Morning arrived with pale light filtering through his window. Cel’s door opened onto the corridor just as another door down the hall did the same.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFUOiSF3rqu
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ084l7J3Cha
Lior emerged, wheat-blond hair sticking up at odd angles, still rubbing sleep from his eyes. He looked up and his expression shifted immediately - first recognition, then shock so complete it stopped him mid-motion.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbpNHwpPL3l
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“Cel?” His voice cracked. “What—your throat—“169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDZO5H0PebU
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Cel’s hand moved automatically to his throat. His fingers found the thin line of dried blood he’d completely forgotten about. The cut wasn’t deep, but it had bled enough during the night to leave a visible mark.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Ko5nF4HDa
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‘Shit.’169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSWMe5ksFx9
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“It’s nothing,” he said quickly. 169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCGjVIIatcu
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“Nothing?” Lior crossed the distance between them in three quick strides, eyes wide with something close to panic. “You’re bleeding! Did you—were you trying to—“169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTYfqWexcO
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The implication hit a moment before Lior’s voice broke completely on the unfinished question.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9JfXOa0Sse
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiundebzevl
“No.” Cel raised both hands, palms out. “No, it’s not what it looks like. I wasn’t—“169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkIzZDczUU6
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYl1TQJ1Flj
“Then what happened?” Lior’s sky-blue eyes searched his face desperately. 169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq2KRrd7LMy
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The truth was impossible to tell. A lie was needed.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvhA3P6Yb7N
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJno5wAAYu
“I was testing something,” Cel said. The words came out awkward, stilted. “With my artifact. Wanted to see how sharp the edge was.”169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC8vidhcy1b
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5HX6nCvrbk
Silence stretched for two full heartbeats.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Ge4Q2sbnb
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Then Lior’s expression cycled through confusion, disbelief, and arrived at something that might have been horror.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqVErKRUJVz
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“On your throat?!”169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaCHI30cZd3
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The question came out half-shout, loud enough that a door down the hall opened. Someone peered out, saw them, and quickly retreated back inside.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtUuzWZ5uah
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHdmfg4U2Tg
“I just—“ Cel scrambled for something to make this seem reasonable. “It seemed like the best way to—“169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGgQFihJadS
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNujTLQp1CR
“The best way?” Lior stared at him like he’d announced plans to jump off the Academy’s tallest tower. “You put a blade to your own throat to test if it was sharp?”169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr6YZxOvG34
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLnAvqiocwS
When phrased like that, it sounded even worse than Cel had thought.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRzLvEV8gr4
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“It was controlled,” he tried. “I knew what I was doing.”169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeIqPO3jUox
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFJhe4a2Qg
“Controlled.” Lior’s voice had gone flat. “Right. Very controlled. That’s why you’re bleeding.”169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡewW91iq0rg
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUqyj1jUlp0
Cel opened his mouth. Closed it again. No explanation was going to salvage this.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGeSwObnAAl
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“Look,” he said finally. “I’m fine. It’s barely a scratch. And I learned what I needed to know about the blade’s edge, so—“169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpLTUOqlLK3
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5xAYTVNqAI
“You’re insane.” Lior shook his head slowly. “Completely insane.”169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGJvKBNT7P
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDPc4YhDmmb
He reached out and grabbed Cel’s shoulder - not aggressively, just a grip that suggested he needed something solid to hold onto while processing what he’d just heard.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsYQn2fJgYj
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“Promise me you won’t do that again.”169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsWqzS2lenu
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“I promise I won’t test my artifact’s sharpness on my own throat again.”169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1l4DXRi1Xw
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfJRNn3L7F
Lior studied him for a long moment, clearly trying to determine if that answer was sufficient. Then he sighed, releasing Cel’s shoulder.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA7Hc42n7Kp
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgFZHaDYZeg
“We should get to conditioning,” he muttered. “Before you find some other creative way to kill yourself.”169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdAF0j5Uv5p
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg7XpdICUVe
They walked to the training grounds together, Lior occasionally glancing at him with lingering concern. Cel kept his expression neutral, relieved the conversation had ended but acutely aware that his reputation for rational decision-making had taken quite some damage.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiLYMdgsYw4
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4VKQT9ovO
The day passed without incident. Dawn conditioning proceeded as it always did - bodies moving through drills, Instructor Calder’s voice cutting across the yard with corrections. Theoretical classes filled the morning with information Cel already knew. Combat training in the afternoon tested basic techniques against partners who couldn’t push him far enough to reveal anything.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCnUsAG10SZ
