His father's fist connected with his jaw. Blood sprayed across marble floors. His mother stood frozen, one hand pressed to her mouth, tears streaming down her face but feet rooted to the ground.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNAVzJAfH6m
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"Weak!" Another blow. "Pathetic!" The voice thundered through the dining hall.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9aSQ34GxBO
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Cel tried to speak, to beg, but his father's hands were already at his back, nails digging into divine flesh, tearing away the Moon Goddess's mark—113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqgM6CK8Hqv
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His eyes snapped open.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡug2gI62ood
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Ash-covered stone ceiling. Broken walls. The hollow silence of the Ashlands pressing in from all sides.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfE9NItxvO0
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His chest heaved, breath coming in short gasps. The nightmare clung to him like oil, coating his thoughts with remembered pain.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpMhlWC2kWm
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"You're awake."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUktQpFVMd
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Cel's body jerked, his left hand instinctively reaching for Silent Moon before his mind caught up. The weapon materialized halfway before he registered the speaker.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk3PQQCksA3
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Raven knelt beside him, one hand extended toward Cel's torso. Something dark and viscous coated his fingers - a sticky black mass that glistened faintly in the dim light filtering through the ruins.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbLXdd6J2hN
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"Don't move," Raven said, his tone flat.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWpmhDMeav
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Cel's gaze dropped to his own chest. His armor had been partially removed - the mantle and cloak set aside, the tunic pulled up to expose his ribs where the Ashlurker's claws had torn through flesh.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Ni7R6ZJZo
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The black substance covered the wounds in thick layers. It didn't smell like anything Cel recognized. Not medicinal herbs, not the acrid burn of cauterization. Just... earthy. Ancient, somehow.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOdCmRTIWva
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"What is that?" His voice came out rougher than intended.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrcSghPufJz
113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbrYYltiBye
"Medicine." Raven's fingers worked with practiced efficiency, spreading more of the substance across a particularly deep gash. "Found it growing in the darker places. Don't know what it's called. But it works."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPtDorGR1a
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The matter-of-fact delivery was oddly reassuring - proof that survival was possible even here. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtN7Hcw55lX
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"How long was I—"113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcWxuVQxU29
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"A few hours. Maybe less." Raven's crimson eyes flicked to Cel's face, assessing. "You talk in your sleep."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkyUZ1BgtAq
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Cel's jaw tightened. "What did I say?"113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKor08vBBuw
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"Nothing clear." A pause as Raven applied more of the black substance to the wounds on Cel's shoulder. "Sounded like it wasn’t a pleasant dream."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqYBfVueMZ
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Cel looked away, focusing on the creature's corpse still coiled a few steps away.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQF92Or8Vi9
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"Your wounds looked worse than they are," Raven continued, his tone unchanged. "Bled a lot. But the cuts weren't deep enough to do real damage. You got lucky."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHF2RR1yQT8
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"Didn't feel lucky."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu7mcAB3rCr
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"Luck isn't about feeling." Raven sat back on his heels, examining his work. "You survived. That's what matters."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHnpZ94SVXN
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Cel's gaze tracked to his own body, really looking at it for the first time since the fight. The wounds were there - angry red lines where claws had opened flesh, burns from the worm's molten breath. But Raven was right. Nothing had been torn away. No exposed bone. No organs punctured.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI4KgRubkil
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The burns on his left arm, which should have charred muscle down to bone, showed only reddened skin beneath the black coating.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1XG9XXe0IY
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"Your body's good," Raven said, following Cel's gaze. "Even for a Chosen."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgvPZ6IrLvk
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Although it was not his own accomplishment, a kind of satisfaction settled in Cel's chest. The Moon Goddess had forged him this body - a body that could apparently endure more than he'd given it credit for.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqPt0GR6YNe
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His gaze drifted to Raven's eyes. Crimson iris against black where white should be.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg6FNS3ATxI
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The question burned in his throat before he could stop it. "Your eyes. What happened to them?"113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOzEI4fQmm
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Raven froze.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPK5yV7KD0x
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The reaction was subtle - just a momentary stillness in his movements, a fractional widening of those red eyes. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoget9KlVkV
