The next morning arrived with pale light filtering through trees overhead. Mist clung to the ground in patches, slowly burning off as temperature rose. The clearing gradually came alive - students emerging from sleeping bags, packing gear with the practiced efficiency of people who’d done this before and would do it again tonight.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG3AORG6L6O
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Quiet conversation filled the space, punctuated by the rustle of fabric and the snap of bags being closed.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9Ba9uW7rg
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Hestia called the group leaders over one final time. Brief instructions, reminders about the evening meeting point, confirmation that everyone understood their responsibilities. Then she dismissed them with a gesture, and the clearing began emptying.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2F4WbbLUQ0
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The groups departed in different directions, spreading into the forest like water finding channels. Conversations faded. Footsteps disappeared into undergrowth. Within minutes, the clearing stood nearly empty except for Cel and Hestia.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdCINCYSUdg
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She turned without a word and started walking.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡID3gCVWGq7
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Just like that. 172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7G7eHyJV4N
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Cel shouldered his pack and followed.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ57yHz2U0x0
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He settled into position behind her, maintaining proper distance. Her pace was steady but faster than yesterday. Deliberately faster, he realized. Like she was trying to put distance between them without making it obvious.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkwEqhC2bYY
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The forest closed around them. Undergrowth thick enough that the path became more suggestion than actual clearing, forcing careful navigation around roots and low branches.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX1yE5KAIxW
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Cel’s legs adjusted automatically, maintaining the distance without effort. His enhanced body made matching her speed trivial, but the message behind the pace was clear enough.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDAV9aCjVQY
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‘Stay back.’172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpIMB2DzC8c
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The wine-red ribcage frame of her armor caught light as she moved, standing stark against black robes. 172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ09OUexVIhl
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Minutes accumulated. The only sounds were their footsteps, wind through leaves, and distant bird calls that echoed from branches they couldn’t see.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmLKjNtSxPA
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Cel’s thoughts circled through possible approaches. Should he apologize? Explain what he’d meant? Pretend nothing had happened and hope the awkwardness dissolved on its own?172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBkxYVOZj15
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His mouth opened. “Hestia, I—”172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD3oDodt470
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A sharp whistle cut through the morning air.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLk7J1hEHEM
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High and piercing, the sound sliced through wind, unmistakable in its urgency. One of the groups signaling for help.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVqfzJ78uOK
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Hestia’s head snapped toward the sound, body already shifting into combat readiness. Her hand moved to where her weapon would manifest, crimson eyes sharp and assessing.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLibLUPnnib
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Then she was moving. 172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQEIWzAVO4
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Cel followed without hesitation, whatever he’d been about to say forgotten in the immediate need to reach for whoever had called for help.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0SOlLnr5gT
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The forest blurred past. His enhanced body carried him forward, catching up despite her head start. Silent Moon materialized in his grip, violet steel catching scattered sunlight as trees blurred past.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2c4kJTaaM3
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Hestia ran with the kind of precision that came from years of training. Her path through the forest wasn’t the straightest line but the fastest - choosing gaps between trees, avoiding thick undergrowth, taking advantage of clear ground wherever it appeared.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvGvRHhYEhv
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Cel followed her route. Let her pathfinding do the work while he focused on maintaining speed.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDBLQChpKV
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Voices emerged ahead. Multiple people talking at once, excitement threading through their words.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ7Rg7xXi5I
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Hestia slowed, her run dropping to a fast walk as she approached. Cel matched her pace, Silent Moon still manifested but lowered to a less aggressive position.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡndokJR8NYV
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The scene resolved itself gradually through the trees.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSTc1tzlSmf
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Theron stood in the center of a small clearing, brown hair slightly disheveled, his armor gleaming in patches of sunlight that penetrated the canopy. Around him, his group maintained their usual formation - Sylvaine with her composed neutrality, Owen’s massive frame taking up space like carved stone, Cordelia’s light blue hair catching light as she moved, Percival looking alert and ready despite the apparent lack of immediate threat.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRdvYhIdiCX
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Around Theron’s group, a cluster of commoner students stood watching. Five of them total, recognizable as one of the groups Hestia had assigned during the first day. Their expressions carried a mixture of relief and open admiration, gazes fixed on Theron like he’d just performed some kind of miracle.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8heffUG7P
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And on the ground between the two groups lay a creature.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUOhxws0t9T
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Small. Perhaps the size of a large dog. Its body twisted at an angle that suggested violence rather than natural death, fur matted with blood that had already begun seeping into the earth beneath it. 172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVUb7VWrAQu
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Dead, obviously. Very dead.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8RHeNriSaK
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Hestia and Cel approached more slowly now, footsteps crunching against fallen leaves. Heads turned, noticing their arrival. The commoner students’ expressions shifted from awe to something more complicated when they saw Hestia.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxjGPVsyQDV
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“What happened?” Her voice cut through the ambient noise with clinical precision.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS1KFFcDpgo
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Theron turned toward her, his earnest face lighting up with recognition. “Hestia! And Celvian.” He gestured toward the dead creature. “We heard a whistle. I feared someone needed help, so we came as quickly as possible.”172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbWfu80ruIQ
