Cel gasped - a desperate, rattling inhale that should have drowned in blood.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFgy87vzm44
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But his lungs filled cleanly. No wet gurgle. No spike tearing through muscle and bone with each breath.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsI5jfQ5PHd
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His eyes snapped open.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuMGPlqvWdj
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Swirling mist. Silver moonlight washing over broken ground.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFAWg2eJ1dP
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His soul's landscape.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufQbr8hPoj
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The realization hit a second later, followed immediately by his hands - flying to his chest, fingers scrabbling across skin that should have been torn open, searching for the wound that had killed him.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMY2WuDEjhZ
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Nothing.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWkEKq0tPi
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The burns covering his arms - gone. The cuts from crystal edges - gone. Even the impaled hand he'd used to anchor himself through the furnace heat had healed completely, leaving no trace it had ever been destroyed.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrYDWYHiBtl
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But the memory remained sharp as the crystals themselves.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSmJhaphaZY
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His fingers curled against his chest, nails digging into unblemished skin hard enough to hurt - just to feel something real, something that proved this wasn't another illusion.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLZQ6wlpuCa
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His breath slowed. Steadied.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjaadysVTQS
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'Over. It's over.'40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtXVv0pRkn6
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The thought felt hollow. Distant. Wrong, somehow - too simple for what he'd just endured.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTfY6RndVoC
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He'd survived.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD8lahvl4Fe
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Cel's gaze drifted upward to the moon hanging full and radiant above him. Its pale light cast everything in shades of silver and shadow, gentle and honest. No warmth trying to fill the cracks in him. No promises. Just light that showed things as they were.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQ9kG3SLQf
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He let himself breathe. Just breathe. No running. No fighting. No creature hunting him through impossible terrain. 40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe0oSUuSCPb
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Slowly, carefully, he lowered himself down until he lay flat against the cracked earth, moon filling his vision.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUUecOknCz9
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Just him and the quiet.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTCXe37DB1Y
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Minutes passed - or maybe hours. Time felt strange here, unreliable. 40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Yc2L4GCq1
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Eventually, Cel rolled onto his side, then slowly pushed himself up.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqNF896bz5y
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His gaze swept across the space around him.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwpJ6ss2Qz
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Before, this place had been nothing but endless fog - thick and suffocating, swallowing everything beyond a few paces. An empty void with no features, no landmarks. Just him and the distant moon, suspended in formless gray.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiu5c8vELmS
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Now, the mist had thinned.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡspSziSGBQ2
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Dry, cracked earth stretched beneath him, split by deep fissures that webbed across the ground like old scars. Jagged stones jutted up at irregular intervals.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIt0LKd3yf6
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Ruins.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhbn4vybg7C
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Not the ancient structures from the trial, but something personal. Something carved into the foundation of who he was.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9VraH0Yw0H
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Cel's fingers traced along a crack in the stone near his feet. The edges were rough, uneven - violence frozen in rock.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0KxrsNHSzW
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Between the fractures, small flowers with bluish-white petals bloomed, reaching toward the moonlight from the deepest cracks.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCLIw0n5ERh
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He stared at them for a long moment.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBHFrmwZ4Vt
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The mist shifted.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDKcWGg8ET
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Cel's head snapped up, body tensing before his mind caught up. But the presence was familiar - graceful footsteps, unhurried and light.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF4RwR95xhT
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Selina emerged from the mist - white robes trailing through the thinned veil like she was stepping through a curtain. Her silver mask that covered the upper half of her face caught the moonlight, reflecting it in pale crescents. Below, her serene smile held the same quiet warmth it always had.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV8NqK2LVbg
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Cel's shoulders dropped slightly. Some tension he hadn't named eased at the sight of her.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNLqbesnU5j
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She stopped a few paces away, hands folded at her waist, regarding him with that calm smile. What remained of the mist curled around her hem like a cat seeking attention.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNVuKau8R8Q
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"Congratulations, Chosen One." 40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKXyl4WNxyE
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Cel flinched.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxh8fBhoug6
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Not from the words themselves, but from hearing them - truly hearing them. Clear. Crisp. Every beautiful syllable distinct. 40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl96chgNHSW
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His hand flew to his ear. The silence that had wrapped around him since the crystal shriek, the thick cotton that had muffled everything into nothing… was gone too.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxLjqAewk0
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"You have completed the trial." Her voice carried the same gentle certainty as always, like stating the moon would rise tonight.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwr8ZsoC0Mp
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No fanfare. No celebration. Just acknowledgment - as if surviving that nightmare was expected.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ctdp9mvfl
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Cel nodded slowly, processing the words. His hand moved absently to his chest - where the spike had been.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR09kv1gozd
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"I did." The words came out flat.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIfPZZIfK4m
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Silence stretched between them.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLZ8VYRnAjT
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Cel pushed himself to his feet slowly - movements careful, deliberate, like he wasn't quite sure his body would obey. 40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJs5b9Vp7H
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His eyes swept across the landscape without focus.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5gH77JNypR
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Selina tilted her head slightly, as if reading something in his stillness. "You seem troubled, Chosen One."40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9KQo8sMou
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His jaw clenched.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf3YaoEhfIy
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"Troubled?" His hands curled at his sides. "Lets see.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEi32EIh8hu
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"Four suns tried to cook me alive. The crystals' hum made me deaf. My own reflection tried to break my mind. That sphere spent the entire time guiding me exactly where it wanted me. And then that thing with the fairy-like appearance impaled me on a crystal spike."40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzfX86CNRrI
