Cel stared down past the thrashing creature, past the torn flesh and pooling blood, into the stomach far below.21Please respect copyright.PENANAM20iWsFwpH
21Please respect copyright.PENANAvRik3TrIsd
The glow was spreading. Rising.21Please respect copyright.PENANAB2ZJd4yINB
21Please respect copyright.PENANA7zv59b8H44
Something hot and ancient stirred in those depths - corrosive fire that promised to turn everything in this throat to ash.21Please respect copyright.PENANAZHzjWIIYs8
21Please respect copyright.PENANAGmEbbraA9R
Red light painted the ribbed walls in hellish hues. The stench hit his nose - sharp, acrid, burning with each breath.21Please respect copyright.PENANAPBp4rdXZfq
21Please respect copyright.PENANAz1QOhwxlOZ
The smaller creature shrieked in rising panic. Its claws gouged frantically at the throat's walls, shredding flesh in its desperation to escape.21Please respect copyright.PENANAjrjWu4GuqB
21Please respect copyright.PENANAAY7Hftnufp
Heat flooded upward through the worm's body - not seeping, but rushing like water through a broken dam. The flesh around him began to cook. The organic walls steamed, moisture evaporating in seconds.21Please respect copyright.PENANAtD6kOkczGh
21Please respect copyright.PENANAOc6GbICK2Z
Instinct screamed at him before understanding caught up.21Please respect copyright.PENANAHee6v7gGpa
21Please respect copyright.PENANAM3JMVg80Kh
The worm was going to breathe fire.21Please respect copyright.PENANAKR3QU6aMPk
21Please respect copyright.PENANA4pAtYxFeEH
And there was nowhere in this entire throat that would protect him from it.21Please respect copyright.PENANAvjIbSrLXsn
21Please respect copyright.PENANAWGQHvgOHhN
The socket wouldn't save him. The walls offered no shelter. The teeth were his only exit - but the thrashing creature blocked the way, a whirlwind of claws between him and freedom.21Please respect copyright.PENANAvToUKWlAhB
21Please respect copyright.PENANAdtCOXhuOn1
Cel's mind raced through options with crystalline clarity.21Please respect copyright.PENANAwWzQWiQhEe
21Please respect copyright.PENANA7SjqqPyCHi
He could try to slip past. Risk those claws tearing him apart while the molten breath rose behind him.21Please respect copyright.PENANAAeX6wBzBot
21Please respect copyright.PENANA2jljNBrXSZ
Or…21Please respect copyright.PENANAZQSHY17wyP
21Please respect copyright.PENANAlLfRZk62Mh
His gaze locked on the creature's stone-like back.21Please respect copyright.PENANACLR900wsgC
21Please respect copyright.PENANAL9uBhdVnrG
'Use it as a shield.' The thought arrived cold and certain. 21Please respect copyright.PENANAMnwXpgpcC7
21Please respect copyright.PENANATppACjxMfq
The smaller creature was already dead - it just didn't know it yet. But its body could shield him. Give him a chance to survive the coming inferno.21Please respect copyright.PENANAg3GQ2d4tne
21Please respect copyright.PENANAZM9V5zbQR7
But would its flesh hold against that heat?21Please respect copyright.PENANAJwMnmwvq5A
21Please respect copyright.PENANA2xQJ9EvMQN
Doubtful.21Please respect copyright.PENANAvuIgPO6X76
21Please respect copyright.PENANAQL8yI6IVx5
If he reinforced it though…21Please respect copyright.PENANAUpDqw5FXh3
21Please respect copyright.PENANAEMF7a7TtfZ
Cel threw himself out of the socket.21Please respect copyright.PENANADadUBaIJl8
21Please respect copyright.PENANAGhTysJYY7V
His feet hit the slick floor and he immediately launched forward - not toward the exit, but toward the thrashing nightmare between him and freedom.21Please respect copyright.PENANAYQL4uMmXS6
21Please respect copyright.PENANATO101rJVyZ
