"Hey trash."69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKXeEuPbzDS
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu7KM2Lh6Un
Cel's hands stilled on his fork.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Mvw4VaOT6
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Kyros Solgrand stood at the end of their table, flanked by two other Sun Clan nobles. His fire-red hair caught the lamplight, amber eyes bright with something cruel.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcv3pya30q7
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"I couldn't help but notice." He gestured at their uniforms, at the crescent moon embroidered over the heart. "You're Moon Chosen."69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY8nZiyRbGW
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Lior went rigid beside Cel. His fork clattered against his plate, the sound sharp in the sudden quiet that had fallen over nearby tables. His shoulders hunched inward as if trying to make himself smaller.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI0xlDgyVDF
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"Yes." Cel kept his voice neutral. 69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVkQg4PtSn7
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Kyros's smile widened. "How... unfortunate."69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz01DSw5wD0
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He moved closer, circling their table like a predator assessing prey. His companions remained at the end, blocking ways.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOLTBzii9zN
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"The Moon Goddess." Kyros spoke loud enough that nearby conversations died, students turning to watch. "The weakest deity. The forgotten one. The goddess who can't even maintain a single Great Clan."69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHdgVXzow1L
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His hand landed on Cel's shoulder - fingers digging in.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN865O5Lbs7
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"Must be hard, knowing you'll never amount to anything. That your blessing is worthless."69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcblMeAXqBF
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Lior's hands had curled into fists beneath the table. His breathing quickened.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3MJK41wyLa
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Cel forced his muscles to relax. Forced his jaw to unclench.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ385hyaUUiU
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"We serve who chose us," he said quietly.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdmAmzW9trp
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"Do you?" Kyros leaned closer, breath hot against Cel's ear. "Or do you just accept your pathetic fate because you're too weak to demand better?"69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfvONpuUi6X
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The rage that had been simmering since Kyros appeared flared brighter. Cel's vision tunneled. His hands trembled with the effort of keeping them still.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn7E8B1u1Ft
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He could break Kyros's nose. Right now. One strike, perfectly placed, and the smug bastard would be choking on his own blood.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkBfJ2fUra
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But if a commoner struck a noble - even in self-defense - the punishment was severe. Imprisonment. Public humiliation. In some cases even execution. The Empire's laws protected nobility with brutal efficiency, and the Academy wouldn't shield him from those consequences.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3NbQyKzLrQ
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The unspoken truth was obvious - nobles operated under different standards. Not just in sparring. In everything. They could strike commoners with minimal repercussions. But the reverse? That was a crime against the social order itself.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBasSxamjV3
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So Cel just sat there. Took it. Let Kyros's words wash over him like rain.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0uvlqUz39X
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgY9fk3WcgJ
"Nothing to say?" Kyros squeezed harder, nails digging through fabric. "That's what I thought. Moon Chosen are always like that. Weak. Pathetic."69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsw9FBKXOsf
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He released his grip and straightened, turning to address the watching students.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZv8d8aeaey
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"Remember this, everyone. What do you call Chosen of the weakest goddess?" He paused, smile widening. "Trash. Nothing but blessed trash."69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaAyzB8nGb8
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Laughter rippled through some of the tables. Not all - several looked uncomfortable. But enough that Kyros's smile grew.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡempjo6DJ0v
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He walked away, his companions following. Their laughter echoed across the dining hall.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrvVUfxCrlZ
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Cel's hands were shaking. He pressed them flat against the table, fingers splayed wide.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcivKw7qyIG
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Lior simply stared down at his plate, paralyzed by what just happened.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2gSmmzcsnM
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Eventually, he excused himself. Exhaustion lined his features, shoulders slumped with the weight of the day.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVp6rWZwih
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Cel remained. He finished his meal in silence. The dining hall's energy had shifted - conversations more subdued now, glances occasionally drifting toward his isolated corner.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqTY3IeCVAb
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He ate mechanically, tasting nothing. His mind replayed the confrontation over and over. Each word. Each laugh. The feeling of Kyros's fingers digging into his shoulder like he had every right to do so.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB2z5CJhrMB
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When his plate was empty, Cel stood and left.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡePZdmJ1TMO
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Hours later, the training grounds lay silent beneath moonlight.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1WKAfN71sy
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Cel crossed the threshold, boots crunching against packed earth. Empty weapon racks. Archery targets standing like sentinels. The space felt vast without other students filling it.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGBPmvqaXR
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He shrugged off his upper uniform like always, letting it fall to the ground beside him. The night air was cold against his skin, but Lunar Vigor flooded through him under the moon's light.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYBsRaLLOrL
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He moved to the center and stopped. Breathed. Let the day's accumulated tension settle in his muscles like coiled springs.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBajqtIdwFp
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Silent Moon materialized in his grip.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEXtFwRaHX0
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Then he moved.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeXmGbhHLUd
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The blade sang through air, cutting patterns driven by pure fury. He moved through the Chosen Legion forms he'd been practicing - each one executed with divine strength behind it, each one brutal in application.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWsthLnQLSb
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Hours blurred together.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWizu94NoKs
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Cel kept going.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0HyqWdz4R
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Until finally… the rage began to drain away. Not gone. Never truly gone. But manageable again. Locked back in whatever dark corner of his mind it usually inhabited.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIyEfM6NpUc
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The blade completed its arc. Cel's muscles burned, sweat cooling on his bare chest despite the chill—69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZFYdVycmA7
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Footsteps.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqCWSYTyPNM
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His body went rigid mid-stance. Silent Moon hung suspended in the air as he turned.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZcFE34Cj2N
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Lady Hestia Mortveil stood at the edge of the training grounds.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkkZjg3gAC2
69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGEOPwqzEL
The moonlight caught her jet-black hair, making it gleam like polished obsidian. Her crimson eyes studied him with an intensity that made his breath catch.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfwRj7rD1GR
