His father's fist connected with his jaw. Blood sprayed across marble floors. His mother stood frozen, one hand pressed to her mouth, tears streaming down her face but feet rooted to the ground.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEIX9qJdJBb
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"Weak!" Another blow. "Pathetic!" The voice thundered through the dining hall.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEHDvMrc5As
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Cel tried to speak, to beg, but his father's hands were already at his back, nails digging into divine flesh, tearing away the Moon Goddess's mark—119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdC7HlQjtis
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His eyes snapped open.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSi34pPKEH7
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Ash-covered stone ceiling. Broken walls. The hollow silence of the Ashlands pressing in from all sides.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuEIPCQIE4q
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His chest heaved, breath coming in short gasps. The nightmare clung to him like oil, coating his thoughts with remembered pain.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsqgPt52Iex
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"You're awake."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQOLNVzvhNv
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Cel's body jerked, his left hand instinctively reaching for Silent Moon before his mind caught up. The weapon materialized halfway before he registered the speaker.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpjom5PQTWD
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Raven knelt beside him, one hand extended toward Cel's torso. Something dark and viscous coated his fingers - a sticky black mass that glistened faintly in the dim light filtering through the ruins.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDTHIgQXmuv
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"Don't move," Raven said, his tone flat.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlMWImcKShn
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Cel's gaze dropped to his own chest. His armor had been partially removed - the mantle and cloak set aside, the tunic pulled up to expose his ribs where the Ashlurker's claws had torn through flesh.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJrDLlkl6v
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The black substance covered the wounds in thick layers. It didn't smell like anything Cel recognized. Not medicinal herbs, not the acrid burn of cauterization. Just... earthy. Ancient, somehow.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIikRziMJF
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"What is that?" His voice came out rougher than intended.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX47cBiyM1R
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"Medicine." Raven's fingers worked with practiced efficiency, spreading more of the substance across a particularly deep gash. "Found it growing in the darker places. Don't know what it's called. But it works."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYVyKTQpqqU
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The matter-of-fact delivery was oddly reassuring - proof that survival was possible even here. 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC7TpwFIpJy
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"How long was I—"119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgU0wknhNcM
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"A few hours. Maybe less." Raven's crimson eyes flicked to Cel's face, assessing. "You talk in your sleep."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRHXJ4890mA
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Cel's jaw tightened. "What did I say?"119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJD9aZKFCp
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"Nothing clear." A pause as Raven applied more of the black substance to the wounds on Cel's shoulder. "Sounded like it wasn’t a pleasant dream."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0NoFDqhtUa
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Cel looked away, focusing on the creature's corpse still coiled a few steps away.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNFtfwaJ0dE
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"Your wounds looked worse than they are," Raven continued, his tone unchanged. "Bled a lot. But the cuts weren't deep enough to do real damage. You got lucky."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYG3z6eyEdB
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"Didn't feel lucky."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE9M5wA8ku6
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"Luck isn't about feeling." Raven sat back on his heels, examining his work. "You survived. That's what matters."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWDEo3PdQF6
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Cel's gaze tracked to his own body, really looking at it for the first time since the fight. The wounds were there - angry red lines where claws had opened flesh, burns from the worm's molten breath. But Raven was right. Nothing had been torn away. No exposed bone. No organs punctured.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxYlP8IWfSA
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The burns on his left arm, which should have charred muscle down to bone, showed only reddened skin beneath the black coating.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQHHDSsO031
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"Your body's good," Raven said, following Cel's gaze. "Even for a Chosen."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9aQjjg7CU
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Although it was not his own accomplishment, a kind of satisfaction settled in Cel's chest. The Moon Goddess had forged him this body - a body that could apparently endure more than he'd given it credit for.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7XEULuv4Np
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His gaze drifted to Raven's eyes. Crimson iris against black where white should be.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv6Oq1QuJSQ
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The question burned in his throat before he could stop it. "Your eyes. What happened to them?"119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR4nNZeppgr
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Raven froze.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaM2AIP2nhh
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The reaction was subtle - just a momentary stillness in his movements, a fractional widening of those red eyes. 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUc1uHV2ApA
