The sky stretched above him, black and empty as a dead man's eyes.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNXbkjR89Pt
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvc76LN8zR6
Cel tilted his head back until his neck ached, searching every corner of the heavens. Nothing. Not even a sliver of silver, not the faintest glow where the moon should hang. The darkness was absolute, wrong in a way that made his skin crawl.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDd7PxSjr8Y
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldtILwjB4p
‘Find the moon.’317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5wcgdGMyf4
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhst8n4qlLd
The trial's command crashed through his mind with sudden, terrible clarity.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg2NsVKeDqX
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFaVqfcvT87
"No..." The word scraped from his throat like broken glass.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0dawd4eEf
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWsuCAoZYcp
His hands trembled as he gripped the crumbled stone wall. This couldn't be real. The moon couldn't just vanish. It was impossible, like the sun forgetting to rise or the stars deciding to abandon their posts. Yet the empty void above mocked him with its silence.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡed59B4B3W5
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJXLukrFYNC
A laugh bubbled up from his chest - high, cracked, teetering on the edge of hysteria. "Of course. Of fucking course."317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGB99EgS5JK
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwTB6Gy1RQ
The magnitude of it crashed over him like a wave. This wasn't some riddle about waiting for nightfall or searching through crystal formations for a hidden trinket. The moon was gone - stolen, hidden, destroyed - and somehow, he had to bring it back.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUDnGTETzEp
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtDbKoXU9dC
How did someone restore a celestial body? How did a broken, half-starved boy reach up into the heavens and drag down something the size of mountains?317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdUjXHyroyU
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk0epZ14gTX
The answer lay somewhere in that glowing maze below. It had to. There was nowhere else to look, no other path forward.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0aUBPSil0C
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbKbYLUf444
Cel's shoulders sagged. Whatever waited in those razor-sharp passages, he'd have to face it. Tomorrow. Tonight, he needed what little rest he could get.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyS8pfccfQl
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF1tPdh0Ffx
The return to the ruin proved treacherous without the moon's guidance. Shadows swallowed everything beyond the crystals' faint luminescence, turning familiar shapes into lurking threats. He stumbled twice on loose stones, his heart hammering each time his foot found empty air.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKll3l3qTZ6
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlkP6coluMy
Inside the ancient walls, darkness pressed against him like a living thing. The fire had long since died to cold ash, leaving only the memory of warmth. Violet crystals that had grown through cracks in the ancient stone cast their faint glow across the ruins, offering the only relief from the suffocating black.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmyyA8lWiKS
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKqLvwl14s
Cel sank to the uneven ground, his back against the rough wall. The stones bit into his spine, but the discomfort was nothing compared to what he'd endured in that cell. Hard surfaces, cold air, the gnawing ache of an empty stomach - these had become his companions over the past year.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡijNt6dHXPW
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS11zGMJLUK
When sleep finally claimed him, it brought no mercy.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXp7xAAdNTg
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrHUDzmzBIF
The dining hall materialized around him with perfect, merciless clarity. Golden morning light streamed through tall windows, casting everything in warm hues that made the scene more beautiful and more terrible. His family sat frozen at the breakfast table, motionless as death.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi8VqWof1KH
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLlKsVQv1OX
"Father!" The word tore from his throat, bright with hope and desperate joy. "I had the Calling! I've been chosen!"317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjbmiv8snRI
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSn6dKZZvyC
Every fork paused. Every breath held. His father's knife stopped mid-slice, a thin piece of meat balanced on its edge.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6cqlPcQKYW
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ16x3ihGNEc
Cel's dream-self couldn't stop the words from spilling out. The endless ice. The silver moon. He watched his father's expression shift from mild interest to cold disgust. Even though he knew what was coming, he couldn't change a single word.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0sgopbPUax
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItFvecc6aF
"Show me the mark."317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGNYhsYj7S
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgTXaYggThE
Four simple words that had destroyed everything.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbGPY9OmQg7
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUUw0hO6Fjv
His nightshirt came away sticky with sweat. The mark blazed across his back - beautiful, terrible, divine. His mother's sharp intake of breath cut through the morning air like a blade.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1dOpbjN5Io
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7B0QyXLNAd
"Get out."317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkk3FxmAtLT
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1pe7eX4oaD
The words were barely whispered but sharp as winter.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIgEbNlPP5u
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrIctCXCrcf
"Father, please—"317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRQyM87HDLq
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsisOD40NiI
"GET OUT!"317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxEv343A5JL
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEW1RLyAVQI
The roar shook dust from the rafters. But Cel couldn't leave, couldn't run. The dream held him fast as his father's fist connected with his jaw, as pain exploded across his vision, as his family watched and did nothing, nothing, nothing—317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMr08AS9EDE
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4bv7mjUbQ3
