18th September, 1829 BCE142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtWy5b4lEm
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The morning light spills into my room like melted gold. The air hums with the kind of excitement you can almost taste — laughter echoing from the courtyards, bells ringing in the distance, and the faint smell of sweet smoke drifting through the windows.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIKDMyaa4y9
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Outside, servants rush around hanging purple banners and garlands of blue lilies. Musicians tune their harps, and someone’s arguing about where to put the fireworks. The whole palace feels alive.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVOICpF3s6H
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It’s Witch’s Festival Day.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkkZtP90vXE
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I’ve never seen anything like it — at least, not that I remember. (Then again, my memory is a pretty suspicious blank, so that’s not saying much.)142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpOs0UPP6Pk
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Clara walks in without knocking — because of course she does — wearing a pale lavender gown and a perfectly practiced smile. “You should be getting ready,” she says. “The whole kingdom wants to see the princess returned.”142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlx2GM4mzHP
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“Returned from where exactly?” I ask, sitting up. “Kidnapping? The afterlife? A badly coded mobile game?”142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYnyNzWLheI
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Her smile flickers. “You really don’t remember anything, do you?”142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKNZKeWoExZ
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“Not a byte,” I say.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF7WF1XVp9z
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She sighs — that elegant, exhausted sigh people do when they’re trying not to strangle you. Then she sits beside me on the bed.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiNfUiRU2p7
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“Today’s the Witch’s Festival,” she says softly. “We celebrate the day the darkness ended.”142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDuxjpYL10S
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I tilt my head. “Okay, sounds uplifting. Continue.”142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQgrO60Olr0
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Clara folds her hands in her lap, eyes distant. “Long ago — centuries before us — there was a war between humans and demons. The Demon King, Diablo, rose from the abyss and declared the age of man over.”142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡohsoYcHcW7
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“Diablo,” I repeat. “Subtle name choice.”142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkdafMd1zBf
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She ignores me. “The world was drowning in chaos. Then came her — the Witch of Darkness. Some say she was human. Some say she wasn’t anything at all.”142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFITc6Vm79f
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“Sounds like the type to skip brunch invites,” I murmur.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx4S6zkiPeR
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Clara glances at me but continues, voice lowering. “She was powerful enough to rival gods themselves. And yet… she chose to end it. She sacrificed her soul to seal Diablo forever. The war ended, but so did she.”142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLvoygjMKRC
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There’s a beat of silence. The air feels heavier somehow.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx8INVu1aY0
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I lean back, pretending to be casual. “So… you throw a festival for a witch who died saving everyone?”142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKHXLMI9fug
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“Yes,” Clara says, looking toward the window. “To remember her. And to remind ourselves that even light can be born from darkness.”142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6DukBG1iZj
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Her tone softens, and for a second — just one — she looks genuinely sad.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlahsupW7VD
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Then it’s gone. The mask slips back into place.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh9CPfJtOLS
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“Get dressed, Ariana,” she says, standing up. “The people are waiting.”142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw9tuQZz5eM
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I watch her leave, the silk of her gown whispering against the floor.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5rPy287J0E
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The Witch of Darkness, huh?142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfNyeCcy1yf
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A sacrifice that ended a war.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwSqLQ7Jrj7
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I stare at my reflection in the mirror — at Ariana’s face — and a strange chill runs down my spine.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqRUIGX0fiM
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“Great,” I mutter. “History lesson with ominous foreshadowing. Love that.”1234 copyright protection138ＰＥＮＡＮＡO8ieL059jb 尼

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