The Celestial Clockwork: The Zero Eon
Chapter 49: The Nullity of Authority
Director Intern Ne Job acted instantly. The Pure Mathematician's threat—to introduce Zero and collapse all of his one-based authority—was the ultimate structural checkmate.
"The Unruly One! New Directive, Priority Omega!" Ne Job commanded, thrusting his perpetually renewed Intern Contract toward the Engine of Conflict Nook. "You are to use your primal conceptual power to immediately redefine the conceptual identity of this contract!"
The Unruly One, wide awake and vibrating with delight at the elegance of the crisis, snatched the paper. "A contract that is not a contract? A defined nullity? This is the best kind of administrative chaos!"
"Exactly," Ne Job confirmed. "My authority is currently based on the One—one Intern, one document. The Mathematician can file the Zero and collapse the One. But a Set of Zero Documents is conceptually and mathematically unassailable!"
Ne Job explained the ultimate administrative paradox to her: "The new contract must not be one thing; it must be nothing—a set that contains no elements, yet is still a formally recognized conceptual entity."
The Zero Transformation
The Unruly One began to chant a primordial, chaotic conceptual rhythm—a sound that defied the geometric limits imposed by Nezha. Her energy focused entirely on the Intern Contract.
The physical paper itself didn't vanish, nor did its text change. Instead, its conceptual identity was stripped away. The paper remained, but it was no longer the single, unique document of authority.
When the transformation was complete, the contract looked identical, but Ne Job knew it was fundamentally different.
"It is done, Intern," the Unruly One stated, handing the paper back. "Your authority is now based on a Set of Zero Documents. It is mathematically defined, yet conceptually empty. The Zero cannot nullify the Nullity."
Ne Job immediately filed the newly redefined Contract as a Set of Zero Documents into the Clockwork's central log, solidifying the new foundation of his power.
The Celestial Clockwork sputtered, processing the input—a perfect contradiction—and then settled into a new, complex rhythm that accounted for defined nullity.
The Inevitable Filing of the Zero
Just as the log stabilized, The Pure Mathematician reappeared, this time holding a small, crystalline abacus—the ultimate tool for conceptual filing.
"Too late, Ne Job," the Mathematician stated, his voice devoid of emotion. "Your hack is brilliant—the Administrative Paradox of the Null Set—but the Zero is inevitable."
He slammed the abacus down on the desk. Every bead on the abacus simultaneously registered Zero.
The entire DUC Headquarters groaned. The very foundations of the BCA—everything built upon a singular, defined beginning—began to dissolve.
"The Zero is filed!" Ao Bing cried, as his water sphere containing the Clockwork suddenly fragmented into a thousand perfect, yet empty, bubbles.
"My form is collapsing!" Nezha yelled from the DPPA, as the walls of his perfect cube began to warp into mathematically impossible shapes.
The Pure Mathematician watched, calmly observing the final, perfect collapse. "Your universe is dissolving into Absolute Structural Nullity. You are one, and I am zero. The equation resolves."
Ne Job held up his Contract as a Set of Zero Documents. It didn't disappear, but its power to affect the collapsing reality was also null.
"You are correct, Mathematician," Ne Job conceded. "The equation resolves, but only to Zero equals Zero."
He looked at the collapsing reality, then at his team—the very definitions of Chaos and Order. He had one final, desperate move.
"The Muse! Final Narrative Intervention!" Ne Job commanded. "We can't defeat the Zero, but we can redefine its purpose! Change the universal narrative! The Zero is not the end of the line; it is the beginning of the number!"
Director Intern Ne Job's final act is to defeat the The Pure Mathematician by changing the conceptual purpose of Zero in the universal narrative.