The rain fell wrong.
Ace noticed it immediately.
Not heavier.
Not acidic.
Not cursed.
Just… inconvenient.
It avoided roofs.
Pooled exactly where people needed to walk.
Turned dirt paths into traps of mud and delay.
Ace lay on his cushion, chest tight.
"…They've promoted the environment," he murmured.
Ravenna stared out the window.
"You mean—"
"The world isn't passive anymore," Ace finished.
"It's enforcing policy."
---
Friction Everywhere
The baker slipped on the way to the shop.
Nothing broke.
But she arrived late.
The librarian's stairs creaked—just enough to slow traffic.
The dragon's cave entrance narrowed by inches overnight.
Not hostile.
Selective.
Every inconvenience targeted at connection points.
Ace clenched his jaw.
"They're not attacking people," he said.
"They're taxing cooperation."
---
The Diagnosis
Ace forced himself upright.
Each breath burned.
Ravenna hovered anxiously.
"You shouldn't—"
"I have to see it," Ace said.
He reached out—not magically—
Analytically.
Patterns formed in his mind.
Probability skew.
Terrain bias.
Resource drag.
"…They've turned reality into a hostile UX," Ace muttered.
Ravenna blinked.
"A what?"
"A user experience that punishes collaboration."
---
The First Collapse
The boy arrived alone.
No scarf.
Ace felt it before he spoke.
"She didn't come," the boy said quietly.
"She tried. The bridge was… gone."
Ace's heart sank.
The bridge hadn't broken.
It had never existed that morning.
Reality recompiled without it.
Ace whispered—
"They're pruning paths."
---
The Limit of Resistance
The dragon roared from the hills.
Not in anger.
In pain.
The cave's airflow collapsed.
Smoke trapped.
Gold melted.
Ace tasted ash in his mouth.
"ACE," Ravenna cried.
"You can't buffer this too!"
Ace tried.
And failed.
He screamed as the pressure surged.
For the first time—
Something broke through him.
Blood dotted the floor.
Ravenna froze.
"…Ace?"
Ace laughed weakly.
"That's new too."
---
The Rule They Forgot
Ace wiped his mouth.
Stood shaking.
"They think making the world hostile will force compliance," he said hoarsely.
Ravenna hovered closer.
"But?"
Ace's eyes burned.
"They forgot something."
He looked out at the people struggling.
"At scale," he whispered,
"individual fixes fail."
He raised his head.
"But cultures adapt."
---
The Countermove
Ace didn't fix anything.
He named it.
Word spread.
"The rain will slow you—leave earlier."
"The ground will fight—walk together."
"Paths may vanish—memorize alternatives."
No magic.
No commands.
Expectations.
The hostility didn't vanish.
But—
People stopped being surprised.
And that mattered.
---
The World Hesitates
Somewhere—
The figure stared at the starlight pool in disbelief.
"They're still functioning," they whispered.
The pool showed people laughing in the rain.
Helping each other across mud.
Building temporary bridges.
"Why aren't they stopping?"
The gears behind them strained.
The answer surfaced—
Uncomfortable.
"…Because suffering that's shared becomes resilience."
---
Ace Falls Asleep
That night—
Ace couldn't stay awake.
Ravenna curled beside him, trembling.
"…Promise me you won't disappear," she whispered.
Ace smiled faintly.
"No promises," he said.
"But I taught you enough."
Outside—
The rain continued.
But in the streets—
Lanterns multiplied.