"Raven!"120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhrtzqkc7Xm
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuUl17HqzZk
The name echoed down into nothing.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEcGsjZW0FU
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuzIkE4xzV7
Cel stumbled toward the edge - he could jump, follow them down, there had to be—120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS2q4ku8FJB
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaPhXj0Wej4
Something closed around his throat and the world lurched.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeauWB9unv3
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaGrBdYkbzA
His vision swam, legs dangling in empty air. Fingers clawed at a wrist round his throat—how had—?120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJJTEjvVaMF
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlLOa4wkNQq
When it cleared, she stood before him.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYk639OWvpZ
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv71SqP4P5M
Esrin Tempvolt.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGn3GmrzBIG
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9fLIxkrB86
No wings now - vanished as if they'd never existed. Just dark armor, ash-white hair and ruby red eyes.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAVDZsnnSPT
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjFOT6EwlH9
His gaze darted past her. The volcano stood in the distance, a broken silhouette against the crimson sky. The massive creature lay collapsed in its core, smoke rising from its shattered body.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMaO1KXfwmi
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmtjQ7FiSTf
His eyes snapped back to her. Not a scratch on her armor. Not a drop of sweat. Her breathing was steady, unhurried - like she'd taken a casual walk rather than fought something that could level mountains.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNXwAXf300Q
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ7t0zWG5bu
"Who are you?" Her voice was flat, emotionless - a demand, not a question.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡupNVJpjtwE
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3P9CMjs4MT
Cel couldn't breathe. His vision tunneled as pressure built.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZvUB4iRl4N
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmbp7zLPQOa
He forced words through the crushing grip. "Go... away."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2E2kbClJVp
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnfrWMZXbX3
Her expression didn't change.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm296UobIyM
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoglPRwVI9T
His hands clawed at her wrist. He reached for Frostmark—120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAbD9NW1oNi
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa7HPGmRhJa
Pain.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh43TxSzY4C
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlw4ZfLpUGD
The world became chaos. Stone. Burning ash. Crimson sky. All of it blurred as he flew through the air before slamming into a dune of ignited ash. The second impact drove him sideways. Third. Fourth. Each collision sent him careening in a new direction, his body ragdolling across the wasteland.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz1HloO4Tpn
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHPH3sStGW
Everything went black.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMbNoIUAYuV
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO3DltWLb8C
When awareness returned, he couldn't breathe.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwPCLJq1se3
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaCDt4kx8lp
His chest seized. He tried to inhale - nothing. His body refused. Panic flooded through him as his lungs screamed for air that wouldn't come.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGybFu4ADuz
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwxUrhSwlTm
Blood surged up his throat.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhqLIecimCG
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCG85QWrPiB
He rolled onto his side, retching. Hot liquid poured from his mouth, choking him further. His throat worked uselessly, chest heaving in broken rhythm.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzrLmkoN75N
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA7WQK8HoCd
More blood came up. His vision grayed at the edges.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqgZKgqccat
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0LhJmnoAP
He clawed at the ash, fingers digging in as his body convulsed again. Another wave of blood. His chest locked tighter.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDkbJNtowL7
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5vAezYU1U4
'Breathe—'120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtoIuToSgK3
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2rvJMWhAuK
Nothing.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxvGZLgn7sn
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdLdwBgyGUS
'BREATHE—'120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbC4ux1fc3y
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiMRHwoMsEc
His lungs finally obeyed.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoqlt4X4fNu
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJkyQkW81NR
Air rushed in - hot, full of ash. But real.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrYmU5n4tG0
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxLZHDH0YQP
He sucked in desperate, ragged gasps between coughs that brought up more blood.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjqzbBJABBw
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ011ivRBULV
Footsteps crunched across burning ash.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvohvdydFtu
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJEc9wuO8r
Not hurrying. Just the slow, inevitable advance of something that knew its prey had nowhere to run.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX7enBBEG3A
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1z1GSOggI5
"Use that power on me again and I'll break every bone in your body before you hit the ground."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeoeQKUVzT6
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvoKaic7rt
He sucked in desperate breaths between coughs, blood still hot in his mouth.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeqvNTVUftv
