<Insight: (Ledger of Nightmares)>145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnfZtF33QUD
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Cel stared at the words, absorbing their meaning.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuEHM5Sir6f
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKsxFSVgbdP
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwflXPvMiS
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"How long have I been here?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWdjpz8M4cl
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkl6HOx1b1h
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Cel nodded, the wisdom obvious once stated. "Thank you."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEC4TpGB3q5
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWoupGoJEzA
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMcfAqxuBO6
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Pain crashed over him like a wave.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDAmNeCjOHA
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbqbPVDXKPS
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr6Ovpewb5v
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A sound broke the silence. Soft. Wet. The unmistakable noise of tearing flesh.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3NtkqpE9kI
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Cel's eyes snapped to the corpse.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZmwne1CHv
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHIgXZ9mkJi
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Something was perched on its chest.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxzq60D3nYt
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A bird.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHk660fPwIj
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But calling it a bird felt wrong. Obscene, even.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7KVfJLTD4C
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQdnXUM2QUz
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKb8muT0Sq
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'That's not a normal bird.'145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4g8kcncEy5
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpXVGEp1DCQ
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Which meant this thing, with its blood-dipped feathers, was a rift-creature.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDA2l9dSNd2
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjAMujk6ABr
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCS5foUT26
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKVUDuuRnEf
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Cinderward came next.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYy9VhKxNMp
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvcldcKjF5
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The transformation took perhaps two heartbeats.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjaeZc67s3p
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKp1LzV13T
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwftxuFw5GX
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It was... ignoring him?145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMyIm5hEfn
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgr0avui9WP
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Should he attack? The thing was clearly unnatural, clearly wrong—145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLhtoh3A8aE
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Footsteps.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuuvVxVnDN5
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The sound came from outside the ruins. Steady. Deliberate. The crunch of boots on ash-covered stone.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWhiJIeiLnp
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Cel's head tilted toward the entrance gap, every sense suddenly focused on that new sound.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYLQqWzUfOP
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Someone was approaching.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm9g8hAfSbq
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslAlew8a69
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFSHwqudo0f
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A silhouette appeared in the gap between broken walls.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVcWC55kOGO
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Tall. Lean. Moving with a grace that spoke of training and deadly purpose.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkv4go1ckL
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The figure stepped into the dim light filtering through the ruins.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx0tD8noD3J
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Cel's breath caught for the second time in as many minutes.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj9kpmveSRk
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3AdNboOZiB
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Relief crashed through Cel's chest before he could stop it.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJY0E8T8LBn
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'A human.'145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTjVavHxrbd
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCf682qcLnR
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Another human being stood before him.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX3rwDYWUQh
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Then the stranger's gaze met his, and the relief shattered like glass.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJAZZr9frb
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Those eyes.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡokHUTrPuB2
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpAX4rDQcC
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Wrong. Fundamentally wrong in a way that made his instincts scream.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3yFjOvSnZl
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'What if it's not human at all?'145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgIisVz5noV
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY63056z6Un
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmXbCSQn8Id
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡftwnRMtRvq
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He hated that weakness. But he couldn't quite kill it either.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3tueOQRWIC
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt2xi3n4qft
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTr4hjd4Bl0
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLC3YUS4VTi
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Or6AOfATV
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjZFirNHzMy
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Then those crimson eyes fell back to Cel's face.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsN8HuHoNfx
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"You're human." The words came flat, carrying neither surprise nor emotion. 145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoWsEJ7UZBR
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk4Z4VsLQbF
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbdksYw5V3f
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"You're injured." Still that same flat tone, neither offering help nor threatening attack.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNVzE4JVP1W
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"I'll live."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjurgIAtxeL
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A slight tilt of the head. "Will you?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0B3HsGOCPs
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzwuxbInoSN
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Cel's jaw tightened. "Long enough."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh90i8QbzMp
