<Insight: (Ledger of Nightmares)>120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF7cLFrynVQ
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Cel stared at the words, absorbing their meaning.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW4nkbuWymB
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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."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg1igViVt6D
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjuFoZuBi7D
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"How long have I been here?"120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdkinDlrBgH
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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."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa9NouWggKb
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Cel nodded, the wisdom obvious once stated. "Thank you."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDRqhcQI2a1
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"There is no need for thanks." Selina's smile deepened. "Go now. And may the Moon Goddess light your path."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Lt1xj1br5
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The familiar words wrapped around him like a benediction as he closed his eyes and reached for the world beyond.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIn9mknur0I
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Pain crashed over him like a wave.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8U7JYindSs
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0YyHjVXSaO
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF2yyGnM9eJ
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A sound broke the silence. Soft. Wet. The unmistakable noise of tearing flesh.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwxys1biTOq
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Cel's eyes snapped to the corpse.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI7amNI4V4F
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It lay where he'd left it - serpentine body coiled in death, dark ichor pooled beneath it in the ash.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFswMeblHfe
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Something was perched on its chest.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk1IbHeE0sH
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A bird.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrMoFCfAFBw
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But calling it a bird felt wrong. Obscene, even.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfnDqxbaumR
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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. 120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0WubbUNTg5
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW5ftEV2Tvv
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'That's not a normal bird.'120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCbFnIFzV0
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡongWRpnEGW
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Which meant this thing, with its blood-dipped feathers, was a rift-creature.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGkCu9TQSWS
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUQzkur8PGw
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡST77PfZO8N
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrftpsNqgX9
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Cinderward came next.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAJsNINUEBR
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfn7vCbioj5
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The transformation took perhaps two heartbeats.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoJH6ZeN6Gz
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When it finished, Cel stood in full divine regalia, blade raised, every muscle coiled despite the exhaustion weighing on him.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW9xVgUa2Jb
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡirQmFAMaBI
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It was... ignoring him?120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWp6k8e3JAl
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBPiy7bn6UR
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Should he attack? The thing was clearly unnatural, clearly wrong—120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvIJwGQEAni
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Footsteps.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5jxOJif4KX
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The sound came from outside the ruins. Steady. Deliberate. The crunch of boots on ash-covered stone.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx5TJucZhdo
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Cel's head tilted toward the entrance gap, every sense suddenly focused on that new sound.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIGwlgIJkSB
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Someone was approaching.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0vgU57yUO
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The bird-thing didn't react. It simply continued its meal, pecking at exposed organs with clinical precision.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6LKiog9yY2
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVvAM83jjBf
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A silhouette appeared in the gap between broken walls.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKu7tXuF9Wz
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Tall. Lean. Moving with a grace that spoke of training and deadly purpose.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWJa8FGTmX4
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The figure stepped into the dim light filtering through the ruins.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEGJWe7178H
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Cel's breath caught for the second time in as many minutes.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhLoYA5Vcq5
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTthEtTTSZ
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Relief crashed through Cel's chest before he could stop it.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkwKlvLCiqO
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'A human.'120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡITbpifLuNL
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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…120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxf7Cos8bNU
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Another human being stood before him.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkrT9H9ETlg
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Then the stranger's gaze met his, and the relief shattered like glass.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2AjPbmoLJ
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Those eyes.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLv7P4APgle
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Crimson iris set against black where white should be, holding depths that seemed to swallow light rather than reflect it.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ353ROu605i
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Wrong. Fundamentally wrong in a way that made his instincts scream.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPqqMkM3S7
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'What if it's not human at all?'120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdTqDPHVpRy
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKaDze0OEea
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Trust was a weapon that had been used against him too many times. A weakness he couldn't afford.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaUMNSc6uhz
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjHzUnugInX
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He hated that weakness. But he couldn't quite kill it either.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQejXAerQNF
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ64LW6h02EU
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuhbf9psVsR
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZZvuPLtL2A
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9851WLMOuz
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIQmullVrRu
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Then those crimson eyes fell back to Cel's face.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSYHhzwfGln
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"You're human." The words came flat, carrying neither surprise nor emotion. 120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLnn5NtJYag
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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—?'120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMz7L9aZlgt
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRvxjkNGxXI
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"You're injured." Still that same flat tone, neither offering help nor threatening attack.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAFqbiA1Cii
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"I'll live."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyuwLBylTUa
