The crowd pressed closer to the board, voices rising in waves of excitement and disappointment.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ25KVHWSN9I
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Cel hung back, letting the others surge forward first. He could wait. The rankings weren't going anywhere.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxW6kMTa4U
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Gradually, students filtered away. Some wore satisfied expressions. Others looked troubled, arms crossed as they muttered to friends about matches they should have won.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDjaHKySWsU
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When enough space cleared, Cel moved closer.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN6q8MAKlcE
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His eyes tracked down the list.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXMpROvfTp8
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Rank 1: Sylvaine Grovethorn60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnefzzfZROX
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Rank 2: Owen Peakscale60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAE7lnFpVgM
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Rank 3: Hestia Mortveil60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaREw8dChSJ
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Rank 4: Theron60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrWXbJ39YA0
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Murmurs rippled through the crowd at that placement. The All-Blessed had grown up as a commoner, yet here he stood above every noble except three. Divine favor, apparently, included natural talent for fighting.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNRrq3NZi7a
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The unfairness of it settled in Cel's chest like cold stone.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoJ1KBOz4Hi
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Rank 5: Cordelia Tidecall 60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUWCgeLNzd
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Rank 6: Percival Tempest 60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPDRyAilCV0
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Rank 7: Kyros Solgrand60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaDIJyFszpw
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Then the remaining nobles in descending order - each one benefiting from years of private training, inherited techniques, artifacts passed through bloodlines.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd4HheVedyB
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Then—60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKy3ol2EKS
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Rank 15: Celvian60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJHVWc4cJQ
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Cel stared at the number.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡekXK0jOV8m
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Fifteenth. The first commoner on the list. Above every other student who'd come from farming villages and merchant families.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9bOpXwZhH
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His jaw tightened.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXsjTOAuf3i
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He'd held back deliberately. Fumbled his strikes. Made his bladework clumsy and uncertain. Pretended his strength was just an authority he couldn't control properly yet.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpevr2aziFf
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But even then, the gap between a trained noble and the commoners was vast. That couldn't be overcome by pretending to be weak.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh5EWvAQEwr
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His gaze dropped further down the list. Past more names. More numbers.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQixgXhKfXQ
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Until he reached the bottom.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3pI7hDRb5k
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Rank 40: Lior60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnwOqdQ1lSx
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Last place.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnVNMSbd0jy
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Dead last among all forty students.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeURHJunIrR
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Cel's gaze swept the crowd until he found him. Lior stood at the board's far edge, shoulders hunched inward like he was trying to disappear into his own uniform. His hands twisted together at his waist - that nervous gesture Cel had come to recognize.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpGppwbl3ZX
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Their eyes met for a heartbeat.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLVVMQiZKOn
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Lior's throat worked. His fingers twitched once, as if reaching for something to hold onto.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fHGjtqrui
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Then he turned and walked away.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWK9Zls1PIj
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Not toward the dining hall. Not toward the classroom. Just... away. His footsteps quick and unsteady, like someone fleeing before they broke apart completely.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8gZqs9lKmx
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Cel watched until Lior disappeared around a corner, jaw tight.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ59WOP7JBF3
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Morning assembly came and went. Theoretical classes passed in their usual rhythm - Instructor Saren's voice washing over topics Cel already knew.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtEM5qrkXpr
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Lior's seat remained empty.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ30evnvxdPG
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Afternoon combat training arrived. Students filtered onto the grounds, forming loose clusters while Instructor Calder barked orders.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkHDcVjt61V
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Still no Lior.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3dsJR9IOXj
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By evening, when dinner filled the hall with voices and the clatter of plates, his absence felt deliberate. Permanent.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcXX26jS27L
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Cel ate alone at their usual table. The empty seat beside him felt heavier than it should have.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVng6YZ1O1
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When the meal ended, he rose and made his way through corridors that had grown familiar over months of routine.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl696G7Z0Cm
