His father's fist connected with his jaw. Blood sprayed across marble floors. His mother stood frozen, one hand pressed to her mouth, tears streaming down her face but feet rooted to the ground.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7AcUWQsex2
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"Weak!" Another blow. "Pathetic!" The voice thundered through the dining hall.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFVlwsOxxyh
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Cel tried to speak, to beg, but his father's hands were already at his back, nails digging into divine flesh, tearing away the Moon Goddess's mark—111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmPiQgUkck7
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His eyes snapped open.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6OZL9dIiOr
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Ash-covered stone ceiling. Broken walls. The hollow silence of the Ashlands pressing in from all sides.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4QC5y67K9o
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His chest heaved, breath coming in short gasps. The nightmare clung to him like oil, coating his thoughts with remembered pain.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBcXpUARk5K
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"You're awake."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8WCC5JZkYH
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Cel's body jerked, his left hand instinctively reaching for Silent Moon before his mind caught up. The weapon materialized halfway before he registered the speaker.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEelo5qukzP
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Raven knelt beside him, one hand extended toward Cel's torso. Something dark and viscous coated his fingers - a sticky black mass that glistened faintly in the dim light filtering through the ruins.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQZsc5rNI8O
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"Don't move," Raven said, his tone flat.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XOsVoqGhV
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Cel's gaze dropped to his own chest. His armor had been partially removed - the mantle and cloak set aside, the tunic pulled up to expose his ribs where the Ashlurker's claws had torn through flesh.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3AhujjNcZk
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The black substance covered the wounds in thick layers. It didn't smell like anything Cel recognized. Not medicinal herbs, not the acrid burn of cauterization. Just... earthy. Ancient, somehow.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTSLwy6sIyl
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"What is that?" His voice came out rougher than intended.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ5eUycdR1A
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"Medicine." Raven's fingers worked with practiced efficiency, spreading more of the substance across a particularly deep gash. "Found it growing in the darker places. Don't know what it's called. But it works."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFVkQsXLpCB
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The matter-of-fact delivery was oddly reassuring - proof that survival was possible even here. 111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZDnG9MxvA
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"How long was I—"111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnbBbKlDDeX
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"A few hours. Maybe less." Raven's crimson eyes flicked to Cel's face, assessing. "You talk in your sleep."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQXD2Xme74Z
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Cel's jaw tightened. "What did I say?"111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsLOpY3Pc1w
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"Nothing clear." A pause as Raven applied more of the black substance to the wounds on Cel's shoulder. "Sounded like it wasn’t a pleasant dream."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJUBnO7iPWR
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Cel looked away, focusing on the creature's corpse still coiled a few steps away.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2pCO8HbG1E
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"Your wounds looked worse than they are," Raven continued, his tone unchanged. "Bled a lot. But the cuts weren't deep enough to do real damage. You got lucky."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJT2vzrxTkN
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"Didn't feel lucky."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqzcHSxbhMh
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"Luck isn't about feeling." Raven sat back on his heels, examining his work. "You survived. That's what matters."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIxtwDuuwGH
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Cel's gaze tracked to his own body, really looking at it for the first time since the fight. The wounds were there - angry red lines where claws had opened flesh, burns from the worm's molten breath. But Raven was right. Nothing had been torn away. No exposed bone. No organs punctured.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk3tHPZv8EL
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The burns on his left arm, which should have charred muscle down to bone, showed only reddened skin beneath the black coating.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ29yzkVsJzA
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"Your body's good," Raven said, following Cel's gaze. "Even for a Chosen."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsQcBT4KOU0
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Although it was not his own accomplishment, a kind of satisfaction settled in Cel's chest. The Moon Goddess had forged him this body - a body that could apparently endure more than he'd given it credit for.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmMQMB7uhI
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His gaze drifted to Raven's eyes. Crimson iris against black where white should be.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8LNHZfhBtY
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The question burned in his throat before he could stop it. "Your eyes. What happened to them?"111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe6ndc99bAy
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Raven froze.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8pwlItpOO3
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The reaction was subtle - just a momentary stillness in his movements, a fractional widening of those red eyes. 111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKMexvSEin5
