<Insight: (Ledger of Nightmares)>122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR1D84TyFcT
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Cel stared at the words, absorbing their meaning.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXrj7azAMmY
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldoqSS2sB7
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyWUyUZ3ZcS
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"How long have I been here?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMd9czRRWOI
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2DRrd0ctwx
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Cel nodded, the wisdom obvious once stated. "Thank you."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkDq6Ac9ZXb
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIQUTP3GOOu
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAvm6Rs5dws
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Pain crashed over him like a wave.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ11glnAelMQ
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWLho4z1QqQ
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUrKKNwHHEG
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A sound broke the silence. Soft. Wet. The unmistakable noise of tearing flesh.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoQ4QDtRZGP
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Cel's eyes snapped to the corpse.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoTc95TdMyv
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvnlJx3gud4
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Something was perched on its chest.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4M1lCgGZut
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A bird.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzkLjxPWu70
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But calling it a bird felt wrong. Obscene, even.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5X6x9YngL
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk4YaN6Vkbj
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4RkUeqTFwB
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'That's not a normal bird.'122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfMUr2KYZ3P
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxTLQOjh6c
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Which meant this thing, with its blood-dipped feathers, was a rift-creature.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE4NJPKi5q1
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLoWbLEdPKo
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh1a3Vd4fu4
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS5W4LSwTaz
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Cinderward came next.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcfOaCF5Dut
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuIFr138m8m
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The transformation took perhaps two heartbeats.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkB5Q2ixVoV
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuqQETtFY2X
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZIONO94XbJ
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It was... ignoring him?122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgk78BQ5a80
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk5TP6guEPA
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Should he attack? The thing was clearly unnatural, clearly wrong—122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAGzGZSN76l
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Footsteps.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsOWMlidfJT
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The sound came from outside the ruins. Steady. Deliberate. The crunch of boots on ash-covered stone.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJtPsnzDCo
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Cel's head tilted toward the entrance gap, every sense suddenly focused on that new sound.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdlOvNDHmW6
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Someone was approaching.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ95FbWz1190
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW4CQUwncSU
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7DGlZ9Hlr6
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A silhouette appeared in the gap between broken walls.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNdq08zr64J
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Tall. Lean. Moving with a grace that spoke of training and deadly purpose.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2MWZjYylwh
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The figure stepped into the dim light filtering through the ruins.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPFJHKI5KCy
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Cel's breath caught for the second time in as many minutes.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3s8NhF68FB
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3Cjec55Hg
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Relief crashed through Cel's chest before he could stop it.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvgoswsEzsi
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'A human.'122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0IQffrYk3y
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ815fTocPrf
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Another human being stood before him.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdzMyxZm11E
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Then the stranger's gaze met his, and the relief shattered like glass.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUNxH6ZqJoK
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Those eyes.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJBTzHHKuh
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNJO8HRAucr
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Wrong. Fundamentally wrong in a way that made his instincts scream.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡid1KwAThzJ
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'What if it's not human at all?'122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Z3rVgySLh
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFkw3WX6luV
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnrtFe3pRzM
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpnYjX4UNmV
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He hated that weakness. But he couldn't quite kill it either.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGVAPbf6BjK
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN3z80mOW6F
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDhV03xpnnI
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkkzCZcTCJO
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz6LV8Xujk8
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuRX7PReGaN
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Then those crimson eyes fell back to Cel's face.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoqqpzJe7Fz
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"You're human." The words came flat, carrying neither surprise nor emotion. 122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡofDIwXBfnG
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡThhm8H4AkM
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj6aqFu9aVu
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"You're injured." Still that same flat tone, neither offering help nor threatening attack.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBDvJiE2ujo
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"I'll live."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdu7PnsHXcZ
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A slight tilt of the head. "Will you?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtBzWivNBtq
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnxJTvVS8SR
