Thundersnow. Rare in Lumière and all the more ominous for it.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnnto0rlJ1H
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Snowflakes drifted down in glittering waves. Every few minutes a jagged bolt of lightning tore through the often sky.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUKiwNDp0di
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Austin clenched his teeth to keep them from chattering. His black coat had kept him warm back when he’d still been a Weaver, but now he only had companionship to heat himself with.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKM250G2QuW
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He and Elliot were running out of options. The weather worsened by the hour, and the jaws of the two warring factions kept closing around them like a trap27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHgATJyjtOL
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“I think we’re just about done, mate,” Elliot muttered. “Let’s find somethin’ hot to drink before I freeze."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEqQw4sgxya
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Austin nodded, and acid reflux rose in his throat. He hated feeling this helpless, and the heartburn only made him bitter.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPVVvzY1LFk
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The Conifer was tucked into the centre of Lumière, an enclave of warmth within the freezing streets. Inside, the air was thick with the comforting scent of freshly roasted coffee.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmmKjFQ9u5J
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“Pot o’ tea, please,” Elliot said to the tall, willowy waitress, snow still melting in his messy hair.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZiSKeN7NT
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"Sure,” she said, giving their pale appearances a sympathetic glance.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHQrOjRHAu
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Someone was dragging a chair across the floor toward them. Austin bristled, ready for another Ozic to attack them, when the stranger lifted his head and he recognised Sol.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYMlniZgmM
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“Fancy seeing you two here,” Sol said, settling into the chair with a tired smile.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4m1qOnEz2A
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“Where’s Oriole?” Elliot asked wearily. “Ya were meant to b—”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8MkAvxFcoR
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“Here!” Oriole chirped, sliding into a fourth chair as though the storm outside didn’t exist.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡugW2vfi0WY
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Austin blinked at her sudden appearance, unsure how to even begin processing it. Oriole being in a random café did not compute.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGbNjyFIwyR
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“Have you seen Valerius?” Austin asked, the question slipping out before he could stop it. A stupid one; the ruthless Senior Surgeon must have found them by then.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb1qTMMwhhK
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Oriole rolled her eyes, completely unfazed. “Yes. I told him to go away. He wasn’t worth the headache."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw09yfo40KU
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And he just…left?” Elliot stammered, staring at her as if she’d grown wings and a halo.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCLiwy9Tyjp
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“I might have suggested he’d make a fine next Proctor,” she said with a coy smirk. “Which, of course, was a complete lie.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6oAywg0tWo
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“And I reminded my younger brother about the weeping lilacs whispering about bleeding walls, and how expensive it was to shut them up,” Sol said, lost in a disturbing memory that still bothered him.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAj7XGooyTQ
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For a moment, the world was filled with the murmur of the café: content conversations, clinking porcelain, the hiss of steaming milk.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiyi5kTdWWA
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"Where do we go?” Oriole finally asked, twisting a strand of hair between her fingers.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxzoDvR84XE
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Who are the most traumatised people in Lumière who aren’t tied to the Ozics?” Austin asked, thinking out loud.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgtoZwRDsss
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“The homeless?” Sol suggested. “There’s plenty nearby.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTEZuLWuVic
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“Yeah,” Austin said quietly. “If anyone needs the third way, it’s the least fortunate. Let’s go.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr68h60kQYU
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Outside the Conifer, something far heavier than the scent of coffee hung in the air. Trouble had arrived. 27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF17fqao4rf
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City Guardians patrolled every corner, their plum uniforms and brass buttons flashing in the stormlight. Unlike the Grey-Coats, their presence felt grounding, almost comforting. The sheer number of them concerned Austin, 27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtrYYWxO7ha
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at something serious.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiLqM7jKtf8
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Tranq coats,” Elliot said fondly, almost relieved. “Haven’t seen this many since the previous mayor smashed the Pax gangs; not great for business."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIHclQcpvH
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The calming presence of Lumière's bona fide peacekeeping force was offset by the harsh crackle of the loudspeakers.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCLbddnwlq7
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Citizens,” a stern male voice boomed through the loudspeakers. “As acting-mayor, I, Russel Leit, will not permit the conflict between the Keloidic Authority and the Ozic Society to ravage our streets any longer.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJ9kBaLJxv
