Cel's eyes snapped open to gray dawn.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9X7xfwLB1
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoNjSotSqPI
The nightmares had chased him through the entire night again - his father's fists falling like rain, the cultists' blades carving fresh channels in his flesh, his family's backs turned in unified rejection. Sleep had been no refuge, just another battlefield where his tormentors held dominion.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3RHDsWbiQE
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQlolsWjGgi
At least he'd slept through. His body had demanded that much, dragging him under and refusing to let him surface no matter how his mind struggled against the dreams.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBGxR9qP35m
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKnTJCQoeO8
His throat felt like he'd swallowed sand. When he tried to work moisture into his mouth, his tongue scraped uselessly. The gnawing in his stomach had faded to constant ache, but thirst screamed with every attempted swallow.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR2Mf2OPsuA
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCK8OJJn99J
He pushed himself upright, every joint protesting. The burns on his arms pulled tight. His feet throbbed. The empty leather pouches lay discarded nearby - no water, no food. Today he would venture out or accept slow death.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtxZ4qS9SSA
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ970i3jKG7A
Cel dragged himself toward the entrance, using the larger stones for support as debris scattered beneath him. Morning air pressed against his chest as he cleared the threshold.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtKeGq9FyU4
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWma63uEQbj
Then he stopped.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAysj7Kf6o3
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmby6Ca3uMf
Violet crystals ringed the hilltop.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOuXslsWGPO
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuqnH2XEB9W
They rose from the ground in twisted formations that hadn't existed yesterday, creating an uneven barrier between the ruin and the void below.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyT7rXwbTxE
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUWEWEWzpcF
His mind reeled. He'd circled this hilltop several times. Walked every inch of it. The ground had been bare stone, nothing more.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qOAkaOLaG
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKe8JOXpXQ
'When did these—?'59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPINpAzr00t
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVnF9NR6qEn
The thought died as he watched the nearest formation expand and contract in a slow, deliberate rhythm.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzC649Rq8SU
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwDxDjWUCkR
'Is this how the crystals grow?'59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW17J8SABpV
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMoC0J6UkFM
He descended and approached the crystal barrier. The surface was warm beneath his palm, humming with faint vibration. The crystals probably fed on heat from below, drawing up through stone in their alien expansion.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1l1cVSAhEU
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0nmEact7dW
He'd seen stranger things in this maze. It was just another impossible property of this place, like passages that folded or reflections that haunted.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZwF3iXJ372
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdCbkiW0xOz
Beyond the crystals, the void remained perfectly still. The liquid darkness pressed against the hill's base as if held back by an invisible boundary.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcERlGrgQ1l
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT0DdTssZBj
The crystals formed a complete ring, each moving in synchronized rhythm. They weren't tall - perhaps waist-high at their peaks - but dense enough to make passage difficult without fresh cuts.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhrtIXuJ6aB
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9u2eC4Z3jJ
His sanctuary had been the one place where the world held still. Now even that mercy had been stripped away.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMzOyHl0Vw2
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOUq2HfXdwl
Cel circled the ruin, examining gaps between formations. His throat contracted again. Without water, his body would begin shutting down within a day. The burns would fester. His blood would thicken.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVRs4ySgRX
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdp5A9v9458
There - to the east, two crystals stood slightly farther apart. The space looked like he could fit through without receiving fresh cuts.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsdr8B5NQmq
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVONFjj2KW5
He moved toward the gap, feet crunching over loose stone. The breathing crystals flanked his approach, their expansion creating subtle groans he felt as vibrations rather than heard. Sharp edges jutted at awkward angles, forcing him to map his route carefully.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE7aZ2qZlXu
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa2emfIXtTj
He positioned himself between the formations and reached out, gripping the left crystal for balance. The warmth surprised him - almost body temperature. The vibration pulsed beneath his palm.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrSVAUWNoBq
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCE1cpPNe81
Then, the ground shifted.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGpDgjNNUoy
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9zj2K5TZ1
Not the grinding rumble of earthquake or a sudden lurch of collapsing earth. This was a lifting motion - smooth and deliberate, as if the entire hilltop had decided to rise several inches in a single breath.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLNsvmbGGgC
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3rSOn3J7NP
Cel froze. Every muscle locked as the surface continued its slow lift. Three inches. Six. A foot.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEZ3CWQepSC
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUUm1f8sqGE
Then it descended with the same measured pace.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡykC1OnJauW
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdfaxWwm3Vd