The creature was a whirlwind of violence. Its claws tore at the throat's walls with mindless fury, ripping away chunks of flesh in sprays of blood. Its serpentine body coiled and writhed, every movement driven by pure animal panic as the red light grew brighter below.21Please respect copyright.PENANA9aP49xFke4
21Please respect copyright.PENANA2n2OdHQY0W
Cel dove into that chaos.21Please respect copyright.PENANAI1cpfIzHsS
21Please respect copyright.PENANAcq61xAezvC
A claw swept past his face - so close he felt the displaced air. He twisted, using momentum to drive his shoulder into the creature's side. The impact jarred through his already wounded body, but it gave him what he needed.21Please respect copyright.PENANAdGwvFfwlqZ
21Please respect copyright.PENANAo85brLnFxf
Contact.21Please respect copyright.PENANAbeK9sb2ftx
21Please respect copyright.PENANA7teS8Xw2jq
His left hand slammed flat against the thing's stone-like back, and frost spread across its skin in a spreading wave.21Please respect copyright.PENANAfIbc9FBsee
21Please respect copyright.PENANAHR1iaYBmW9
It shrieked - metal dragged across bone - and whipped its entire body around with murderous intent. The thing that had been panicking about the worm was now focused on a new, immediate threat: whatever was touching it needed to die.21Please respect copyright.PENANA3xiVOVjlhX
21Please respect copyright.PENANAgw4WeyualH
Its remaining claws found Cel's chest.21Please respect copyright.PENANA2UNLbaFby0
21Please respect copyright.PENANAE1U1g32YuG
Four lines of white-hot agony opened from collarbone to ribs. Blood sprayed across both of them. The creature twisted in his grip like a serpent, trying to tear itself free, trying to reach his face with those needle-ringed teeth.21Please respect copyright.PENANAroCO88imr4
21Please respect copyright.PENANAnS32QnzA57
Cel grabbed it with his left arm and squeezed it against his body despite the pain.21Please respect copyright.PENANAd8VZlNuN0X
21Please respect copyright.PENANAFD3t4ivz47
He wasn't trying to restrain it completely - that would be impossible. The creature was too strong, too frenzied. But he could redirect it. Turn its ice-armored back toward the depths below while keeping his own body behind that frozen shield.21Please respect copyright.PENANAyOEnfogAW2
21Please respect copyright.PENANAdhRd0p6R99
The creature's assault became even more vicious. Claws raked his arms, his shoulders, his jaw - anywhere they could reach. Each strike opened fresh wounds.21Please respect copyright.PENANApdeYsh1zwA
21Please respect copyright.PENANAzDfqw5qOTQ
But Cel held on.21Please respect copyright.PENANAvpe5M4SbBT
21Please respect copyright.PENANAsoVTCmF7HS
Held his living shield between himself and the approaching death.21Please respect copyright.PENANAs00eNt6qDE
21Please respect copyright.PENANA5UgcGzaFGZ
The red light reached blinding intensity.21Please respect copyright.PENANAfH8dN4Iyqk
21Please respect copyright.PENANA7m12lG8FNM
Heat slammed into the ice-armored back with the force of an avalanche. The frost cracked, shattered, reformed under his intent in rapid succession as impossible temperature met divine cold in explosive conflict.21Please respect copyright.PENANAP1W9VLJky8
21Please respect copyright.PENANAqKHMWCXLpM
But heat bled through anyway. The creature shrieked - not just fury now, but agony. The heat was cooking it from behind despite the frost, charring flesh the ice couldn't fully protect.21Please respect copyright.PENANAU4OWySfnMf
21Please respect copyright.PENANAhliNpS9dd5
Cel's skin reddened, then blistered, then began to char under temperatures meant to melt stone. 21Please respect copyright.PENANAm2QOrHrwL5
21Please respect copyright.PENANAgXRSQY0of8
