His father's fist connected with his jaw. Blood sprayed across marble floors. His mother stood frozen, one hand pressed to her mouth, tears streaming down her face but feet rooted to the ground.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDzRajFEs82
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"Weak!" Another blow. "Pathetic!" The voice thundered through the dining hall.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡggnoYJsEcq
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Cel tried to speak, to beg, but his father's hands were already at his back, nails digging into divine flesh, tearing away the Moon Goddess's mark—59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNWEMkO9cop
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His eyes snapped open.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYWiVviS5Su
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Ash-covered stone ceiling. Broken walls. The hollow silence of the Ashlands pressing in from all sides.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡot8PG8KbTa
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8peKbhszav
His chest heaved, breath coming in short gasps. The nightmare clung to him like oil, coating his thoughts with remembered pain.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCfqy9ExA9
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"You're awake."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSFERYs4MB1
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Cel's body jerked, his left hand instinctively reaching for Silent Moon before his mind caught up. The weapon materialized halfway before he registered the speaker.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgVQBcOddEf
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmxOitLTOrK
Raven knelt beside him, one hand extended toward Cel's torso. Something dark and viscous coated his fingers - a sticky black mass that glistened faintly in the dim light filtering through the ruins.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlr0MSznT0q
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"Don't move," Raven said, his tone flat.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKXW5rw7Ouk
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Cel's gaze dropped to his own chest. His armor had been partially removed - the mantle and cloak set aside, the tunic pulled up to expose his ribs where the Ashlurker's claws had torn through flesh.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmK2bfw6kMR
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The black substance covered the wounds in thick layers. It didn't smell like anything Cel recognized. Not medicinal herbs, not the acrid burn of cauterization. Just... earthy. Ancient, somehow.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFQsF4baDq2
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"What is that?" His voice came out rougher than intended.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhWvKDeqbLv
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBTyeOsP3KP
"Medicine." Raven's fingers worked with practiced efficiency, spreading more of the substance across a particularly deep gash. "Found it growing in the darker places. Don't know what it's called. But it works."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGr0tJDewKL
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The matter-of-fact delivery was oddly reassuring - proof that survival was possible even here. 59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdXcVK0yHuW
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"How long was I—"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZxwJcKSEy
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyYmykVchwx
"A few hours. Maybe less." Raven's crimson eyes flicked to Cel's face, assessing. "You talk in your sleep."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk6fI9i4qg8
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Cel's jaw tightened. "What did I say?"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsSoyp3cGdG
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYSTfvktTtI
"Nothing clear." A pause as Raven applied more of the black substance to the wounds on Cel's shoulder. "Sounded like it wasn’t a pleasant dream."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFBtURG1Gn0
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Cel looked away, focusing on the creature's corpse still coiled a few steps away.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc1l37ngmfE
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ47YcLz6bRo
"Your wounds looked worse than they are," Raven continued, his tone unchanged. "Bled a lot. But the cuts weren't deep enough to do real damage. You got lucky."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMTrw5suSCQ
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnvF8FSJ5nK
"Didn't feel lucky."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQbd8P9czKh
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSRYNFcl3os
"Luck isn't about feeling." Raven sat back on his heels, examining his work. "You survived. That's what matters."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ71q4PG3hVo
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPlHSwVONZZ
Cel's gaze tracked to his own body, really looking at it for the first time since the fight. The wounds were there - angry red lines where claws had opened flesh, burns from the worm's molten breath. But Raven was right. Nothing had been torn away. No exposed bone. No organs punctured.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqgvmTn4lKN
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAdXdpobxAU
The burns on his left arm, which should have charred muscle down to bone, showed only reddened skin beneath the black coating.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNiiAUJ4PHi
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIncMtkxqIr
"Your body's good," Raven said, following Cel's gaze. "Even for a Chosen."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlrDk5U8jKW
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Although it was not his own accomplishment, a kind of satisfaction settled in Cel's chest. The Moon Goddess had forged him this body - a body that could apparently endure more than he'd given it credit for.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ToLobpm6V
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡye3my5hmCU
His gaze drifted to Raven's eyes. Crimson iris against black where white should be.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfooqUKnh7p
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoCLwHtUEtX
The question burned in his throat before he could stop it. "Your eyes. What happened to them?"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP1vuvtHzAW
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQRdYxLy9Jl
Raven froze.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiEyZzofC3c
