Rain fell like loose change.
Each drop hit the cobblestone with a soft metallic ring, echoing through the narrow alleys of Aurumveil. Kai Everain pulled his cloak tighter, head down, steps steady but slower than usual. The city had changed—and not for the better.
The "Debt King" was no longer a running joke.
He was a warning.
Whispers followed him now wherever he went heroes crossing the street, guild clerks closing their windows, merchants pretending their stalls were "closed for inventory." Kai couldn't blame them. He'd made enemies in high places. The kind with golden ledgers and invisible armies.
And one of them was hunting him.
He paused at the edge of a plaza. The giant statue of the First Hero, a proud symbol of courage was gone, replaced by a shining marble obelisk engraved with new laws:
THE KINGDOM OF AURUMVEIL – DEBT CONTROL ACT II
"Those who owe must serve."
Kai stared up at it, jaw tightening. "They turned bankruptcy into slavery… creative."
Lazybones hopped onto his shoulder, tail twitching. "And illegal. Even by their standards. Guess moral debt isn't taxable, huh?"
"Yet."
He said it quietly, but his voice cracked under the weight of exhaustion. The kind of exhaustion that no amount of sleep or ramen could fix.
The Hero Tax Tournament had ended months ago, but the aftermath was worse than any battle. Cities burned, guilds went under, and heroes sold their powers just to survive. And amid the chaos, someone new had risen from the ruins.
A woman draped in white silk and gold coins.
The High Collector.
Rumor said she didn't kill her targets. She bought them.
Rumor said she wanted Kai Everain alive.
Rumor said a lot of things.
Kai tightened his grip on his worn satchel—the one filled with IOUs, unpaid contracts, and scribbled dreams. "She wants the Debt King?" He smirked faintly. "Guess I'll give her a meeting."
The rain thickened, turning to sheets of gold in the torchlight. His reflection warped in the puddles, tired eyes, faint smirk, gold aura flickering like a dying flame.
Behind him, in the distance, a slow rhythmic clicking echoed closer like heels on marble.
Elegant. Calm. Inevitable.
Lazybones' fur stood on end. "Uh, boss…?"
"I know."
"You sure you wanna do this?"
"Nope."
The clicking stopped.
Then a voice, smooth as silk and sharp as a coin's edge, whispered through the rain:
"King Everain. Your balance is due."
Lightning split the sky.
Kai looked up, his grin returning despite the chill in his gut.
"Guess it's time to renegotiate."