The five canoes drifted to a stop at the mouth of what could only be described as a water maze. After three days of methodical river exploration, they'd finally reached the confluence point marked on their salvaged map.

  "Holy crap," Riva whispered, standing up carefully in her canoe to get a better view. "It's like someone took a normal river and shattered it into a hundred pieces."

  Alexander had to agree. Before them, the main river channel split into a bewildering network of waterways—some wide, others narrow enough to barely fit a canoe. The water flowed in seemingly random directions, with visible current patterns swirling and intersecting in ways that defied natural hydrology.

  "The Confluence Conundrum," Elijah murmured, his head tilted slightly as if listening to something no one else could hear. His eyes met Alexander's briefly, a silent communication passing between them.

  Alexander guided his canoe to a small isnd positioned at the entrance to the confluence. Perfect for establishing a base camp. "Everyone ashore," he called. "We need to pn this systematically."

  As they secured their canoes, Alexander took inventory of their equipment. Their time on the river had resulted in several useful additions: waterproof reed containers woven by Lyra, wooden floats for marking safe passages, several fishing spears crafted by Riva, and a collection of natural dyes Elijah had prepared for marking currents.

  Lyra was already sketching the visible junction points on their makeshift map, her brow furrowed in concentration. "It's definitely designed," she said without looking up. "These current patterns aren't random. Look at how they intersect at exactly thirty-degree intervals."

  Alexander nodded, scanning the complex waterways with a tactical eye. "Cssic byrinth structure. Multiple possible paths, most likely leading to dead ends or hazards."

  "So what's our approach?" Riva asked, wringing water from her braid.

  "We map it," Alexander replied, kneeling to draw in the soft soil with a stick. "Systematic exploration, one junction at a time. Mark safe paths, document hazards, track our progress."

  "That could take forever," Valeria pointed out, standing slightly apart from the group. "There must be dozens of possible routes."

  Alexander pulled his brother aside while the others were distracted with their preparations.

  "Your intuition seems stronger here," Alexander said quietly. "Think you can sense which path we should take first?"

  Elijah frowned thoughtfully. "Let me try something."

  He walked to the water's edge, crouching down to pce his hand on the surface. His eyes closed in concentration.

  After a moment, he pointed to one of the channels slightly to the left of center. "That one," he said simply. When Alexander raised an eyebrow, Elijah added, "Just a feeling. But it's strong."

  Alexander had long since stopped questioning his brother's strange intuitions. Whatever their source, they had proven useful too many times to dismiss.

  "Alright, we'll try that channel first," Alexander decided. "But we need a way to mark our path so we can find our way back."

  "I've got something for that," Lyra said, rummaging in her pack. She pulled out a handful of small wooden discs she'd carved during their journey downriver. Each had a different symbol etched into it. "We can use these as markers. Leave them at each junction point."

  Alexander nodded approvingly. "Good. Riva, you're our strongest paddler. You'll take point in the lead canoe with Elijah. Lyra and I will follow, with Valeria bringing up the rear. Standard formation, keep visual contact at all times."

  As they prepared to enter the confluence, Alexander noticed Lyra working on something else—small reed constructions with pieces of cloth attached.

  "Current trackers," she expined when she caught him watching. "We'll drop them in at different points to see how the flow patterns work."

  Within minutes, they were back in their canoes, carefully navigating into the channel Elijah had indicated. The current immediately grabbed them, pulling with surprising strength despite its seemingly calm surface.

  "Stay center!" Riva called back, expertly adjusting her paddle to keep the lead canoe on course.

  They passed the first junction, where their chosen channel split into three. Elijah pointed to the rightmost path without hesitation, and Riva skillfully guided them into it. Lyra dropped one of her markers at the junction, watching as the currents carried it in a circur pattern before settling into the same channel they'd chosen.

  "The currents are following some kind of timed pattern," she called to Alexander, who was paddling steadily behind her. "Look how they shift every thirty seconds or so."

  Alexander observed the water movements, noting the precision in the timing. "These aren't natural currents," he agreed. "They're programmed."

  For the next hour, they navigated deeper into the confluence, with Elijah's whisper-guided intuition leading them through junction after junction. Lyra marked each decision point with her wooden discs, while also deploying her current trackers to map the flow patterns.

  Despite their methodical approach, Alexander soon realized they were getting turned around. Many of the channels looked identical, with only subtle differences in the surrounding vegetation or rock formations.

  "Stop," he called finally, as they emerged into a small circur pool with five identical channels leading out. "We need a better system."

  They pulled their canoes onto a narrow strip of nd in the center of the pool. Alexander opened his inventory interface and pulled out an empty journal he'd been saving for something important.

  "We need to start keeping better track of time," he said, flipping to the first page. "Not just for this byrinth, but for our journey as a whole."

  "A calendar?" Elijah asked, peering over his brother's shoulder.

