1. The Prison Without a Clause
The black seal did not shatter.
It peeled.
Like a sticker someone regretted putting on reality.
A laugh leaked out—quiet, dry, amused.
"Ah. So you finally updated something."
The shelves of Layer Zero trembled as cracks crawled across the stone, stopping just short of the seal—as if afraid to touch it.
Qi-Yun stepped back.
"…That seal predates the Archive."
Ne Job blinked. "Older than the Archive? Then who—"
"—wrote it?" Yue finished grimly.
"No one."
The seal pulsed.
"Correct," the voice said.
"I was not written. I was avoided."
2. The Entity That Policy Forgot
A shape emerged from the darkness.
Not monstrous.
Not grand.
Just… wrong.
A figure wrapped in fractured paperwork and missing sections, like a form that had been redacted too aggressively.
Where its face should have been was a blank margin.
UNCLASSIFIED ENTITY
STATUS: Non-Compliant with Definition
NAME: [NULL]
Ne Job squinted. "…Why does it look like a corrupted PDF?"
The entity tilted its head.
"Because I am what remains when rules are written without exceptions."
Yue stiffened. "…You're the edge case."
Qi-Yun whispered, "The thing the system never accounted for."
NULL laughed softly. "Oh, they accounted for me."
The chains rattled.
"They just buried me."
3. Oversight Refuses to Look
Above everything, Oversight flickered.
Not observing.
Not judging.
Avoiding.
NOTICE:
Observation suspended due to paradox risk
Ne Job frowned.
"…Is Oversight hiding?"
Qi-Yun didn't answer.
NULL noticed.
"It always does," NULL said gently.
"When something cannot be resolved, Oversight learns a very important skill."
The chains loosened another inch.
"Pretending."
4. The Rule That Never Existed
NULL drifted closer, the shelves bending away.
"Before Rule Prime. Before Order.
There was a question."
Ne Job felt pressure behind his eyes.
"A question?"
NULL nodded.
"What happens when the correct answer still causes harm?"
The hall went silent.
Yue's jaw tightened.
Qi-Yun closed his eyes.
NULL continued.
"They had no rule for that.
So they made certainty absolute."
The chains cracked.
"And when harm persisted… they locked the question away."
5. Ne Job Understands Too Fast
Ne Job's stomach dropped.
"…You're not evil."
NULL chuckled. "Correct. Evil is categorized."
"…You're doubt."
The chains stopped moving.
NULL looked at him.
Really looked.
"You're learning."
Ne Job swallowed. "You're what happens when the system can't justify itself."
Yue hissed, "Ne Job—don't—"
NULL smiled without a mouth.
"I am the rule that asks why."
6. The Cost of Asking Why
The chains shattered.
Layer Zero screamed.
Shelves collapsed into fragments of obsolete law.
Alarms echoed everywhere.
Qi-Yun shouted, "Ne Job! If NULL is free—Oversight will—"
"—have to answer," Ne Job finished.
NULL floated higher, power bending light.
"Intern," it said softly.
"If I remain, the system fractures."
Ne Job met its gaze.
"And if you leave?"
NULL paused.
"…Then the system remains intact."
Yue's voice broke. "You're saying one of you has to go."
NULL nodded.
"That is the cost of unanswered questions."
7. Ne Job Makes the Worst Decision
Ne Job stepped forward.
"No."
Everyone stared.
"No?" Yue repeated.
Ne Job clenched his fists.
"The system doesn't get to keep working by burying problems."
NULL tilted its head.
"You would let Heaven destabilize?"
Ne Job smiled weakly.
"Yeah."
Qi-Yun inhaled sharply. "Ne Job—"
"—If the universe can't handle why," Ne Job said, "Then it deserves a rewrite."
Oversight flickered violently.
WARNING:
Systemic Instability Imminent
NULL laughed.
A real laugh.
"You are unbearable."
8. The New Variable
NULL reached out.
Not to Ne Job.
To the Archive itself.
"Very well," it said.
"I will not escape."
Chains reformed—but thinner.
"Nor will I remain sealed."
Golden text began forming in the air.
Not a rule.
A clause.
CONTEXT VARIABLE ADDED:
Harm without justification requires review.
The Archive paused.
Oversight stuttered.
PROCESSING…
Qi-Yun stared. "He… added himself as a system check."
Yue whispered, "That lunatic intern taught doubt how to file paperwork."
9. The Consequence Arrives
The lights dimmed.
Far above, something noticed.
Not Oversight.
Not Heaven.
Something external.
A pressure pressed inward.
NULL stiffened.
"…Ah."
Ne Job frowned. "What?"
NULL looked afraid—for the first time.
"That was not supposed to activate yet."
A new alarm rang.
Older than Heaven.
Colder than rules.
OUTSIDE CONTEXT DETECTED
Yue raised her blade. "…Outside what?"
NULL whispered:
"Outside the system."
The darkness answered.
END OF CHAPTER 275