The sharp clatter echoed off crystal walls, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVR6GM5qm6S
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIqcvIpWnFo
Cel's heart stopped mid-beat. His knuckles went white around the crystal shard. Perspiration stung his eyes as the rising heat mixed with his terror.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcegrQf4Qi
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJVC3JzzmpJ
Silence returned, broken only by the maze's eternal hum - that bone-deep vibration that made his teeth ache. Cel's chest burned as he held his breath, straining to catch any hint of movement, any whisper of what had made that sound.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnTb2ro0twn
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhliwSEa8iA
Nothing.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ3iIBn0XiQ
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBWgtgq9Ent
His lungs finally demanded air, forcing him to exhale in a shaky rush. The sound seemed thunderous in the crystalline chamber.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGv8cRUGd7r
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7BZW0eaU5x
‘Standing here like prey doesn't help.’ The urgent need to act blazed through his paralyzed thoughts.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGYKcILA57n
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ58Rfz24xJN
Cel forced himself to move, examining the chamber more carefully. The crystal walls seemed solid, their refracting surfaces playing tricks with light and shadow. But as he circled the perimeter, something caught his eye - a gap so narrow it was almost invisible, hidden between two twisted formations.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZuvLphN2Rf
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuY8A9ebMuM
He crept toward the opening, carefully placing his steps between the scattered crystal fragments. Each footfall felt like a bell tolling his location to whatever lurked in the maze's depths.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdY1aO2mJuy
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeUOH2iOppO
The passage was barely wide enough for his shoulders. He squeezed through sideways, crystal edges scraping against his back. Fire blazed across his shoulder blades as the razor surfaces carved shallow furrows through his tattered rags and into his flesh. He bit back a cry, feeling warm blood begin to seep down his spine.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBWXfOASgti
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLHxPrRBvA
He pressed on and emerged into—41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6t7K05iM5t
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgHw1g2pHRu
Nothing made sense anymore.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8uJ6qUVep6
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAylO6JZ0Gu
The corridor stretched ahead - and there, carved into the violet surface, was one of his marks.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfL70LhRuJb
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpACooyeJle
Cel's blood ran cold. He'd never been in this passage before. He was certain of it. The narrow gap he'd squeezed through had led somewhere new, somewhere deeper into the maze.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1WI0x1zII
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYtAoNnFbcP
But the crude gash in the crystal wall told a different story.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyu1KUeuBXx
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE98Gs96Sg9
The maze had folded around him once already, trapping him in a chamber filled with his own marks. Now it was happening again - passages connecting in ways that shouldn't be possible.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX63oluqwek
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbawQ3ngQJz
If his marks could appear anywhere, if passages could lead to places he'd already been without him realizing it, then every step forward might be a step backward. Every turn might deliver him to somewhere he'd sworn he'd left behind.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiDXNYxTGGu
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrcPO5lR9J9
'How do you navigate a maze that keeps shifting?'41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCsrDklm76Y
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKIRnn2eoMc
The passage stretched ahead, violet walls refracting light in patterns that hurt to follow. But was it the same passage he'd just seen, or had the maze already shifted while he wasn't looking? His eyes darted to the walls, searching for some anchor point, some way to know if he was moving forward or being led in circles.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡucMdPFgdUl
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeawAyZW482
Every shadow felt like a threat - not just because something might be hiding there, but because he could no longer trust what he was seeing.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ielTJoFsa
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW5moy7i1Fa
Cel took a tentative step forward, then another. The ground felt solid beneath his feet, but that meant nothing. The floor of that circular chamber had felt solid too, right up until the walls closed around him like teeth.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTaPSPGrM4Z
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV7WvhLQ4bO
But standing still wouldn't solve the problem.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ22O0MZsQl4
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjCf79OpOpQ
He pressed forward, the jagged shard trembling in his grip. Each step felt like a betrayal of his better judgment, but paralysis could mean death. The maze might be unpredictable, but at least movement offered the illusion of progress.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3MydTnjjA
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM8mLFFh6bu
