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 — balance ticked 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 — 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 — yanked free.
"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 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."