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Through it all, Hestia occupied her usual position. She took notes during lectures. Participated in drills with her typical precision. Never looked at him. Never acknowledged him.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ22ZtyovwUc
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It was almost worse than confrontation.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGNsW2gY7wC
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By the time afternoon classes concluded, tension had settled in Cel’s shoulders like a physical weight. He needed to move. To do something other than sit and wait for Esrin to either confirm or deny his story.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRSFzLdp4IL
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The Reckoning’s hideout waited.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlFz4riVbYP
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Esrin had told him to arrive at sunset two days hence. Today was that day.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhf0QrYz7kb
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡON4uaPKVXr
Cel left the Academy grounds through the main gate, nodding to the guard who’d come to recognize him over the past months. The city sprawled before him - broad streets branching in every direction, buildings pressed close enough that their upper floors nearly touched.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJsZHLZqehq
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQo2eoC3mOa
He moved through crowds with practiced ease, tracking landmarks from memory. The fountain with the cracked basin. The bakery that always smelled like burned bread. The corner where street performers gathered each evening.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgnK8twMtJt
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His mind turned to what waited at the end of this walk.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDsWvhttX2Z
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Death’s Friendliest Face.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppxdWVNvap
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Wrath’s Only Daughter.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVzTVUDJ6Hq
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Two members of the Reckoning assigned to train him. Two people he’d met only once, during that initial gathering when they’d voted on whether to let him live or kill him immediately.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLkSNuMy4D4
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHchU1gRMs
Death’s Friendliest Face had voted for him joining. He remembered that much. Still, the contradiction of his codename was unsettling - what kind of person earned a name that paired death with friendliness? Someone who killed with a smile? Someone who made dying seem pleasant?169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKhUz9Gqdb6
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He didn’t know. Couldn’t know until he met them properly.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhtBF5SxybX
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhUqQrXSygk
Wrath’s Only Daughter was clearer in his memory. She’d voted for his death without hesitation. Her hostility had been palpable even though it was their first meeting. Training under someone who’d wanted him dead seemed like an efficient way to end up dead, just delayed.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCO5RWAY1Mm
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But Esrin had made the assignment. An opportunity to grow stronger. Refusing wasn’t an option.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxXAikxbMhb
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJRFMY2VP4
The bar came into view as he rounded a familiar corner.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9JeuUhzX3b
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0mCDN1Tsuy
It looked exactly as it had that first night - weathered wood, grimy windows, a door that hung slightly crooked on its hinges. The kind of place that was abandoned long ago.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIS3dX2Mopp
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Cel approached and reached for the handle.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHYT6cSOEmA
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Locked.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGm1zIchr9V
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He pulled harder. The door didn’t budge, resistance firm under his grip.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHibemt6mqz
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsfsXxWo1S
Cel  stepped back, frowning. Had he missed a specific time requirement or something?169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnzQXOI04bp
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He grabbed the handle again.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv2xyCYN5Q2
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Only this time... he really pulled.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlFHb40h5LU
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The door flew open with enough force that he stumbled backward a step.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUhdednpRTV
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Not locked. Just stuck.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeUbb0n5e2d
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡltcn1uc6M0
Heat crawled up his neck as he glanced around to see if anyone had witnessed that display. The street remained mercifully empty.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjK45zhubu2
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He stepped inside.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6YqpiPK5sS
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The interior matched his memory - cramped space, handful of tables, bar running along one wall. Just dim light filtering through boarded windows and the smell of old wood and older alcohol.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡut9QsHVul2
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCQ1KqQ3WPF
Cel moved deeper into the room, scanning for anything that might indicate where to go next. A hidden door. A symbol. Some sign that this place connected to the Reckoning’s void-dimension manor.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwhFwrPGfER
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Nothing.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8lMRIWSzkl
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He stopped in the center of the room, precisely where he and Esrin had emerged from the rift that first time. The floor looked like floor. The air felt like air. Reality seemed entirely intact.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb6yeISdvEP
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What was he supposed to do now?169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvnG0ZLGwGH
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1l39NmVPpe
He extended his hand slowly, fingers spreading as if he might touch something invisible. His palm met only empty space. No resistance. No tingle of energy. Just air moving past his skin.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7eieUCiqTn
