Kael didn't relax after the hound dropped.
That was another lesson.
Things didn't end clean tonight.
His knees shook as the pain came back all at once. Not sharp. Heavy. Like someone had dumped weight inside his bones. His side burned where the claws had cut him. Blood soaked his shirt and cooled fast.
He pressed a hand there and hissed.
Ugly Focus faded.
The street widened again. Sounds rushed back in—distant shouts, wood creaking, someone coughing somewhere far off. The night felt crowded now. Too aware.
Ilan watched him quietly.
"You feel it," Ilan said. "The snap back."
Kael nodded. Talking felt slow.
"My head's… narrow," Kael said. "Like I forgot the rest of the world."
Ilan nodded again. "Tunnel vision. That one lingers."
Kael leaned against the wall and slid down until he was sitting. He didn't trust his legs yet.
"You said you'd teach me," Kael said. "Or was that just talk?"
Ilan crouched across from him, careful not to step in the blood.
"I said it depends," Ilan replied. "Lesson one is simple."
Kael looked up. "I'm listening."
"You don't fight everything," Ilan said. "And you don't sign in every time the Log whispers."
Kael barked a weak laugh. "It didn't whisper. It forced."
Ilan smiled slightly. "It always feels forced when your balance is bad."
Kael frowned. "You keep saying that word. Balance."
"Because it matters," Ilan said. "Think of it like this. Every skill pulls something out of you. If you pull too much from one side—fear, confidence, reaction—the whole thing tilts."
Kael flexed his fingers.
They moved.
Late.
"So what," Kael said. "I just wait until it evens out?"
Ilan shook his head. "No. It doesn't heal on its own."
Kael's stomach dropped. "Then how?"
"By choosing losses," Ilan said. "Small ones. On purpose."
Kael stared at him. "That's insane."
"Yes," Ilan said calmly. "But it works."
Before Kael could answer, Ilan's head snapped up.
"Quiet," Ilan said.
Kael listened.
At first, nothing.
Then—
Tap.Tap tap.
Something light. Fast. On stone.
From above.
Kael looked up.
Shapes clung to the walls.
Five of them.
Small. Thin. Like stretched children. Their skin was gray and dry, cracked like old clay. Eyes black and wide. Mouths full of needle teeth.
They moved sideways, upside down, crawling without sound.
"What are those?" Kael asked.
"Debt Mites," Ilan said. "Scavengers. They eat leftovers."
"Leftovers of what?"
Ilan looked at Kael. "You."
The mites dropped.
Two hit the ground. One landed on Kael's shoulder.
It weighed nothing.
Its mouth opened.
Kael yelped and slapped at it too late. Its teeth bit into his neck, sharp and hot.
"Damn it!"
The others rushed him.
⟪SIGN-IN WINDOW OPEN⟫⟪MULTIPLE HOSTILES⟫
"No," Ilan said sharply. "Not this one."
Kael froze. "Then what?"
"Take the hit," Ilan said.
"What?"
"Take it," Ilan repeated. "Let it bite. Don't sign."
Another mite latched onto Kael's arm. Pain flared. Real. Burning.
Kael swore.
"You're crazy!"
"Probably," Ilan said. "But do it."
Kael gritted his teeth and didn't call the Log.
He grabbed the mite on his arm and smashed it against the wall. It burst like a sack of bugs.
The one on his neck tore free and leapt away.
Two more circled.
Kael moved slow, sloppy. No skill. No help.
He stomped one. Missed. It skittered away.
The last one jumped.
Kael caught it midair.
Bare hands.
It bit him again.
Kael screamed and crushed it.
Silence.
The mites lay still, leaking dark fluid onto the stone.
Kael panted, shaking.
Blood ran down his arm in thin lines.
Nothing flickered.
No reward.
No entry.
Kael looked up at Ilan.
"That sucked," Kael said.
Ilan nodded. "Good."
Kael blinked. "Good?"
"You felt everything," Ilan said. "Pain. Fear. Control. All at once."
Kael swallowed.
His chest felt… steadier.
Still heavy. Still damaged.
But not tipping.
"My hands," Kael said slowly. "They're not shaking as bad."
Ilan smiled faintly. "That's balance correcting. A little."
Kael laughed once, tired. "So I just let things chew on me now?"
"No," Ilan said. "You choose when to bleed."
Before Kael could reply, a new sound rolled down the street.
Slow. Heavy. Wet.
Kael's head snapped up.
Something big moved in the dark ahead.
Too wide for a man. Too tall for a hound.
Its shape scraped the walls as it walked.
"What now?" Kael asked.
Ilan stood.
"Now," Ilan said, "you decide if this one is worth signing for."
The thing stepped into the lantern light.
A mass of bodies fused together. Arms tangled. Faces half-formed, mouths opening and closing out of sync. Chains dug into its flesh, dragging behind it.
Kael stared.
"What is that?" he whispered.
Ilan's voice was quiet.
"A Collection Error," he said. "When too much debt piles up in one place."
The thing turned.
All its eyes locked onto Kael.
⟪THREAT: COLLECTION ERROR⟫⟪SIGN-IN WINDOW: OPEN⟫
Kael felt the pull.
Strong.
Hungry.
He looked at Ilan.
"You won't stop me?" Kael asked.
Ilan shook his head. "No."
Kael clenched his fists.
Same night.Same debt.No reset.
He stepped forward anyway.