<Insight: (Ledger of Nightmares)>144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡirVlvQRqfI
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Cel stared at the words, absorbing their meaning.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBRxRURywLR
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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."144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALBv33mVaO
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCZ0vUgB89i
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"How long have I been here?"144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡABttkaTupN
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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."144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcq67e6cA7i
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Cel nodded, the wisdom obvious once stated. "Thank you."144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOpD6iaQmhI
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"There is no need for thanks." Selina's smile deepened. "Go now. And may the Moon Goddess light your path."144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznSvUWdJaR
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The familiar words wrapped around him like a benediction as he closed his eyes and reached for the world beyond.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcCm2oZH5um
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Pain crashed over him like a wave.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfrHHulG4gB
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkWkC9wYlgK
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtSe0aqSfKx
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A sound broke the silence. Soft. Wet. The unmistakable noise of tearing flesh.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡka0WNnjvx7
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Cel's eyes snapped to the corpse.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyV7gPnG6pZ
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It lay where he'd left it - serpentine body coiled in death, dark ichor pooled beneath it in the ash.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqGlaW08r9C
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Something was perched on its chest.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7rUbTc0lRX
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A bird.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDlAz93RHX5
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But calling it a bird felt wrong. Obscene, even.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkUqtSQRGx9
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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. 144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtI6KlEk4mR
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuSgWOTblsz
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'That's not a normal bird.'144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Zjcq48eMr
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1hN3Wd3mS6
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Which meant this thing, with its blood-dipped feathers, was a rift-creature.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1UHt6gTcUD
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHA6Gi9Z606
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNIXjqINYWq
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡumg5ry6x6T
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Cinderward came next.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1mbrWeOxp3
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFUoXPTdYHS
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The transformation took perhaps two heartbeats.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwQaTdajjJ
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When it finished, Cel stood in full divine regalia, blade raised, every muscle coiled despite the exhaustion weighing on him.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnkZsS4DbJP
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrLl4yMR2N3
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It was... ignoring him?144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxDb37FVHg7
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI4tHWgVg8x
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Should he attack? The thing was clearly unnatural, clearly wrong—144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWatbpx6uIz
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Footsteps.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0IzlKKJa9e
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The sound came from outside the ruins. Steady. Deliberate. The crunch of boots on ash-covered stone.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8LlXy8nsV7
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Cel's head tilted toward the entrance gap, every sense suddenly focused on that new sound.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn1z6Qz5iiB
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Someone was approaching.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡugfVpBJKgB
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The bird-thing didn't react. It simply continued its meal, pecking at exposed organs with clinical precision.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ64t3X1TW9m
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq2oHSAqBHw
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A silhouette appeared in the gap between broken walls.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnT0xbuc75I
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Tall. Lean. Moving with a grace that spoke of training and deadly purpose.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7HfrRQvdnU
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The figure stepped into the dim light filtering through the ruins.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI4iRFv87qn
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Cel's breath caught for the second time in as many minutes.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeBFE7ZBJwL
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡObAutzfqm6
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Relief crashed through Cel's chest before he could stop it.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ0rcm9hhzs
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'A human.'144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡshZJnE7WAg
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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…144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjx9rf5mRdq
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Another human being stood before him.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWOTRwVM4ny
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Then the stranger's gaze met his, and the relief shattered like glass.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0QP9pEi1pB
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Those eyes.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5aThtCzhRR
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Crimson iris set against black where white should be, holding depths that seemed to swallow light rather than reflect it.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqlIaQdiTcQ
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Wrong. Fundamentally wrong in a way that made his instincts scream.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF8ja4TJv1B
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'What if it's not human at all?'144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqaaAcTeJL
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoCzGce5iyp
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Trust was a weapon that had been used against him too many times. A weakness he couldn't afford.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYxWURPeyYS
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy0RDwvHk6W
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He hated that weakness. But he couldn't quite kill it either.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEzCSATmbtl
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxT3KXQBQvy
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzfqlw9n3eD
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWdThOUd9bD
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGbeRU5MHpc
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1RFN3xP9u
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Then those crimson eyes fell back to Cel's face.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsN885a4crg
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"You're human." The words came flat, carrying neither surprise nor emotion. 144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHCkJEZFio
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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—?'144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBDIWzYBos
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWxzAKwDPur
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"You're injured." Still that same flat tone, neither offering help nor threatening attack.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡebGp11sis8
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"I'll live."144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ98fVMObdda