His left arm, wrapped around the creature to anchor the ice against its back, suffered worst. With no frost between flesh and hide, the heat had direct access. The burn went deep, sustained, eating through skin with methodical cruelty.21Please respect copyright.PENANACizPRHjoee
21Please respect copyright.PENANAZgt6TkMBr8
Then the pressure wave hit.21Please respect copyright.PENANALNRmbctSNe
21Please respect copyright.PENANAnozg4VjZTO
They were launched from the worm's maw like stones from a catapult - hurled into the night sky with such violent force that Cel's vision went white. The creature's weight became meaningless. His grip broke and they tumbled through empty air, spinning, separated by sheer momentum.21Please respect copyright.PENANAEoYf6iPFfd
21Please respect copyright.PENANAPhB1ne7OUq
The world spun in chaotic fragments - ash, moonlight, obsidian stones vomited from the worm's stomach alongside them. Massive fragments larger than his entire body flew through the air in a deadly storm, their razor edges catching silver light.21Please respect copyright.PENANAR8STn3BLIm
21Please respect copyright.PENANAZ7oT1coECk
Cel's back slammed into ash-covered ground with bone-crushing force. The air exploded from his lungs. He rolled, tumbled, limbs flailing as momentum carried him across the wasteland.21Please respect copyright.PENANAVmCFkftOQX
21Please respect copyright.PENANAszyKmb0svo
Obsidian stones rained down around him.21Please respect copyright.PENANArpR8uhrwVe
21Please respect copyright.PENANAdLUg5igunW
One struck his leg - a glancing blow that sent fresh agony lancing through already burned flesh. Another whipped past his face, close enough to feel the heat of its passage, before it slammed into the ground somewhere behind him in his spin.21Please respect copyright.PENANADepDuALLzh
21Please respect copyright.PENANAgaqzxlNR6i
He hit the ground three more times during his uncontrolled tumble before finally stopping, sprawled face-down in ash that clung to his wounds like salt in open cuts.21Please respect copyright.PENANASu9Jq98HIn
21Please respect copyright.PENANAwwf3TQKqIy
For several heartbeats, he couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. His body simply refused to obey, overwhelmed by accumulated damage.21Please respect copyright.PENANAtr5BZ6nG1N
21Please respect copyright.PENANAAZhhWqk62l
Then his lungs remembered their purpose.21Please respect copyright.PENANAbw3LCAm0lg
21Please respect copyright.PENANAHhALp34XLH
Air rushed in - painful, burning, but real.21Please respect copyright.PENANAdKORvgaIYH
21Please respect copyright.PENANAYYdNOuWqOl
Cel pushed himself up slowly, ash cascading from his back in gray streams. The air was thick with it - choking clouds stirred up by the worm's breath and the rain of obsidian. 21Please respect copyright.PENANASK5bbpt12K
21Please respect copyright.PENANAz8bxzju11L
He blinked hard, trying to clear his vision.21Please respect copyright.PENANAulIyFzHbBC
21Please respect copyright.PENANAsXHa7qfLlZ
Movement in the distance caught his attention.21Please respect copyright.PENANAMOCkEHuR01
21Please respect copyright.PENANA71Wx6CCASc
The massive worm.21Please respect copyright.PENANAq2YOXOmP7Q
21Please respect copyright.PENANAgb7wD8h5sr
Still surfaced. Its enormous body writhed above ground, steam rising from its open maw where the molten breath had scorched even its own flesh. For a moment it remained there, coiled like a conqueror surveying its domain.21Please respect copyright.PENANAljfGENGi1L
21Please respect copyright.PENANAruvpdar388
Then it began to sink.21Please respect copyright.PENANAVAo4tDAV3O
21Please respect copyright.PENANAeigI2kBoU3
Slowly at first, then faster. The ground opened beneath it - not violently, but as if the earth itself welcomed the creature home. Within seconds, nothing remained. Stone sealed behind it like water closing over a dropped pebble.21Please respect copyright.PENANA2oD0lf9vov