Minutes crawled by, the maze's constant hum his only companion. The familiar thrumming began to work on his nerves in a different way - maybe the clattering had just been a loose shard falling from the walls, disturbing the crystalline song.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg27s3eC9fg
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItSiQ7aoS9
Just as his shoulders started to relax a flicker of motion shattered his fragile calmness.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyyWZcEuRmw
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeCRZK2yWRW
Cel's blood turned to ice. He turned toward a shadowed alcove where sunlight barely reached, his mind already screaming warnings. Was it real? Had it been there before?41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqVc8lpasoU
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMFC2Y0u0wS
At first, only darkness met his gaze.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI4pnxSKdL6
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEavUHHlr3z
Then, movement flickered in the gloom again.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ88gis7Nt3s
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRoMCzPibOC
A gasp tore from his throat before he could stop it. His feet stumbled backward, nearly sending him sprawling onto the razor-sharp ground.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEwfJoaU795
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrAk4epVydi
Something pale gleamed in the darkness.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzYJ2v2Mbek
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJf40PSLLQ2
Cel's eyes struggled to make sense of what he was seeing. White shapes emerged from the violet shadows - curved, organic forms that definitely weren't crystal. Something that caught the light with a dull sheen.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3iAiyNkzO1
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQubR4wDxQS
Bone.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUS60zPWzdJ
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1girdzLAiS
The realization hit him like a physical blow. He took another stumbling step backward as more details resolved from the shadow.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQgHR5EkijB
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMve1Rg4Mcx
A ribcage curved beneath something that might have been flesh once but was now crystalline shell. Leg bones jutted at impossible angles, twisted by crystal growths that had no respect for anatomy. The thing emerging from the shadows had been human once - the basic structure was still there, warped beyond recognition but unmistakably human.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXIap9sD3C4
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQ8y3xLvPF
Jagged formations erupted from its bones like twisted thorns, each shard pulsing with that familiar inner light. More crystals had pierced through the skull, creating a crown of violet death that blazed with stored sunlight.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRIlCyLQLD
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTYwjjDWx5g
Cel's breathing came in short, panicked gasps as his gaze traveled upward to where a face should have been.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZEs3zOr205
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJDwA57b8w
Empty sockets fixed on him. Not hollow - that would have been a mercy. Worse. Much worse. Clusters of crystal filled the spaces where eyes had been, multifaceted surfaces that caught and reflected his own terrified face back at him in fractured fragments.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVMwSBlQNH
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbffvttAAId
The creature stood motionless as a statue, but Cel could feel its attention like a weight pressing against his chest. Waiting. Watching.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwCn2JLJ9c
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbvtZdUUO1m
A soft clatter broke the silence - bone against crystal. The sound made Cel's skin crawl. The skull tilted with mechanical precision. A bony finger twitched, crystals scraping together with the sound of breaking glass.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDJOzaLExF
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Wdi0sbdY7
Then the shadows beyond began to move. 41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppiSd3UvAO
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡybSZR7UESG
More of them.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSI6MGx8tQs
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ew6r0zS6L
Skeletal forms emerged from crevices and alcoves he hadn't even noticed - a dozen crystal-encrusted horrors that had been watching him stumble through the corridors. Some crawled along the walls like spiders, their limbs bent at impossible angles where crystal growths had fused joints together. Others shuffled forward on legs that clinked and rattled with every step.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8arnKs0THv
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY1zOoeqMAG
Pain lanced through Cel's torso - phantom agony from claws that had torn him apart in the Ashlands. His hand flew to his chest, fingers finding unmarked skin where he remembered gaping wounds. The creature with obsidian scales flashed through his mind: amber eyes blazing with intelligence, massive forelimbs ending in death, the crushing impact as he was hurled into darkness.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6kID99FW4M
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcBSOX3rOS0
He'd been dying there. Actually dying. And now more creatures wanted to finish what the first had started.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4cRLWt0iJZ
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6EfMElm7RG
Terror flooded his veins like liquid fire.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIJoHGuWwgw
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡShKd5nEb4d
