The dust in the lobby of the Golden Dawn headquarters didn't settle; it drifted in the unnatural stillness that followed the departure of a god. The air was ionized, smelling of ozone and the burnt-sugar scent of high-grade mana.
Han Jue sat on a shattered marble pillar, his breath coming in ragged hitches. Every muscle in his body felt like it had been shredded and rewoven with piano wire. The ten years of lifespan he'd mortgaged felt like a cold hollow in his chest, a phantom ache that reminded him of his mortality even as his power reached heights he had never dreamed of.
[Warning: Mortality Debt recorded.] [Lifespan: 54 Years (Locked until further Soul Harvesting).] [Current Balance: -48,750 Soul Points.]
"Almost there," he whispered, his voice cracking. "Just a few more kills, and I own my soul again."
The heavy click of tactical boots on stone echoed through the wreckage. Elena Sol, the S-Rank Investigator known as the "Silver Valkyrie," stopped exactly five paces away. Behind her, a squad of Association Enforcers fanned out, their mana-rifles aimed not at the monsters, but at the man in the tattered scavenger's cloak.
Elena didn't draw her weapon. Her silver eyes scanned the room—the dead Void-Widow Queen, the shattered Golem remains, and finally, the broken, charred figure of Kael huddled in the corner.
"The mana readings from this room shouldn't be possible for a D-rank scavenger," Elena said. Her voice was calm, but there was a sharp edge of curiosity underneath. "You didn't just close the rift, Han Jue. You devoured it."
Han Jue looked up. The streak of white in his hair made him look older, more dangerous. "Devoured is a strong word, Investigator. I prefer 'collected.' The Abyss has been operating in this district without a permit for far too long."
One of the enforcers stepped forward. "Kid, you're talking to an S-Rank official. Drop the artifact in your hand and get on your knees for processing. You're being detained for unauthorized dungeon interference and potential mana-theft."
Han Jue looked at the glowing purple crown in his hand—the Crown of the Void. It thrummed with a heartbeat of its own. He didn't drop it. Instead, he smiled—a thin, predatory line.
"Detained?" Han Jue laughed, a dry, raspy sound. "On what grounds? I didn't interfere with the dungeon. I saved the city when the Golden Dawn's 'heroes' were busy running for the exits. As for the mana... call it a service fee."
"You have five seconds to comply," the enforcer growled, his finger tightening on the trigger.
"Stand down," Elena commanded. She didn't look at her subordinate. She kept her eyes locked on Han Jue. "He's right about one thing. The Golden Dawn failed. But that doesn't explain how you, a man with a Level 5 mana-signature this morning, just evicted a Void King."
"Level 22 now," Han Jue corrected. "And rising. But we have more pressing matters than my level, Investigator. We need to talk about the 'Assets' of this building."
"Assets?" Elena frowned. "The building is a crime scene. It belongs to the Association until the Golden Dawn's board of directors can be reconvened."
"That's where you're wrong," Han Jue said. He stood up slowly, the Dread Sovereign's Pressure flaring out in a subtle, suffocating wave. The enforcers stumbled back, their rifles dipping as their instincts screamed at them to flee.
Han Jue held up the cracked guild badge he'd taken from Kael. At the same time, the Priest—who had been watching from the shadows—stumbled forward.
"He... he has the contracts," the Priest whispered, her voice trembling. "He saved us. But the price... we signed the Life-Debt."
Elena's eyes widened. "Life-Debt? That's a forbidden soul-contract. It hasn't been used since the Dark Era."
"The System doesn't recognize the word 'forbidden,'" Han Jue said. "It only recognizes 'unpaid.' Kael and his elite team are incapacitated. Under the emergency guild bylaws of the Hunter Association, Section 14, if a guild leader is unable to perform their duties and the guild is in a state of 'Soul Bankruptcy,' the primary creditor assumes control."
"You're claiming to be their creditor?" Elena asked, incredulous.
"I am the only creditor," Han Jue said. He pointed a finger at the vault door at the back of the lobby. "Inside that vault are the mana-stones and artifacts the Golden Dawn has 'scavenged' from the poor of this city for a decade. They owed me for my work. They owed the city for their cowardice. I've simply consolidated the debt."
[System Notification: 'Guild Takeover' Protocol Initiated.] [Target: Golden Dawn (Rank A).] [Requirement: 50,000 Soul Points to finalize the 'Hostile Soul Acquisition'.]
Han Jue looked at his balance. -48,750. He was so close. He looked at Elena.
