Kael moved through Drift's underbelly with slow, measured steps.
The deeper he went, the heavier the air felt, like it was pressing down with the weight of every coin he didn't have. The zone here wasn't abandoned... but it was close. Pipes hissed above him, leaking steam from ruptured lines. Old coinfeed wires hung like veins from the ceiling, pulsing faintly, casting sickly blue light on the floor.
He didn't hurry.
Every step cost him.
---
> [Balance: 38 Coins]
Passive Zone Drain: 2C per minute
Burn Status: Inactive
System Alert: Low-Balance Threshold Approaching
---
He checked the display, watched the number drop. Not from skill use. Not from combat. Just for existing here, in the parts of Drift no one cared about. The system called it zone tax. Kael called it robbery.
Ahead, the corridor narrowed, funneling into a smaller path framed by rusted metal beams. Vault 17C was close now. He had scouted the feed earlier. No patrols logged, no recent trades. Just a low-tier vault, supposedly emptied and forgotten.
Perfect.
Kael reached into his satchel, fingers brushing the coin shards inside. Scavenged pieces, most broken or burned. Worthless to anyone else. But maybe... just maybe, enough to bluff a console. Enough to buy a moment of power.
He stepped around a collapsed support pillar, ducked under hanging wires, and saw the door.
Vault 17C.
No guards.
No balance scanners.
No one had claimed it.
Kael stepped through the open threshold.
---
Inside, the vault was dark, lit only by the flicker of failing wall feeds. Dust clung to every surface. The air smelled like old metal and scorched wiring. A few consoles lined the far wall. One still glowed faintly. The others were dead.
Kael moved closer, footsteps soft, ears tuned for movement.
Then he saw it.
In the corner.
A coinforged.
It stood perfectly still, head bowed slightly, arms at its sides. Its plating was cracked in places, and its limbs were stiff with rust. But its eyes... they glowed. Faint blue. Watching.
Not dead.
Just waiting.
Kael didn't stop.
He reached the console, pulled a shard from his satchel, and slid it into the input slot.
The screen blinked.
A low beep sounded, followed by static.
---
> [Coin Input Rejected]
Coin Invalid. No Access Granted.
---
Kael swore under his breath.
That shard had been the cleanest.
He stepped back, hand tightening around the satchel strap.
The coinforged twitched.
One hand lifted slightly, metal fingers curling.
Its eyes brightened.
---
> [Unauthorized Presence Detected]
Action: Balance Drain Lock Engaged
---
Kael moved first.
Flame burst from his palm, gold and black. It slammed into the coinforged's chest. Sparks flew, lighting the room in a brief, violent glow.
The machine jerked.
Kael stepped forward, burned again.
Metal hissed, servos shrieked.
The coinforged collapsed.
Silence returned.
Smoke hung in the air.
Kael didn't move for a moment. He let the burn fade, his breath slow, deliberate.
Then he checked his balance.
---
> [Balance: 38C → 28C → 18C]
Passive Zone Drain Active
Burn Cost Applied
---
Too much gone. Too fast.
Kael knelt by the wreck, eyes scanning the damage.
No loot. No coin. Just a faint shimmer on the chestplate. Something black. Flickering.
He reached for it, fingers brushing residue.
Cold.
Weightless.
Wrong.
---
> [Black Coin Residue Acquired]
Effect: Unknown
Risk: Minimal Corruption Logged
---
Kael stood.
His hand tingled.
He looked down.
Flame still danced across his fingers... small, but steady.
He hadn't triggered it.
It hadn't faded.
---
> [Burn Status: Active]
Balance: 18C
Coinflow Sync: Error
System Alert: Burn Persistence Detected
---
Kael's pulse quickened.
That wasn't supposed to happen.
Burn needed balance.
No coin, no fire. That was the rule.
And yet... the burn was still there.
Alive.
Waiting.
---
He turned from the wreckage, eyes narrowing.
