Cel stood frozen, breath still trapped in his chest.75Please respect copyright.PENANAtrnzEnFgqS
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'A world.'75Please respect copyright.PENANAgjffZlcDHm
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The thought echoed through his mind, unable to settle into anything coherent. He'd just witnessed something that shouldn't exist - a pocket of reality where Esrin's will became absolute law. Where she didn't just fight. She dictated.75Please respect copyright.PENANAhZOPZiTVrl
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The ultimate ability a Chosen could reach - aside from ascending to Hallowed of course.75Please respect copyright.PENANABT4SESgVWC
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And this was the world of the strongest Chosen of the Empire.75Please respect copyright.PENANAd8TRpvIgpV
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His knees wanted to buckle. His hands trembled around Silent Moon's hilt.75Please respect copyright.PENANAwuQ6MomYlO
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Warmth flooded his mouth.75Please respect copyright.PENANA3uJT0zD2cJ
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Cel coughed, and blood splattered across his palm. Even with the World dismissed, his body was still processing what it had endured. 75Please respect copyright.PENANArXKLeqXLyS
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He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, smearing red across skin.75Please respect copyright.PENANAp90Ay7zuvt
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Above, on the city wall, chaos transformed into celebration.75Please respect copyright.PENANAwheKI5mhsI
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"SHE DID IT!"75Please respect copyright.PENANAIu5uBvF6SF
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"THE HALLOWED IS HERE!"75Please respect copyright.PENANAMV9ifBZzpY
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Soldiers who'd been rigid with terror moments ago now pumped their fists in the air. Some embraced each other. Others simply collapsed against the battlements, relief making them boneless.75Please respect copyright.PENANAvkDdUOMfIl
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An officer's voice cut through the celebration. "THREE CHEERS FOR LADY ESRIN!"75Please respect copyright.PENANAcNLFRRPesM
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"HAIL!"75Please respect copyright.PENANArkR8D5eMIg
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"HAIL!"75Please respect copyright.PENANAOtwCidoia8
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"HAIL!"75Please respect copyright.PENANAx5Ffx7ndYw
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The sound rolled across the field like thunder - raw, genuine gratitude from people who'd been seconds from death.75Please respect copyright.PENANA5zoea0lV9u
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Esrin didn't acknowledge them. Her ruby eyes remained fixed on the rift, expression unreadable.75Please respect copyright.PENANAKzJW77gciQ
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The violet tear in reality pulsed, steady and patient. Waiting.75Please respect copyright.PENANAVeaIRKf7Am
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Behind them, the city gates groaned open.75Please respect copyright.PENANAKQyECz5P1f
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Cel turned, still wiping blood from his chin.75Please respect copyright.PENANAHes3OkJctA
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A group emerged from the widening gap. Chosen, by what they wore - artifacts that gleamed with more than mere craftsmanship, each piece marking its bearer as clearly as any banner.75Please respect copyright.PENANAGiun7CrArZ
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Perhaps a dozen of them. The Chosen Legion's reserve force, stationed in the capital for exactly this purpose.75Please respect copyright.PENANAWbfHxAajMl
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They fanned out across the field with practiced efficiency, moving toward the rift. Their eyes swept the empty grass, searching for possible threats. 75Please respect copyright.PENANA0axMuGZ4w1
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Esrin's hand suddenly shot out, fingers closing on Cel's shoulder.75Please respect copyright.PENANAkroME2JCVK
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Before he could react, she pulled.75Please respect copyright.PENANAG2AfFnoeTY
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The world blurred. His feet left the ground. Wind screamed past his ears as she dragged him through the air like he weighed nothing.75Please respect copyright.PENANAbABArvToku
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They landed in the tree line perhaps two hundred steps from the rift - hidden among shadows and branches. The impact jarred his bones but he stayed upright, stumbling against a trunk.75Please respect copyright.PENANAjvGBsIm8Ct
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"Stay here," Esrin said flatly. "And stay quiet."75Please respect copyright.PENANAszDT8Lqmj6
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"Why—"75Please respect copyright.PENANA3EfwIWYMOq
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"Because you're not supposed to be here." Her tone cut off any argument. "The Reckoning doesn't advertise its members. And I don't explain bringing random Academy students to active rift zones."75Please respect copyright.PENANAYbRtn91FaG
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She stepped back, wings already spreading. 75Please respect copyright.PENANAOIjkDJWM1A
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Then she was gone - launching into the air with a crack of displaced wind.75Please respect copyright.PENANAnM1UiR4jfj
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Cel watched her silhouette cross the moonlit sky, landing gracefully near the gathered Chosen. She spoke to a woman who saluted, gesturing toward the rift. 75Please respect copyright.PENANAzQyLUGax0I
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He crouched lower among the bushes, making himself small.75Please respect copyright.PENANAusgTal2yHC
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Because it was night, because he'd been hidden in shadow, because everything had happened so fast…75Please respect copyright.PENANAK3NliuLKAp
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No one had seen him yet.75Please respect copyright.PENANAm1SwTz6Q78
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Even if a soldier had caught a glimpse of him, they had other concerns right now.75Please respect copyright.PENANAZYYXqmuqsR
