Diplomatic status terminated.
There is no dramatic sound.
No explosion.
Just absence.
The console dims, access tiers collapsing into civilian-level transparency.
Kael watches the screen change.
“Does it hurt?” he asks.
I consider the question honestly.
“Yes,” I say.
“Regret?”
“No.”
He nods once.
Across the media feeds, speculation spikes immediately.
“—League confirms Vance resignation—” a commentator says breathlessly. “Official statement pending?—”
“Give them one,” Kael says quietly.
I inhale slowly and begin drafting.
Not defensive.
Not pleading.
Clear.
My resignation from the League is voluntary and final.
I will not recant the evidence presented regarding engineered conflict.
I will not denounce those who acted in good faith to prevent systemic annihilation.
Neutrality in the face of deliberate destabilization is not virtue. It is complicity.
I choose alignment with transparency rather than comfort.
I read it once.
Then transmit.
Within seconds, the statement fractures outward across networks.
Whistleblower.
Traitor.
Radical.
