The workshop felt louder without Ace.
Not noisier.
Just… less filtered.
Ravenna stood in the center of the room, staring at the duty board.
No pawprints.
No sarcastic notes.
No quiet corrections.
Only work.
She exhaled.
"…Okay," she said to no one.
"Let's not mess this up."
---
Ravenna's First Mistake
She tried to replace him.
She shouldn't have.
When the baker asked a question, Ravenna answered too quickly.
When the librarian hesitated, Ravenna stepped in.
Things moved faster.
And felt wrong.
By noon, the baker snapped.
"Stop fixing things for us."
The room went quiet.
Ravenna froze.
"…I'm helping."
The baker shook her head.
"Ace never helped like that."
That stung.
---
The Realization
Ravenna locked herself on the roof that night.
She replayed Ace's words.
Anyone can erase it.
Anyone can rewrite it.
"…He didn't lead," she whispered.
"He removed friction."
She laughed weakly.
"And I added it back."
---
The Adjustment
The next morning—
Ravenna erased her own name from everything.
She stopped answering.
Started redirecting.
"Who else knows this?"
"What happens if you're tired?"
"Who notices first when this fails?"
The questions spread.
Slowly.
Naturally.
The room breathed again.
---
The Outside Pressure
Messengers arrived.
"Where is the Architect?"
Ravenna smiled politely.
"There isn't one."
They didn't like that answer.
Audits intensified.
Licenses demanded.
The workshop complied—
By documenting every failure publicly.
Mistakes posted on the door.
Fixes credited to groups, not names.
The auditors left frustrated.
There was no one to arrest.
---
The Myth Grows Anyway
Stories spread.
Some said Ace became a wandering spirit.
Others said he was never real.
Some said he was a collective lie.
Ravenna heard them all.
She said nothing.
---
Meanwhile, Elsewhere
Ace walked through a village that didn't know his name.
A well had collapsed.
People argued.
Ace sat down.
Listened.
Asked three questions.
Left before sunset.
The well was still broken.
But five people now knew how to fix it together.
Ace smiled to himself.
"…Perfect."
---
End Beat
That night—
Ravenna stood under the stars.
She missed him.
But she wasn't afraid anymore.
The world hadn't fallen apart.
It had learned to notice.
Far away—
Ace looked at the same sky.
And for the first time—
Being unnecessary felt like success.