1. The Second Case Is Chosen on Purpose
They didn't leave this one to chance.
Oversight flagged it manually.
CASE ID: 9034–MORTAL–A
CHARGE: Repeated fate-thread manipulation
SEVERITY (LEGACY): Extreme
RECOMMENDED OUTCOME: Soul erasure
Ne Job leaned back. "Well. That escalated."
Yue skimmed the summary. "…This one knows about the system."
Ne Job's jaw tightened. "Of course it's this one."
Justice never got to stay clean for long.
2. The Defendant Arrives Smiling
The man appeared already relaxed.
No confusion.
No fear.
No awe.
He gave a small, polite bow.
"So," he said cheerfully,
"this is the new listening thing, right?"
Ne Job felt his stomach sink.
Yue noticed immediately. "…You've been here before."
The man chuckled. "Oh, many times. Different rooms. Same ending."
Oversight logged elevated confidence indicators.
3. Legacy Record, Read Without Softening
Oversight displayed the history.
"Subject has altered fate-threads on six recorded occasions."
"Outcomes include personal wealth accumulation, political ascension, and rival removal."
"Casualties: Indirect but significant."
The man shrugged. "History is written by winners."
Ne Job stared at him. "…People died."
"People always die," the man replied lightly.
The temperature of the room dropped.
4. The Narrative Hearing Begins Anyway
Yue forced herself to stay calm. "You still get to speak."
The man grinned. "Of course I do. That's the point."
Ne Job exhaled slowly.
This was the nightmare scenario.
5. Bad Faith Sounds Like Confidence
"I understood the rules," the man said smoothly.
"They were stupid. I improved my odds."
Oversight highlighted intent markers.
"Admission of calculated manipulation detected."
Yue stiffened. "So you don't deny the harm?"
The man tilted his head. "Harm is subjective."
Ne Job leaned forward. "…You're enjoying this."
The man met his gaze. "A little."
6. Mercy Begins to Strain
Yue pressed on. "Why should we show you leniency?"
The man smiled wider. "Because you said everyone gets heard."
There it was.
The weaponization of fairness.
Ne Job felt something sharp twist inside him.
7. Oversight Reports the Obvious (Too Calmly)
"Narrative data confirms malicious optimization behavior."
Yue snapped, "Then why are we even doing this?"
Oversight replied evenly.
"Because process legitimacy depends on consistency."
The man laughed. "You see? Even the machine gets it."
8. Ne Job Interrupts the Script
"Stop," Ne Job said.
Everyone froze.
He turned to the defendant. "You think this is a loophole."
The man shrugged. "Everything is."
Ne Job nodded slowly. "Okay. Then let's talk about you."
The man raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
9. The Question That Bad Faith Hates
Ne Job asked quietly, "Was there ever a moment you could've stopped?"
The man waved a hand. "Probably."
"And you didn't."
"No."
"Why?"
The man opened his mouth—
—and hesitated.
Just for a fraction of a second.
Oversight flagged it.
"Delay detected."
10. The Mask Slips (Barely)
"…Because I could," the man said finally.
Ne Job nodded. "Yeah. That tracks."
Yue frowned. "You don't regret any of it?"
The man smirked. "Regret is for people without leverage."
That answer poisoned the room.
11. Mercy Does Not Mean Blindness
Ne Job stood.
"Here's the thing," he said evenly.
"Listening doesn't mean believing."
The man scoffed. "So you are judging me."
Ne Job smiled thinly. "Of course I am. That's literally the job."
Oversight recalibrated.
"Narrative hearing objective clarified: understanding, not absolution."
12. The New System Reveals Its Teeth
Oversight projected a revised outcome.
RESOLUTION:
• No erasure
• Full memory retention
• Constrained reincarnation
• Mandatory restitution across all affected timelines
• Continuous oversight
The man's smile faltered.
"…That's a lot."
Yue folded her arms. "It's accountability."
The man laughed nervously. "You're serious."
Ne Job met his eyes. "Deadly."
13. Bad Faith Panics When Control Is Removed
"You can't do that," the man snapped.
"You said—"
"We said we'd listen," Ne Job interrupted.
"We did."
Oversight added:
"Leniency is not a reward.
It is a risk assessment."
The man's confidence collapsed in real time.
14. Justice Is No Longer Predictable
"But I played by the rules!" the man protested.
Ne Job shook his head. "No. You played the old ones."
The chamber hummed as the fate-threads locked.
The man's voice dropped. "…This is worse than erasure."
Yue nodded. "Good."
15. After the Defendant Is Gone
The man vanished—angry, terrified, alive.
The room stayed quiet.
Too quiet.
Yue exhaled shakily. "…I hated that."
Ne Job nodded. "Me too."
Oversight reported:
"Public trust impact: uncertain."
Ne Job sighed. "That's honest, at least."
16. The Realization No One Wanted
Yue rubbed her temples. "So mercy doesn't make monsters go away."
Ne Job looked at the sealed file. "No. It just stops us from pretending they're all the same."
Oversight paused.
"System strain increasing."
Ne Job smiled grimly. "Yeah. That's growth."
17. End of Chapter (Mercy Survives Contact With Malice)
The new justice didn't break.
It bent.
It hurt.
It learned.
And Heaven discovered a brutal truth:
Listening doesn't make people good.
It just makes the system honest enough to respond.
Which meant the next threat wouldn't come from mortals—
But from within Heaven itself.
END OF CHAPTER 303