The sky stretched above him, black and empty as a dead man's eyes.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKSj3Xk0tm
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkqzL6XN881
Cel tilted his head back until his neck ached, searching every corner of the heavens. Nothing. Not even a sliver of silver, not the faintest glow where the moon should hang. The darkness was absolute, wrong in a way that made his skin crawl.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyM2WB05lUT
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0LSgeaUKA
‘Find the moon.’163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYPOoKMKZHE
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEBl5vLJhvR
The trial's command crashed through his mind with sudden, terrible clarity.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzdaTPButk
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLXhJsp5y9
"No..." The word scraped from his throat like broken glass.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWXNNsANIEV
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2dtuhQVM9Z
His hands trembled as he gripped the crumbled stone wall. This couldn't be real. The moon couldn't just vanish. It was impossible, like the sun forgetting to rise or the stars deciding to abandon their posts. Yet the empty void above mocked him with its silence.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMp26fkvJOV
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMMWYxcV3mv
A laugh bubbled up from his chest - high, cracked, teetering on the edge of hysteria. "Of course. Of fucking course."163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIpEgDMlyJ9
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV6oNCEIfK8
The magnitude of it crashed over him like a wave. This wasn't some riddle about waiting for nightfall or searching through crystal formations for a hidden trinket. The moon was gone - stolen, hidden, destroyed - and somehow, he had to bring it back.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrEHRxqKR0B
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRPnw5fwfc9
How did someone restore a celestial body? How did a broken, half-starved boy reach up into the heavens and drag down something the size of mountains?163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5YGXMBjjXe
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWKGriVabLY
The answer lay somewhere in that glowing maze below. It had to. There was nowhere else to look, no other path forward.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡajTVr87TmA
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4LfLihYRgf
Cel's shoulders sagged. Whatever waited in those razor-sharp passages, he'd have to face it. Tomorrow. Tonight, he needed what little rest he could get.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0uJRUJALn
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRTV5EbYs3C
The return to the ruin proved treacherous without the moon's guidance. Shadows swallowed everything beyond the crystals' faint luminescence, turning familiar shapes into lurking threats. He stumbled twice on loose stones, his heart hammering each time his foot found empty air.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa2nbrSQxZZ
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ71I5aononj
Inside the ancient walls, darkness pressed against him like a living thing. The fire had long since died to cold ash, leaving only the memory of warmth. Violet crystals that had grown through cracks in the ancient stone cast their faint glow across the ruins, offering the only relief from the suffocating black.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGPKDK9RSBr
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhTjzl7Irih
Cel sank to the uneven ground, his back against the rough wall. The stones bit into his spine, but the discomfort was nothing compared to what he'd endured in that cell. Hard surfaces, cold air, the gnawing ache of an empty stomach - these had become his companions over the past year.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2qdnlnhN8W
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Xn4oBkROq
When sleep finally claimed him, it brought no mercy.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhB3NkT7IjN
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqgYdksajNk
The dining hall materialized around him with perfect, merciless clarity. Golden morning light streamed through tall windows, casting everything in warm hues that made the scene more beautiful and more terrible. His family sat frozen at the breakfast table, motionless as death.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtFuvQmsZgu
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnOZoopj3gD
"Father!" The word tore from his throat, bright with hope and desperate joy. "I had the Calling! I've been chosen!"163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsDLqQoFGoG
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡazZOaQ7MNK
Every fork paused. Every breath held. His father's knife stopped mid-slice, a thin piece of meat balanced on its edge.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5CVntaFUWJ
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmGuuksrB3m
Cel's dream-self couldn't stop the words from spilling out. The endless ice. The silver moon. He watched his father's expression shift from mild interest to cold disgust. Even though he knew what was coming, he couldn't change a single word.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMYjHHd4H8J
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw4qYG2oic3
"Show me the mark."163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd2rzsv8x6g
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Af89XchAN
Four simple words that had destroyed everything.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIh2ppDpdBO
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Cu5MPAhlf
His nightshirt came away sticky with sweat. The mark blazed across his back - beautiful, terrible, divine. His mother's sharp intake of breath cut through the morning air like a blade.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeDfi4E4m1h
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPeunPTkddn
"Get out."163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwhWlLjx7p
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9BPBvPs3q
The words were barely whispered but sharp as winter.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgV87tz8nAK
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFaKRAqriMw
"Father, please—"163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdTaWK3AUwv
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwc0v3omlKN
"GET OUT!"163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxNiPamAy4P
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4RrRpCObv
The roar shook dust from the rafters. But Cel couldn't leave, couldn't run. The dream held him fast as his father's fist connected with his jaw, as pain exploded across his vision, as his family watched and did nothing, nothing, nothing—163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5HFdqeVOgr
