1. The Calm After Reality Trips Down the Stairs
The Archive smelled different.
Less like fresh parchment and divine ink.
More like… burned paper and regret.
Ne Job lay flat on the floor, staring at a ceiling that was no longer perfectly aligned.
One tile was crooked.
He smiled faintly.
"Good," he murmured. "Still broken."
Yue sat beside him, arms crossed, eyes sharp.
"You shattered a foundational tool of Heaven."
"Correction," Ne Job said weakly. "I snapped it emotionally first."
Qi-Yun groaned from somewhere to the left.
"Please stop talking," he said. "My ribs are still conceptual."
Ne Job turned his head.
"…You have conceptual ribs?"
"Had," Qi-Yun replied. "They're on probation."
2. Oversight Sends a Memo (And It's Not Happy)
The air pinged.
A translucent notice unfolded above them, hovering like an angry email.
SYSTEM NOTICE
Incident: Paradox Event (Severe)
Cause: Unresolved Intern
Status: Under Review
Recommendation: Mandatory Performance Evaluation
Ne Job squinted.
"Is that… disciplinary?"
Yue read it.
"Yes."
Qi-Yun sighed.
"That's actually very merciful."
Ne Job stared.
"Excuse me?"
"Normally," Qi-Yun said, pushing himself upright, "after a paradox, Heaven skips evaluations and goes straight to erasure."
Ne Job nodded slowly.
"…I would like to formally thank my incompetence."
3. The Performance Review Room From Hell (Literally Adjacent)
They were escorted—politely, ominously—into a small chamber labeled:
TEMPORARY ASSESSMENT SPACE
Please be honest. We will know.
Three chairs.
One desk.
No walls—just a fog of watching presence.
A bell chimed.
A voice spoke. Not Oversight. Something… lower.
"Let us begin the review."
Ne Job stiffened.
"Uh. Hi?"
"Subject: Ne Job.
Role: Intern.
Recorded Infractions: Yes."
Yue snorted despite herself.
Qi-Yun folded his hands calmly.
"Proceed."
4. Ne Job's Evaluation (It Goes Poorly)
"Question One," the voice intoned.
"Do you acknowledge that your actions destabilized multiple divine systems?"
Ne Job raised a hand.
"Before I answer—define destabilized."
Silence.
Qi-Yun coughed.
Yue hid a smile.
"…Answer the question."
"Yes," Ne Job said. "Absolutely. Hard yes."
"Do you regret it?"
Ne Job paused.
He thought of the workers waking up.
Of Lin crying because he could feel again.
Of the Archive remembering doubt.
"…No," he said honestly.
The fog thickened.
"Noted."
Yue leaned forward.
"For the record," she said sharply, "those systems were harming people."
"Your objection is logged, Assistant Yue."
Yue bristled.
"Good."
5. Qi-Yun Is Asked the Dangerous Question
"Senior Auditor Qi-Yun."
Qi-Yun inclined his head.
"Did you knowingly allow an intern to reach paradoxal authority?"
Qi-Yun answered without hesitation.
"Yes."
Yue's eyes widened.
Ne Job whispered, "Sir—"
Qi-Yun lifted a hand.
"Why?"
Qi-Yun's voice was steady.
"Because Heaven has confused control with virtue."
The fog churned violently.
"That statement borders on insubordination."
Qi-Yun smiled tiredly.
"I crossed that border centuries ago."
A pause.
Then—
"Noted."
Ne Job swallowed.
"…Sir, are you going to be okay?"
Qi-Yun shrugged.
"I've been worse."
"That's not comforting."
6. Yue Refuses to Be Evaluated Quietly
"Assistant Yue.
Emotional interference detected. Explain."
Yue stood.
"I interfered because someone had to."
"Your role is to support the system."
"No," Yue snapped.
"My role is to support people so the system doesn't become a monster."
The fog pulsed.
"Emotional bias compromises efficiency."
Yue met it head-on.
"So does cruelty."
Silence.
Heavy. Measuring.
Qi-Yun watched carefully.
Ne Job held his breath.
"…Noted."
Yue sat down, shaking—but unbroken.
7. The Verdict (Somehow Worse Than Expected)
The bell chimed again.
"Evaluation complete."
The fog parted slightly.
"Findings:
Ne Job — Noncompliant, unstable, paradox-prone.
Recommendation: Promotion Denied."
Ne Job blinked.
"…That's it?"
"Additional Action," the voice continued.
"Intern Ne Job is hereby reassigned."
Qi-Yun stiffened.
"Reassigned where?"
A pause.
"To a newly created department."
Yue's heart dropped.
"A what?"
The fog reshaped—forming words that made the room colder.
DEPARTMENT OF IRREGULARITIES
Mandate: Handle What Should Not Exist.
Ne Job stared.
"…That sounds like a horror movie."
Qi-Yun exhaled slowly.
"They made a box for you."
Yue grabbed Ne Job's sleeve.
"No. He's not ready."
The voice responded calmly.
"He is necessary."
Ne Job laughed weakly.
"Wow. I break reality once and suddenly I'm a department."
8. Heaven's New Problem Walks Out
The notice dissolved.
The room faded.
They were back in the Archive—messy, imperfect, alive.
A new badge floated toward Ne Job.
It didn't glow.
It didn't stamp.
It just existed.
NE JOB
Status: Intern (Irregular)
Clearance: Undefined
Ne Job clipped it on.
"…That can't be good."
Qi-Yun placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It's worse," he said gently.
"It means they don't know what to do with you."
Yue smiled shakily.
"Welcome to management."
Ne Job looked around at the crooked shelves, the murmuring workers, the uncertain future.
He grinned.
"Cool," he said.
"So when do I get training?"
Qi-Yun and Yue spoke at the same time.
"No."
END OF CHAPTER 258