The movement wasn't coming from the crystals.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfH71LL1j7T
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBautYxFS9d
His fingers slipped from the formation as understanding crashed over him. The rough texture beneath his feet. The way crystals suddenly emerged in organic patterns. The warmth radiating through his soles.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTu2NI72pn6
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsNMeGCiqF4
Something beneath the crystals was breathing.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYNA0nUVCcv
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCYxgpvzrRX
Every instinct screamed to move, to run, but there was nowhere to go. The void surrounded him completely, and movement might wake whatever creature he'd been climbing on.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaugKX2JzoS
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCtF8QAvo3
Beneath him, the breathing continued its steady rhythm. Rise. Fall. Rise. Each cycle lifted him from the darkness below, then lowered him back - steady and undisturbed, like breath in dreamless slumber.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpoex3GfZJ3
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8WWtDaMrK
Cel's hands trembled as he slowly pulled back from the crystals. His weight shifted with glacial care, trying to avoid sudden pressure. The burns and cuts screamed as he adjusted stance, but he bit down on any reaction.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdIGztgBape
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ77FO93rZZX
The creature showed no sign of waking. Its breath continued in a measured pattern.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV0ZcV4oDF1
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEBZgX4G2dm
His legs trembled - whether from terror or the strain of moving so carefully, he couldn't tell. He'd been climbing on something large enough to mistake it for terrain. And now he had to climb back down again without waking it.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGWG4H3dByW
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKMgJGL68hb
Had this thing followed the void to the hilltop during the night? How had he not woken when it arrived? He'd been exhausted, yes, but for something this massive to settle around the ruin without disturbing him seemed impossible.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Afvbg1eIi
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5pYO1sNLgI
The parchment sketch flashed through his mind - the creature with fairy-like wings and crystal growths covering its body. The crystals matched. He twisted carefully, searching the creature's back for any sign of wings, but saw only more crystal formations jutting from its spine in irregular patterns. Perhaps the wings were folded beneath, hidden from view. 59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7n21W2E3Z
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKeq6TqRlXy
If this was the same creature from the illustration, wings like those could have brought it here in perfect silence, lowering it around the ruin so gently he'd never woken.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFZbUQ9qKQZ
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL176O1Egty
He forced the thoughts aside. Whatever this thing was, it was sleeping. And his only hope was that it stayed that way.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp83pLNVv5w
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡONmCNIcD5D
Cel began his descent with glacial care. Each shift of weight deliberate and measured. His burnt hands found purchase on crystal edges. His torn feet searched for stable ground. The breathing continued beneath him - steady, undisturbed.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMs12CmYA17
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUx5X1pu8H
Then, the rhythm changed.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPb9zo8ZoTS
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Q82UpRlRp
The breath that lifted him held longer than the others. The descent came slower. Cel froze halfway down what might have been the creature's flank.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbZIzQdUS70
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuXq9BnZoQ2
The creature was waking.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8M4hLl4pL8
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4G9aMgaSHz
His fingers dug into the crystal growth beside him. His jaw clenched so hard his teeth ached. Should he climb faster, try to reach the ground before it fully woke? Or freeze and pray it drifted back to sleep? Both gambles. Both likely to fail.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIzgPtZvfiG
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrYTg2KiLP2
The breathing shifted again. Deeper. More deliberate. The surface beneath his feet tensed, muscle moving under skin he'd mistaken for stone. The crystals trembled with building energy.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE421EhMR4W
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM8p0nWwf6E
Movement exploded beneath him.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtqiRCnCVjX
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbuW1TF2AGC
The creature surged forward in a single massive stride. Cel's stomach lurched as the world tilted violently. His grip on the crystal saved him from tumbling as the beast's back tilted at an impossible angle. The ground that had been horizontal seconds ago was now a steep slope threatening to slide him toward the void.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡibhzdZuRDr
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSG8UKpEwxH
He pressed himself against the crystal outcroppings, arms wrapped around their base, legs scrambling for purchase on the rough hide. The creature's next step sent shockwaves through its body.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYI6kB4RQAP
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1muEfdUfE
It was descending the hill.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNjodlphP5g
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsrmwntQMat
Moving toward the void.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYMBCxmqbl
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLNdVR8HNjW
Horror flooded through Cel's chest. His hands moved without thought, pulling desperately at the crystals as if he could somehow steer the massive creature away from the liquid darkness. The formations didn't budge. The creature didn't slow. His efforts were as meaningless as a fly trying to redirect a charging horse.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlq1PBqGv7P
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxPDOQY5TPx
'No, not into that you damn—'59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUAO6AnVT0k
