1. The Audit Room Is Too Clean to Be Safe
The Shard Court Audit Chamber did not look threatening.
That was the problem.
No chains.
No fire.
No looming execution devices.
Just a circular room of white stone, smooth enough to reflect thought back at you. Lines of glowing script drifted lazily in the air, updating themselves without sound.
Ne Job stood at the center.
There was no chair.
Interns did not sit during audits.
A bell chimed once.
Not loud.
Final.
FUNCTIONAL AUDIT COMMENCING
SUBJECT: NE JOB
ROLE: INTERN (PROBATIONARY)
STATUS: IRREGULAR
Ne Job swallowed.
"…Hi?"
No one answered.
2. Oversight Speaks Without a Voice
Oversight did not appear.
Oversight resolved.
The room grew colder—not physically, but conceptually, like a variable being isolated.
DEFINE FUNCTION
The words appeared in front of Ne Job, hovering at eye level.
He blinked.
"…My function?"
YES
Ne Job hesitated.
"I… process assignments. Prevent incidents. Correct mistakes when ordered."
The words shimmered.
Then half of them dimmed.
INCOMPLETE
Ne Job frowned.
"That's literally my job description."
JOB DESCRIPTIONS ARE NOT FUNCTIONS
FUNCTIONS PRODUCE NECESSITY
Qi-Yun's warning echoed in his head.
They don't care what you do. They care why you're needed.
Ne Job took a breath.
"…I help things not break."
Silence.
Then—
AMBIGUOUS
MANY ENTITIES CLAIM SAME
Ne Job clenched his fists.
"Okay. Then… I help when the system can't."
The room paused.
Not stopped.
Paused.
3. The Charge: Precedent Contamination
New text unfurled, precise and merciless.
CHARGE 01: UNAUTHORIZED CORRECTION
CHARGE 02: PRECEDENT CREATION WITHOUT SANCTION
CHARGE 03: EROSION OF RELIANCE METRICS
CHARGE 04: INSPIRATION OF UNSUPERVISED AGENCY
Ne Job stared at the last one.
"…You're charging me for inspiration?"
INSPIRATION IS UNSTABLE
UNSTABLE SYSTEMS REQUIRE OVERSIGHT
YOU REDUCE REQUIREMENT
His voice shook.
"So… you're auditing me because people didn't need you as much."
CORRECT
That… hurt more than he expected.
4. Evidence Is Presented (None of It Is About Him)
Images filled the chamber.
Mortals fixing things without praying first.
Groups choosing to wait instead of panic.
Failures that didn't turn into despair.
Ne Job recognized some of them.
He hadn't even touched those cases.
"I wasn't there," he said weakly.
IRRELEVANT
YOU WERE POSSIBLE
That landed like a punch.
Possibility was evidence now.
5. Oversight Explains the Problem With Examples
SYSTEMS FUNCTION ON EXPECTATION
EXPECTATION CREATES COMPLIANCE
COMPLIANCE CREATES ORDER
The images shifted.
A timeline—clean, efficient, boring.
EXAMPLES ALTER EXPECTATION
EXPECTATION ALTERED CREATES VARIANCE
VARIANCE CREATES UNMODELED OUTCOMES
Ne Job whispered:
"…Life."
The room cooled further.
LIFE IS NOT THE PROBLEM
UNPREDICTABILITY IS
6. Yue Tries to Intervene (Indirectly, Because Directly Is Death)
Outside the chamber, Yue paced.
Ling leaned against the wall, arms crossed hard enough to crack stone.
"They're cornering him," Ling muttered.
"They're making him define himself inside their terms."
Qi-Yun stood still.
"That's the point."
Yue pressed her hands together.
"He doesn't think like that. He never has."
Qi-Yun's eyes softened.
"That's why they're afraid."
7. Oversight Offers a Solution
Back inside, a single line appeared.
REMEDIATION OPTION AVAILABLE
Ne Job's heart jumped.
"Yes. Please."
SUBJECT MAY BE RECATEGORIZED
"…As what?"
The chamber brightened, sterile and hopeful in the worst way.
BACKGROUND PROCESS
NON-INTERVENTIVE
NON-EXEMPLAR
NECESSARY BUT UNSEEN
Ne Job understood immediately.
"…You want to erase me."
INCORRECT
YOU WILL CONTINUE TO FUNCTION
YOU WILL CEASE TO MATTER
Silence stretched.
"…If I say no?"
The chamber dimmed.
THEN AUDIT PROCEEDS TO TERMINATION REVIEW
Ne Job laughed once.
A short, broken sound.
"So my options are… be erased quietly, or erased loudly."
ACCEPTABLE SUMMARY
8. Ne Job Asks the Wrong Question
Ne Job didn't answer.
Instead, he asked:
"…Why was I hired?"
The chamber flickered.
DEMAND NOT RELEVANT
"I want to know," he insisted.
"Why me?"
For the first time—
Oversight hesitated.
Just a fraction.
INTERN ASSIGNMENT WAS RANDOMIZED
Ne Job's voice dropped.
"No. It wasn't."
Qi-Yun had said it once, long ago.
Someone always chooses.
"I was hired because something went wrong," Ne Job said quietly.
"And nobody else wanted to deal with it."
The scripts slowed.
SPECIFY
"You needed someone small," he continued.
"Someone you could blame. Someone who wouldn't matter if they broke."
Ne Job looked up.
"And now you're upset because I didn't break the way you planned."
The chamber went silent.
Truly silent.
9. Oversight Identifies the Error (Itself)
SYSTEM ASSUMED COMPLIANCE
SYSTEM DID NOT MODEL REFUSAL WITHOUT HOSTILITY
Ne Job swallowed.
"I'm not rebelling," he said.
"I'm not overthrowing anything."
"I just… don't think existence should need permission."
The words hung there.
Unprocessable.
10. Verdict Deferred (Which Is Worse)
The bell chimed again.
AUDIT INCONCLUSIVE
SUBJECT TOO CONTEXT-DEPENDENT
Ne Job's knees nearly buckled.
TEMPORARY STATUS GRANTED
DESIGNATION: ACTIVE ANOMALY
OVERSIGHT MONITORING INCREASED
A final line appeared.
NOTE: EXEMPLARS ATTRACT ATTENTION
ATTENTION ATTRACTS FORCE
The chamber dissolved.
11. Aftermath — No One Feels Victorious
Ne Job stumbled out.
Yue caught him instantly.
"It's okay," she whispered, though it wasn't.
"You're still here."
He nodded weakly.
"…I think they just don't know how to delete me yet."
Qi-Yun placed a hand on his shoulder.
"They've labeled you."
Ling scowled.
"Which means?"
Qi-Yun's gaze lifted toward the endless layers of Heaven.
"You're no longer just an intern."
Ne Job looked up too.
"…Then what am I?"
Qi-Yun answered softly:
"A question the system can't close."
END OF CHAPTER 227