"Hey trash."95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvZhk5C6qdo
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Cel's hands stilled on his fork.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRN1Iovtr14
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb0mj9jZdOc
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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."95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWuRLoUrhCb
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVLioJeqyUW
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"Yes." Cel kept his voice neutral. 95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZxYec0w6CA
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Kyros's smile widened. "How... unfortunate."95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6MSG0alUAP
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He moved closer, circling their table like a predator assessing prey. His companions remained at the end, blocking ways.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwX07SUBMPm
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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."95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYTig96RjS
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His hand landed on Cel's shoulder - fingers digging in.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV5ikj9q4nT
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"Must be hard, knowing you'll never amount to anything. That your blessing is worthless."95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmlzY9DP1XJ
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Lior's hands had curled into fists beneath the table. His breathing quickened.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaH5YMkiemp
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Cel forced his muscles to relax. Forced his jaw to unclench.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoGsqoFAvg
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"We serve who chose us," he said quietly.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWoOEyBrUgx
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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?"95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrXjFRb07K
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBge1ea3lgT
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh4oYMYbdkk
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA4PoaBDsvO
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT5xmxmwMlR
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So Cel just sat there. Took it. Let Kyros's words wash over him like rain.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsxuhXgT7xc
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"Nothing to say?" Kyros squeezed harder, nails digging through fabric. "That's what I thought. Moon Chosen are always like that. Weak. Pathetic."95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOfAae4sjEh
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He released his grip and straightened, turning to address the watching students.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3EwKWWCZd7
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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."95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgb42ZY3Ok
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Laughter rippled through some of the tables. Not all - several looked uncomfortable. But enough that Kyros's smile grew.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCfhNdOkRrq
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He walked away, his companions following. Their laughter echoed across the dining hall.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXbEX4UcgZH
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Cel's hands were shaking. He pressed them flat against the table, fingers splayed wide.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcd1M1Bzdrr
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Lior simply stared down at his plate, paralyzed by what just happened.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQkPvGjFOir
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Eventually, he excused himself. Exhaustion lined his features, shoulders slumped with the weight of the day.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡANIAtdnxBX
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYWle8bvVxI
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDNROF4ovI
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When his plate was empty, Cel stood and left.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zjeSdTd87
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Hours later, the training grounds lay silent beneath moonlight.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu8tLEnCWno
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1XLFbnLRXp
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7zesVjeLY
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaEHDsP6pLU
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Silent Moon materialized in his grip.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWDQ9OEwYM
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Then he moved.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyEa6LLiZ4Q
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCHmOvmk1xM
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Hours blurred together.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNkugjLUKdG
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Cel kept going.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNg1j23clpR
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwmltrS8nNe
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The blade completed its arc. Cel's muscles burned, sweat cooling on his bare chest despite the chill—95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP50gfISuBa
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Footsteps.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMGZp80lhRv
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His body went rigid mid-stance. Silent Moon hung suspended in the air as he turned.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiSridMNjvX
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Lady Hestia Mortveil stood at the edge of the training grounds.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0CqQoaallR
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ZWAJKRBhJ
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For a heartbeat, neither moved.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Zll8CcKUy
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Then her gaze dropped. Lower. 95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4v35fXdi1
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDf8peDBCsR
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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."95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhcXIheMZxW
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A beat of silence.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6rxHDoquFn
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"They weren't." Her tone was neutral, almost clinical. She walked past him toward the far side without another glance.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjly5vZSBYq
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Cel just stood there, uncertain. Should he leave? Continue?95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡroV66elRsU
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKKoEytMe2
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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. 95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwxkYD80GK
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Not that it mattered to him. There was no need to replenish one's Divine Essence when you had none.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSNw6y4WGcX
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Cel re-summoned Silent Moon and returned to his forms.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTtec0mxfS8
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWOIsPH13g7
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Like that, the days blurred into routine.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9o5p2NlHYE
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Sparring matches carved the class into a predictable hierarchy. Nobles on top. Commoners below.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY8gJqcK3Ds
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"Blessed trash."95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOPkSwByRUa
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2aikYEb09r
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Lior kept his eyes down. Cel's jaw clenched, but he said nothing. Took it. Like always.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKRCp7oH0MM
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8BfjI4RKDm
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The reason for that was simple: Theron. 95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbEhX9Dzc2u
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRYamavgtuP
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN8TsiDryik
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Only Hestia remained apart.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDLaCYXOSVG
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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. 95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMcWhwJ3q90
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Night fell.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfauJyFNKe
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZH74DSyWq5
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She crossed to her meditation spot without acknowledgment. Settled into stillness.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcW0MDa7VwT
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPngIQ0uhrC
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An hour passed. Then another.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpIAQjuCJC
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKTJxIvOcLY
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But close enough now that he could hear the faint rhythm of her breathing when the wind stilled. 95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQFdfuPLIAk
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Why? 95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmFSzd7CU8Z
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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. 95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJcDH0ZzH78
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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. 95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4sgRtgfxr
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlYNgtIQBhU
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‘It couldn't possibly be my looks, right?’95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsbsta8lnCJ
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqnY88b2KZn
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He shook his head and returned to the forms, pushing the ridiculous thought away. 95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKEg25KzyKs
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Silent Moon whispered through the air, cutting patterns that had become as natural as breathing.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1zRWxxbU4
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdfEP6k0SzS
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Whatever she wanted, she kept it to herself.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24jJQCkEeU
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Morning light filtered through the dining hall's tall windows, painting the long tables in shades of gold and amber.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTe52bm6tCa
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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.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDS8qOnqAu
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A board had been mounted on the wall during their off-day.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj4SkUjEOSj
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Names filled it in descending order, each accompanied by a number. The rankings.95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDmGaHx4DPm
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