A small smile spread across Cel's face - the first genuine one in longer than he could remember.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdRwlbTVVOi
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsr6OOjed6i
The blessing. Finally.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡakOMnZ5JHO
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIylGFriWsb
After everything he'd endured, every nightmare survived, every wound that should have killed him - he was about to receive what he'd earned. What he'd bled for.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHpGzbFzWMF
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2YZWArb2Cd
The moon hung full and radiant above, its pale light washing over the cracked earth of his soul's landscape.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYUPZzISUPO
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA1zGCXA5dk
"Please follow me, Chosen One." Selina’s voice carried gentle warmth as she gestured toward the mist with graceful fingers.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSdul6claf0
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Dw9ZYxtYm
Cel's breath steadied, though his heart quickened with something that might have been anticipation. He nodded once, that small smile still tugging at his lips.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaxveLyMqmG
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMRSMxbDxa
She turned, white robes trailing across broken ground as she moved toward the mist with unhurried elegance. Cel followed, his bare feet padding softly against fractured stone.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOponyXgy4r
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuhJzBFZNqP
They walked in silence through the transformed landscape. Small flowers with bluish-white petals bloomed from the deepest cracks, reaching toward moonlight. Jagged stones jutted up at irregular intervals - ruins carved into the depths of who he'd become.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYf9btlhNeO
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Cel's mind drifted toward what awaited him.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡndISZU8iv7
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqnJCpVDKmG
A blessing.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT5Gut0S9VC
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCImWCsy9Yd
Soon the goddess's power would be woven into his very being.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtz7492HY9W
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDlWuTMiduV
This power had always been a part of his world - expected, almost mundane among nobles. Divine gifts granted to those called by the gods, transforming the Chosen into something more than human.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Sd0c8SNwh
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM8eXUaHIMt
But he'd never truly considered what they were. What it meant to be bound to a deity.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhkMZZ1iqHc
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEWBoETHIro
Three factors shaped every blessing - the foundation that determined what a Chosen One could become.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk12acAPnPX
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLIxNQHuh5M
First: the nature of the god.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4n2aejtZKu
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡthzeZpO8Rs
The Mountain God granted strength and endurance. The Storm Goddess gave lightning and wind.The Sun God's blessed were always strong, proud, radiant. Warriors who commanded fire and light.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8gBIvJ9SSM
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQXGSx5flp
He'd spent his entire life studying them, memorizing their achievements, listening to endless sermons about their legendary deeds.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg0UnrwhDSv
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxc6t3XpN3N
But the Moon Goddess?36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD6mF8a0f0G
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdJ2CvkAsf
She was different.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMq27z0I5C
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkuvKiDGw5p
Unlike other gods, each with an entire Clan devoted to them, the Moon Goddess had none. No bloodlines carried her favor. No buildings bore her name. She'd had few Chosen throughout history, and even fewer records of what they'd accomplished.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCl82UwkFsy
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7mJFVYnUoF
The reason was simple.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ooHmDANn2
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They had been weak.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7DANSbhjQo
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwlRgtXfFc
Where other Chosen reshaped the world - commanding tides, healing mortal wounds, razing plains with fire - those who served the Moon Goddess had left no mark. Their abilities - whatever they'd been - hadn't shaken the world. Hadn't carved legacies worth remembering.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt6qxTziMrH
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS3liF291EY
They'd lived and died as footnotes.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUWCpaD37i
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0xKpxMMKcW
The irony might have made him laugh if it didn't make him so angry. Cast out by the people who raised him. Saved instead by the only deity he knew nothing about.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9HuE4QGUqA
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhOaxUnqLnC
Selina's figure moved steadily ahead. The mist parted for her as though bowing in deference.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjMkuFIMZ9I
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO8lVxffuUo
Cel watched her for a moment before his thoughts moved to the second factor: 36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ132ppDmvOF
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIn9fQIbcW5
The rank of the priest.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡieao3wX179
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLdtbE5fHgw
Unlike the rigid hierarchies found in most hierarchies, priestly ranks held no special titles, no formal order. A servant of the gods could be rank 1 or rank 100 - the number itself was all that mattered.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42HVoElNUB
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJm1vQevPCk
But that number meant everything.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAhagjXoTRY
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKFsgPvsnLK
The rank indicated proximity to their deity. How close they stood to the divine.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSBxBHE2kUr
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmWyhQkBYUE
And which priest was sent to a Chosen One revealed how much the god valued them.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv5ZOUkOHjI
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgdVgjhhIuX