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Austin perked up. He had voted for the Deputy Mayor, and Leit had only continued to impress him since.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6yPQIZBv8k
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The announcement continued, the voice becoming sharper:27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdBlnNTVu5K
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“As of this moment, the organisation is stripped of all legal protections and declared a rogue asset. The City Guardians are authorised to intervene against both factions. That is all.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMKxphcWCxl
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A cheer surged through the street. A heavily scarred man thrust his fist into the air and roared, “Down with the Authority!”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0dmiua5w3
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Do you see her?” Oriole whispered, gesturing toward an elderly woman slumped against the butcher’s wall, fresh Somatic Scars glowing faintly across her skin.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4uk2FeV1j5
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Austin turned, taking in the trembling shape of the homeless old woman.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEqRf3SiPgd
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“Austin… can we help her?” Oriole asked, her expressive eyes begging him to say yes.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm9c3ouzb91
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“Let’s find out,” he said quietly, and the four of them approached her through the falling snow. Thunder boomed across the city, startling citizens passing by.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAD1Hw8RK2T
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“Oh… hello, dearest,” the woman said, looking up at Oriole with a distrustful gaze. Up close, the green, spidery cracks of her Somatic Scars were visible across her hands and neck.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTbKdSGbXlc
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"Hello,” Oriole said tenderly. “We’ve found a gentle way to ease those scars.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHe8TAyX8KY
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“Oh?” the woman breathed, unsure whether to believe them. It was difficult to blame her; the27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJ8Lsscx0N
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The only other 'help' available was the cruel methods of the Keloidic Authority.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDeoeFEcESp
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We call it the third way,” Austin told the old woman. “It asks you to make peace with the memory. And I’ll guide you through it.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3pxPjk36zE
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Austin didn’t hesitate. He Pulled.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbaM1KlYwIm
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Grey-Coats kicking him out of boredom. Hunger. A broken family. No work. Cheap booze. A knife in the dark. 27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJmtNCKQwCw
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"It’s alright,” Austin gasped. “Did you hear the announcement? Things are changing.” A sharp ache pulsed behind his eyes.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf1XyKvqDLJ
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“Yes,” the woman whispered, her milky eyes filling with tears as she noticed the Somatic Scars begin to fade.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNBto2j2UVs
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“It… it worked,” she whispered. “Thank you. Oh, thank you.” Her voice shook with disbelief.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0zIfvuU36H
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They helped others. Everywhere they went, Somatic Scars dissolved, fear turned to relief, and word of the Third Way spread across Lumière like wildfire.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGQDVb2hirU
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Then the Authority descended en masse. Austin saw Grey-Coats in their guniforms, Surgeons with their brutal spikes, and even Valerius himself at their head. They collided with the raging Ozic Torches in an eruption of shouts, smoke, and smaller acts of violence. The Spark's voice sliced through the air, shrieking orders with manic intensity. Whatever melancholy she had carried beneath the Echo Club had been seared away completely.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZpNtJrERSa
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Soon the City Guardians swept into the fray, their plum coats standing out as they swarmed the battling factions. Austin, Elliot, Sol, and Oriole noticed none of it. They were too busy teaching the Third Way to anyone who listened.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLvuSHf8izw
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Word of the Third Way raced across Lumière. One by one, people felt their Somatic Scars quiet, their memories soften. Each new believer turned to Austin Middle's group along with acting-mayor Russel Leit with hope shining within them.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcdGtUclYEj
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They divided the city among themselves. Sol moved through the commercial district, Elliot wandered the Shallows, and Austin and Oriole swept the inner city.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpiE8wPDHkE
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Everything was going well. Then a massive shadow swallowed the light above them, and Oriole let out a startled squeak of terror.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBEM9lC0KVp
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A vast figure stood behind them. Bastion. The Proctor’s colossal bodyguard.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoKARhkJSaL
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“Found you,” he growled, the sound rumbling from deep inside him.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvpAcwoq7Uz
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“So you did,” Austin said calmly. “If you meant harm, we’d already be squished.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDrMfpOLLcV
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Middle has grown wiser, sir,” Bastion rumbled, almost approvingly.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAgiArIik4w
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Austin heard it first: a dragging scrape, then a shaky tap on the pavement. Proctor Seele was limping toward them, every step a struggle.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5hRxcdYeMz
