<Insight: (Ledger of Nightmares)>122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU9EChiU4fT
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Cel stared at the words, absorbing their meaning.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAAGI1g8Fpe
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"The Ledger will serve you well," Selina said, her voice carrying quiet approval. "Though I would advise you to examine it when you return to the physical world."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoqno1L2zb4
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The reminder struck like cold water. He'd been so focused on examining his new gifts that he'd forgotten - his physical form was still slumped in those ruins, bleeding and defenseless.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhgrvf2c698
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"How long have I been here?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUY8RFMg9sr
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"Minutes only. But minutes can be enough for predators to find prey." Her tone remained gentle, but the warning was clear. "You should return. Examine the Ledger when you are safe - or as safe as one can be in such a place."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLB4eyBz0Wk
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Cel nodded, the wisdom obvious once stated. "Thank you."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWHKAoPt30S
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"There is no need for thanks." Selina's smile deepened. "Go now. And may the Moon Goddess light your path."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr1KNeutSWA
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The familiar words wrapped around him like a benediction as he closed his eyes and reached for the world beyond.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbAO4YPHIoj
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Pain crashed over him like a wave.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKaqVfW2bls
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Cel gasped, his awareness slamming back into his physical body with brutal force. Every wound announced itself at once - the claw marks across his back, the burns on his left arm, the countless smaller injuries that painted his skin in blood and ash.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXDE3aaKq6M
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He was still in the ruins, sitting against the wall where he'd left. The storm had passed completely now, leaving only settling ash that drifted through gaps in the broken stone like gray snow.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcBoKxkwI8U
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A sound broke the silence. Soft. Wet. The unmistakable noise of tearing flesh.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGXkCIKLGh0
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Cel's eyes snapped to the corpse.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGB0gvNyNpC
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It lay where he'd left it - serpentine body coiled in death, dark ichor pooled beneath it in the ash.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOO1ufptMrk
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Something was perched on its chest.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAXyBX01M9I
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A bird.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCKPykh0G7
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But calling it a bird felt wrong. Obscene, even.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv74MfzEiST
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The thing was roughly the size of a craw, but there the resemblance ended. Black feathers covered its body - sleek and dark as obsidian, their tips bleeding to crimson red. The proportions were all wrong - body was too long, legs too thin, neck too flexible, wings that folded at angles wings shouldn't fold. 122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfeecKAXyk7
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When it tore another strip of flesh from the corpse, Cel glimpsed rows of tiny teeth lining the inside of that beak - serrated, designed for more than just pecking.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdbT4uj7ZRP
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'That's not a normal bird.'122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwA7u6Utg9y
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The thought arrived with crystalline clarity. Normal birds didn't exist in the Hollow Realms. Couldn't exist. This place had been dead long before any normal animal could have found its way here.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAUZuwgOjMh
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Which meant this thing, with its blood-dipped feathers, was a rift-creature.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHNU5EOjy20
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His left hand moved, reaching for the bond with Silent Moon. Pain lanced through his shoulder, his back, his arm - but he ignored it.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡybmGgsF9FN
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Moonlight threaded through the air as the chokutō materialized in his grip. Six crescents ignited along its length, casting pale radiance across the ruined space.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPUSaxz6oFd
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The bird-thing's head snapped toward him - neck bending at an angle that should have broken bone. A single crimson eye fixed on him, unblinking and bright against the black feathers.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqp6SpyoXfT
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Cinderward came next.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1y5ROUMXBM
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The armor manifested instantly, moonlight wrapping around him in silver threads. The mantle settled across his shoulders, the cloak falling behind him. Weight distributed itself across his body as bracers formed on his forearms and boots encased his legs.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFoatMY8MJB
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The transformation took perhaps two heartbeats.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCPAkLEMjzp
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When it finished, Cel stood in full divine regalia, blade raised, every muscle coiled despite the exhaustion weighing on him.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKUfIe9Fhr8
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The bird-thing regarded him for a moment. Then it took another bite of the corpse, tearing away flesh with those serrated teeth hidden in its beak.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97qz2wYqFv
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It was... ignoring him?122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡprwrNq4dOF
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Cel's grip tightened on Silent Moon's hilt. The creature showed no aggression, no interest in him at all. Just methodical feeding, as if he were no more threatening than another piece of the landscape.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6HAxgmraXJ
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Should he attack? The thing was clearly unnatural, clearly wrong—122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbuCYwy0nN0
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Footsteps.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjI4CMy2ioQ
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The sound came from outside the ruins. Steady. Deliberate. The crunch of boots on ash-covered stone.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4O5OX5Zkyp
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Cel's head tilted toward the entrance gap, every sense suddenly focused on that new sound.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI5XML8PGTV
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Someone was approaching.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxazqklBjzg
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The bird-thing didn't react. It simply continued its meal, pecking at exposed organs with clinical precision.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51jxJ8x49a
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The footsteps grew closer. Not running. Not cautious. Just walking with the confidence of someone who knew exactly where they were going - or the carelessness of someone who didn't understand danger at all.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGtaTzH8Kj
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A silhouette appeared in the gap between broken walls.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMmXs6nN9Fl
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Tall. Lean. Moving with a grace that spoke of training and deadly purpose.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp2rA1sX0Aq