Cel spun on his heel and bolted.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMR05zY2ARD
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXmP7BbAxq6
The narrow corridor forced him to weave between jutting crystals, their razor edges slicing at his tattered rags. Behind him, the scrape and clatter of bone against crystal echoed off the walls - a symphony of death that followed his every step. The creatures moved with mechanical persistence, neither fast nor slow, just relentless.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT6T2EgV29O
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zpjvTdnU3
His bare feet pounded against crystal fragments. The maze blurred around him - walls becoming streams of purple light. His chest burned, each breath scorching his throat.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmD2sniDhX2
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XJFfDUaEo
A crystal shard bit deep into his arm as he flew around a turn. The sting snapped his attention for one fatal second - his foot caught on raised stone.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlE6XVFZqE2
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSi6ItNYuOV
Cel pitched forward, arms flailing uselessly.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnNLtbp5Jbm
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ299n3uFngL
He hit the floor hard, stars exploding across his vision. Sharp fragments pressed into his palms as he struggled upright.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkrxxpVOFx9
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvxRyYaVIcD
'Get up get up get up—'41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGTsHmqByKG
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0UrKn48Tc
He stumbled forward, terror keeping his water-weak legs moving until his body reached its limit.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfIQlFbq4U
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡneOudv90D9
Cel collapsed against a crystal wall, chest heaving. Sweat streamed down his face. His legs shook so violently he had to press both hands against the wall to stay upright.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppVnpSTN5S
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuNWXYtD9vg
The clattering had stopped. Only his ragged breathing disturbed the crystalline chorus that pounded through his skull.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQm3Aphvep4
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN61UNotHYD
Minutes passed before he looked around.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvbKPKacsTQ
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEmLtzxv5xk
Purple walls stretched in every direction, surfaces identical as mirrors. He searched desperately for any familiar gouges, but found only smooth crystal - clear surfaces that mocked his careful planning. The maze had already shown him how it could twist passages back on themselves, making his marks appear where they shouldn't exist. In his blind panic, he'd abandoned any hope of navigation in a place where navigation was impossible anyway.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPFyAxohMxx
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMCSqcsifij
A sound escaped his throat - half gasp, half sob.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ79J4cBVH9f
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ONEsDpW0A
Cel pushed off from the wall and stumbled to the nearest intersection. The crystals' hum seemed louder now, more mocking. Their surfaces caught and twisted the light from the four suns above, creating a kaleidoscope of reflections that made his head pound.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLANEQbrhxu
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb9t8204cyR
He dabbed at the cut on his arm, the blood already starting to clot. The wound was shallow but served as a harsh reminder of how easily this place could hurt him. How easily it could kill him.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmKb5eYJTPm
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6qzjBNeFA
Cel closed his eyes and forced himself to breathe. ‘Think.’ Panic had gotten him into this mess - but in a place that defied all logic, what could thinking accomplish?41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡinTBuS7fvX
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhXYjTddGO6
When he opened his eyes again, something caught his attention above the maze's twisted walls.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoLr6UB4ecD
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLdmqRt1oW7
The spire.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4v0FI5UIxE
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXEFKOzfKQP
That massive tower of violet crystal thrust into the sky like an accusation, its peak blazing with sickly light. The same spire he'd deliberately turned away from that morning, every instinct screaming warnings about its malevolent presence.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2MMPh16kzW
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnfwv1mV8XV
A bitter laugh bubbled up from his chest.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqghpUIhA4h
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0DndhvTqe
The irony was perfect. He'd spent all that effort avoiding the tower, convinced it was a trap, a lure designed to draw the desperate to their doom. Now it was his only landmark in this crystalline hell - the single fixed point that might remain constant while everything else shifted around him.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcXLVy261oz
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS2cyWmfU5x
Cel wiped the sweat from his eyes and oriented himself toward the distant beacon.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiMa2Mppd4P
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdt9xAfKH9I
With no other options left, he started walking toward the thing he'd sworn to avoid.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ewnBVEQCh
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwOUg8tqGaV