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwHmB9Ckxa1
His fingers dug into the crystals until blood welled from his torn palms. Every instinct screamed to jump, to throw himself free, but there was nowhere to go. The slope was too steep, the void too close. He would tumble straight into that hungry darkness.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtbNcEyLQQW
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcR3znlm9uk
The creature reached the hill's base and stepped onto the void.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKQNiGM3th2
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHEtq5TaiG
The liquid exploded instantly.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPDcKeQD54
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbzhgyWg417
Tendrils of darkness shot upward, wrapping around the creature's forward limb. They coiled like serpents, layer upon layer of nothingness binding to flesh and crystal alike. Where they touched, the surface seemed to drink light itself, creating wounds of absolute black against the creature's dark hide.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXK0Hc01fNF
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4eh6fAltZ3
But the beast didn't stop.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Dr5zqHaWQ
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXWpeHjIbjF
Its next step sent tremors through Cel's bones. The void writhed in response, more tendrils erupting upward. They grasped at legs, wrapped around the creature's underbelly, and climbed toward the crystal-crowned back. Each new contact point pulsed with hungry intent, trying to pull the creature down into itself.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbEvBEDqSA1
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYQBkMZmlp
The creature pushed forward.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxuj0vwXZD7
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVQZAg1A22H
Cel watched the liquid climb higher with each stride. The tendrils moved with terrible purpose, wrapping tighter, pulling harder. The creature's breathing grew labored. Its steps slowed. Yet it continued crossing the void's surface, muscles tensing and releasing beneath Cel's desperate grip.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6hqGcCeHKm
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCfeEltHnRg
The crystals along the creature's spine flared brighter. Violet light pulsed through each formation in waves, starting from the base of the neck and traveling backward. When the light reached the crystals Cel clung to, heat bloomed against his arms. Not the killing heat of the maze, but warmth that pushed back against the void's cold hunger.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoiZZHhou0v
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWmHWlc2t8f
The liquid recoiled from the illuminated crystals. The tendrils loosened slightly, though they didn't release. The creature took advantage, surging forward with renewed strength before the void could recover.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS3eE1M65Vw
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhug0drLErU
They were moving deeper into what had been the maze. Cel risked a glance over his shoulder and saw the hill receding behind them, the ruin perched atop it like a crown. The sleeping giant was awake now, and Cel was trapped on its back while it waded through a sea of hungry nothingness.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmwC3XhtB4n
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM8UnzscCUW
His fingers ached from gripping the crystal. Blood from his torn palms made the surface slick. The creature's movements grew more violent as the void's resistance increased - sharp lurches that nearly tore Cel free, sudden drops when a leg sank deeper into the liquid, explosive rises when it pulled itself forward again.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtn3E9csI9s
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ3NsqsimIr
The void surged higher. Tendrils now reached past the creature's shoulders, grasping at the lower crystals on its back. One tendril stretched toward Cel's leg. He jerked his foot away just as the darkness brushed his heel, leaving a cold burn where it had almost made contact.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUM6K1dKiU
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5LnkyXjkRT
The creature's breathing came in deep, rattling gasps. The crystals pulsed faster, brighter, but the light seemed strained. The void was winning through sheer persistence, adding more tendrils with each passing moment, creating a web of emptiness that dragged at every movement.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtq70BzW0O
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrieJ2N85p
Cel's arms trembled. His grip was failing. The creature's next violent lurch would throw him free, and then the void would have him. After everything - the torture, the imprisonment, the maze's horrors, the mirror realm's torments - he would end as nothing more than another reflection swallowed by darkness.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs8waIzG9lp
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDFy9Fcf7HP
The creature took another step.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPoOAqF2ZUL
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2GHQCuDBA1
Then another.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVivO0mmgOY
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Zv2suOd7s
Its legs moved slower, pushing through the clinging mass like wading through mud. The liquid had risen to its chest, tendrils wrapping around its neck, pulling its head down toward the hungry surface. 59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6NnhdPRHh8
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeupeyiiQUe
They were going to die here. Both of them, claimed by the void that had waited so patiently.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMSJPLkArTo
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXNxRYQFv3h
The crystal beneath Cel's grip turned white-hot.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJi5DtTspw
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYQPtlaRcD
He jerked back with a gasp as every formation along the creature's spine ignited simultaneously - violet to blinding white in a single breath. The air shimmered. Heat slammed into him like a physical blow.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvmiZCfUnAV
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtrfw769z7m
The crystals shattered.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJb0VqpIxLR
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlblohQcHua
