Which term refers to a story's conflict escalation?

The term that refers to a story's conflict escalation is rising action. In a narrative, the rising action builds tension and develops the conflict through a series of events and complications that the characters face. This phase of the story is crucial as it establishes the stakes and engages the audience, making them invested in the outcome of the conflict. As the rising action progresses, it leads up to the climax, which is the turning point where the main conflict reaches its peak intensity. Rising action typically follows the exposition, where characters and settings are introduced, and occurs before the resolution, where the story's conflicts are resolved.