Cel's eyes snapped open to gray dawn.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZpZHkopjNF
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Ye7WwAqDh
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD1oDsr8ZWH
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnfCC4Vbqtg
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqoE25OzSsY
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYEaHSeShM
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC9QMjRaXUh
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfiqZjzrkF
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSuX9RHuykR
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF2RgSMvYNF
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJO4ZJGf08F
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX1w8fHiRun
Then he stopped.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqpmILwHx3f
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Violet crystals ringed the hilltop.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeBpOSod09k
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzISSqutwMx
They rose from the ground in twisted formations that hadn't existed yesterday, creating an uneven barrier between the ruin and the void below.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPviPcCVk7e
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGTgshB5FkY
His mind reeled. He'd circled this hilltop several times. Walked every inch of it. The ground had been bare stone, nothing more.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmH43w1n8ZT
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiof0UKs1BN
'When did these—?'31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh3h3TxfgWL
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The thought died as he watched the nearest formation expand and contract in a slow, deliberate rhythm.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXjQCRwij1b
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrSt3KLf5dY
'Is this how the crystals grow?'31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRG7z9Mdovu
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqZg0BTHswB
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdZ83EDjTIs
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRdVPwb0hUn
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0XcsDTU9EN
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc8qBCnfGtF
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxubJyJXzdI
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNijJv0M0BZ
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqAylRDsZm
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDb4vaO1iTq
His sanctuary had been the one place where the world held still. Now even that mercy had been stripped away.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhOF9sdyYa9
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcBQpXI55aQ
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtV5d5NQoUM
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDCPAdzXFt
There - to the east, two crystals stood slightly farther apart. The space looked like he could fit through without receiving fresh cuts.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Rks9617JJ
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQ9zsAVbcS
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPWsaAqDZq
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6JCBuTLkuy
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU42VsthfdJ
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4MjlpdQNUQ
Then, the ground shifted.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIs8xKTuLsT
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcCmlo2gnUh
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZKiLh16I6o
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv8CekIfNqf
Cel froze. Every muscle locked as the surface continued its slow lift. Three inches. Six. A foot.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBfPwB7jT7b
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5jdC2yVFrp
Then it descended with the same measured pace.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKUgpzvnXEg
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOPw9bEm8cW
The movement wasn't coming from the crystals.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZ1aq8iXpa
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqCektQ1LfE
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCy1JFRuCXj
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKnA292a3S3
Something beneath the crystals was breathing.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBjDvfNkcNz
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUvirMlp3LB
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0lQtVGoRIY
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8m5QYvcwqQ
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡci0PPLR4R7
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡatgnWEL1Fx
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYtOhcgSYwX
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7woi2kw3lU
The creature showed no sign of waking. Its breath continued in a measured pattern.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPh3QyehcTD
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUZ7ngtHbz9
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK2oK8HggrK
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0O3d12nxy
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlVjCGZBwYP
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6V5seeDlH
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. 31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5PGQeIoQP
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwndJ4QW2Q
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBAnqGpqhPe
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡocPA4DIWqb
He forced the thoughts aside. Whatever this thing was, it was sleeping. And his only hope was that it stayed that way.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡphzEIayunS
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtVIhH6bIgP
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxxf61GpGL
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Ni9lDfGTa
Then, the rhythm changed.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi3HKgjw0dk
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb7l1mKOlGx
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc9l4QZq98G
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXN4Q9M78sl
The creature was waking.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPiF6UNGxK1
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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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgW77rbT9CJ
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJVj1EhgnUy
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFeBxK2Psf8
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8QSp5FdEpt
Movement exploded beneath him.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvXfBg2vbJd
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrX2UM4piBa
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzwB5SFFxaP
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkprVhjBgcq
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnbKUTqoq01
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdNOMvr8scx
It was descending the hill.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb4mC0Mg53a
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXO103S566i
Moving toward the void.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPeMa9b3v2
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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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJ1IMKbvmf
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpC9BF6rCaD
'No, not into that you damn—'31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rjskbGqbt
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE2aBMuOtnQ
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktJHGOp13v
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoKm6YLaJz6
The creature reached the hill's base and stepped onto the void.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOZg7JAWeEj
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNgoqWho5cO
The liquid exploded instantly.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPoEtnWWuPs
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCoArxHJHk5
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr8ev7EygrV
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhsdgx0SzMe
But the beast didn't stop.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeTKKUAZ82K
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4UDUttyIG
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3QD3nGB26N
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqkWWw52WLY
The creature pushed forward.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9wJzjjfPGP
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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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9oI6OMTuO
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV9wNTQV0S5
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWJ1UFVM9i
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9jCDA9oGsE
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZVt5XcbQ0F
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJDHpBE9eVh
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB2kjArxD0O
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGrAFYOfLq9
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHudc27FSIh
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm68dsc28mp
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQeQ49i7oeo
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR2QJx7i0tu
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ZeAcAcjLC
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2EsTgMpVxk
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZZF3Gx2vf
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0uOSghLewt
The creature took another step.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7syrXZcqUD
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Then another.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHENitqe69n
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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. 31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqAHUcIdJ6d
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpUek6c8xCI
They were going to die here. Both of them, claimed by the void that had waited so patiently.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDEqvC4Djr1
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJSpt8XCTje
The crystal beneath Cel's grip turned white-hot.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKl54YDamDx
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnO4ooQtIRX
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGw3i9QdwDz
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMzs9WOAUGq
The crystals shattered.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw8eOILzNSp
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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. 31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCYJ3FysUIy
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC7zbT63hRv
The creature surged forward through the chaos, legs suddenly free.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn49BlZqNM7
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQKtsbPAsK
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrsnrGLrkuP
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDYVBFwV435
Violet crystals jutted from the ground ahead. The creature hauled itself onto solid ground with a final stride and exploded into a sprint.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLjVVLn8ExS
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgRuZuZ1sL0
Violet crystals jutted from the ground ahead. The creature hauled itself onto solid ground with a final stride and exploded into a sprint.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqJo5HjN9Eb
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLj0XjF81DW
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1aBDbWGoFV
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwA0pYvclCD
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbgKK2SibBH
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8QkuMdHjev
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfhfay9CvUu
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9nM4tkBJZ
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfQX8j62qh
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuk2jAqoqGA
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdxOkDfjTOe
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0gy3EvYLCU
They'd crossed the void. Both of them. Somehow.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl6RrjbAMgO
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡryaDW5tf3a
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeEkJoQOD0u
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPKlesUXz9A
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNcmZmNXSmi
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ43n8eWHrNN
But he was alive - for now.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYcbbWDuU1K
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ857or72dbZ
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3girmUAoEe
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXq8bcSKfTS
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XuR6zBv3Z
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHiXifMpZUC
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA6QDA4txmy
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuAOuxL24n5
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZVfxc5A5Z
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW7dhTSaVlh
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0LoEyRGNDP
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnzeiFigP3M
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlPWXaThUzI
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf80wfRRjFj
He just had to survive long enough to find it.1234 copyright protection27ＰＥＮＡＮＡFDJFn6KLRY 尼

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