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Cel settled deeper into the bushes, pulling his cloak tight. Silent Moon dissolved in his hand - no point keeping it manifested where the moonlight might catch the blade.75Please respect copyright.PENANA3uKXHlEfJT
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Minutes stretched.75Please respect copyright.PENANATagNpBfCJ0
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The Chosen maintained their positions around the rift, vigilant and ready. But nothing came through. The violet tear simply hung there, waiting, while they watched with weapons ready for threats that didn't come. 75Please respect copyright.PENANAUbxssnE9im
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Cel watched from his hiding spot, tracking their movements. Learning.75Please respect copyright.PENANAQVQYeyBX93
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The sun hadn't risen, but the sky had shifted - deep black fading to navy at the edges. Pre-dawn. The coldest part of night.75Please respect copyright.PENANArALG1Jva9g
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The city gates opened again.75Please respect copyright.PENANAO9D8I6j9wy
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A small group emerged - four soldiers in metal armor, moving in tight formation. And within their protective square…75Please respect copyright.PENANABE4XpaodNl
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Civilians.75Please respect copyright.PENANAgAiDig6fqz
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Cel's breath caught.75Please respect copyright.PENANA5V9xvVrjs1
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A middle-aged woman, her face carefully composed but cracking at the edges. A young child clinging to her hand, maybe six or seven, looking around with wide, confused eyes. And walking slightly ahead, an elderly person. Thin. Frail. Each step deliberate and measured.75Please respect copyright.PENANAkBdQRgytEf
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They approached the rift.75Please respect copyright.PENANAngZmPrC4qF
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The Chosen parted, making space. None of them met the civilians' eyes. 75Please respect copyright.PENANAF3y8Hp8zQL
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Twenty steps from the violet tear, the small group stopped. Soldiers stepped back, leaving the family alone. 75Please respect copyright.PENANAw2bfWp3t9F
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The child tugged on the woman's sleeve.75Please respect copyright.PENANAd935MMm9aP
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Her composure shattered. One hand came up to cover her mouth as tears spilled down her cheeks. She pulled her child close, pressing his face into her side. 75Please respect copyright.PENANAWfh6zJiPgy
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The elderly person turned to face them.75Please respect copyright.PENANA49VicHA8yc
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He smiled. Sad. Proud. Utterly resigned.75Please respect copyright.PENANAqzuIJ7dVI6
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The woman's shoulders shook with silent sobs, one arm wrapped around her child. The boy looked up at her, confusion deepening into fear even though he didn't understand why.75Please respect copyright.PENANANyqGmLCdyn
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Cel understood.75Please respect copyright.PENANAxhmRIGzPR3
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'A sacrifice.'75Please respect copyright.PENANAgki9jV1NT6
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A rift could only be closed by sending a living human through it. Just like the cult had used him. Just like they'd thrown him into the Hollow Realms to seal whatever tear bothered them.75Please respect copyright.PENANAs1hXwv7fhi
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The Empire had a policy. Anyone could volunteer. And in exchange, the royal family provided compensation for those left behind.75Please respect copyright.PENANAl9lt6pJTJX
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This elder was sacrificing himself for his family.75Please respect copyright.PENANA87z46UHvh1
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Cel's hands clenched in the dirt. His jaw locked so tight his teeth ached.75Please respect copyright.PENANAUfawzMESmv
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But that wasn't always the case. Sometimes people in utter despair - no family, no future, nothing to lose - volunteered in hope to gain the favor of the gods. A final act of meaning before their life ended.75Please respect copyright.PENANAl79myw9Gmi
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And if no one volunteered…75Please respect copyright.PENANALKOmB40uFz
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Criminals were used.75Please respect copyright.PENANA7TYULtrB4T
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But only rifts within the Empire's borders were closed. The rest? Left to fester. Left to pour horrors into the world until a different approach would be found.75Please respect copyright.PENANAHbimJ6NGNQ
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The elder stepped forward, stopping just before the rift's edge.75Please respect copyright.PENANAbZ3dM5akeD
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A tremor ran through the his fingers. Small. Almost imperceptible. But Cel saw it - the only crack in the man's otherwise steady composure. 75Please respect copyright.PENANAkcJckKMlRN
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The man was… afraid.75Please respect copyright.PENANAmiwXJubVse
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How could he not be?75Please respect copyright.PENANATDm73A73ey
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This wasn't just death. It was being torn apart by whatever waited on the other side. Ripped to pieces by creatures that existed to hunt and kill.75Please respect copyright.PENANAAD1NDV1oCi
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The elder glanced back.75Please respect copyright.PENANAswObTtj0V7
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The woman had collapsed to her knees, one arm still wrapped around her child, her other hand pressed against her mouth to muffle the sounds. Her son was crying now too, responding to distress he couldn't comprehend. 75Please respect copyright.PENANAAkABHiqIiw
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Behind them, the soldiers stood motionless. Professional. Distant. This wasn't the first sacrifice they'd witnessed. It wouldn't be the last.75Please respect copyright.PENANARSkug5qXYb
