The runes burned against Cel's vision, searing themselves into his mind with cold precision. His heart hammered as meaning crystallized not through reading, but through instinctive knowing.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaEovQ1d9He
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEI3119VZcj
<Name: Celvian>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJzTwHG9ZS
<Paragons: (Heir to the Moon) (The White Death)>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1CSti9ItSO
<Artifacts: (Silent Moon)>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5CTyUNyACI
<Insights: (locked 0/1)>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXFub7CgzDT
<Achievements: (1)>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5jmaY2N1oG
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL6dIqyv0M8
Two paragons.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAeQvi06d7z
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxiuG9vXQ2e
His breath caught, thoughts fragmenting into chaos before snapping back together with razor focus.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk3XWuZxy5i
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtqP34FHVbJ
Most Chosen received one paragon at their first blessing. A single domain from which most future power would flow. One path, one identity, one destiny provided by the gods.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQIvwVSOeVg
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRjonhY9qn9
But he had two.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwAF6YvMW0O
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzYQerw7ATh
Heir to the Moon. The White Death.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMWBUuXIzef
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡztsbQX4fJv
The first didn’t feel real. Not Chosen or servant - heir. The goddess had named him her inheritor, marked him as her legacy. And she'd proven it. Divine Oracles didn't attend to ordinary Chosen. Selina's presence alone was enough of a declaration.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4sjaqAcy8s
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8enjdCx9H6
The weight settled over his shoulders like a mantle of ice. He wasn't just another forgotten Moon Chosen destined to die young and unmourned. He was her heir.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFj3FWPNVlA
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJXYAU7EMr1
The other stirred something cold and savage in his chest. The White Death. A name that didn't speak of salvation or shelter, but of something absolute and merciless.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVlxv342umN
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI88xtPkovF
But something else nagged at him even more: the achievement counter read one.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS8mrhxdzSP
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWLxQJ69U4s
That made no sense. Achievements were monumental feats acknowledged by the Chosen's deity. Each god valued different things: the Sun God might recognize valor in battle, the Storm Goddess acts of defiance, the Life Goddess preservation of life.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNkcMG1rHqC
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqwI9TYtomy
But no one received achievements before their first blessing. It was impossible. Without divine power, mortals couldn't accomplish anything worthy of godly recognition. You needed the strength granted by your first blessing before you could even attempt deeds extraordinary enough to earn more.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK8kgz3to5o
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ52JrdRfVOj
Unless... the trial itself counted? But that made no sense either. The trial was part of receiving the first blessing, not something accomplished after. Yet what else could it be?28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlig8kzNPbM
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtO36Ylw5qb
His focus sharpened on the first paragon, and the monolith responded instantly. The runes dissolved like frost under morning sun, reforming into new patterns that pulsed with steady luminescence.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPt17HLF2WX
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqw1ItnXYPu
<Achievements: (You died)>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL6Eydchaq8
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjqkiZqVAMp
Cel stared.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOXvmIpkUhi
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU03KFhC2lw
You died.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKQdVVagiY7
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXSciVApiM5
That was it. Two words acknowledging his greatest failure as if it were worthy of celebration.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSMh2oa88OY
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmyBom15uwD
A laugh bubbled up in his throat before he could stop it. Short. Sharp. Edged with something that wasn't quite humor.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjiLw38rWjP
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZDnckja7d
Most Chosen earned their first achievement through heroic deeds - slaying monsters, saving lives, defending the innocent.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡww3ADcjGIX
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd2Vxdx2eUc
His was to die.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3eYVFXxGnh
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz18ri5oeZR
Not surviving the trial. Not enduring torture. Not destroying the mirror reflections or facing the fairy-like creature. The Moon Goddess looked at everything he'd accomplished and chose to acknowledge the one moment he'd failed completely - his death.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJdxktfGkwI
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTmXlCMQZ2b
He exhaled slowly, pushing the bitter irony aside. The achievement existed. Dwelling on it wouldn't change that.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf45HQIvjEJ
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDmLs2KKBHX
What mattered now was understanding the power he'd earned through it.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdDra9ONMZz
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDOlsCr1UHO
He turned his attention to the first paragon, and the monolith obeyed once again - runes dissolved before reforming into intricate new patterns:28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmBaX2lsnU0
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAWzvH1Okin
<Paragon: Heir to the Moon>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxPzR2UAtJZ
<Affinity: 1/10>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7alhDJnVLs
<Traits: (Lunar Vigor) (Unbroken Succession)>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOrcY7yBLO
<Authorities: />28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFBWYM2nBfR
<Enlightenment: "The moon is never the same twice, yet she is always herself. Full tonight, crescent tomorrow, vanished the next - but never gone. They call it change. The moon calls it constancy.">28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtGBNnkcksJ