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Cel's jaw tightened. "Long enough."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtsVA09q7z
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Something flickered in those red eyes - not quite amusement, but close. "Confident."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNWZTi6u7Gv
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡddQ7YMEvBD
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The stranger moved.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1sToj32NQC
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP3bTXFfjzN
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Not aggressive. But not careless either.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9nyzzHz4rJ
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"That yours?" The stranger gestured toward the corpse with a slight nod.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbNQFEsc293
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"I killed it."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡai1qCVQnqj
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"Hmm." The sound carried something that might have been approval. "Ash-crawler. Nasty when cornered."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvxz8ySfsaB
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzcgyipUrXg
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"How long?" Cel asked before he could stop himself.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1WUpHkhQMc
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The stranger's gaze narrowed slightly. "How long what?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZf5Ys0FLSr
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"How long have you been trapped here?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu4WVrKKBV3
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKHBddvc2Eh
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"Trapped." The word hung between them. “Seems like that.”122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmqO6j5EgDQ
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQFkwUkzYxh
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The silence stretched again. The bird-thing pecked at exposed organs with clinical precision.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoMz2D7y3b8
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"What's your name?" Cel finally asked.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4dXiGWDUSM
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡysiDkqXY3u
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"Raven."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQHMrbBksGs
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Raven's gaze remained fixed on him, expectant. 122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXOXP9l8Er9
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"And yours?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ44Kp3kFDPQ
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYjX3YLtziZ
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXSr62jj3o
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ0UEJsHEfc
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"Celvian," he said finally.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ16oh65w54W
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAhBb5Zs2Gp
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"Yes."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC11fq5CB1G
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"No companions? No escort?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUPUBNAfxW9
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"I said I'm alone."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWZnHJTwexb
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Raven's eyes came back to him, sharp and assessing. "Moon Chosen."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFoE2spfFtC
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It wasn't a question. Cel's hand tightened on Silent Moon's hilt.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtTneAfk6AD
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"How did you—"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGfv08oszGo
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwDYVlYCXN6
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7JXllEZzWL
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"Don't worry." Raven's tone remained neutral. "I'm not here to fight you."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwSXEKqt10
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"Then why are you here?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNSF5YG5Iug
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR9ESjISF2w
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"Does it matter how I got here?" A slight pause. "I'm here. That's what counts."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡekX7Hqr2AL
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKrLq59jTPb
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZie4Gqdy2
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"Fine.” Cel resigned. “But you didn't answer my other question. How long have you been here?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6XCdALQsro
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This time, Raven actually answered.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUIt5DAaUUp
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"Long enough." His eyes grew distant. "Maybe a year."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbBN0JOPhF9
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The number hit like a physical blow. 'A whole year. Alone. In this place.'122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN9wLFxVUKx
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLqcfmvKRLj
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"How?" The word escaped before Cel could stop it. "How did you survive that long?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzBKEdx3Snr
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy3FLHjtqOd
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"You learn." The words came quiet, distant. "Or you die."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuUsKnNeB2h
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The bird-thing's cry echoed from somewhere outside, harsh and alien.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhWJYm5KOzl
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ67XauIqmQX
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡneyYYzzvJe
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Cel's fingers tightened on Silent Moon's hilt. "I'll manage."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy7WnWjCMKB
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"With what?" Raven's tone didn't change, but something sharp entered it. "Ash and hope?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUSh2U4Dk8
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The question hung in the air between them.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm0dODRpN3I
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvAI1rnEV7X
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Raven seemed to read his silence accurately, eyes narrowing.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡitdDOY1IUU
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgUIEmOJqPS
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Cel blinked. "What?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgInQy3AmrI
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"I'll be back." Raven was already moving through the gap.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡahK8sx6TjA
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"Wait—where are you—"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx5LcagUMXA
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But Raven had already vanished into the ash-covered wasteland, his dark form swallowed by gray and shadow.1234 copyright protection118ＰＥＮＡＮＡ14ksUz0e6S 尼

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