The Tower of the Eternal Auditor did not sail across the Mediterranean; it claimed it. As the black glass spire drifted toward the Italian coast, the water beneath it turned into a dark, viscous mirror. The sky above was split: one half was the churning, thunderous grey of Selas's storms, and the other was the sterile, golden radiance emanating from the Vatican City, three hundred miles ahead.
Han Jue stood in the Sanctum of the Ledger, the highest point of the tower. He was looking at the Master Ledger Fragment. The vellum didn't just feel like paper; it felt like skin—warm, pulsing, and ancient.
[Master Ledger Fragment (1/7) - Synchronized.] [Feature Unlocked: 'Historical Audit'.] [You can now see the 'Origin' of any debt. You can see who first signed the contract of a soul.]
"Brother."
Han Ling walked into the sanctum. She was no longer wearing her combat suit. She wore a robe of deep violet silk, stitched with silver threads that formed the shapes of descending scales. Behind her hovered three spectral ledgers, their pages turning of their own accord.
"The upgrade is complete," she said. Her voice had gained a terrifying clarity, a resonance that made the shadows in the room bow.
[Han Ling - Evolution Complete.] [New Class: CHANCELLOR OF THE ABYSS.] [New Skill: 'Non-Disclosure Agreement' (Domain Silencing).] [New Skill: 'Class Action' (Massive Stat Redistribution).]
"How do you feel?" Han Jue asked, turning from the window.
"I feel like the world is a poorly written contract," Ling-er replied, a cold, sharp smile touching her lips. "The Sovereign of Light... his 'Faith' system? It's just a pyramid scheme, Jue. He collects the prayers of the desperate and converts them into mana-interest, but he never pays out the 'Blessings' he promises. He has a 98% default rate on his spiritual promises."
"Then we're here to facilitate a refund," Han Jue said.
The Strategy Meeting
In the war room below, Garrick and Selas were looking at a 3D hologram of the Vatican. The city was surrounded by a dome of golden light—the Aegis of the Seven Virtues.
"It's an impenetrable shield," Garrick grumbled, his mechanical arm whirring as he pointed at the dome. "It's powered by the collective belief of two billion people. If we try to break it with force, the mana-rebound will level half of Rome. The Sovereign of Light, Julian, has turned the civilians into human batteries."
"He calls it 'Sacrifice,'" Selas spat, her lightning sparking around her staff. "I call it a meat-shield. Julian is Level 110. He hasn't touched the ground in twenty years. He thinks he's an Angel."
Elena Sol walked to the table, her face grim. "The Holy Alliance isn't just Julian. The Sovereign of the Wild, Gaia, has reached the outskirts of the city. She's brought the 'Green Death'—monsters made of ancient vines and predatory spores. They're calling for a 'Great Cleansing' of the Auditor."
Han Jue entered the room, the Gavel of the Void strapped to his waist.
"Let them gather," Han Jue said. "The more of them there are, the bigger the payout."
"Jue, you're Level 75," Elena reminded him. "Julian and Gaia combined are Level 215. The 'Global Recession' skill is on cooldown for another six days. How are we doing this?"
"We aren't going to fight them," Han Jue said. He looked at the hologram of the golden dome. "We're going to perform a Sub-Prime Audit. Ling-er, explain."
Han Ling stepped forward, her spectral ledgers glowing. "Julian's power comes from 'Faith.' In System terms, 'Faith' is a high-risk, uncollateralized loan. Every person who prays to him is an investor. But because he hasn't been fulfilling his 'Blessings,' his internal debt to the people is astronomical. He's only powerful because people believe he's solvent."
"We're going to show them his balance sheet," Han Jue added. "And then we're going to trigger a run on the bank."
The Siege of Light
Two hours later, the Tower of the Eternal Auditor stopped at the edge of the Vatican's territorial waters.
The golden dome of the city flared. Thousands of 'Angels'—Level 50 mana-constructs with wings of light—ascended into the sky, their swords glowing with holy fire.
"AUDITOR!" A voice boomed from the center of St. Peter's Square.
Julian, the Sovereign of Light, rose from the basilica. He was a man of blinding beauty, clad in armor made of white gold, with six wings that stretched a hundred feet across.
"YOU HAVE DEFILER THE SACRED LAW! YOU HAVE MURDERED THE HEAVEN'S BAILIFF! THIS IS NOT A NEGOTIATION! THIS IS AN EXORCISM!"
Julian raised his sword, and the sky turned into a sea of gold. The 'Angels' dove toward the Tower.
"Garrick, Selas," Han Jue commanded. "Hold the line. Don't kill the Angels—just drain their mana. Ling-er, start the broadcast."
"Initiating 'Public Audit'," Ling-er said.
Suddenly, every screen in the Vatican, every tablet in the hands of the praying pilgrims, and every mana-vision in the world flickered. It didn't show the battle. It showed a document.
[OFFICIAL AUDIT OF THE CHURCH OF LIGHT] Total Prayers Received: 14.5 Billion Total Blessings Delivered: 0.0002% Current Mana Hoarding: 800,000,000 Soul Points (Hidden in Julian's Private Core).
