Silas’s spear shaft cracked against Cel’s leading knee - not hard enough to injure, just enough to collapse his stance. “Your weight distribution is wrong again. You’re leaning too far forward, committing before you know where the opening actually is.” He reset to neutral guard, the dark weapon held with that same deceptive looseness. “Again. And this time, keep your center of gravity stable until the last possible moment.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqxmTSmlhZJ
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Cel straightened, Silent Moon still gripped in his hand. His knee throbbed dully where the impact had landed countless times by now. He adjusted his stance, trying to internalize the correction. Weight more centered. Less commitment in the initial movement.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7FVcnmZkFC
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They’d been at this for what felt like hours. Not sparring - actual training. Silas breaking down every fundamental Cel lacked into component pieces, then drilling them until muscle memory started forming pathways his conscious mind couldn’t quite track yet.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9zFuIxCOJ
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Footwork first. Hours of it. Moving forward, backward, circling - all while maintaining proper distance and balance. Silas would attack with measured strikes, and Cel’s job was simply to move correctly. Not to counter, not to defend beyond basic necessity. Just to be in the right place at the right time with his weight properly distributed.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJdyDrzv2qb
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Then reading distance. Silas standing at various ranges, having Cel identify whether he could reach with a thrust, a slash, a lunge. Getting it wrong meant a light tap from the spear - not punishment exactly, just immediate feedback that left no room for misunderstanding.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXf1YLBSWBp
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“Better,” Silas said as Cel completed another sequence. “Your lead foot is still hesitating, but the adjustment is there. You’re thinking about it, which means eventually you’ll stop needing to think about it.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiqYdQyhTeH
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Cel’s breathing remained controlled. Sweat dampened his shirt despite the void dimension’s lack of ambient temperature. The exertion was more mental than physical - forcing his body to move in ways that felt wrong, unnatural.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgHg1zTaguL
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Behind them, a soft sound emerged from the couch.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1IuFpSG2b7
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Snoring.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoYAyCaOoI0
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Cel glanced over his shoulder. Zara had shifted position at some point, now sprawled across the cushions with one arm dangling off the edge, her dark-red hair falling across her face. Her chest rose and fell in the steady rhythm of sleep, completely unbothered by the training happening twenty steps away.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNTAgG7boIJ
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Silas followed his gaze and grinned. “Don’t take it personally - she finds most things boring.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡke1ff1Mbrx
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They continued.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf2dkR3vCJf
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More footwork. More distance work. Then Silas introduced timing - having Cel watch for specific tells in his movement and react accordingly. A shift of weight, a subtle rotation of the spear shaft, a change in breathing pattern. Small details that telegraphed intent if you knew how to read them.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNxcZ9wwUYv
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Cel got it wrong more often than right. Each mistake earned a light tap - shoulder, ribs, knee, wherever Silas deemed appropriate. Not painful, but accumulating into a constant awareness of failure.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU9OfQ28Zv4
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The training continued until Silas finally called a halt. Cel’s body felt strange - not exhausted in the way combat exhausted him, but drained from the sustained mental effort of breaking and rebuilding basic movement patterns.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkloVAG5Bc6
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“That’s enough for tonight,” Silas said, dismissing his spear. “You’ve got classes tomorrow and you need some recovery time.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhBV3XlEzww
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Cel dismissed Silent Moon, feeling the familiar sensation of the blade returning to wherever it existed when not manifested. “Same time tomorrow?”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnHQssrYZfy
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“Every night until your final examination. Which means...” Silas counted on his fingers. “We’ve got maybe two months?”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrKcbsTC6S
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“Something like that.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ48bbyyYubw
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“Not enough time.” Silas shook his head. “But we’ll make it work. You’ve got good instincts and a good body - we just need to give you enough technical foundation that you don’t die immediately. The rest comes later.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyKqEyBdObO
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The vote of confidence wasn’t particularly reassuring.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfU9OIaZMjI
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Behind them, Zara continued snoring.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy1NjsuaTcB
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Cel left through the rift, stepping back into the abandoned bar with its grimy windows and warped floorboards. The transition from void dimension to normal reality left him slightly disoriented - his senses adjusting to the sudden presence of ambient sound, air movement, the subtle vibrations of a living city.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXHL9oY2PxN
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The days fell into rhythm.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjc8Z3zkDhD
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Classes during the day. Theoretical lessons in the morning, combat training in the afternoon. Cel performed adequately in both - good enough to maintain his ranking, not so exceptional that he drew uncomfortable attention. The middle ground of competence.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPqpYGWyFba