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"What?" The single word carried genuine confusion.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ43Obw32IXo
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Cel's jaw set. "The black. Where white should be. What caused it?"113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhPBsvx9y8e
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For a long moment, Raven simply stared at him. The silence stretched, heavy with something Cel couldn't name.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjRngTh5hzo
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Then Raven's expression shifted - not quite a frown, not quite suspicion. Something caught between the two.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4n4Q0mcwUK
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"You really don't know?" The question came quiet, careful. "You can't... feel it?"113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiiziDCUv2z
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"Feel what?"113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsd1Lh1mEh4
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Raven's eyes narrowed, studying Cel with an intensity that made his skin prickle. As if seeing him for the first time. As if everything that had come before had been surface observation and now Raven was actually looking.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnbtRNxTCWo
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"The aura," Raven said finally, each word deliberate. "The wrongness. The disgust that comes off me like heat off stone."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4XmJ5qNbtb
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Cel blinked. "What are you talking about?"113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxIpZWGcRj
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Something flickered across Raven's face - too fast to identify, but there. Real emotion breaking through that carefully maintained neutrality.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp9K6Sr8GAY
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"You seriously can't sense it." Not a question this time. A statement of dawning realization. "The corruption. The stain. The thing that marks me as—" He cut himself off abruptly.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSS9cgr1agC
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"Marks you as what?"113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhdIQVPnEjn
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Raven remained silent, his gaze locked on Cel's face as if searching for deception. Finding none seemed to disturb him more than anything else.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Gyz6LE12o
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"Cursed," he said finally. The word dropped between them like a stone into still water. "I'm one of the Cursed."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkgBxhWQqiY
113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSdkMYSHc60
The declaration hit Cel like a physical blow.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrhpgxg30Ne
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His breath caught. His body went rigid. Every childhood warning, every whispered story, every nightmare used to frighten disobedient children - all of it crashed through his mind at once.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9aBXWTh9oP
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'Behave, or you'll end up as a Cursed.'113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTPLVTFYCeA
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The Cursed were the absolute bottom of society. Lower than slaves, lower than criminals. People - if they could still be called that - who bear marks of corruption - twisted flesh, cracked skin, signs that divine grace has left them forever.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwUmN2UCqRZ
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Cel had never met one before. No noble child did. The Cursed were exiled from civilization, driven into the wilderness or hunted down by Chosen who believed killing them earned them the favor of their god.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrCPx4u6WeM
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And now one stood before him, had been applying medicine to his wounds with practiced hands.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzaeCSsSMv5
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The realization should have triggered fear. Should have sent Cel scrambling for Silent Moon, putting distance between himself and this corrupted thing wearing human skin.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOahBoFWYhn
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But all he felt was... confusion.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxpgqXbrOBK
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"You helped me," Cel said slowly. "Even though you're—even though—"113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrOx3byYfQz
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"Even though I'm supposed to be a monster?" Raven's lips twisted. "Shocking, isn't it?"113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHg3vqm2q9L
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The bitterness in those words cut deep. Cel had heard that same tone in his own voice, directed at his father, his family, everyone who'd judged him as worthless before casting him aside.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqTuwkqYkQE
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"I don't understand," Cel admitted. "The stories say the Cursed are... wrong. Dangerous. That losing divine favor corrupts more than just the body."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkLJnSnW1ru
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"Stories tell a lot of things." Raven moved to the broken wall, his silhouette sharp against the gray light filtering through.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPyfulzVe37
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"But the marks—the corruption—"113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGhcFqU3jXA
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"Are real." His jaw clenched. "But it doesn't make us monsters. Just... abandoned."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdawMMLzGjj
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The word resonated in Cel's chest. Abandoned. He knew that feeling intimately - the crushing weight of being cast aside by those who should have protected you.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgmk4vTXtT3
