✦
Pressure doesn't announce itself.
It accumulates.
The city woke into weight—not visible, not loud, but present in the way steps slowed and glances lingered. Endurance had hardened into something denser. Not defiance. Not pride.
Stone.
✦
Arjun felt it as we crossed the lower levels where systems ran quietly.
"Everything's… firm," he said, searching for the word."Like it won't budge."
"Yes," I replied."Pressure finally found resistance."
✦
The other Ishaan aligned, voice calm and exact.
Pressure tests flexibility, he said.Stone tests patience.
✦
By midmorning, the first push came—not dramatic, not forceful.
A new requirement surfaced.
Not a rule.
A recommendation.
"Standardization will improve resilience," the notice read."Participation is encouraged."
Encouraged.
✦
Arjun raised an eyebrow."That's pressure."
"Yes," I said."And it's testing for cracks."
✦
The city didn't reject it.
They asked questions.
How much time?What changes?What breaks if we don't?