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxB1kKm94Pd
Cel jolted awake with a strangled gasp, his hands clawing at the stone beneath him. Sweat soaked his ragged clothes despite the cool air. His heart hammered against his ribs like a war drum.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAnW0xefY4k
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfc2vZGQo49
The nightmare always left him like this - raw, broken, hollow. But beneath the agony burned something else, something that had kept him alive through a year of hell. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfRxYBTYlxR
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd7mmxvsys0
Hatred. Pure and sustaining as forge fire.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQyOyWLw8TW
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLQUAHRbcRz
Cel's hands clenched into fists. The anger felt good - clean and purposeful compared to the helpless terror of the dream. It reminded him why he had to survive this trial, why he had to become strong. Not for glory or divine favor.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIq3zeZ2CML
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsj1txdBnZi
For revenge.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOIE9mewy49
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdLg2qPQfTg
Blood-red light spilled across the sky as the four suns clawed their way above the horizon. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtcYHFDjNb
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIs4eHsb6Vj
The violet crystals dimmed as daylight touched them, their ethereal glow fading to dull purple glass. Now. While the formations were blind and the heat hadn't yet turned lethal - now was his chance.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGQme0zAwf
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYpjjqmDPH5
He spotted the two leather bags near the dead fire pit - the same ones he'd noticed yesterday, forgotten in his shock over the missing moon.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8YZ15Ix3Nf
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg24Lp0EqGS
The first bag sloshed when he lifted it. Water. His parched throat ached at the thought of drinking. He lifted it to his lips and took a careful sip, the cool liquid soothing his hroat.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeLqiPNc6jr
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoXlYDNUNr
The second bag crinkled under his fingers. He loosened the drawstring and froze.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKB3aDQwiKB
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJ2BtnCd2o
Strips of roasted meat lay inside, golden-brown and properly prepared. No mold. No crawling things. No stench of decay that had become the signature of every meal for the past year.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNIk0MgekJd
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4QChn54gxX
Cel's hands shook as he lifted one piece. Real food. Actual, honest food that wouldn't make him vomit blood afterward. He couldn't taste it - that sense had died months ago in the cell - but his body recognized the difference. The texture of something meant for human consumption rather than rot and filth.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc56xhzQWpf
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUoVQYMMaXH
His vision blurred. After months of choking down putrid scraps while maggots crawled across his tongue… 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEIsG1sVrS9
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9i1L8Fr6Rv
He ate two strips quickly, enough to quiet the gnawing in his belly, then sealed the bag and set it back down beside the water. In the maze's tight passages with their razor-sharp edges, any extra weight could be a death sentence.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIISOn8HU5Z
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwglSUNAzqg
Papers rustled on the stone slab nearby, covered in symbols that appeared to writhe and twist. A part of him wanted to study them, but the suns climbed higher with each passing moment.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu2L09ho2VD
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo6ASato5ye
Cel picked his way back over the rubble-choked entrance. His attention was fixed on the nightmare spread below.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSq1IImoAEL
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOgoEWOf9s
The Crystal Maze stretched beyond the horizon in every direction - a forest of violet formations that twisted unnatural angles. Between the larger structures, smaller crystals jutted from the earth like broken teeth. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALNIIkFXSp
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTcSdXRHLXR
And towering above it all, that massive spire pulsed with sickly luminescence. His stomach churned just looking at it. It dominated the maze like a diseased heart, visible from every angle, impossible to ignore. The logical choice would be to head straight for it - the most obvious landmark in an otherwise chaotic landscape.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsd5YYn6YIQ
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVcem54V1CI
Which was exactly why every instinct screamed at him to run in the opposite direction.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9RliPP4LqQ
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9rgFP3C6V
The spire felt wrong. Looking at it too long made his vision swim and his stomach churn with nameless dread.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwaSC4zOYQT
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLMYSEYpYJv
Cel deliberately turned his back on the tower and faced the opposite edge of the maze. Whatever waited in that direction couldn't be worse than the malevolent presence radiating from the spire. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGrnincUTa2
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkbGC9RjlIR
He started down the hillside, picking his way carefully over loose stones and crystal fragments. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0sRsVGH5M
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLpqZVgLlns
The first formation rose before him like a barrier between worlds, its surface smooth as glass and twice as deadly. Cel remembered the sharp sting from yesterday when he'd barely touched one of these formations. Every surface here was a blade waiting to cut.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhxEaeYFnFS
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBtM3k4rWvS
He stared at the towering walls that stretched in every direction, identical violet surfaces offering no landmarks, no way to tell one passage from another. In a maze like this, he could wander in circles forever - or until he died.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiSbwxhnVmK
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSivDsGiYOa
He picked up a fallen shard, its edges sharp enough to split hairs, and struck it against the wall. Each blow sent dust cascading to the ground and filled the air with a sound like breaking bells.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqzeKss6Oyf