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4HN9I9ShbQ
The first trait would have come from his initial blessing, freely given. The second... that must have been earned through his achievement. Through dying.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8IkYrFUA53
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD0lFq3TEcs
An affinity rating of one out of ten.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIiTWjxQ4e
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoaTg74qg9Y
Affinity measured how deeply a Chosen resonated with their paragon - how naturally its power flowed through them. Higher affinity meant stronger effects, more potent manifestations of the same abilities. 28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgdkTd9LXXj
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4dQK6dfDET
One was the baseline. Every Chosen started there. But affinity could be raised through use, through understanding, through aligning oneself with the paragon's nature.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2quLkfRfg1
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAJVoCeGg6f
Which meant he had a long way to climb.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeb4No98Ut3
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7CK4mRfB7
Then there was the enlightenment.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpiFrcSkweq
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0OqO6Kf0h
He read the text again, frowning. ‘The moon is never the same twice, yet she is always herself. Full tonight, crescent tomorrow, vanished the next - but never gone. They call it change. The moon calls it constancy.’28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk1Y6KRb053
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡowOMyvCwgQ
No one truly understood what enlightenments were. Some scholars claimed they were fragments of divine truth - insights into the god's nature. Others believed they were keys, riddles that unlocked deeper power if perceived correctly. 28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0Xt516by5
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyIGygRq56k
Cel suspected the enlightenments mattered in some way - perhaps more than anything else on the monolith. 28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2j1qxiztgs
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡib6eJbgm6Z
He took another look, searching for meaning that refused to surface. “Never the same twice, yet she is always herself.” But the moon's phases did repeat - new moon, crescent, full, crescent, new. The same cycle, over and over. So how was it never the same twice?28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFInE12kvUI
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH1VihezfRV
And if it kept changing, where was the constancy? Unless constancy meant the change itself? But then what did "always herself" mean?28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmyXNLRVgEq
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjM6S4UeE2a
The more he tried to grasp it, the more it slipped away - like trying to hold moonlight in his fist.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm0BaoC3Wjo
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt0r5Khnjjo
Maybe he wasn't smart enough to understand. Maybe it would make sense later, after he'd used the paragon's power. Or maybe it was just cryptic nonsense, and he was wasting time trying to make sense of it.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHNhk8kpFHD
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJGTnpL54VM
He exhaled sharply, forcing his attention elsewhere. The enlightenment could wait. Right now, he needed to understand what power he'd actually been given.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡson8OhU8VY
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIlBQEwcqFk
The first trait expanded as he focused on it:28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlogp9UjSWR
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZruWhB6Ab5
<Trait: Lunar Vigor>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnhUT78W4HR
<Effect: Under moonlight, your physical abilities are enhanced. The intensity of this effect depends on the moon's phase.>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcK1nl9d82y
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAmwdwIPd3D
Simple. Direct.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG12lTEiaRQ
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwW2HDNsY7B
Cel's hand flexed involuntarily as understanding settled. Faster. Stronger. More resilient - but only when the moon could reach him.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvJUwCdHAHy
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ91gheEK3Rk
His jaw tightened.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFfkFbrRAQC
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp7YBBW9tFY
At day, this gift would be worthless. Inside buildings, beneath stone and timber, useless. Even at night, the power would rise and fall with lunar cycles - peaking during the full moon, fading during the new.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDHN4kBrC7
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ411b65cde8
The goddess had given him strength that ebbed and flowed.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwwBxJN9SMb
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvlA5P8OzQk
But not in uncertainty. In rhythm.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIsS3DGp5Om
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTiEGFgEGTl
His fingers curled into a fist. He could work with rhythm. Learn its patterns the way he'd learned to anticipate his father's moods or the cultists' rotations.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpQRTAW34O1
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQInLRcEadK
The anticipation hit him suddenly - sharp and electric. During a full moon, with that light pouring down unobstructed, what would he become? How fast could he move? How hard could he strike?28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqqzqKj2lJ
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3JUmjBsAx
His pulse quickened at the thought.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOZ5YXrGUZ3
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJBOUifoXXq
The monolith pulsed, drawing his attention to the second trait:28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX8llEbHeRv
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtA4Lm0O9mQ
<Trait: Unbroken Succession>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9hBPcUUikq
<Effect: When you die, your soul is preserved until the next full moon. Should moonlight reach your remains, you will be resurrected. Each death leaves its mark upon your soul.>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvWEdSJ9UhN
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡffvPIWwdPN
The words hit him like a fist to the sternum.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5fxFbptHsP
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTD6xUlSHOc
He could die - truly die - and return. Again. The moon would refuse to let him go. Would drag his soul back from whatever lay beyond and forge it into flesh again, as many times as it took.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTp6T84cKN5
