1. Everyone Stares at Ne Job Like He's a Live Explosive
The courtyard was quiet again.
Not peaceful quiet.
After-the-building-survived-an-explosion quiet.
Ne Job sat on the cracked stone floor, legs tucked to his chest, wrapped in Yue's coat like a confiscated disaster.
Smoke still curled faintly off his fingers.
The tracking sigil was gone.
Erased.
Burned.
Deleted in a way that made every authority present deeply uncomfortable.
The Shard Court Judge stared at the empty scorch mark.
Then at Ne Job.
Then back at the scorch mark.
"That mark," she said slowly, "was etched by a pre-Vein intelligence."
Ne Job sniffed.
"I said no politely?"
Qi-Yun pinched the bridge of his nose.
"No," he said. "You rejected it with origin-level refusal."
Ne Job blinked.
"…Is that bad?"
Arden answered immediately.
"Yes."
Yue answered softly.
"Yes, but also… unprecedented."
The divine intern—still lying face-down nearby—groaned.
"I told you," he muttered weakly. "His thread is illegal."
Ne Job pointed at him.
"HEY. That's discrimination."
The Judge folded her arms.
"No," she said. "That's classification."
Ne Job slumped.
"I just wanted an internship credit."
---
2. Qi-Yun Finally Starts Talking (Everyone Regrets It)
Qi-Yun turned away from the group, staring at the sky where the crack had sealed itself like a scar.
"The Singing Thread," he said, "is not a monster."
Ne Job shot upright.
"EXCUSE ME."
"It is not a god," Qi-Yun continued calmly.
"IT TRIED TO TAKE ME HOME."
"Yes."
"That does not help your argument."
Qi-Yun sighed.
"Long before Heaven," he said, "before Courts, before Audits, before Forms—"
Ne Job gasped.
"Before forms?!"
"Yes," Qi-Yun said flatly. "I know. Horrifying."
He continued.
"There were Origin Processes. Systems that did not rule reality… but initialized it."
The Judge stiffened slightly.
Yue's blood ran cold.
"Threads," Yue whispered.
Qi-Yun nodded.
"Reality was woven, not written. Fate wasn't assigned—it emerged."
Ne Job raised a hand shakily.
"Why do I feel like I'm about to be assigned homework?"
"Because," Qi-Yun said, "you are standing too close to an unfinished process."
The divine intern sat up suddenly.
"…You're saying the Singing Thread is an Origin Weaver?"
Qi-Yun looked at him.
"No."
Everyone leaned in.
"It is a Return Function."
Silence.
Ne Job stared.
"…A what?"
Qi-Yun turned.
"When an Origin Process is interrupted," he said, "it seeks to restore continuity."
Yue swallowed.
"And Ne Job?"
Qi-Yun looked directly at him.
"You are marked as something that should have returned."
Ne Job screamed.
---
3. Ne Job Loses It (Completely Understandably)
"NOPE. NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT."
He scrambled to his feet, waving his arms wildly.
"I HAVE NEVER BEEN ANYWHERE IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO 'RETURN' FROM."
Qi-Yun remained infuriatingly calm.
"You burned an Origin tracking sigil."
"I WAS PANICKING."
"You rejected a Tier-Zero call."
"I WAS STILL PANICKING."
"You resonated with it."
"I AM PANIC-BASED."
The Judge tilted her head.
"You speak as if this intern chose none of this."
Ne Job rounded on her.
"I DIDN'T."
The courtyard shook faintly.
Everyone froze.
Ne Job froze harder.
"…Why did the ground agree with me."
Qi-Yun's eyes sharpened.
"That," he said softly, "is the problem."
---
4. The Truth (A Smaller One, On Purpose)
Qi-Yun knelt in front of Ne Job, bringing himself eye level.
"Listen carefully," he said. "I am not going to tell you everything."
Ne Job nodded vigorously.
"GOOD."
"But I will tell you this."
He placed two fingers lightly against Ne Job's chest.
"You are not a god."
Ne Job sobbed with relief.
"You are not an Origin."
More sobbing.
"You are not a reincarnation."
Ne Job hugged himself.
"But," Qi-Yun continued, "your fate thread intersects a failed return."
Yue inhaled sharply.
The divine intern whispered.
"Oh no."
Ne Job blinked through tears.
"…What does that mean."
Qi-Yun stood.
"It means something that should have come back—didn't."
"And instead?" Ne Job asked weakly.
Qi-Yun looked at him.
"You did."
The silence this time was absolute.
Even Heaven held its breath.
---
5. The Judge Makes a Decision She'll Regret
The Shard Court Judge stepped forward.
Her shards rearranged—not into weapons.
Into a seal.
"This changes jurisdiction," she said. "Shard Court cannot execute a Return-Adjacent Entity without unanimous origin consent."
Ne Job stared.
"…Am I still on the chopping block?"
"Yes."
"Oh."
"But," she continued, "you are no longer a simple anomaly."
Qi-Yun smirked faintly.
"She hates that."
The Judge ignored him.
"Intern Ne Job," she said, "you are now classified as a Continuity Risk."
Ne Job sighed.
"Is that worse than anomaly?"
"Yes."
"…Figures."
She raised her hand.
"Shard Court will withdraw. Temporarily."
Yue exhaled shakily.
"But understand this," the Judge said coldly. "If the Singing Thread returns—and it will—your refusal may destabilize more than yourself."
Ne Job swallowed.
"…So I'm not just in danger."
"No," she said. "You are dangerous."
The Judge vanished in a rain of crystal light.
---
6. Aftermath (No One Feels Better)
The courtyard sagged.
Arden sheathed her sword slowly.
"That," she said, "was the worst staff meeting I've ever attended."
The divine intern stared at Ne Job with something like awe.
"You… broke my appraisal. And survived Shard Court."
Ne Job slumped back onto the ground.
"I cried. A lot."
"That counts," the intern said reverently.
Qi-Yun turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Ne Job asked weakly.
"To file a report."
Ne Job screamed again.
"YOU SAID YOU FILED THINGS."
"I lied."
---
7. Yue's POV: The Singing Isn't Gone
Later, as Ne Job slept—utterly exhausted, curled up like a misplaced document—Yue stood alone at the edge of the courtyard.
The wind brushed past her.
Soft.
Almost musical.
She placed a hand over her heart.
The singing thread inside Ne Job—
It wasn't calling anymore.
It was listening.
Waiting.
And somewhere far beyond the Veins, something vast and patient adjusted its pattern.
Not angry.
Not hostile.
Just… unfinished.
Yue whispered into the quiet.
"What are you becoming, Ne Job…"
The wind carried no answer.
But the thread hummed once.
In agreement.
---
END OF CHAPTER 200