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡudwfmvhxXm
The mark he carved was crude but visible - a rough gash in the otherwise pristine surface. Cel stepped back and examined his work. It would do. At least now he'd know if he'd been here before. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMkhblIhcU
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoGtFgItnKe
He moved forward into the maze.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDfSXfuTyV8
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTCPs8XI0kp
The walls rose around him like the ribcage of some massive beast. Overhead, strips of sky burned with four ascending suns, but the passages themselves remained dim, filled with dancing shadows.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMHYjRfrot
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWErYkJWMfh
The ground was littered with crystal fragments that had fallen like deadly snow. Each step required careful placement as he picked his way between the razor-sharp shards - one wrong move would drive a spike deep into his foot. Sweat beaded on his forehead despite the early hour, and the air thrummed with that bone-deep vibration.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVnarysOp38
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyvzDg7w0c0
Another mark carved into crystal. Another turn into uncertainty.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg5sPFI38Ac
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfGf3pI8ar
The maze twisted without warning, passages branching in patterns that defied logic. Corridors that should have led straight bent back on themselves. The surfaces played tricks with light and shadow, creating phantom passages that vanished when approached.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFI7wtOIr5I
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgVBgJycyX
The humming grew stronger. What had started as a barely perceptible vibration now pulsed through his feet, up his legs, settling in his chest like a second heartbeat. The formations were drinking in sunlight, storing it, transforming it into something else.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUSwwKXHlGE
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZIW38KIKod
Soon they'd be hot enough to cook flesh.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Qim6nzmRk
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVa1kRgoetX
Cel quickened his pace, carving marks with increasingly desperate strokes. The passages seemed to multiply around him - left turns that led to dead ends, right turns that led back to where he'd started.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDbw3Depbmu
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpOGGE4bS4S
His rags clung to his back, damp with moisture. The air grew thicker with each breath. Above, the four suns climbed relentlessly toward their zenith.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUPvM43Pi9t
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6sBFLLpfoL
Another mark. Another turn.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡisLDGuxPv5
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgNMLz6Yuvh
A passage opened to his left that definitely hadn't been there before. Cel stared at it, his mind struggling to process what his eyes were telling him. The corridor stretched into violet-tinted darkness.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgKiDdL2qCT
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJU9BPf5qJ
He carved a deliberate X into the wall beside the new opening, then entered the passage.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGOwjhtIk3G
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzUOYPP131z
Twenty steps later, he emerged into a circular chamber he'd never seen before. Formations jutted from the walls like frozen waterfalls, their surfaces blazing with reflected sunlight. The humming was louder here, almost musical.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFWtCY8YiME
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3CL4Q02Mba
But it was the marks on the opposite wall that made his blood run cold.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIfNnqowvB4
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzFZPHth44d
Three rough X's, carved in the same desperate style as his own, scarred the surface.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj8ewviNUtb
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRnXNC5G5qQ
Cel's hands shook as he approached the marks, running his fingers over the familiar gouges. These weren't old - dust still clung to their edges, fresh as the moment they'd been made.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ57ON3dQfUo
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ79ILo0POo1
His marks. But he'd never been in this chamber before.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGFIKRoYkR
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8E3bSm0rPX
The maze wasn't just shifting. It was folding in on itself, bending in ways that made navigation meaningless.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd39YYehAvz
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuEnweqV6X8
Perspiration dripped from his nose onto the ground, where it hissed and steamed. The temperature was climbing fast now. Soon it would be unbearable.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8SgqU70sgz
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEd6HvfnfG1
‘Time to get out of here.’163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMe6vg4HvsR
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9KavMaSkEM
He turned back the way he'd came—163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGES0IWYCHE
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5NlZQyxPp7
And faced a solid wall of violet crystal.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEkAAYDK0R8
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0jlumOfzvf
Cel pressed his palms against the surface where the passage should have been. Smooth. Seamless. As if it had never existed at all.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfRsfyyDVXU
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmj355Ti2E6
His breathing quickened. He spun in a circle, searching for any opening, any way out of the circular chamber. But the walls rose unbroken around him, beautiful, terrible and absolutely solid.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC1McStc5Ym
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6Y6phOcUP
The maze had closed behind him like a trap.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIOc3CjVgEI
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwsEogYvdug
And then he heard it.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWdZWoiB1yT
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBcTmmSI3fq
A sharp clattering sound echoed through the crystal chamber.1234 copyright protection159ＰＥＮＡＮＡPIN6TW19GF 尼

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