**Ne Job — Chapter 198
"Shard Court Judge: Now Taking Applications for Panic"**
The courtyard fell silent.
Not normal silence.
Judicial silence—the type that arrived only when something truly terrifying was about to be declared "non-compliant."
The Shard Court Judge stepped forward, obsidian robes sweeping across the cracked ground like ink poured over glass. Her halo of floating crystal fragments rearranged themselves into a circular saw of divine legality.
Ne Job gulped.
The saw hummed ominously.
He gulped again.
The saw hummed louder.
"Stop gulping," Arden whispered.
"I CAN'T."
The Judge's eyes—cold, luminous, and shaped like sharpened hourglasses—landed on him with surgical precision.
"Inferior Entity Number—"
She squinted.
"—Pending ID assignment?"
Ne Job raised a timid hand. "That's me."
A shard snapped toward him, stopping an inch from his forehead.
Ne Job froze.
Yue and Arden froze.
The divine intern fainted internally.
A glyph flickered on the shard's surface:
> SUBJECT: NE JOB
STATUS: ANOMALY
RECOMMENDED ACTION: PERMANENT REMOVAL (PENDING)
Ne Job squeaked like a stressed teapot.
The Judge spoke, each syllable as sharp as falling glass:
"You stand accused of destabilizing a fate thread, violating cosmic coherency, obstructing a divine audit, and existing."
"Wait—existing is a crime?!"
"For you," she said coolly, "yes."
"Rude!"
Arden stepped forward. "Judge, with respect—Ne Job didn't choose to be an anomaly."
"Intent is irrelevant," the Judge replied. "Outcomes define judgment."
Ne Job leaned toward Yue, whispering:
"…I don't like outcomes."
"Most people don't when they involve erasure," Yue whispered back.
The Judge lifted a hand.
Every floating shard aimed directly at Ne Job.
"This branch of reality will now undergo Preliminary Slicing."
Ne Job screamed.
---
1. Qi-Yun Arrives (Looking Like a Man Who Expected This)
Before the shards could descend, a voice cut through the courtyard:
"Judge. Stand down."
A pulse of authority snapped through the air.
Shard edges wavered.
The Judge's eyes narrowed.
Qi-Yun stepped into view, completely calm, as if strolling into a tea house rather than a cosmic death sentence.
"What," he said, "do you think you're doing to my intern?"
Ne Job almost cried with relief.
Qi-Yun didn't even look at him.
The Judge's shards rotated, sharpening. "Your intern? This entity is unregistered."
"Correction." Qi-Yun raised a finger.
An ink sigil appeared above Ne Job's head.
"He is currently undergoing supervised corrective training under my authority."
The Judge blinked once. Slowly.
"You."
A pause.
"…did paperwork?"
Qi-Yun nodded. "Completed. Filed. Stamped."
The Judge looked genuinely disturbed. "But you never file anything."
"I do," Qi-Yun said, "when it's this annoying."
For the first time, the shards hesitated.
Qi-Yun walked up beside Ne Job, resting a hand on his shoulder.
"This one is protected."
The Judge's tone sharpened. "Protection is irrelevant. The anomaly's existence has already disrupted a Supreme Auditor's appraisal cycle."
Ne Job raised a hand. "Sorry?"
Qi-Yun answered without breaking eye contact with the Judge.
"That means you broke someone's KPI."
Ne Job gasped.
"I broke a god!?"
"You bent him," Qi-Yun corrected. "Slightly."
The divine intern in the dirt made a weak wheezing noise.
---
2. The Judge Demands Proof (This Was a Mistake)
"State your justification," the Judge said, shards forming a second halo above her.
Qi-Yun shrugged.
"He has potential."
Ne Job blushed.
Then immediately un-blushed because a shard pointed at him ominously.
"That is not justification," the Judge snapped.
Qi-Yun sighed. "Fine."
With a flick of his hand—
The courtyard trembled.
Ink rose from the cracks in the ground, swirling upward to form a massive sigil. Lines spiraled outward, connecting every piece of broken Audit Stone.
The air shimmered with raw ordinance.
A wave of authority pulsed outward like a silent thunderclap.