  "Exactly," Alexander replied, sketching a grid pattern. "If we're going to solve this pce, we need to understand its timing patterns. And I realized we've been losing track of how long we've been in the Game overall."

  "How long has it been?" Riva asked, suddenly curious.

  Alexander calcuted mentally. "Based on day/night cycles and tracking the major events across each floor... I'd estimate about six months since entry."

  "Six months?" Riva repeated, sounding surprised. "That can't be right. It feels like..."

  "Longer," Elijah finished for her.

  "And shorter," Lyra added quietly.

  They all fell silent, contempting this. Six months of fighting for survival, of adapting to new environments, of learning to work together. It seemed both impossibly long and surprisingly brief.

  "Time works differently in here," Valeria said, breaking the silence. "The corporate briefings mentioned a dited time ratio—about 1.5 times faster than real world for the lower floors."

  "So that means..." Elijah did the math quickly. "Only about four months have passed outside?"

  Alexander nodded, continuing to sketch in his journal. "That's why we need to track it systematically. I'm creating a Game calendar with standardized notation. Each floor, major event, and time period documented."

  While Alexander worked on the calendar, Lyra spread out their current maps, comparing the junction patterns they'd recorded so far. "There's something mathematical about these currents," she said, pointing to recurring patterns. "Look at how they repeat in sequences of five."

  Elijah joined her, studying the patterns. His eyes widened with recognition, though he carefully kept his expression neutral as he gnced at Alexander.

  "I think you're right about the sequences," he said thoughtfully. "Five distinct patterns, repeating."

  Lyra looked at him, an idea forming. "What if the solution isn't about finding the right path, but about timing? Taking specific channels when their currents are in certain phases of the sequence?"

  Alexander looked up from his calendar. "That would expin why the paths keep leading us in circles. We're taking the right channels but at the wrong times."

  With this new insight, they developed a revised strategy. Elijah would help identify the current patterns through his uncanny sensitivity to the water movements, while Lyra's current trackers would provide visual confirmation. They would time their passages through junctions according to the five-phase sequence they'd identified.

  "Let's test it," Alexander said, finishing his calendar draft and returning it to his inventory. "We'll try to navigate back to the main entrance first, using this method."

  Back in their canoes, they approached the first junction with new purpose. Elijah studied the water patterns intently while Lyra deployed a current tracker.

  "I think it's in phase three of the sequence now," Elijah announced after careful observation. "We should take the left channel during this phase."

  They waited, watching Lyra's current tracker swirl in the water as the currents shifted through their sequence. When phase three began, they quickly paddled into the left channel, feeling the current catch and propel them smoothly forward.

  "It's working!" Riva called excitedly as they emerged into a familiar section they'd navigated earlier.

  Junction by junction, they made their way back to the main entrance, confirming their theory. The Confluence Conundrum wasn't just about finding the right paths—it was about taking them at the right times, in harmony with the five-phase current sequence.

  By te afternoon, they'd successfully returned to their starting point and were preparing to venture deeper into the byrinth with their new understanding.

  "We should make camp while we still have light," Alexander decided as the sun began to lower toward the horizon. "Tomorrow we'll push further in, using what we've learned."

  As they set up camp on the isnd at the confluence entrance, Alexander finalized his calendar system in his journal. Six months since they entered the Game. Six months of floors conquered, guardians defeated, and skills developed.

  "Hey," Elijah said quietly, sitting beside his brother as the others prepared the evening meal. "Does it feel strange to you? That we've been in here half a year?"

  Alexander considered the question. "Yes and no. Sometimes it feels like we just entered yesterday. Other times..."

  "Like we've been here forever," Elijah finished.

  Alexander nodded, looking out at the water maze they'd begun to conquer. The channels glowed with the golden light of sunset, beautiful despite their artificial nature.

  "I was thinking about how much we've changed," Elijah continued. "Not just skills and equipment, but... who we are."

  Alexander knew exactly what his brother meant. The Alexander who had entered the Game six months ago—confident in his corporate training, certain of his pce in the world—seemed like a different person now.

  "We adapt," he said simply. "We learn. We grow."

  His eyes drifted to where Lyra sat by the fire, expining her current tracker design to Riva. Six months ago, he would never have imagined trusting an Unaligned team member with his life, much less considering her indispensable. Yet here they were.

  "Tomorrow we go deeper," Alexander said, returning to his journal. "With the current sequence figured out, we should be able to make significant progress."

  As night fell over the confluence, Alexander added another annotation to his new calendar system: "Day 183 - Confluence Conundrum: Phase sequence discovered." A small notation in what would become their formal record of time in the Game. Time that was changing them all, day by day, challenge by challenge.

  The river flowed on, its currents shifting in their precise five-phase sequence. Tomorrow they would follow those currents deeper into the byrinth, guided by Elijah's whispers and Lyra's trackers. But tonight, they rested, marking the passage of six months in a journey that had only just begun.