Drift burned.
Not with fire.
With balance decay... from Kael.
From the Ash Form he could no longer control.
Could no longer stop.
---
> [Coinburn Domain: Ash Form – ACTIVE]
Effect: Area-wide balance decay
Radius: 30m expanding…
Burn Rate: -10C/sec
Balance: 4,600C → 4,500C → 4,400C
---
Kael walked slowly through Sector 7.
Every footstep corrupted the ground, turning system-coded stone into flickering, unstable thread.
Coins fell like ash behind him, not spent, not earned, just lost.
---
He wasn't hunting anyone.
And yet, players fled.
---
> [Zone Status: Drift – Critical Instability 30%]
Warning: Entering Null-13 burn radius voids all contracts
Risk: Total Balance Collapse – Unstable Zone Core Detected
---
A trio of scavengers darted around a corner, weapons ready...eyes locked on Kael's bounty feed.
250,000 Coins.
Enough to buy freedom. A vault. A kingdom.
One of them aimed.
Kael didn't react.
---
> [Burn Contact Detected – Target: Player_874]
Balance Drain: 400C
Result: Skill Inactive. Weapon Disabled.
---
The player screamed... balance ripped out, weapon disintegrating in midair.
He ran. The other two didn't wait.
---
Kael kept walking.
> [Corruption: 100% – Locked]
Passive Drain: -10C/sec
Balance: 4,400C → 4,300C
---
Jace's voice cracked through.
"Kael, stop moving. You're collapsing Drift!"
Kael didn't stop.
"They declared a bounty. I'm just collecting payment."
---
A system alert flared.
> [New Title Earned: Ledger Breaker – Tier I]
Effect: Immune to System Lockdowns
Passive: All zones entered gain corruption status
System Note: You are no longer part of the coin economy.
---
Kael laughed softly.
"No longer part of the system, huh?"
He looked at his hands... still burning, still draining the world.
"Good."
---
Ahead, a squad of bounty hunters blocked the street, not random scavengers.
Guild players. Coordinated.
Balance feeds glowing: 1,200C… 1,500C… 1,800C.
Kael slowed.
---
At their center stood a woman... tall, armored in coinplate, no mask.
Eyes cold.
Lyn Varro.
---
Her balance read 2,000C, steady.
---
"You're Null-13," she said. "The Balance Killer. The system breaker."
Kael: "Ledger Breaker now. Catch up."
Lyn smirked.
"You're wanted by everyone. Even the King."
Kael's burn radius expanded.
Ground cracked beneath him.
---
> [Ash Form Radius – 40m]
Squad Contact: Partial
Balance Drain: 300C/sec per enemy
Squad Response: Barrier Active – 20% mitigation
---
Two players staggered,their balances ticking down.
Screams began.
Lyn didn't flinch.
"You're burning out."
Kael's eyes glowed.
"So come put me out."
---
Lyn moved first.
A signal flicked from her hand, and her squad spread out, balance feeds spiking as they activated coin vault defenses.
---
> [Vault Shield: Active]
Team Defense – Reduces balance drain by 40%
Squad Balance Pool: 6,000C
Decay Rate: 150C/sec due to Ash Form proximity
---
Kael didn't step back.
He stepped forward.
---
> [Ash Form Radius: 40m → 50m]
Squad in full contact range
Balance Drain: Increased to 400C/sec per player
---
One player shouted... balance crashed from 1,200C → 300C in seconds.
Lyn barked, "Hold position!"
They obeyed.
Barely.
---
Kael's balance ticked down.
> [Balance: 4,300C → 4,100C]
Burn Constant: -10C/sec
Skill Risk: Irreversible Mutation (Stable)
---
Lyn charged.
Vault blade out.
"Null-13... submit! Or I'll drain you dry."
Kael smiled.
"Try."
---
> [Spike Field – Activated]
Burn Cost: 300C
Effect: Area blast, balance rip at +50% intensity
Drain Return: x2 coins per kill
---
Flame erupted from him, not just gold-black, but white ash.
Two squad members dropped instantly, balance zeroed.
---
> [Coins Earned: 2,400C]
New Balance: 6,500C
Burn Cost Rising…
---
Lyn didn't fall.
Her blade struck, hitting Kael's side.
Pain lanced ,the system damage real this time.
---
> [Health: -10%]
Balance Lock Triggered: -500C
New Balance: 6,000C
---
Kael staggered...then grabbed her wrist.
> [Direct Contact – Ash Form Surge]
Target: Lyn Varro
Balance Drain: 1,000C
Result: Skill Lock – Vault Blade Disabled
---
Lyn gasped, yankingfree.
"You're a monster."
Kael's eyes glowed.
"No. I'm the bill come due."
---
The street was ash.
