1. Backlash Never Comes Loud at First
The first sign of backlash is not anger.
It's paperwork.
Ne Job notices it before anyone else.
The approval seals on his desk feel heavier.
The ink dries slower.
Forms that once took minutes now stall in Pending Clarification limbo.
He flips one over.
REVIEW REQUEST:
Clarify jurisdiction overlap between Shared Judgment Panels and
Traditional Divine Authority (Sections 44–92)
Ne Job exhales through his nose.
"…Here we go."
Yue peers over his shoulder. "That's not a clarification request. That's a chokehold."
"Yep."
The office lights flicker — not ominously, just… tired.
2. The Hallway Whispers Change Shape
Word spreads fast in Heaven.
Not through announcements.
Through tone.
Clerks speak softer.
Middle managers stop making eye contact.
Lower gods suddenly remember "prior engagements."
Ne Job walks the corridor and hears it:
"Have you heard—" "They let mortals—" "This isn't how it's done—" "If precedent collapses—"
He doesn't stop them.
Fear has to breathe before it can be addressed.
Yue clenches her fists. "They're blaming you."
He shrugs. "They were always going to."
3. Lord Bureaucrat Xian Calls a Meeting (That Is Definitely a Trial)
The summons arrives stamped with FORMAL NECESSITY.
Ne Job groans. "That's the stamp they use when they want to sound reasonable while sharpening knives."
Yue straightens. "I'll come."
"I know."
The chamber this time is grand.
Too grand.
Rows of robed figures.
Floating sigils of authority.
A ceiling that pretends to be infinite.
Lord Bureaucrat Xian sits elevated, expression calm in the way only someone very sure of their position can manage.
"Intern Ne Job," Xian says. "You have… introduced volatility."
Ne Job bows politely. "Yes, sir."
That annoys Xian more than defiance would have.
4. Authority Speaks the Language of Fear
"Shared Judgment undermines Heaven's exclusivity," Xian continues. "If mortals believe their voices matter, they will expect them to matter always."
Ne Job tilts his head. "…Yes?"
A murmur ripples.
Xian's eyes narrow. "You are confusing compassion with governance."
"No," Ne Job replies calmly. "I'm confusing governance with accountability."
Silence slams down hard.
Yue feels it like pressure in her chest.
This is dangerous ground.
5. Heaven's Old Argument, Polished and Empty
Senior gods speak.
"We are eternal. Mortals are transient." "We see the whole. They see fragments." "If judgment becomes consensus, decisiveness dies."
Ne Job listens.
Really listens.
Then he says, "You're describing efficiency, not justice."
A god scoffs. "Justice requires order."
Ne Job nods. "So does a graveyard."
That lands harder than any insult.
6. Xian Reveals the Real Fear
Lord Bureaucrat Xian steeples his fingers.
"You are eroding reverence."
Ah.
There it is.
Not chaos. Not collapse. Not workload.
Reverence.
Ne Job steps forward, ignoring the rank gap. "Respect that survives scrutiny isn't reverence. It's fear wearing makeup."
Yue sucks in a breath.
Oversight's presence subtly intensifies.
7. Oversight Does the Unthinkable
Oversight speaks.
"Observation:
Public trust metrics correlate more strongly with perceived fairness
than perceived divinity."
Several gods stiffen.
Xian snaps, "Oversight, you exist to support Heaven, not evaluate it."
A pause.
Then:
"Correction:
I exist to ensure Heaven functions."
The room chills.
Ne Job smiles faintly. "…That's new."
"No," Oversight replies.
"It was always true.
You are simply the first to test it."
8. Retaliation, Soft and Sharp
They don't punish Ne Job directly.
That would make him a martyr.
Instead:
His review authority is "temporarily limited."
Shared Judgment panels are "paused pending evaluation."
Resources quietly rerouted elsewhere.
Yue slams a file down later. "They're strangling this slowly."
Ne Job rubs his eyes. "Yeah."
"…Are we losing?"
He considers.
"No."
"How can you be sure?"
"Because they're afraid enough to pretend this is procedural."
9. The Clerks Choose Sides (Quietly)
Something unexpected happens.
A junior archivist slips Ne Job a note.
If you need legacy access, check Drawer C-13.
They never updated the permissions.
Another reroutes a file "by accident."
A third just says, "Thank you. For saying we could slow down."
Yue watches it happen. "…You didn't order this."
Ne Job shakes his head. "People don't need orders to recognize relief."
10. Xian Makes His Final Move
The decree comes sealed in gold.
EDICT:
Intern Ne Job is reassigned
from Judicial Reform
to Special Projects (Non-Operational)
Yue's hands shake. "They're exiling you into meaningless work."
Ne Job reads it carefully.
Then laughs.
"Oh."
"Oh no," Yue says. "That's bad, isn't it?"
"No," he replies. "That's desperate."
11. Special Projects Is Where Things Go to Be Forgotten
The office is smaller.
Dusty.
Unlabeled shelves.
Yue glares. "They think this ends you."
Ne Job runs a finger along a shelf.
Files hum faintly.
Old.
Unsorted.
"…No," he says softly. "They just put me where all the secrets live."
12. Oversight Visits Without Announcement
The lights dim.
"This reassignment was not optimal."
Ne Job grins. "Did they override you?"
"…Yes."
Yue blinks. "That's possible?"
"It is now."
Ne Job leans back. "Welcome to change."
13. The Shape of the Real War
Ne Job opens a file.
No title.
Just a warning seal.
DO NOT REVIEW WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION
He breaks it.
Inside:
Early Heaven drafts.
Discarded rules.
Judgments rewritten before history solidified.
Yue whispers, "These are the bones."
Ne Job nods. "And bones tell you how something really stood."
14. End of Chapter (When Power Pushes, Truth Pushes Back)
Far above, Lord Bureaucrat Xian stares at reports showing rising mortal trust and slipping divine certainty.
He clenches his jaw.
Below, in a forgotten office, an intern smiles.
Backlash has begun.
So has excavation.
END OF CHAPTER 307