<Insight: (Ledger of Nightmares)>131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdNe0kR1xCw
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Cel stared at the words, absorbing their meaning.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHVC4DLgBt3
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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."131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeF6aMGDKql
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE3ody6FCT5
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"How long have I been here?"131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQocXKVkPeu
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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."131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc5r0QTtTZA
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Cel nodded, the wisdom obvious once stated. "Thank you."131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡftVVMgRSMS
131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7tCensJy1l
"There is no need for thanks." Selina's smile deepened. "Go now. And may the Moon Goddess light your path."131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOXjS0ZrcQt
131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmo4QlLttJP
The familiar words wrapped around him like a benediction as he closed his eyes and reached for the world beyond.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8emDG0q8ev
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Pain crashed over him like a wave.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBYzoyGaWcy
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSwTRgXOVm6
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtGofmoqfVS
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A sound broke the silence. Soft. Wet. The unmistakable noise of tearing flesh.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6io5hdwuQg
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Cel's eyes snapped to the corpse.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5FCJYrjSCi
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It lay where he'd left it - serpentine body coiled in death, dark ichor pooled beneath it in the ash.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhh4xRyX4zk
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Something was perched on its chest.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnz7PW149zc
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A bird.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr4ebk5QNdV
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But calling it a bird felt wrong. Obscene, even.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfHOeL2cn3o
131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBBy86ypWlf
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. 131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBp9cEfX78r
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ot0WvLWCu
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'That's not a normal bird.'131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Z72r6kSIl
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzKCeSrSjTE
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Which meant this thing, with its blood-dipped feathers, was a rift-creature.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1YelO9ZPnz
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4p31nYX5T
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0G2qh64w1D
131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK9vOcXUqvX
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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsCMCo1C1Sc
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Cinderward came next.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4l8mc2p2Sh
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFTwNR1bqlO
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The transformation took perhaps two heartbeats.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz8voKH9oZt
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When it finished, Cel stood in full divine regalia, blade raised, every muscle coiled despite the exhaustion weighing on him.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4kcIQor0Yu
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdhctvXBhEh
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It was... ignoring him?131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0bR4kqcOW
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoaX32HwBon
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Should he attack? The thing was clearly unnatural, clearly wrong—131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnsNwIZOulp
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Footsteps.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbAbYJ6Fm1B
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The sound came from outside the ruins. Steady. Deliberate. The crunch of boots on ash-covered stone.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJd5kNTEZz
131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmOSkAafR9j
Cel's head tilted toward the entrance gap, every sense suddenly focused on that new sound.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmOs6ShJWy8
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Someone was approaching.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBgrrVcaMuY
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The bird-thing didn't react. It simply continued its meal, pecking at exposed organs with clinical precision.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8aKfaypvxR
131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ48oH2HhKix
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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxGdtN8xS0o
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A silhouette appeared in the gap between broken walls.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJOnq8vFQxr
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Tall. Lean. Moving with a grace that spoke of training and deadly purpose.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMC02SB0ZwV
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The figure stepped into the dim light filtering through the ruins.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb46hGhj4zZ
131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHBnrSGZLJ1
Cel's breath caught for the second time in as many minutes.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ39whYUDjU8
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJlBTfXvYsD
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Relief crashed through Cel's chest before he could stop it.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8HgHHuaVM0
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'A human.'131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyMgrcPDIEb
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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…131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhfexbXZPVL
131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1DXoKP0Vko
Another human being stood before him.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvsXqeDzypZ
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Then the stranger's gaze met his, and the relief shattered like glass.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcSOQAE4HJI
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Those eyes.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj5JACr6Xcc
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Crimson iris set against black where white should be, holding depths that seemed to swallow light rather than reflect it.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ08SXVvdMGB
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Wrong. Fundamentally wrong in a way that made his instincts scream.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVQ4nlfyE1A
131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdqbtPiMO6o
'What if it's not human at all?'131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw7rnQDMfS5
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡurJVyODMxV
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Trust was a weapon that had been used against him too many times. A weakness he couldn't afford.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiu2eQtBgak
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXmC5mOJGzb
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He hated that weakness. But he couldn't quite kill it either.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTh5m8n1GdP
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgn8B8O3Qiz
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRdX1rYi4r
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSR7MecXNwt
131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr10ryc3klo
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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5givicHSy7
131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWT0W4h1Ezd
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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDHf4jO3Xlv
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Then those crimson eyes fell back to Cel's face.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8X4pIcq0yq
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"You're human." The words came flat, carrying neither surprise nor emotion. 131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvgClYLDBXJ
131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡykN3bBWcP6
"So are you." Cel's response was equally neutral, though his mind raced in disbelief. 'A human. In the Hollow Realms. How—?'131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYD69VlNts
131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZzAGhCO722
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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCmeJ0dbhaj
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"You're injured." Still that same flat tone, neither offering help nor threatening attack.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDRGNcLVGRu