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A slight tilt of the head. "Will you?"144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjkC4NucEtH
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrF3HL3P2O7
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Cel's jaw tightened. "Long enough."144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0l8pgMAOfY
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Something flickered in those red eyes - not quite amusement, but close. "Confident."144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTm2HBMAVcz
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEIJJY8kaNh
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The stranger moved.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdiXAtY9wqp
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Zxn8PEXfP
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Not aggressive. But not careless either.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHXUqWj25TV
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"That yours?" The stranger gestured toward the corpse with a slight nod.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHyLdYbpion
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"I killed it."144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUj0FlIFGya
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"Hmm." The sound carried something that might have been approval. "Ash-crawler. Nasty when cornered."144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD0R4mTtJ68
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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.'144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9gGB2H4wop
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"How long?" Cel asked before he could stop himself.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9En1wXZS7J
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The stranger's gaze narrowed slightly. "How long what?"144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQoD2KERJZ
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"How long have you been trapped here?"144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgYA1CBQ46u
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn806J5jKKL
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"Trapped." The word hung between them. “Seems like that.”144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYFRmhgvfi1
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqhDMkBVUW
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The silence stretched again. The bird-thing pecked at exposed organs with clinical precision.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqjqGthdC4s
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"What's your name?" Cel finally asked.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7IV66ctk86
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzZ13LHXtij
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"Raven."144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmetEjEV0bk
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Raven's gaze remained fixed on him, expectant. 144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡstexulqt1j
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"And yours?"144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡORVg17XOKu
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Cel hesitated. The question was simple enough, but his mind raced. 'How did he get here? Why is he here?' 144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd8j0j5TNlM
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz8v8BRVbCY
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwxXW15dbk
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"Celvian," he said finally.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo2nT5doQLM
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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?"144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyqnlhbGUBW
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"Yes."144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaybjKmYKKG
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"No companions? No escort?"144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCtjehydjNi
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"I said I'm alone."144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwy6ZhknQRc
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Raven's eyes came back to him, sharp and assessing. "Moon Chosen."144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcVEJEi4rqs
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It wasn't a question. Cel's hand tightened on Silent Moon's hilt.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKpzcOVQdGh
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"How did you—"144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH6RNcpssDn
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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."144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5MmKkHBoSW
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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—144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqplBuW7O1Z
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"Don't worry." Raven's tone remained neutral. "I'm not here to fight you."144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9PMUOwIWqF
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"Then why are you here?"144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7xgPAoRUX
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1HlD1yMaRw
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"Does it matter how I got here?" A slight pause. "I'm here. That's what counts."144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡupIoeAMMrB
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSYiezZ171b
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVmkQCocCrE
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"Fine.” Cel resigned. “But you didn't answer my other question. How long have you been here?"144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZXoi95ha5
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This time, Raven actually answered.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHpNEsDVx27
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"Long enough." His eyes grew distant. "Maybe a year."144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡme4rw6BQMe
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The number hit like a physical blow. 'A whole year. Alone. In this place.'144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDfbuug0zK9
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7AELpxXMLi
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"How?" The word escaped before Cel could stop it. "How did you survive that long?"144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrkB65snkY4
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Something flickered across Raven's face - there and gone so quickly Cel almost missed it. Pain, perhaps. Or memory.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk9B5GWHxzL
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"You learn." The words came quiet, distant. "Or you die."144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡafawMukqPR
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The bird-thing's cry echoed from somewhere outside, harsh and alien.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNbAQtybGwi
144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI4bGvXPSjO
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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY0drAIyz8p
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"Your wounds. They'll fester in this place. Faster than you'd expect." The statement came flat, matter-of-fact. 144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSeXM27smBs
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Cel's fingers tightened on Silent Moon's hilt. "I'll manage."144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd3TjChRWjc
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"With what?" Raven's tone didn't change, but something sharp entered it. "Ash and hope?"144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgtC34rCfq3
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The question hung in the air between them.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn3eYfHA8LO
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa2bBq2V8Bs
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Raven seemed to read his silence accurately, eyes narrowing.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOrEFyvXfd3
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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."144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡub5CC6KN1u
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Cel blinked. "What?"144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZSwvtlQYmk
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"I'll be back." Raven was already moving through the gap.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRmDfq5jiaA
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"Wait—where are you—"144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA2rNtpxqyA
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But Raven had already vanished into the ash-covered wasteland, his dark form swallowed by gray and shadow.1234 copyright protection140ＰＥＮＡＮＡF5LX5zR4VK 尼

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