Nishanth’s new job posting had been simple:
"Wanted: Chief Financial Officer. Must breathe fire. No moral compass required."
The dragon currently crushing his receiving room’s marble floor was 17 tons of scaled capitalism. It adjusted its diamond-encrusted spectacles with a claw that could disembowel an elephant.
"Your liquidity ratios, the dragon rumbled, are offensive."
Nishanth kicked his feet up on a solid ruby desk. "I prefer the term ’aggressively flexible.’"
The dragon snorted, igniting a pile of tax documents. "You’ve been treating money like a weapon."
"And?"
"It’s adorable." The beast leaned in, its breath melting gold leaf off the walls.
"Let me show you how to
really
break an economy."
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ]
[ NEW ALLY: "Xarthax the Unrepentant" (Ancient Wyrm / Former God of Debts) ]
[ PERK UNLOCKED: "Compound Cruelty" – Every enemy debt now grows 1000% daily ]
Nishanth grinned.
"You’re hired."
The Crown Prince’s declaration arrived via
hellhound courier
, its parchment still smoking:
"Your assets are frozen. Your trade licenses revoked. Surrender by dawn or face annihilation."
Nishanth used it to light his diamond-encrusted cigar. "Cute."
Xarthax yawned, scattering a pile of rare coins. "They revoked your
legal
trade licenses."
"And?"
The dragon’s grin could curdle milk.
"You own the
black market
now."
A snap of Nishanth’s fingers summoned
Silas with the Shadow Ledger
—a tome bound in noble skin, listing every illegal enterprise from here to the underworld.
Nishanth flipped to a random page.
"Ah. The Royal Army’s secret brothels."
He circled a number.
"Triple their rent."
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ]
[ ECONOMIC WARFARE INITIATED.... ]
[ FIRST BLOOD: ROYAL SOLDIERS NOW PAYING
YOU
FOR THEIR ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES ]
Somewhere in the castle, a cavalry captain wept into his
suddenly unaffordable
whiskey.
By noon, Nishanth grew bored waiting for the Prince’s next move.
"Let’s outsource our army,"
he declared, tossing Xarthax a
black credit card
.
The dragon’s magic pulsed. Every mercenary, bandit, and
off-duty royal guardsman
in the city suddenly found their wallets heavier—and their loyalty flexible.
Within the hour:
▸The Crown’s elite cavalry
became Nishanth’s
personal food delivery service
▸Assassin guilds
started sending him
discount coupons
for regicide
▸The Royal Treasurer
showed up offering
tax evasion tips
Nishanth sipped his
phoenix-tea latte
as chaos unfolded.
"Capitalism, baby."
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ]
[ ARMY ACQUIRED: "The Gold-Plated Horde" ]
[ SPECIAL ABILITY: "Hostile Takeover" – Convert enemies to employees mid-battle ]
Xarthax purred, counting coins.
"You’re learning."
That night, Nishanth found the
first crack in his golden reality
.
While reviewing accounts, his
Splurge System glitched
:
[ WARNING: USER APPROACHING SPENDING CAP ]
[ CURRENT DEBT: 1 SOUL (PAYABLE UPON DEATH) ]
The numbers flickered. For half a second, Nishanth saw the
real ledger
—a parchment stretching into infinity, every line item written in
liquid suffering
.
Xarthax’s massive head snapped up.
"Ah. They didn’t tell you."
"Tell me what?"
The dragon’s eyes reflected something older than money. "The System isn’t a tool. It’s a
wager
. Spend enough, and you don’t own gold anymore..."
A claw tapped Nishanth’s chest.
"The gold owns
you
."
Nishanth stood before his vault’s
infinity mirror
—a magical artifact showing all possible futures. Most ended with him
drowning in molten coin
.
One showed something... different.
Himself. Older. Wiser. Standing atop a mountain of receipts, laughing as the System
itself
begged for mercy.
Xarthax’s voice rumbled:
"Well, little spender? Do you fold... or go all in?"
Nishanth cracked his knuckles.
