The corridor did not move while Eiran stood still.
That alone was confirmation.
NULL was no longer reacting reflexively. It was observing outcomes.
Behind him, the priestess shifted her weight, then stopped herself, visibly fighting the instinct to wait for instruction. The third survivor took a cautious step forward—alone—and the floor adjusted smoothly beneath his foot.
No penalty.
SYSTEM NOTICE: INDEPENDENT ACTION — VALID
OUTCOME: STABLE
The message did not display for long.
Eiran resumed walking.
Not because the Tower demanded it—but because remaining idle any longer would complete the test.
They advanced under a new rule set now, unspoken but enforced. Distance mattered. Timing mattered. Silence mattered most of all.
Eiran limited himself to gestures when possible. A raised hand. A brief glance. Even those carried weight—too much weight.
When the priestess reacted to one of his motions too quickly, the floor beneath her dipped again, a sharp reminder that influence itself was being measured.
She steadied herself and deliberately looked away from him afterward.
That hurt more than the wound.
The corridor opened into a long descent, steps carved unevenly into the stone. The spacing between each step varied just enough that rhythm would betray anyone relying on another's pace.
Eiran took the first three steps, then stopped.
"Go," he said—not loudly, not firmly. Just enough.
The third survivor passed him without hesitation.
The priestess hesitated.
Then, visibly forcing herself not to look back, she went as well.
The Tower approved.
SYSTEM NOTICE: LEADERSHIP LOAD — REDUCED
EFFICIENCY: INCREASING
Eiran remained at the top of the steps for a moment longer than necessary.
Below, the other two continued on—slower, less precise, but alive.
NULL was not rewarding separation.
It was validating it.
When Eiran finally followed, he felt it clearly: the Tower's attention loosened, pressure lifting from the space around him. Less resistance. Less scrutiny.
As if he mattered less when he was not central.
That realization settled heavily.
Floor Twelve was not trying to break him.
It was teaching him a lesson far crueler than punishment:
That the people who survived longest around him were the ones who learned to stop relying on him.
And if that trend continued—
Leadership would no longer be a burden.
It would be a reason for removal.