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The commoner dormitory stood quiet. Most students remained in the dining hall or gathered in common areas. Cel's boots echoed against wood as he climbed stairs to the second floor.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyWtK6Sd2YP
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Lior's door waited at the end of the hall.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡciEBBTbH3y
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Cel stopped before it, hand raised to knock.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHUWXEO0xR
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A sound filtered through the wood. Soft. Muffled.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQhH7vhEtgc
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Whimpering.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx1SL9UXPXZ
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His hand froze mid-air.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6yddSo8Rmc
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The sound continued - broken, desperate. The kind of crying that came from somewhere deep, where all composure had finally cracked.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdzcHe5nKrX
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Cel's hand lowered slowly.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAm58utNYCh
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‘What am I even doing here?’60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHUaMsCF5sW
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He had no idea how to comfort someone. The concept felt foreign - awkward and uncertain, like trying to speak a language he'd never learned.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdj88j8TbVI
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When he'd broken down in that cell, no one had come. When nightmares tore him from sleep, he'd faced them alone. The only comfort he'd ever known was Lyra's occasional visits - her brightness cutting through the darkness for brief, precious moments.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4x527ZQAL3
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But Lyra had been a child. Natural warmth and affection poured from her without effort or thought.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPFXYZXAQPa
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Cel possessed neither.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIzONq7qDOq
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He should leave. Walk away. Let Lior have his privacy, his dignity.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHT1QdKBoZh
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But the memory of his own tears - shed in darkness with no one to hear, no one to care - made his chest ache.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUlPfiuafn
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Maybe the knowledge alone that someone cared… would be enough.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKunHM4I1UQ
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Not enough to fix anything. But something.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY1ME9JIUP8
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Cel's knuckles met wood. Three sharp raps.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMMClKEpsxf
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The whimpering cut off instantly.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYSZLPlt9Wa
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Silence stretched. Then footsteps - hesitant, shuffling.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1QGrEYdUyj
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The door opened a crack.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCX8v9r8wle
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Lior's face appeared in the gap. Eyes red and swollen. Cheeks wet with tears he'd tried to wipe away but hadn't quite managed. His wheat-blond hair stuck up at odd angles where he'd run his hands through it.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpJy5TZGiGF
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"Cel?" His voice came out hoarse. Uncertain. "What are you..."60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqOHNLWf8l
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"Can I come in?"60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXni13ePDO1
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The question hung between them.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUC42vcoNLc
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Lior's throat worked. He glanced back into his room, then at Cel, then down at the floor.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMViWbXDe4V
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Finally, he stepped back and pulled the door wider.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLqOhpTg1ZA
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Cel entered.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCYL9FNMGZX
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The room was identical to his own - narrow bed, simple desk, wardrobe. But Lior's space carried signs of actual habitation. Letters stacked on the desk, the ink barely dry. A practice knife resting on the windowsill. Blankets rumpled from restless sleep.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbdxjey8Fzx
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Lior closed the door and stood there awkwardly, hands twisting together. His gaze fixed on the floor between them.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpNprFSuwZ0
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMlp1UrvVVW
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I know I should have attended classes today. I just... couldn't."60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk5LGj19Odu
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"It's fine."60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmt5xXpFln0
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The words felt inadequate. Hollow.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqmf5ZRnxqG
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Lior's shoulders shook. His breath hitched.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJzLaOcEwY
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"It's not fine." The admission came out broken. "Nothing is fine…”60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡamslPvwo9E
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"Come," Cel said quietly, gesturing toward the bed. “Sit.”60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5b6ZAIfHZM
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They settled on opposite ends of the bed - Lior perched on the edge like he might bolt at any moment, Cel leaning back against the wall.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXsSkkPUr09
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Silence pressed in around them. Lior's hands twisted together in his lap, fingers white-knuckled.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2bKhRJYtAO
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"I'm thinking about leaving," he said finally. The words came out flat. Empty. "Going home."60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBVBT9L7jSi
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Cel said nothing. Just waited.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrQ7yotOOca