Cel jolted awake with a strangled gasp, his hands clawing at the stone beneath him. Sweat soaked his ragged clothes despite the cool air. His heart hammered against his ribs like a war drum.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAexlqG6aN8
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeNT2tE6c0u
The nightmare always left him like this - raw, broken, hollow. But beneath the agony burned something else, something that had kept him alive through a year of hell. 317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡupuN14RsAy
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaYx3lj9rp8
Hatred. Pure and sustaining as forge fire.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktRrgUfsDw
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOshnCyWGwu
Cel's hands clenched into fists. The anger felt good - clean and purposeful compared to the helpless terror of the dream. It reminded him why he had to survive this trial, why he had to become strong. Not for glory or divine favor.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIWb8Tx2xMF
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ71SWG3YpRX
For revenge.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1q9dOpzBsw
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9oODflDQTT
Blood-red light spilled across the sky as the four suns clawed their way above the horizon. 317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCDWwoBcl0q
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOHgGNPuhQw
The violet crystals dimmed as daylight touched them, their ethereal glow fading to dull purple glass. Now. While the formations were blind and the heat hadn't yet turned lethal - now was his chance.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnE4eAqABqk
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlaGTbXT21c
He spotted the two leather bags near the dead fire pit - the same ones he'd noticed yesterday, forgotten in his shock over the missing moon.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWcBRLipdmg
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiq2UXyoLXP
The first bag sloshed when he lifted it. Water. His parched throat ached at the thought of drinking. He lifted it to his lips and took a careful sip, the cool liquid soothing his hroat.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbKSyTsPI5Y
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQqbl8yyXND
The second bag crinkled under his fingers. He loosened the drawstring and froze.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf635VEes0U
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiyIOr0Xrxi
Strips of roasted meat lay inside, golden-brown and properly prepared. No mold. No crawling things. No stench of decay that had become the signature of every meal for the past year.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaYAElRa3do
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2sCKC7mmqP
Cel's hands shook as he lifted one piece. Real food. Actual, honest food that wouldn't make him vomit blood afterward. He couldn't taste it - that sense had died months ago in the cell - but his body recognized the difference. The texture of something meant for human consumption rather than rot and filth.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBE278AxO6s
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1og5oBgnIj
His vision blurred. After months of choking down putrid scraps while maggots crawled across his tongue… 317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8q95qt2Es
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO7afgvumSF
He ate two strips quickly, enough to quiet the gnawing in his belly, then sealed the bag and set it back down beside the water. In the maze's tight passages with their razor-sharp edges, any extra weight could be a death sentence.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsqw2SAxgND
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUnMm5bacNJ
Papers rustled on the stone slab nearby, covered in symbols that appeared to writhe and twist. A part of him wanted to study them, but the suns climbed higher with each passing moment.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH5XruXG08m
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNjoGXxrC4G
Cel picked his way back over the rubble-choked entrance. His attention was fixed on the nightmare spread below.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu5fQjqPqH3
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwM675xPcgx
The Crystal Maze stretched beyond the horizon in every direction - a forest of violet formations that twisted unnatural angles. Between the larger structures, smaller crystals jutted from the earth like broken teeth. 317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQtU3b8CQvL
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI68d1tCdQZ
And towering above it all, that massive spire pulsed with sickly luminescence. His stomach churned just looking at it. It dominated the maze like a diseased heart, visible from every angle, impossible to ignore. The logical choice would be to head straight for it - the most obvious landmark in an otherwise chaotic landscape.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbfhrX63dn5
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAlHW0sVNsh
Which was exactly why every instinct screamed at him to run in the opposite direction.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIpwPpJeGUM
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ12kHgXkTyQ
The spire felt wrong. Looking at it too long made his vision swim and his stomach churn with nameless dread.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUUgWbtv9kB
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6yF82H1Bjh
Cel deliberately turned his back on the tower and faced the opposite edge of the maze. Whatever waited in that direction couldn't be worse than the malevolent presence radiating from the spire. 317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFViTsJDBJE
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOSCyRLasad
He started down the hillside, picking his way carefully over loose stones and crystal fragments. 317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiqMn0smMv0
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNpwnp9dUIZ
The first formation rose before him like a barrier between worlds, its surface smooth as glass and twice as deadly. Cel remembered the sharp sting from yesterday when he'd barely touched one of these formations. Every surface here was a blade waiting to cut.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyV8DGoHUls
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUWHIFo27t
He stared at the towering walls that stretched in every direction, identical violet surfaces offering no landmarks, no way to tell one passage from another. In a maze like this, he could wander in circles forever - or until he died.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4nCTqT5ZXj
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNWdPFz3svh
