Chapter 89: The Press of the Page
The Bureau was used to dealing with the weight of the world, but it wasn't prepared for the weight of the Placeholder. At 18:00 Cycles, the air didn't just grow heavy—it became Thin. From the ceiling, a Giant Silver Bookmark—a slab of polished, unyielding metal with a silk tassel the size of a redwood tree—began to descend.
"Commissioner!" Assistant Yue buzzed, her voice sounding increasingly tinny as her 3D-depth began to fail. "THE. HIATUS. HAS. ENTERED. A. 'STAGNANT. PHASE'. THE. AUTHOR. HAS. PLACED. A. MARKER. TO. 'SAVE. THE. PLACE'. BUT. THE. MARKER. IS. 100%. LITERAL. IT. IS. PRESSING. THE. NARRATIVE. FLAT. WE. ARE. BEING. REDUCED. TO. ILLUSTRATIONS!"
The Two-Dimensional Terror
The descent was slow and absolute. As the Bookmark pressed down, the Lobby began to lose its Z-axis.
The Muse let out a yelp as she was flattened against the north wall. She looked like a vibrant, neon-blue fresco, unable to move anything but her eyes.
Architect Ao Bing was squashed into the floorboards, becoming a highly detailed mosaic of a panicked man. "I have no volume!" he muffled into the wood. "I'm a 7.5% scale floor-plan of myself!"
Pip was caught mid-stride, now a paper-thin cutout fluttering in the draft of the closing pages.
"I won't be a caricature!" Ne Job roared, though his voice was starting to sound like a recording played through a sheet of paper. He could feel his silver plume being ironed flat against his forehead.
The 7.5% Depth Charge
Ne Job realized that once you become a 2D illustration, you lose your Agency. Characters in a drawing can't change the story; they can only sit and wait for the page to be turned.
"Junior! Use your... wait, you're a sticker now!"
Junior had been flattened against a filing cabinet, looking like a very enthusiastic "Employee of the Month" badge.
Ne Job reached for his belt, but his hand was becoming a shadow of a hand. He had one chance. He pulled the Semicolon from its holster. Because the artifact was a "Bridge between Concepts," it possessed its own Internal Volume.
The Structural Semicolon
The Bookmark hit the Semicolon with the force of a falling star. CRACK.
The violet light didn't break. It flared, acting as a 7.5% Jack-Stand. Ne Job groaned, his knees buckling as he held up the weight of the entire Hiatus.
"I... am... not... a... sketch!" Ne Job hissed through gritted teeth.
He didn't just hold the weight; he used the Semicolon to Insert a Footnote. He fired a staple of violet energy that "Pitched" the Bookmark upward, creating a small, triangular pocket of 3D space. It was a Narrative Alcove—a place where the characters could remain "Real" even while the rest of the world was shelved.
The Breath of the Alcove
The pressure eased. Within the glowing violet radius of the Semicolon, the Muse popped back into three dimensions with a sound like a suction cup releasing. Pip peeled off the floor like a stubborn decal.
"We have space!" the Muse gasped, her hair regaining its volume. "It's tight, but we're still 'In the Round'!"
LOG: CHAPTER 89 SUMMARY.
STATUS: Flattening halted. 3D integrity maintained in a 7.5% radius.
NOTE: Living in a footnote is cramped, but the rent is cheap and the view is stable.
OBSERVATION: When the world tries to flatten you, find a point of punctuation and stand your ground.
P.S.: Ao Bing is still a little bit 'Matte.' We're trying to buff him back to a 'Glossy Finish.'
The Muse leaned over his shoulder, her hair brushing against the silver slab just inches above them. "How long can we hold this up, Ne Job?"
Ne Job looked at the Semicolon. It was glowing with a structural, load-bearing violet.
"As long as it takes for the next chapter to start, Muse," Ne Job said. "Now, why is Assistant Yue sounding a 7.5% alarm and why has a Giant Silver Pen-Nib appeared at the edge of our alcove, and why is it starting to draw a 'New Antagonist' right in front of us?"