The setting sun cast long, flickering shadows across the city. Kael didn't walk; he ran, weaving through the choked, desperate avenues. He moved with a renewed, terrible focus; the threat of global political chaos was a far greater spur than his exhaustion.
His Karmic Sight was overwhelmed not by the sheer density of debt, but by its sudden, unpredictable violence. Threads of Rage shimmered like static around localised brawls. Lines of cold, heavy Apathy weighed down blocks of residential buildings, making people stop and stare blankly into the street. The chaos was becoming organised, feeding into the political core.
He was racing toward the UN Nexus, the global epicentre of political consensus and the ultimate prize in the war for obedience.
Kael reached the perimeter of the United Nations headquarters. The physical security barriers, guards, and police were intact but utterly paralysed. The Scavengers weren't fighting the guards; they were attacking the very notion of authority.
Outside the gates, a massive, localised riot was churning, fueled by the invisible energy of a low-tier Player specialising in Debt of Disgust. A physical fight would consume his precious energy, but he had to get through the crowd.
He stopped, centred his breath, and pushed his will into his voice, focusing on the invisible Player's source of power: the collective, surging Debt of Aggression of the rioters. He had to speak Absolution strategically.
"I Absolve the Lie of Unearned Fury!" Kael commanded, his voice tearing through the chaotic noise.
The effect was instantaneous and shocking. The purifying wave of sound hit the rioters. They didn't fall or flee; they stopped. Their faces, just moments ago contorted with blind rage, slackened into stunned confusion. The aggressive energy vanished, and the crowd, suddenly confronted by the absolute, spoken truth of their own manufactured anger, dispersed into disorganised groups of bewildered individuals.
The path was clear. Kael ran toward the main UN General Assembly building.
Inside, the atmosphere was a cold war fought with cosmic powers. The security was breached, but the chaos was contained, focused on the central communication core. Kael slipped through the deserted hallways, his Karmic Sight guiding him past the invisible battle lines.
He found the main players gathered in a high-tech media observation room overlooking the Assembly floor. The room was humming with the energy of political and social sabotage. They had formed a terrifying, temporary alliance: three high-tier Princes, their powers strategically complementing each other to destroy global authority.
Prince Varak (Entropy): Still weakened but using his power to introduce physical disorder (causing power spikes, equipment failure) to the facility.
The Duke of Discord (Rage): A hulking figure who used his power to amplify internal political grudges between delegates, turning diplomatic arguments into violent standoffs.
The Vizier (Betrayal): The most dangerous. A slender, elegant woman who stood over a communications terminal, her power weaving thick, black threads of Debt of Dishonesty. She was amplifying every unspoken lie, every secret agenda, shattering the fundamental Debt of Consensus that held the UN together.
The Vizier was the key. She was preparing a mass global broadcast of a manufactured "confession" of all the world leaders' deepest betrayals, designed to shatter the global belief in government itself.
Kael was completely outnumbered. He had energy for one more decisive Word of power, and he had to use it to collapse the alliance and neutralise the core threat.
The Vizier looked up from the terminal, her eyes glowing with cold, triumphant power. She had been waiting.
"The little Absolver is here," she purred, her voice dripping with amplified spite. "You saved the coin, but the soul of the world belongs to me. This chaos is mine."
Kael stepped out of the shadow of a communications rack, his stance resolute, the Word already forming on his lips. He looked past the raging Duke, past the surging Varak, and locked eyes with The Vizier, the source of the final, shattering lie. He knew the price of failure was the collapse of global society.
He took a deep breath, preparing to unleash the ultimate truth. He had to sever the most fundamental, poisonous thread of her power.
"I Absolve the Lie..."
The final, decisive Word was ready, but the cost would be his total, absolute collapse. He knew that when he fell, there would be no one left to protect him.