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡek1SEf3lla
Esrin was ten steps away. Nine.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBYjri9tWah
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWJb5szztz2
Cel's mind raced. He couldn't fight her. Couldn't run. Couldn't use Frostmark without her killing him before he hit the ground.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCyUdlEcOf
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJNGiXGekz8
But there was something else. Something that might—120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6xLiM7WNGM
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMg6KfiZZf
Eight steps.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡChgvqTcxql
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrtYj9INL8a
Cel slammed his fist into the burning ash.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzRWlOpoq3f
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm19kJqd8Ix
Seven steps.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMWAuTarVhl
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡspHmcClXMN
Again.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVR2l8XnUbl
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡevHwrka0nd
'Come on.'120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwwy29rE158
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcYSH67qNEn
Six steps.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpjOkDZPPiH
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVUedfcecH
Again. Harder.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE1JX0UGEUb
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgt6UliDJlY
'I know you're there!'120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYss6bp2Khe
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0UKOpFuOO
Five steps.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXC0zOXgCZv
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsYvSYZeIEE
The ground beneath him vanished.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgkI01saYvp
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73KyaKtksf
The Tremorborne erupted in an explosion of ash and stone, its circular maw opening wide as it surged upward with impossible speed.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT4W0A7SGcA
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6oTrJQFNNd
Cel fell backward into that hungry darkness—120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFx5siecdax
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGNPdPhekSg
And as the maw began to close, as Esrin's expressionless face filled his vision one last time, his lips pulled back from bloodied teeth.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNegixxuSw0
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl9lzv9riuL
A smile. Savage and defiant.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnddmbrGIYv
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd9SJYABaYs
Then the maw snapped shut and darkness swallowed him once more.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbAWe3Hywuc
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRmT97aO5qH
***120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0MIpVNxIXf
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlLUbuS5DyT
Esrin's eyes narrowed as the ground sealed itself.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFCjxLST5NZ
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB5irk3REXf
'His divine energy... I can't sense it at all.'120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3rr8nNplPs
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmEU27Ffiqq
The observation settled in her mind with uncomfortable weight. She'd encountered Chosen who masked their signatures before - but suppressing one's divine energy required absolute mastery. The kind of control that took decades to develop. But even then, it left traces. Ripples in the fabric of reality that marked where power had been suppressed.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHuOfbRNFRa
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZkbe8VXNQv
This boy had nothing.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSYD1EgC7z8
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKaDNfjnrcz
As if he simply... didn't exist in that regard.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUb2IdP509o
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwAcPLNzUwZ
'An artifact?'120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkOAFwgmMEY
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnN8rQ9876Q
White wings manifested from her back in a cascade of crackling lightning. She rose, ash swirling away from the displacement as she climbed toward the crimson sky.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHBHS7aY9IK
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtciDI1Pzx
Her glaive materialized in her grip.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKQi7R02C9A
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf97dtyPC1g
Lightning crackled across the blade - not the white-black energy of before, but something brighter. Purer. The weapon blazed with contained violence that made the air itself hum.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7dUYRY775b
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI7NtUMqyKj
She drew back and hurled it.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzMD4ETV2pZ
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVmWCQFnbhY
The glaive became a streak of blazing white, tearing through the air with a sound like ripping silk.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwyX2x9nDgi
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEFMfdzD2n9
It struck where the Tremorborne had vanished.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡthVnqatBqt
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBkpFpq3oQz
***120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5qRrDsPkvy
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTf4PWeAWoG
Light.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9sb0C7wFSZ
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrS47IjAlg7
Blinding, absolute light that turned the darkness into screaming white.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGbaXMxkZPa
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAtzm1XJdCr
The shockwave hit first - a wall of pressure that compressed the worm's body inward. Then sound that wasn't sound but pure force translated into noise.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhHNMvOzcdw
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPjTZtQDSWL
The Tremorborne's flesh detonated around him.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9fUth8Dpsx