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡErJHJdJuFU
But the limitations were brutal: moonlight had to reach his remains. If he died in a sealed tomb, buried under rubble, or deep in some kind of cave, he would stay dead. Also, there had to be remains - if something devoured him completely, there would be nothing for the moon to resurrect.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaOqCY1WLrn
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6oiRhHP4W
And even then, it would only trigger on full moon. Dying the day after one meant nearly a month of lying wherever he fell, vulnerable to scavengers, enemies, and the elements.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUxYfcbf8GR
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBjOBst6VIl
And each death would leave its mark upon his soul.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcF5H9ckPYi
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW5AfZJgnp5
That line lingered, ominous and vague. What kind of mark? Would dying repeatedly damage him somehow? Corrupt him? Change who he was?28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLwbHsEo8Sx
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwBX4tn8B0
The goddess offered resurrection - but not without cost.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3PElc4sW2w
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqgIFMkDlCm
Still. His hands trembled slightly.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRybLTWhcjB
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJzNor5MNf9
This was the kind of power that changed everything. The kind of gift that let someone take risks no sane person would consider. Fight battles they had no right to survive.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHv403MbgsQ
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlAGY1guAAx
But resurrection alone wouldn't be enough.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8FAz4YEzyp
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv8BiEtRrg4
Cel turned his focus toward the second paragon, and the monolith responded - new runes cascading across its surface:28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIvzJitP6QA
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ahPyOOnP6
<Paragon: The White Death>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDj8lHvU4Lc
<Affinity: 1/10>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ2NbzzQEog
<Traits: />28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCzBsy5KAu3
<Authorities: (Frostmark)>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQRwMOifFVb
<Enlightenment: "Stillness is not the opposite of motion. It is motion that refused its second death. It is what remains when everything else departs.">28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7288kMam0f
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeUHCHa6H32
No traits this time. One authority.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ89NNhBALTH
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpR2om51zgN
And another cryptic enlightenment that made his skin prickle. “Motion that refused its second death.” What did that even mean?28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVFjV7wdl94
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaEbFYKSsnA
Motion had a first death? When it stopped? And refusing a second death meant... what? Becoming permanent? Eternal? 28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZoirn4OjMF
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP2gQMGHcJt
He shook his head. Like the first enlightenment, the meaning slipped away the harder he tried to grasp it.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBE4kSlasRz
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOfVZQLQVHR
He quickly moved on to the authority instead:28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNIzCo3Is0
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1fDH2Azkbb
<Authority: Frostmark>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhogyXkbZqc
<Effect: You can create a layer of frost on touch.>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ050So5m0Bx
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8aqxVvBaNK
He stared at the words.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQgjuMjBgTE
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtsMLoK8hH2
Frost on touch.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzjjGILlfVl
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiGTTLw7knt
Disappointment crashed through him, sharp and bitter.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYFNH62DeRs
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQewrE9m2j
This was a divine authority? A thin layer of ice that wouldn't stop a blade, wouldn't pierce armor, wouldn't do anything meaningful in actual combat?28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZlLbISQLHG
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrBQ82hBgNl
Lunar Vigor offered direct physical enhancement. Unbroken Succession granted resurrection. And this authority gave him ice that would melt in minutes?28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHifZ8l5Woe
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpD8Zis7TM9
He tried to imagine a situation where frost on touch would matter. Chilling someone's skin? Making a surface slippery? Every scenario felt pathetic compared to what other Chosen could accomplish with their abilities - healing wounds that should be fatal, calling down lightning that reduced enemies to ash.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHXJv4rOCuw
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFlNy2MtA0B
Something cold and tight coiled in his stomach.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2IiMr0kKBN
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Rb7UuoJUH
'Is this why Moon Chosen are considered worthless?'28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb2Vm3K9FIs
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf1h4l5V6xh
If this was what the goddess offered, no wonder her followers left no legacy. 28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtJooMBnjn
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4plyx37YCx
He forced the bitterness down, jaw clenched hard enough to ache.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0zJByiaHZ
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYyNw8jxabZ
Maybe there was something he wasn't seeing. Some application he hadn't considered. Or maybe this was just the beginning - affinity one out of ten suggested room for growth.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvm15h0c3bc
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Had4xhHYX
Maybe.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYRQMgM96PC
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtBr3XvCwB2
Yet neither the traits nor the authority would save him if he had nothing to wield.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgVfIF7pWQv
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk8KclQGw7G
Without a weapon, he was still vulnerable. Still prey.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnCl6Sg7DnB
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLkC2q7LMMA
His eyes locked on the final inscription:28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVjauxGV6nA
