Kael didn't need to check the feed to know his bounty had climbed again.
He felt it.
Not in his balance. Not even in the burn that still lingered across his skin like it had fused with him. He felt it in the way the air changed when he entered a zone... in the way players looked at him, then looked away. In the way doors that were once open stayed closed now. In the sudden silences that followed his steps.
He was being hunted.
Not by one person, not by one guild, but by everyone.
Drift had seen his name. It had seen the fire. And it had done what the system always did.
It put a price on him.
---
> [Balance: 140C → 138C]
Passive Drain: Active
Burn Status: Active – Stable
Residue Integration: 71%
Bounty Level: Tier 2 – Confirmed
Reward: 1,000 Coins
Zone Broadcast: Full Visibility Enabled
---
Kael kept walking.
Sector 6 was louder than the others. Not with sound, but with presence. Players gathered in tight circles, heads bent over feeds, watching bounty updates in real time. Every screen flickered with the same headline.
Null-13 – Burn User – Bounty Active – 1,000C
Kael passed beneath one of the larger displays. It projected his face in flickering resolution, captured from the burn alley in Sector 4. His balance at the time, zero coins, burned into the corner of the screen like a challenge.
People noticed him.
They didn't move.
Not yet.
Kael's balance now floated clearly above his head. 138 Coins. A small number... but enough to make him dangerous.
Especially with burn still active.
---
He turned down a narrower path, moving past a collapsed trader stall. Coinfeed wires hung loose from the ceiling, pulsing slowly with power. A pair of players stepped aside as he passed. One made the sign — three fingers extended, palm down — the Drift symbol for "no fight."
Kael didn't respond.
He didn't care.
---
His comm clicked softly.
Jace again.
"You still alive?"
Kael didn't slow. "Yes."
"You're up to one thousand. They've got you in Zone Broadcast now. Every player in Drift can see your feed."
"I know."
"You've got maybe an hour before someone tries you."
Kael looked ahead.
"I'm counting on it."
Silence.
Then Jace's voice, softer.
"You know Grinwell's Vault is a trap, right? No rules there. No system law. Just coin and burn."
"That's what I need."
"You need to survive."
Kael stopped at a fork in the path.
"I am."
---
Grinwell's Vault wasn't on any map. Not an official one.
But Kael didn't need a map.
He followed the coinfeed traces. Watched the balance flux in the wires. Drift's deeper zones had their own signals, their own language. Traders and bounty hunters used it to find marks. Kael used it to find power.
---
Fifteen minutes later, he reached a dead wall.
No door.
No gate.
Just a small console, half-buried in debris, flashing faint green.
He stepped close.
Scanned his hand.
The console blinked.
Nothing happened.
Kael triggered burn... just a flicker.
The console reacted.
---
> [Black Coin Residue Detected]
Access: Granted
Entry Fee: 50C – Deducted
Balance: 138C → 88C
---
The wall slid open.
Behind it, darkness... and the sound of coin.
Not the clean chime of system transfers.
The hard, heavy clink of real coin.
Untracked.
Untaxed.
Unbound.
Kael stepped inside.
---
Grinwell's Vault wasn't a vault. Not really.
It was a space carved out beneath Drift, lit by hanging wires and coinlight, the air thick with burn residue. Players filled the room. All masked. All armed.
No balance floated here.
No names.
Just threat.
Kael's presence changed the air.
Some turned. Some watched.
One stepped forward.
Tall. Broad-shouldered. Masked in black glass.
"You're Null-13."
Kael didn't respond.
"You brought your bounty here."
Kael raised his hand. The burn flickered.
"I brought coin."
A pause.
Then the masked player stepped aside.
"Then spend it."
Kael moved deeper into the Vault.
The system couldn't reach him here.
And for the first time... he didn't care.
---
Kael didn't flinch.
The first attacker lunged.
His blade cut the air in a clean arc, sharp with balance energy, but Kael didn't move back. He stepped forward instead, fire blooming across his arm as he drove it into the slash.
Flame met steel.
A burst of gold-black light exploded outward, sparks flying. The blade cracked, coinlines splitting across its surface as it broke in the attacker's grip.
The Vault watched.
No one moved.
Kael's balance dropped again.
---
> [Balance: 48 Coins → 36 Coins]
Burn Status: Active
Coinflow Stable
Residue Integration: 74 percent
---
The attacker stumbled, off-balance. Kael didn't hesitate. His foot connected with the player's chest, sending him sprawling across the floor. He didn't rise.
Two left.
The second was already moving. No blade, no launcher. Just bare hands glowing with residue burn, strong and focused. This one knew how to control it... how to sharpen fire into a weapon.
Kael raised his own flame.
They clashed.
Heat surged through the Vault, a wall of energy pressing outward. Traders ducked behind stalls. Some watched, but others vanished into the side tunnels. No one wanted to get caught between burn users... especially when neither side cared about collateral.
The ground beneath them cracked, scorched and broken. The attacker shifted, tried to push Kael's flame aside with a surge of coin, but Kael pressed harder.
His fire didn't flicker. It grew.
The other player's hands shook.
Kael stepped closer.
One pulse.
Two.
The flame burned through the resistance, lashing into the attacker's chest.
He dropped.
Not dead... but no longer fighting.
---
> [Balance: 36 Coins → 28 Coins]
Burn Status: Controlled
Residue Sync: 78 percent
Alert: Coin Efficiency Stable
---
Kael turned to face the third.
This one hadn't moved yet.
She stood quietly, arms folded, balance still masked. Her eyes were visible behind the mask visor... calm, calculating.
"Not bad," she said.
Kael said nothing.
"You're burning faster than your balance can hold."
Kael didn't respond.
She stepped forward.
"You'll lose."
Kael raised his hand. Flame danced across his palm.
She smiled.
"I'm not here to kill you."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"Then why step up?"
She held up a coin chip... black, unmarked.
"Trade."
Kael didn't lower his hand.
"Grinwell doesn't protect buyers."
"I'm not here for protection. I'm here for profit."
Kael's flame didn't fade, but it didn't strike.
"What do you want?"
Her voice was quiet.
"You killed two bounty hunters in seconds. The system's going to double your price."
She dropped the chip at his feet.
"That's your next mod."
Kael didn't reach for it.
"I don't owe you."
"You will. I just bought your next kill."
She turned and walked away.
The Vault didn't stop her.
Kael stared at the chip.
It pulsed faintly.
Residue-infused.
Valuable.
---
Grinwell approached slowly.
"You made a statement."
Kael didn't speak.
"Coin moves fast after fights like that. But burn... burn moves faster."
Kael reached for the chip.
His balance flickered.
---
> [Balance: 28 Coins → 58 Coins]
Coin Transfer Received
Burn Sync Enhanced
---
Kael pocketed it.
He didn't thank her.
He didn't need to.
He walked out of the Vault with fire on his hands and no one left willing to stop him.