"I’ll see your apocalypse..."
.He swiped his credit card across reality itself.
"...and raise you
economic Armageddon
."
[ SYSTEM OVERRIDE ]
[ NEW QUEST: "Break the Bank of Reality" ]
[ FIRST STEP: Crash the afterlife’s economy ]
The vault shook. Somewhere, a
god of commerce screamed
.
Nishanth adjusted his
platinum tie clip
.
"Now
this
is a party."
The Cathedral of the Silver Throne had stood for a thousand years. Its spires scraped the heavens, its walls were lined with the bones of saints, and its collection plate could fund a small war.
Which is why Nishanth bought it.
"One million gold,"
he said, tossing the bag at the High Bishop’s feet.
"For the deed, the relics, and your silence."
The bishop’s face turned the color of cheap wine.
"This is sacrilege!"
Nishanth snapped his fingers. A team of
lawyer-priests
materialized, their contracts glowing with divine light.
"Actually,"
said the lead barrister, adjusting his golden mitre,
"it’s a hostile acquisition. Section 12, Verse 66 of the Celestial Tax Code."
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ]
[ PROPERTY ACQUIRED: "God’s House (And All Contents)" ]
[ NEW PERK: "Miraculous Tax Evasion" – Sin penalties reduced by 90% ]
The bishop fainted into a
pile of donated indulgences
.
That night, a
six-winged auditor
appeared in Nishanth’s bedroom, its eyes burning with holy spreadsheets.
"Nishanth von Valtros,"
it boomed,
"you have upset the Cosmic Balance."
Nishanth didn’t look up from counting his
platinum damnation tokens
.
"Talk to my dragon."
Xarthax uncoiled from the vault, licking his chops.
"Ah, Raguel. Still working pro bono?"
The angel’s wings drooped.
"The Heavenly Treasury cannot ignore this! His spending has caused three minor apocalypses!"
Nishanth finally glanced up.
"How minor?"
"One volcano, two plagues, and a haunted stock exchange!"
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ]
[ HEAVENLY WARNING: "Cease Economic Terrorism" ]
[ OR: Pay 666,000 souls to continue ]
Nishanth grinned.
"Put it on my tab."
At dawn, the Crown Prince made his move.
Every church bell in the kingdom rang at once. The skies darkened as
celestial bailiffs
descended, their golden shackles clinking.
"By order of the Divine Exchequer,"
roared the lead angel,
"all of Nishanth von Valtros’ assets are FROZEN."
The ground trembled as:
Nishanth’s gold turned to
worthless lead
His properties
sprouted thorns
Even his
pocket change grew wings
and flew away
The Prince smirked from his newly purchased angelic chariot. "Checkmate."
Nishanth yawned. "Cute. But..." He pulled out a black credit card from his shadowweave pocket. "You forgot one thing."
[ SYSTEM OVERRIDE ]
[ EMERGENCY PROTOCOL: "Level 11 Bankruptcy" ACTIVATED ]
[ EFFECT: All debts and penalties transferred to... "CROWN PRINCE ALARIC" ]
The Prince’s smile died as
heavenly collection notices
began materializing in his hands.
Nishanth strolled through the now-silent cathedral, running a hand along the
cracked altar
.
Xarthax paced beside him.
"
They’ll come harder next time. Archangels. Maybe the God of Wealth himself."
"Good," Nishanth said, kicking open the Vault of Sacred Tithes. Inside, stacked higher than a giant, were every prayer ever uttered—each one an IOU from the divine.
He grabbed a handful.
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ]
[ LEVERAGE ACQUIRED: "Heaven’s Debt" ]
[ WARNING: Defaulting may cause... "ETERNITY RECESSION" ]
Nishanth’s eyes gleamed. "Now we renegotiate."
That evening, Nishanth sat on the cathedral’s roof, watching angels recalculate the universe’s GDP.
Silas arrived with a contract written in starlight. "Their offer, young master."
The terms:
Unlimited spending
No more audits
A seat on the Celestial Stock Exchange
All in exchange for...
"My soul?"