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A slight tilt of the head. "Will you?"120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEIohZIVgrB
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmUtVKqkU93
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Cel's jaw tightened. "Long enough."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi9GgE7MZGm
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Something flickered in those red eyes - not quite amusement, but close. "Confident."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsB8dr6RsBh
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYMtWnD9zyK
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The stranger moved.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8CWtgelA12
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiiGg5PGwOj
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Not aggressive. But not careless either.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLhwjreIEAe
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"That yours?" The stranger gestured toward the corpse with a slight nod.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL40AgNn4lE
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"I killed it."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPTwlFQdL52
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"Hmm." The sound carried something that might have been approval. "Ash-crawler. Nasty when cornered."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvovSSKjRST
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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.'120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlyH7YXSrZf
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"How long?" Cel asked before he could stop himself.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuNiyRQNSl1
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The stranger's gaze narrowed slightly. "How long what?"120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDrIPtnThC
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"How long have you been trapped here?"120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOKUMJ6gjtv
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsMTjc8B6AL
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"Trapped." The word hung between them. “Seems like that.”120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsxLJgNz8ry
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhosp6DLQMa
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The silence stretched again. The bird-thing pecked at exposed organs with clinical precision.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYRKWdkAgX4
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"What's your name?" Cel finally asked.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs116QYqbR3
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAwSK2uDi2T
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"Raven."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPHf6wRN8ks
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Raven's gaze remained fixed on him, expectant. 120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5vtiKTHWo1
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"And yours?"120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXUJekG7iWO
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Cel hesitated. The question was simple enough, but his mind raced. 'How did he get here? Why is he here?' 120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn4wbIJjDZv
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ40PvhfRm5m
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWL0gM25i1H
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"Celvian," he said finally.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKaCHlUYRJ7
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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?"120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhaiHY1VLnJ
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"Yes."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcaSPDJ2V5P
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"No companions? No escort?"120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSoayQGsVNn
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"I said I'm alone."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsj9o7917U6
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Raven's eyes came back to him, sharp and assessing. "Moon Chosen."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6o3cPBRTR
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It wasn't a question. Cel's hand tightened on Silent Moon's hilt.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcGHpMUvWQo
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"How did you—"120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDApDiYlyUC
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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."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGtlYhB3fA
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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—120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD1ShrN16mM
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"Don't worry." Raven's tone remained neutral. "I'm not here to fight you."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ODr4xQgiv
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"Then why are you here?"120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdH1nSyO7rS
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjNk3TBTbKe
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"Does it matter how I got here?" A slight pause. "I'm here. That's what counts."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ89lX86lRkl
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5gjiF37lbu
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuK0W01dSC9
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"Fine.” Cel resigned. “But you didn't answer my other question. How long have you been here?"120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJXD1ytWjT
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This time, Raven actually answered.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6oojpyrGP
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"Long enough." His eyes grew distant. "Maybe a year."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSMhmqzrM6w
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The number hit like a physical blow. 'A whole year. Alone. In this place.'120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKvlIExF48U
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwDFAvdQFN
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"How?" The word escaped before Cel could stop it. "How did you survive that long?"120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP3B52Gmm4k
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Something flickered across Raven's face - there and gone so quickly Cel almost missed it. Pain, perhaps. Or memory.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKjXH3eR2hW
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"You learn." The words came quiet, distant. "Or you die."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4xlwa8Dngn
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The bird-thing's cry echoed from somewhere outside, harsh and alien.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcwyrEkPCaA
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWCthF2xoVL
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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1QmT0Y8OS
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"Your wounds. They'll fester in this place. Faster than you'd expect." The statement came flat, matter-of-fact. 120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeP7K2S6rNO
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Cel's fingers tightened on Silent Moon's hilt. "I'll manage."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWiLNoYczA2
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"With what?" Raven's tone didn't change, but something sharp entered it. "Ash and hope?"120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZP5sHNA4ZZ
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The question hung in the air between them.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡveHZ9Bsocj
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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.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Q2gl3t9cf
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Raven seemed to read his silence accurately, eyes narrowing.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH33Acg4f9a
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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."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW4QrYTO3WM
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Cel blinked. "What?"120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzKzn7YcKC3
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"I'll be back." Raven was already moving through the gap.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM0cC8ez6nC
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"Wait—where are you—"120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXyu3YHwtY2
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But Raven had already vanished into the ash-covered wasteland, his dark form swallowed by gray and shadow.1234 copyright protection116ＰＥＮＡＮＡHcJNISN7OP 尼

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