Blue and gold system light filled the ventilation shaft. The colors had nowhere to spread, so they bounced off wet metal and faces pressed too close together. Nobody could pretend not to see the prompts.
Elias squinted against it. The duct was too narrow to sit up, too cold to stay still in, and too slick with condensation to give anyone a solid grip. His ribs pressed against the binder every time he shifted.
The blue prompt hovered inches from his face.
[Emergency Quest]
Save one life within 30 minutes.
Reward: one Ikona upgrade.
Failure: soul energy access locked for 72 hours.
Behind him, Kikaru's gold prompt reflected off the curved metal walls. A second pane showed her stat profile in tight text.
Strength: 50.
Speed: 85.
Intelligence: 70.
Endurance: 90.
Perception: 80.
Instinct: 90.
Kikaru stared at it with her jaw clenched. "Permanent halving means the system can cut the part of me that keeps everyone alive."