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"I don't—" Lior's voice cracked. He swallowed hard and tried again. "I don't amount to anything here. I'm last. Dead last. I can't learn fast enough even with you helping me. I can't fight properly. I'm a Chosen of the weakest goddess."60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhNxKbYJDLG
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His fingers twisted in the blanket.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLB4LZaBzJV
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"My artifact is blessed rank. A knife. Not even a sword - just a knife that barely cuts better than mundane steel. And my authority—"60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmI0hBM6Hys
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He lifted one trembling hand.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKe1sTCyGcl
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Then, light bloomed. A small orb, no larger than an apple, casting barely enough illumination to read by.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCmakjPV5MQ
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"This." Bitterness bled through the word. "This is what the Moon Goddess gave me. Light. Not even bright light. Just... this."60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuAONw7qKeH
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The orb flickered and died.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRTF97Br4Y
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"My priest is rank fourty-one," Lior continued, voice rising slightly. "Fourty-one! That's supposed to mean something. But look at me. Look at what I got."60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIR81ULXkds
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He pressed both hands against his face.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpoWgyT5NFE
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"My mother sold everything she had to send me here," he whispered. "She worked herself sick for months just to afford the journey. And my father—" His voice broke completely. "He tried so hard to be proud. But I saw it in his eyes when the Moon Goddess chose me instead of... instead of someone stronger."60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGfVvJB6JZN
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Tears slipped between his fingers.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8CyN65ujHr
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"I don't belong here," he whispered. "Everyone knows it. The instructors. Kyros and his friends - they're right. I am trash. Blessed trash. That's all I'll ever be."60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMBww06JiQj
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His shoulders shook.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ezCEb6vqq
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"Even if I stay. Even if I graduate. The Chosen Legion is supposed to accept everyone, but..." He lowered his hands, staring at nothing. "They'll treat me the same way. Because I can’t do anything right. I never have. I never will."60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡheDFj9krTl
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The words hung in the air like smoke.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWisSsziKy3
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Cel watched him - shoulders hunched, hands trembling, face buried in his palms. A boy coming apart at the seams because the world had shown him exactly how little he mattered.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsZuUXlDvXe
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‘I should say something.’60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9VAYmlx5qG
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But what?60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1oEoQLwAdC
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That things would get better? A lie. Lior's circumstances wouldn't magically improve through empty reassurance.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrFWGHA5JFv
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That his ranking didn't define him? Another lie. In this world, power determined worth. 60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQEfoMc729J
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That he should keep trying? Cruel. Lior had been trying. It simply wasn't enough.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTtABiy12MX
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Cel's jaw clenched.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuyK3VahLUB
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He didn't know how to fix this. Didn't know how to make the pain stop or the tears dry. All the words he could think of felt hollow - platitudes that would shatter against the truth the moment he spoke them.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDmdH2LNjNe
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So instead, he spoke the truth.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1EGHGfaHq3
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"When I was young," Cel said quietly, "I was like you."60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMeiQhpEype
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Lior's head snapped up.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQD8Roimjn7
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"Timid. Useless. Afraid of my own shadow." The words came easier than expected, pulled from memories he usually kept locked away. "My father hated me. Not in some abstract way - he genuinely despised everything about me. My weakness. My gentle nature. The way I flinched when he raised his voice."60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPxLFqXiSlh
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Cel moved to the window, staring out at darkness.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6eq9h1MWjy
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“As for my mother..." He scoffed. "She was there. Physically. But that was all."60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxlMURu1MZq
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His fingers pressed against the windowsill.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLymmMM130c
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"I had a brother who outshone me in everything. Perfect. Talented. Everything my father wanted. He'd watched when I got punished. Never helped. Never spoke up."60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmUHUvoNYCd
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Cel's hands curled into fists.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcOq3wXQwAb
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"I wanted to die…” A pause. “The thought of enduring another moment in that house, with those people, felt impossible. But I kept going anyway. Not because I was brave or strong. Just because..." He stopped. Started again. "I endured it because there was nothing else to do."60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH99l4hJJC1
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Lior stared at him, tears still wet on his cheeks but his breathing steadier now.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtnFkIm11zI