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The figure stepped into the dim light filtering through the ruins.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3N2ULtplrW
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Cel's breath caught for the second time in as many minutes.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjldhYArw1x
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A young man. Perhaps eighteen, maybe twenty. Dark hair fell across sharp features that carried a weight far beyond their years.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM9xAkqKy1a
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Relief crashed through Cel's chest before he could stop it.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEHUzxZg7Ak
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'A human.'122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBSIStEADYX
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The thought arrived with desperate force. After what felt like eternity alone in this nightmare, fighting for every breath, surrounded by nothing but monsters and ash…122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFmfjgziM9W
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Another human being stood before him.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQxqR1AgyP
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Then the stranger's gaze met his, and the relief shattered like glass.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5e8b2AkRfI
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Those eyes.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Y6mqDl9bc
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Crimson iris set against black where white should be, holding depths that seemed to swallow light rather than reflect it.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUHAA584Se3
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Wrong. Fundamentally wrong in a way that made his instincts scream.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnywo6xCC1
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'What if it's not human at all?'122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUf2XkGf0J
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The thought sent ice through his veins. The cult had taught him that appearances meant nothing - that the cruelest monsters often wore the most familiar masks. His own father had smiled while arranging his torture. His mother had looked loving even though she abandoned him in the end.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69ApVAja1N
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Trust was a weapon that had been used against him too many times. A weakness he couldn't afford.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKfv5VWhuAG
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But beneath the fear and suspicion, that desperate hope still pulsed. Weak. Pathetic. The part of him that wanted so badly to believe he wasn't completely alone in this dead world.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRd3E9qEF4n
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He hated that weakness. But he couldn't quite kill it either.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9rLB01Dy9Q
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The stranger wore practical clothing in dark tones with blue-grey accents. A cloak draped across his shoulders, shifting with his movement. Everything about him spoke of someone who lived by blade and shadow.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwF8SPkTmMm
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But it was the way he carried himself that made Cel's instincts scream danger. Not aggressive. Not threatening. Just... present. Like death itself had learned to walk on two legs and dress in mortal clothing.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ58aPNSaKp
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For a long moment, neither of them moved. The bird-thing continued pecking at the corpse, the only sound in the sudden, heavy silence.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDWyrQEQOri
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Cel's grip on Silent Moon remained steady despite the pain lancing through his wounded shoulder. Six crescents pulsed along the blade's length, casting pale light across the ruined space.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2kFNt36PE
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The young man's gaze swept the ruins in a single, assessing glance. Took in the dead creature, the ash-covered floor, the storm damage.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXcr5tkss5B
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Then those crimson eyes fell back to Cel's face.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTV1Sn63lZW
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"You're human." The words came flat, carrying neither surprise nor emotion. 122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY2eZpDRtw6
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"So are you." Cel's response was equally neutral, though his mind raced in disbelief. 'A human. In the Hollow Realms. How—?'122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgsOOYZ7evH
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The stranger's gaze swept over him again - lingering briefly on the blood seeping through the new armor's fabric, the way Cel's right arm hung slightly wrong at his side.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ610iD8BEO6
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"You're injured." Still that same flat tone, neither offering help nor threatening attack.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwE9e8r4PMb
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"I'll live."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUeCbYvi2Gh
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A slight tilt of the head. "Will you?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ9DzsDpfQ5
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The question held no malice. Just genuine curiosity, as if the stranger were genuinely uncertain whether Cel would survive his wounds.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgiazniI0uk
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Cel's jaw tightened. "Long enough."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJB0fhqTZKz
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Something flickered in those red eyes - not quite amusement, but close. "Confident."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6sXBChHll
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The bird-thing chose that moment to tear away another strip of flesh, the wet sound obscenely loud in the tense quiet. Neither of them looked at it. Neither dared break eye contact.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlGSpXbN4A7
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The stranger moved.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡECXN0x24V0
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Cel's entire body tensed - but the motion was just a step to the side, away from the entrance, giving himself a better angle to observe both Cel and the feeding creature.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfw7n07k1U8
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Not aggressive. But not careless either.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXWnCQru1Ns
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"That yours?" The stranger gestured toward the corpse with a slight nod.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9XNcbzKMG5
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"I killed it."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ31RaSSTRKY
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"Hmm." The sound carried something that might have been approval. "Ash-crawler. Nasty when cornered."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPNov4Tv26a
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The casual knowledge in those words made Cel's instincts scream. 'He knows what it is. That means he'd encountered them before. At least once.'122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOt3PknArTG
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"How long?" Cel asked before he could stop himself.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsXNIuAfrf7
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The stranger's gaze narrowed slightly. "How long what?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIbRabexqkT
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"How long have you been trapped here?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkGnbyecfTW
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For the first time, something resembling emotion crossed that pale face. Not quite a smile, but a subtle shift at the corner of his mouth that suggested bitter humor.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPR3GLe5Aui
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"Trapped." The word hung between them. “Seems like that.”122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9jY6pPV2kC
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Cel waited, watching the stranger's posture. Relaxed but ready - the stance of someone who'd learned to be comfortable with danger.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJYtyyaE2HG
