_*]:min-w-0 !gap-3.5">The team had found shelter in a small clearing near the newly revealed passage to Floor 7. Everyone was scattered around their makeshift camp in various states of exhaustion after the guardian battle. The golden light from their victory still pulsed through the forest around them, gradually healing the battle-scarred ndscape.

  "That's the st of it," Elijah said, finishing bandaging a burn on Riva's forearm. "How's the ankle feeling?"

  Riva tested her weight cautiously. "Better than it should, thanks to you. Still wouldn't want to run a race, though."

  "Don't worry, I'll carry you if something nasty shows up," Alexander said with a half-smile, checking his interface inventory. The guardian's essence fragment had been automatically cataloged, along with the other modest rewards from their victory.

  Valeria sat slightly apart from the others, meticulously recording notes about the battle. She'd been extra thorough with her reports since their confrontation about her corporate communications.

  "We camping here tonight?" Lyra asked, not looking up from the pile of damaged equipment she was sorting through. Several pieces of their gear had been fried beyond repair during the fight.

  Alexander nodded. "Four hours minimum. Nobody's in shape to tackle a new floor right now." He gnced at Elijah. "Let's check the perimeter. Make sure we don't have any uninvited guests while we rest."

  The brothers walked casually away from camp, maintaining the appearance of a routine security check. Once they were out of earshot, Alexander activated their secure channel with a subtle gesture.

  "Hey, about what happened back there," he began, keeping his voice low despite the secure connection. "Those warnings were spot on. You saved my ass at least twice."

  Elijah kicked at a charred piece of wood, looking uncomfortable. After a moment, he sighed and met his brother's eyes.

  "I haven't been completely honest with you about the whispers," Elijah said quietly through their secure channel, barely moving his lips as they walked.

  Alexander gnced at him, responding through the same secure connection. "What do you mean?"

  "They're not... they're not just random words or vague warnings like I've been making them out to be," Elijah continued through their secure channel. "They've always been actual sentences, Alex. Complete thoughts. Almost since day one."

  Alexander stopped walking, keeping his voice controlled in their private communication despite his surprised expression. "Complete sentences? This whole time?"

  "Yeah." Elijah wouldn't meet his eyes, focusing instead on a nearby tree while continuing through the secure channel. "Back in the Whispering Woods, when I first mentioned hearing something? It wasn't just creepy sounds. I heard clear voices saying things like 'danger approaches from the east' or 'the pattern repeats in cycles of three.'"

  "And you let me think it was just random noise?" Alexander couldn't keep the edge from his voice, even through the secure connection.

  "How exactly was I supposed to bring that up?" Elijah shot back through their secure channel. "'Hey brother, I'm hearing fully coherent voices in my head telling me specific information about the Game'? I'd sound completely insane. Or worse, like I had some unfair advantage that corporate would want to study."

  Alexander took a deep breath, visibly processing this revetion while maintaining their private conversation. "So during the guardian fight today?"

  "They were saying things like 'electrical discharge imminent at your current position' and 'ground integrity failing beneath your teammate,'" Elijah expined through their secure connection. "Specific warnings, not just feelings or hunches like I've been pretending."

  "Why tell me now?" Alexander asked through the secure channel, his tone softer even as he maintained a casual expression for anyone who might be watching.

  "Because it's getting harder to hide, and I'm tired of coming up with me excuses for how I know things." Elijah leaned against a tree, speaking through their secure channel while pretending to examine the bark. "And because the whispers are getting... louder. More numerous. Like there are more voices trying to be heard."

  From her position at camp, Lyra gnced toward the brothers' distant figures. She couldn't hear their conversation, but something about Elijah's behavior during the battle had caught her attention. The way he'd reacted seconds before each lightning strike, the precision of his warnings—it reminded her of something familiar, though she couldn't quite pce it. There was a pattern there, something that tickled at the edges of her technical knowledge.

  "So what exactly are these whispers?" Alexander asked through their secure channel, trying to approach the situation strategically while appearing to inspect the perimeter. "Hallucinations? Game mechanics we don't understand? Some kind of hidden information channel?"

  Elijah shrugged, continuing through their private connection. "I have no idea. They're clearest near certain Game structures or during guardian fights. Sometimes they contradict each other, like multiple people arguing. But they've never been wrong about immediate dangers."

  Alexander paced a small circle, thinking while maintaining their conversation through the secure channel. "This could be an incredible tactical advantage."

  "It already has been," Elijah pointed out through the connection. "I just didn't tell you the full extent."

  "But we need to keep it from Valeria," Alexander said firmly through their secure channel. "If corporate found out..."

  "That's why I kept quiet." Elijah nodded, continuing their secure exchange. "That and the fact that hearing voices isn't typically considered a good sign."

  Alexander stopped pacing and faced his brother. Through their private channel, he insisted, "From now on, no more half-truths between us. I need to know exactly what you're hearing, especially if it affects our safety."

  "Deal," Elijah agreed through the connection. "Though I'm still going to need excuses for the others. I can't exactly announce that voices in my head told me where the lightning would strike."

  "We'll say you're recognizing subtle environmental cues from your medical training," Alexander suggested through their secure channel. "Electrical discharge affects moisture, air pressure, things like that. It's believable enough."

  Back at camp, Lyra was pretending to focus on equipment repairs while covertly watching the brothers. Their body nguage suggested a serious conversation, and she had a pretty good idea what it was about. During the battle, she'd noticed how Elijah would tilt his head slightly before each warning, as if listening to something nobody else could hear.

  It reminded her of interface communications, but without the standard subvocalization gestures. Almost like he was receiving data directly, bypassing normal interface protocols. She'd seen simir behaviors in some of the more experimental neural integration prototypes back in...

  Lyra caught herself, abruptly shutting down that train of thought. Some memories were too dangerous to revisit, even in her own mind. Whatever Elijah was experiencing, she wasn't ready to share her suspicions. Not yet. Not until she was certain of her own position within this team.

  When the brothers returned to camp, Alexander seemed deep in thought while Elijah appeared somewhat relieved. Neither mentioned their conversation.

  "Everyone get some rest," Alexander announced. "Riva, first watch. I'll take second. We move to Floor 7 in four hours."

  As they settled in for their brief recovery period, Alexander caught Elijah's eye and gave a subtle nod. Through the Echo Protocol, he sent a final message: "Whatever these whispers are, they're an asset. We'll figure out the why ter. Just keep telling me exactly what they're saying."

  Elijah nodded back, finally free of the burden of hiding the true nature of what he'd been experiencing since their first day in the Game. He closed his eyes, but the whispers didn't stop—they never did. In the background of his consciousness, they continued their endless conversations, speaking of patterns and probabilities and things yet to come.

  Across the camp, Lyra watched the brothers from behind half-closed eyes, cataloging behaviors and forming theories she kept carefully to herself. She'd survived this long by knowing when to share information and when to hold it close. For now, observation was enough. Understanding would come ter.

  The passage to Floor 7 shimmered at the edge of their camp, golden light pulsing like a heartbeat, waiting to lead them higher.