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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.