"People of Rome! People of the World!" Han Jue's voice was broadcast through the System's own internal frequency. "You've been paying for salvation, but the Sovereign of Light is just using your hopes to fund his own immortality. He isn't a god. He's a hoarder."
The pilgrims in the square looked up. They saw the 'Angels'—their supposed protectors—being fueled by the very mana they had sacrificed during their morning prayers.
[Public Trust: +160% (Global Shift).] [Sovereign of Light's 'Faith' Reserve: CRITICAL VOLATILITY.]
The Descent of the Auditor
Julian roared, his face twisting into a mask of divine rage. "BLASPHEMY! I AM THE LIGHT!"
He swung his sword, sending a wave of holy fire toward the Tower.
Han Jue stepped off the balcony. He didn't use Shadow Step. He used his new authority.
"OVERRULE!"
He slammed the Gavel of the Void against the air.
The holy fire didn't extinguish; it turned into black ink mid-air and fell harmlessly into the ocean. The golden dome of the Vatican cracked. Not from a physical blow, but from the sudden, massive withdrawal of faith from the pilgrims below.
Han Jue landed in St. Peter's Square, right in the center of the thousands of kneeling, confused people.
[Skill Activated: Class Action.] [Han Ling has redistributed 20% of Julian's Mana to the surrounding pilgrims.]
Suddenly, the common people—the 'Secondary Debtors'—felt a surge of power. The sick were healed, not by Julian, but by the mana Julian had stolen from them.
"Your investors are calling in their loans, Julian," Han Jue said, walking toward the Basilica.
Julian descended, his wings trembling. He was no longer glowing with a pure light; it was a jagged, flickering yellow. "I gave them hope! I gave them order!"
"You gave them debt," Han Jue countered.
The Sovereign of the Wild, Gaia, erupted from the ground behind Julian. She was a titan of wood and moss, her eyes glowing with a feral green light. "The Auditor is a cancer on the Earth! Julian, together!"
The Two Sovereigns attacked.
Gaia's vines, each as thick as a bus, whipped toward Han Jue, while Julian's sword descended like a falling star.
[Audit of the Divine: SEIZURE!]
Han Jue didn't dodge. He grabbed Gaia's vines with his bare hands.
"LIQUIDATE!"
The black ink of the Ledger flowed from Han Jue's palms into the vines. In seconds, the ancient wood didn't burn; it turned into grey ash.
[Target: Gaia (Sovereign of the Wild)] [Asset Seized: 'Eternal Growth' - REPOSSESSED.]
Gaia screamed as her massive form began to wither and rot. She shrank from a fifty-foot titan to a small, terrified woman in a dress made of dead leaves.
"Now for the CEO," Han Jue said, turning to Julian.
Julian's sword struck Han Jue's shoulder. The white-gold armor of the Sovereign of Light shattered against the obsidian suit of the Auditor.
"You're Level 75!" Julian screamed, his eyes bloodshot. "How can you stand against the Light?!"
"Because your light is borrowed," Han Jue said. He grabbed Julian by the throat, the Gavel of the Void glowing with a dark, final light. "And I'm the bailiff."
"FINAL AUDIT: DIVINE FORECLOSURE!"
The Gavel struck Julian's chest.
A shockwave of white light exploded, but it wasn't Julian's mana. It was the souls of the 14 billion prayers being released back into the world. The golden dome of the Vatican vanished. The 'Angels' dissolved into dust.
Julian fell to his knees, his Level dropping from 110 to 40 in a single minute. His six wings fell off like dead feathers.
[YOU HAVE DEFEATED THE SOVEREIGN OF LIGHT AND THE SOVEREIGN OF THE WILD.] [Total Soul Points Harvested: 150,000,000.] [Current Balance: 170,000,000 Soul Points.]
The New Order
The pilgrims didn't cheer. They stood in the square, feeling the mana in their own bodies, looking at the two "Gods" who were now nothing more than broken humans.
Han Jue stood at the top of the Basilica steps, his black cloak fluttering in the wind.
[Warning: The 'Master Creditor' is watching.] [Planetary Audit Requirement: 100,000,000 / 100,000,000 Soul Points.] [Condition Met: Perform the 'Final Audit' of the World.]
Han Jue looked at his hand. He had the points. He had the authority. He looked at the world through his Debt Sense. It was a mess—a tangled web of ancient contracts, stolen lives, and divine scams.
"Ling-er," Han Jue said into his comms.
"I'm here, Brother."
"Start the Planetary Audit," Han Jue said. "I want to see the face of the man who owns this planet."
[INITIATING PLANETARY AUDIT...] [The Earth is being re-evaluated...] [Warning: This action will permanently delete the 'System'.]
The world began to shake. Not a tectonic earthquake, but a conceptual one. The blue screens of the System that every human had lived with for decades began to flicker and turn red.
Suddenly, a giant screen appeared in the sky, visible to every person on Earth. It wasn't a stat block. It was a single line of text:
DEBTOR: HUMANITY PRINCIPAL: THE GIFT OF LIFE STATUS: OVERDUE COLLECTOR: THE ORIGIN
A shadow began to eclipse the sun—not a moon, but a giant, celestial hand reaching down toward the planet.
"He's here," Han Jue whispered, raising the Sovereign's Quill. "The one who issued the first loan."