Nishanth laughed.
"Counteroffer."
He scrawled two words:
"Infinite Credit."
The sky shuddered. The contract
burst into hellfire
, then reformed as a
platinum membership card
.
[ SYSTEM UPDATE ]
[ NEW STATUS: "Too Big To Damn" ]
[ PERK: Purchase miracles at wholesale prices ]
Xarthax sighed.
"
You’ve broken reality."
Nishanth lit a cigar with a borrowed divine spark. "No. I just bought the pieces."
Nishanth strolled into the Royal Mint like he owned it—because as of three minutes ago, he did.
The guards lowered their spears. "Halt! By order of Prince Alaric—"
"Paid vacation," Nishanth announced, tossing each guard a year’s salary in advance. They dropped their weapons and walked out mid-sentence.
Xarthax the dragon slithered in behind him, sniffing the coin presses.
"
Crude machinery. I could print better currency with my morning firebreath."
Nishanth patted the nearest press. "We’re not printing money today." He pulled a black credit chip from his pocket and slotted it into the mint’s control crystal. "We’re printing
trash
."
The machines roared to life, stamping out
a million gold coins per minute
—each one thinner than a razor, dissolving into dust upon touch.
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ]
[ ECONOMIC TERRORISM INITIATED: "Quantitative Easing" ]
[ EFFECT: Nationwide hyperinflation in 3... 2... 1... ]
Outside, a baker screamed as his
loaf of bread now cost 10,000 coins
.
Prince Alaric’s throne room was chaos.
Advisors waved scrolls of crashing stocks. A duke sobbed into his now-worthless land deeds. The Royal Treasurer had tied himself to a chandelier to avoid the mob.
And Nishanth? He lounged on a floating divan carried by four bankrupt nobles, tossing coins to the starving crowds below.
"Stop him!" the Prince howled, pointing at Nishanth. "Seize his assets!"
The Royal Treasurer whimpered. "We—we can’t, Your Highness. He just bought the
concept of ownership
."
A new notification flashed:
[ SYSTEM UPGRADE: "Post-Scarcity Tyrant" ].
[ ABILITY: Declare any object "free" — it vanishes from enemy hands. ]
Nishanth snapped his fingers.Every weapon in the throne room poofed into his vault.
"Whoops,"
he said, not sorry at all.
The Prince’s eyes glowed hell-red as he clawed at his own insignia.
"You leave me no choice."
A pentagram ignited beneath his feet.
"I SELL MY SOUL FOR—"
"One trillion gold,"
Nishanth yawned, outbidding Hell itself.
The demon summoning
stuttered
. The Prince’s mouth hung open.
"
But—but you can’t—"
"Already did." Nishanth flicked a hellcoin at the summoning circle. "Hell’s treasury now reports to
me
. Congrats, Alaric—you’re an
employee
."
The Prince’s crown clattered to the ground as infernal contract tattoos crawled up his arms.
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ]
[ NEW ACQUISITION: "Prince Alaric (Soul: Damned)" ]
[ DUTIES: Eternal janitor of Nishanth’s hellish subsidiaries. ]
Xarthax burst out laughing.
"I’ll draft his W-2."
At sunset, Nishanth stood atop the now-abandoned Royal Mint, watching riots fade into confused celebration as he declared all debt null and void.
Silas arrived with a scroll longer than a dragon. "The damage report, young master."
Nishanth skimmed:
Currency:
Worthless (goal achieved)
Nobles:
70% now homeless (hilarious)
Hell:
In shambles (bonus)
He tossed the scroll into the wind.
"
Call it a rebranding."
Then—a shadow fell across the moon.
A figure in a plague-doctor mask landed silently beside him, holding a ledger made of human skin.
"Nishanth," the stranger rasped. "You’ve been
audited
."
[ SYSTEM ALERT ]
[ WARNING: "God of Wealth" PERSONALLY INVOLVED ]
[ SUGGESTED ACTION: Bribe reality itself. ]
Nishanth grinned.
"Took you long enough."
To be continued....