Kael ran.
His chest burned.His legs felt heavy.The alley kept getting narrower, like it wanted him stuck.
Bad sign.
Water splashed under his boots. Trash bags burst when he hit them. Something rotten filled the air.
Behind him—
dragdrag
Not footsteps.
Something worse.
"Shit," Kael muttered.
He turned—
Too late.
A hand grabbed his ankle.
He slammed face-first into the ground. Stone scraped his cheek. Pain shot up his leg.
He screamed.
The thing behind him pulled.
Slow. Steady. Like it had all night.
Kael clawed at the ground. His nails bent back. His fingers slipped.
He twisted his head.
It was close now.
Too many joints.Too many fingers.Its mouth hung open like it forgot how to close.
"I didn't do anything," Kael said. He didn't know why he said it.
The thing didn't care.
Pressure built around his leg. Something cracked.
Kael saw black spots.
Then—
Words showed up.
Not in the air.
Not in his head.
Just there.
⟪COVENANT LOG ONLINE⟫⟪FIRST SIGN-IN READY⟫
Kael blinked.
"What…?"
The thing yanked again.
Pain ripped through him.
⟪YOU MAY REFUSE⟫⟪REFUSAL WILL BE NOTED⟫
Noted?
That word felt bad.
Really bad.
"No," Kael said fast. "No, no—"
The creature's fingers dug in deeper.
Kael panicked.
"SIGN IN!" he yelled.
Everything stopped.
The pain stayed.The fear stayed.
But the world waited.
⟪PLACE: LOWER WARD ALLEY⟫⟪STATUS: ABOUT TO DIE⟫⟪PAYMENT REQUIRED⟫
Kael swallowed hard.
"What do you want?" he said. "Take money. Take years. Just don't—"
No answer.
Then—
⟪SKILL GRANTED⟫Instinct Override (Cheap)⟪COST: REACTION — LATER⟫
Something snapped inside him.
Not pain.
Not heat.
Like a switch flipped.
Kael moved.
He didn't plan it.
His elbow smashed backward.His knee came up hard.His heel came down once.
Crack.
The thing let go.
It dropped.
Didn't get back up.
Kael stumbled forward and almost fell again. His hands shook. His mouth tasted like metal.
He turned slowly.
The body lay twisted in the alley.
Dead.
Really dead.
⟪ENTRY COMPLETE⟫⟪WELCOME, CONTRACTOR⟫
The strength drained out of him.
Kael slid down the wall and sat there, breathing hard. His head felt wrong. Like there was lag between thought and movement.
He snapped his fingers.
They clicked late.
"…what?" he whispered.
Nothing hurt.
That scared him.
Above the body, faint words flickered.
⟪TOTAL ENTRIES: 1⟫⟪BALANCE: OPEN⟫
Kael stared at them.
"So this is how it is," he said.
No answer.
Only the dead thing.Only the alley.Only the feeling that he'd signed something he couldn't read.
Kael pushed himself up.
His leg shook.
"Fine," he muttered. "I'm alive."
He took one step.
And felt it.
Just a little delay.
Like his body listened slower than before.
Kael clenched his jaw.
Whatever this Log was—
It didn't save him.
It charged him.
And this was just the first bill.