"Investigator Sol, you want to keep the peace. I want to clear my tab. There's a pack of Tier-D Stalkers still lingering in the basement of this building. If you let me 'clean' them, I'll have the capital to officially buy this guild out of bankruptcy. If you stop me, the Golden Dawn collapses, their stocks tank, and District 7 loses its primary protectorate during an S-Rank crisis. Which do you prefer?"
Elena stared at him. She was an S-Rank. She could kill him where he stood. But she saw something in his eyes that she had never seen in Kael or any other guild leader. She saw a man who wasn't playing a hero. She saw a man who was balancing the scales.
"You have ten minutes," Elena said, her voice low. "If you aren't back by then, I'll consider you a monster in human skin and act accordingly."
"Ten minutes is more than enough," Han Jue said.
The Basement: The Harvest
The basement was dark, filled with the scratching sounds of the remaining Void-Stalkers. They were feast-hungry, waiting for the King to return. When the door opened, they saw a single man.
They lunged.
Han Jue didn't even use his dagger. He donned the Crown of the Void.
[Item: Crown of the Void (S-Rank Artifact - Growth Type)] [Passive: 'Aura of the Abyssal Tax-Man'.] [Effect: All monsters within 50 meters of the user have their stats reduced by 20%. Reduced stats are temporarily added to the user.]
The Stalkers slowed down as if they were running through molasses. Han Jue walked through them like a reaper through wheat. Each time his hand touched a monster, it turned to ash.
[Extraction Successful! +1,200 Soul Points.] [Extraction Successful! +1,500 Soul Points.] ... [Extraction Successful! +2,000 Soul Points.]
The numbers flickered on his screen like a high-speed slot machine.
[Current Balance: +5,250 Soul Points.] [WARNING: Debt Cleared. First Cycle Complete.]
A shockwave of golden light exploded from Han Jue's heart. The dark, heavy weight of the "Debt" that had been crushing his soul for the last ten chapters finally lifted. For the first time since the rift opened, he felt truly alive.
[Reward for clearing First Cycle: 'The Sovereign's Office' (Sub-Space).] [New Function: 'Debt Collection' can now be assigned to subordinates.]
Han Jue stood in the pile of monster ash, his eyes glowing with a pure, white light. He wasn't just a scavenger anymore. He was the CEO of the Abyss.
The Negotiation
Han Jue walked back into the lobby exactly nine minutes and fifty seconds later. He looked cleaner, his aura more controlled. He walked straight up to Elena Sol and handed her a digital tablet he'd pulled from the basement offices.
"The Golden Dawn is officially rebranded," Han Jue said. "As of three minutes ago, I am the majority shareholder and Guild Master. I'm renaming it: The Sovereign Audit."
Elena checked the tablet. Her eyes widened. "You... you actually did it. You used the legal loopholes of the Soul-Contract to bypass the Association's board."
"I told you, I'm a collector," Han Jue said. He leaned in, his voice a whisper that only she could hear. "I know you're looking for the 'Source' of the S-Rank rifts, Elena. The Association thinks it's a random phenomenon. But you know it's targeted, don't you?"
Elena stiffened. "How could you possibly know that?"
"Because the King of the Void didn't come here for the city," Han Jue said, his eyes flashing red for a split second. "He came for me. Or rather, he came for the System I carry. And if you want to stop the next one, you're going to need a partner who knows how to read the cosmic ledger."
Elena looked at the man before her. He was a scavenger who had risen to a Guild Master in a single afternoon. He was a man who had stared down a god and lived.
"What do you want, Han Jue?" she asked.
"Recognition," Han Jue said. "I want 'The Sovereign Audit' to be the official guild in charge of all Rift-Scavenging in the sector. In exchange, I'll give you the intelligence you need to find the other Kings before they manifest."
Elena was silent for a long time. The enforcers behind her were tense, waiting for the word to fire. Finally, she lowered her hand, signaling them to stand down.
"I'll speak to the High Council," Elena said. "But don't think this makes us friends. If I find out you're the one causing these rifts just to 'collect' them... I'll kill you myself."
"I'd expect nothing less," Han Jue said.
As Elena and her team marched out, the Priest approached Han Jue, her eyes wide with uncertainty. "What... what do we do now, Guild Master?"
Han Jue looked around the ruined lobby. He saw the gold, the marble, and the blood. He saw the future he was going to build.
"First," Han Jue said, "we hire a cleaning crew. I'm done being the janitor."
He turned toward the window, looking at the city skyline. His Debt Sense went off, lighting up the city like a Christmas tree. Thousands of tiny black sparks. Thousands of debts, waiting to be collected.
"And second," he added, a dark smile playing on his lips, "we start sending out the invoices."