Drift was collapsing.
Not in fire.
In code, in balance decay, in the silence of system failure.
Kael walked alone through Sector 7's remains... the ground cracking beneath him, coin feeds dying mid-air.
---
> [Coinburn Domain: Ash Form – ACTIVE]
Burn Radius: 70m
Balance Drain: Constant –10C/sec
Kael's Balance: 1,800C → 1,700C → 1,600C
Zone Collapse: 73% – Drift Core Unstable
---
Every step left ashes, not footprints.
Every breath cost him coin.
---
Behind him, players fled. Not after him now, but away.
They knew the bounty.
They knew the price.
They just didn't know how to stop him.
---
A wall of traders tried to block the eastern gate... hoping for coin, for favor.
Kael walked through them.
Not by choice, by burn.
---
> [Balance Drain – Group Impact: 10 players]
Net Drain: 3,000C
Reward: 1,500C absorbed
New Balance: 3,100C
Burn Cost Spiking – Ash Form Instability Rising
---
Kael didn't stop.
He didn't see enemies anymore.
Only coins he didn't want.
---
Jace's voice broke into his comm... sharp.
"Kael, get out! You'll collapse the whole zone!"
Kael: "Not my zone anymore."
---
> [System Alert – You are now in Free Status]
Definition: No zone, no affiliation, no system rights
All actions: Untracked
---
Kael crossed the final gate.
System lock triggered.
---
> [Zone Exit Denied – Target: Zone Killer]
Boundary Override Detected
Destination: Unknown
---
The gate shattered.
No portal. No code.
Just coin shards raining around him.
---
Jace again.
"Where the hell are you going?"
Kael: "Auction."
---
Pause.
"You can't... The Black Auction isn't real."
Kael stopped.
Opened his hand.
A single Black Coin pulsed, the one from the Ledger kill.
---
[Black Coin – Unregistered]
Use: Unknown
Risk: System Rejection Imminent
---
Kael clenched it.
"It's real enough."
---
Ahead, a hidden vault path appeared... not on any map.
Undermarket code flickered, rerouted, and revealed a sigil burned into the wall: Black Auction.
No door.
Just a coin slot.
---
Kael placed the Black Coin.
---
> [Black Coin Used – Gate Activated]
Entry Cost: Paid
Warning: No system connection beyond this point. Proceed?
Kael smiled.
"Finally."
---
He stepped into darkness.
No HUD.
No balance.
No system.
Just the auction.
---
Silence.
No HUD.
No coin count.
Just Kael... standing in a space that shouldn't exist.
---
The Black Auction wasn't built.
It was grown... into the world's gaps.
The chamber around him pulsed with raw code, not processed, not approved.
It looked like ruined vault stone, but Kael could feel it... coin energy leaking through the cracks.
---
> [System Reconnection: Failed]
Balance Tracking: Disabled
Skill Usage: Manual Only – No interface
Risk: Unstable Coin Feedback
---
Kael didn't flinch.
He stepped forward.
---
Voices echoed beyond the chamber, low, distorted, not from comms.
Other players.
Shadowed.
Watching.
---
> [Auction Status: Open – 4 Lots Remaining]
Next Bid: Black Coin Required
Current Lot: Skill Scroll – Coinburn Strike Variant (Forbidden)
Kael's eyes narrowed.
That skill was his.
Or had been.
---
He stepped toward the bidding floor... but the air pushed back.
Not system force.
Player-enforced code.
---
A voice spoke from the shadows.
"You're not invited."
Kael: "I brought my own coin."
---
> [Black Coin Residue x1]
Status: Corrupted
Use: Illegal bid possible – Risk of retaliation
Kael placed it.
The chamber shuddered.
---
> [Illegal Bid Accepted]
Lot Secured – Skill Scroll Pending
Enforcement Triggered – Hostile Contact Inbound
---
Kael exhaled.
Finally.
---
From the far side of the chamber, a gate split open... no system light.
Only raw balance energy, and from it stepped something not human.
Tall. Masked.
Armor made from melted coin shards, face blank of code.
