18th September, 1829 BCE174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnYonvqWNxT
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJrU6T8JWa9
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyUhZVMpyyo
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.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRdoXY1MllO
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtKe650JCzS
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0cSSsMrWsK
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.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ06qKH7SxpD
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGlmSqsKlew
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCrEAc485Ba
It’s Witch’s Festival Day.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ITJedyWQT
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiS4FEhS9Ft
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLgrgmQmM73
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.)174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMwOw1npPGE
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7SU5qjn5y
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkwMh6kwGq6
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.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPuD08b25I4
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3PCPqZuT9g
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCs0CvzemaB
“Returned from where exactly?” I ask, sitting up. “Kidnapping? The afterlife? A badly coded mobile game?”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTEP3hR7k2Q
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe0p3cFdWBS
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJjPj48DXVE
Her smile flickers. “You really don’t remember anything, do you?”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaj6PZfZ8fb
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsF9jL7mfnV
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFzuqNzdlu
“Not a byte,” I say.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu19sViKowc
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp4IqQi6yH0
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPpcTcKovST
She sighs — that elegant, exhausted sigh people do when they’re trying not to strangle you. Then she sits beside me on the bed.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7TaVoSiUJr
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyjLHM1T8dw
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Fe16ZXyZn
“Today’s the Witch’s Festival,” she says softly. “We celebrate the day the darkness ended.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0glun0HsrS
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlfCFMgCHhw
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHkXEMsRSWe
I tilt my head. “Okay, sounds uplifting. Continue.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBEsLlFHqLu
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaY7fyMH2W7
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfb6D97bdJI
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.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSykaVojOva
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6PPrr3CaZu
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLwGCumiArV
“Diablo,” I repeat. “Subtle name choice.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU7akUE2cOB
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX15Gj3pFih
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcJ5oIAIpRe
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.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkydcPvq4aA
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Xz9w9FyDY
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTH3T1KWXpb
“Sounds like the type to skip brunch invites,” I murmur.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNfWKvKTW97
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYkqejfV2av
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWPkrhjD5Vz
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.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2VN0m7uFLv
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxIV4SP4Khi
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxCnxjAcC9d
There’s a beat of silence. The air feels heavier somehow.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJcvlcR3g9k
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHLCn0A2STb
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsZm7Mpv50e
I lean back, pretending to be casual. “So… you throw a festival for a witch who died saving everyone?”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1mnZgp225E
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9134Aw3n4c
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu9lt95eHuM
“Yes,” Clara says, looking toward the window. “To remember her. And to remind ourselves that even light can be born from darkness.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAddrZZSsZ4
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ysjJ3LHs6
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQJEXmYH0gs
Her tone softens, and for a second — just one — she looks genuinely sad.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRn2LO3yD2A
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvugT9XIW05
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCaYxeLd32D
Then it’s gone. The mask slips back into place.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwewULUYU3
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPDcapNbl1Q
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVwtX6t0Cjr
“Get dressed, Ariana,” she says, standing up. “The people are waiting.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKRUTixcTCy
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡooTdt5JHvY
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzjW2IOFW1o
I watch her leave, the silk of her gown whispering against the floor.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSVGXkvKCOZ
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡetVbpoEaQX
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtYNtlIFrWm
The Witch of Darkness, huh?174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg7ZoGdVH2p
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1F0D6URE44
A sacrifice that ended a war.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ75XUXEaELk
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1iUbHev5v5
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgc2XUCVfG3
I stare at my reflection in the mirror — at Ariana’s face — and a strange chill runs down my spine.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlUADgKl5Hu
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrte6G697JZ
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvt8xHcVDCm
“Great,” I mutter. “History lesson with ominous foreshadowing. Love that.”1234 copyright protection170ＰＥＮＡＮＡfvU7CbYzHN 尼

216.73.216.133