The clock tower of Apex Academy struck one in the morning. The sound did not ring with its usual silver clarity. Instead it felt muffled as if the very air had become thick with moisture. Outside the broken windows of the executive office the horizon was a wall of absolute darkness. The Atlantic Ocean was no longer a distant neighbor. It had become a predator.
Kaelen Thorne stood before his panoramic window watching the distant white foam of the tide. It was rising at a rate that defied every law of nature. Vane was not just opening a gate. He was using the Debt of the Ocean to reclaim the land. In the previous timeline the Tidal Gate had wiped out the entire eastern seaboard because the Heroes were too busy arguing over who would get the most media coverage.
Kaelen turned away from the window. His eyes landed on the black cocoon in the corner where Lia Sinclair was undergoing her agonizing evolution. She was his strongest asset but she was currently an illiquid one. He had Silas Vesper and a broken Archangel but they were not enough to stop a literal ocean of monsters.
He sat at his desk and opened the Ledger. His fingers moved across the holographic interface with a speed that blurred his hands.
Silas appeared from the shadows. Master the students are panicking. They've seen the news from New York. They know the tide is coming. The Rank A elites are already trying to steal the Academy's transport helicopters to flee inland.
Let them try Kaelen said without looking up. The helicopters are currently under a lien. If they start the engines the System will count it as a theft of company property. Their mana will be seized instantly to fuel the perimeter defense. I told you Silas I don't care about the elites. They are high maintenance assets with low loyalty.
What about the others Silas asked. The Rank F students. They are sitting in the hallways waiting for instructions.
Kaelen stopped typing. A cold smile touched his lips. It is time to launch the Shadow Scholarship. Silas give me the global broadcast.
A moment later every screen in the Academy and every personal device of the millions of Rank F students who had downloaded the Ledger app earlier that day lit up.
Kaelen's face appeared on the screens. He did not look like a hero. He looked like a cold CEO delivering a quarterly report.
Attention students of the world Kaelen began. You have been told your whole lives that you are the background characters of this story. You were born with weak mana circuits. You were told to be grateful for the protection of the Heroes. But look at the ocean. Look at the gates. The Heroes are currently packing their bags while the water rises to drown you.
The silence in the Academy hallways was absolute. Millions of people held their breath.
I am not here to save you Kaelen continued. I am here to offer you a job. Under the Shadow Scholarship program I am opening a line of credit for every individual classified as Rank F or Rank E. I have siphoned forty percent of the global mana reserves from the elite agencies. This mana is currently sitting in my vaults.
Kaelen swiped his hand and a massive golden contract appeared on the screens.
If you sign this contract you will receive an immediate infusion of mana. It will be enough to stabilize your circuits and grant you one combat skill. In exchange you will owe me ten percent of your future mana production for the next twenty years. You are not fighting for the world today. You are fighting to protect your investment.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
[QUEST TRIGGERED: THE MILLION MAN MARCH]
[OBJECTIVE: ACTIVATE THE SHADOW SCHOLARSHIP CONTRACTS]
[CURRENT SIGNATURES: 0 / 1,000,000]
The numbers at the bottom of the screen began to spin.
One hundred. One thousand. Ten thousand.
The Rank F students were not stupid. They knew Kaelen was a shark. They knew they were selling a piece of their souls. But for the first time in history a shark was offering them a chance to bite back.
By the time the countdown reached one minute past the hour the signature count hit five hundred thousand.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
[CONTRACTUAL BINDING SUCCESSFUL]
[POOLING GLOBAL DEBT MANA]
[TRANSFERRING ASSETS TO USER: KAELEN THORNE]
Kaelen felt it first. It wasn't a roar of power. It was a crushing weight of responsibility. Five hundred thousand threads of golden light connected to his soul. He was the hub of a massive human network. He could feel their fear their hope and their hunger.
His Authority stat exploded.
[AUTHORITY: 150]
[SKILL ACQUIRED: DEBT ARCHITECT]
[YOU CAN NOW DESIGN TEMPORARY SKILLS FOR YOUR DEBTORS]
Kaelen looked at Silas. Go to the main gates. You will lead the first battalion. I have just granted every student at the gate a skill called Steel Wall. It scales based on how many of them stand together.
Silas bowed his head. The assassin felt the surge of power coming from the hallways. The Rank F students were no longer shivering. They were glowing.
Kaelen turned his attention to the sea. The tide had reached the cliffs of the Academy. A massive wave three hundred feet high loomed over the campus. Inside the wave Kaelen could see the glowing eyes of thousands of Deep Sea Abomination monsters.
And standing atop the wave was Vane.
The rival regressor looked like a king of the old world. He was dressed in a suit of blue plate armor that seemed to be made of frozen seawater. In his hand he held a trident that pulsed with the heartbeat of the Atlantic.