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyOTEdUv8DC
“Open,” he said quietly.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrCwlBXaC34
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Nothing happened.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFVHZZThIzr
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“To the Reckoning.”169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAI0IgHungS
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Still nothing. He felt ridiculous, standing alone in an empty bar speaking to nothing.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMa7SMhOj0p
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMt9lVqr0E
Maybe there was a phrase. Something specific that activated whatever mechanism Esrin had used. But she hadn’t told him any words. Just said to come here at sunset.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQtRUkTOJL6
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUfs9Xnhdgc
He tried again, cycling through possibilities. “Show me the way.” “Grant me passage.” “I seek the Reckoning.”169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0QVrYkyYgG
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCmNdewVqBK
Each attempt landed in silence.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUrHOUgJ9X3
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Frustration built in his chest. 169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd6ZBW0TTQz
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Then a thought occurred.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0f2MTiuSmW
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He’d summoned Silent Moon thousands of times by now. The motion was instinctive - not words but intent. A reaching inside himself, a calling forth of something that existed in a space adjacent to reality until he needed it.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxtnOyWHbGw
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What if it worked the same way?169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpUhoh55qZQ
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Cel closed his eyes. Breathed. Let his mind settle into that same space he accessed when summoning his blade.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNo2PlOhjRS
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBPy99iwWsI
But instead of reaching inward for Silent Moon, he reached outward. Toward the space where Esrin had opened her rift. Toward the connection that must exist between this location and the void dimension.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqNx3GEdmt9
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBq83VU2eXb
He focused on that intent - not demanding, just... requesting. Asking reality to part so he could pass through.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDtnklrRr77
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRiTTnmpAXR
Something shifted.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwTBUJfJ0u
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSpMqzOL29n
His eyes snapped open.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOcQNkaVf9g
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6T8fxWrwO6
A vertical slash hung in the air before him - violet light bleeding from its edges, energy crackling across its surface in patterns that hurt to look at directly. Small, perhaps the height of a door. But unmistakably a rift.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡASeV7EqhDy
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwi1MXEmpJ
Cel took an involuntary step backward.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD29GI2htE0
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZWyqY3AKhu
Reality had just broken open in front of him. Torn itself apart because he’d asked it to.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiT9PzAVZqd
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnzcclEIQni
The rift pulsed, patient and waiting.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZMAsNn5DOn
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He studied it carefully, taking in details that his panic had obscured when watching from a distance two nights ago. The violet light wasn’t uniform - darker at the edges, brighter at the center, shifting through shades that had no names in normal spectrum. Energy crackled across its surface in branching patterns, like lightning frozen mid-strike.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97uEPIy7o9
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqsxmBaqZHH
It looked almost exactly like the rift that had opened outside the city walls.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRvE4zGD6BU
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGehAiZAOA
Just smaller. Controlled. 169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcrmeNj4knN
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But fundamentally the same.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYWtRLrbhpv
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlBXdd4TrEj
Cel’s breath caught. This wasn’t anything the Empire taught. Rifts meant disaster, not possibility. They were random tears, dangerous openings to be sealed with human lives.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpFLPFCLO0v
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG7NOsiIVpg
What did it mean that the Reckoning could simply create them on demand to use them for traveling?169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hKsTmB3jJ
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvl7spotPXR
Questions for later. If he survived whatever training waited on the other side.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCXhLmSus9t
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCpA2Qwe3Zq
Cel stepped forward slowly, approaching the violet tear. Up close, the energy made his skin prickle. Not painful, just aware. Like standing too close to a fire or too near the edge of a cliff.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq1id6LWkfx
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOuDEzXW41i
He extended his hand.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpf4V2t63h
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRiMB63fhNG
His fingers passed through without resistance. No sensation at all - his hand simply disappeared into the violet light as if it had ceased existing from the wrist forward.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdfRO2bVNhG
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5g8vusc9D9
He pulled back. His hand returned, intact and unmarked.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGihXUFlmUv
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡypIN3VmbRc
‘Alright.’169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3tTBYStk7q
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfKaIY0Gwu
One deep breath. Then another.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRLHIk1c4a1
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKpVSbFzHKl
Then he stepped through.169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY8A54yf8Tw
1234 copyright protection165ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3qPOTKwb04 尼

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