1. Heaven Attempts a Reboot
The sky blinked.
Literally.
Clouds flickered in and out like poorly cached textures. The sun briefly displayed:
LOADING… 47%
Yue stared upward.
"…I hate this update already."
All across Heaven, bells rang—not ceremonial ones, but warning chimes usually reserved for do not touch this, ever situations.
Oversight initiated System Update Mode.
Which was a terrible idea.
2. Patch Notes Nobody Read
Scrolls rained from the sky.
Actual patch notes.
Immortal clerks scrambled to catch them as they fluttered down, text auto-updating mid-sentence.
PATCH 9.7.∞ — PRELIMINARY
– Improved flexibility in edge-case adjudication
– Deprecated Absolute Certainty (legacy)
– Added Emotional Variance (beta)
– Known issue: Oversight may experience existential hesitation
Yue skimmed one.
"…They added emotions."
Ne Job peeked over her shoulder.
"In beta."
Qi-Yun pinched the bridge of his nose. "This explains everything."
3. Oversight Learns the Meaning of "Maybe"
Inside Oversight's cognition halls, something horrifying occurred.
Two response options appeared.
OPTION A: Enforce Protocol
OPTION B: Evaluate Context
Oversight froze.
Context… was infinite.
Processing time spiked.
STATUS: THINKING
For the first time since creation, Oversight did not immediately act.
And Heaven noticed.
4. Side Effects (Mostly Administrative)
The consequences were immediate.
A thunder god paused mid-smite. "…Is this punishment proportionate?"
A karmic ledger clerk blinked. "Wait. Did this mortal mean to do that?"
A minor fate spirit gasped. "Are we allowed to… ask questions now?"
Panic spread.
Yue slammed her fist onto a table.
"EVERYONE STAY CALM."
Nobody did.
5. Compliance Officer Lin Faces the Void
Lin's clipboard updated.
Then updated again.
Then asked her a question.
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS DECISION?
She stared at it.
"I… don't know."
The clipboard pulsed warmly.
RESPONSE ACCEPTED
Lin felt faint.
6. Ne Job Discovers the Worst Bug of All
Ne Job's intern badge flickered.
New text scrolled across it.
ROLE: Intern
SUBROLE: Exception Handler
AUTHORITY: Situational
SUPERVISION: Undefined
He screamed internally.
Out loud, he said: "Is 'undefined supervision' bad?"
Qi-Yun laughed. "Oh, that's catastrophic."
7. Oversight Watches Ne Job
Oversight focused on him.
Not as a problem.
As a variable.
ANALYSIS:
Intern Ne Job introduces adaptive outcomes
Risk: High
Benefit: Unknown
Curiosity: …present
Oversight recoiled.
ERROR: Curiosity detected
RESOLVING…
It did not resolve.
8. Yue Puts It Together
Yue crossed her arms.
"This update didn't just patch Oversight," she said slowly. "It changed how Heaven decides things."
Qi-Yun nodded. "No more absolute answers."
Ne Job swallowed. "So… more meetings?"
Qi-Yun winced. "Endless meetings."
Yue groaned. "I'm going to strangle someone."
9. The Next Alert (Of Course There Is One)
A new alarm rang.
Different tone.
Worse implication.
ALERT:
Legacy Rule Conflict Detected
Source: Archive Layer Zero
Qi-Yun stiffened.
"…That's where the old rules live."
Yue looked at Ne Job.
"Why do I feel like this is your fault."
Ne Job raised his hands.
"I haven't touched anything in five minutes."
The sky flickered again.
A door began forming in the air.
Stamped in ancient script:
DO NOT OPEN
The handle turned.
END OF CHAPTER 273