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For a heartbeat, neither moved.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb67UCss0yS
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Then her gaze dropped. Lower. 69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI2lmMkbiyi
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Suddenly, Cel became very aware of the cold against his skin. Heat flooded his face. He dismissed Silent Moon with a thought and lunged for his discarded uniform, fumbling with the fabric as he yanked it over his head.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZ8i4bngXV
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"Lady Hestia." His voice came out rougher than intended. He straightened, adjusting his collar. "I apologize. I didn't realize the grounds were occupied."69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73KXWloLbq
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A beat of silence.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzgajkIoX6m
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"They weren't." Her tone was neutral, almost clinical. She walked past him toward the far side without another glance.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLpIkQavuGB
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Cel just stood there, uncertain. Should he leave? Continue?69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE1x7NqGAAT
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Hestia sank to the ground in a meditative pose. Her hands rested on her knees, palms upward. The night seemed to gather around her like a cloak, shadows deepening in her presence.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv1uXMT5udR
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She was replenishing her Divine Essence. It made sense - the Death God's domain aligned with darkness, with the stillness of night. Divine Essence recovered fastest when immersed in the right environment. Ocean Chosen would seek water. Moon Chosen would need moonlight. 69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMA1BwdaQi4
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Not that it mattered to him. There was no need to replenish one's Divine Essence when you had none.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyCSa8tim6j
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Cel re-summoned Silent Moon and returned to his forms.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHA9IZLuIw7
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The silence stretched between them, broken only by the whisper of his blade through air and the distant sound of wind through empty weapon racks.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW4iKWdF7kl
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Like that, the days blurred into routine.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw5eUGvOy3L
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Sparring matches carved the class into a predictable hierarchy. Nobles on top. Commoners below.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtuzfxBZV7a
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"Blessed trash."69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJgoeML9f9
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Kyros's voice cut across the courtyard. His hand shoved Lior's shoulder, sending him stumbling. Laughter from the other Sun Clan nobles.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg4i9bYMfbj
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Lior kept his eyes down. Cel's jaw clenched, but he said nothing. Took it. Like always.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡumjkig75we
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The confrontations came and went like weather - predictable, unavoidable. But something puzzled Cel about the nobles' behavior. In the tavern, the barkeeper had spoken of political factions regarding the throne’s succession. Yet here, they seemed unified. Cordial, even.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ89TQo5ge2m
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The reason for that was simple: Theron. 69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMMq7qZ4RGi
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He moved through them all like sunlight through water - effortless, warm. The nobles gravitated toward him naturally. Perhaps they'd all received the same instructions to cultivate the All-Blessed's favor. To leverage that connection later when the succession fight began in earnest.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1vjxFqlzq
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Sylvaine ensured the Life Clan maintained the closest position. Always at Theron's side, always visible, always reinforcing their clan's support.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4EDP5loP2m
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Only Hestia remained apart.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUB6OxMta1r
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She sat alone during meals, moved through training exercises in isolation. The other students kept their distance. Whether from the Death Clan's tainted reputation or simple wariness of Raven's sister, Cel couldn't say. 69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡagHDWgX7Fh
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Night fell.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbxBcKJQqMa
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Cel arrived at the training grounds first, as usual. He'd barely summoned Silent Moon when footsteps announced Hestia's arrival.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQqksU27RDO
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She crossed to her meditation spot without acknowledgment. Settled into stillness.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJQfk8ue9Lo
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Cel moved through his forms. The blade traced familiar patterns, his body flowing from one position to the next with increasing fluidity.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCUDWbhJoW
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An hour passed. Then another.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNcjEzQKAOj
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When Cel paused to catch his breath, he glanced toward Hestia's meditation spot. Over the past weeks, she'd been inching nearer. Subtle. Gradual. Never speaking. Never explaining.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn7M38bQbVn
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But close enough now that he could hear the faint rhythm of her breathing when the wind stilled. 69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX7XjkSPSJN
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Why? 69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1Y7UXG6xq
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The only connection between them was Raven. But she couldn't possibly know about his encounter with her brother. Couldn't know about his noble blood, his true identity. 69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrxa7aq9CEI
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All she could see was what everyone else saw - a commoner Moon Chosen with unusually developed muscles and no Divine Essence. He had explanations for both. Nothing remarkable. 69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAh7ZymYds8
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Yet she'd shown interest from the very beginning. From that first day, her crimson eyes had tracked him with an intensity that suggested she saw something others missed.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpWWiCp7YG2
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‘It couldn't possibly be my looks, right?’69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQel4OEYDfD
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Cel's next strike faltered slightly. His eyes cut toward her meditating form - jet-black hair spilling over pale shoulders, crimson eyes closed in concentration, the faint outline of her slender frame perfectly still despite the cold.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4OtyAWjlTe
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He shook his head and returned to the forms, pushing the ridiculous thought away. 69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyUk8YXnu4B
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Silent Moon whispered through the air, cutting patterns that had become as natural as breathing.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMFkwny5hyt
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The week wore on. Classes during the day, silent training at night. Hestia's presence became as constant as the moonlight itself - always there, always watching when she thought he wouldn't notice, always inching closer with each passing evening.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Bkht4PXcJ
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Whatever she wanted, she kept it to herself.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyXHvjgk4mv
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Morning light filtered through the dining hall's tall windows, painting the long tables in shades of gold and amber.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXMUWQ7XLVW
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Students clustered near the entrance, voices rising in excited chatter. Cel pushed through the crowd until he could see what held their attention.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7PGZyFf1Tb
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A board had been mounted on the wall during their off-day.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZp7GDd4wY
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Names filled it in descending order, each accompanied by a number. The rankings.69Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYSrppgD7V
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