He picked up a fallen shard, its edges sharp enough to split hairs, and struck it against the wall. Each blow sent dust cascading to the ground and filled the air with a sound like breaking bells.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0QBi78LLJs
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZWLhr2eWxp
The mark he carved was crude but visible - a rough gash in the otherwise pristine surface. Cel stepped back and examined his work. It would do. At least now he'd know if he'd been here before. 317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfhIPrbiJgR
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOddPXWRcKt
He moved forward into the maze.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTAGBPEQ9Wl
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJGQWZL2e5K
The walls rose around him like the ribcage of some massive beast. Overhead, strips of sky burned with four ascending suns, but the passages themselves remained dim, filled with dancing shadows.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ44uzPCPuIx
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfC0MkiuCgF
The ground was littered with crystal fragments that had fallen like deadly snow. Each step required careful placement as he picked his way between the razor-sharp shards - one wrong move would drive a spike deep into his foot. Sweat beaded on his forehead despite the early hour, and the air thrummed with that bone-deep vibration.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡraL0Klqp8R
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavdOqT40gx
Another mark carved into crystal. Another turn into uncertainty.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvzcDgh7Ml
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ77qXrKZvKU
The maze twisted without warning, passages branching in patterns that defied logic. Corridors that should have led straight bent back on themselves. The surfaces played tricks with light and shadow, creating phantom passages that vanished when approached.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWUM6NURcF0
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0CH8MU2fT
The humming grew stronger. What had started as a barely perceptible vibration now pulsed through his feet, up his legs, settling in his chest like a second heartbeat. The formations were drinking in sunlight, storing it, transforming it into something else.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZW8EmdPhgF
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkRBboPLgLr
Soon they'd be hot enough to cook flesh.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvZ9ZgRhYH
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgyREiMEery
Cel quickened his pace, carving marks with increasingly desperate strokes. The passages seemed to multiply around him - left turns that led to dead ends, right turns that led back to where he'd started.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4oMTx4BGKK
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4LgRqR3FGw
His rags clung to his back, damp with moisture. The air grew thicker with each breath. Above, the four suns climbed relentlessly toward their zenith.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ10QS4GvLp5
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbHoyvI1JUb
Another mark. Another turn.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfEC56KDe50
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdrWYZqqz8u
A passage opened to his left that definitely hadn't been there before. Cel stared at it, his mind struggling to process what his eyes were telling him. The corridor stretched into violet-tinted darkness.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWwYWGtN67W
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3v6dsIK39y
He carved a deliberate X into the wall beside the new opening, then entered the passage.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL58JJtFoMC
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgaC1dEAIWF
Twenty steps later, he emerged into a circular chamber he'd never seen before. Formations jutted from the walls like frozen waterfalls, their surfaces blazing with reflected sunlight. The humming was louder here, almost musical.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiyQ8EuaMZB
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWBkVxXLpet
But it was the marks on the opposite wall that made his blood run cold.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBX8xYxJgRE
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRVTeB17fWN
Three rough X's, carved in the same desperate style as his own, scarred the surface.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJo4Pvr82y
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDziKo1nLX3
Cel's hands shook as he approached the marks, running his fingers over the familiar gouges. These weren't old - dust still clung to their edges, fresh as the moment they'd been made.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvSJPqIHaHJ
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaEyQnopCwd
His marks. But he'd never been in this chamber before.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkx8sTPulHJ
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB6iNK83SdZ
The maze wasn't just shifting. It was folding in on itself, bending in ways that made navigation meaningless.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCA61o5dztu
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA4nqff7qsm
Perspiration dripped from his nose onto the ground, where it hissed and steamed. The temperature was climbing fast now. Soon it would be unbearable.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4kJ7oKLISJ
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcrakdFgeGe
‘Time to get out of here.’317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0pBMOgjJam
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ15Uvh9OarB
He turned back the way he'd came—317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtxQgQ26RIC
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ37vqDVjF0N
And faced a solid wall of violet crystal.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcEe04EJ4zR
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8h8k7IhnXK
Cel pressed his palms against the surface where the passage should have been. Smooth. Seamless. As if it had never existed at all.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5nzQnwWyM1
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlGZk8fWVMp
His breathing quickened. He spun in a circle, searching for any opening, any way out of the circular chamber. But the walls rose unbroken around him, beautiful, terrible and absolutely solid.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSIyU7YSjVD
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq8pqjaTCLn
The maze had closed behind him like a trap.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy0vzYkVswp
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2CYqmmQBE
And then he heard it.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN3mJTJbiBH
317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUQE2Y9K4P9
A sharp clattering sound echoed through the crystal chamber.1234 copyright protection313ＰＥＮＡＮＡmOy8ZAgwmM 尼

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