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"What?" The single word carried genuine confusion.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGuFbRdQmIP
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Cel's jaw set. "The black. Where white should be. What caused it?"111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡamtCdaYG4c
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For a long moment, Raven simply stared at him. The silence stretched, heavy with something Cel couldn't name.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQALxyOvCz3
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Then Raven's expression shifted - not quite a frown, not quite suspicion. Something caught between the two.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0hmj3cgXAg
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"You really don't know?" The question came quiet, careful. "You can't... feel it?"111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACbHbhPJ0K
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"Feel what?"111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN5pIGd2Mol
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Raven's eyes narrowed, studying Cel with an intensity that made his skin prickle. As if seeing him for the first time. As if everything that had come before had been surface observation and now Raven was actually looking.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF1hmelaMHO
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"The aura," Raven said finally, each word deliberate. "The wrongness. The disgust that comes off me like heat off stone."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYKbeTLZlJ
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Cel blinked. "What are you talking about?"111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIRbU5HM4k1
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Something flickered across Raven's face - too fast to identify, but there. Real emotion breaking through that carefully maintained neutrality.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbot0LVGOSp
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"You seriously can't sense it." Not a question this time. A statement of dawning realization. "The corruption. The stain. The thing that marks me as—" He cut himself off abruptly.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoyr03zocWu
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"Marks you as what?"111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTALChUr86y
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Raven remained silent, his gaze locked on Cel's face as if searching for deception. Finding none seemed to disturb him more than anything else.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlSh03yPtBW
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"Cursed," he said finally. The word dropped between them like a stone into still water. "I'm one of the Cursed."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAd54wPytiP
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The declaration hit Cel like a physical blow.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtOzlUpHYWz
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His breath caught. His body went rigid. Every childhood warning, every whispered story, every nightmare used to frighten disobedient children - all of it crashed through his mind at once.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfD4KTdNUUE
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'Behave, or you'll end up as a Cursed.'111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkEPnKb3lug
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The Cursed were the absolute bottom of society. Lower than slaves, lower than criminals. People - if they could still be called that - who bear marks of corruption - twisted flesh, cracked skin, signs that divine grace has left them forever.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0cV9vm361
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Cel had never met one before. No noble child did. The Cursed were exiled from civilization, driven into the wilderness or hunted down by Chosen who believed killing them earned them the favor of their god.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrCINRtft3d
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And now one stood before him, had been applying medicine to his wounds with practiced hands.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4EhRTLVH5Q
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The realization should have triggered fear. Should have sent Cel scrambling for Silent Moon, putting distance between himself and this corrupted thing wearing human skin.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBSpgDr2ZlX
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But all he felt was... confusion.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzehxhGmuI2
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"You helped me," Cel said slowly. "Even though you're—even though—"111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRKAjpdLgJP
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"Even though I'm supposed to be a monster?" Raven's lips twisted. "Shocking, isn't it?"111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWbu0B6V40d
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The bitterness in those words cut deep. Cel had heard that same tone in his own voice, directed at his father, his family, everyone who'd judged him as worthless before casting him aside.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGVKuNoEmK
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"I don't understand," Cel admitted. "The stories say the Cursed are... wrong. Dangerous. That losing divine favor corrupts more than just the body."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJqU08IsFND
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"Stories tell a lot of things." Raven moved to the broken wall, his silhouette sharp against the gray light filtering through.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyLlcuWOjQb
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"But the marks—the corruption—"111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCFEoHJGVXk
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"Are real." His jaw clenched. "But it doesn't make us monsters. Just... abandoned."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1RAg39aWst
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The word resonated in Cel's chest. Abandoned. He knew that feeling intimately - the crushing weight of being cast aside by those who should have protected you.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNTf7uZW6S6