The gods dispatched their most trusted servants only to those they deemed worthy. A newly Called receiving a high-ranked guide? That was a declaration of divine favor - a promise of investment and expectation.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Rie4i4hXM
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi9BiGuSvDI
Conversely, someone of lower standing suggested... less. Not rejection, but neither was it embrace.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCSpN8vMKpa
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYB5cR1DE32
And this hierarchy directly influenced the quality of blessings bestowed.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTOE0al45ui
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq8lacJRPS2
At lower ranks, the paragons and artifacts granted were functional but limited - straightforward abilities within the deity's domain. Useful, certainly. Yet unremarkable.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJraND12uPN
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA9l57ukbRN
Higher ranks yielded far more. Through a rank 40 priestess, a god might grant paragons that reshaped battlefields. Through a rank 10, they could forge legends whose names echoed through history.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWYvonNIR85
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkLuLFiFbG
At the pinnacle, the gods held nothing back. Paragons of devastating power. Artifacts of impossible grace. Blessings worthy of those they deemed truly exceptional.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8agwNY4ATO
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBk8oryS0ef
Cel studied Selina's back as they walked. What rank did she hold? Her presence carried weight - certainty that suggested she wasn't newly appointed. But beyond that, he couldn't guess.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjFmCxSFZWj
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnVf0JqIGGg
Priests only revealed such information after the first blessing - a rule dictated by the gods themselves for reasons mortals couldn't grasp.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDP0ozBlkl
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLK9fa9Pv0q
His fingers curled at his sides.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoTpyfLSLMR
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And the third factor:36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvMyHjB8Ysg
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The compatibility between the deity and their Chosen One.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjBBc9N9wIs
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZseLTL0Q9
This was the part no one understood. Even the royal family, with their vast library and generations of recorded history, had no answer to why certain people were chosen.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwLyFC5MHl
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7CqGf1LTT
Some claimed personality - that gods selected those who reflected their own nature. Others insisted on fate, predetermined and inescapable. And then there were those who believed it was arbitrary. That mortals were nothing but playthings for forces beyond comprehension.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr49eMiwtDm
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn9cwIcjPRd
Cel wasn't sure what he believed. Maybe all those theories were wrong. Maybe they were all right.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNU6UCcERbh
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6I6tEUGPHi
In the end, gods remained an enigma. Everything humanity claimed to know was guesswork dressed as certainty. Fragments stitched together over centuries.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXubiLW0vDf
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡksMFJaYrEK
Only the priests could claim true connection to the divine. And even they spoke in riddles, revealing only what lay within their god-given authority.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQzPdyhKTGg
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIPUFzlpvjt
This secrecy made divine knowledge one of the world's most valuable commodities. Kings, warlords, scholars would pay fortunes for even the faintest whisper of celestial truth.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhg2UunJD11
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCQWeH55Vv
Everyone wanted answers. Few existed. And in that desperation, lies flourished.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡER6yPXvpET
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAdTLqYbxkQ
His stomach churned with familiar revulsion.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbFaYNDllmS
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgkV7265wit
False doctrines. Fabricated revelations. Entire faiths built on deliberate misinformation. Humanity had drowned itself in deception.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHiEQxgKNES
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdrqPZdXA8c
And every level of society fed the rot.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIkwrKORP38
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEyRoAIvDJ3
The nobles controlled access to knowledge, yes - they dictated who was worthy and silenced threatening voices. Their monopoly turned belief into power, worship into currency, gods themselves into weapons.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6gtDZFesN
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBpzMDiGaf1
But the common people?36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq3XIQlWijZ
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFnORXvZsgU
They weren't innocent victims.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjOYoUsF9Ov
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBVEiiDmIDN
False prophets rose from peasant villages, claiming divine visions for coins. Sects multiplied like weeds, each convinced they alone understood divine will - demanding obedience in exchange for salvation. Merchants sold 'artifacts’ to the desperate - splinters of 'sacred' wood, water from 'blessed' springs, all fabricated for profit. 36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr1d2evOhGz
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwXKWK1PU9
Faith twisted by greed became poison that seeped through the entire kingdom.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6v4MRUc4Xm
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXlBz1KIaPH
That was why understanding had stagnated. Why humanity, despite centuries of devotion, still grasped blindly at truth's edges. Because no one wanted truth - they wanted comfort, wealth, power, whatever lie served their needs.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQtn46j4WPH
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6vnWHrPm57
Almost laughable. People begged gods for salvation while ensuring their own downfall.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0R9dAeHiQc
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5keNCg9tdg
And through it all, the gods remained silent.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrV66gC9cNF
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAG0qVYig2B
Did they care? Or were they simply indifferent?36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxON3YvKpf
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡftDw8BYvkv