Kaelen Thorne Vane's voice boomed over the roar of the ocean. You think you can stop the tide with a ledger? You think you can build a kingdom out of trash? The world belongs to those who can take it. And I am taking everything.
The massive wave began to collapse toward the Academy. It was enough force to level the entire mountain.
Kaelen didn't move. He didn't even stand up.
Audit the Ocean Kaelen whispered.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: SOVEREIGN'S AUDIT]
[TARGET: THE ATLANTIC TIDAL GATE]
[ANALYZING OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE]
Vane you made a mistake Kaelen said into the comms. You claimed the Debt of the Ocean. You told the System that you own the water. But the water is currently occupying the land of Apex Academy. And according to the new Charter I signed with the Archangel Michael earlier today this land is a Sovereign Entity.
Kaelen's eyes glowed with a blinding gold light.
You are currently trespassing Marcus. And your monsters are currently destroying private property. I am initiating a Hostile Seizure of the water itself.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
[LEGAL BREACH DETECTED]
[INITIATING ASSET SEIZURE]
[THE DEBT OF THE OCEAN IS BEING REDIRECTED TO THE LEDGER]
The massive wave froze in mid air. It didn't turn to ice. It simply stopped moving. The monsters inside the water thrashed and shrieked but they were trapped as if they were inside a giant block of glass.
Vane's eyes widened. He tried to thrust his trident forward but the weapon wouldn't move. A golden chain had wrapped itself around the prongs of the trident.
You can't do this Vane roared. This is a Divine Contract!
A Divine Contract is just a high level loan Kaelen replied. And you are currently behind on your payments.
Kaelen stood up and walked toward the window. He looked at the millions of golden threads connecting him to the students.
Students of the Shadow Scholarship Kaelen said. The Ocean has just defaulted on its debt. The mana inside that wave is now yours. Collect your interest.
Across the Academy the Rank F students raised their hands. They didn't use complicated spells. They didn't need them. They simply pulled.
The massive wave began to dissolve. It didn't fall. It broke into millions of tiny orbs of blue light. Each orb flew toward a student. The Deep Sea Abominations were stripped of their mana until they were nothing but shriveled husks falling into the rocks below.
Vane fell from the sky as his water platform vanished. He landed on the cliffs with a heavy thud his blue armor cracking.
Kaelen looked down at him from the office window.
Is that the best you can do Vane? Kaelen asked. I was expecting a challenge. But all you've given me is a significant increase in my quarterly mana revenue.
Vane scrambled to his feet blood leaking from his helmet. You think this is over? You think the Gods will let you own the world? They are already sending the second wave. And this one won't be made of water.
Vane pulled a black stone from his belt and slammed it into the ground.
Suddenly the sky above the Academy didn't just turn dark. It tore open.
[WARNING: WORLD EVENT – THE FALLEN AUCTIONEERS HAVE ARRIVED]
[THEY ARE NOT HERE TO TRADE]
[THEY ARE HERE TO RECLAIM THE EARTH AS A SACRIFICE]
From the rift in the sky three massive entities descended. They were the size of skyscrapers dressed in robes of burning starlight. These were the Auctioneers of the Abyss the ones who decided which worlds were destroyed.
One of the Auctioneers looked at the Academy and then at Kaelen.
The soul of the Architect is overvalued the entity spoke in a voice that shattered the windows of the entire campus. We are here to initiate a forced liquidation.
Kaelen felt his heart stop. The golden threads connecting him to the students began to burn. The System was being overridden.
But then a sound came from the corner of the room.
The black cocoon where Lia Sinclair lay suddenly cracked. A hand made of pure violet darkness reached out and gripped the edge of the desk.
The hunger Lia's voice whispered through the room. It's finally awake.
Lia stepped out of the cocoon. She was no longer a girl. She was a silhouette of the end of time. She looked at the Auctioneers in the sky and licked her lips.
Mr. Thorne Lia said looking back at Kaelen. Do these things have a high mana value?
Kaelen straightened his tie and looked at the gods in the sky.
They are priceless Lia Kaelen said. Which means the commission for killing them will be legendary.
Lia Sinclair leaps from the office window toward the first Auctioneer. As she flies she begins to expand until she is a cloud of darkness that blocks out the moon. The Auctioneer tries to raise its hand to delete her but Lia's void consumes the attack before it can even form.
Kaelen watches as the first God of the Abyss is pulled into Lia's darkness. He picks up his phone and dials Hermes.
Hermes Kaelen says. Double the short position on the Abyss. The market is about to experience a total collapse.
But as he speaks he notices a small red light on his desk. It is a notification he has never seen before.
[CRITICAL ALERT]
[YOUR ORIGINAL TIMELINE HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE MULTIVERSE]
[YOUR PREVIOUS SELF IS STILL ALIVE AND HE IS COMING TO CLAIM THE LEDGER]