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSgq6UaFolq
Chunks of obsidian armor flew outward in all directions. Tissue vaporized. The concentric rings of teeth shattered, fragments spinning away like shrapnel.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPTvlzzeKt9
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3frRPa6vKT
Cel's body tumbled through the expanding destruction, untouched by the devastation but thrown like a leaf in a storm. His vision was nothing but white. His ears rang with a tone so high it felt like silence.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAimw7rZdKC
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3jUsqqMSK2
He hit something solid.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9k50IAd6Xt
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7CJERTMrr
The impact drove what little air remained from his lungs. His back slammed into stone, his head whipping back—120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP7GIXRoSvB
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdrXEDCT7nP
Then stillness.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtYqemhZtKP
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCyh2uAYErO
The light faded by degrees. White to gray to the familiar crimson of the Ashlands sky.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡePlPB53Lb1
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYE61LWfQi5
Cel lay at the bottom of a crater.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVpB3xwbCO8
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr1cJYSYewl
The walls rose around him in a perfect circle, the stone still smoking from the heat. Ash drifted in the air like snow.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx77a8hLURk
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxfoVfbddl
He couldn't move.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD3Ul0osP0r
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPGouVF2zZ
Not from injury - the blast had somehow missed him entirely. But from something deeper. Primal terror that locked every muscle tight, that made breathing feel like an act of will.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlqoP7Ebu16
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaj17DDoUhy
The glaive stood embedded in the ground beside his head.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYP91ghZmad
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaYzYhPzq8h
So close he could see the intricate patterns etched into the blade, the way lightning still danced across its surface in fading arcs. Close enough that moving his head a fraction would bring his temple against its edge.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3mPRREn0Dx
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3spuqGC7c
A shadow fell across him.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhIeBIdz1Yw
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3vwtpDbW8I
Esrin descended through the air, wings beating with slow, deliberate grace. Her boots touched down on the scorched stone with barely a whisper, one on either side of his torso.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz7uoERfOUd
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD0dmTS8Mdd
The white wings dissolved in a cascade of fading lightning, crackling out of existence as if they'd never been.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡExrV21wHAn
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCDSWesfAZL
She stood there for a moment, looking down at him with that same flat expression - as if killing a Defiled-rank creature and obliterating everything in a hundred-step radius was simply routine.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTOXW7c0ibb
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDlDqQRLmU
Cel's chest rose and fell in shallow breaths. His eyes were wide, unblinking. Every instinct screamed to run, to flee, to get away—120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxzPleVFp2Q
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx1NEaK8brv
But his body refused.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBgooXaPADs
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKUR709SzRm
Esrin reached down.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo4ZiiYblCv
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqV3HQoguwO
His eyes tracked her hand, his throat already tightening in anticipation— 120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9tgbFSdVr0
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Yd5tFSzxU
She grasped the glaive's hilt.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsH0zeyj9nc
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvICJacTDiW
The weapon came free with a soft whisper of steel against stone.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK1PPfmfiAb
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgZXeBX3nsG
She held it loosely at her side, the blade still crackling with residual energy.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1JLSieoXwu
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtUaT0NbaAb
"You're wasting my time."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxLVBHWaKns
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlmWuwEBb7y
Cel's jaw worked. Blood coated his teeth, his tongue. When words finally came, they scraped like broken glass.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡANMMpN4ElX
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmxejvzGQtl
"Then... leave."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡljR4e5fUWb
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoeFCpWdYXF
Silence answered him.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYIKkon6kEm
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF1iYeCYAs9
Esrin's gaze remained fixed on him, flat and emotionless. Seconds stretched.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi9BwGi1f5b
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDmPXmDXHD
"What's your name?"120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFXfaNyYZkq
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpErqN09xuC
The question came without warning, without context.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7XhBU1g5jJ
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDsIMjtUzU1
"Celvian."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIUxF9Ri2Rc
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ6pZVskTch
"Your patron god?"120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQVnYvh4Pkw
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6N4d3z9koR
His throat tightened. "The Moon Goddess."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ZxsyMA0dJ
