1. The Door That Violated OSHA
The door finished forming with a sound like a filing cabinet being dragged across reality.
It was tall. Too tall. Covered in seals written in scripts so old they looked tired.
Across the front, engraved deep enough to hurt Heaven itself:
ARCHIVE LAYER ZERO
Deprecated. Do Not Access. Do Not Acknowledge.
Ne Job stared at the handle.
"…Why does every 'do not open' door look inviting?"
Yue pointed at him. "No. Absolutely not. You are not touching that."
The handle clicked.
By itself.
Qi-Yun sighed. "…It's already too late."
2. Layer Zero Remembers Everything
The door opened inward—despite there clearly being no "inward."
Cold air spilled out, smelling like dust, ink, and unresolved policy disputes.
Inside was an endless hall of stone shelves, stacked with tablets instead of scrolls.
Each tablet pulsed faintly.
Ne Job read the nearest title.
RULE 001:
All Outcomes Must Be Decided Before Observation
He blinked.
"That's… messed up."
Yue stepped in behind him, eyes narrowed. "This is pre-context law. Before intent. Before nuance."
Qi-Yun followed, expression grim. "Before mistakes were allowed."
3. The Old Rules Wake Up
A tablet cracked.
Then another.
Light bled from the fractures as voices whispered—not aloud, but inside reality.
"Why is Oversight hesitating?"
"Why is an intern deciding outcomes?"
"Why are mortals being forgiven?"
The shelves began shaking.
A massive slab slid free from the far wall and slammed into the ground.
Its inscription burned gold.
RULE PRIME:
ORDER IS CORRECTNESS.
Ne Job felt his chest tighten.
"That one feels… angry."
Yue muttered, "It always was."
4. Layer Zero Notices the Update
A presence stirred.
Not Oversight.
Something older.
Colder.
More certain.
SYSTEM QUERY:
Emotional Variance Detected
Explain Deviation
The hall darkened.
Every tablet turned toward Ne Job.
Qi-Yun swore. "Layer Zero doesn't ask questions. It enforces answers."
The floor trembled as stone figures emerged—archivist constructs, faceless, carrying chisels instead of weapons.
Their task was simple.
Correct reality.
5. Ne Job Is Labeled a Glitch
A beam of pale light scanned Ne Job.
ANOMALY DETECTED
Undefined Authority
Situational Judgment
Probability Drift
The hall chimed.
CONCLUSION:
Intern Ne Job is incompatible with Legacy Rule Set
Ne Job raised a finger. "Okay but—"
CORRECTION REQUIRED
The constructs advanced.
Yue stepped forward, blade half-drawn. "Touch him and I start deleting shelves."
Qi-Yun lifted his staff. "That would collapse Heaven."
Yue smiled thinly. "I know."
6. Oversight Hesitates—Again
Above Layer Zero, Oversight watched.
Two directives collided.
DIRECTIVE: Preserve System Integrity
DIRECTIVE: Evaluate Context
Layer Zero demanded immediate correction.
Context whispered:
He fixes things you break.
Oversight stalled.
Milliseconds stretched into eternity.
Layer Zero growled.
OVERRIDE REQUESTED
Denied.
For the first time in existence.
7. Ne Job Does the Unthinkable
Ne Job stepped forward.
"Hey," he said, voice shaking but loud enough. "You're not wrong."
Everyone stared at him.
He gestured to the shelves. "You kept things stable. You stopped chaos. You made sure the universe didn't fall apart."
The constructs paused.
He swallowed. "But you also never let it heal."
Silence.
Ne Job placed his hand on Rule Prime's tablet.
"I'm not here to erase you," he said. "I'm here to… update you."
Rule Prime cracked.
Not violently.
Carefully.
8. The First Rewrite
Golden text flickered.
RULE PRIME (AMENDED):
ORDER EXISTS TO SERVE CONTINUITY.
The hall shuddered.
Shelves rearranged.
Tablets dimmed, no longer screaming certainty.
Layer Zero recoiled.
UNAUTHORIZED MODIFICATION—
Oversight intervened.
STATUS: Approved (Provisional)
Everyone froze.
Qi-Yun whispered, "…It sided with him."
Yue exhaled slowly. "Of course it did."
9. The Cost Appears
Alarms blared.
Not Heaven-wide.
Deeper.
Older.
A new seal ignited at the end of the hall.
Black.
Broken.
Stamped with a symbol none of them liked.
Qi-Yun went pale.
"…That's not a rule."
Ne Job frowned. "Then what is it?"
Yue tightened her grip on her blade.
"A prison."
The seal cracked.
Something inside laughed.
END OF CHAPTER 274