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"What?" The single word carried genuine confusion.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEYSPjTFClz
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Cel's jaw set. "The black. Where white should be. What caused it?"119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8AvdGLZOlP
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For a long moment, Raven simply stared at him. The silence stretched, heavy with something Cel couldn't name.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDvljCYPu1B
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Then Raven's expression shifted - not quite a frown, not quite suspicion. Something caught between the two.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5OLDKnPTg9
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"You really don't know?" The question came quiet, careful. "You can't... feel it?"119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAbE5Fjzryw
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"Feel what?"119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ066oZUf1gl
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Raven's eyes narrowed, studying Cel with an intensity that made his skin prickle. As if seeing him for the first time. As if everything that had come before had been surface observation and now Raven was actually looking.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡytsPWfOClN
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"The aura," Raven said finally, each word deliberate. "The wrongness. The disgust that comes off me like heat off stone."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzOr07KRSgk
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Cel blinked. "What are you talking about?"119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTI8uivdqdM
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Something flickered across Raven's face - too fast to identify, but there. Real emotion breaking through that carefully maintained neutrality.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2clOuAbvC
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"You seriously can't sense it." Not a question this time. A statement of dawning realization. "The corruption. The stain. The thing that marks me as—" He cut himself off abruptly.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fvRvNvcvO
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"Marks you as what?"119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrpsMuourR0
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Raven remained silent, his gaze locked on Cel's face as if searching for deception. Finding none seemed to disturb him more than anything else.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbS9u8ECAF1
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"Cursed," he said finally. The word dropped between them like a stone into still water. "I'm one of the Cursed."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvEFp6KdfX
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The declaration hit Cel like a physical blow.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZcmzyG33vw
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His breath caught. His body went rigid. Every childhood warning, every whispered story, every nightmare used to frighten disobedient children - all of it crashed through his mind at once.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJOUpAtfW8m
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'Behave, or you'll end up as a Cursed.'119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtXD8j2WSY
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The Cursed were the absolute bottom of society. Lower than slaves, lower than criminals. People - if they could still be called that - who bear marks of corruption - twisted flesh, cracked skin, signs that divine grace has left them forever.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡelEaFA6Gpn
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Cel had never met one before. No noble child did. The Cursed were exiled from civilization, driven into the wilderness or hunted down by Chosen who believed killing them earned them the favor of their god.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1BmwQjZLPe
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And now one stood before him, had been applying medicine to his wounds with practiced hands.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ScmoNw4pd
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The realization should have triggered fear. Should have sent Cel scrambling for Silent Moon, putting distance between himself and this corrupted thing wearing human skin.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIirTXzf39o
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But all he felt was... confusion.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaoS69xliAw
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"You helped me," Cel said slowly. "Even though you're—even though—"119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7DEUXeaJhY
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"Even though I'm supposed to be a monster?" Raven's lips twisted. "Shocking, isn't it?"119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbsx5JqUX7m
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The bitterness in those words cut deep. Cel had heard that same tone in his own voice, directed at his father, his family, everyone who'd judged him as worthless before casting him aside.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡId3Mf5qYGb
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"I don't understand," Cel admitted. "The stories say the Cursed are... wrong. Dangerous. That losing divine favor corrupts more than just the body."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7hRDrKtDJX
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"Stories tell a lot of things." Raven moved to the broken wall, his silhouette sharp against the gray light filtering through.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGim976pLdX
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"But the marks—the corruption—"119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1GviAz4mI
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"Are real." His jaw clenched. "But it doesn't make us monsters. Just... abandoned."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavdarGWuFk
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The word resonated in Cel's chest. Abandoned. He knew that feeling intimately - the crushing weight of being cast aside by those who should have protected you.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7k02uKSCQ6