Even Yue stumbled backward.
Arden gripped her sword.
Ne Job screamed preemptively.
The Judge stiffened. Her shards snapped into a defensive perimeter.
"What is this?" she demanded.
Qi-Yun stepped into the center of the sigil.
"This," he said, "is the imprint he created earlier in the Archive. His correction."
The Judge froze mid-breath.
"…Show me."
Qi-Yun pointed at Ne Job.
Ne Job flailed. "SHOW WHAT?!"
"Your authority signature," Qi-Yun said.
"I— I don't HAVE one!"
"You do," Qi-Yun replied, "when you panic."
Ne Job's eye twitched.
"Sir, that describes my entire LIFE."
Qi-Yun nodded encouragingly.
"Exactly."
The sigil pulsed again.
A faint shimmer appeared around Ne Job—small at first, like steamed breath.
Then brighter.
Lines of silver ink spiraled around him, forming a half-stable aura of raw, untrained correctional power.
The Judge stared.
Qi-Yun tapped Ne Job's shoulder.
"Speak."
"Speak WHAT?!"
"Anything. Preferably something correct."
The Judge's eyes narrowed.
Ne Job inhaled.
His voice cracked.
"I—I reject being deleted!"
The sigil erupted.
A burst of authority flared outward.
Every floating shard jolted backward an inch.
The Judge froze.
Yue gasped sharply.
Arden's jaw dropped.
Qi-Yun looked smug.
"See? Potential."
Ne Job looked down at his shaking hands.
"I… did that?"
Qi-Yun nodded. "Yes. Barely. Poorly. But yes."
Ne Job beamed.
Then a shard boomeranged back and nearly cut off his hairstyle.
He screamed again.
---
3. The Judge Recalculates (A Rare, Dangerous Event)
The Judge lowered her hand slowly.
"An authority burst… from a mortal?"
"Technically he's an intern," Qi-Yun corrected.
"That makes it worse."
Qi-Yun smiled politely.
"I know."
The Judge's shards rotated as she calculated something intensely.
Finally—
"The anomaly… cannot be erased at this stage."
Ne Job collapsed to his knees in relief.
"But—" the Judge added.
Ne Job face-planted.
Yue rushed to his side.
"But?" Qi-Yun asked.
"But until a full review is conducted, this intern remains on provisional existence. If his fate thread destabilizes further—Shard Court will return."
Ne Job looked up miserably.
"Return for… what?"
"Final judgment."
"Can we call it something less scary?"
"No."
Ne Job whimpered.
Arden stepped forward. "Judge, what triggered this anomaly in the first place?"
The Judge looked down at Ne Job.
"The intern's existence is producing waveform irregularities… identical to those found in the Fourth Vein rupture."
Yue stiffened. "Then that means—"
"Yes." The Judge's voice dropped.
"He is connected to the singing fate."
Ne Job blinked. "I'm WHAT now?"
"Your thread resonates with forbidden frequency."
"That sounds bad."
"It is."
"Can I unsubscribe?"
"No."
Ne Job stared up at the sky, whispering:
"I want a different internship…"
Qi-Yun patted his shoulder.
"You don't get one."
---
4. Yue's Realization (And Her Terror)
As the Judge turned away, preparing a departure seal, Yue felt something shift behind her ribs.
A hum.
A thread.
A vibration.
Her breath caught.
She felt Ne Job's fate thread—singing again, faintly, like a tiny string in a storm.
She grabbed his wrist without thinking.
Ne Job jolted. "Wha—Yue?!"
"Your thread—" she whispered, eyes wide.
"It's getting louder."
The Judge's head snapped back.
Qi-Yun's expression sharpened.
Ne Job paled. "Louder?? Why louder?!"
Yue's grip tightened.
"Because," she said, voice trembling,
"your fate just reacted to something. Something close. Something moving."
"Moving where?" Ne Job squeaked.
Yue raised her head slowly, staring toward the north horizon.
Her pulse quickened.
Her voice cracked.
"…Toward us."
The courtyard wind died.
The horizon darkened.
And the singing thread inside Ne Job's chest vibrated like a struck bell.
---
END OF CHAPTER 198