21Please respect copyright.PENANApuC8AIRq5s
Gone.21Please respect copyright.PENANA8hQ4iXz70x
21Please respect copyright.PENANAmtpiEljTFR
Cel's gaze swept across the wasteland.21Please respect copyright.PENANApYhwAmFJp8
21Please respect copyright.PENANABsCet2aGq7
The destruction was absolute. Where the breath had touched, the ground was scorched black, cracked like dried clay. Obsidian stones littered the landscape - some still glowing faint red with residual heat, others already cooling to dull black. Ash drifted through the air in lazy spirals, settling over everything in a fresh gray shroud.21Please respect copyright.PENANA7jKCRgqHVw
21Please respect copyright.PENANASxqdG7ftcy
Then he saw it.21Please respect copyright.PENANAIedqQLxtwY
21Please respect copyright.PENANA2W2FJOaREq
The smaller creature lay perhaps fifteen steps away, broken and steaming. Its body was shattered - body bent at an angle that shouldn't exist, its remaining arm twisted beneath its torso. Parts of its stone-like skin had cracked from extreme temperature shifts—frozen, then cooked, then frozen again.21Please respect copyright.PENANA3VPX2K6bFS
21Please respect copyright.PENANA8E2fxh1kDH
But Cel's gaze didn't linger.21Please respect copyright.PENANAt9jnRl5FHL
21Please respect copyright.PENANAiReMQMRfwO
Movement behind the creature caught his attention - something massive shifting on the horizon.21Please respect copyright.PENANAfPtH42RKRr
21Please respect copyright.PENANA8LY6Caobyc
His eyes traveled past the broken body, past the scattered obsidian, to what lay beyond.21Please respect copyright.PENANA5fal3f75fD
21Please respect copyright.PENANAcTAnHm7fQ2
Ice flooded his veins.21Please respect copyright.PENANAvpeDYiaEKm
21Please respect copyright.PENANAWerKbLChiu
A wall of ash rose in the distance - impossibly tall, impossibly wide. Not drifting lazily like the settling dust around him, but spinning. Churning. A massive tornado of gray and black that devoured everything in its path, advancing across the wasteland with relentless purpose.21Please respect copyright.PENANAkWSoiEc8MX
21Please respect copyright.PENANAQ68J3MIGwm
The sound reached him a heartbeat later - a low, hollow roar that seemed to come from the earth itself.21Please respect copyright.PENANANod5KWsICS
21Please respect copyright.PENANAiz1ziJ6iBr
Cel spun around, scanning desperately for shelter.21Please respect copyright.PENANA0qniuCScsP
21Please respect copyright.PENANAE7ff9Qka1z
Distant shapes jutted from the wasteland - ruins, their crumbling walls half-buried in ash. Ancient, crumbling, but they offered something better than standing exposed in the open.21Please respect copyright.PENANAZj6hekgdiY
21Please respect copyright.PENANAr5DMp2J7Nn
He ran.21Please respect copyright.PENANAoPUo3769Wl
21Please respect copyright.PENANAYphpGg4UFY
His enhanced legs launched him forward in powerful, uneven strides. Each step carried him farther than expected, his burned and clawed body protesting the abuse, but fear drove him harder than pain ever could.21Please respect copyright.PENANAjxphj72Vb1
21Please respect copyright.PENANA5xZQZ8Ji19
The roar grew louder behind him. Closer.21Please respect copyright.PENANAZ4HPx4AoqF
21Please respect copyright.PENANA367AfnEobu
Movement flickered in his peripheral vision.21Please respect copyright.PENANAyaCMMWxHhS
21Please respect copyright.PENANA9nknOpJ7Ap
Cel's head snapped sideways.21Please respect copyright.PENANAiBPZbFELls
21Please respect copyright.PENANAs6iNIVgOfn
The smaller creature had risen.21Please respect copyright.PENANABg5xMAEH6i
21Please respect copyright.PENANAGA6ya60ixO