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Something flickered in those red eyes - not quite amusement, but close. "Confident."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuvbXKehf3U
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNkGKw4ykl
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The stranger moved.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtlF6M1XHGt
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeIBQnc2dHr
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Not aggressive. But not careless either.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRNtve5Ei6e
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"That yours?" The stranger gestured toward the corpse with a slight nod.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVFAUkDbFSR
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"I killed it."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlt5fSjjfa4
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"Hmm." The sound carried something that might have been approval. "Ash-crawler. Nasty when cornered."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfHgloslhT7
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYsBneRvsrk
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"How long?" Cel asked before he could stop himself.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnEsuyRj7Q9
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The stranger's gaze narrowed slightly. "How long what?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVMonKyNNe
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"How long have you been trapped here?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbNGbISg4Lc
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ21fHKNhsRB
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"Trapped." The word hung between them. “Seems like that.”145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1orODCtzYf
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnxzclKL8dA
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The silence stretched again. The bird-thing pecked at exposed organs with clinical precision.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3NhPqv3L3
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"What's your name?" Cel finally asked.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBqNRAbRCvr
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfgmwoafsBw
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"Raven."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡupl6tEuZxQ
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Raven's gaze remained fixed on him, expectant. 145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJAiCHqhPF8
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"And yours?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvxmWw3HSrj
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyrWzjmMgtb
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx3maUyAlVK
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPVKXvx5v6
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"Celvian," he said finally.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjbV35vyW5c
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsgvPEQV6sR
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"Yes."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡciLS38csfE
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"No companions? No escort?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDrjvqZ5Gb1
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"I said I'm alone."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6CfL1GMQmp
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Raven's eyes came back to him, sharp and assessing. "Moon Chosen."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXCO8edSerf
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It wasn't a question. Cel's hand tightened on Silent Moon's hilt.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgWi3kiGSBG
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"How did you—"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMXLBCDFFs
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx5y7P1jiLI
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaCb2v8D4X8
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"Don't worry." Raven's tone remained neutral. "I'm not here to fight you."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgjcXefOWPs
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"Then why are you here?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD26rv6S4mf
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ40XNAJKjcq
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"Does it matter how I got here?" A slight pause. "I'm here. That's what counts."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqrVuLZMMqU
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCIFAXnzmEE
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMkrZwWNOpz
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"Fine.” Cel resigned. “But you didn't answer my other question. How long have you been here?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvWopu1xiwF
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This time, Raven actually answered.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnksSTqYowD
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"Long enough." His eyes grew distant. "Maybe a year."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmu6GEu3Nh
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The number hit like a physical blow. 'A whole year. Alone. In this place.'145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfNUyhA6ql1
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Cel stared at the young man before him, truly seeing him now. The dark circles under his eyes. The weight in his posture. The way he moved like danger had become as natural as breathing.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ77EvPzpvho
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"How?" The word escaped before Cel could stop it. "How did you survive that long?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJmvGtWND0
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Something flickered across Raven's face - there and gone so quickly Cel almost missed it. Pain, perhaps. Or memory.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfy0Gw5nl1D
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"You learn." The words came quiet, distant. "Or you die."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPjZJ0sywnd
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The bird-thing's cry echoed from somewhere outside, harsh and alien.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyL33rrgv3r
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡakhfZCMHRS
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTS34ccer8s
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Cel's fingers tightened on Silent Moon's hilt. "I'll manage."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡewKkAjO7Ui
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"With what?" Raven's tone didn't change, but something sharp entered it. "Ash and hope?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ02vwdrSi1C
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The question hung in the air between them.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTt3OCYWz8F
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69rIqCCJPr
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Raven seemed to read his silence accurately, eyes narrowing.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4cwyc08P7y
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfVlXZqytMv
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Cel blinked. "What?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcegPLZgYvo
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"I'll be back." Raven was already moving through the gap.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwlgvsOQCHv
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"Wait—where are you—"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCB2tbtfMw2
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But Raven had already vanished into the ash-covered wasteland, his dark form swallowed by gray and shadow.1234 copyright protection141ＰＥＮＡＮＡVqm99AyHLv 尼

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