The descent ended without ceremony.
No threshold. No system chime. Just a gradual leveling of the stone until the steps became floor again. The space ahead widened into a quiet expanse—broad, unobstructed, and disturbingly calm.
The priestess reached the bottom first.
Nothing happened.
The third survivor followed.
Nothing happened.
Eiran stepped down last.
The floor tightened beneath his foot.
Not enough to trigger a penalty. Just enough to be felt.
SYSTEM NOTICE: CENTRAL VARIABLE — PRESENT
ENVIRONMENTAL ADJUSTMENT: MINOR
The message vanished immediately, as if embarrassed by its own transparency.
The room was empty.
No enemies. No puzzles. No branching paths. Just an open stretch of stone that extended forward into dim light. It looked almost merciful.
That was the problem.
They began to cross.
The priestess moved carefully but independently now, her steps no longer syncing to anyone else's. The third survivor took a different line entirely, angling slightly away from both of them.
And the Tower rewarded it.
The floor remained stable. The air stayed neutral. No pressure built.
Eiran walked between them.
The moment his pace aligned with either of theirs, the space reacted—subtle shifts in texture, faint resistance underfoot, like walking through shallow water.
He slowed.
They did not.
SYSTEM NOTICE: PARTY CONFIGURATION — OPTIMAL
LEADER INFLUENCE: MINIMAL
The priestess noticed first.
She stopped, turning slowly. "It's… easier when you're not near us."
Eiran met her gaze. He did not deny it.
"Yes," he said.
The third survivor frowned. "That doesn't make sense."
"It does," Eiran replied. "To the Tower."
They continued with deliberate separation.
For the first time since entering Floor Twelve, no penalties occurred.
No injuries.
No warnings.
No corrective feedback.
NULL was satisfied.
That silence was heavier than any threat they had faced so far.
Because it meant something had been proven.
Leadership—at least the way Eiran embodied it—introduced inefficiency at this stage. Dependency increased latency. Coordination cost survival margins.
NULL had adapted.
And adaptation, inside the Tower, was never temporary.
Eiran felt something shift—not within the system, but within himself. A quiet, structural understanding.
From this point forward, the safest formation was not a party.
It was three individuals moving in parallel.
And the longer that remained true, the closer Eiran came to becoming—
Not the solution.
But the variable the Tower would eventually isolate completely.