Cel turned slowly, already knowing what he’d find.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6xIroC0TtX
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Kyros stood at the far end of the hallway, silhouetted against a window. No followers this time. Just him, fire-red hair catching the last rays of sunset, amber eyes fixed with an intensity that promised nothing good.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSnyUKtZsKA
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“What is a noble of your standing doing in the commoner dormitory wing?” Cel kept his tone carefully neutral. “Surely the facilities in your own quarters are more suited to someone of House Solgrand’s stature.”180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP6iGXK4IUT
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Kyros’s lips curved into something that might have been a smile if smiles could draw blood. He took a step forward, then another, closing the distance with deliberate leisure. “Someone has to maintain proper hierarchy in this Academy.”180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ055Nturf6f
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Another step. His boots echoed against wood.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqXV4Sr4pHb
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That’s part of a noble’s duty, you know? Maintaining order. Punishing those who step out of line.”180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqtUr8OqXVx
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Cel forced himself to remain still. “I haven’t stepped out of line.”180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjw6SPFQPp2
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“Haven’t you?” Kyros smiled - cold and sharp. “That little performance in the dining hall. The false agreement. The mockery disguised as deference.” He stopped perhaps five steps away. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4oXV09Ut36
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Before Cel could respond, Kyros’s fist lashed out.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡosQhes4Wsa
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The punch came fast, meant to connect with Cel’s face with enough force to break something.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVICWc3SnY
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Cel leaned backward. The fist passed inches from his face, disturbing the air without connecting.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGei37uhAXB
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He didn’t even think about it. His body just moved, instincts and divine enhancement working in harmony to avoid the threat.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm2azjTcCRR
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Kyros’s eyes widened. He stumbled forward slightly from the missed impact, caught himself, spun back around with confusion already hardening into fury.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡusYhFptZRP
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“You—” His voice came strangled. “How did you—”180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFGiySWGg1S
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Then the anger transformed. His expression shifted, rage giving way to something calculating. Something that recognized an opportunity.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBmiE3xeFBX
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His smile returned, wider this time.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtLumKBfEeC
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“I see.” The words came soft, almost gentle. “The Moon Chosen is afraid to even take a punch. Of course. Why am I surprised?”180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwcCf9DlOic
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Cel said nothing. Just watched Kyros with the same flat assessment he’d give a coiled snake.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgRYOmQVLLn
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“You’d probably cry if I actually hit you, wouldn’t you?” Kyros’s tone gained a mocking lilt. “Run to your little priestess and sob in her arms while she tells you everything will be okay.”180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDZbcfRUlCt
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The words landed with unexpected weight.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr4miTn4Tut
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Because… that had actually happened. After the first blessing. He had cried in Selina’s robes, breaking down and letting her see the damage his father inflicted, the weight he carried, the exhaustion of constant survival.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVvWtFSP0oc
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The memory was private. Sacred in its vulnerability. 180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMrSqAtaBH
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And Kyros had just weaponized it without even knowing he’d struck true.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ59DhOhEPxt
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“Nothing to say? Or are you too busy thinking about running to her right now?”180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCAnMxzmo80
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Cel’s hands clenched at his sides. The anger that had been cold and controlled was starting to heat. Starting to push against the walls he’d constructed to contain it.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDe2W1pOwII
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“Tell me,” Kyros pressed forward, sensing blood in the water. “What’s it like having a priestess as your guide? Does she comfort you when you have nightmares? Pat your head and tell you that you’re special?”180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyXs9Dq1W3A
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“Stop.” The word came out quiet. Dangerous.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoFoR7qcTo8
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Kyros didn’t stop.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMBJ1Hb1KRk
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“Actually, now that I think about it...” He tilted his head, expression turning contemplative in a way that made it worse. “A priestess spending that much time with her Chosen. Alone. Comforting him.” A pause. “I wonder what that comfort looks like.”180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX2iz0je1VD
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Heat flooded his veins. The hallway's edges blurred, leaving only Kyros's smile in focus. 180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRQBy47fGs
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“I bet she’s good at it.”180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmPZieBXT2N
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Cel moved.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlThFjOOmXD
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His hand shot out faster than Kyros could process, fingers tangling in fire-red hair. Kyros’s eyes widened with sudden understanding  - but understanding came too late.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ41pqeK1OXN
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Cel yanked downward with the full force of his divinely forged body, slamming Kyros face-first into the wooden floor with a sound like thunder. The impact was immediate and catastrophic - planks splintered under the force, cracks spreading outward in a spider web pattern.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNENoSOASHI
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Then the floor gave way entirely.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaC3VwjdOdc
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Wood shattered. Kyros’s body dropped through the sudden opening, disappearing from view with a cry of shock and pain that cut off as he hit the floor below.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMWbxm0lOIL
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Silence rushed in to fill the space.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBfmAOxQaPM
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Cel stood at the edge of the hole, breathing hard, looking down at the damage. Kyros lay sprawled on the floor below, blood spreading from somewhere - his nose, probably, or his mouth. Maybe both.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFdWhrH7045
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Doors opened.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxeACdcb0d
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The sound came from multiple directions - hinges creaking, confused voices calling out, footsteps approaching from both ends of the corridor.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4lu1pxc5sY
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“What was that?”180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwej1LQfg1K
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“Did something break?”180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOOOUPkbNs4
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The commotion built rapidly, students emerging from rooms to investigate the noise.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOJ7GJ44pXu
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Cel looked down at his hand. At Kyros’s motionless form. At the shattered floor.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU9ws9eBFdJ
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At the absolute certainty that he’d just created a problem that couldn’t be talked away or ignored.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPMmeG4w3SX
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A Sun Clan noble. Assaulted by a commoner Moon Chosen. In front of witnesses who were already gathering, staring at the hole in the floor with expressions ranging from shock to horror.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQ4NEJ8AIg
