The notification appeared in the air the moment I woke.
No greetings. No reprieve. Just a sentence.
Destiny Market System Notice
Status: Active Debt
Automatic Penalty in Process
Type: Maleficium (Class I)
Maturation Time: Immediate
The room tightened around me. The walls breathed, as if they had lungs. The air smelled of hot iron, and the mark on my forehead burned with a heartbeat that wasn't mine.
—What does "Maleficium" mean? —my voice came out smaller than I expected.
Kairos was on the windowsill, smoking a cigarette that burned without consuming. His fractured mark crackled like glass about to shatter.
—A curse —he said, eyes fixed on me—. The first one we all pay.
—Can I avoid it?
—No —his smile was bitter—. You can only survive it. And, if you're smart, redirect some of the damage.
The screen shifted before I could argue:
Maleficium initiated.
Required Payment: Essential memory
Automatic selection in progress…
—No! —I tried to touch the interface—. Don't choose for me!
The buzzing grew in my ears. Not from the room—from inside. The ceiling stretched like rubber, and when I blinked, I was no longer there.
I stood in an endless hallway lined with doors. Each door bore a symbol: a laugh, a bicycle, the smell of bread, a rainy night. My memories.
And something moved ahead of me: a mechanical shadow edged with gears. Locks trembled wherever it passed.
I ran after it.
—Stop! Don't go in!
The shadow ignored me. It leaned toward a door glowing with familiar light. A park. A bench. Two children.
—Not that one —I whispered. —Please.
I shoved at it, but fighting was like pushing against sharp mist. My hand pierced the shadow—and cut me, not my skin but my memory. I saw my own childhood bleeding light through my palm.
The door opened.
My brother.
His smile as he ran beside me, shirt clinging with sweat. The day he first called me "little Luni." The roar of the river when they almost pushed me in. Him stepping in front. Him saying my name like an amulet.
—No! —The word tore my throat raw.
The mark flared red. I tried to slam the door with it, forcing the triangle etched on my forehead to wedge itself. Kairos had said it could redraw clauses. I didn't know how—but I tried.
The shadow was already inside. Images unraveled: the park edges washed away like chalk in rain. My brother's voice lost timbre, then syllables, then his mouth vanished to speak it.
I dropped to my knees. Powerless, sobbing, bones aching.
—Leave me something!
The triangle on my mark glowed brighter. I shoved harder, and the door slammed shut—crushing my hand. Instead of blood, white brilliance slipped through my fingers, liquid memory dripping into the hallway's floor and vanishing.
The corridor contracted. The shadow recoiled, as though hitting glass, and fled toward other doors.
A violent tug yanked me back. I opened my eyes in my room.
—What did you lose? —Kairos was already on his feet, urgency in his voice I hadn't heard before.
I tried to say it. "My brother." The word should have come easily. It was simple. Mine.
My mouth filled with nothing.
—I… I know there was someone —I whispered—. Someone who protected me, who… called me… —I squeezed my eyes until sparks danced—. I can't say it. I can't see his face.
Kairos clenched his jaw. A spark dropped from his impossible cigarette.
—You stopped it halfway. That doesn't usually happen. A Class I Maleficium rips out pillars. Yours was torn. The hole remains, but so do the edges. You learned fast.
The system logged, cold and clinical:
Maleficium executed.
Essential memory: CONFISCATED (partial).
Credit applied for payment: +10
New Fate Score: -75
Warning: Future penalties will escalate (Class II within 72h if unpaid).
Note: Anomalous interference detected in closure (User's Mark).
—Credit? —my eyes burned—. It actually says "credit"?
—Pain accounting —Kairos crushed the glowing cigarette; it vanished like an insect of light—. They call it "balance." In the Market, crying pays.
—And if I hadn't fought it? —my voice trembled—. If I hadn't tried to close it?
—You'd have nothing. No edges. That leaves people broken. What you did… that's new.
The mark pulsed. I ran to the mirror.
No longer just a gear with runes. The triangle had shifted again: in its center, a line began tracing an incomplete circle, a lock trying to draw itself, refusing to close.
—I don't like it —I muttered—. I don't want anything of mine moving without asking.
—The system doesn't ask —Kairos leaned on the wall—. It feeds on debt. And now it knows you resist. It'll bite harder.
The bulbs flickered. Iron filled the air. The coat rack's shadow stretched into a spear aimed at me.
—Another penalty? —I swallowed.
—Residuals —Kairos raised a finger. The wall clock spun backward—. Curses leave residue. Normally it's dizziness, imbalance, nightmares. The abnormal… —he pointed at my forehead— is your seal improvising.
The screen flashed again:
Maleficium Residue: ACTIVE
— Probability Drain: low (residual)
— Dream Distortion: high
— Bond Echoes: detected
Suggestion: Perform Stabilization Transaction (+15 minimum) or accept extended guardianship.