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"How?" The question escaped before Cel could stop it. "How do people become Cursed?"113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3J2ujhXCWW
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Raven's gaze grew distant. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUYumxKIVa
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"Different ways."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcAdTsNbc68
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The silence that followed made it clear - this topic was not open for discussion. Whatever had happened, whatever had led to Raven becoming Cursed, he had no intention of sharing.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIDMhuh3G1v
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Cel recognized that wall. He'd built enough of his own.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG9nqKElKPg
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He shifted against the wall, trying to find a more comfortable position. The black medicine pulled at his skin where it had begun to dry.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi0r1Tp3kpr
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Raven's gaze fixed on him, those crimson eyes sharp. "You didn't."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3QfkV5BnrO
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"Didn't what?"113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc1lsMxsM1Q
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"Didn’t know that I am a Cursed." Raven tilted his head slightly. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjpW9CNNWZG
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He moved closer, studying Cel with unsettling intensity. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ19oGRYvdTs
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"The aura alone should have told you. The wrongness. The revulsion. And Chosen feel it even stronger." He paused. "But you don't seem affected at all."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbcKKa9E1v5
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'Shit.' Cel's mind raced. This was dangerous ground. If Raven realized he couldn't sense divine energy, it would expose a critical weakness - one that could get him killed.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEcXqg0z9HS
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"I'm just—" Cel forced his expression neutral. "I'm controlling it. The reaction."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJLavTGapQG
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The lie felt weak even as it left his mouth.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUMiFCgX5M
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Raven's eyes narrowed. "Really?"113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbCI9YXNXW0
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"Yes."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGv6MHPFguV
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"You're not even trying to maintain distance.” Raven's tone remained neutral, but pointed. "Most Chosen can barely stand being in the same room. Need space. Fresh air. Something to cut through the wrongness."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4CSGlUXZL
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Heat crawled up Cel's neck. His hands curled into fists.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡau5SDUe10I
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"Maybe I'm just better at controlling my reactions than most."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMpglQrlOJk
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"Or maybe," Raven said slowly, "you can't sense it at all."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKrEWI1uZlt
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The corner of his mouth twitched. "That's ridiculous."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZNgq0ai6YF
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"Is it?" Raven gestured to himself. "You asked what happened to my eyes. If you could sense the aura, you wouldn't need to ask. You'd know what I was the moment you saw me."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIGWePE5ZEK
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"I was just—I didn't want to assume—"113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtHGrlFpge8
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"You're a terrible liar." Something that might have been amusement flickered across Raven's face. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9mNRHFOp6o
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Shame burned in Cel's chest. Even this - even the simple act of hiding his deficiency - was something he couldn't do properly.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZiYlGqIjy4
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"So what if I can't sense it?" The words came out sharper than intended. "It doesn't change anything."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfgypE1bxYi
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"Doesn't it?" Raven's expression shifted, genuine curiosity replacing accusation. "Every human can sense the Cursed. It's not learned. Not trained. Just… part of what makes one human." He paused. "But you can't."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPyZqvEqx0P
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Cel looked away, fixing his gaze on the creature's corpse across the room. Anywhere but those crimson eyes that saw too much.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpVCztA80tq
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"What about Divine Energy?"113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5xRSunOa9r
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"I can sense it," Cel answered quickly. Too quickly.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0DODfHYPi
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“You should really work on your acting skills.” Raven's voice came quieter now. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7vUSVbExjJ
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Cel's throat tightened. His hands clenched harder, nails digging into his palms.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmy3urnnacA
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"It's pathetic, isn't it?" The words came out bitter. "A Chosen One who can't even sense the most basic thing every human has."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYeY9iGKMOK
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"That's not the word I'd use."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOlFhCoNMmA
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"Then what would you call it?"113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW3cOPklZEW