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"How?" The question escaped before Cel could stop it. "How do people become Cursed?"119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Ix3ye2Dgy
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Raven's gaze grew distant. 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgjRyaaGOrS
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"Different ways."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw8vnXNcBbn
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The silence that followed made it clear - this topic was not open for discussion. Whatever had happened, whatever had led to Raven becoming Cursed, he had no intention of sharing.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCk39oWPKsU
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Cel recognized that wall. He'd built enough of his own.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6FqS0Ua8QA
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He shifted against the wall, trying to find a more comfortable position. The black medicine pulled at his skin where it had begun to dry.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6JaFmK9hJJ
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Raven's gaze fixed on him, those crimson eyes sharp. "You didn't."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyxiH6EHJBG
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"Didn't what?"119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnznwiYDwad
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"Didn’t know that I am a Cursed." Raven tilted his head slightly. 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5KKBd1grJl
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He moved closer, studying Cel with unsettling intensity. 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDXgpFg6afA
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"The aura alone should have told you. The wrongness. The revulsion. And Chosen feel it even stronger." He paused. "But you don't seem affected at all."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9MGPqTYge4
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'Shit.' Cel's mind raced. This was dangerous ground. If Raven realized he couldn't sense divine energy, it would expose a critical weakness - one that could get him killed.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxsgkn8K2CK
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"I'm just—" Cel forced his expression neutral. "I'm controlling it. The reaction."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyTpKCaaqU7
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The lie felt weak even as it left his mouth.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZscA4X4LWg
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Raven's eyes narrowed. "Really?"119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLQKT3nZfvM
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"Yes."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT6FexSqxqU
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"You're not even trying to maintain distance.” Raven's tone remained neutral, but pointed. "Most Chosen can barely stand being in the same room. Need space. Fresh air. Something to cut through the wrongness."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoerMvUoCGM
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Heat crawled up Cel's neck. His hands curled into fists.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7TPvBIqhMg
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"Maybe I'm just better at controlling my reactions than most."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKxvEIL8R7
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"Or maybe," Raven said slowly, "you can't sense it at all."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGkBGxI6b9
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The corner of his mouth twitched. "That's ridiculous."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP3KDxqI9pI
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"Is it?" Raven gestured to himself. "You asked what happened to my eyes. If you could sense the aura, you wouldn't need to ask. You'd know what I was the moment you saw me."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK1qWFcwQRe
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"I was just—I didn't want to assume—"119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcrAQK4imuq
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"You're a terrible liar." Something that might have been amusement flickered across Raven's face. 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1NKnZrJEjY
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Shame burned in Cel's chest. Even this - even the simple act of hiding his deficiency - was something he couldn't do properly.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡocWKwlMrDn
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"So what if I can't sense it?" The words came out sharper than intended. "It doesn't change anything."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4li01fZpNi
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"Doesn't it?" Raven's expression shifted, genuine curiosity replacing accusation. "Every human can sense the Cursed. It's not learned. Not trained. Just… part of what makes one human." He paused. "But you can't."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRfOZPmDBsF
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Cel looked away, fixing his gaze on the creature's corpse across the room. Anywhere but those crimson eyes that saw too much.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0KRVQmHE9J
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"What about Divine Energy?"119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5fSqzAwdHb
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"I can sense it," Cel answered quickly. Too quickly.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwY6YGf0byG
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“You should really work on your acting skills.” Raven's voice came quieter now. 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXLkUlHUUVv
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Cel's throat tightened. His hands clenched harder, nails digging into his palms.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwFCWj3mhiJ
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"It's pathetic, isn't it?" The words came out bitter. "A Chosen One who can't even sense the most basic thing every human has."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJyaHuie042
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"That's not the word I'd use."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv4Zp0Na5fT
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"Then what would you call it?"119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ37xfNx1gLJ
