The Obsidian Gate did not just loom; it exhaled. Every breath of the monolith was a wave of pure, unfiltered history—the sound of a trillion pens scratching on vellum, the rustle of a billion contracts being signed, and the silent, heavy weight of every promise ever broken.
Standing before the gate was Primeval, the First Auditor.
He did not look like the mercury-slick Malphas or the golden-robed Lucian. Primeval was a being of grey stone and white ink. His skin was etched with the very first laws of the universe, and his eyes were two burning points of logic. He held no weapon, only a heavy, obsidian stylus that dripped with the "Original Ink"—the substance used to write the names of the stars.
[Target: Primeval, The First Auditor]
[Level: 0 (The Base Constant)]
[Status: The Source of the Law]
"You're early, Han Jue," Primeval repeated, his voice sounding like the grinding of the very first gears of time. "And you are attempting to enter the Source with a deficit of keys. In this court, there are no 'Guest Pass' entries. There is only the Balance."
Han Jue stood his ground, the Auditor's Gavel glowing with a dark, rebellious violet light. Beside him, Han Ling's robes flickered as she channeled the data of the "Bad Debt" sector, trying to find a crack in Primeval's armor.
"The Balance is a lie, Primeval," Han Jue said, his voice sharp with the wit of a man who had seen through the galaxy's biggest scam. "I've audited the keys I have. The Black Key of Logic, the White Key of Souls, the Grey Key of Neutrality, and the Key of Rust. Do you know what they have in common? They're all Encumbered Assets. They were stolen from the civilizations that failed. You didn't build the universe on a foundation of growth; you built it on a Ponzi Scheme of Entropy."
The Logic of the First Law
Primeval stepped forward, and the grey dust of the Void rose to meet his feet. He didn't attack; he drew a line in the air with his obsidian stylus.
The line became a wall of white equations that sizzled with the power of creation.
"The Universe is a closed system, Han Jue," Primeval stated. "For light to exist, shadows must be cast. For life to be granted, a debt of energy must be recorded. This is the Universal Baseline."
$$E_{Universe} = \sum_{t=0}^{\infty} (Creation_t - Consumption_t) + \Delta Debt$$
"If the Baseline were true," Han Jue countered, raising his Gavel, "then the 'Master Creditor' wouldn't be hiding in the Source. If the math were perfect, there would be no 'Bad Debt' sector. This place exists because your 'Baseline' has a Hidden Management Fee that you've been siphoning into the core of the planet Earth!"
"AUDIT: THE HIDDEN COST!"
Han Jue struck the wall of equations with his Gavel.
The Gavel didn't just hit the math; it subrogated it. The violet ink of the Sovereign flowed into the white equations of the First Auditor, turning the plus signs into minus signs. The wall shattered, not into debris, but into a rain of Broken Promises.
The Chancellor's Counter-Move
While Han Jue engaged Primeval in a high-stakes duel of logic, Han Ling was busy with the "Manual Entry."
"Jue, look at his left hand!" she shouted. Her spectral ledgers were spinning with a frantic, golden light. "He's not just the Auditor. He's the Escrow Agent. He's holding the Sixth Key inside his own palm!"
[Skill Activated: Chancellor's Disclosure]
Han Ling's violet aura flared, reaching out toward Primeval. She wasn't trying to damage him; she was forcing a Mandatory Disclosure. Under the "Rules of the Void," an Auditor must reveal all assets currently under their management during an active audit.
Primeval's left hand was forced open by the legal weight of Ling-er's command. Inside was a key made of pure, liquid shadow—The Key of Original Sin.
"You wish to see the Sin of the Universe?" Primeval's voice grew colder. "The Sin is not the Debt, Han Jue. The Sin is the 'Will' to exist when the math says you should not. Your sister, your planet, your very soul—they are all 'Error Terms' in the Grand Equation. I am simply the one who deletes the errors."
The Battle of the Source-Tier Gavel
Primeval lunged, his obsidian stylus moving with the speed of an instant transaction. He wasn't aiming for Han Jue's heart; he was aiming for his Identity. If the stylus touched Han Jue, he wouldn't die—he would be Reclassified as Trash.
Han Jue blocked the strike with the Auditor's Gavel. The collision of Source-tier artifacts created a shockwave of Pure Information.
"You call us 'Error Terms'?" Han Jue hissed, his muscles straining against the weight of the First Auditor's logic. "A successful business doesn't delete its errors; it Optimizes them. Humanity wasn't a mistake; we were the Innovation that your stagnant system couldn't account for!"
