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.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPQ07iXAqRT
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEGa3iPzyOw
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7MXFgZm6l
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpxRheYu3Yk
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDtNs1uvlqo
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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.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRIS5glXlGn
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLjC7MtVodc
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Behind them, a soft sound emerged from the couch.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXgHVhnNw1t
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Snoring.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkECDGRp2QV
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9mWVrx04Jv
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Silas followed his gaze and grinned. “Don’t take it personally - she finds most things boring.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvfKEP3DPcs
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They continued.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU56GUxGd7V
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd5vPRBlYXk
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEmd4VWcKB7
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd9bJIbxrpH
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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.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUqUIUrr758
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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?”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ34LnJk65i6
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“Every night until your final examination. Which means...” Silas counted on his fingers. “We’ve got maybe two months?”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRlStbOLp8u
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“Something like that.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkSfBor9A9K
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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.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxC4s4pkoCE
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The vote of confidence wasn’t particularly reassuring.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04uWpaK1my
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Behind them, Zara continued snoring.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwFDemrW7NZ
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbnWJbngW4b
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The days fell into rhythm.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoWr9JvvCEc
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjFT1XD7Lo4
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ZloMp8UuZ
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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. 10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAWnimpc6mr
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3SQ0Tyzk9
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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. 10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9O24POmow5
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgSHTMlmhDW
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Who was he?10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv0FQ5hulUf
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Celvian of House Solmar?10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCDqFNc4LWi
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The Moon Chosen commoner at the Academy?10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmKbccIVNK
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White Death of the Reckoning?10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrun9Kqdyp
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbBj3cvUKjf
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The thought fragmented as someone’s boot nudged his shin under the dining table.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJhghlByvfs
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0s4Kp1xyKr
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Lior sat across from him, wheat-blond hair falling into worried sky-blue eyes. 10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGY89lSaryf
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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.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7GkTVu7yJM
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgyJSECHMx1
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“Lord Kyros.” Cel kept his voice neutral. “Can we help you with something?”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ90c6nZ97v8
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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?”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCTqzsncQlx
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One of his followers snickered. The other smiled in a way that suggested he was already anticipating whatever came next.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH4q97BwJtg
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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.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp57qarPn1o
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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?”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZPi8geFPBQ
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLq5Z0O6lk1
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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. 10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPYTVoDoCen
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“You’re absolutely right,” he said.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2DEDr1yz5V
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The words landed in complete silence. Kyros’s expression flickered - surprise quickly covered but visible for half a heartbeat.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPD5Qp86fW9
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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?”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1jP9CvYsPi
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡryD70SCOwl
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“I—” He stopped. Regrouped. “At least you know your place.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwDxB1QgVKY
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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.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCtMKWofAIv
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The false deference was so perfectly executed that one of Kyros’s followers actually nodded in approval before catching himself.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ba8N2yJVv
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUvNATMf2xe
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Then Kyros spun on his heel and stalked away, his followers scrambling to keep pace.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ7xRIGgLWB
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Conversations resumed gradually around them. The moment of entertainment had passed, attention drifting back to food and gossip.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzTqFTeTYVM
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Lior stared at Cel with an expression somewhere between awe and confusion. “What was that?”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZCMRTbPgud
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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.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ecBduQpP1
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“You sound like you’ve done this before,” Lior said, his voice hesitant, curiosity barely covering doubt. “Have you?” 10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfRzk1NeHIR
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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. 10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2IpdEygaZ6
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“Enough times to know how it works,” he said finally. 10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpODZOiaFc6
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWZdEZAIsnW
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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?”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaeAfEVZKdj
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Cel considered the question while chewing something that might have been chicken. 10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm4IZ6wvas5
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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.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHAanrkVRY0
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He paused, organizing his thoughts.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuE9CXJLqr9
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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.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDrUpFmBHyK
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Lior nodded slowly, processing.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyHmoYCrZ1m
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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.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYIDOwpDiJL
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“Which one is Kyros?”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIhi5CXiuED
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“Don’t know.” Cel set down his fork. 10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALkfCXK4uU
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Lior’s expression had gone troubled. “So what do we do? Just... take it? Forever?”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVwWqUxq3qL
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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." 10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmUct4ZCu1
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Silence stretched between them.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwG4PguU1nB
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Then Lior’s expression shifted - worry giving way to something like confusion. “Didn’t you just talk back to him?”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsBw47QPpQ
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Cel opened his mouth. Closed it.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiYp9UL43BU
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“Shit.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbp8xyUHIop
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Lior’s worried expression broke into a tentative smile. “So what happens now?”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd6o6KNOk6N
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“Let’s just...” Cel rubbed his forehead. “Hope for the best.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡifmFim2RGh
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They finished their meal in relative quiet, neither particularly optimistic.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeNvPPYpPmA
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3PPChhqeC5
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“Hey Trash."10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcFWHDSme1U
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The voice came from behind - flat and cold, carrying across the empty corridor with perfect clarity.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrLjL05CzAQ
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Cel stopped. Exhaled slowly through his nose. 10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSoMUzejqu
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'And there it is.'​​​​​​​10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJpts2CK3f9
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