Snowlight Valley – Tenth Week
The curfews cracked the surface. The lockdown shattered the ground.
Markets stopped. Schools closed. Masked enforcers raided homes before sunrise.
The seals on every door weren't just for security—they were warnings.
And the valley got quiet.
Not silent.
Tense.
Breathing. Waiting.
Daigo's office was cold. Always cold.
The heating stones redirected to supply the enforcement barracks now.
He sat wrapped in layers of wool, brush in hand, staring down a scroll he hadn't dared to write until now:
The Unwritten Order.
Not a real directive.
Not sanctioned.
But practiced everywhere: punishment without paperwork.
Authority outside law.
What the Council did when no one was watching.
When fear was easier than rule.
He began writing. Not as a complaint. As evidence.
Line by line, he catalogued:
Unlogged disappearances.
Violent enforcements with no audit trail.
Black Quill interrogations outside jurisdiction.
Seals used on children with no medical clearance.
He wrote names.
Dates.
Clause violations.
Everything.
And he titled it not for the Council—but for himself:
"The Truth of Obedience."
Ichi burst in just after midnight.
"They're going to purge the eastern ward."
"When?"
"Tonight. Kuroji's orders. He's using Article 14: Tactical Containment."
"That requires proof of mass sedition."
"They don't have it. They're faking it.
Reclassifying the entire block."
Daigo stood. "That's not containment. That's extermination."
Ichi didn't argue.
"You can't stop this one with paperwork."
He walked past her, coat dragging ink across the floor.
"Then I won't use paper."
He intercepted the lead enforcer team at checkpoint eleven.
He had no weapons. Just a scroll with his seal burned into it. One reserved for emergency overrides. One that could only be used once.
"I invoke Compliance Writ 7.2 under Auditor Emergency Authority," he said.
The commander didn't move. "You don't have clearance."
"I do now. You've seen my mark. You know what this costs me."
Still silence.
Then:
"I'll need confirmation."
Daigo looked him in the eye. "You move past me, and you'll have to file a double override. That's two signatures. Two investigations. And I promise you—I will be the one filing them."
The man hesitated.
Then stepped back.
The team turned.
And walked away.
That night, Daigo collapsed into his chair, exhausted.
He'd just made himself a liability.
The High Council would never let him do it again.
But the ward was untouched.
And for now—
That was enough.