That question haunted him more than any other.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUvOx99qX1E
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs14aKgkd3E
What if the gods saw exactly what he did? 36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcBTsyq2doJ
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdpAj2cIW7z
Every lie, every corruption, every twisted doctrine - and remained silent because humanity had earned its ignorance. Not punishment. Just... consequences. 36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkRCBbMfu8B
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ533nIxpF8r
And Cel, no matter how much he wished otherwise, was part of that same corrupted race.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCdtnbUXMT0
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJNS7FA1f6Y
Would he be any different?36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlleLfs6xzB
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyqqu4CXuuF
A bitter smirk pulled at his lips. He wanted to believe so.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvJPYK3rX0F
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡepDNgafi8C
But he knew better.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKA8UQsqyl3
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlfDCa9fh7u
Lies weren't just tools of the powerful. Sometimes they were the only way to survive. If he returned to civilization, he'd wield deception as readily as those he despised.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyaGugMWx8T
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRQYVCir8Bt
He had to.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb966XzPufR
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFrAjE1IUVL
Ahead, Selina stopped.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVUnMxkwG5t
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuIaSHFGbzY
Cel nearly collided with her before catching himself.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfly2d9GYf
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3U5EoPa05A
She turned to face him, white robes trailing through the mist like they were woven from it.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJdJJdD6iB
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUMgvNntcQf
"We are nearly there, Chosen One."36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1CFHk1FF8V
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1CTpLMNfih
Selina gestured forward into the mist, but Cel remained still.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHP0Wz6aXoC
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJTuDbO4fFl
She paused, waiting.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF8kygCdGob
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqtn6BDtJhP
"I have questions," he said. "About the trial."36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwp6KBaGp0o
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfAFdDJV8mV
After a moment, she lowered her hand and faced him fully. "Of course. Please, ask."36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhuFCc4JWXT
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTZW0zkHk38
Cel studied her masked face. "When I was dying in that cavern, I heard a voice. Female. Sharp and commanding - telling me to get up." He paused. "At first, I thought it was you. But the tone was different. Harsher."36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuw77n0xgQR
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDJcnXyTvhb
Silence stretched between them.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgj0lvi0rVL
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrHzx2XK4Wn
"Who was it?"36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoekH7AYt3D
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvQbe8AT02l
"I am sorry, Chosen One. This does not lie within my authority."36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu8FkV64CdV
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYeRUPyrODH
He was silent for a moment, then moved on. "The moon appeared right as I was dying. No trigger I could see - unless dying itself was the trigger. Was the trial simply to survive long enough? Or was there something else I was supposed to do?"36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr3wbANf66V
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPS3oHWTzI
"That, too, does not lie within my authority," Selina said, her tone carrying something that might have been regret.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG2wgOAmnsn
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡniiZGsMN30
Cel hummed softly - half-amused, half-resigned. "Can you tell me anything about what I just went through?"36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMFCcRcltx7
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbbiNlXzs0B
"Only what you experienced yourself. The trial's purpose belongs to the goddess alone."36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ59jyh7N8ks
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ7vyhGDWRt
He let out a quiet breath. 36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4uMUZiVQrq
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyCr2peyCnI
He expected as much, and he didn't really care. The trial was over. He'd survived. Whatever secrets it held, whatever meanings he'd missed - none of that mattered anymore.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡemtkivhSPZ
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQ1bml9giZ
"Alright," he said finally. "I'm ready."36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ20giip7pMN
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvP3ZBG3lDO
Selina turned, gesturing forward once more. "Then let us continue."36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKk63qgvOF2
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvwNYvhutun
They walked in silence, moonlight breaking through the mist in shifting rays. The air grew colder. Thinner. Each step felt lighter, as if the ground beneath his feet was becoming less real, less solid.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNptCjkajVc
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8wVFxMiBV2
Then the mist parted.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAGZyjfmDUx
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt2Q4iA6B6v
Cel stopped.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj76XDHLZ5o
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEU75bqqoIK
The ground was carpeted in bluish-white flowers that swayed gently through the mist, their petals drawing in moonlight and releasing it in steady pulses. At the center, a focused beam of moonlight descended - so strong and concentrated it almost seemed tangible.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN1rKizEo42
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rb5vjKrIZ
At first sight, he knew that this was a sacred place.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡopEwvQ6Btm
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHIzs5ib3yP
Selina stepped forward.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4UR2YsUQJi
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ96zN1DzsnR
"We have arrived, Chosen One."1234 copyright protection32ＰＥＮＡＮＡLJToeRcUG9 尼

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