<Insight: (Ledger of Nightmares)>121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRvnrwcg1RA
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Cel stared at the words, absorbing their meaning.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJZHvqU5Av0
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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."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkxz68FNkOO
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3voAiVH7lJ
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"How long have I been here?"121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCiCF4KzjEc
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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."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzMDjkUNXIL
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Cel nodded, the wisdom obvious once stated. "Thank you."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRAGxaoEhaH
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"There is no need for thanks." Selina's smile deepened. "Go now. And may the Moon Goddess light your path."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvhdevQ8ilL
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The familiar words wrapped around him like a benediction as he closed his eyes and reached for the world beyond.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ8eVWEw7sJ
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Pain crashed over him like a wave.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEazokQ8H24
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZMoaGELZMR
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzPqzFHGAR1
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A sound broke the silence. Soft. Wet. The unmistakable noise of tearing flesh.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVej3Iq2ynd
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Cel's eyes snapped to the corpse.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvnna8oQrM
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It lay where he'd left it - serpentine body coiled in death, dark ichor pooled beneath it in the ash.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQiCdHqkJ8d
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Something was perched on its chest.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYhjggAXq7E
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A bird.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKhZKjvt9wd
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But calling it a bird felt wrong. Obscene, even.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ6eiKDyVx0
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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. 121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQR59KyEIFL
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA6K7tkc5LW
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'That's not a normal bird.'121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGjSyLgxtFG
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL0JzfQ1eGB
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Which meant this thing, with its blood-dipped feathers, was a rift-creature.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Rn45fwac5
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa1EltAibc9
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRogt1yTNng
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpCnaeUE91n
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Cinderward came next.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfI87j83iXl
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Yikqa1Ebh
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The transformation took perhaps two heartbeats.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7OqyroFtay
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When it finished, Cel stood in full divine regalia, blade raised, every muscle coiled despite the exhaustion weighing on him.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡobt32KxK8I
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1TyfRikwvU
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It was... ignoring him?121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHKoZMlN6GB
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhv4ZpDYlns
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Should he attack? The thing was clearly unnatural, clearly wrong—121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6rDtOvlFbD
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Footsteps.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPdVhx7FW0b
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The sound came from outside the ruins. Steady. Deliberate. The crunch of boots on ash-covered stone.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1LuxoVmpF7
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Cel's head tilted toward the entrance gap, every sense suddenly focused on that new sound.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxQcK4FcdU
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Someone was approaching.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQf0MIHAlHI
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The bird-thing didn't react. It simply continued its meal, pecking at exposed organs with clinical precision.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXucbkQ2V9t
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2tVyXVzXep
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A silhouette appeared in the gap between broken walls.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiItbAgaNGq
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Tall. Lean. Moving with a grace that spoke of training and deadly purpose.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmSy8Wmoes
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The figure stepped into the dim light filtering through the ruins.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcuBqd7c5o
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Cel's breath caught for the second time in as many minutes.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3BhI05dE0M
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxfjWbRzQ9P
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Relief crashed through Cel's chest before he could stop it.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRk4fW2O57M
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'A human.'121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6RvmwI6Rrq
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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…121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIYopI8XaBM
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Another human being stood before him.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSLn8WKTaKK
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Then the stranger's gaze met his, and the relief shattered like glass.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡju9rPyuR2v
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Those eyes.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeUk07hIEQj
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Crimson iris set against black where white should be, holding depths that seemed to swallow light rather than reflect it.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT91UIXHX3u
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Wrong. Fundamentally wrong in a way that made his instincts scream.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDg0aRJ4ffn
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'What if it's not human at all?'121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPmHUIgiU6r
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgLfnWx6KuF
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Trust was a weapon that had been used against him too many times. A weakness he couldn't afford.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8749Crx9EY
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJr9852jHe
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He hated that weakness. But he couldn't quite kill it either.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUDMGsR90b
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxgk2qreTm
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbpNfdcNbzV
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGAZuKET2p3
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbzoRSx5GYR
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD3WXl8ffLy
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Then those crimson eyes fell back to Cel's face.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡltXLWrW1Ov
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"You're human." The words came flat, carrying neither surprise nor emotion. 121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXkkjsqA5z
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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—?'121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEly3IlbS94
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxCEcqylNRC
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"You're injured." Still that same flat tone, neither offering help nor threatening attack.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0QFnwcLi8B
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"I'll live."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ870sR4tJaL
