The aroma of jasmine tea and fried dumplings was a stark contrast to the sterile air of the Bureau. Elias chose a secluded booth at the back of 'The Harmonious Brew,' a quiet tea house known for its discretion, not its culinary prowess. He nursed a cup of green tea, watching the steam curl upwards, waiting.
A figure, slightly stooped with age but with eyes that held a sharp, almost feverish intelligence, soon joined him. This was Scholar Yan, a name Elias had unearthed from obscure academic archives. Yan was a disgraced ex-Academy researcher, stripped of his tenure years ago after publishing controversial theories about the Karmic Ledger's limitations. His work had been dismissed as lunacy, karmic heresy, even. But Elias, having delved into the Ledger's hidden flaws, now saw it as prescient.
"Analyst Thorne, I presume," Yan said, his voice raspy, a ghost of academic formality. "Your message was... intriguing. Few dare to speak of the Ledger's imperfections, let alone seek out those who did."
Elias nodded. "Scholar Yan. Your treatise on 'Non-Linear Karmic Accumulation' caught my attention. Specifically, your hypothesis on the Ledger's inability to fully process delayed, cascading repercussions."
Yan's eyes gleamed. "Ah, so you've seen it. The blind spot. They called me mad. Said the Ledger was a perfect reflection of universal balance. But it's a human creation, Thorne. Designed by brilliant minds, yes, but limited by their understanding of true cosmic karma." He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "The Ledger was never perfect. It was designed to favor certain factions – those who could influence its initial parameters, those whose 'karma' was prioritized. The powerful, the wealthy, the established. Its 'justice' often reinforces the existing hierarchy, rather than truly transcending it."
Elias felt a chill run down his spine. Yan wasn't just talking about a technical flaw; he was talking about an insidious, systemic bias embedded at the very foundation of human governance. This was far bigger than individual cases.
"You believe it was intentional?" Elias asked, his voice barely audible.
Yan chuckled, a dry, humorless sound. "Perhaps not maliciously so. More like... a reflection of its creators' own biases. Or perhaps it was a feature, not a bug, from a utilitarian perspective. A stable, predictable system, even if slightly skewed, is preferable to chaos. But it means true balance is never achieved. And those who understand this can… exploit it."
Elias shifted in his seat. "I've been... observing. Manipulating. Small things, so far. Just testing the theory." He quickly recounted the case of Old Man Wen, the student Elara, and the Legion Commander Valerius. He omitted the Bloodkin merchant, not yet trusting Yan with the full extent of his reach.
Yan listened, his eyes widening with each anecdote. "Remarkable. You've intuited what took me decades of dismissed research to articulate. You have a unique insight, Analyst Thorne. And a dangerous one." He paused, then looked directly at Elias. "The Alchemists' Guild. They were instrumental in my downfall. They have a vested interest in the Ledger's 'infallibility' – it underpins the very concept of Karma Stabilizers and Prana Amplifiers. If the Ledger is flawed, their entire product line, their very authority, is undermined."
"I can protect you," Elias offered, cutting to the chase. "Information for protection. Your research is invaluable. The Guild won't dare touch you if you're under the unofficial protection of the Bureau… or at least, someone within it who knows their secrets."
Yan studied him for a long moment, then a slow smile spread across his face, tinged with a lifetime of bitterness and a newfound hope. "An alliance, then, Analyst Thorne. A perilous one, but perhaps a necessary one. The truth, after all, has a way of resonating, no matter how much they try to dampen it."
They spent the next hour speaking in hushed tones, Yan eagerly sharing his decades of suppressed research, Elias absorbing every detail, connecting the dots of his own observations with Yan's profound theoretical understanding. The flawed Ledger was not just a system, but a weapon.
As they finally prepared to leave, a figure seated at a table near the entrance, obscured by a hanging tapestry, subtly lowered the data-slate they had been pretending to read. The figure wore a common traveler's cloak, but Elias caught a brief glimpse of scales glinting beneath the hood, and an unnaturally still posture. It was a Naga informant. Elias felt a cold dread settle in his stomach. They had been watched. The tea house meeting, meant to be secret, was compromised.