They exploded outward in a cascading chain, molten fragments raining down on the void. Each impact detonated with brilliant light. The liquid darkness recoiled, tendrils snapping back as if burned. 59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlrAtR17Z1T
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7HeCnfYYl9
The creature surged forward through the chaos, legs suddenly free.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8q65wvxMkK
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡayM2ePiMmg
Cel pressed himself flat against bare hide between the superheated sockets, fragments whistling past his head. More crystals fell from the creature's flanks - each one exploding on contact, pushing the void back in violent bursts of light.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP7KrjPjlDP
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJAwfwvD4xI
Violet crystals jutted from the ground ahead. The creature hauled itself onto solid ground with a final stride and exploded into a sprint.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfXbxLGskil
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuv2ftLmbK1
Violet crystals jutted from the ground ahead. The creature hauled itself onto solid ground with a final stride and exploded into a sprint.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ55UfZD2mm
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwnm1e6lHn
The acceleration slammed Cel backward. Only his desperate grip on the remaining crystal kept him from sliding off the creature's flank as it surged forward with terrifying speed. Wind tore at his face. His injured body protested every jarring impact as the creature's feet hammered against stone and crystal.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0VYc8Ml6OL
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZJqUnesYdg
The maze blurred around him - violet edges streaming past like falling stars. He squeezed his eyes shut against the rushing air, unable to watch the deadly formations they were racing through. All he could do was hold on, muscles burning, lungs fighting for air in the wind-whipped chaos.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzKhrfEOKXz
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2Hjbck7s2
Time lost meaning. There was only the creature's pounding rhythm, the heat rising from its exhausted body, and the screaming pain in his arms as he clung to survival with weakening fingers.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa9QXlC5qJ0
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkuFHj4yFjR
When the creature finally began to slow, Cel's relief was so profound he nearly released his grip. The sprint faded to a stumbling run, then a heavy trot. Eventually, the creature staggered forward several steps before stopping entirely, its massive form trembling with exhaustion. Smoke still rose from the empty sockets where crystals had been, and the remaining formations pulsed weakly, their light guttering like dying flames.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLu97UTp07g
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbfrVMk6jBl
Cel remained frozen against his anchor point. His arms were locked around a crystal, muscles cramped and screaming. His breath came in ragged gasps that matched the creature's labored panting.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjiXALZoiQg
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3FDzt0fJo
They'd crossed the void. Both of them. Somehow.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDrHZ5f6H22
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGU4M54zRoP
The creature stood motionless for a while. Behind them, the liquid's surface had already smoothed once more, perfectly still as if nothing had disturbed it. The hill rose in the distance, the ruin still perched atop it, impossibly far away now.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO1C6mBNxBY
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL25tYDFSWw
Ahead stretched the crystal maze - razor sharp formations filled with heat and horror. The creature had carried him from one trap into another, from the void's patient hunger into the maze's active malice.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBiBPYzJBNK
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMesW8Fc5m2
But he was alive - for now.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRJBQJxn6qd
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlqvXwBSmKs
Cel's grip on the crystal loosened slightly. His fingers were numb, his palms raw and bleeding. The creature's breathing gradually steadied, though it didn't move. Perhaps it was gathering strength. Perhaps it was dying. Cel couldn't tell and didn't have the energy to care.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFiZ2zO2ZV6
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLDbGEcz99b
He closed his eyes and let his head rest near the warm crystal base, careful to avoid the sharp edges. The four suns burned overhead. His throat still screamed for water. His body still carried its catalog of wounds.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjhyWBBwpDb
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZmclMZljzC
He'd needed to return to the maze to find the moon - but not like this. Not clinging helplessly to a creature he didn't understand, dragged toward an unknown destination. The ruin had been his sanctuary, his one safe place in this nightmare. Now it was lost to him, separated by a sea of hungry darkness he could never cross again.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡerDcZGN5Ci
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcA2oEra1g7
The creature took a single step forward, almost gentle compared to its previous violence. Then another. It was moving deeper into the maze, carrying Cel along like unwanted luggage on its crystal-crowned back.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL5uVKEk2zf
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI2qsVN4upb
He didn't try to escape. Where would he go? The void waited behind. The maze stretched ahead in formations he couldn't navigate on foot in his weakened state. And somewhere in this nightmare, the moon remained hidden, waiting for him to complete a trial that seemed designed only to find new ways to kill him.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg9OCn9n058
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3pihhhlmVC
So, Cel maintained his grip and let the creature carry him forward, into whatever fresh horror the crystal maze had prepared. At least he was moving toward his goal, even if he'd lost all agency in how he'd get there. The moon was somewhere ahead in this labyrinth.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuMkATsHQU7
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTdQelGzlz4
He just had to survive long enough to find it.1234 copyright protection55ＰＥＮＡＮＡtLUQtoTRbd 尼

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