Chapter 113: The Letter of Last Resort
The Bureau was built on transparency, but at 16:00 Cycles, the "Void of the Unknown" delivered a Secret. Floating in the exact geometric center of the Lobby was the Giant Silver Envelope, sealed with a wax stamp made of "Pre-Destination." It didn't pulse; it hummed with the terrifying silence of a "Spoiler."
"Commissioner!" Assistant Yue's voice was a jagged whisper of 7.5% anxiety. "THE. ENVELOPE. IS. TETHERED. TO. A. 'CAUSALITY. SINK'. IT. IS. ADDRESSED. TO. 'THE. ONLY. CHARACTER. WHO. KNOWS. THE. ENDING'. NE-JOB! ONE. OF. US. IS. AN. 'UNRELIABLE. NARRATOR'. ONE. OF. US. HAS. READ. THE. 'FINAL. PAGE'!"
The Circle of Suspicion
The Lobby turned into a Pressure Cooker of Paranoia.
The Muse backed away from the envelope, her electric-neon hair flickering like a warning light. "It's not me! I'm all about 'Sparks' and 'Inspiration'! I don't want to know the ending—it ruins the 'Creative Flow'!"
Architect Ao Bing clutched his blueprints, his 7.5% regal composure cracking. "I build for 'Forever,' not for 'The End'! If I knew how this city fell, I wouldn't be able to lay a single brick!"
Pip dove into a recycling bin, shouting, "I just fix the pipes! Don't look at the plumber for the 'Final Vision'!"
Ne Job looked at the envelope. His name wasn't on it. His Semicolon was vibrating with a deep, suspicious indigo. He turned his gaze toward The Oracle, who had been unusually quiet, or perhaps... toward Assistant Yue, whose "Infinite Storage" had always been a 7.5% mystery.
"Knowledge is a weight," Ne Job stated, his voice echoing in the sudden silence. "And whoever is carrying the 'End' is dragging the rest of us toward it."
The 7.5% Spoilers
The Envelope began to glow with a "Revealing Light." It was attempting to open itself. If the "Final Page" was read too early, the "Middle of the Story" would lose its Structural Integrity. The Bureau would become a "Foregone Conclusion."
"We have to stop the leak!" The Muse cried, her hair turning a frantic violet. "If the 'Ending' gets out, the 'Journey' becomes 'Redundant'!"
The Semicolon of Selective Ignorance
Ne Job realized that the "Ending" isn't a fact—it's a Constraint. To save the story, he had to prove that the "And" was more powerful than the "Finally."
"You want to show us the 'End'?" Ne Job roared at the Envelope. "Then you'll have to get through the 'Now' first!"
He didn't fire at his teammates. He used the Semicolon to Redact the Reveal. He touched the violet light to the "Causality Sink" and channeled the 7.5% Uncertainty of Free Will:
The power of a character to make a "Bad Choice" on purpose.
The "Ink-Smudge of Possibility" that defies the outline.
The 100% absolute right of a story to change its mind.
The Seal of the Present
The violet energy hit the Silver Envelope and turned it into "Unwritten Stationery." The "Final Page" didn't disappear, but it became "Pending." The wax seal didn't break; it became a Semicolon.
The secret was still there, but it was no longer a "Destination." It was just another "Footnote."
The Archivist's Log
The Envelope remained in the Lobby, now acting as a very expensive, silver paperweight. No one reached for it.
LOG: CHAPTER 113 SUMMARY.
STATUS: Spoilers contained. Narrative tension restored.
NOTE: Knowing the ending is like eating the dessert before the soup—it makes the whole meal feel 7.5% pointless.
OBSERVATION: The best characters are the ones who surprised themselves.
P.S.: Assistant Yue has updated her 'Privacy Settings.' She says she's 7.5% relieved that the 'Ending' is currently 'Encrypted.'
The Muse leaned over his shoulder, her hair glowing with a mysterious, neon-violet. "Who do you think it was addressed to, Ne Job? Who among us is the 'Secret Knower'?"
Ne Job looked at the Semicolon. It was glowing with a silent, knowing violet.
"In this Bureau, Muse, we all carry a piece of the 'End'," Ne Job said. "Now, why is Assistant Yue sounding a 7.5% alarm and why has a Giant Silver Magnet appeared in the sky, and why is it currently pulling the 'Metal of our Memories' right out of our heads?"