The sky stretched above him, black and empty as a dead man's eyes.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBaDLJ1xM2m
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCtIapr2v1f
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc9coEWjyp0
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ2ECb1eTiu
‘Find the moon.’43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4eLK9IW9q
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlVW4npf8bY
The trial's command crashed through his mind with sudden, terrible clarity.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7lZJ6pjRV
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA3BiyZ8Oa0
"No..." The word scraped from his throat like broken glass.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmlz8fDVJYe
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8IPldMmBqU
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3C98Y4vJUg
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNCZII11wLn
A laugh bubbled up from his chest - high, cracked, teetering on the edge of hysteria. "Of course. Of fucking course."43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHXHJ499gPD
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1SbP3xR8my
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZmwQVKBmx3
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUt9omX6p00
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?43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRXnvq8D3q
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6MBjBMqQjD
The answer lay somewhere in that glowing maze below. It had to. There was nowhere else to look, no other path forward.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3aV251AlSA
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7NRQeGs15X
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX4ln0KdoPA
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpifCtlOx05
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHph5AVgDyP
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡydpjk49lpX
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmWq1Ubc2Zp
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7raXbwGxe
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJwrtaXachx
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNbJkRerI9O
When sleep finally claimed him, it brought no mercy.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIaj5qh2kM7
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡogRJu2HI4b
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVVCeYQOPkx
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqXpr4uVbfd
"Father!" The word tore from his throat, bright with hope and desperate joy. "I had the Calling! I've been chosen!"43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0RxkZCpkSN
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyOf8yIFVcb
Every fork paused. Every breath held. His father's knife stopped mid-slice, a thin piece of meat balanced on its edge.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhfoNaOeVsx
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy1rWOhM7Rl
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQtS2Kth2d
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdUWKT6DJ7V
"Show me the mark."43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWNUGNrBNzZ
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuBhJyMSVSE
Four simple words that had destroyed everything.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyUxCMLQgNQ
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbLKjZ4iNiA
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP89Hfjv5Uw
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOhIqSofkn1
"Get out."43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Dvrb6psFu
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA38Oz4c3ka
The words were barely whispered but sharp as winter.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuRZJL2vZuB
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3NnbmZfAnL
"Father, please—"43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVgEkjyvWA3
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiSSq7bzNIw
"GET OUT!"43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGUbvgozkug
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWe9yBHGnkC
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—43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH5WHra95ES
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGZuWNS5vP0
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDtIAVuruE
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGGetVjf3kV
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. 43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVDLjm4YFCB
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1mmGZCVHSp
Hatred. Pure and sustaining as forge fire.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj3CwEQWvTB
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOhpPou86N5
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLuZL7lzwI5
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwrUHqmfrDO
For revenge.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmFkC6VXLpM
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrLr64TJqx8
Blood-red light spilled across the sky as the four suns clawed their way above the horizon. 43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuyFz3jGyZ9
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNsiIlYXuj3
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqoCbfRtkRz
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOA4HTK3BdP
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNeP0t0KUCG
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzfhQBBq6pj
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOLmQIi2bx1
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQOryChse4
The second bag crinkled under his fingers. He loosened the drawstring and froze.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLPK4E4o4DR
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK7ff9YsPC1
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcP1ffHy5Fg
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1dnWh6Cxqp
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSVLeCFZVMx
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqAh6kn4YMf
His vision blurred. After months of choking down putrid scraps while maggots crawled across his tongue… 43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJhCuczmuIs
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZ71CZWvpv
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOIJSkzNbXg
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKnyM4isBIv
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qma7ISr2f
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Ba454DeUF
Cel picked his way back over the rubble-choked entrance. His attention was fixed on the nightmare spread below.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnE7qJwNX06
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZD5K179rA
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. 43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSJuq9l1dqf
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCVqnfS82P
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtc6KkFP0ij
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXiYQli6iBX
Which was exactly why every instinct screamed at him to run in the opposite direction.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgXjcRDagiT
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7QkTi06zie
The spire felt wrong. Looking at it too long made his vision swim and his stomach churn with nameless dread.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwdBSkK9GBi
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJZaSXClxj3
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. 43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjwAmHTrA61
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESrRcIjrFC
He started down the hillside, picking his way carefully over loose stones and crystal fragments. 43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1wlLCEAS0
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzp1hgJB1Fy
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgjvUd17wDL
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3zW9nYeOMX
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8JtPFIgGq
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiyjsNx2h4m
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp98IqusHgZ
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt6IrBSC8dH
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. 43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWXByjZrAgW
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpOR42MAsbB
He moved forward into the maze.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeyAijNbXI8
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1jLrzq66o6
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbSq9iD5H9I
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0PuRQ0hrrU
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGuYE6iNU3
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF5Uc6BFlaz
Another mark carved into crystal. Another turn into uncertainty.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ3olULRB16
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKMyVfCveD
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡye5cQoJOHa
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5A6lFjOqgA
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOcKGCFKfA
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeoTH8Ah1p7
Soon they'd be hot enough to cook flesh.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6rdsybix4i
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaFc3XxeHWT
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1klIpmH3PA
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJHUV49Ya13
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4k7ATsSrKO
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZVqDplYriz
Another mark. Another turn.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbaXnz9r6XQ
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhnqZnElvry
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE7isPcBK7b
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnOqGGQduR
He carved a deliberate X into the wall beside the new opening, then entered the passage.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9b7RwTkGy
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjbEjXRVIhP
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyxHw4ZhrTp
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvo92cevSs
But it was the marks on the opposite wall that made his blood run cold.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsqqBY1m4Yy
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWchFbhXVRO
Three rough X's, carved in the same desperate style as his own, scarred the surface.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrVO5vmCxmz
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTnhAyfMw10
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPSNo3nIMG7
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOKRGv9j3iw
His marks. But he'd never been in this chamber before.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpJmPFFaiz7
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTx3r0NgAw1
The maze wasn't just shifting. It was folding in on itself, bending in ways that made navigation meaningless.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzspyQIcEUe
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA8J6V7D4Wl
Perspiration dripped from his nose onto the ground, where it hissed and steamed. The temperature was climbing fast now. Soon it would be unbearable.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0CsCzTxGLF
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ50UUjZFxyN
‘Time to get out of here.’43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcOMqDcJJ6Y
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSTD91UZNMW
He turned back the way he'd came—43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFLFeI2qgpk
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxpxxg4JrQR
And faced a solid wall of violet crystal.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡChiOw08rZS
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuZSL0xmr0m
Cel pressed his palms against the surface where the passage should have been. Smooth. Seamless. As if it had never existed at all.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxagBWdPdRa
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2wozYk8Vok
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9vH3MRagZN
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPiHnLGEsJ0
The maze had closed behind him like a trap.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCKrbcdjwar
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLD4lSfWj1u
And then he heard it.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnsiaKlwE9k
43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡujDRqqMy5E
A sharp clattering sound echoed through the crystal chamber.1234 copyright protection39ＰＥＮＡＮＡGBiDpMZMTD 尼

216.73.216.176