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZ7gAumnbJ
Her eyes tracked to his snow-white hair, to his glacial-blue eyes, then to the armor covering his battered form.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOJm6IOA737
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlSaX8C4fqT
"How old are you?"120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡit2OG0bXUt
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB2VQl3NBBv
"Sixteen."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGAUlKklSih
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡajuQTomKy1
For a single heartbeat, the cold assessment in her eyes softened. Not to warmth - but to something that looked like she'd just confirmed a suspicion she'd hoped was wrong.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyBYBe8VI4h
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hstCDQSZT
"How did a sixteen-year-old Moon Chosen end up in the Hollow Realms?"120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡejeWmhTtRW
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIFFHMwleNx
Cel's fingers dug into scorched stone. The truth would reveal too much - his origin as a noble, his father's betrayal, his year of torture. All of it weakness she could exploit.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzjbiMWdT28
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXIzl7py4gt
His jaw clenched as rage flared hot in his chest.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlHVwZXZ7wu
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpdT8D8tmV
They were his to kill. His vengeance. His blood to spill when he grew strong enough to make them scream.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz0f5wXDpVt
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkDCFj4nM0B
But if he could set a Hallowed on them first? Watch them scramble like rats as Esrin Tempvolt tore through their compound? See them taste fear before he came for what remained?120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMvRU1nAYQ7
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJsAXONU24C
The thought settled in his chest like cold satisfaction.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpg0vI8sq3O
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3J1ppWa4qr
"The Children of the Voidmother." His voice came raw. "They threw me through a rift. To seal it."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXSGesmjnS
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHLjHz6IcHk
Esrin's expression hardened - the only real emotion he'd seen from her. Her jaw set in a way that suggested this information mattered.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUvWAHt71bO
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbtN9GJEwUM
"The cult." Not a question. A statement laced with something cold.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsKazgcZh30
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT3Sr5m9d6t
He nodded.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo1CeFC9HS6
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHu9eeytYIY
Silence stretched again. Esrin remained perfectly still, gaze fixed on him with that same calculating intensity. Weighing. Deciding.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlZiPOXC2fu
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Cel kept his mouth shut. Every instinct told him that speaking now - saying anything more - would be a mistake. One wrong word and she'd start asking questions he had no safe answers for.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYhWwehiUJ7
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He couldn't risk that.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFkVDm9g8c0
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So he stayed silent, even as his body screamed in pain, even as blood continued to drip from his mouth. Waiting for her verdict.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡolgtkeRRi7
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Finally, something in her posture shifted - subtle as a blade finding its sheath.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpuXbWjzPlE
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"You're not what I came here for." She dismissed her glaive, lightning crackling once before the weapon dissolved. "But leaving a Chosen to die in the Ashlands serves no purpose."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdhLGxUBtO9
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The clinical assessment in her tone made it clear this wasn't mercy. Just... efficiency. A waste of resources to let him rot here.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCumbGwyYD
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"I'm taking you out of here."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdsUGRn3K7m
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Cel's body went rigid. "I can leave on my own."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOAOQkD4qXt
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He braced his hands against the scorched stone. Every muscle screamed in protest as he forced himself up. His arms shook. His legs threatened to buckle. But he made it - swaying on unsteady feet, refusing to fall.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡShGz1hsZ7S
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"Can you?" Her gaze swept across his bloodied form. "You can barely stand."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIuZPNsrn8C
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"And whose fault is that?"120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2DvYboI6ZA
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The words came sharper than intended, edged with pain and defiance.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY0OSpTEqZu
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUsr1HtpL83
Esrin's expression didn't change. No flicker of guilt, no acknowledgment of what she'd done to him. Just that same flat assessment.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlGpVTHkz27
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"Mine." The admission came without hesitation or apology - a simple statement of fact. "Which is why I'm not leaving you here to die from it."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpC8PWxFRxn
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Her hand moved to a pouch at her belt before he could respond. When she withdrew it, something rested in her palm - a flat stone perhaps the size of a coin, covered in symbols that writhed when looked at directly.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGPr7PT5vVG
