The camp never went back to normal. Even when the stew boiled and the tokens clinked, every glance slid toward them. Some were sharp with fear. Others hungry with curiosity.
Kael felt it like heat on his skin. The Cathedral hadn't just marked them — it had painted a target.
The system whispered in his skull:
[Ledger Notice] Trio Recorded: In Debt to the Cathedral Names watched until balance is paid Effect: Encounters will bend toward you
He clenched his fist around the Key. Watched. It wasn't just the Warden now. The Ledger itself had an eye.
Riven tore at his stew like he wanted to kill it. "Great. Everyone's staring like we've grown second heads. Should we start charging admission?" He grinned, sharp and tired. "Two tokens a look. No refunds."
Seren shoved a note at him before he could run further with it: Stop talking. You make it worse.
"Pfft." Riven crumpled the note, stuffed it in his pocket anyway. His leg bounced restlessly under the table.
Kael stayed quiet, throat raw. His silence was not choice tonight — it was survival.
From the corner, Lyra watched with her calm predator's smile. She twirled a token between her fingers, tapping it against the wood in a rhythm that sounded like a heartbeat. "See how they look at you? You're famous now. Famous things don't live long here."
Kael met her eyes. The weight of her grin told him she already knew — once the Ledger wrote your name, it never erased it.
Around them, whispers built.
"Hollow, Twice Marked.""Shadow-burdened.""Silent girl."
The titles spread like cracks through stone.
Seren's pencil flew, her scrap shoved into Kael's hand: We deny them. Every time.
He folded the paper tight, tucked it against his chest with the others. Denial was a thin shield, but it was all they had.
Then the sound rolled through the camp.
BOOOONG.
The gong wasn't faint this time. It hit like a stone hammer, knocking bowls from hands, shaking tents. Walkers froze, eyes wide, some dropping tokens like they'd burned them.
The system's voice followed, flat and merciless:
[Ledger Event: Names Inscribed] Kael — Hollow, Twice Marked Riven — Burdened by Shadow Seren — The Silent Record Note: Trio bound together in record Warning: Their path will draw more notice
The fire sputtered. The whispers rose higher, sharper.
Riven spat into the dirt. "Fantastic. Now we've got nicknames. Just what I always wanted." His grin was fierce but hollow.
Seren shoved a scrap at him: Better idiot than erased.
Kael's chest ached with the weight of it. Not just Hollow now. Not just a scratch on a wall. They were inscribed.
The Ledger had turned them into characters. And once a story began, it demanded an ending.
He gripped the Key tighter. If the world wanted to write him, then he'd learn to write back.
But the last echo of the gong still lingered, patient and cold.
BOOOONG.