The four suns climbed higher, their combined radiance turning the air itself into a weapon. What had been oppressive heat at dawn now pressed against him like molten lead. Sweat carved tracks through the dust on his face, each drop hissing when it struck the crystal-strewn ground.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡflEWpNMy5d
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGhdpeCjALc
The violet formations drank in the blazing light, their surfaces shifting from dull purple to eye-searing brilliance. The gentle hum that had lulled him to sleep now thrummed through his skeleton, each pulse rattling his teeth.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAkhHyhmMhH
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5dpxf27Cq4
Cel raised his arm to shield his eyes, squinting through the gaps between his fingers. The maze had become a furnace of living glass, every surface a mirror that threw the suns' fury back at him from impossible angles.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOlvFZOI5Nz
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDvoWYRDPU
The corridors twisted like the intestines of some crystalline beast. Dead ends forced him to retrace burning steps. Wrong turns led to enclosed spaces where the heat concentrated until the air wavered like water. Each mistake cost him time he couldn't afford - and in this place, he couldn't even be sure his mistakes were truly mistakes. The maze might be leading him exactly where it wanted him to go.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu7P5wqkZWK
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvUXCpPW2Tz
But it wasn't the heat that broke him first.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkaertHtItw
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YaRFOhAOx
The humming rose like a tide, climbing from vibration to sound to something that bypassed his ears entirely. It seized his ribs, shaking them like a prisoner rattling bars. His vision fractured at the edges. The world took on a stuttering, stop-motion quality as the resonance pounded through his skull.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Rll4I2sO8
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe87QklVEPK
Cel clapped his hands over his ears. Useless.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡku1FOnaRJO
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9mJnEXd5Sc
‘Keep moving.’ The thought felt distant, muffled by the wall of noise. ‘Just keep—’41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKhUQ6lJ0P
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHoNYlFGliV
His foot came down wrong on a crystal shard. The razor edge parted his skin like paper, sending fresh blood to join the dried streams on his legs. But he barely registered the pain against the symphony of agony already consuming him.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJxUiM2gpkq
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLQCZOKxaXb
The suns reached their zenith.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Vzm4RxjEP
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyd57dgRWIM
Light exploded from every surface in a cascade of liquid fire. The maze became a cathedral of blazing glass, beautiful and deadly as a star gone nova. Cel's tears evaporated even before they could fall, his eyes burning in their sockets as he stumbled forward half-blind.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQXLZNkmMI3
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSHoCUDyPTY
Each breath scorched his throat raw. His lips cracked and bled. The air tasted of copper and sulfur, thick as soup in his lungs.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡocvadeAoOH
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMGegT4fctn
The roar in his skull climbed higher, no longer sound but pure sensation. His head felt ready to split like heated metal. Something warm and wet traced a path down his cheek.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtuxjZClkeq
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2mMuYoA7k7
Cel touched his ear with trembling fingers. When he pulled them away, bright red blood coated his fingertips.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgInojrplxS
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2b0755PE81
‘I have to—’ The thought shattered under another wave of resonance. His knees buckled, sending him crashing against a crystal wall. The surface seared his palm like a brand, raising blisters that popped and wept immediately.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrMO6UhdMY6
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY3ERimEG9E
He jerked back with a strangled cry, cradling his burned hand against his chest.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ7cRk73V4Z
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZVLn5d3Ux
His legs felt like liquid stone. Each step required conscious will, conscious effort not to simply collapse and let the maze claim him. The spire wavered in his heat-blurred vision as dark spots danced at the edges of his sight. 41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8tFWZCN5zc
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1vGujVTahS
A corner. Another dead end. But when he turned around, the passage he'd just come from had changed - wider now, with alcoves that definitely hadn't been there moments before. Frustration tore from his throat in a raw scream, swallowed instantly by the crystal chorus.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9iHlFj9vp
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGPliVPIEL0
Cel dropped to one knee, his vision spinning violently. Nausea churned in his stomach. The world tilted sideways, reality becoming negotiable under the assault of heat, sound and blinding light.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJF7aSEIDPR
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡByMWU5Mp8d
"I can't..." The words dissolved before they fully formed. "I can't..."1234 copyright protection37ＰＥＮＡＮＡyqi1969uxN 尼

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