An Auction Enforcer.
---
It didn't speak.
It moved.
---
Kael's hands ignited with Ash Form, but nothing happened.
No burn radius.
No decay.
---
> [Skill Suppressed – Zone Anti-Burn Field Active]
Ash Form: Dormant
Risk: Manual Burn Required
---
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"You think that stops me?"
He reached into his inventory.
No HUD.
No guide.
Just instinct.
---
He grabbed Black Coin shards... residue fragments from his last kill.
Crushed them.
---
Pain tore through his arm, code backlash, unfiltered.
Kael burned anyway.
---
> [Manual Coinburn Triggered]
Effect: Flame Strike – Balance Unknown
Risk: Self Burn – Active
---
The enforcer lunged.
Kael struck first.
---
Ash and gold collided.
The auction exploded into chaos.
---
The enforcer didn't bleed.
It cracked.
Coins melted from its armor with every strike, but it didn't fall.
Kael's manual burn flared in his hands, unstable... every attack cost him raw balance.
---
> [Balance: Unknown – Untracked]
Burn Status: Manual Coinburn Active
Self Burn: 20% per strike
Effect: Flame Strike – Unstable Form
---
Kael ducked the enforcer's blade, a jagged coin forge weapon, not digital.
It sliced air like debt made real.
He struck back.
Ash flared again.
---
The enforcer staggered... mask fracturing, but it didn't stop.
---
Above them, the auction watchers whispered... not in fear.
In interest.
---
"Null-13 broke the auction."
"Coin King will bid for his corpse."
"Not if I bid first."
---
Kael froze... not from the enforcer.
From the voice.
Deep. Familiar.
A rival bidder stepped forward, coin mask gleaming black.
A second Black Coin wielder.
---
"Null-13," the masked bidder said.
"You're not the only one who pays in blood."
Kael narrowed his eyes.
"You bidding on me?"
The bidder laughed.
"No."
"I'm bidding against you."
---
Kael's breath came ragged.
The enforcer's remains smoldered, coin shards melting into the floor... Ash Form finally reactivated, even in this lawless zone.
---
> [Skill Reactivation: Partial]
Ash Form Radius: 10m (suppressed)
Burn Rate: -15C/sec
System Connection: Still Lost
---
The masked bidder approached the dais.
Still shrouded.
Still calm.
Holding 2 Black Coins... raw, unspent.
---
"I'll take the scroll," the rival said.
"Null-13's too unstable."
The auction paused.
The bidding stone reactivated.
---
> [New Lot Open – Forbidden Skill Scroll: Coinburn Spike // Death Variant]
Starting Bid: 1 Black Coin
Current Bidders: Null-13 (illegal), Shadow Bidder (valid)
Rule: Burn Buyout Available – Sacrifice 1,000C to override bid
---
Kael's fists clenched.
He had no system.
No balance readout.
No guarantee.
But he knew one thing... he'd kill before he let someone else take his power.
---
He stepped forward.
Held his last Black Coin shard.
And burned it.
---
> [Burn Buyout Triggered – Illegal Bid]
Cost: 1,000C (manual deduction)
Effect: Bid Override
Result: Black Coin Spike Skill Acquired
Risk: Corruption Escalation – Ash Form Surge
---
Kael staggered.
Ash Form exploded outward, consuming the chamber.
The rival cursed... mask cracking.
---
Kael grabbed the scroll.
It seared into his hand.
Not paper.
Code. Burnt into memory.
---
> [Skill Acquired – Coinburn Domain: Spike Form // Death Variant]
Effect: Every strike drains victim's coin reserve completely.
Cost: -500C per use. No cooldown.
Risk: Permanent Burn Feedback.
---
Kael turned.
The rival was gone.
Auction in ruins.
Kael's HUD blinked.
---
> [System Reconnect: Successful]
Balance: 1,100C → 800C (burn penalty)
Status: Zone Killer
Bounty: 500,000C
Location: Black Auction Ruins
---
Jace's voice hit the comms.
"Kael, what did you do?"
Kael: "I won." Triumphantly.