18th September, 1829 BCE175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhQMsIegsmj
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa988PiW1JZ
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxdoFTDLAZA
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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp0JLY4SHB7
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡea6Y5ED0tK
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQo7968TnE
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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNgJAMshySS
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHNTf6RDg3u
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJk2PUxuwKA
It’s Witch’s Festival Day.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡewNw2V3oBN
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEjyCCRCXvZ
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlp23cZ24e3
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.)175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoZ5ocrX8p
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1n2BefOKnz
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwAHDJiry0
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.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGoZScTY7Br
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcuHrXk5Qrn
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr40bal7V2h
“Returned from where exactly?” I ask, sitting up. “Kidnapping? The afterlife? A badly coded mobile game?”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhPJXMPVs8i
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ11j3CDOLh4
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmd0Y0wHT9c
Her smile flickers. “You really don’t remember anything, do you?”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxWgvLCc5te
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡanfy7Cp3LU
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzREpdB2Q6m
“Not a byte,” I say.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyu9bS0m2qf
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvQQ1PLIhop
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOFygqdrA0X
She sighs — that elegant, exhausted sigh people do when they’re trying not to strangle you. Then she sits beside me on the bed.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN7PRf8l2V8
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡajoGtsjCgM
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTzO3rQjCCg
“Today’s the Witch’s Festival,” she says softly. “We celebrate the day the darkness ended.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuYBarAbCOH
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHzZlReWcGp
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjnMvXejq0q
I tilt my head. “Okay, sounds uplifting. Continue.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZFT6eCXc2i
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNnUnfzjJTw
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWIoxtaQBG
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.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbjm3WAsIfM
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSbbYkfX9hk
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHRYh7JiU0M
“Diablo,” I repeat. “Subtle name choice.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSw4A0mG96v
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxcRnkBRDkH
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡukfMRyDC2M
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.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBYbIZhrxQE
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fUqmnReI0
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDRJ4lFcO6A
“Sounds like the type to skip brunch invites,” I murmur.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgJZzpgTNHG
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjrXfaMTwfe
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ28oAGhlPkU
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.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo0eqyoSUZb
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ31hGbdhVsl
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Vm8BqqZQj
There’s a beat of silence. The air feels heavier somehow.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhno4Vv02dn
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMmRjkBGth6
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQxvTKj8GaF
I lean back, pretending to be casual. “So… you throw a festival for a witch who died saving everyone?”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Ky7PfXU0L
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi4CHUSBryD
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPC560XM2MI
“Yes,” Clara says, looking toward the window. “To remember her. And to remind ourselves that even light can be born from darkness.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ47FWzFGMNL
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUo73b6qHXS
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69bWJD9k5G
Her tone softens, and for a second — just one — she looks genuinely sad.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3D7yZiOiRz
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ77qjZqZuB7
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡklHvJAYwZH
Then it’s gone. The mask slips back into place.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡekEuFZritp
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoEu9BdPqrS
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnM26fEcAtw
“Get dressed, Ariana,” she says, standing up. “The people are waiting.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdFEK2jLFWE
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt7LLpA1YUs
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡui18s7BQ2v
I watch her leave, the silk of her gown whispering against the floor.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznMHaBWr8R
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCW50JFCszq
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡref5fW6bJM
The Witch of Darkness, huh?175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd0oUdrWNVU
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡszqbDgXoiA
A sacrifice that ended a war.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7G9gKw3bcl
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSDztEZWA2j
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbO0JFNorWP
I stare at my reflection in the mirror — at Ariana’s face — and a strange chill runs down my spine.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLaDRKleYZ8
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCRccTfnB8
175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjBjhXsy9EN
“Great,” I mutter. “History lesson with ominous foreshadowing. Love that.”1234 copyright protection171ＰＥＮＡＮＡIpFV2uNWW7 尼

216.73.217.14