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The old man looked like death. His lips were split and bloody, hanging slack, and each breath escaped as a desperate, sucking rattle lost in the snow.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8UfB2nD0VS
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He clutched a radio in a brittle, pale hand.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv9XPg2TOux
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A harsh beep cut through the cold. “Sir,” Valerius’s voice crackled through the speaker, “Leit’s forces are pushing us back. The Spark is dead.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUmnWKxDzS
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“I… I need you to… h-hold them… off,” Seele rasped, each word bubbling painfully in his throat.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUJ8AFvCLju
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"Affirmative,” came the leading Surgeon's clipped reply.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ35Kzk7Wi3X
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He slipped the radio back into a damp pocket. Aneurin Seele looked up, passion burning in his fever-bright eyes as saline tears traced down his cheeks. He moved toward his only child in slow, painful steps.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDJvWZAbyRM
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He wheezed one word. “Oriole…” The sound seemed to hang in the cold air for an unusually long time.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡduthAnz0Wr
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"Father, you don’t look well,” she said, concern etched on her face. The Bird seemed wary, ready to take flight at the slightest movement.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBX23q4xp6
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Aneurin Seele chuckled darkly. “How… how very observant,” he joked, though the effort strained his immensely frail body. His face soon shifted, the yoke of grave concern falling over it.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXTMuYHbsgo
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“My… c-c-condition is terminal. I… I’ll be dead by the end of the month. I wanted… to see y-you one last time,” he said, tears welling in his eyes.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡggRRkNjdl0
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Oriole embraced her father gently, holding him as if letting go wasn't an option. Tears streamed down her face.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX3xQK4TPfp
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Once he was free, the Proctor turned his attention to Austin. "Take...care of her." He pleaded.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESVXvyGc8g
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"I will." The harsh glare Austin had been directing at Seele softened a bit.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUkuQx8E7uY
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The massive Grey-Coat dropped to one knee, producing a slender vial of sickly yellow fluid. It resembled Tranq a bit. Perhaps it was.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKiJxCaZooG
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"Sir,” Bastion intoned, his massive frame unmoving, “an end to your pain awaits whenever you choose."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡErDOOHdIxN
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You’re going t—” Austin said in astonishment. The architect of the system was going to destroy himself with his own creation.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWwB3qpHS8
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“Y-yes,” he gasped. "The Tartrazine...was prepared in advance. My d-d-death is long overdue."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzdJDUZ8eVa
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The black car arrived like a lynx,27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS4ebc24CYT
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silent on the snow-covered street. Bastion steadied the Proctor, lifting him carefully into the vehicle. Oriole reached out tentatively.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbzlA17gM0b
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Soon, the Authority would be dead with its founder. The Scar-Ceiling would be repealed very soon. The Ozics, leaderless and scattered, had no choice but to accept stiff penalties.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1HLnUFtbaG
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The purified had no souls, they cannot be saved. They will go the way of Aneurin, a sip of yellow death and nothing more. The high-ranking Authority personnel had a lot of atonement to do.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPjwHP6iH6z
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And so, the Third Way had begun.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqGd3VltEb
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Twenty years later, the Lumière Psychiatric Hospital had been running successfully for a decade under Administrator Middle. Cato nodded respectfully as he passed on his way to the University.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6V60bvtjI
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The hospital had worked miracles, addressing the deep trauma the city had experienced for four decades. The term 'Keloidic' now carried a new meaning: healing that could harm, a warning from the past. 27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2hgAaOQU8i
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He looked much like his father: unassuming, almost forgettable at first glance. But Cato Middle carried the weight of his family’s ideals, a quiet heir to the Third Way. A rejection of both erasing and hiding problems.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbSK6ZPPwOL
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A familiar, dusty building brimming with books and youthful energy greeted him. His mother worked here, among the knowledge and learning27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78j2sQx7FQ
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Cato found his place among the students. Professor Oriole Middle, poised and radiant, smiled up at him. That single gesture carried all the hope for a better future, and her wish for her son to be a part of it.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMVTO7BoPPr
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She began her lecture. “The Somatic Scar IS a metaphor..."1234 copyright protection23ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5RtvwomRD2 尼

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