1. Testimony Is Not a Trial
The chamber was not prepared for this.
It had benches, not listeners.
Records, not pauses.
A dais meant for judgment, not reception.
Someone had written TESTIMONY SESSION over the entrance in glowing script.
No one remembered authorizing it.
That made it valid.
Ne Job stood at the center, holding nothing.
No files.
No seals.
No authority he could point to.
Just presence.
2. Heaven Arrives Carefully
They came in slow waves.
Not the loud ones first.
Minor gods.
Clerks.
Archivists who had learned to walk quietly.
Then judges.
Then—reluctantly—lords.
No one sat comfortably.
The murmurs followed them in.
Not as noise.
As weight.
3. Oversight States the Boundary
"This session is non-adjudicative," Oversight announced.
"No rulings will be issued."
Shen scoffed. "Then what's the point?"
Ne Job answered without looking at him.
"To listen without fixing it immediately."
That unsettled them more than judgment ever had.
4. The First Testimony Chooses Its Speaker
No summoning circle activated.
No name was called.
A presence simply… stepped forward.
Not a ghost.
Not a soul-form.
A memory given shape.
It bowed.
Not in respect.
In habit.
"I was case 771-Δ-44," it said calmly.
"But before that, I was a scribe."
The room held its breath.
5. No Drama. Just Sequence.
"I copied the wrong seal," the testimony continued. "It wasn't malicious. It wasn't careless. The template had changed."
A pause.
"They punished me as if I'd meant it."
Ne Job's jaw tightened.
The testimony didn't accuse.
It recited.
Dates.
Durations.
Silence.
6. The Lie of Deterrence Collapses Quietly
A judge shifted uncomfortably. "…If the punishment was known, why repeat the mistake?"
The testimony turned its head.
"I didn't know," it said simply. "No one told us the rules were moving."
That was all.
No shouting.
No condemnation.
Just the absence of justification.
7. Heaven Learns the Difference Between Fear and Understanding
More testimonies followed.
Not floods.
Drips.
Each one small.
Each one precise.
Patterns emerged without anyone pointing them out.
Optimized punishment.
Minimized explanation.
Zero feedback loops.
Ne Job watched the realization spread.
Not explosive.
Infectious.
8. Oversight Encounters Accumulated Data It Never Modeled
"This volume of unstructured narrative was not anticipated," Oversight admitted.
Ne Job murmured, "People don't come in neat formats."
"I am updating assumptions."
That was Oversight's version of shock.
9. Shen Breaks (A Little)
Shen stood abruptly.
"This proves nothing," he snapped. "These are isolated—"
A testimony looked at him.
Just looked.
"I prayed to you," it said quietly. "You never answered."
Shen sat back down.
He didn't speak again.
10. The Testimony That Changes Everything
Near the end, one presence hesitated.
"…May I say one more thing?"
Ne Job nodded.
"I don't want revenge," it said. "I don't even want reversal."
A ripple went through the room.
"I just want the record to show I existed."
Silence crashed down.
Not empty.
Complete.
11. Oversight Writes Something New
A new field appeared in Heaven's master ledger.
STATUS: Acknowledged
No sentence.
No outcome.
Just… presence logged.
The murmurs softened.
12. No One Leaves Clean
When the chamber finally emptied, no one felt victorious.
Some looked sick.
Some thoughtful.
Some angry in quieter ways.
Ne Job slumped onto the steps.
"…They can't pretend anymore."
Yue sat beside him.
"No," she said. "And that's irreversible."
13. End of Chapter (Ignorance Is No Longer Plausible)
High above, Heaven's systems recalibrated.
Not to punish faster.
But to remember.
And for the first time since optimization began—
No one could say:
"We didn't know."
END OF CHAPTER 299