The return to Earth was not greeted with the blue skies of home, but with a suffocating, slate-grey shroud.
As the Sovereign Venture breached the atmosphere, the sensors did not scream of mana-spikes or incoming missiles. Instead, they whispered of Inertia. The vibrant, chaotic data-streams of Earth's newfound independence had been flattened into a single, monotonous hum.
"Look at the spectral readings," Elena Sol said, her voice trembling as she adjusted the bridge monitors. "The 'Will' index... it's dropped by 70% across all major populations. People aren't fighting. They aren't even working. They're just... waiting."
Han Jue stood at the viewport, his eyes narrowed. Through his Audit Vision, the world looked like it had been placed behind a frosted glass partition. A translucent, hexagonal mesh wrapped around the globe—not a physical shield, but a Legal Barrier.
[Warning: Earth is under a 'Writ of Sequestration']
[Status: Soul-Escrow Active]
[Issuer: Malphas, The Liquidator of Souls]
"He's siphoning the 'Drive,'" Han Jue muttered, his fingers tightening around the Void Gavel. "He isn't taking their lives; he's taking their equity in their own existence. If you don't own your future, you have no reason to move."
"We land at the UN Plaza," Han Jue commanded. "If he wants to file a lien on the human race, he's going to have to serve the papers to me personally."
The Processing Center
The United Nations headquarters in New York had been transformed. The iconic glass building was no longer a hub of diplomacy; it had become a Metaphysical Processing Center.
A line of people stretched for miles—ordinary citizens, former hunters, and world leaders—all moving with a sluggish, dreamlike precision. They were being funneled toward a massive, obsidian gateway that stood where the general assembly used to be.
Beside the gateway stood Malphas.
He did not look like the Bailiff of the Void. Where the Bailiff was a creature of golden ledgers and cosmic law, Malphas was a "Legal Reaper." He wore a suit of perfectly tailored grey mist that seemed to absorb the color from the air around him. His face was a shifting arrangement of mercury-like features, never settling on one identity. In his hand, he held a pen made from a shard of a dead star.
"Mr. Han Jue," Malphas said as the Sovereign Venture touched down in the middle of the plaza. His voice was a soft, rhythmic scratching, like a pen on parchment. "You're late for the hearing. I was just about to declare a default judgment."
Han Jue stepped off the ramp, followed by Han Ling and a heavily armed Elena Sol. Garrick remained in the ship, his mechanical hands hovering over the "Global Recession" triggers.
"The 'Hearing' was never authorized, Malphas," Han Jue said, walking toward the Reaper. The Void Gavel at his waist pulsed with a warning light. "Earth is an Independent Sovereign Entity. You have no standing to issue a Sequestration."
Malphas smiled—a slow, liquid movement of his mercury mouth. "Independence is a legal fiction, Auditor. Humanity was granted 'Free Will' as a supplementary feature of the initial System Loan. Since the System has been deleted without a final repayment, the 'Will' is considered collateral. I am simply placing it in escrow until the account is settled."
He gestured to the crowds. "Look at them. Without the debt of the System to drive them, they have no value. I am protecting them from their own stagnation by converting their souls into Liquid Assets for the Void."
The Lex Universalis
Han Jue stopped ten feet from Malphas. The air between them crackled with the friction of two competing authorities.
"The System wasn't a gift of Will," Han Jue countered. "It was a parasite that fed on it. You're trying to claim that the host owes the parasite for the blood it stole."
"A compelling argument," Malphas conceded, clicking his star-pen. "But the Lex Universalis—the Universal Law—is quite clear on the matter of 'Improvements.' Humanity was improved by the System. We increased your levels, your lifespan, and your reach. That 'Value-Add' belongs to the Creditor."
Malphas raised a document written in glowing, grey ink.
$\Psi_{human} = \sum (Will) - \Delta (Debt)$
Where $\Psi$ is the current soul-value and $\Delta$ is the accrued interest on the 'Evolutionary Loan'.
"According to my calculations," Malphas whispered, "the human race owes a total of 800 Trillion Soul-Years. Since you cannot pay in time, I am repossessing the 'Will' to satisfy the debt."
"Jue, the people," Han Ling whispered, her hand on her brother's arm. "They're losing their color."
She was right. As the processing continued, the people passing through the obsidian gate emerged as grey husks—functionally alive, but spiritually bankrupt. They were the perfect "Liquid Assets": obedient, hollow, and ready to be spent by the Void Emperors.