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"Impossible." Raven moved to lean against the opposite wall, his posture relaxing slightly. "You're blessed by the Moon Goddess. Can manifest divine artifacts. But can't sense the energy that powers them." He shook his head. "That shouldn't work."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6AfClym8Wz
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"But it does." Cel's jaw clenched. "Somehow."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIUv6kZd6A6
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"Yes. Somehow." Raven studied him with that unsettling intensity. 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7v39jXDeE6
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"Does this mean something's wrong with me?" Cel's voice came flat.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvB1t0Pqre2
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"I don't know.” Raven’s honesty was brutal. “I've never heard of a Chosen who couldn't sense Divine Energy. It should be impossible."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvFQNHfVT0z
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"Everything about me seems to be impossible lately."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Rpm9UhVqS
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Raven simply stared at him. Then he exhaled slowly - not quite a laugh, but close.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxiGxrWBJvj
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Silence pressed heavy between them.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQlsX7k1rJ
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Cel studied the young man before him - the exhaustion carved into his features, the way he held himself like someone perpetually ready for violence. A year alone in this nightmare. Hunted by monsters and abandoned by the divine.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4MZC51JtDW
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And yet he'd still helped a stranger. 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpKviVSmUNV
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"Why did you help me?" Cel asked finally. "Even though I'm a Chosen One. Even though most Chosen would hunt you."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡodCoU8Fuh1
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Raven was silent for a long moment, those crimson eyes unreadable.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyYyfXQS8fo
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"Because you looked at me and saw a person." His voice came quiet. Raw. "Not corruption to be destroyed. Not a threat to be eliminated. Just... another human trying to survive." He paused. "Not even my family did that."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuruoY3nSnH
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The honesty in those words struck deeper than any blade. A glimpse beneath the careful neutrality Raven maintained like armor.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmYGRq5fEc7
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Cel understood that loneliness. Had felt it himself beneath his father's rage while his mother and brother watched in silence - present but absent, seeing his suffering but not seeing him.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBMjUqfjOuW
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"I'm sorry," he said. "For what happened to you. For what you lost."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTucvtDsLDo
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"Don't be." Raven's expression hardened again. "Sorry doesn't change anything."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS6zHWe7q4d
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"No," Cel agreed. "It doesn't."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMn98J9skQq
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Another silence. But this one felt different. Less heavy. More like an understanding passing between two people who'd both been broken by circumstances beyond their control.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzF0kN9Vuq0
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"Your wounds will heal faster with the medicine," Raven said, breaking the quiet. "But you need rest. Let your body recover."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbZkA9y8Mdr
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Cel glanced down at the black substance coating his injuries.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKOttb4t49u
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"Thank you.”119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BV93LeINR
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Raven paused, looking back at him. For a moment, something almost like warmth crossed his features. Then it was gone, replaced by that familiar neutral mask.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡerfV576gf2
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"Rest," he said. "I'll keep watch."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLrcrZxZCE4
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Cel wanted to protest, but exhaustion pulled at him like an undertow. 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMRPwaGFq3D
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"Call me if something happens," he said instead.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6IRRRZP0ju
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Raven nodded once, moving to position himself near the entrance gap where he could see approaching threats.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCDky7ZWFyi
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Cel leaned back against the wall, feeling cool stone against his spine. His eyes tracked to where Raven stood silhouetted against the gray light beyond.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsXi1iiFZMW
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Cursed. Abandoned by the gods. Hunted by society. Marked with corruption. 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKA0dsN9c1
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Yet for the first time since entering this cursed realm, Cel felt something close to safety.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVAXBonrjgk
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Not because the danger had diminished.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDepjKCfpvO
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But because he was no longer facing it alone.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiujFhayx17
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'Maybe the gods make mistakes too.'1234 copyright protection115ＰＥＮＡＮＡpyfFKdRHl6 尼

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