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"How?" The question escaped before Cel could stop it. "How do people become Cursed?"111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBeA0LOrIYk
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Raven's gaze grew distant. 111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiw0UX2ub7W
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"Different ways."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ67k1NMFu0Y
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The silence that followed made it clear - this topic was not open for discussion. Whatever had happened, whatever had led to Raven becoming Cursed, he had no intention of sharing.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuQrvVymQih
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Cel recognized that wall. He'd built enough of his own.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdOgT7htkFx
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He shifted against the wall, trying to find a more comfortable position. The black medicine pulled at his skin where it had begun to dry.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4RJUfHkXs
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Raven's gaze fixed on him, those crimson eyes sharp. "You didn't."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfraUSbfiMo
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"Didn't what?"111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnESNqDInOu
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"Didn’t know that I am a Cursed." Raven tilted his head slightly. 111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpnFF8za66w
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He moved closer, studying Cel with unsettling intensity. 111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2nYTTYYCwj
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"The aura alone should have told you. The wrongness. The revulsion. And Chosen feel it even stronger." He paused. "But you don't seem affected at all."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSfk3ZjfpIm
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'Shit.' Cel's mind raced. This was dangerous ground. If Raven realized he couldn't sense divine energy, it would expose a critical weakness - one that could get him killed.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ41xn5ehMkB
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"I'm just—" Cel forced his expression neutral. "I'm controlling it. The reaction."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbkklLshvZO
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The lie felt weak even as it left his mouth.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUWIREUzK9R
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Raven's eyes narrowed. "Really?"111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGMVL2LiuX7
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"Yes."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhqcXL76zsE
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"You're not even trying to maintain distance.” Raven's tone remained neutral, but pointed. "Most Chosen can barely stand being in the same room. Need space. Fresh air. Something to cut through the wrongness."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaoczmd7W2N
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Heat crawled up Cel's neck. His hands curled into fists.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDTYqUihUvs
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"Maybe I'm just better at controlling my reactions than most."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbrJmgCYYhM
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"Or maybe," Raven said slowly, "you can't sense it at all."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXhUqQ54u6I
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The corner of his mouth twitched. "That's ridiculous."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Tdns25eSc
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"Is it?" Raven gestured to himself. "You asked what happened to my eyes. If you could sense the aura, you wouldn't need to ask. You'd know what I was the moment you saw me."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjdppjh6yKs
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"I was just—I didn't want to assume—"111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmukDIKA9A
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"You're a terrible liar." Something that might have been amusement flickered across Raven's face. 111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡraELJRuWCt
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Shame burned in Cel's chest. Even this - even the simple act of hiding his deficiency - was something he couldn't do properly.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV9GdM3eMvR
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"So what if I can't sense it?" The words came out sharper than intended. "It doesn't change anything."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8mAK8OZyrM
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"Doesn't it?" Raven's expression shifted, genuine curiosity replacing accusation. "Every human can sense the Cursed. It's not learned. Not trained. Just… part of what makes one human." He paused. "But you can't."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7RtzYkY1kS
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Cel looked away, fixing his gaze on the creature's corpse across the room. Anywhere but those crimson eyes that saw too much.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk6Lg9hm0hE
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"What about Divine Energy?"111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs16WQrJpEa
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"I can sense it," Cel answered quickly. Too quickly.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡscgNJTBevx
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“You should really work on your acting skills.” Raven's voice came quieter now. 111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRjVgHvatPr
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Cel's throat tightened. His hands clenched harder, nails digging into his palms.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLShMgtUQEs
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"It's pathetic, isn't it?" The words came out bitter. "A Chosen One who can't even sense the most basic thing every human has."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsyLSKHuCvM
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"That's not the word I'd use."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYFWkhcE8xb
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"Then what would you call it?"111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6iiuODVct
