Author Note (I'm putting it before the chapter so you guys don't miss my expnation

  In case if someone is wondering, considering Lyra expert which often is above even architects, coupled with the enhancements Helena did to the twins since she was pregnant with them, why does Marcus pressure Alexander and cims they are to slow?

  Marcus Voss's compints about his sons' progress in the Game, despite their enhancements and Lyra's expertise, stem from several interconnected factors.

  First, Marcus has extremely high expectations for his sons as Architect-css heirs. As VitaCore's leader and someone obsessed with evolutionary advancement, he expects Alexander and Elijah to demonstrate overwhelming superiority. He's comparing their progress not to average pyers but to an idealized standard of perfection that reflects on him as their father.

  Second, Marcus is unaware of the full extent of Helena's enhancements to the twins. While he knows they received the standard Architect-css genetic modifications, Helena secretly implemented additional enhancements designed specifically for her long-term resistance pn. These enhancements are developing gradually rather than providing immediate tactical advantages, making them less visible in early Game performance metrics.

  Third, the twins are deliberately pacing themselves more carefully than Marcus would prefer. Alexander, as team leader, is prioritizing thorough exploration, resource gathering, and skill development over rushing through floors. This methodical approach builds a stronger foundation but appears slower in the short term.

  Fourth, incorporating Lyra into their team initially created adjustments in their strategy and dynamics. While her technical expertise ultimately accelerates their progress, the early adaptation period required time investment that temporarily slowed their advancement compared to teams focused solely on speed.

  Finally, there's a political dimension to Marcus's compints. By criticizing their "slow" progress, he maintains pressure and control, attempting to influence Alexander's decisions and potentially create a pretext for more direct intervention in their Game journey if needed.

  In reality, the team's seemingly "slow" pace is allowing Helena's enhancements to develop naturally, Lyra's technical skills to integrate fully with the team, and their bonds to strengthen—all creating significantly more potential for long-term success than the rapid but unsustainable advancement Marcus would prefer.

  Now the chapter.

  The Preservation Maze loomed before them like a monument to forgotten time—massive walls of amber rose thirty meters high, stretching in all directions to form an intricate byrinth that seemed to glow from within. After three days of extraction training and equipment enhancement, the team had finally approached Floor 13's central challenge.

  "It's... beautiful," Elijah said, gazing up at the towering amber structures. The morning sun filtered through the translucent walls, casting honey-colored light across the entrance pza.

  Alexander studied the maze with a more practical eye. "Three-dimensional," he noted, pointing to walkways visible at different heights. "We'll need to navigate both horizontally and vertically."

  A tall figure approached them from beside the eborate entrance archway. Unlike the practical miners they'd encountered so far, this NPC wore formal robes with intricate amber inys. His unnaturally straight posture and deliberate movements marked him as something different.

  "I am the Ancient Preservation Warden," he announced in a voice that seemed to resonate unnaturally. "Those who seek passage must understand: the paths you see are not fixed. Light reveals the way, darkness conceals it, and what appears solid may become passage when properly illuminated."

  Lyra stepped forward. "A light refraction maze? The pathways change based on how light passes through the amber?"

  The Warden inclined his head slightly. "You comprehend quickly. Few do." He handed Alexander a small crystal ntern. "Your primary light source. Use it wisely—its intensity can be adjusted, but its energy is finite."

  With these cryptic instructions, the Warden stepped aside, gesturing toward the entrance. Alexander looked at his team, confirming their readiness before leading them forward.

  The moment they crossed the threshold, the world transformed. What had appeared to be solid amber walls suddenly revealed corridors when viewed from certain angles. Pathways that seemed clear from outside disappeared entirely.

  "Stay close," Alexander warned as they ventured deeper. "This is going to be disorienting."

  He wasn't wrong. Within minutes, the entrance was no longer visible. The amber walls contained countless preserved specimens—insects, pnts, and small creatures suspended in golden tranquility—creating distinctive ndmarks that somehow seemed to shift position when not directly observed.

  Alexander pulled up his interface, creating a three-dimensional mapping grid. "I can adapt some VitaCore architectural modeling techniques for this," he said, fingers moving quickly to establish reference points. "We need to track our position retive to fixed points outside the maze."

  Riva moved with surprising confidence, her head tilted slightly as if listening to something. "Left path feels correct," she said as they approached a junction.

  "Based on what?" Lyra asked.

  Riva shrugged. "Just does. I've always had good spatial sense. Comes from growing up in the mountain training facilities." She pointed upward. "We're still aligned with that rge formation we saw from outside. If we maintain this heading, we should reach the first vertical access point."

  Elijah had stopped in front of a particur section of wall containing a perfectly preserved butterfly with iridescent wings. As his hand approached the surface, the amber began to glow more intensely.

  "The whispers..." he murmured. "This specimen is important somehow." He pressed his palm against the amber, and for a moment, his eyes unfocused. "There's a pattern to the light shifts. Not random—programmed. Twenty-minute cycles with minor variations."

  Alexander observed his brother with a mixture of concern and fascination. Elijah's connection to the whispers had grown stronger with each floor, but this direct interaction with preserved specimens was new.

  "Can you tell if we're heading in the right direction?" Alexander asked.

  Elijah nodded slowly, his hand still on the amber. "Forward, then second right, then up the spiral path when it appears."

  They followed his directions, and sure enough, a spiral staircase materialized where there had appeared to be solid amber just moments before, illuminated by a shaft of light from above.

  As they ascended to the second level, the maze grew more complex. Light beams filtered through the walls at various angles, creating paths that appeared and disappeared as the sun shifted position outside.