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"Impossible." Raven moved to lean against the opposite wall, his posture relaxing slightly. "You're blessed by the Moon Goddess. Can manifest divine artifacts. But can't sense the energy that powers them." He shook his head. "That shouldn't work."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjdIVuL7R9R
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"But it does." Cel's jaw clenched. "Somehow."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWsYYsKRXc7
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"Yes. Somehow." Raven studied him with that unsettling intensity. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhiWUFxwOAX
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"Does this mean something's wrong with me?" Cel's voice came flat.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZITmjqPABz
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"I don't know.” Raven’s honesty was brutal. “I've never heard of a Chosen who couldn't sense Divine Energy. It should be impossible."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5XNJ4vpLz2
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"Everything about me seems to be impossible lately."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGKK3jMlsv
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Raven simply stared at him. Then he exhaled slowly - not quite a laugh, but close.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWrVNmm53m3
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Silence pressed heavy between them.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEnwNbDpmWb
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Cel studied the young man before him - the exhaustion carved into his features, the way he held himself like someone perpetually ready for violence. A year alone in this nightmare. Hunted by monsters and abandoned by the divine.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMHrSXJ8d2
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And yet he'd still helped a stranger. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4MBJ310rYA
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"Why did you help me?" Cel asked finally. "Even though I'm a Chosen One. Even though most Chosen would hunt you."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgHBhKOyArd
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Raven was silent for a long moment, those crimson eyes unreadable.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtsgOvijEOl
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"Because you looked at me and saw a person." His voice came quiet. Raw. "Not corruption to be destroyed. Not a threat to be eliminated. Just... another human trying to survive." He paused. "Not even my family did that."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6wfmvtSbv
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The honesty in those words struck deeper than any blade. A glimpse beneath the careful neutrality Raven maintained like armor.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw3aiR3oUKA
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Cel understood that loneliness. Had felt it himself beneath his father's rage while his mother and brother watched in silence - present but absent, seeing his suffering but not seeing him.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt6wFnRQ9c0
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"I'm sorry," he said. "For what happened to you. For what you lost."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrz2X8g1IxJ
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"Don't be." Raven's expression hardened again. "Sorry doesn't change anything."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8j5EvathNq
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"No," Cel agreed. "It doesn't."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtbfbQSzMhD
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Another silence. But this one felt different. Less heavy. More like an understanding passing between two people who'd both been broken by circumstances beyond their control.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk16vHGWHzr
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"Your wounds will heal faster with the medicine," Raven said, breaking the quiet. "But you need rest. Let your body recover."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7QmUHP7cxZ
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Cel glanced down at the black substance coating his injuries.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiEfq6qRbWN
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"Thank you.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMhLTagrx7H
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Raven paused, looking back at him. For a moment, something almost like warmth crossed his features. Then it was gone, replaced by that familiar neutral mask.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBgSo73yQUf
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"Rest," he said. "I'll keep watch."113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2BUjIQXlg
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Cel wanted to protest, but exhaustion pulled at him like an undertow. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡurJCKL7JGb
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"Call me if something happens," he said instead.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGQVJpAP68H
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Raven nodded once, moving to position himself near the entrance gap where he could see approaching threats.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj9XMiaeiW7
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Cel leaned back against the wall, feeling cool stone against his spine. His eyes tracked to where Raven stood silhouetted against the gray light beyond.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7gRA0llDqd
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Cursed. Abandoned by the gods. Hunted by society. Marked with corruption. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLAHomaPdBP
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Yet for the first time since entering this cursed realm, Cel felt something close to safety.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlQ7EpqBBEE
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Not because the danger had diminished.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEfMebKIwdq
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But because he was no longer facing it alone.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7OP1NiLFY
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'Maybe the gods make mistakes too.'1234 copyright protection109ＰＥＮＡＮＡe2qT3OyPES 尼

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