The first sign something was wrong—
was silence.
Not the peaceful kind.
The absence kind.
No birds.
No wind.
No background hum of a living world.
Ace's ears flattened.
"…Everyone stay inside," he said quietly.
The workshop doors creaked.
And then—
Someone knocked.
Not politely.
Not violently.
Precisely.
Three taps.
Measured.
Identical spacing.
Ace hopped onto the counter, tail stiff.
Ravenna whispered,
"That's not a client."
Ace replied flatly,
"I know."
The door opened.
A man stepped inside.
Average height.
Gray cloak.
No visible weapons.
He looked… normal.
Which immediately made him terrifying.
His gaze landed on Ace.
"You're smaller than expected," the man said calmly.
Ace yawned.
"You're ruder than expected."
The man blinked once.
Interesting.
"I am an Enforcer," he said.
"My designation is Null-7."
Ravenna hissed.
Ace didn't move.
"Enforcer of what?" Ace asked.
"Corrections," Null-7 replied.
"You're creating systems that persist without authorization."
Ace tilted his head.
"You mean people helping each other?"
Null-7's expression didn't change.
"Meaning without dependency causes drift."
Ace hopped down from the counter and padded closer.
"You came all this way," Ace said,
"to tell a kitten to stop teaching people basic competence?"
Null-7 studied him.
"You don't radiate power," he said slowly.
"No divinity. No excess mana. No corruption."
Ace smiled.
"That's because I'm not a problem."
Null-7 raised a hand.
The air folded.
The workshop stretched—
then snapped.
Suddenly—
They weren't inside anymore.
They stood in a null-space.
White.
Endless.
Silent.
Ravenna vanished.
The world blinked out.
Only Ace and Null-7 remained.
"This space suppresses interference," Null-7 said.
"No allies. No systems. No leverage."
Ace looked around.
Then sat.
Licked his paw.
"…Okay."
Null-7 frowned.
"I can erase you," he said.
Ace looked up.
"I know."
"And you're not afraid?"
Ace shrugged.
"I've been laid off before."
That—
made Null-7 pause.
Ace stood.
Walked a slow circle around the enforcer.
"You're here because your boss is scared," Ace said casually.
"Not of me."
Null-7's jaw tightened.
"But of what happens if I'm right."
Null-7 spoke sharply.
"You destabilize the architecture."
Ace stopped.
"No," he said.
"I expose brittle architecture."
The null-space trembled.
Barely.
Ace looked up.
"Oh. That's new."
Null-7 stiffened.
"That shouldn't—"
Ace continued calmly.
"You're trying to preserve a universe by limiting people's ability to adapt."
He met Null-7's eyes.
"That never works."
Null-7 hesitated.
For the first time—
His voice wavered.
"…If we allow uncontrolled stability, prediction collapses."
Ace smiled softly.
"Welcome to real life."
The null-space cracked.
Light leaked in.
Somewhere—
The network Ace built tugged back.
Not magically.
Collectively.
Null-7 staggered.
"You shouldn't be able to affect this space."
Ace tilted his head.
"I didn't."
He pointed outward.
"They did."
The crack widened.
Voices echoed faintly.
Movement.
Life.
Null-7 stepped back.
"You're dangerous," he said.
Ace shook his head.
"No."
He sat again.
"I'm contagious."
The null-space shattered.
---
Ace landed back in the workshop.
Ravenna slammed into him mid-air.
"ACE—ARE YOU ALIVE—?!"
Ace shook his fur.
"Yeah. Had a meeting."
Outside—
The sky resumed its color.
Null-7 stood at the doorway.
He looked… unsettled.
"This isn't over," he said.
Ace yawned.
"Nothing ever is."
Null-7 turned—
And vanished.
The workshop exhaled.
Ravenna stared at Ace.
"…You just survived an enforcer."
Ace curled his tail.
"Correction," he said.
"He survived me."
But deep inside—
Ace felt it.
They wouldn't send negotiators again.
They'd send something that didn't hesitate.
And next time—
It wouldn't knock.