<Insight: (Ledger of Nightmares)>145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLbmOg3MaZA
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Cel stared at the words, absorbing their meaning.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLj7M3sIwCi
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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."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcthf74KPkF
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiaD7l9VMaw
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"How long have I been here?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr6LWdtlpHE
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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."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX2YNyxxko5
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Cel nodded, the wisdom obvious once stated. "Thank you."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCtzhmpxE9W
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"There is no need for thanks." Selina's smile deepened. "Go now. And may the Moon Goddess light your path."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoowaDDvzZJ
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The familiar words wrapped around him like a benediction as he closed his eyes and reached for the world beyond.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnH9sooO3Pi
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Pain crashed over him like a wave.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK3ZHkRfUvR
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHbBh6Lxbg
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEhiGTsY3ye
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A sound broke the silence. Soft. Wet. The unmistakable noise of tearing flesh.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZQ4IEMRHR
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Cel's eyes snapped to the corpse.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡasAbewK6le
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It lay where he'd left it - serpentine body coiled in death, dark ichor pooled beneath it in the ash.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV35ID1bHxI
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Something was perched on its chest.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHH5MzML11u
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A bird.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUH2zxglQvY
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But calling it a bird felt wrong. Obscene, even.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIPXdkx7zsn
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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. 145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0i8lrHjhcD
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt68qFYWWlt
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'That's not a normal bird.'145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPE2UuB1eo7
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEligKwohcQ
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Which meant this thing, with its blood-dipped feathers, was a rift-creature.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSjbDqTKqT7
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo6i6hrlst9
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ7gIso9JkA
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXv2PqHjZ36
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Cinderward came next.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡim0AZMlm4H
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9KC9VbxLR
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The transformation took perhaps two heartbeats.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw9knEzvfqJ
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When it finished, Cel stood in full divine regalia, blade raised, every muscle coiled despite the exhaustion weighing on him.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT363QX8Kbx
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ54ZsTpvarZ
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It was... ignoring him?145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6LSCq62QUJ
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04eKqxzjA3
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Should he attack? The thing was clearly unnatural, clearly wrong—145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhCmFTVEdtH
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Footsteps.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbx61ezP1yD
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The sound came from outside the ruins. Steady. Deliberate. The crunch of boots on ash-covered stone.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx6o6wCMpAE
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Cel's head tilted toward the entrance gap, every sense suddenly focused on that new sound.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPNrDWIRwzm
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Someone was approaching.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF6sMMJtg0B
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The bird-thing didn't react. It simply continued its meal, pecking at exposed organs with clinical precision.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9fLINbHnM
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnLbtVKi5lk
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A silhouette appeared in the gap between broken walls.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5KzhgQR4o3
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Tall. Lean. Moving with a grace that spoke of training and deadly purpose.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Dzqp2bOVa
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The figure stepped into the dim light filtering through the ruins.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFn5tPFPjl
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Cel's breath caught for the second time in as many minutes.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9UgOMX2huc
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHsxFaHTif9
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Relief crashed through Cel's chest before he could stop it.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiAboroqbab
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'A human.'145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJmd5AM9LX
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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…145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa7QOI21PHG
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Another human being stood before him.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡypatSROWhq
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Then the stranger's gaze met his, and the relief shattered like glass.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTBYIOAnszK
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Those eyes.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT0TYFgTeyC
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Crimson iris set against black where white should be, holding depths that seemed to swallow light rather than reflect it.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTfwA2wVft5
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Wrong. Fundamentally wrong in a way that made his instincts scream.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvJ6CdWRu5S
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'What if it's not human at all?'145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8HNHwyAVbs
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGUcnd6C1my
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Trust was a weapon that had been used against him too many times. A weakness he couldn't afford.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbH4TQnz3gf
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYGDLEkAeKi
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He hated that weakness. But he couldn't quite kill it either.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgEFqpQglLO
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP4ca5wkicl
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGymq46D2dC
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfFIL6J6guZ
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSwn73kINBG
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5nvP5DxJd5
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Then those crimson eyes fell back to Cel's face.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnKN55zDQ2h
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"You're human." The words came flat, carrying neither surprise nor emotion. 145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavg05KL3g2
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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—?'145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzUHi09Qvys
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCB3R7FLNFP
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"You're injured." Still that same flat tone, neither offering help nor threatening attack.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7gQipUXZGW
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"I'll live."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsIK7FQGdf
