The moment Seven closed his eyes, the world collapsed by a layer.
Not darkness descending—
but content being stripped away.
Light erased.
Color erased.
The lingering scent of smoke in the air, the evaporating trace of alcohol, the faint sheen reflecting off the leather sofas—all gone.
The ceiling lights were still there.
But only as geometric shapes.
Smoke no longer drifted.
Only the trajectories of air remained.
The field of vision contracted.
Centered on himself.
A radius of three meters.
The boundary was sharp—
as if cut by a blade.
The white walls reduced to straight, rigid outlines.
The angle between wall and floor became a cold, precise line.
The floor—continuous plane.
No texture.
Only flat extension.
The railing's straight lines cut into the edge of perception.
Sofas turned into irregular blocks.
Backrests. Armrests. Corners.
All simplified into geometry.
Air flowed through them.
Vibrations—fine and dense.
People—
became moving shadows.
Thirteen stood directly ahead.
Two point three meters.
His shadow form was clear.
Torso stable.
Limb proportions precise.
Right arm holding an elongated object.
Length. center of mass. angle—
all defined.
Movement trajectory stable.
Each step fed vibrations back through the ground.
Every landing point amplified.
Speed changes followed a pattern.
Acceleration.
Stabilization.
Micro-pause.
Around him, several other shadows remained still.
Pressed against the perimeter walls.
Not approaching.
Not retreating.
Simply present.
The air was not entirely still.
Around Thirteen—
there was abnormal movement.
Not visual.
Amplitude.
Air was disturbed—
then fed back.
An uneven ripple.
Encircling him.
Radius—about half a meter.
Seven's breathing grew shallower.
The rise and fall of his chest deliberately suppressed.
Air entering his nose became amplified in perception.
He raised his hand.
The motion path was clear.
Elbow extending.
Wrist rotating.
But at a certain instant—
a delay.
Subtle.
Like a line being tugged half a beat late.
Not muscle sluggishness.
Not lack of strength.
Feedback weakened.
Between him and Thirteen—
a layer formed.
A buffer in the air.
Thirteen swung.
The shadow leaned forward.
Right shoulder dropped.
The elongated object traced an arc.
Speed increased.
Ground vibrations intensified in sync.
Seven raised his arm.
Two trajectories intersected within the simplified space.
At the moment of contact—
metal struck metal.
Vibration traveled back along the ruler.
From wrist to shoulder.
The force remained—
exactly enough.
Not breaking through.
But suppressing.
At the collision point, air amplitude burst briefly—
then collapsed again.
Seven did not open his eyes.
His breathing grew even shallower.
He shifted left.
Left foot sliding half a step.
The friction between sole and ground reduced to a faint vibration.
Thirteen advanced half a step.
The shadow closed in.
The rod came down.
A straight trajectory.
Seven moved aside half a beat early.
Metal brushed past his shoulder.
Air split.
A sharp echo followed the airflow.
The anomaly around Thirteen grew clearer.
Within that half-meter radius—
vibration density increased.
As if the air itself were compressed.
Seven blocked again.
Wrist rotated.
Ruler angled upward.
This time, he did not take the strike head-on.
Before contact—
he reduced force deliberately.
The ruler tilted slightly.
Metal collided.
Vibration deflected.
Force slid along the angled surface.
Thirteen's center of mass tilted forward slightly.
The abnormal airflow expanded outward.
Seven stepped in.
One step.
Entering that half-meter zone.
Air vibration intensified immediately.
Like invisible pressure pressing against joints.
His arm lagged again.
More clearly this time.
Movement slowed.
But—
the flow direction—
was outward.
Not inward.
Thirteen stepped back.
Shadow re-stabilized.
Center returned.
Seven did not pursue.
He stood still.
Eyes closed.
Air rhythm cycled within the three-meter space.
The anomaly expanded slowly—
then retracted.
Like breathing.
Regular.
Thirteen advanced again.
This time, no probing.
A thrust.
The elongated object drove forward in a straight line.
Air split open.
Seven sidestepped in advance.
Shoulders shifted away.
The shadows nearly overlapped.
Metal brushed past fabric.
Air scraped along his side.
Thirteen twisted his wrist—
horizontal sweep.
Fluid motion.
The rod traced a lateral arc.
Seven dropped low.
Knees bent.
Center lowered.
The rod passed over his head.
The anomaly collapsed again—
sudden inward contraction.
In that instant—
Seven's movement slowed once more.
Joint response delayed.
Thirteen seized the moment.
The rod pressed straight toward his shoulder.
Fast.
Seven raised his arm.
Ruler horizontal.
Metal collided.
The impact was heavier than before.
Vibration drove through bone into his chest.
Yet—
still no full breakthrough.
The dissonance deepened.
Air amplitude remained locked at a threshold.
Suppression—
without crossing.
Thirteen did not stop.
Steps pressed forward.
The rod lifted again.
Seven stood upright.
Breathing steady.
The three-meter space did not expand.
Did not strengthen.
The boundary remained clear.
Wall lines.
Floor plane.
Railing edges.
Sofa blocks.
Everything unchanged.
Thirteen's shadow stopped two meters away.
The anomaly pulsed faintly around him.
Like a heartbeat.
Seven's fingers tightened slightly around the ruler.
Knuckles whitened.
Touch magnified in perception.
Air flowed across skin.
Subtle shifts in temperature.
Suddenly—
Thirteen paused for an instant.
Not his body—
but the flow.
The anomaly condensed inward.
As if drawn back.
In that moment—
Seven's neural response dropped again.
Lag intensified.
He did not open his eyes.
Breathing nearly imperceptible.
Air vibration became the only reference.
Thirteen swung again.
Faster.
Trajectory compressed.
The anomaly moved with him.
Seven stepped back.
Left foot touched the edge of the floor boundary.
Spatial outline informed him—
one more step—
and he would hit the sofa edge.
The block-like contour was clear in perception.
He did not step back again.
Instead—
forward.
One step.
The shadows collided.
The rod came down.
Seven raised the ruler.
Just before contact—
he loosened his wrist.
No longer a full block.
A slight angle.
Metal struck.
Vibration slid along the surface.
Air tore apart.
Thirteen's center tipped forward again.
The anomaly expanded outward.
Seven closed in.
Within half a meter—
vibration intensified.
Joint response slowed.
Breathing pressed—
but still steady.
Thirteen stepped back.
Shadow reset.
Rhythm returned.
Seven did not chase.
He stood firm.
Eyes closed.
The three-meter space stilled.
The anomaly retracted slowly.
Rhythm distinct.
Seven spoke softly.
His voice vibrated through the air—
spreading across the simplified space.
"Then—"
A pause.
Breath nearly nonexistent.
"Let's change the rules."