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The reaction was subtle - just a momentary stillness in his movements, a fractional widening of those red eyes. 59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8U4WJzyL9U
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt4ArhFUlg7
"What?" The single word carried genuine confusion.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2FMYRY9Kr8
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Cel's jaw set. "The black. Where white should be. What caused it?"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCky2ONWsJZ
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvavlqpu1cG
For a long moment, Raven simply stared at him. The silence stretched, heavy with something Cel couldn't name.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7NtQVxhIqP
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Then Raven's expression shifted - not quite a frown, not quite suspicion. Something caught between the two.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiGEgDriOsW
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ciSHVU1E7
"You really don't know?" The question came quiet, careful. "You can't... feel it?"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuSNws5YYFq
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwslqqXM4iA
"Feel what?"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAOAmpi1sQL
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Raven's eyes narrowed, studying Cel with an intensity that made his skin prickle. As if seeing him for the first time. As if everything that had come before had been surface observation and now Raven was actually looking.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwJXvu2fqW
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALmgm7ax2v
"The aura," Raven said finally, each word deliberate. "The wrongness. The disgust that comes off me like heat off stone."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBRYAhvOP1g
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Cel blinked. "What are you talking about?"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCTl5xVt61x
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Something flickered across Raven's face - too fast to identify, but there. Real emotion breaking through that carefully maintained neutrality.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0M6mLLFjZh
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJjds0IOHk
"You seriously can't sense it." Not a question this time. A statement of dawning realization. "The corruption. The stain. The thing that marks me as—" He cut himself off abruptly.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3x3LjGieWu
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb4RAozLgis
"Marks you as what?"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7g21tyOSwq
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA8d4pNJajW
Raven remained silent, his gaze locked on Cel's face as if searching for deception. Finding none seemed to disturb him more than anything else.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBjeaP7r6AU
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJyd3byRyps
"Cursed," he said finally. The word dropped between them like a stone into still water. "I'm one of the Cursed."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFato4f6t0O
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ10ceii21pz
The declaration hit Cel like a physical blow.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZwARYmLZcW
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His breath caught. His body went rigid. Every childhood warning, every whispered story, every nightmare used to frighten disobedient children - all of it crashed through his mind at once.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡimCxYy86Ld
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW4glUgmld1
'Behave, or you'll end up as a Cursed.'59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2uNkd6MPW
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWcrz7fTdjK
The Cursed were the absolute bottom of society. Lower than slaves, lower than criminals. People - if they could still be called that - who bear marks of corruption - twisted flesh, cracked skin, signs that divine grace has left them forever.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4UCthh86dM
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Cel had never met one before. No noble child did. The Cursed were exiled from civilization, driven into the wilderness or hunted down by Chosen who believed killing them earned them the favor of their god.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeoHcLpq18k
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And now one stood before him, had been applying medicine to his wounds with practiced hands.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhQ1uQCxcaX
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfIHZIImkgG
The realization should have triggered fear. Should have sent Cel scrambling for Silent Moon, putting distance between himself and this corrupted thing wearing human skin.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYi5alwE0bm
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But all he felt was... confusion.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMcJDPOdWfX
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs7CADVY21R
"You helped me," Cel said slowly. "Even though you're—even though—"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyyVGqrWn0V
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnUpGIrHQWi
"Even though I'm supposed to be a monster?" Raven's lips twisted. "Shocking, isn't it?"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeT99KL2TNQ
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoafymi9l4f
The bitterness in those words cut deep. Cel had heard that same tone in his own voice, directed at his father, his family, everyone who'd judged him as worthless before casting him aside.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Ka3ZJq3s8
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKTMTEIh6wz
"I don't understand," Cel admitted. "The stories say the Cursed are... wrong. Dangerous. That losing divine favor corrupts more than just the body."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ23kgYVPZvI
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP7bx0M7YBH
"Stories tell a lot of things." Raven moved to the broken wall, his silhouette sharp against the gray light filtering through.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxipo560tLC
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"But the marks—the corruption—"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9f8MBePbww
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"Are real." His jaw clenched. "But it doesn't make us monsters. Just... abandoned."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKNOyUq7ReN
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The word resonated in Cel's chest. Abandoned. He knew that feeling intimately - the crushing weight of being cast aside by those who should have protected you.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSzKDSXfe2D