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A slight tilt of the head. "Will you?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItf0BWPxZP
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmAlI42Hqu
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Cel's jaw tightened. "Long enough."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡli0A6PXdUt
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Something flickered in those red eyes - not quite amusement, but close. "Confident."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1GisrNWQNC
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDLOhmL8aJS
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The stranger moved.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTtlWhz0NQD
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY9IMRcZS5y
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Not aggressive. But not careless either.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ390dOvHqWv
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"That yours?" The stranger gestured toward the corpse with a slight nod.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlWkGUHsRy0
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"I killed it."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfb7Vs1DGP5
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"Hmm." The sound carried something that might have been approval. "Ash-crawler. Nasty when cornered."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS2aojWETWu
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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.'145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3fkElNMRd
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"How long?" Cel asked before he could stop himself.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDhHMMgBBjx
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The stranger's gaze narrowed slightly. "How long what?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJJPaq0MXrL
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"How long have you been trapped here?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGQhorrszmN
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8oqwEAP96
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"Trapped." The word hung between them. “Seems like that.”145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlAn4UCF6Ux
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnT8hWA8dVu
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The silence stretched again. The bird-thing pecked at exposed organs with clinical precision.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFCXC5wKcgG
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"What's your name?" Cel finally asked.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0LnaA4tOzO
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡszzBI9q9fk
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"Raven."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrIrulVNvPz
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Raven's gaze remained fixed on him, expectant. 145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkGchYyhVWb
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"And yours?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7hrhCnmI9a
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Cel hesitated. The question was simple enough, but his mind raced. 'How did he get here? Why is he here?' 145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdqBsBBW2m
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE35lDDLvml
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxZye1823nF
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"Celvian," he said finally.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKeO9vDK1GS
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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?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7hFQOMMDzl
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"Yes."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5sNfOQBUis
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"No companions? No escort?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTbatViJbEP
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"I said I'm alone."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ1A3AY84As
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Raven's eyes came back to him, sharp and assessing. "Moon Chosen."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODvA5lhwU0
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It wasn't a question. Cel's hand tightened on Silent Moon's hilt.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhzeEswQshT
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"How did you—"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkT5LQMcEvz
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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."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOikX6hP4Ni
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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—145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMjyFKumAnF
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"Don't worry." Raven's tone remained neutral. "I'm not here to fight you."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWzTzpi6knC
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"Then why are you here?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh0O4C9j4bt
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEFg5MnISTd
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"Does it matter how I got here?" A slight pause. "I'm here. That's what counts."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnhtu5WWswF
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRohyJMeB0l
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkucoHubmnF
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"Fine.” Cel resigned. “But you didn't answer my other question. How long have you been here?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡarp95jL9md
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This time, Raven actually answered.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMTqGHbSWpS
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"Long enough." His eyes grew distant. "Maybe a year."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg1wP2VfkA6
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The number hit like a physical blow. 'A whole year. Alone. In this place.'145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnXy1VwGkbz
145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVGyOoPw7OQ
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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvGlu8eCKhL
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"How?" The word escaped before Cel could stop it. "How did you survive that long?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvAbRZQckxJ
145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhuYrsOG6j4
Something flickered across Raven's face - there and gone so quickly Cel almost missed it. Pain, perhaps. Or memory.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTyzNqzPCJW
145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbk61qcWaF4
"You learn." The words came quiet, distant. "Or you die."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIK5Ume8fif
145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAP2ibcOeFh
The bird-thing's cry echoed from somewhere outside, harsh and alien.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡacCoCIZy8o
145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡprAO9A6y9o
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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ehmTDKSTu
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"Your wounds. They'll fester in this place. Faster than you'd expect." The statement came flat, matter-of-fact. 145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1EkH6y3MTa
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Cel's fingers tightened on Silent Moon's hilt. "I'll manage."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiq7nBUzSpr
145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpbBaOhHBsK
"With what?" Raven's tone didn't change, but something sharp entered it. "Ash and hope?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBTKakgdZHZ
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The question hung in the air between them.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlnkaOQPu29
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXHNfuG9nru
145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmuGh8eF8Js
Raven seemed to read his silence accurately, eyes narrowing.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhvONLQ4aQp
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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."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXhuxz3cRPt
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Cel blinked. "What?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdh0ByKRdsR
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"I'll be back." Raven was already moving through the gap.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwnbi5w9CGX
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"Wait—where are you—"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAbaKhmpChk
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But Raven had already vanished into the ash-covered wasteland, his dark form swallowed by gray and shadow.1234 copyright protection141ＰＥＮＡＮＡWXleiB3kyn 尼

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