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Nights belonged to Silas. The training varied slightly - sometimes focusing on footwork, sometimes on reading opponents, occasionally pure conditioning that pushed even his enhanced body to its limits. Zara attended sporadically, usually falling asleep on her couch within the first hour. Once she didn’t show up at all.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7vDnCyAx0
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The off-days followed their own pattern. Cel would visit the Moon Goddess church, where Lyra tended to whatever small duties the church demanded. They’d talk about the city, about the small details of daily life, about nothing of consequence. 22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBjUE5U4gJm
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Afterward, he’d go to the Golden Hart. The bartender had come to expect him, always having a drink ready - something dark and bitter that Cel couldn’t taste but appreciated for the ritual of it. They’d talk, or not talk, and the familiar environment provided something resembling comfort.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwhRc5t2CTB
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Amidst the rhythm of his days, the burden of Selina’s task weighed on him. The words echoed in his mind, a constant reminder of the journey he had yet to undertake: uncovering the essence of his true self. 22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlFGcSedFQL
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The instruction circled through his thoughts during quiet moments. Between sparring sequences. During lectures he’d heard a dozen times. Each interaction, each moment spent in the company of others, felt tinged with the urgency of that mission.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJclvZgSVTX
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Who was he?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXKYskhD28c
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Celvian of House Solmar?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlWajKdHkwg
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The Moon Chosen commoner at the Academy?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVdfpwWwErX
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White Death of the Reckoning?22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ458mUqo9QK
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None of those felt like answers to Selina’s question. She’d meant something deeper. Something he couldn’t articulate because he didn’t understand it himself.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9NBc6WLgGg
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The thought fragmented as someone’s boot nudged his shin under the dining table.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVzFYoU7lGO
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Cel’s attention snapped back to the present. The Academy dining hall surrounded him - long tables packed with students, conversations creating a dull roar of ambient noise, the smell of bread and roasted meat filling the air.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMsPsPoQ7aa
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Lior sat across from him, wheat-blond hair falling into worried sky-blue eyes. 22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk2Qs227psm
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“Well, well, well.” Kyros’s voice carried that particular tone of false pleasantness that preceded cruelty. “If it isn’t the Academy’s most pitiful Moon Chosen and his even more pathetic friend.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsxgYOaIg1R
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Cel looked up slowly. Kyros stood at the head of their table, flanked by two of his usual followers - nobles whose names Cel had never bothered learning. They wore their superiority like badges, expressions ranging from casual contempt to active disgust.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyKkgVuwwiG
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“Lord Kyros.” Cel kept his voice neutral. “Can we help you with something?”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8JxGfbxpRQ
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“Help me?” Kyros laughed - sharp and theatrical, meant to draw attention from nearby tables. It worked. Conversations died around them, students turning to watch. “What could blessed trash possibly help me with?”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvq5vRyxYBF
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One of his followers snickered. The other smiled in a way that suggested he was already anticipating whatever came next.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIo7j8OEz8Q
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Cel set down his fork carefully. Forced his hands to remain still on the table despite the tension building in his shoulders. “Then perhaps you could help us by taking your business elsewhere? We’re trying to eat.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvgdHNUVCy
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“Trying to eat.” Kyros repeated the words slowly, as if tasting each syllable. “Does blessed trash even deserve to eat in the same hall as those actually chosen by true deities?”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFxdZfwhnFY
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Lior’s face had gone pale. His hands gripped the edge of the table hard enough that his knuckles showed white.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNulO1IaMeA
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Cel took a breath. Let it out slowly. The anger was there - always there, a constant companion since his childhood. He'd grown used to this kind of treatment long ago. And eventually, he'd learned to endure it - to control it - rather than let it control him. 22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5jPv0vtAwY
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“You’re absolutely right,” he said.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2eCYaRHlkC
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The words landed in complete silence. Kyros’s expression flickered - surprise quickly covered but visible for half a heartbeat.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVwj3UyfL0
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“We’re weaker than you,” Cel continued, his tone steady and matter-of-fact. “Not as great as someone blessed by the mighty Sun God. Not as worthy of the Academy’s resources or attention.” He met Kyros’s amber eyes without flinching. “Is that what you wanted to hear?”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa5fbX5cuRz
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Kyros’s jaw worked. Clearly he’d expected resistance. Defiance. Something he could use to justify escalation. Instead he’d gotten agreement, delivered with such calm sincerity that it defused his prepared script.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjVgx0ca8X8
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“I—” He stopped. Regrouped. “At least you know your place.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0c7A5wXZe
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“We do.” Cel picked up his fork again. “Now if you’ll excuse us, we’d like to finish our meal. In peace, if that’s acceptable to someone of your standing.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXu1NMbhdc1