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His breath came harder.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6r3KgOpGsq
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"So yeah. I'm a little troubled."40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNQx9JCkUPT
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Selina stood perfectly still, hands folded, the mist curling around her robes like it was content just to be near her.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡftVLs6LpxS
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"What was even the point?" The words came out sharp as broken glass. "Other Chosen don't go through this. They get their blessing the moment they turn sixteen and enter their soul."40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYrtcaOaoIw
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He kicked a small stone, sending it skittering across cracked earth.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZuA3RNqVuO
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"But not me. No—I get a trial. I get dragged through nightmare after nightmare just to prove I'm worthy of the weakest Goddess of all."40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjq8RLmZaO8
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He turned away from Selina, staring at the broken landscape.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyHrNhz6jkk
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“What the hell was it for? To break me down? Bleed me dry? Tear open every wound just to show me something I already knew?"40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAIiO1HVC6L
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"I already knew my father hated me," he continued. "That he thought I was worthless. That I'd never be enough."40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUQB5gNERV0
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His nails dug crescents into his palms.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpFSfaFrLyi
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"I already knew my mother wouldn't save me. That she'd just stand there and do nothing while he beat me half to death."40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnFVAnptYco
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The flowers rustled softly in a breeze that shouldn't exist here.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPb4MoLFJxb
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"I knew my sister was too young to understand. That all she could do was cry." His breath hitched. "And my brother…"40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrhlKjVXoOx
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"...I knew he wouldn't do anything either."40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWwsNSvS7A7
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Cel's eyes stayed fixed on the cracked ground beneath his feet, watching a thin fissure split the stone like frozen lightning.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Eq05FwuGW
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"I knew they abandoned me long before they actually left me to die."40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcWA8dOWOXB
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The truth of it sat heavy in his chest - solid, undeniable. The trial hadn't revealed anything new. It had just forced him to feel it all again. To relive it.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKxLYMX1Vx
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Selina remained silent. Not uncomfortable. Not pitying. Just... present.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnLydwbJyDT
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The mist shifted around them both. Minutes passed.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoxqva1wyMB
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Eventually she moved closer, her steps barely disturbing the silence. She stopped a few paces away, close enough that he could see the slight rise and fall of her breathing beneath those pristine robes.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiIUiZDAq4Q
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"You have returned." Simple. Matter-of-fact. "But you are not the same as before."40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfBnFgY2KhV
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Cel let out a sharp breath through his nose. "Am I?"40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGRvpW9EESe
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His arms crossed over his chest, fingers digging into his skin. The anger was still there, coiling tight beneath his ribs, hot and sharp. But something about it felt different now. Less wild. Less desperate.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ54DdyXDsgx
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More... controlled.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuCweiadlTD
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His gaze drifted to the cracked earth.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRSzxf3hh6H
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"I thought..." He stopped. Started again. "I thought if I survived, I'd feel different. Stronger, maybe. Or at least... certain about something."40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmhpMDQCIHS
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His jaw worked.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRadiW8TucW
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"But I just feel tired."40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMFAKT7hgo8
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Selina remained silent, patient as moonlight.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsQ4e1TTgjk
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Cel's fingers loosened slightly against his arms. His shoulders dropped.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW9rUAxC0gu
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"I don't know what I'm supposed to do with this," he said finally, voice quiet.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7A33LWBdwG
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Selina's hands shifted slightly at her waist. "Perhaps that is something you must discover on your own, Chosen One."40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2cZQK7fhAE
40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPD60swrFb0
"Maybe." He paused. "Or maybe there was no lesson. Maybe it was just pain for pain's sake."40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPmFsehRa7N
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"Do you believe that?" Her serene smile widened.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgqvQeXTBId
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The question hung in the air between them.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqpY0KzVkKS
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Cel didn't answer immediately. The mist curled between them, patient as Selina herself.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡquBgSh8U2P
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"...No," he admitted quietly. "I don't."40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRag5qZzigo
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Because if he did - if he truly believed his suffering meant nothing - then what was the point of surviving it?40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyqJMSdo5Xo
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His gaze lifted to the moon hanging full and radiant above them. Its pale light washed over everything, gentle and honest.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVVRxqWvzTV
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"I'm still angry," he said, and the words came easier than expected. "At my family. At the cultists. At everyone who saw what was happening and looked away."40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWWeUanAaQC
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Selina remained perfectly still, listening.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ86oKn9WxND
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"But I'm here." His voice steadied. "I survived. And that has to mean something."40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0D3utigEEQ
40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZrd0aze04t
"It does," Selina said softly. "More than you may yet realize."40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyRgh3VMdyy
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Cel’s gaze found one of the flowers growing from a crack in the stone. Small. Delicate. The kind of thing that should never survive in a place like this.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPcu2VHkS08
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But it did anyway.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGUb1ozUjFA
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"What happens now?" he asked.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRxjlFw1bZJ
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Selina's lips curved - barely perceptible, but genuine.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7y4fDOyNWp
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"Now, Chosen One, you receive what you have earned."40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPf7eYCqAEf
40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡup6zMotZYX
She gestured toward the moon.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0FV7EQL3As
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"The Moon Goddess's blessing."40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1dvs2pAPwQ
1234 copyright protection36ＰＥＮＡＮＡNoDo3cWuqw 尼

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