Darren Nova hated banks.
He hated their marble floors, their subtle cologne scented judgment, and the way every employee looked at you like your net worth had a body odor. But mostly, he hated that he was inside one of these buildings again.
In Cindervale, the city where dreams came to choke on interest rates and $11 coffee, walking into a place like Palisade Global without money was a bit like walking into a lion's den with a ham necklace and a resume.
And Darren?
He was wearing the metaphorical ham. And unemployment.
The receptionist didn't even look up at him properly, just tapped her headset and smiled like her face was on autopilot.
"Mr. Nova, Sublevel Three. Vault Wing Delta. Please follow the arrows and try not to touch anything."
Noted, Karen. I'll try not to bleed poverty on the rug...
He didn't say that out loud. He just nodded, adjusted his secondhand blazer (missing a button, and probably dignity), and headed for the elevators.
The only reason he was even here was a letter, one with no return address and just six chilling words.
"Inheritance Awaiting. Come Alone. Urgent."
At first, he thought it was a scam.
Then he realized scams don't come printed on luxury card stock, thicker than some legal documents.
And he life was already fu*ked, What's the worst that could happen.
MOMENTS LATER...
The elevator doors slid shut with the warmth of a freezer in a funeral home. No music, no ads, no elevator guy.
Just Darren, in silence and the world slowly dropping beneath his feet.
He pulled out his phone.
No signal.
He checked his wallet.
Still empty. Of course
He checked his future.
"…Eh."
The lights flickered once.
Twice.
He muttered something under his breath and shifted his weight, staring at the floor numbers tick down like they were counting his IQ in reverse.
DING...
The doors opened.
Darren braced himself for some corporate sci-fi hallway, luxury steel walls, robot guards, rich people sipping weird champagne.
But Nope..
What he got instead?
Candles.
And blood.
Darren stepped out of the elevator.
No chrome. No glass. No overdesigned rich guy lighting.
Just stone walls, flickering candles, and the smell of burnt paper and blood. The kind of smell that meant it wasn't fresh anymore.
The whole place felt like a temple, if the god was money and bad decisions.
Rows of safety deposit boxes lined the room like a crypt. In the center, under a spotlight, was a chair.
And in it, a man.
Darren took one step and froze.
The man looked half dead. One eye missing. Blood circled under him like someone spilled it on purpose. His suit was sharp, black, definitely expensive, but soaked red from the waist down.
Gold glowing papers circled around him like dying confetti.
The man looked up.
His remaining eye glowed like a stock ticker someone set on fire.
"You're late," he rasped.
"Hey, uh... I think I've got the wrong sublevel. I was looking for an inheritance thing..?"
The man didn't answer.
He reached out fast and slapped something into Darren's hand.
It looked like paper.
It wasn't.
Immediate Pain..
Darren jerked back and screamed.
The "paper" lit up, gold symbols burned into his palm, stretched up his arm, across his chest into his vision.
His skin lit up like a sign with vein map. His eyes filled with lines he couldn't read.
"Okay. Ow. What the fu..."
A system interface pop up in his vision, like he was about to open up an account.
[TRANSACTION ACCEPTED]
[Account Created: Darren Nova]
[Ledger Balance: 0.00]
[Soul Bond: Pending...]
Darren dropped to one knee.
"I don't want a damn account, what the fuck is this?! Why is my arm trying to light itself?!"
The man in the chair laughed. Wet. Eerie.
"Say it... trigger it... say the words..."
Darren didn't know what words.
The vault door behind him creaked. Something heavy moved.
SYSTEM WARNING:
[Host Status: Incomplete]
[FAILURE TO INITIATE FIRST PURCHASE WILL RESULT IN LIQUIDATION.]
"Liquidation?! Of what?! My soul? My organs?! My browser history?!"
No answer.
Just a soft hum.
And a countdown ticking in the corner of his vision.
[Time Remaining: 15... 14...]
Darren was sweating.
Not from heat but from fear, confusion, and the fact that his arm looked like it was turning into a highlighter from hell.
Golden symbols lit up around the room. Objects started glowing. Floating price tags appeared like a haunted clearance sale.
Everything shimmered with soft golden light, a pen, a dusty briefcase, an old wristwatch, a cracked pair of sunglasses.
Above each one...
[Price: 0.01 Ledger Units]
[Buy it? Y/N]
The countdown in his vision kept dropping:
[10... 9... 8...]
"Cool, yeah. This is fine. I'll just shop my way out of death in a blood soaked vault like a Black Friday cult ritual."
He looked around wildly.
His hand burned hotter. The symbols were spreading up his neck now.
"Okay...okay, fine! What do you want me to buy?! A cursed wristwatch? A demon stapler?! I don't have 0.01 of anything!"
The SYSTEM lit up (felt cheerful this time)
[7... 6... 5...]
Darren spotted a gilded fountain pen on the floor.
It looked expensive. Fancy. Probably stolen from a CEO's desk after their third scandal.
Above it:
[Price: 0.01 Ledger Units]
[Buy it? Y/N]
"I don't know how to....shit! Yes! Buy it! Just. BUY THE DAMN PEN!"
He pointed at it like he was casting a spell at Office Depot.
[Transaction Approved.]
[Item Acquired: 1x Gilded Pen]
[Balance: –0.01 Ledger Units]
[System Calibrating...]
The burning stopped.
Instantly.
The light on his arm froze. The symbols flickered, then vanished like smoke.
Darren fell back on the floor, breathing hard, clutching the pen like it was a sword. A cursed, overpriced glowing sword.
Oh my god. I just bought a pen. With soul credit? In a vault, from a maybe dead guy. What is my life?
The vault was quiet now. No countdown. No noise.
The man in the chair didn't speak again. He was either fully dead or... gone in a way Darren didn't want to think about.
System Chime..
[SYSTEM INTERFACE INITIALIZING...]
[Welcome to the Goldscript Ledger]
Account Holder: Darren Nova
Tier: Initiate
Ledger Balance: –0.01 Units
Assets: 1 (Gilded Pen)
Soul Bond: 3% (Pending)
You may now access:
Basic Transactions.
Micro Purchases.
Emotional Debt Recognition.
Daily Quests and Market Influence Modules will unlock after full calibration.
"Spend Wisely."
"Spend what wisely? WTF is going on?"
He looked at the pen. It vibrated faintly in his hand like it had opinions.
Then he looked at the glowing door ahead, a hallway that wasn't there before, now slowly opening like it had been waiting.
And behind him, the vault sealed shut with a soft, final click...
TO BE CONTINUED.....