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Cel turned from the window to face Lior directly.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlC2yRMar67
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"You think you're weak," hel continued. "That you don't belong here. That everyone sees you as pathetic." His voice dropped lower. "They probably do. The same way my family saw me."60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz68R3g0dzn
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He moved closer, crouching so they were eye-level.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW8KVRQ50hH
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"But you're here anyway. You are here despite knowing you'd struggle. You practiced reading even though the letters didn't make sense. You stepped into that sparring circle knowing you'd lose."60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYdbAMUKFXQ
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Cel's gaze held Lior's.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5xi3IH9Cl7
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"That's not weakness. That's endurance. And endurance..." His throat tightened. "Endurance is the only strength that actually matters when everything falls apart."60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2XVhuPjFPB
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Lior's breath hitched. Fresh tears spilled over, but something in his expression had shifted - less broken, more... present.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgAPWkDP39V
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"I can't promise it gets easier," Cel said quietly. "Can't tell you that people will stop looking down on you or that your ranking will improve. Maybe it won't. Maybe you'll struggle every single day for the rest of your time here."60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR8Y4y4YJhE
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He straightened.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR0LOsbAQfm
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"But you're still breathing. Still trying despite knowing how hard it is." A pause. "That's more than most people manage when the world rejects them."60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwYCIZ8Z8wY
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Silence stretched between them - heavy with truths neither had expected to share.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD8RyCu7y9P
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Then Lior wiped his face with both hands, smearing tears across his cheeks.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLV8B0RHFZ6
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"I didn't know," he whispered. "About your past. You seem so... composed. Strong."60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyCdKV7wtp3
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"People rarely are." Cel moved toward the door. "We all carry things that don't show."60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe2LGomIkpY
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His hand found the handle.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYHB3LAeKRa
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"Cel?"60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjmTi5Sw03B
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He glanced back.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpGDsuUTCcx
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Lior's expression held something fragile but genuine. "Thank you."60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6FwP3Itsi7
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Cel nodded once.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWS0ujTpcga
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Then he left, pulling the door closed behind him with a soft click.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf3DfQzAR8a
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The corridor stretched empty and silent. His footsteps echoed against stone as he made his way toward the training grounds.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFi3S0DgUkG
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Night had fallen completely. The moon hung full and bright - pouring its light across the Academy grounds in pale radiance.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7PxKMuIXH
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Lunar Vigor flooded through him the moment he stepped outside. Power hummed beneath his skin, turning exhaustion into energy.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRE2N7iPk4S
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The training grounds came into view.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtKZiIrmVvz
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And for the first time in weeks, he wasn't the first to arrive.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiD7XhzHaT6
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Hestia sat in her meditation spot - perfectly still, jet-black hair spilling over pale shoulders, crimson eyes closed in concentration. The night seemed to gather around her like a living thing, shadows pooling at her feet.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0hgvhOCa6w
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Cel stopped at the threshold.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHz9nMHhq0o
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Usually, he'd summon Silent Moon and begin his forms. Let the silence stretch between them, unbroken except for the whisper of his blade through air.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9tbXc4pBtA
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But tonight…60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAChl8swgdY
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Tonight, he needed to know.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMGf49JbWE3
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He crossed the training grounds, boots crunching against packed earth. Each step deliberate. Purposeful.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIDHw5yARLB
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Hestia's eyes opened when he was still several steps away - her expression unreadable.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBqr1eZFQyS
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She didn't speak. Just watched him approach with that same intense assessment she'd worn since the first day.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6rcBCY0rY3
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Cel stopped a respectful distance away.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNIclkhatI3
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"Lady Hestia."60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp7cifNegqA
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"Celvian." Her voice carried no inflection. 60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡasPdKPpX4A
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He met her gaze directly.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9GiswZT2oX
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"What do you want from me?"60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRpc0dkbewR
1234 copyright protection56ＰＥＮＡＮＡINxHcLXTu9 尼

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