The corridor fractured without warning.
Not into paths—into responsibilities.
The space ahead segmented into staggered platforms, each one offset by height and distance just enough that a single command could not govern all movement at once. If one person advanced too early, another would be late. If one hesitated, another would be exposed.
NULL had changed the rules again.
SYSTEM NOTICE: COMMAND SCOPE — LIMITED
LEADER OVERRIDE: DISABLED
STATUS: TEMPORARY
The notice vanished immediately.
The priestess stiffened. "What does that mean?"
"It means," Eiran said, "I can't carry all of it anymore."
The third survivor looked sharply at him. "So what do we do?"
Eiran's eyes moved across the platforms, calculating distances, timing windows, failure margins. He could still see the solution—but he could no longer execute it alone.
"You decide locally," he said. "No waiting for me. If you hesitate, you move anyway."
The words tasted wrong.
But NULL was listening.
They advanced.
The first platform accepted Eiran cleanly. The second accepted the third survivor a half-second later. The priestess waited—just long enough to confirm footing—then jumped.
The delay triggered immediately.
Her landing platform dipped, not collapsing, but sinking slightly, forcing her to stumble forward to compensate. She caught herself, breathing hard.
SYSTEM NOTICE: DISTRIBUTED LATENCY — DETECTED
PENALTY: APPLIED SELECTIVELY
"Dammit," she muttered. "I moved."
"You waited to be sure," Eiran said. "The Tower counts that."
They continued.
Each step now carried a choice that could not be delegated upward. NULL was testing something new—not leadership, not obedience, but initiative under partial authority.
And the results were uneven.
The third survivor adapted quickly. He moved decisively, sometimes too fast, but always within acceptable margins. The priestess struggled—not because she was weak, but because she still tried to synchronize.
With Eiran.
That instinct punished her every time.
A shallow cut along her forearm.
A bruising impact against her ribs.
A stumble corrected at the cost of skin.
Nothing fatal.
Yet.
SYSTEM NOTICE: PARTY COHESION — DEGRADING
CAUSE: LEADERSHIP DEPENDENCY
The message lingered longer than any before it.
Eiran felt a familiar tightening in his chest—not panic, not guilt, but recognition.
This was not about killing them quickly.
NULL was attempting to sever reliance.
If they could not act without him, they would be damaged until they learned—or until the Tower no longer saw value in maintaining them.
They reached the final platform together.
Barely.
The priestess sagged against the wall, blood staining her sleeve. She did not look at Eiran this time.
"I tried not to wait," she said quietly. "I really did."
Eiran nodded. "I know."
That was the worst part.
NULL was not punishing disobedience.
It was punishing trust.
And Floor Twelve was making one thing increasingly clear:
If Eiran remained central to every decision, the Tower would continue to hurt those orbiting him—
until only one decision-maker remained.
And then, finally, leadership would no longer be necessary at all.