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The Chosen maintained their positions, weapons still drawn. Ready to strike down anything that might emerge the moment the elder passed through. They'd seen rifts betray their sacrifices before - seen creatures lunge through in the instant between entry and closure.75Please respect copyright.PENANAa6rrFTGUZp
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Something shifted in the elder's expression. Fear giving way to something else.75Please respect copyright.PENANAFQAJ1hU2pv
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Not courage. Cel had seen courage in the soldiers on the wall - desperate, frantic, holding their ground against impossible odds.75Please respect copyright.PENANAGKlUmudG05
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This was different.75Please respect copyright.PENANAVgjDwkdkwP
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Acceptance. Resolution. The quiet certainty of someone who'd already made their peace with the end.75Please respect copyright.PENANAjpaKdPBTvX
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The elder's shoulders straightened. His breathing steadied.75Please respect copyright.PENANAq4BtQqVYoq
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He took one last look at his family - really looked, as if committing every detail to memory for whatever came after. The way his daughter clutched her son. The way moonlight caught in her tears. The way the boy's small hand gripped her sleeve.75Please respect copyright.PENANAQqfrRfJTTv
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Then he turned back to the rift.75Please respect copyright.PENANAvZkxhBsHlx
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His steps didn't falter. Didn't hesitate.75Please respect copyright.PENANAKlF90bcVhU
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One.75Please respect copyright.PENANAuzRW9Ie1mn
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Two.75Please respect copyright.PENANAHRAAzSgSZT
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Three.75Please respect copyright.PENANAMqh2VeIf4f
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He walked into the violet tear as if it were simply a doorway to another room.75Please respect copyright.PENANARr0MY1ymSa
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One moment there. The next, gone.75Please respect copyright.PENANAo1ktkE8wMY
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For a heartbeat, nothing happened.75Please respect copyright.PENANAvjpyar9vDZ
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The rift hung in the air, unchanged. Still pulsing. Still waiting.75Please respect copyright.PENANA544CM2F2Df
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Then it shuddered.75Please respect copyright.PENANAEPlQHYqd7T
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The violet edges began to contract - slowly at first, then faster. Like a wound knitting itself, the tear pulled inward from all sides. The reality around it seemed to sigh with relief as the wrongness sealed itself away.75Please respect copyright.PENANAsEn5PM8rqi
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When it finally vanished completely, a deep silence followed.75Please respect copyright.PENANAXG1MVjt41m
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Every Chosen around the now-empty space dropped to one knee. Heads bowed. Fists pressed to hearts in salute.75Please respect copyright.PENANAUYPVPXk806
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The soldiers on the wall did the same - a ripple of synchronized motion as hundreds of men and women honored the sacrifice.75Please respect copyright.PENANAPO9KkLYPRu
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Even Esrin knelt.75Please respect copyright.PENANATCceP7HX9N
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The only sounds were the woman's broken sobs and the child's confused crying as he pressed his face into his mother's shoulder.75Please respect copyright.PENANATkX9KpHfHs
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Cel stayed hidden in the bushes, chest tight.75Please respect copyright.PENANAiocHNEzZzo
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He'd died to seal a rift. Been thrown through by people who saw him as nothing but a convenient tool.75Please respect copyright.PENANAyPF8t9Iw5Y
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This elder had chosen it. Walked through with open eyes to save people he loved.75Please respect copyright.PENANAhtoLebJVuk
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The difference burned.75Please respect copyright.PENANAk91swTjBY6
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Minutes passed before the Chosen rose. They moved away from the site with quiet efficiency, reforming their group. One of them approached the grieving woman, offering escort back to the city. Offering whatever comfort could be offered.75Please respect copyright.PENANAkHWKdTwWdc
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The soldiers on the wall began to disperse, returning to their posts. The celebration had long since died. Now there was just the weight of what they'd witnessed.75Please respect copyright.PENANA1odTtRQgKT
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Esrin remained kneeling longer than the others.75Please respect copyright.PENANAjXGnXVcE9l
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When she finally rose, her expression was carved from stone.75Please respect copyright.PENANAJV2be3CPxZ
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She crossed the field in long strides, not toward the tree line but toward the gathered Chosen. They formed up around her - a loose formation that nonetheless placed her at the center. 75Please respect copyright.PENANAqeuPSWhgoo
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The group began moving toward the city gates.75Please respect copyright.PENANAGXCaCwFUsL
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Cel stayed hidden in the bushes, watching them go. 75Please respect copyright.PENANA934Nem90oY
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He blinked.75Please respect copyright.PENANAc0jE7jOlwB
75Please respect copyright.PENANAQBvMegfkAD
‘Wait, what about me?’
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Lunar Legacy
Author:
Celastos
ISSUE #70
Chapter 69: Sacrifice
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Lunar Legacy
Fantasy
Action
Dark
Last updated: Jul 22, 2026
Total word count: 156,749
Total reading time: 726 Minutes
Writer:
fantasy
horror
dark
mystery
tragedy
darkfantasy
demons
betrayal
psychological
revenge
monsters
gods
survival
fantasyrealm
medieval
maleprotagonist
goddess
mysterious
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