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A slight tilt of the head. "Will you?"121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCGq4jUQtEM
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTCahwGhEbX
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Cel's jaw tightened. "Long enough."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2tEaID9IU
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Something flickered in those red eyes - not quite amusement, but close. "Confident."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1C77ckRww
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡutyFaXPhuj
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The stranger moved.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0kEmVN8aV
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFop0vdY7SG
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Not aggressive. But not careless either.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwtNHIzAsa5
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"That yours?" The stranger gestured toward the corpse with a slight nod.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjT5kkyLd72
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"I killed it."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHAqw4WwhDE
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"Hmm." The sound carried something that might have been approval. "Ash-crawler. Nasty when cornered."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrXcpI0IuFt
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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.'121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecWG75mwQe
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"How long?" Cel asked before he could stop himself.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWleW3e8LFX
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The stranger's gaze narrowed slightly. "How long what?"121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrFVgUAWgS8
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"How long have you been trapped here?"121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7HeJmBccO
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1I48f9MUOz
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"Trapped." The word hung between them. “Seems like that.”121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQB3adj2MX
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfkfy5yYxWS
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The silence stretched again. The bird-thing pecked at exposed organs with clinical precision.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEKjLL1lDvk
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"What's your name?" Cel finally asked.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNmlpRWoWat
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4IicmvnIyV
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"Raven."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYuJOdeMd2
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Raven's gaze remained fixed on him, expectant. 121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfmy9Jwuljk
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"And yours?"121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWqfa1xWYY2
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Cel hesitated. The question was simple enough, but his mind raced. 'How did he get here? Why is he here?' 121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnXtBqTxTzX
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUuhx9CUdCJ
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJTGgYhxM8x
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"Celvian," he said finally.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxpwNVTfTQZ
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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?"121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRHi1XN67Rl
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"Yes."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡthFgUGeJJW
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"No companions? No escort?"121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB75YnfeBId
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"I said I'm alone."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe32oblGmuc
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Raven's eyes came back to him, sharp and assessing. "Moon Chosen."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIk05EjPsDZ
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It wasn't a question. Cel's hand tightened on Silent Moon's hilt.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpOy2RL0A9L
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"How did you—"121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZmGht0Mafw
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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."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIG5AciglIj
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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—121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4V1d3vir4g
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"Don't worry." Raven's tone remained neutral. "I'm not here to fight you."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlpAQntoh9S
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"Then why are you here?"121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLlfEjlw7pG
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGT6f2B2OeS
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"Does it matter how I got here?" A slight pause. "I'm here. That's what counts."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7f3BrfmCrA
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPbApIjT0re
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUVLYccosv1
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"Fine.” Cel resigned. “But you didn't answer my other question. How long have you been here?"121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJgAlJ9qgF
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This time, Raven actually answered.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3cDGndCDlm
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"Long enough." His eyes grew distant. "Maybe a year."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHlX857nAuJ
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The number hit like a physical blow. 'A whole year. Alone. In this place.'121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYpwg0KizOo
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkAucyT5r88
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"How?" The word escaped before Cel could stop it. "How did you survive that long?"121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIgAiczqe4L
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Something flickered across Raven's face - there and gone so quickly Cel almost missed it. Pain, perhaps. Or memory.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbWgBvbeVlR
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"You learn." The words came quiet, distant. "Or you die."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjZa8iqmRw0
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The bird-thing's cry echoed from somewhere outside, harsh and alien.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEbGtjY99yY
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡywqtVMPqgq
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"Your wounds. They'll fester in this place. Faster than you'd expect." The statement came flat, matter-of-fact. 121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLyFULx6jD6
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Cel's fingers tightened on Silent Moon's hilt. "I'll manage."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFMUsWAsSOl
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"With what?" Raven's tone didn't change, but something sharp entered it. "Ash and hope?"121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ2Dt5OUTmj
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The question hung in the air between them.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOZgKXEI14Y
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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.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSW8QlUeV5N
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Raven seemed to read his silence accurately, eyes narrowing.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0eXoIbabT
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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."121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3obbIVWNJA
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Cel blinked. "What?"121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGmq8SWTSrY
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"I'll be back." Raven was already moving through the gap.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcAJT6cKnYK
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"Wait—where are you—"121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmhAJXl6ETQ
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But Raven had already vanished into the ash-covered wasteland, his dark form swallowed by gray and shadow.1234 copyright protection117ＰＥＮＡＮＡVmJw9fi2GJ 尼

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