Not from flame... from coins burned raw, balances zeroed, code stripped from the world.
Kael stood in the wreckage.
---
Lyn Varro knelt, hand clutching her disabled blade, balance flickering: 900C → 800C → 700C.
Around her, the last of her squad fled or fell.
---
Kael's burn radius expanded again.
---
> [Ash Form Radius: 50m → 60m]
Balance: 6,000C → 5,500C → 5,000C
Corruption: Locked – Burn State Permanent
Burn Risk: System Stability Threat
---
Lyn raised her eyes, teeth clenched.
"You think this is winning?"
Kael: "No. This is the fee."
He stepped forward.
---
> [Balance Drain: 400C/sec – Target: Lyn Varro]
Her Balance: 700C → 300C
---
She collapsed — weapon gone, balance crippled.
Kael towered over her.
"Tell your King."
Lyn: "Tell him what?"
Kael's hands flared white-hot.
"I'm the one he can't buy."
---
Suddenly... system override.
Kael's HUD glitched.
Not from damage, from debt.
---
> [System Debt Triggered – Ash Form Exceeding Limits]
Response: Burn Reversal Attempt
Effect: Ledger Pulse Incoming – Balance Theft Attempted
---
Kael staggered.
His balance tore backward.
> [Balance: 5,000C → 3,000C]
Ledger Pulse Active – System draining excess
---
Kael clenched his fists.
"No."
---
> [Black Coin Response – Overdrive Triggered]
Effect: Burn Feedback – Ledger Pulse Blocked
Cost: -1,000C Instant Burn
---
Kael roared.
The world flashed white.
---
> [Balance: 3,000C → 2,000C]
Ash Form Stabilized – Radius 70m
Zone Collapse: 50% – Evacuation Active
---
Lyn crawled away.
Kael stood... shaking, alive, burning.
And for the first time?
The system blinked first.
---
The air reeked of ash.
Not real ash.
Burnt code, disintegrated coin trails, balance reduced to flicker and void.
Kael stood in the epicenter, breathing slow.
His balance bled, not from enemies.
From himself.
---
> [Balance: 2,000C → 1,900C]
Ash Form Drain: Constant –10C/sec
Zone Collapse: 52% – Drift Core Unstable
---
Around him, the city fled.
Gates sealed, auction feeds died, and the system fell silent.
Not from fear.
From failure.
---
Kael turned slowly.
Lyn Varro was gone... dragged out by her last surviving squadmate.
She hadn't died.
But she'd lost.
---
And Kael?
Kael had won something else.
---
> [System Alert – Bounty Escalation Triggered]
Null-13 Status: Ledger Breaker – Uncontainable
New Designation: Zone Killer
Reward: 500,000 Coins
Global Alert: Coin King Authorization – ANY Means Permitted
---
Kael's eyes flickered gold-black.
"Half a million now."
He smiled faintly.
"Still cheap."
---
Jace's voice crackled, low and shaken.
"Kael, you're not safe. You're not..."
Kael: "I was never safe."
---
Silence.
Then Jace again.
"Everyone's coming. Not just bounty hunters. Not just the King."
Kael: "Let them."
---
He walked, each step spreading Ash Form.
Zone threads unraveled.
---
> [Zone Collapse Progress: 60%]
Threat Level: MAXIMUM
Coinverse Directive: Full Lockdown Recommended
Status: FAILED – System Access Denied
---
Kael reached into his inventory... past Black Coin residue, past corrupted auction tokens.
At the bottom sat something new.
Unmarked.
Untracked.
Earned from from the Ledger kill.
---
> [Coin of Debt]
Description: Given only to system anomalies who outlive correction.
Effect: ???
Risk: System Retaliation – Unknown
---
Kael gripped it.
Cold.
Heavy.
Burning.
---
> [Use Item – Coin of Debt?]
Y/N
---
His balance ticked.
> [1,900C → 1,800C]
Corruption Locked – Burn Irreversible
Stability: Failing
---
Kael whispered.
"Let's see what the system owes me."
He flipped the coin.
---
The world fractured.
---
> [Coin of Debt Activated]
Effect: Escalation Clause Engaged
System Repayment Triggered
Result: Next player kill returns 100% of victim's lifetime earnings
Risk: Global Trace Activated – All players notified
---
Kael staggered.
Ash erupted around him.
And across Coinverse... every player saw it.
---
> [Global Alert – Null-13 Activated Coin of Debt]
Kill Bonus Active – All earnings on death
Zone Killer Bounty: 500,000C
Status: OPEN HUNT
---
Kael's HUD blinked.
Incoming feed.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
---
Players weren't running now.
They were coming.
---
And Kael?
Kael smiled.
"I'll burn every coin they bring."