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbk1MSeU6ei
"How?" The question escaped before Cel could stop it. "How do people become Cursed?"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5HKe1VA8t5
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Raven's gaze grew distant. 59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4nCP9944G5
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"Different ways."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ66qNtQR9Nb
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The silence that followed made it clear - this topic was not open for discussion. Whatever had happened, whatever had led to Raven becoming Cursed, he had no intention of sharing.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTgXtMMgk2U
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Cel recognized that wall. He'd built enough of his own.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ35zBzBlino
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He shifted against the wall, trying to find a more comfortable position. The black medicine pulled at his skin where it had begun to dry.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbosd9pabF4
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Raven's gaze fixed on him, those crimson eyes sharp. "You didn't."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXkaTCEloQx
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvdDt5Fas00
"Didn't what?"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe0o7scHEZH
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"Didn’t know that I am a Cursed." Raven tilted his head slightly. 59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTuzyiHGhFK
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He moved closer, studying Cel with unsettling intensity. 59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpMcnTwygXk
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"The aura alone should have told you. The wrongness. The revulsion. And Chosen feel it even stronger." He paused. "But you don't seem affected at all."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVluAS2HLbA
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'Shit.' Cel's mind raced. This was dangerous ground. If Raven realized he couldn't sense divine energy, it would expose a critical weakness - one that could get him killed.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNWWh8pPZpf
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"I'm just—" Cel forced his expression neutral. "I'm controlling it. The reaction."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCB4abWyYtA
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The lie felt weak even as it left his mouth.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUrazXij2l
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Raven's eyes narrowed. "Really?"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZJDiMuWHpf
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"Yes."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKbvuAqZ6C
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"You're not even trying to maintain distance.” Raven's tone remained neutral, but pointed. "Most Chosen can barely stand being in the same room. Need space. Fresh air. Something to cut through the wrongness."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8EllWUXn1R
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Heat crawled up Cel's neck. His hands curled into fists.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzqlGqvDcsc
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"Maybe I'm just better at controlling my reactions than most."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu2rvP2xSzq
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"Or maybe," Raven said slowly, "you can't sense it at all."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlq6Favnhdk
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The corner of his mouth twitched. "That's ridiculous."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe6WGTWDzmh
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"Is it?" Raven gestured to himself. "You asked what happened to my eyes. If you could sense the aura, you wouldn't need to ask. You'd know what I was the moment you saw me."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVmBfIObplV
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"I was just—I didn't want to assume—"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwUX9QYuZO
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"You're a terrible liar." Something that might have been amusement flickered across Raven's face. 59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2w5W7g5JKQ
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjypOP1Y92G
Shame burned in Cel's chest. Even this - even the simple act of hiding his deficiency - was something he couldn't do properly.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDiFDwrx9Mt
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"So what if I can't sense it?" The words came out sharper than intended. "It doesn't change anything."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGs7MWrbCm
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBChFxVKnPE
"Doesn't it?" Raven's expression shifted, genuine curiosity replacing accusation. "Every human can sense the Cursed. It's not learned. Not trained. Just… part of what makes one human." He paused. "But you can't."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3vFRmDIWuN
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Cel looked away, fixing his gaze on the creature's corpse across the room. Anywhere but those crimson eyes that saw too much.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0A0Icswn5H
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"What about Divine Energy?"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP65NB8QdY4
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"I can sense it," Cel answered quickly. Too quickly.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbkvEPBwjGM
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“You should really work on your acting skills.” Raven's voice came quieter now. 59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGwedX36wEJ
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Cel's throat tightened. His hands clenched harder, nails digging into his palms.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTrwmBSQAIv
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"It's pathetic, isn't it?" The words came out bitter. "A Chosen One who can't even sense the most basic thing every human has."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwOOrpKCy5w
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"That's not the word I'd use."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd3VHbxsx2h
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"Then what would you call it?"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2EdlVHH9P0