—I won't give anything else —I spat—. Not today.
—Not today —Kairos agreed. —But your clock runs. Without stabilizing, reality pushes you onto rails of least resistance: accidents, forgetfulness, fatal mistakes.
—Rails of least…?
—Think of it like tracks —he explained—. Debt puts you on rails. If you don't switch tracks, the train hits you.
—I'm not a train.
—To the Market, you're a flow.
The room shivered. I caught the glass on the nightstand before it fell.
—That's why it hates your gaze —Kairos muttered, almost amused—. You cut rails with your eyes.
—What?
—Nothing —he smirked—. Just… keep cutting.
I sat on the bed. The hole of a brother I couldn't name throbbed like a pulled tooth. I wanted to cry but couldn't—like even tears had contracts.
—Why that memory? —I asked—. Why not… I don't know… the name of a dessert?
—Class I Maleficium takes pillars. It wants the house to shake. —Kairos lowered his voice, for once—. Listen: the system isn't sadistic for fun. It's efficient. Remove keystones, and you're easier to bend. Sign quicker. Pay faster. That's the algorithm.
—Then let it learn to lose —I rose, anger hardening me—. I won't bend.
The silence lasted three breaths.
Then his voice came. The one that smiles without lips.
"How sweet, seeing you pretend to be stone, Luna."
The Broker.
Not a threat. Amusement. Like watching a cat wrestle yarn.
—Get out of my head —I growled.
"I'm not in your head. I'm in your contract. Big difference."
My mark seared. A line of light slid down from forehead to cheekbone and vanished. It felt invasive.
—What do you want?
"Wanted to peek at your triangle. That's not mine. Not the system's either. Someone grafted a lock into you… and I can't see the key."
I looked at Kairos. His face was taut.
—What's he saying?
—That your seal wasn't printed by the Market's standard rite —Kairos muttered—. That you were strange before you registered.
"Strange and expensive," the Broker chuckled. "I'll offer you a courtesy, Luna: come speak with me directly."
The screen lit with a new module not in the usual menu:
ADMINISTRATIVE SUMMONS (Forced)
Administrator: BROKER
Format: In-person (secure channel)
Portal opening in: 00:30:00
Penalty for absence: Escalation to Maleficium Class II
Requirement: Attend alone
—He wants you alone —Kairos's teeth clenched—. Classic.
—If I don't go, the curse escalates —I said.
—If you do, negotiate —he held my gaze—. And don't sign anything that smells clean. In the Market, clean kills.
"Bring me your triangle, girl," the Broker whispered against my thoughts. "Or I'll teach you a new way to pronounce 'brother': silence."
The countdown ticked.
00:29:59
00:29:58
The glass in my hand warmed. The room stopped breathing.
—Luna —Kairos leaned close—, listen. I'm not family, I'm not salvation, but I know how to survive. If you face him, follow the basic rule: ask the cost before the promise. And if you can—do what you did today. Slam the door shut just before he takes everything. That's your edge.
—My edge is breaking me —I touched my mark. The triangle spun, chasing its circle.
—Sometimes you break to pass through the lock —his smile was sad—. The difference is who puts you back together.
The countdown marched on. The portal hadn't opened yet, but I already felt it—a mouth of light aligning with my steps.
I faced my reflection. The girl in the mirror had holes, yes—but also a fire in her eyes. Fury. Hunger. Will.
—I'll go.
—I'll go with you.
The screen flared:
Condition unmet (companion detected).
If persisted, Class II curse will apply upon portal opening.
—No. —I shook my head, swallowing fear—. I'll go alone.
Kairos nodded, jaw tight with rage.
—Then take this. —He opened his palm, revealing a brass hex token etched with his fractured mark—. A route loan. Doesn't touch your balance. If things turn ugly, think of my name… —he paused, bitter laugh—. Forget I don't have one. Think of my face. That's enough.
I took it. It weighed more than it should.
—Thank you.
—Don't thank me. Just come back. And if the Broker offers an easy way out—spit on it.
I willed the countdown to stop. It didn't. It stared back.
00:21:07
The floor vibrated faintly, like a distant engine.
The Broker's whisper coiled:
"Delightful. Bring me your anomaly, Luna. I want to see inside."
The mark traced another line down my cheek. For an instant, I felt the impossible—a tap from the other side, like a finger testing the lock on my forehead.
—Try it —I told the air. —I'll slam it on your hand.
The room dimmed. In the center, the first tooth of light tore through reality.
And I knew, if I stepped through, the Market would measure me again—this time up close.
I had no brother's name.
I had rage.
A borrowed token.
And a triangle desperate to become a lock.