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The false deference was so perfectly executed that one of Kyros’s followers actually nodded in approval before catching himself.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOtjfq3wWa
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Kyros’s face flushed red. His hands clenched into fists at his sides. For a moment, Cel thought he might actually throw a punch right there in the dining hall, consequences be damned.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEMMGzfjjzS
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Then Kyros spun on his heel and stalked away, his followers scrambling to keep pace.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ypfFAWJFQ
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Conversations resumed gradually around them. The moment of entertainment had passed, attention drifting back to food and gossip.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeTlpRtDWo5
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Lior stared at Cel with an expression somewhere between awe and confusion. “What was that?”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2FdxdH7lIl
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“Survival.” Cel returned to the mechanical process of eating. “Sometimes the best way to win is not playing the game they want you to play.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnyYx6rmlKg
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“You sound like you’ve done this before,” Lior said, his voice hesitant, curiosity barely covering doubt. “Have you?” 22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJx1aJoidCQ
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The question hung in the air between them. It was more than Lior had ever dared to ask. Cel considered how to answer. 22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnU7QzIqOlf
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“Enough times to know how it works,” he said finally. 22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppuZsrkQgs
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Lior’s eyes narrowed, scrutiny creeping into his expression. Cel saw the shift and felt the weight of Selina’s question all over again.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZp1hj9sTy4
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“Why do people even become like that? What makes someone wake up and decide to spend their energy making others miserable?”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUG3IaVNBiv
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Cel considered the question while chewing something that might have been chicken. 22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjHtAEAs9N9
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“Lots of reasons,” he said finally. “Sometimes they’re taught it. Their families raise them to believe they’re inherently better, that commoners exist to serve.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJj0fSGDOR
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He paused, organizing his thoughts.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ761f9FF6W
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“Sometimes it’s insecurity. They’re afraid of being seen as weak, so they have to constantly prove their strength by making others feel weaker. It’s not about you - it’s about them needing to believe they’re superior.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMSQwiCiT1o
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Lior nodded slowly, processing.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1j9OH0inaF
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“And sometimes… it’s just cruelty. Some people enjoy having power over others. Enjoy watching them flinch. There’s no clear reason behind it - they just like causing pain.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvxPy8sOsM9
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“Which one is Kyros?”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgNL5IvaqDp
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“Don’t know.” Cel set down his fork. 22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznKCHohon8
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Lior’s expression had gone troubled. “So what do we do? Just... take it? Forever?”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXOyhRHNvt1
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“There are two ways to handle someone as prideful as Kyros.” Cel’s voice dropped lower, meant only for Lior’s ears. “Take it and endure until he loses interest. Or crush him so completely that he doesn’t want to come near you again.” He held Lior’s gaze. "The middle ground doesn't exist. Any resistance just escalates things. It gives him excuse to go harder. So whatever you do, don't talk back." 22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGNvTQTEhV
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Silence stretched between them.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS3P3RjRlUv
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Then Lior’s expression shifted - worry giving way to something like confusion. “Didn’t you just talk back to him?”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRlxuIBi5sj
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Cel opened his mouth. Closed it.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBK7sHH5Tbi
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“Shit.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2dqDcD1jmY
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Lior’s worried expression broke into a tentative smile. “So what happens now?”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi2DJAydAtj
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“Let’s just...” Cel rubbed his forehead. “Hope for the best.”22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLBybP0DfHi
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They finished their meal in relative quiet, neither particularly optimistic.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXMVbk1flHD
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Evening fell across the Academy with the usual progression of shadows and fading light. Classes concluded. Students filtered back to dormitories in their usual clusters. Cel climbed the stairs to the commoner wing with his mind already drifting toward the night’s training session with Silas.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ce18vNUE5
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“Hey Trash."22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8bSDFhqsCf
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The voice came from behind - flat and cold, carrying across the empty corridor with perfect clarity.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqKeLn2Wd6P
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Cel stopped. Exhaled slowly through his nose. 22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6rYpVVygaf
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'And there it is.'​​​​​​​22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1dGdcKhz4Y
1234 copyright protection18ＰＥＮＡＮＡoJedl9x66n 尼

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