Chapter 17: The Universal Dividend
The Nexus Plaza didn't just feel different; it felt volatile.
The "Economic Embargo" imposed by the Ten Legends was still technically in effect. Arthur's digital wallets were frozen, his assets locked in a cryptographic vault of god-tier spite. Normally, a soul with zero credits in the Nexus was a ghost—unable to eat, unable to rent a cultivation chamber, destined to fade into the "Static" of the lower wards.
But Arthur Wu wasn't looking at his wallet. He was looking at the crowd.
Thousands of "Common Souls"—the clerks, the laborers, the teachers, and the failed soldiers who had been stuck in the 30s for centuries—were staring at the Obelisk. They saw the silver thimble icon next to Arthur's name. They saw a man who had walked into the "0/100" darkness of Trial 38 and walked out with his soul intact.
"You said... a Dividend?" a woman rasped, stepping forward from the shadows of a soup kitchen. She was translucent, her essence so thin she looked like a smudge on the air. "General, we have nothing. The Ten take eighty percent of our trial earnings as 'Maintenance Fees.' We can't even afford to fail anymore."
Arthur looked at her. He didn't offer a speech about hope. He offered a Contract.
"System," Arthur said, his voice resonant, cutting through the murmurs of the crowd. "Since my personal accounts are frozen, I am invoking the Bylaws of the Sovereign Proxy."
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: PROXY INVOKED]
Status: Accounts Frozen.
Residual Authority: Sovereign Rank (Global).
Clause 44-B: A Sovereign may 'Socialize' their Debt in exchange for 'Collective Equity'.
In the Observatory, the Elder Kaelos stood up so fast his throne cracked. "What is he doing? He has no credits!"
"He's not using credits," The Weaver whispered, her face pale. "He's using Gravity."
Back in the Plaza, Arthur raised his hand. "I am the #1 Ranker of Trials 33 through 38. According to the laws of the Afterveil, I own the 'Karmic Gravity' of those years. Usually, that gravity flows to the Ten. Today, I am Divesting."
Arthur slammed his fist into the ground.
[ACTION: MASSIVE DIVESTMENT INITIATED]
[Sovereign Arthur Wu is releasing 100% of his 'Gravity Dividends' to the General Population.]
A shockwave of pure, golden light erupted from Arthur's feet. It didn't strike the crowd; it flowed into them. The translucent woman's body suddenly solidified. Her skin regained its color. Her eyes sparked with the fire of a thousand "Soul-Seconds."
Across the Plaza, thousands of fading souls were suddenly "Re-Capitalized."
"I'm... I'm solid," Kael gasped, looking at his arms. He felt like he could punch through a mountain. "General, you just gave them... millions."
"I gave them their own sweat back, Kael," Arthur said, a dry, predatory grin returning to his face. "The Ten have been running a 'Ponzi Scheme' on human suffering. I just triggered a Bank Run."
[WARNING: TOTAL ECONOMIC INSTABILITY IN THE 30S SECTOR]
[INFLATION OF HOPE: 4,000%]
[THE TEN LEGENDS' REVENUE: -98.4%]
The "Ego Crush" was no longer a metaphor. High above, the golden lights of the Council Heights began to flicker and dim. By giving his wealth away, Arthur had robbed the gods of their "Processing Fees." He was starving the heavens to feed the earth.
Suddenly, a portal didn't just open; it tore.
Prince Vex stepped out. But he wasn't the golden boy anymore. His armor was rusted, his hair was matted with the mud of the 35th, and his eyes were wide with a frantic, twitching insanity. He had been "repossessed" by the Legends—turned into a Debt-Thrall.
"You..." Vex croaked, his voice a distorted mess of static. "You stole... my... future."
Behind Vex, fifty High-Auditors appeared, their clock-faces spinning so fast they emitted a high-pitched scream. They weren't there to negotiate. They were there to Foreclose the entire Plaza.
"Arthur Wu!" the lead Auditor shrieked. "For the crime of 'Unauthorized Wealth Redistribution,' you are sentenced to Total Liquidation!"
The crowd of Common Souls shrank back, the old terror returning. But Arthur stepped forward, standing in front of the woman he had just healed. He didn't draw a sword. He didn't even sneeze this time.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Steward's Ledger, which was now glowing with the silver light of Trial 38.
"Vex," Arthur said, his voice calm, almost pitying. "You're still thinking like an employee. You think these Auditors are your protectors? Look at their clocks."
Vex blinked, his twitching eyes focusing on the Auditor next to him. The clock wasn't counting Vex's time. It was counting Vex's Value.
[ASSET: VEX (REPOSSESSED)]
[CURRENT MARKET VALUE: 0.0004 CREDITS]
[STATUS: SCHEDULED FOR DESTRUCTION TO RECOVER SCRAP METAL]
Vex's jaw dropped. "No... I'm a Prince... I'm a Legend..."
"You're an 'Expired Lease', Vex," Arthur said. He turned to the crowd of thousands behind him—the people he had just empowered. "And you lot? You aren't 'Common Souls' anymore. You're my Board of Directors."
Arthur pointed at the Auditors.
"Gentlemen," Arthur said to the crowd. "There's an attempted hostile takeover happening in our Plaza. I believe it's time we showed these 'Debt Collectors' what happens when the workers own the means of Destruction."
Kael let out a roar that shook the Obelisk. "FOR THE DIVIDEND!"
The crowd didn't run. They charged.
Ten thousand souls, fueled by the "Gravity" Arthur had released, slammed into the Auditors like a tidal wave of righteous fury. It wasn't a battle; it was a Riot on Wall Street.
Arthur stood in the eye of the storm, watching Vex cower in the mud. He felt a strange, quiet accomplishment. He hadn't just cleared a trial; he had changed the Business Model of the Afterlife.
"Trial 39," Arthur whispered, looking toward the next gate. "Let's see if the Legends have enough 'Liquidity' left to stop me."