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"Impossible." Raven moved to lean against the opposite wall, his posture relaxing slightly. "You're blessed by the Moon Goddess. Can manifest divine artifacts. But can't sense the energy that powers them." He shook his head. "That shouldn't work."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKUA2csl6SI
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"But it does." Cel's jaw clenched. "Somehow."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2kEGew5hmk
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"Yes. Somehow." Raven studied him with that unsettling intensity. 111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzr2uSowxX6
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"Does this mean something's wrong with me?" Cel's voice came flat.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQREdtXW9zp
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"I don't know.” Raven’s honesty was brutal. “I've never heard of a Chosen who couldn't sense Divine Energy. It should be impossible."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLjZGuxXXai
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"Everything about me seems to be impossible lately."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV54vgapmMt
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Raven simply stared at him. Then he exhaled slowly - not quite a laugh, but close.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhIHXCCnYyh
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Silence pressed heavy between them.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7mNznjiO8
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Cel studied the young man before him - the exhaustion carved into his features, the way he held himself like someone perpetually ready for violence. A year alone in this nightmare. Hunted by monsters and abandoned by the divine.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDhNKfwkxKL
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And yet he'd still helped a stranger. 111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvfHG4eBgum
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"Why did you help me?" Cel asked finally. "Even though I'm a Chosen One. Even though most Chosen would hunt you."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1dMn8x7PKi
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Raven was silent for a long moment, those crimson eyes unreadable.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK2fMrY595L
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"Because you looked at me and saw a person." His voice came quiet. Raw. "Not corruption to be destroyed. Not a threat to be eliminated. Just... another human trying to survive." He paused. "Not even my family did that."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJIqzoLYXC
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The honesty in those words struck deeper than any blade. A glimpse beneath the careful neutrality Raven maintained like armor.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0XnNaIHwv6
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Cel understood that loneliness. Had felt it himself beneath his father's rage while his mother and brother watched in silence - present but absent, seeing his suffering but not seeing him.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUBVEV7rbsZ
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"I'm sorry," he said. "For what happened to you. For what you lost."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZgHxJ4vrhn
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"Don't be." Raven's expression hardened again. "Sorry doesn't change anything."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6vDj20AKaU
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"No," Cel agreed. "It doesn't."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ7d6YjBSvG
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Another silence. But this one felt different. Less heavy. More like an understanding passing between two people who'd both been broken by circumstances beyond their control.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxIoyhdJvIK
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"Your wounds will heal faster with the medicine," Raven said, breaking the quiet. "But you need rest. Let your body recover."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXekGzT86gY
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Cel glanced down at the black substance coating his injuries.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWSceptuOOW
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"Thank you.”111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1mBDMKpyqj
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Raven paused, looking back at him. For a moment, something almost like warmth crossed his features. Then it was gone, replaced by that familiar neutral mask.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhSZ3zzlU1M
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"Rest," he said. "I'll keep watch."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqHnaGOP57Q
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Cel wanted to protest, but exhaustion pulled at him like an undertow. 111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnuqjFlKE8w
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"Call me if something happens," he said instead.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxK1fUwbL3g
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Raven nodded once, moving to position himself near the entrance gap where he could see approaching threats.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB0mYkEJkaI
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Cel leaned back against the wall, feeling cool stone against his spine. His eyes tracked to where Raven stood silhouetted against the gray light beyond.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQPoz0yVQPL
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Cursed. Abandoned by the gods. Hunted by society. Marked with corruption. 111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmdZNZpI4EH
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Yet for the first time since entering this cursed realm, Cel felt something close to safety.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSmwETY6BmV
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Not because the danger had diminished.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9B4zxEPJhS
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But because he was no longer facing it alone.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9IdZi5jwsR
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'Maybe the gods make mistakes too.'1234 copyright protection107ＰＥＮＡＮＡVvlyYF2wTF 尼

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