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZCD1ijxIq
<Artifact: Silent Moon>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3J7cADLgN
<Type: Weapon>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlyHf3DdTeW
<Grace: Heavenly>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEZzXdAoLuZ
<Trait: (Empathic Steel)>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpEfTgIn9Ym
<Awakening: (locked 0/3)>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIHOtXg1KXD
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSfd1WOOOMc
Cel's pulse quickened.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvmwrPBDDLk
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpGcxWh0CC1
A weapon. Heavenly grade.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmTJpq5wbZE
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ9uvq8xdm3
Artifacts followed a hierarchy of power - from Blessed at the lowest to Divine at the highest where legends were forged. Most Chosen received Blessed or Sacred artifacts at their first blessing. Heavenly was a tier above. Not legendary, but far better than he had any right to expect.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnzVOnyLrOY
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeFZz0rTd9D
And it had a single trait:28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRVxGwcO2bW
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyE168aXLr6
<Trait: Empathic Steel>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqzBdsajhFq
<Effect: The artifact reacts to its owner's state of mind.>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWU5HwRKOI1
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkUXfzh9Enb
He read it twice, frowning.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfB5VXABcbS
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ57caqozmiX
Reacts how?28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkj671umD30
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV14cvm4Fdy
The description gave nothing. No numbers. No thresholds. No clear parameters.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡye6LrFkJ7a
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5NgAVY2LsJ
Would the weapon sharpen when he was calm? Dull when he was afraid? What defined a “state of mind” precisely enough for divine steel to respond?28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHiH9HMo9TF
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCMIyRMStiT
And what happened if his emotions spiraled mid-fight?28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSXJ8odBxk6
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0jgIOzNPr
He'd spent a year in a cell learning to survive through pure rage, then a  week in a maze that forced him to relive every trauma. His emotional state wasn't exactly stable. If this weapon reflected that instability…28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNEGu1tIC5y
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLYdS27BmLX
He rubbed the back of his neck. 'I won't know until I use it.'28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvfeT5yQC5c
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFEOxYEiadN
Maybe that was the point. The goddess hadn't given him a tool to command. She'd given him a mirror - one that would reflect exactly what lay inside him. 28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvfCEDIOHH
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His focus. His fear. His resolve. His unraveling. 28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Lrf5eniC1
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But he still didn't know what form it would take. Blade? Spear? Something brutal and crude, or elegant  and swift?28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3C9MNQ4lTD
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Before he could summon the weapon, Selina's voice cut through the silence.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb8KcuoK8S4
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"You should leave now, Chosen One."28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6c4AIwVeay
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Cel turned toward her. He wanted to ask why, he swallowed it - waiting for her to explain if she chose to.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3EggjznhXJ
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When she stepped closer, there was something firmer beneath her gentle expression.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbWm6340WkO
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡykdcnlAdhI
"You are still within your soul. Time here mirrors the world outside. Every second you spend here is a second lost beyond it." Her masked gaze held his. "And out there, danger still lingers. Your body has returned, but the place you left behind… remains unchanged."28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMHFFr5F398
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Cold weight settled over his shoulders.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzPnUUWqfw
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The creature. The one that had killed him.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMb27VqMJst
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It was still out there.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7mN1nrEHE
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"I understand."28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1cwzYjpZw
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Cel cast one last glance at the monolith.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyL7VbPOGXz
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcQbNTXh60J
<Name: Celvian>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIkezAiLq3s
<Paragons: (Heir to the Moon) (The White Death)>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJPXCBIVl3y
<Artifacts: (Silent Moon)>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRNnRieMpud
<Insights: (locked 0/1)>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEbcOzD0u9R
<Achievements: (1)>28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx0KWeuAi1C
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRIEXGUY20m
He committed it to memory, then turned back to Selina. "How do I leave?"28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbouuS1fmaC
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"You do not need a door, nor a path." Her tone softened. "You only need to close your eyes with the will to go."28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUMnqQNTQz8
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUSDpFMyWOo
He nodded.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4fX9xojc5h
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The mist curled around his legs like a farewell.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSpxvbt0sNh
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Just as he began to close his eyes, Selina's voice followed him - quiet, certain, full of grace.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG4dKsKruRd
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJHHXMj7ZL
"May the Moon Goddess light your path."1234 copyright protection24ＰＥＮＡＮＡdTNYbgphCx 尼

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