Sykaion
He hadn't expected a line.
And yet here it was: dozens of traders, drifters, debt ghosts, and economic refugees snaking across Veltrin Sprawl's Lumen Court, each holding a slip of paper glowing with memory potential. Some trembled. Some smiled like addicts. A few carried weapons in full view—but even they stood in line.
At the center of the court, a dais made from collapsed transaction pillars held a single crimson seat: the "Shop of Risk." On it sat Sykaion Kairo, shirt torn, Phantom Feather burning faintly through the bandages laced across his chest.
Arlyss stood nearby, arms crossed, watching the crowd.
"They think you're mad," she said. "But they also think you might win."
"That's how investment works," Sykaion murmured. "You don't buy certainty. You buy maybe."
He lifted a golden stamp.
"Next."
---
A man stepped forward. Half his face was data-scarred—old System bleed. His hands trembled as he held out his slip.
"I don't want money," he whispered. "I want to remember who I was before the debt wiped me."
Sykaion touched the slip. The System flared.
> Memory Transfer Initiated
Transaction Type: Speculative Emotional Equity
Sykaion Risk Pool Impact: 0.5%
Client Recovery Rate: Partial
The man gasped—then collapsed, laughing.
Arlyss tensed. "That's the third one who broke down."
"They're getting pieces of something bigger than themselves," Sykaion said. "Some of them haven't felt in years."
> [Passive Income Stream Expanded: Risk-Indexed Hope Metrics Added]
Current Value: $4,027 (Emotional Market Surge)
But not everyone watching approved.
---
Zeraphine
She remained in shadow, lips pressed into a tight line.
Around her, merchant aristocrats whispered.
"Selling himself? How uncivilized…"
"It's not legal. The Sprawl can't sustain moral risk inflation like this…"
"Yet people are buying."
And they were.
Because something raw was happening here. Sykaion wasn't performing. He wasn't negotiating. He was opening his life, fragment by fragment, to the desperate.
Zeraphine knew the math. This wasn't supposed to work.
And yet his balance was climbing.
Her hand drifted to the pendant beneath her cloak—a token of Concordium alignment. Cold. Absolute.
She didn't let herself touch it.
> [Observer Conflict Detected: Emotional Feedback Breach Imminent]
Recommendation: Withdraw or Reformat Viewpoint
She closed the warning and stepped away.
---
Sykaion
A sharp click.
The sound of metal slipping free of a sheath.
He spun.
A woman cloaked in nothing but blackout bonds stepped onto the dais. No memory slip. No offer.
> [Warning: Unlinked Operative Detected – Identity Obscured]
Threat Level: Unknown
System Registration: NULL
She raised her hand.
A dagger of abstract debt pulsed in her grip—meant to sever a person's System tether.
"Don't move," she said. "I'm here for your risk."
Arlyss reached for her blade.
Sykaion didn't flinch.
> Phantom Feather: Activated
Passive Skill: Shared Burden – Target Lock: Arlyss Veil
He stepped forward.
The blade sliced—
—but not him.
Arlyss jerked. Blood blossomed at her side.
"No—" he reached her just as the assassin twisted for another strike.
Zeraphine moved.
Faster than she should've.
A flash of silver—a Concordium override glyph burst from her ring.
The assassin froze, limbs locking as debt chains reeled her backward.
Eyes wide.
Gone.
Silence.
Zeraphine turned, face veiled in calm. "You're drawing the wrong attention."
Sykaion stared.
"And who the hell are you?"
She bowed slightly.
"Dai Rhessa. Just another appraiser of futures."
Arlyss groaned, clutching her side.
Sykaion reached for her—but the pain didn't hit her again.
It hit him.
> Shared Burden Transfer: Activated
Damage Rerouted: 83%
Vital Integrity: Sustainable
"Idiot," she hissed through gritted teeth.
"You're welcome," he muttered.
Zeraphine knelt beside them. "They'll keep coming. You're creating something the system doesn't know how to tax."
"Then let them come," Sykaion said. "I'm not selling value."
He looked up.
"I'm selling faith."
---
High above, a private vault window dimmed.
Inside, a figure sat wrapped in gray velvet and shadowed data.
His fingers tapped once.
> ORDER: Kill the Debtwalker.
BOUNTY: 50,000 Etherseconds + 3 Memory Threads
Faction: Red Ledger Syndicate
---
To be continued in Chapter 12…