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Her fingers closed around it.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPeNqPxP8re
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The stone shattered.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMvBtwAbzLB
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Not cracked - pulverized. Fragments turned to dust that slipped between her fingers, dissolving before hitting the ground.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ68N8sNN2V5
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Violet light erupted from where the stone had been.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8pCcCprmj3
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Cel's eyes widened.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJaMM639Na
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A rift tore itself into existence - but wrong. All wrong.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡITLJHfJ8vq
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The edges didn't shimmer. They crackled - sharp, violent bursts of energy that fought against their own existence. The violet light bleeding through wasn't steady. It pulsed, writhed, twisted back on itself in patterns that made his eyes water.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCbHDIP6ikm
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'That's not possible.'120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfN3ezwYWdJ
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Creating rifts was impossible. Even for the Hallowed. Rifts were tears in reality that formed naturally, that could only be found and sealed, never created.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1q6JW1cykN
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Yet here it stood, crackling with violent energy, defying every law he'd been taught.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyy2FCpi7iW
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'She just... she just created a rift.' The thought repeated itself, unable to find purchase against the impossibility before him.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCOdCH6ys4o
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Raven's voice echoed in his memory: 'You can trust her. She will protect you.'120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKKPxPzoi2W
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Esrin Tempvolt. The woman every noble child had been taught to admire - proof that strength and honor could coexist. The pinnacle of grace and power that young ladies aspired to emulate. 120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGNajCjUKhx
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And Raven had been certain. Even knowing she hunted him, he'd told Cel to trust her.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXd6BApGYyb
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Esrin stepped toward the impossible rift, then glanced back. "Stay close. The passage is disorienting."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEibWHqkBz9
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Cel stared at her extended hand.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQJmroEJezQ
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She'd nearly killed him. Had thrown him across the wasteland like garbage. Had threatened to break every bone in his body.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ62gRlJMjJi
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But everything Cel had ever learned said the Hallowed were humanity's greatest protectors. That Esrin Tempvolt was someone worth believing in.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqCMCwAl6ot
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His fingers closed around hers.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV6ChRlKfcy
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He had no choice. Fighting Esrin was suicide. Running was impossible. And if Raven had been right about trusting her…120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj4eOh42mDC
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'I'm sorry, Raven.'120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgFzJ6AIQYd
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The thought was brief, nearly drowned by everything else screaming through his mind. But it was there.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZblAW3jiN4
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She pulled him forward without hesitation, her grip firm but not painful. They stepped through together.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzauFApDzyD
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The world inverted.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZYypsg4E4
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Violet light swallowed everything. Up became down became sideways became nothing. Cel's stomach lurched as gravity lost meaning. The only constant was Esrin's hand, anchoring him while reality twisted around them.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrQ9zBpKVZo
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Then it stopped.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4PmvHRvfq4
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Solid ground materialized beneath his feet.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7BBPOTTzGw
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Cel's vision cleared by degrees.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYlMaw5b0gw
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They stood on an island of land suspended in—what exactly?120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJzFZvXYrDk
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Violet void stretched in every direction - not empty, but crackling with that same violent energy. Lightning arced through the emptiness in branching patterns, illuminating depths that had no bottom.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRV6SHDt63d
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And in the center of the floating land stood a manor.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡehyYFU6upr
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<You have achieved something extraordinary: You entered a new dimension.>120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNZx0xiy1to
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'Huh?'1234 copyright protection116ＰＥＮＡＮＡUqgPoSGOY7 尼

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