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The weight of it settled over him like a shroud.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfbDZfrCpAX
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He’d finally done it.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ROX5MDo8L
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After months of control. Months of enduring. Months of carefully maintaining his false identity and suppressing every violent impulse.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyHWpRRRYOG
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He’d broken.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡolgWkgtOzC
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And now there would be consequences.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo6X1MEIgCg
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Reality crashed back in as someone screamed.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzL78ojRKz5
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He needed to move.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoy24rzuPsL
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Needed to—180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQl7xMkiAvA
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His feet carried him to his room without conscious decision. The door flew open under his hand. He stumbled inside, then turned and threw his weight against the door. It slammed shut hard enough that the frame shook. 180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBU1Jvu5pBn
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The lock engaged with a click that sounded impossibly loud.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuMM5Fjydd0
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Cel pressed his back against the door, sliding down until he sat on the floor. His chest heaved. His vision kept trying to narrow into tunnel focus and he had to force it back out, force himself to see the whole room instead of just the small circle directly ahead.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyA4rdbAmd6
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‘What did I do?’180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmom8F3gaNp
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The thought repeated itself with the mechanical efficiency of something his mind couldn’t quite process.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRqnfurnis0
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Execution. That was the penalty for commoners who attacked nobles. Immediate and absolute. No trial. No appeal. 180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbxh4J3ttI7
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His breath hitched. The room kept trying to tilt sideways and he had to press harder against the door to feel something solid.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmUXvliPw1A
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Maybe not execution. Maybe just imprisonment. Life in a cell, which was arguably worse. Trapped in stone and darkness once more - with nothing but time to remember every mistake that had led him there.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk63vIxbWIe
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Could he run?180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgoTzaIATx
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The thought arrived with desperate clarity. Just leave. Disappear into the night before they came for him.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFQ7YyRs1ay
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But where would he go?180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO46GIbpJIM
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The Stellarion Empire was all that was left of humanity. There were no other kingdoms. No neighboring territories that might grant asylum.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQJJqVZOTAc
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He could flee to the wilderness. Try to survive outside civilization’s borders.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGuFqbqYPeV
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The idea dissolved as fast as it formed. The wilderness was full of rift-creatures. Things that poured through tears in reality and hunted anything that moved. Survival alone out there was suicide.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTOL7TDLVQC
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Maybe the Reckoning would help.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSeburzGodQ
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His mind seized on the thought like a drowning man grabbing debris.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡseTl09LKUo
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They’d recruited him. Vouched for him. Surely they wouldn’t just abandon him to execution. Surely Esrin or Veyron would—180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWaJoFCCizN
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The thought died again.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKiwoGEQVcl
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He knew way too much. About the Reckoning’s existence. About their hideout. About members’ identities. If he was captured, interrogated…180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsEDW7CX3Mu
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They might kill him even before he reached a cell. 180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUiE9Erkdax
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Trusting the Reckoning felt like trusting a blade balanced over his throat.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBf90k179I8
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His hands pressed against his face. The trembling hadn’t stopped. If anything, it had gotten worse.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWvULvGwzFG
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It couldn't end like this. Not before he took his revenge. Not before his father paid, for the life he'd destroyed. 180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJxV5r7UcWp
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Moonlight filtered through his window, painting a pale rectangle across the floor.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjuk0Co9FaB
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Cel’s head turned slowly, tracking the light’s source. The crescent moon hung visible through the glass, serene and indifferent to everything happening below it.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGkwzFsMBad
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How long had he been sitting here?180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4JD6tiD3y9
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He couldn’t say how much. Minutes or hours, the distinction felt meaningless. He just sat with his back against the door, breathing through the panic, waiting for footsteps in the hallway that would signal the end.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNyXSNLOhj
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But nothing came.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY1oAnTRVCc
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No pounding on his door. No shouted commands. No sound at all except the ambient noise of the dormitory - distant conversations, footsteps on other floors, the creaks and groans of old wood settling.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUTkRCYkRKw
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Maybe…180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl9M8sYO77O
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Maybe Kyros had hit his head so hard he didn’t remember. 180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqAWcIQTZFg
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The hope felt fragile. Unlikely. But possible.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkzqWHXCZ8l
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Cel’s breathing had finally steadied. The shaking in his hands had reduced to occasional tremors rather than constant vibration.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj1UHxrbaT4
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He could hope. Could believe that maybe, somehow, this wouldn’t end with his death.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8u0ZVZ1ssj
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Footsteps approached in the hallway.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm3Fah88Gzv
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His entire body went rigid. Every muscle locked, breath stopping halfway through his lungs.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWIrJjR5kd9
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The footsteps were measured. Deliberate. Not running. Not urgent. Just someone walking with purpose, their pace suggesting they knew exactly where they were going.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYyrdD99cZk
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They stopped outside his door.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRERLxU9LJd
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Silence stretched for three full heartbeats.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeoeFz5Sz31
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Then a knock. Three precise raps against wood.180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7a16wQd07J
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“Celvian.” Instructor Saren’s voice carried through the door with perfect clarity. “Open the door. Now.”180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrLtTZQSBF0
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---180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrR2NjKSzOl
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​​​​​​​Heyho, Author here!180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8SN00I3Suk
I just wanted to inform you that next monday, I will post an additional chapter on my page again: https://celastos-shop.fourthwall.com/supporters180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4mzWDnQSsi
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