"I'm initiating a Sub-Prime Challenge," Han Jue announced, his voice booming across the plaza.
Malphas's mercury eyes widened slightly. "A challenge? On what grounds?"
"On the grounds of Forgery," Han Jue said.
The Audit of the Reaper
Han Jue pulled the Black Key from his pocket—the artifact he had recovered from the Cog-World of Klok-IV.
The moment the key touched the air of Earth, the slate-grey shroud of the Lien began to vibrate. The key wasn't just a tool; it was a fragment of the Source Code.
"I audited the logs of Klok-IV, Malphas," Han Jue said, walking in a slow circle around the Reaper. "The Galactic Exchange didn't 'Improve' humanity. They actually suppressed our natural evolutionary rate to ensure we stayed dependent on the System's 'Levels.' You didn't add value; you created a Strategic Deficit."
Han Jue slammed the Void Gavel against the air.
"AUDIT: HISTORICAL RECONSTRUCTION!"
The Black Key projected a holographic timeline for the entire world to see. It showed the moment the System arrived fifty years ago. It showed that before the "Levels," human ingenuity was growing at an exponential rate. The System didn't boost that growth; it flatlined it into a linear progression.
"The 'Evolutionary Loan' was a scam," Han Jue declared. "You gave us a bicycle and told us it was a rocket ship, while you stole our wings. You don't have a lien on us, Malphas. We have a Class Action Suit against you for fifty years of Lost Opportunity."
[Target: Malphas]
[Status: Audit in Progress]
[Evidence: The Black Key (Source Data)]
Malphas's mercury face began to boil. The grey suit of mist started to fray at the edges. "The Source Data... you shouldn't have that! That key was meant to be buried in the core of Klok-IV!"
"A bad debt always resurfaces, Malphas," Han Jue said.
The Final Settlement
Han Jue raised the Gavel high, its dark energy now merging with the white light of the Black Key.
"In the name of the Sovereign Audit, I hereby declare the 'Soul-Escrow' to be a Fraudulent Instrument. I am calling for an immediate Asset Reversal!"
He struck the Gavel against the Black Key.
CRA-ACK!
The shockwave didn't move the air; it moved the grey net around the planet. The hexagonal mesh shattered like glass.
Across the globe, the people in the lines suddenly gasped. The grey husks in the plaza began to regain their color. The "Will" that had been siphoned away rushed back into the collective soul of humanity, but it was different now. It was tempered by the logic of the Audit.
[Humanity: Status Restored]
[New Passive Gained: 'Auditor's Insight']
(Effect: Humans are now 50% more resistant to spiritual manipulation and predatory contracts.)
Malphas screamed—a sound of dry parchment tearing. His grey suit dissolved into a puddle of leaden ink.
"This isn't over, Han Jue!" the Reaper hissed, his mercury form collapsing into the obsidian gateway. "The Void Emperors don't care about 'Fraud.' They only care about the Mass! If you won't give them the souls, they will take the planet's core!"
"Tell them the Core is already under a Sovereign Lien," Han Jue said, looking down at the puddle. "Owned by the people who live on it."
The gateway imploded, vanishing into a pinprick of black light.
The Price of Freedom
The slate-grey sky cleared, revealing a brilliant, piercing blue. The people in the plaza were waking up, blinking in the sunlight, looking at each other with a new sense of clarity.
But Han Jue stood in the center of the ruins of the gate, looking at the Black Key in his hand. It was glowing brighter now, pulsing with a rhythmic, impatient heat.
"Jue," Han Ling said, walking to his side. "We won. The lien is gone."
"We won the battle of the books, Ling-er," Han Jue said, his voice heavy. He looked at the sky. "But Malphas was right about one thing. The Void Emperors don't care about the law. They only used Malphas because he was efficient. Now that he's failed, they're going to use Force."
He looked at Elena Sol, who was already receiving reports on her tablet.
"Director," Han Jue said. "How many 'Rift-Signals' are we detecting?"
Elena's face went white. "None, Jue. But... the sensors are picking up a massive gravitational shift in the asteroid belt. Something is assembling out there."
Han Jue looked at the Black Key. 2/12.
"They're building a Foreclosure Engine," Han Jue whispered. "They're not going to audit us anymore. They're going to grind the planet into Soul-Dust to pay the debt."
He turned to his team, his eyes flashing with a sharp, witty fire.
"Garrick! Get the ship ready! We're going to the asteroid belt! If the Void wants to grind us, they're going to find out that humanity is the hardest material in the ledger!"