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"Impossible." Raven moved to lean against the opposite wall, his posture relaxing slightly. "You're blessed by the Moon Goddess. Can manifest divine artifacts. But can't sense the energy that powers them." He shook his head. "That shouldn't work."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl1M8rTvH4w
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDesV2K6PCH
"But it does." Cel's jaw clenched. "Somehow."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa0bY1KTzna
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"Yes. Somehow." Raven studied him with that unsettling intensity. 59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNt32Ndf2qD
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiomHY1woBW
"Does this mean something's wrong with me?" Cel's voice came flat.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvS9R9aMmC6
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtbCTZYHci
"I don't know.” Raven’s honesty was brutal. “I've never heard of a Chosen who couldn't sense Divine Energy. It should be impossible."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡixOuyWvZcn
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKYvMD1dW9L
"Everything about me seems to be impossible lately."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtLSIRvhRhJ
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Raven simply stared at him. Then he exhaled slowly - not quite a laugh, but close.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAaJ1f3Ux93
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Silence pressed heavy between them.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ775hhY3jFL
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Cel studied the young man before him - the exhaustion carved into his features, the way he held himself like someone perpetually ready for violence. A year alone in this nightmare. Hunted by monsters and abandoned by the divine.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUKnLBntdv3
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And yet he'd still helped a stranger. 59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnTL9IayiQI
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"Why did you help me?" Cel asked finally. "Even though I'm a Chosen One. Even though most Chosen would hunt you."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfYPrnG1JCJ
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Raven was silent for a long moment, those crimson eyes unreadable.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpsIXXePyLS
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"Because you looked at me and saw a person." His voice came quiet. Raw. "Not corruption to be destroyed. Not a threat to be eliminated. Just... another human trying to survive." He paused. "Not even my family did that."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNCA7wiPsR3
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The honesty in those words struck deeper than any blade. A glimpse beneath the careful neutrality Raven maintained like armor.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqCIGD7BFHK
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Cel understood that loneliness. Had felt it himself beneath his father's rage while his mother and brother watched in silence - present but absent, seeing his suffering but not seeing him.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwPNgTN7cHk
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"I'm sorry," he said. "For what happened to you. For what you lost."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9crAXc0IJ
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"Don't be." Raven's expression hardened again. "Sorry doesn't change anything."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQepq8K83M
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"No," Cel agreed. "It doesn't."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1JEe6dFX7W
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Another silence. But this one felt different. Less heavy. More like an understanding passing between two people who'd both been broken by circumstances beyond their control.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYHjzjLDH9
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"Your wounds will heal faster with the medicine," Raven said, breaking the quiet. "But you need rest. Let your body recover."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ05XlxnyrA9
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Cel glanced down at the black substance coating his injuries.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIEAfhj0kNw
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"Thank you.”59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY0eTBk5SnP
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Raven paused, looking back at him. For a moment, something almost like warmth crossed his features. Then it was gone, replaced by that familiar neutral mask.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFjusgk1sMW
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"Rest," he said. "I'll keep watch."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuzsHtZBwd5
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Cel wanted to protest, but exhaustion pulled at him like an undertow. 59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIly59ujsu
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"Call me if something happens," he said instead.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvqDILjnRI0
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Raven nodded once, moving to position himself near the entrance gap where he could see approaching threats.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg1KRAVWCH5
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Cel leaned back against the wall, feeling cool stone against his spine. His eyes tracked to where Raven stood silhouetted against the gray light beyond.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv14bqHG6vT
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Cursed. Abandoned by the gods. Hunted by society. Marked with corruption. 59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6NI2L5oVxS
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Yet for the first time since entering this cursed realm, Cel felt something close to safety.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF7MUz3HdeH
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Not because the danger had diminished.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡarLae9qYrd
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But because he was no longer facing it alone.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4MSG8CBThf
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'Maybe the gods make mistakes too.'1234 copyright protection55ＰＥＮＡＮＡi7HabLFjOi 尼

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