X lowered his rifle fully, the tactical part of his brain locking onto the new, horrifying variable. "His instance is corrupting at a fixed rate. He's not taking damage. He's becoming... non-standard."
Kitsune took another step back, her crystalline dagger held defensively. "Can we stop it? A system purge? A rollback?"
ABADDON: OOOOH, A CORRUPTION TIMER! IS THIS A NEW FEATURE?! DID WE JUST GET A CONTENT PATCH?
ABIGOR: HE'S NOT BLEEDING PAPP, HE'S BLEEDING INTEGRITY. FASCINATING.
BAEL: ONE HOUR UNTIL HE'S A PERMANENT GLITCH! DO WE GET TO KEEP HIM? I WANT A PET GLITCH!
DAEVAS: THE AESTHETICS OF HIS DISSOLUTION ARE... REGIMENTED. LIKE A CONTROLLED DEMOLITION OF A SOUL.
Yael stood up. His left arm hanging uselessly on the side. It hurts. But he looked at Celia and saw her percentage going down, to 43%.
"I have the cure. Just pay me..hmm..9000 papp?" Yael grinned.
Kitsune let out a sound that was half-laugh, half-static shriek. "Nine thousand? You're delusional! That's more than our squad makes in a week of farming! He's not worth that!"
She gestured at Bos, who was now leaving a trail of shimmering, broken code with every lurching step. A permanent, corrupted puddle lingered where his foot had been.
X's helmet didn't move, but the silence from him was heavier than any objection. He was calculating. Not the price, but the metrics.
The demon chat erupted into a frenzy of conflicting opinions.
ABADDON: NINE THOUSAND?! HE'S PRICING LIKE A PREMIIUM DLC! I LOVE THE AUDACITY!
ABIGOR: HE'S NOT SELLING A CURE. HE'S SELLING A PLOT POINT. A NARRATIVE ESCALATION.
BAEL: DON'T PAY! LET THE GLITCH FESTER! I WANT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS AT ZERO!
DAEVAS: THE GHOST IS AT 43%. HER DISTRESS IS PALPABLE. THIS IS A TWO-FOR-ONE TRAGEDY. EXQUISITE.
Yael shrugged. "Too bad. I guess i'll take his gear...And sell him on the devil market-" Celia shook her head. "No! There's no such thing as a Devil market..is there?"
Her question hung in the air, a splash of cold, pure dread. It wasn't a challenge. It was a hope—a desperate hope that even this hell had limits.
The demon chat exploded.
ABADDON: OH SWEET SUMMER CHILD.
ABIGOR: SHE ASKS THE CUTEST QUESTIONS.
BAEL: TELL HER! TELL HER ABOUT THE AUCTION HOUSES! THE SOUL-BONDED ITEM TRADES!
DAEVAS: THERE IS. AND IT IS WHERE THINGS LIKE HER END UP WHEN THEIR ANCHORS FAIL. QUITE THE COLLECTOR'S SCENE.
JINN: OH MY GOD. WHY DIDN'T YOU GUYS TELL ME ABOUT THIS STREAM BEFORE?
MALPHAS: REAL.
Celia smiled. "Yay, there is. Brother, will you carry him with you to-" She coughs. Her percentage is Extremely low.
12%
Yael paused. Without giving anyone else time to talk he quickly grabbed Bos's one necklace and sold it for 2200 papp. He then bought a cure for her and him. He fed her it and himself too.
The demon chat, which had been a roaring river of commentary, had gone utterly, profoundly silent.
Then, it broke.
JINN: HOLY SHIT.
MALPHAS: HE SOLD BOS'S GEAR WITHOUT EVEN LOOKING AT THE STATS.
ABADDON: HE DIDN'T BARGAIN. HE DIDN'T THREATEN. HE JUST... SOLD AND BOUGHT. LIKE A MACHINE.
ABIGOR: THAT WASN'T A TACTICAL MOVE. THAT WAS A HEARTBEAT.
BAEL: …I WASN'T EXPECTING THAT.
DAEVAS: THE PURITY OF THE ACT IS... UNNERVING. IT LACKS ARTIFICE.
Celia's soul percentage went up. 18%...20%...40%...70%...and it stopped there. Yael's arm was fully fixed.
Celia's light, now a steady, strong blue-white at 70%, no longer flickered with fear or pain. It hummed with a quiet, eerie stability. She looked… more real. The edges of her form were sharp, her features slightly more defined. She wasn't a fading ghost anymore. She was a presence.
And she was looking at Yael with an expression he couldn't quite read. Gratitude, yes. But also a deep, unsettling focus.
X and Kitsune were still frozen. Bos lay unconscious between them, minus one very expensive necklace, a living testament to Yael's brutal, efficient love.
He tested his arm. It truly healed. He grinned. "Heh, lil goofball." He booped her nose. "Well..today i got pretty much...nothing."
He turned slowly smiling. He grabbed Bos's two shoes and checked the price, it was worth 8000 papp. and he sold it with no hesitation. "Well..I got what I wanted." He tosses the cure into X's hand.
"Let's go, lil goofball." Yael smiles.