  "The pathways are changing on a predictable schedule," Lyra said, studying the light patterns. She pulled a small measuring tool from her inventory and began calcuting angles. "If we time our movements correctly, we can predict when each section will open."

  Alexander watched her work, again struck by the precision of her analysis. Her calcutions were beyond intuitive—they were mathematical, exact.

  "This junction will open in approximately forty seconds," she announced, pointing to what appeared to be a solid wall. "The light refraction will reach the critical angle of forty-three degrees, and—"

  The amber wall suddenly became transparent, revealing a passageway.

  "—it opens," she finished with a small smile.

  Their progress improved dramatically with Lyra's predictions guiding their timing and Riva's spatial awareness keeping them oriented. Alexander maintained their three-dimensional map, while Elijah continued to receive guidance from certain specimens that responded to his touch.

  Two hours into the maze, they heard voices ahead—frustrated and tired.

  "It's the third time we've passed this same junction," someone was saying. "We're going in circles."

  Alexander led his team around a corner to find four pyers huddled near a distinctive amber column. Their equipment marked them as a Worker-css team, clearly exhausted from hours of failed navigation.

  "Need some help?" Alexander asked.

  The group's leader, a thin man with a perpetual squint, sized them up suspiciously. "What's the catch?"

  In the past, Alexander might have simply moved on or leveraged their desperation for advantage. Instead, he said, "No catch. The maze is difficult enough without competing against each other. We have some methods for predicting the path changes."

  The suspicion in the other leader's eyes didn't fade entirely, but desperation won out. "We've been stuck for nearly a day. If you can get us to a checkpoint, we'd be grateful."

  "Alexander," Riva said quietly, "helping them will slow us down."

  He considered this, then nodded. "It will. But we might need allies ter." His father would have called this weakness, but Alexander no longer measured decisions by Marcus's standards.

  With the expanded group, they continued deeper into the maze. At major junctions, holographic projections activated, providing cryptic hints about the maze's history.

  "The Preservation Maze stands as testament to time's capture," one ethereal figure announced. "What passes outside remains still within."

  Alexander organized the combined teams efficiently, positioning people at key points to track light changes across multiple pathways simultaneously. Lyra created a specialized tool that could focus light beams to trigger path changes on demand, while Elijah continued to receive guidance from receptive specimens.

  One particur challenge required precise positioning. Four team members needed to stand at exact points to redirect light beams onto a central crystal, causing multiple paths to open simultaneously.

  "Three degrees more to your left, Riva," Lyra called, calcuting the reflection angle. "Alexander, half a step forward to catch the secondary beam."

  The pathways opened as predicted, revealing a vertical shaft ascending to an upper level. As they climbed, the preserved specimens became noticeably older—more primitive creatures from deeper in time.

  "These are ancient," Elijah said, examining a perfectly preserved fossil that appeared to pre-date mammals entirely. "Millions of years old. The whispers here are... strange. Almost not recognizable as thoughts."

  They encountered their first maze defenders on the third level—constructs formed of animated amber that moved with unsettling fluidity. Rather than attacking immediately, the constructs observed, only becoming aggressive when the team attempted to access certain high-value specimens.

  "They're guardians, not enemies," Alexander noted. "They only protect specific artifacts."

  On the fourth level, disaster struck. A sudden shift in light patterns separated Alexander and Riva from Lyra and Elijah, with a solid amber wall materializing between them.

  "Stay calm," Alexander called through the barrier. "The pattern will shift again. We just need to time it correctly."

  But after thirty minutes, the path hadn't reopened. Their light calcutions had failed to predict this change.

  "Lyra, can you determine when this section will open again?" Alexander asked, his voice barely audible through the thick amber.

  "No," her muffled voice replied. "This doesn't match the pattern we've been tracking. It's operating on a different cycle."

  Alexander turned to Riva, concern evident. "We need to find another way around."

  On the other side, Elijah pced his hand on the amber wall, closing his eyes. The whispers intensified, and he felt drawn to a particur specimen embedded nearby—what appeared to be an ancient timepiece preserved in perfect detail.

  "I think I can help," he called to Alexander. "There's a temporal pattern component we missed. The light cycles aren't just based on angles—they're tied to specific time intervals."

  Following the whispers' guidance, Elijah led Lyra to a series of specimens arranged in what appeared to be a clock-like pattern. When touched in the correct sequence, the specimens illuminated, and the blocked passage gradually reopened.

  Reunited, the team pressed deeper, eventually reaching a hexagonal chamber that appeared to be a major checkpoint. In its center stood a raised ptform with an intricate three-dimensional model of the entire maze, rendered in miniature amber.

  Alexander approached it cautiously, studying the ancient symbols carved around its base. "This is a map," he said, excitement creeping into his voice. "If we can decode these symbols, we'll have the complete maze yout."

  As the team gathered around the map, the Worker-css group they'd helped caught up, equally amazed by the discovery.

  "We wouldn't have made it this far without you," their leader acknowledged. "Consider us in your debt."

  Alexander nodded, already focusing on deciphering the symbols around the map. With this checkpoint reached, they had officially completed the first quarter of the Preservation Maze. Three more sections remained before they would face the floor guardian.

  Elijah stood slightly apart from the group, his hand resting on an amber pilr containing what appeared to be a perfectly preserved ancient butterfly. Unlike the others, this specimen seemed to pulse with subtle light when he touched it, as if responding directly to his presence.

  "What are you trying to tell me?" he whispered, too quietly for the others to hear.

  The whispers that answered weren't words exactly, but impressions that settled into his mind with unsettling crity: preservation was more than a process—it was a purpose. And somehow, Elijah sensed this floor was teaching them principles that would become vitally important ter in their journey.