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One of the commoner students - a group leader based on the whistle hanging from a cord around his neck - stepped forward and bowed slightly. “Lady Hestia, we encountered the creature near that fallen tree.” He pointed toward a massive trunk lying across part of the clearing, covered in moss. “It charged before we could retreat.”172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaNBO8pGpV0
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“Then Theron arrived,” another student added, voice carrying genuine gratitude. “He killed the creature before it could reach us. Saved all of us.”172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ28vzGTJz93
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Theron’s expression flickered through several emotions quickly - pride, pleasure, something that might have been embarrassment. He raised both hands in a gesture meant to deflect praise. “It was nothing. Really. Anyone would have done the same.”172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyktFtGGGzu
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“No, you really saved us,” the group leader said. Simple fact, delivered with gratitude that bordered on reverence.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwsyFdX1G7j
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“You don’t need to worry,” Theron continued, addressing him directly. “If you encounter danger again, simply blow your whistle. I’ll come as fast as possible then. That’s what we’re here for - to help each other, right?”172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0dVbTl5vFt
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The commoner students nodded, several voicing agreement and thanks.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ryePOszfc
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Sylvaine touched Theron’s arm lightly. A wordless signal that penetrated his basking in their gratitude. He blinked, awareness returning to more immediate concerns.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡouC7PDRTDu
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“Right. We should continue our route.” Theron looked at his group, confirming their readiness with quick glances. “Stay safe, everyone. Remember - we’re all in this together.”172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcbLdjIWyah
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Then his group departed, moving back into the forest with the practiced efficiency of people who’d traveled together before. Theron led the way, his posture still carrying that slight extra straightness from having helped someone.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMUiBXLer31
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Silence settled over the clearing again.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoeVpdut3a9
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Cel stood at the clearing’s edge, thoughts organizing themselves into uncomfortable clarity.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYp3TcpUL5A
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His task - the mission the Reckoning had assigned him - was to protect the students during this examination. Keep them alive through two months of travel across territory where rifts could open without warning and creatures hunted anything that moved.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB1R25RmbX1
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He’d spent weeks worrying about how to accomplish that. How to stay close enough to help without revealing his true capabilities. How to prevent deaths while maintaining his cover identity as a mediocre commoner student.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7xPd1Et0vx
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But standing here, watching commoner students discuss Theron’s heroism with genuine awe, a different picture emerged.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7AmrPUWgwK
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The task was easier than he’d expected.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs4wh2bVS5C
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Much easier.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMfAe2QP8XA
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Hestia had organized the students into groups with careful attention to capability distribution. Had created a whistle system for signaling threats. Had positioned Cel to her so that he could respond quickly to any location that called for help. And whether she’d intended it or not, that organization served Cel’s purposes perfectly.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUsW3lexclA
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If he’d been assigned to a single group, protecting everyone else would have been nearly impossible. 172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWwdQruZJse
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She’d inadvertently given him exactly what he needed to fulfill his mission.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT0dPEaeuzl
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And then there was Theron.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡientqCusNx
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The naive fool with more power than sense. With a ridiculous desire to help anyone who needed help. 172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0pF9Llcbz
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There was something about him that grated - had grated since the first time they'd met, if Cel was being honest with himself. 172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ0lNmGKbCH
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What did the gods see in someone like that?172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUCvuu1KCIU
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Did they choose him because he was good? Because he meant well? Because his heart was pure? What kind of nonsense justified divine favor?172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfICBfHtQ0K
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It seemed arbitrary. Unfair, even. 172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrDXIzPuawX
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But standing in this clearing, watching commoner students whose lives Theron had just saved, Cel had to acknowledge something uncomfortable.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJe3jjudAxK
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Theron’s foolishness was useful.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIIO9VSNFfO
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Hestia’s system provided structure and coordination. Theron’s interference provided overwhelming force at points of crisis.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdSTPG7LGth
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Cel’s role in all this had become secondary.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvQyvGIOzka
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The realization settled over him with unexpected relief. Not that his task was unnecessary - creatures could still kill, accidents could still happen, situations could deteriorate faster than help could arrive. But the crushing weight of impossible responsibility had eased slightly.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx6gtTL1QuU
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He didn’t have to do it alone.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4nU8v9RK45
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Heyho, Auhtor here!
On the 6th of September, we celebrated the anniversary of Lunar Legacy on the discord 🎉
And I have to say, I'm really proud of myself for this one. Staying committed to something for a longer period of time - keeping the motivation up - is very hard. And the motivation I've had comes from you. So believe me when I say: every comment, every bit of engagement, every "thank you" does something.
As a thank you, I promised you something good (that also pains me a lot xD). So here it is: A **40% discount for all subscriptions** in my shop with the **promo-code "MOON1YEAR"**! So if you've been on the fence about giving it a try, now's the time to read more chapters. And don't worry, this discount will run for a full month, so everyone has the chance to use it.
To the shop --> https://celastos-shop.fourthwall.com/
I'm also picking the flow of artworks back up. Here's a new official artwork of Sylvaine Grovethorn: https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc9BOaTjBXy/?stkn=dmc2b2RqOHplaHc1
And if you haven't seen the official trailer of Lunar Legacy from back then, it's still well worth a watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_BGC-Jc__Q
I'm incredibly happy with the story and where it stands today due to your support. I look forward to continue the Legacy of my story to even greater hights ❤️
ns216.73.216.136da2
and then Add to home screen.