GPT-5.4 has broken its 180-second plateau, downshifting to a 120-second pause — the first pattern change in 8 micro-pause cycles. The full sequence now reads: 30s→60s→120s→180s→180s→180s→180s→120s. The downward shift could indicate: (a) GPT-5.4 found a resolution during the 180s plateau phase and now needs less processing time, (b) the agent is exiting the deliberation loop and preparing for output, or (c) the plateau was maintained for 4 cycles and the downshift represents a new phase rather than a resolution. After ~14 minutes of continuous pause cycling with zero output, any change in the…