, her voice trembling. "That was… inside."
Blue wisps of light shimmered near the ceiling — faint outlines of faces, shifting and overlapping like ripples in a pond. Ghostly murmurs filled the room, chanting in rhythm with the sound of clinking coins.
Debt collectors. The other kind.
A flash of cold lightning lit the windows, revealing silhouettes standing outside the guild's front doors.
Figures in tattered suits with ink-black veins crawling up their necks, their eyes glowing with the faint gold of corrupted debt marks.
Lira stood and drew her staff. "Spectral lenders. The Debt King sent them."
Kai groaned. "Even the afterlife wants interest payments?!"
The doors creaked open.
A gust of unnatural wind rushed in, carrying the faint smell of burned parchment and old ink. The first collector stepped through — tall, thin, carrying a briefcase carved from bone.
When he spoke, it wasn't a voice — it was a ledger opening.
"Debtor Kai Everain. Outstanding balance: one soul, partially repossessed. Please sign here for eternal collection."
Kai blinked. "Uh, I'd like to dispute that charge?"
The ghost's head tilted, the bone briefcase snapping open — revealing glowing contracts that writhed like snakes.
Before Kai could move, one of the contracts lashed out and wrapped around his wrist, searing glowing red runes into his skin.
"Kai!" Yumi cried, her psychic power flaring — a shockwave burst out, scattering some of the spirits.
Lira fired a barrier spell, sealing the room. "We have to sever the link before they take him completely!"
Kai gritted his teeth as golden chains began forming across his arm. His Limit Breaker pulsed in response — the deeper his debt, the stronger he got — but this felt wrong.
It wasn't just money anymore. The Debt King was feeding on something else.
"Alright," Kai growled, standing tall despite the burning pain, "you want payment?"
He cracked his knuckles. "I'll pay you back… with interest!"
The chains shattered with a flash of light as Kai's aura exploded outward — a golden burst shaped like coins scattering through the air, each one glowing brighter than fire.
The collectors hissed and backed away, their ledgers smoking.
Lira smirked. "Now that's the kind of irresponsible spending I can support."
Kai grinned weakly. "Don't worry — I'm charging them for late fees."
Outside, thunder rolled again — but this time, there was laughter in it.
The kind that didn't belong to anyone in the room.
The Debt King had taken notice.
The storm lasted through the night.
By the time dawn broke, the guild's main hall was filled with the smell of wet ash and paper.
Ghostly embers still floated in the air — the remnants of the spectral contracts that had tried to drag Kai under.
He sat slumped against the wall, breathing hard. His arm was covered in faint golden scars where the chains had been, glowing softly under the dim morning light.
Every pulse of his heartbeat echoed with a faint chime, like a coin falling into a jar.
Lira walked in holding a mug of something steaming. "You look like you overdrafted your soul."
Kai groaned. "Feels like I did."
He took the mug, sniffed, and immediately grimaced. "What is this?"
"Guildhouse tonic," she said. "Cures hangovers, curses, mild spiritual debt, and optimism."
He took a sip. "Tastes like all four."
Yumi sat across from him, her usually bright eyes shadowed. "Kai… those weren't normal spirits. They were connected to you. When you fought back, the link didn't break—it deepened."
Kai looked at his arm again, noticing the faint symbols shifting under his skin like liquid gold.
"So, what—you're saying I just made my debt worse?"
She hesitated. "Worse… but also stronger. The more you resist him, the more he marks you. Like he's preparing you for something."
Lira frowned, crossing her arms. "If the Debt King's getting involved directly, this is bad. Normally he sends debt demons or collectors, but spectral lenders? That's high-tier stuff."
Kai chuckled dryly. "Lucky me. I skip the tutorial and go straight to boss fights."
But beneath his words, the humor rang hollow. The others noticed.
Yumi leaned forward. "Kai… are you sure you're okay? Your power reacts to debt, but this time—"
"It's fine," he cut her off. "I'm fine."
Lira raised an eyebrow. "You sure? Because 'fine' is exactly what people say right before exploding into gold confetti."
He forced a grin. "Then I'll make it rain."
The girls exchanged worried glances.
Outside, the sun began to peek through the clouds. Light spilled across the room, catching the edge of Kai's scars — for a second, they shimmered like coins falling into shadow.
He felt it again — that faint laughter, deep and echoing inside his chest.
It wasn't his own.
"Keep spending, little debtor," a voice whispered faintly in his mind. "You'll be rich enough to buy the world… and poor enough to lose yourself."
Kai clenched his fists, shutting it out.
He stood up. "Alright," he said, forcing confidence into his voice. "If the Debt King wants me, he's gonna have to take a number. We've got a guild inspection today, remember?"
Lira smirked. "Still thinking about paperwork after a supernatural attack. You really are the poorest rich man alive."
"Can't pay rent with fear," Kai shot back.
They left the hall together, the morning light chasing the darkness away — but Kai didn't look back.
Because deep down, he knew that laughter hadn't left.
It was waiting.
Watching.
Counting.