"INNOVATION IS VOLATILE," Primeval roared, his grey form expanding until he loomed over the gate. "VOLATILITY IS THE ENEMY OF THE LEDGER!"
"Volatility is where the Profit is!" Han Jue countered.
He activated the Gavel's new skill: Direct Entry.
Han Jue didn't move forward; he moved inward. He used the Gavel to audit the very atoms of Primeval's grey stone body.
[Auditing: Primeval]
[Found: Residual Regret (Cycle 1)]
[Found: Unpaid Salary (Eons of Service)]
"You're a slave, Primeval!" Han Jue yelled, his voice echoing through the Null-Chamber. "You've been auditing the universe for eternity, but you've never been paid! The Master Creditor didn't give you authority; he gave you a Life Sentence! You're the biggest debtor in this whole sector!"
The Great Write-Off
Primeval froze. The white ink of his eyes flickered, the light dimming as the truth of Han Jue's audit settled into his core.
For the first time in a billion cycles, the First Auditor looked at his own hands. He didn't see the laws of the universe. He saw the Chains of the Contract.
"I... I am the Base Constant," Primeval whispered, his voice cracking like dry stone. "I am the one who ensures the balance..."
"You're the one who was promised a 'Final Settlement' that never came," Han Jue said, lowering his Gavel. He stepped closer, his voice losing its predatory edge, replaced by the empathy of a man who knew what it was like to be trapped in a janitor's closet. "Primeval, look at the Obsidian Gate. It's not a doorway to the Source. It's a Firewall designed to keep you out while the Creditor harvests the rewards of your labor."
Han Jue held out his hand.
"I'm not here to destroy the Ledger. I'm here to Liquidate the Creditor. Help me open the gate, and I'll sign your Certificate of Release. You won't be a constant anymore. You'll be a free variable."
The Sixth Key: Original Sin
Primeval looked at the Key of Original Sin in his palm. The liquid shadow pulsed, reflecting the dark, honest weight of everything that had been sacrificed to keep the universe running.
"To be free... is to be deleted from the math," Primeval said.
"Then let's find a new math," Han Jue replied.
Primeval let out a long, heavy sigh that sounded like the end of a long day. He placed the Key of Original Sin into Han Jue's hand.
[You have recovered the Sixth 'Asset of the Source'.]
[The Key of Original Sin (The Key of Choice).]
[Current Key Progress: 6/12]
As the key touched Han Jue, a massive surge of power rushed through him. It wasn't mana; it was Authorization.
Primeval began to crumble, his grey stone body turning into fine, white dust. He wasn't dying; he was being Written Off.
"Go, Han Jue," Primeval's voice whispered in the wind. "The Master Creditor is waiting in the Core Ledger. But be warned... the closer you get to the Source, the more you will find that the debt is not a number. It is a Face."
The Threshold of the Source
The dust of the First Auditor settled on the Obsidian Gate. The circular indentation with twelve slots began to glow.
Han Jue placed the six keys he had collected into their respective slots.
The Black Key of Logic (Klok-IV)
The White Key of Souls (The Engine)
The Grey Key of Neutrality (The Tribunal)
The Key of Rust (Moros)
The Key of Original Sin (Primeval)
The Fragment of the Master Ledger (Origin)
[Gateway Status: 50% Unlocked]
[Warning: Half the 'Firewall' is down.]
[Direct Communication with 'The Source' established.]
The Obsidian Gate didn't open. Instead, the center of the monolith turned into a liquid mirror.
Han Jue looked into the mirror and didn't see his own reflection. He saw Earth.
But it wasn't the Earth he knew. It was a world of golden light where the Sovereign of Light, Julian, was completing the Harvest of Memory.
"He's almost done, Jue," Han Ling said, her face pale. "The people are forgetting. The 'Auditor' is becoming a ghost."
Suddenly, a voice spoke from the liquid mirror—a voice that was perfectly identical to Han Jue's own voice.
"Do you want to stop the harvest, Auditor? Or do you want to see the rest of the keys?"
Han Jue gripped the Auditor's Gavel.
"I want the Final Settlement," he said to the mirror.
"Then step through," his own voice replied. "But remember: once you enter the Source, there is no such thing as an 'Estimated Value.' Everything is final."
Han Jue stepped into the liquid obsidian, pulling Han Ling with him.
They weren't in the Void anymore. They were standing in the Sub-Basement of Reality—the place where the System was first programmed. And sitting at a desk made of starlight, looking exactly like a younger version of Han Jue, was The Master Creditor.