Vault 17C was supposed to be empty.
But something had just changed.
Kael walked toward the exit.
The fire followed him.
Kael didn't speak as he left the vault behind.
The corridors felt narrower now. The walls closer. The air thicker. His footsteps echoed off the metal floor, not loud, but sharp enough to remind him he was alone down here.
No traders. No guards. No system presence. Only him... and the burn.
---
[Balance: 18 Coins]
Passive Drain: 2C per minute
Burn Status: Active
Coinflow Error: Unresolved
---
The number ticked down again.
Kael clenched his jaw. The fire still flickered across his hand, low and steady. It should have faded when he stopped using it. Should have disappeared when his balance got this low. That was how it had worked before.
But not now.
The residue he touched... something was different.
Kael turned a corner, following the corridor as it bent sharply, leading deeper into the zone. A section of the wall had collapsed, exposing tangled coinfeed lines. Sparks danced through them, faint and intermittent. As he passed, the burn in his hand pulsed. The wires responded, flickering in rhythm with the flame.
He stopped.
The system... it was reacting to him.
Or maybe he was reacting to it.
Either way, he kept moving.
---
Two levels down, the corridor opened into a larger chamber, lit by old coinfeed lanterns that buzzed and swayed in their sockets. The air was warmer here, filled with the hum of power lines straining to stay active. Kael paused at the edge, eyes scanning for movement.
Nothing.
But someone had been here recently.
Scrap piles had been disturbed. Footprints marked the dust on the floor. A few crates had been opened, their contents removed.
Kael moved toward a half-burned terminal near the wall. He reached for it, then stopped.
The burn in his hand... flared.
Not violently. Just enough to warn him.
He stepped back.
The terminal sparked once, then went dark.
---
[Burn Status: Unstable]
Coinflow Interaction Detected
Source: Residue Influence
System Alert: Burn Effect Cannot Be Measured
---
Kael lowered his hand slowly, flexing his fingers. The flame dimmed, but didn't disappear.
He needed answers.
And he needed coin.
Fast.
---
A low crackle sounded behind him.
Kael spun, hand raised, flame ready.
A figure stepped out from behind a crate. Young, maybe twenty. Light armor, patched in places. No visible weapon. His balance floated above him — 64 Coins.
He froze when he saw Kael.
Kael didn't move.
The kid swallowed hard.
"... You're the one from Sector 4, aren't you?"
Kael said nothing.
"I saw the feed. You burned a trader. No warning. Just... torched him."
Still nothing.
The kid's eyes dropped to Kael's hand, where the burn still flickered.
"You shouldn't be here. There's a bounty on your head."
Kael stepped forward.
"So claim it."
The kid paled, stepped back quickly, hands raised.
"Forget I said anything. I'm not a fighter. I just... salvage. That's all."
Kael lowered his hand slightly, flame steady but no longer flaring.
The kid took another step back.
"You're... you're running on no balance, right? I saw your number earlier. You shouldn't be able to burn at all."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"You watching feeds or following me?"
The kid shook his head quickly.
"Just watching. Everyone is. You're breaking the system, man. Burn doesn't work like that."
Kael took one last step forward. The kid stumbled.
Kael's hand flickered.
"I need coin."
The kid hesitated, then reached into his pouch, pulled out a small coin chip, and tossed it toward Kael.
"Take it. Just... don't burn me."
Kael caught it. The chip glowed faint blue.
Registered coin.
He checked the feed.
---
> [Balance: 18C → 68C]
Transfer Received
Passive Drain Paused – Safe Zone Detected
---
Kael stared at the display.
The burn didn't fade.
Still there.
Still active.
The kid watched him nervously.
"You gonna... kill me now?"
Kael pocketed the chip.
"No."
He turned away.
The kid exhaled hard and ran.
Kael didn't follow.
He had what he needed.
For now.
---
The burn stayed with him.
And Drift watched.