Its shattered body dragged itself forward with impossible determination, stone-like skin cracked and bleeding, leaving a trail of dark ichor through the ash. But its eyeless head tracked him with perfect accuracy.21Please respect copyright.PENANAaZR4nmzAEu
21Please respect copyright.PENANAXLLnFwPrJJ
It was following him.21Please respect copyright.PENANAC6b0kyP529
21Please respect copyright.PENANADrcowdtv72
'You've got to be kidding me.'21Please respect copyright.PENANAipQMolzk20
21Please respect copyright.PENANAoFo9fCXrD6
The thing launched itself forward, its single arm clawing at the ground in desperate pulls, dragging its broken body in a lurching charge driven by pure animal rage.21Please respect copyright.PENANAThDZ7JQSpE
21Please respect copyright.PENANAaPFm7tZCDJ
The frost. The burns. Being used as a meat shield - the creature remembered. And it wanted revenge.21Please respect copyright.PENANA4dYMY8lw21
21Please respect copyright.PENANAycXotXGIx1
"Mindless bastard!" Cel snarled, pushing harder. "That's going to kill us both!"21Please respect copyright.PENANAQF49oUed5N
21Please respect copyright.PENANA56IraYSQ3D
But the creature didn't care. Didn't even glance at the approaching tornado. Its needle-ringed mouth opened in a shriek of pure fury, focused entirely on the one who had hurt it.21Please respect copyright.PENANAdBaqymLfQf
21Please respect copyright.PENANAprWMv6n92m
And that was Cel.21Please respect copyright.PENANATJ9i2wdLvp
21Please respect copyright.PENANASHAOtSc6xu
The ruins grew closer. Twenty steps. Fifteen.21Please respect copyright.PENANAjxdi4qztUQ
21Please respect copyright.PENANAS1iWy4vrZZ
Behind him, the creature was gaining. Its broken body moved with terrifying speed, driven by something beyond reason.21Please respect copyright.PENANALPVdwZijOK
21Please respect copyright.PENANANpwqAPWDY4
Ten steps.21Please respect copyright.PENANAFpbwdv7UvL
21Please respect copyright.PENANAXRwhGGi66Q
The roar became deafening. Cel felt the air pressure change against his back, a physical force that pushed him forward even as it pulled ash into spiraling chaos around him. 21Please respect copyright.PENANAkHrT7Qz4nX
21Please respect copyright.PENANA93p6HXIyMi
Five steps.21Please respect copyright.PENANAFaXfnUi1yQ
21Please respect copyright.PENANAa0iPxKtLqL
Behind him, the creature lunged.21Please respect copyright.PENANARUIgCLpHUD
21Please respect copyright.PENANAdT2ltKuvH2
Cel threw himself forward in a desperate dive.21Please respect copyright.PENANAJuk4EvjZ4o
21Please respect copyright.PENANATUrYJr00bF
The creature's claws whistled past his head as he plunged through a gap in the crumbling wall, his shoulder slamming into ancient stone as he tumbled inside. 21Please respect copyright.PENANAbo1Pms8ZZR
21Please respect copyright.PENANAWSrcTm4K4h
Then the ash storm hit.21Please respect copyright.PENANAER7SQJtjS5
21Please respect copyright.PENANAjwGDSMLqi2
The creature's silhouette vanished - consumed by the gray wall that crashed over the ruins like a wave. Its shriek cut off abruptly, swallowed by the hollow roar.21Please respect copyright.PENANAyxVNIDg6n4
21Please respect copyright.PENANAacOVCR8Pgl
The world disappeared.21Please respect copyright.PENANAJwYam6htvU
21Please respect copyright.PENANAto7UDLbXcz
Cel's chest heaved, relief flooding through him.21Please respect copyright.PENANAuY9N0ZNiFB
21Please respect copyright.PENANALtuRzd1e8G
But that relief was short-lived.21Please respect copyright.PENANAD9snOoOFM1
21Please respect copyright.PENANAlxCDC9sxww
Ash poured through every gap in the broken walls, thick as water, choking and absolute. The ruins offered shelter but not sanctuary - wind howled through the structure's wounds, carrying stinging debris that tore at exposed skin.21Please respect copyright.PENANASPS5rovjWd