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The silence stretched again. The bird-thing pecked at exposed organs with clinical precision.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ08WA894IDU
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"What's your name?" Cel finally asked.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnybzOsAosi
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Those crimson eyes studied him with unsettling intensity. As if the stranger were looking through him rather than at him, measuring something Cel couldn't identify.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡApmDcrULAj
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"Raven."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWkwdeWHTDO
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Raven's gaze remained fixed on him, expectant. 122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlBTAWPjgv5
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"And yours?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGz7PY80wAP
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Cel hesitated. The question was simple enough, but his mind raced. 'How did he get here? Why is he here?' 122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCCuXML9l10
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His father's face flashed through his mind. If Lord Aldric  had somehow learned he survived, then the Children of the Voidmother would come for him again. This stranger could be one of them.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡToGIR81lhQ
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But refusing would accomplish nothing. If Raven meant him harm, a name wouldn't change that. And if he didn't... Cel might need an ally more than he needed secrets right now.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ44wxUKKmL5
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"Celvian," he said finally.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7s1JryIkiN
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"Celvian." Raven repeated the name once, testing it. Then his attention shifted - quick as mercury - to the entrance gap. "You alone?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9e2oRn0Kh4
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"Yes."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkzaxGuufSn
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"No companions? No escort?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfDbjW1gbms
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"I said I'm alone."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx75I1mew1w
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Raven's eyes came back to him, sharp and assessing. "Moon Chosen."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi8YgS5pbso
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It wasn't a question. Cel's hand tightened on Silent Moon's hilt.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1AuSnamAst
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"How did you—"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbqlcbb9web
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"Your weapon." Raven's gaze flicked to the chokutō. "Moon phases etched in the blade. And the way moonlight clings to you even when you're not manifesting power." A slight pause. "Distinctive."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2CXAvq5ui5
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Cel's chest tightened. He'd thought his divine gifts were his own secret, his own advantage. To have them identified so casually—122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3xjMWvDBg
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"Don't worry." Raven's tone remained neutral. "I'm not here to fight you."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMVie9YPrYZ
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"Then why are you here?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT1qVshJXCR
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Those red eyes held his for a long moment. When Raven spoke again, his voice carried something that might have been weariness.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKXfaY0NfX0
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"Does it matter how I got here?" A slight pause. "I'm here. That's what counts."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7B05HH2Qe4
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The statement hung in the air between them. Two humans, standing in the ruins of a dead world, both wary, both armed, both trying to decide if the other was threat or friend.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0kgVMYQXf7
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The bird-thing finished its meal and took flight - wings unfolding at wrong angles before it vanished through a gap in the ceiling. Neither Cel nor Raven tracked its departure.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgp1yimyS10
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"Fine.” Cel resigned. “But you didn't answer my other question. How long have you been here?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESHaXzXBnp
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This time, Raven actually answered.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJeDYcZKYPU
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"Long enough." His eyes grew distant. "Maybe a year."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6zT0w32j3
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The number hit like a physical blow. 'A whole year. Alone. In this place.'122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2AUI6dazn
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Cel stared at the young man before him, truly seeing him now. The dark circles under his eyes. The weight in his posture. The way he moved like danger had become as natural as breathing.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOy6LVsNzG8
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"How?" The word escaped before Cel could stop it. "How did you survive that long?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZ02IkRWHm
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Something flickered across Raven's face - there and gone so quickly Cel almost missed it. Pain, perhaps. Or memory.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY1nVNvVCwt
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"You learn." The words came quiet, distant. "Or you die."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFyziOggFtN
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The bird-thing's cry echoed from somewhere outside, harsh and alien.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACQNhEybje
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Raven's head tilted slightly, tracking the sound with practiced ease. When his attention returned to Cel, those crimson eyes carried a weight that made Cel's chest constrict.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcQIa2cwg2
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"Your wounds. They'll fester in this place. Faster than you'd expect." The statement came flat, matter-of-fact. 122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu2tAdmsCSP
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Cel's fingers tightened on Silent Moon's hilt. "I'll manage."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy1oMTEfE34
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"With what?" Raven's tone didn't change, but something sharp entered it. "Ash and hope?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡquzTXxBCk8
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The question hung in the air between them.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeW3Xv7frr4
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Cel had no answer. His divine gifts could create ice, could grant him strength under moonlight, could even bring him back from death under the right circumstances. But healing? He had nothing for that.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVeZQ66t3XN
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Raven seemed to read his silence accurately, eyes narrowing.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUJPJx7JxQb
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"Stay here." Not a suggestion. A command, delivered with the casual authority of someone used to being obeyed. "Don't leave this ruin."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT8Iaz6LUhm
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Cel blinked. "What?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI05CQyGYtB
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"I'll be back." Raven was already moving through the gap.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlUS9O0Tf2T
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"Wait—where are you—"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡREGuV4J430
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But Raven had already vanished into the ash-covered wasteland, his dark form swallowed by gray and shadow.1234 copyright protection118ＰＥＮＡＮＡLwyxaewy8E 尼

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