Silence.
For a few seconds, that was all Li Kai could register. His body floated in a weightless void, surrounded by shards of light and fragments of collapsed reality. He felt no pain, no gravity, no heartbeat.
Was this… death?
[System Notice: Emergency Extraction Protocol Initiated.][Stabilizer Critical — 2% Structural Integrity.]
The voice in his head jolted Li Kai back. His eyes fluttered open, and the weightless void resolved into broken stone, shattered roots, and a blinding white fissure where the Seed Core had once been. The abyssal chamber was falling apart, but the System's emergency field wrapped around his body, shielding him like a thin layer of glass.
"Kai!" Serin's voice broke through the haze.
He twisted his head, spotting her across the rubble. Her armor was cracked, her sword gone, but she was alive. She staggered toward him, limping, blood streaking down her arm.
"I'm… here," Kai managed, his throat raw.
Jax emerged next, dragging Dren out from beneath a fallen slab. Ilya limped behind them, one eye swollen shut, but her bow still clutched tightly in her hands.
They'd all survived.
Barely.
"Is it over?" Dren asked weakly, coughing as dust filled the air.
Li Kai's eyes flicked toward the epicenter of the explosion. The Seed Core was gone. In its place, a swirling hole yawned open — not a portal, but a gaping scar in the fabric of reality itself.
[Warning: Dimensional Instability Detected.][Collapse Imminent — 2 Minutes to Extraction.]
"We need to leave," Kai said, his voice firm despite the exhaustion weighing on his limbs.
Serin looked around, grimacing. "There's no exit. We're trapped."
Li Kai's shop interface flickered open again.
[Emergency Option: Dimensional Fold Escape.]Cost: 10,000 Spirit Credits (Unpaid Balance: Allowed — Will Incur Debt)]Risk: Teleportation Instability 15%
Debt. The word tasted bitter. But what choice did he have?
"Everyone, gather around me," Kai ordered. "I'm burning everything we have left to jump us out."
The team pressed in close, hands gripping shoulders, arms linked. The ground beneath them buckled, cracks racing outward as the dimensional scar widened. The swirling void at the center pulled at the very air, sucking stone, roots, and broken equipment into its maw.
Kai focused, channeling every last fragment of System energy into the Dimensional Fold. The Stabilizer on his chest flickered, then flared with a brilliant blue-white light.
"Hold on!" he shouted.
With a sound like tearing silk, reality split—
And they fell through.
———
Li Kai awoke on cold stone, gasping for air.
His body ached, every muscle screaming in protest. His Stabilizer hung in tatters around his neck, its crystal core cracked and barely glowing.
For a few seconds, he just lay there, staring up at a sky filled with unfamiliar stars.
"Kai!"
He sat up sharply as Serin's face appeared above him. Relief flooded through her features, and she helped haul him to his feet.
"Where are we?" he rasped.
Serin shook her head. "No idea. But we're alive. That's a start."
Li Kai looked around. They were in a vast open field, the grass silver under the pale moonlight. In the distance, jagged mountains rose against the horizon, their peaks glowing faintly under an aurora that danced across the sky.
Dren sat cross-legged a few feet away, tending to Jax's battered armor. Ilya was perched on a rock, wrapping a bandage around her injured leg.
Kai let out a long, shaky breath.
They'd done it. They'd survived.
"Alright," Kai said, forcing himself upright. "Let's check damage."
Serin smirked faintly. "To us or the world?"
"Both," Kai muttered.
[System Update: Seed Core Eliminated.][World Stability +2%. Local Dimensional Field: Unstable.][Merchant Debt Incurred: 10,000 Spirit Credits.][System Note: Debt must be repaid within 30 days or penalties will apply.]
Kai winced. "Great. We saved the world, but now we're broke."
Serin raised an eyebrow. "We? You're the one who signed the contract."
He shot her a look. "Don't remind me."
They gathered together, sharing food and water as they regrouped. Dren confirmed that the Seed Core's destruction had sent a massive shockwave through the local magic field, causing unpredictable dimensional rifts. They'd barely managed to escape into one of the side layers, which explained why the stars and sky were unfamiliar.
"We need a way back," Dren said grimly. "And soon. These side realms are unstable. We won't last long here."
Li Kai opened his shop interface again, scrolling through the available options. Unfortunately, with his Spirit Credit balance deep in the red, most advanced teleportation or navigation tools were locked.
But one tab caught his eye.
[Debt Recovery Quests Available.]Option 1: Secure Ancient Relic (Difficulty: High) — Reward: 5000 CreditsOption 2: Broker Peace Between Warring Clans (Difficulty: Medium) — Reward: 3000 CreditsOption 3: Deliver Rare Goods Across Dimensional Rift (Difficulty: Extreme) — Reward: 10,000 Credits + Bonus
Kai grimaced. "Well, I hope you guys aren't tired, because we have work to do."
Serin groaned. "You're sending us on jobs immediately?"
"We're tens of thousands in debt," Kai reminded her. "If we don't pay back the System, it'll come to collect—with interest."
Jax chuckled, rolling his massive shoulders. "Well, boss, pick something good. You know we're with you."
Ilya smirked. "Yeah, yeah. But next time, fewer exploding nightmare plants, alright?"
Li Kai smiled faintly. He opened the quest tab and locked onto the Ancient Relic mission.
[Confirm Quest: Secure Ancient Relic?][Estimated Location: Shattered Vale, 200 km north.]
Confirm.
The night air shifted as the System registered their new objective. A faint glow pulsed on Kai's map interface, marking a destination deep in the jagged mountain range ahead.
Kai turned to the others, determination setting into his bones.
"We rest tonight. At first light, we move."
———
As the camp settled, Li Kai wandered a little distance away, staring up at the stars. His mind spun with exhaustion, calculations, and worry.
They'd won. For now. But the victory had come at a steep price.
And deep down, Kai knew that the Seed Core had been just a fragment of something larger. The whispers in his mind hadn't been local to the Seed—they'd come from beyond, from something watching through the cracks in the world.
You dare… break me…
The words still echoed in his skull, faint but persistent.
Kai clenched his fists.
"I'll break you again if I have to," he muttered under his breath.
[System Notice: Hidden Threat Detected.][Warning: Unknown Entity Tracking Player.][Recommendation: Increase Strength and Resources Immediately.]
Kai's eyes narrowed.
So it wasn't over. Not even close.
But he was a storekeeper with a System, a team, and a debt to pay off.
He smiled faintly, feeling the adrenaline start to return.
"Alright," he whispered to the stars. "Round two, then."
End of Chapter 28.