21Please respect copyright.PENANA38dZ6EMggO
Cel curled against the ground, arms wrapped over his head, trying to make himself as small as possible. Stone fragments and ash hammered against his back.21Please respect copyright.PENANAioedLN48ft
21Please respect copyright.PENANAXaBwctJDQm
He pressed his face into the crook of his elbow, one hand cupped over his mouth and nose, breathing in short, desperate gasps. Even filtered, the air tasted of sulfur and ancient dust.21Please respect copyright.PENANAbwv3rZmgiw
21Please respect copyright.PENANAK33NwBZwtI
The roar consumed everything - thought, sensation, awareness. Just sound, pressure and the terrible fear that the walls around him might not hold, that the ruins might collapse and bury him alive in this dead world's fury.21Please respect copyright.PENANAOFMBByNniT
21Please respect copyright.PENANAzx4g69yxKf
Time became meaningless. Seconds stretched into minutes stretched into—21Please respect copyright.PENANAc2N9aQ32Go
21Please respect copyright.PENANAh4maiTjISi
The stone beneath him cracked.21Please respect copyright.PENANAFzS07CGLiD
21Please respect copyright.PENANAdhVjCwAQ2b
Cel's eyes snapped open just as the floor split apart directly below his chest.21Please respect copyright.PENANAlB0rPljvaG
21Please respect copyright.PENANAqxnJTdpncw
He threw himself sideways, rolling across ash-covered stone as the ground gave way. His burned left arm screamed.21Please respect copyright.PENANAZvWIBacmPn
21Please respect copyright.PENANAs2tLRGRB6g
That broken, vengeful thing erupted from below in an explosion of ash and fury.21Please respect copyright.PENANAkWe8pgXdNF
21Please respect copyright.PENANA474U5MItDa
It burst through the widening crack - shattered body twisted at impossible angles, stone-like skin cracked and weeping dark ichor.21Please respect copyright.PENANAfSmgjfR8jr
21Please respect copyright.PENANA6wu27TpwVd
The eyeless head whipped toward him.21Please respect copyright.PENANAe713TZU2wf
21Please respect copyright.PENANACwF4YUdZ6G
Its needle-ringed mouth opened in a shriek that cut through even the storm's roar.21Please respect copyright.PENANAsn1eFcztIy
21Please respect copyright.PENANAXiPL85Bzl4
Cel scrambled backward through swirling ash.21Please respect copyright.PENANAWFFwvLlDaD
21Please respect copyright.PENANA42PAl3tJjm
Silent Moon materialized in his left grip.21Please respect copyright.PENANATB0uOGUBt3
21Please respect copyright.PENANA4bjeUQdPIz
Four crescents ignited along the blade's length.21Please respect copyright.PENANAqQqnuge90t
21Please respect copyright.PENANAjVoiEVaNf5
The creature lunged.21Please respect copyright.PENANAdRfWhf5aw1
21Please respect copyright.PENANALADH3JUtUf
21Please respect copyright.PENANA9b5rIttS74
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---------21Please respect copyright.PENANATtHylpL90Z
Hello, Author here! ^^21Please respect copyright.PENANA8y9pIItNb1
21Please respect copyright.PENANA661zKv6NfB
As promised, I've created a Discord server for Lunar Legacy!21Please respect copyright.PENANACQGgmQrZzt
21Please respect copyright.PENANAhJjLvUlpow
Here is the link to the server: https://discord.gg/Uduxc48wfm21Please respect copyright.PENANAIKJmUCXlHT
21Please respect copyright.PENANAusaUSD6fu0
Think of it as our little playground - a space for the you to connect and for me to keep you updated on what's going on.21Please respect copyright.PENANA4EO9D0aKE6
21Please respect copyright.PENANA9FVe2In3VJ
I'd be happy to get to know you there :)21Please respect copyright.PENANARJHge0vpic
21Please respect copyright.PENANAFFceZpuZAc
As always, thank you for reading and supporting Lunar Legacy. You're all amazing! :)


