The platform did not wait for them to arrive together.
Eiran stepped onto it first. The stone beneath his feet registered his weight and stabilized immediately, surface smoothing as if acknowledging a solved equation.
SYSTEM NOTICE: PLATFORM LOAD — STABLE
VARIABLE COUNT: 1
Moments later, the priestess emerged from her corridor. She did not look at Eiran. Her eyes stayed fixed ahead, shoulders tense, breath carefully measured as if any deviation might invite correction.
The platform adjusted again.
SYSTEM NOTICE: PLATFORM LOAD — STABLE
VARIABLE COUNT: 2
INTERACTION PROTOCOL: DISABLED
The third survivor arrived last, blood darkening one sleeve, gait uneven but controlled. He collapsed to one knee the instant the stone solidified beneath him.
No assistance was permitted.
The platform did not descend.
Instead, the space around them shifted.
Walls pulled back. Not dramatically—just enough to create distance. The silence stretched, not oppressive, but procedural.
SYSTEM NOTICE: GROUP STATE — NON-COHESIVE
EFFICIENCY RATING: IMPROVED
Improved.
Eiran felt it then—not pressure, not pain—but absence.
The Tower was no longer watching them as a unit.
It sampled them individually.
A faint ripple passed through the platform. Symbols surfaced briefly beneath Eiran's boots—too complex to read, too precise to be decorative.
SYSTEM NOTICE: LEAD VARIABLE — OBSERVATION ONLY
AUTHORITY OUTPUT: SUSPENDED
Suspended.
Not revoked.
Eiran understood the distinction.
NULL was not punishing leadership. It was shelving it—removing it from active consideration while monitoring whether its absence produced cleaner results.
The priestess shifted her stance, wincing as she adjusted her injured shoulder. The Tower did not intervene. No escalation followed.
SYSTEM NOTICE: PAIN RESPONSE — INTERNALIZED
EXTERNAL MITIGATION: UNNECESSARY
To the other survivor, a low hum answered his uneven breathing. The sound faded as his breath steadied.
SYSTEM NOTICE: SELF-CORRECTION — SUFFICIENT
Each of them was being trained—quietly, efficiently—to function without reliance.
Eiran clenched his hand once, then relaxed it.
He could feel it clearly now: the Tower was preparing for something beyond Floor Twelve. Something that would not tolerate delay, debate, or shared burden.
Leadership slowed outcomes.
Cohesion spread failure.
NULL was refining a model where responsibility did not propagate.
Where loss remained local.
SYSTEM NOTICE: NEXT PHASE IMMINENT
ADJUSTMENT TYPE: FORCED INDEPENDENCE
WARNING LEVEL: NONE
No warning.
Because warnings were shared information.
And NULL had learned that sharing was inefficient.
The platform began to descend—not together, but in staggered increments, each survivor dropping at a slightly different moment.
Eiran felt the separation in his bones.
Floor Twelve was done asking whether they could survive apart.
The next phase would measure—
Whether they still recognized each other at all.