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"I'll live."131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9lKne1p0r
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A slight tilt of the head. "Will you?"131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsAYs0APqlU
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9PsKzr5FhU
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Cel's jaw tightened. "Long enough."131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpNzdusYTAi
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Something flickered in those red eyes - not quite amusement, but close. "Confident."131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡArvoCC7WsQ
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdnslYxeLOa
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The stranger moved.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3AUIFu0XTQ
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhtFLJHqpG
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Not aggressive. But not careless either.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmPIbffWFQ5
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"That yours?" The stranger gestured toward the corpse with a slight nod.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBc7Pd9dWOc
131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpir6gtXojl
"I killed it."131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzaH55oJkdN
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"Hmm." The sound carried something that might have been approval. "Ash-crawler. Nasty when cornered."131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcMFKHyNTXf
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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.'131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5bbqvoay2w
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"How long?" Cel asked before he could stop himself.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn2YBVjjV0K
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The stranger's gaze narrowed slightly. "How long what?"131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDRfZwo7cQn
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"How long have you been trapped here?"131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfKmtu6w3hy
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRsAuFSt36
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"Trapped." The word hung between them. “Seems like that.”131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8VztbQlxEx
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFMcut7S1CZ
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The silence stretched again. The bird-thing pecked at exposed organs with clinical precision.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWpjWHGvvv6
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"What's your name?" Cel finally asked.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIlHglvCeY0
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhcmkGfYWhQ
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"Raven."131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpN5PUm6FpP
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Raven's gaze remained fixed on him, expectant. 131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfV57xMc9pT
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"And yours?"131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlWvieuC1K6
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Cel hesitated. The question was simple enough, but his mind raced. 'How did he get here? Why is he here?' 131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBsla1G41VH
131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsMLkTtSU1
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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡddtvTIWCS2
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ2lG1nBIQG
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"Celvian," he said finally.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXwZhI4QDgu
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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?"131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbSV9i76kVo
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"Yes."131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPS61PQWXtV
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"No companions? No escort?"131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmcaAmMDg94
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"I said I'm alone."131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hGNbfuKWo
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Raven's eyes came back to him, sharp and assessing. "Moon Chosen."131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk3RChHNX2P
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It wasn't a question. Cel's hand tightened on Silent Moon's hilt.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhf3PYpVCxc
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"How did you—"131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEj9rCx2y9r
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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."131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb3Gi9OrQhq
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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—131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXxgjX2KT34
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"Don't worry." Raven's tone remained neutral. "I'm not here to fight you."131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLOcFrWoCKR
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"Then why are you here?"131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvln56Gl0Oh
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUi77T4hRic
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"Does it matter how I got here?" A slight pause. "I'm here. That's what counts."131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbdgZni5e8o
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2piKR9jCHY
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQheWaBsMe
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"Fine.” Cel resigned. “But you didn't answer my other question. How long have you been here?"131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGVkJqc54MH
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This time, Raven actually answered.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmPuIRwRGKo
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"Long enough." His eyes grew distant. "Maybe a year."131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbrAmYgavHd
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The number hit like a physical blow. 'A whole year. Alone. In this place.'131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ35WF0wfy12
131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg44Sr0VYND
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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP9C6swQAuN
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"How?" The word escaped before Cel could stop it. "How did you survive that long?"131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡevJSvDyFeW
131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJmndxY0RQ
Something flickered across Raven's face - there and gone so quickly Cel almost missed it. Pain, perhaps. Or memory.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJTkCZja0l
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"You learn." The words came quiet, distant. "Or you die."131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFpEhWijfaM
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The bird-thing's cry echoed from somewhere outside, harsh and alien.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKXiI9Td7Q
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWk7QoOO72g
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"Your wounds. They'll fester in this place. Faster than you'd expect." The statement came flat, matter-of-fact. 131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpeEVwlENTx
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Cel's fingers tightened on Silent Moon's hilt. "I'll manage."131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKNfii2GBhl
131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEGonKfaEVk
"With what?" Raven's tone didn't change, but something sharp entered it. "Ash and hope?"131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdoBxGFArwl
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The question hung in the air between them.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrEIyr3rMF2
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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.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOrp9RXPkWG
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Raven seemed to read his silence accurately, eyes narrowing.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTd6Po2ppET
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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."131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDfEtWmdgYZ
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Cel blinked. "What?"131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcqcBctahUg
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"I'll be back." Raven was already moving through the gap.131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS53cGdysiV
131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2mdgzr8bxh
"Wait—where are you—"131Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmUR1GXKub2
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But Raven had already vanished into the ash-covered wasteland, his dark form swallowed by gray and shadow.1234 copyright protection127ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YXfTtUV9J 尼

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