18th September, 1829 BCE174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBmj0EVbynn
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNT8kk0JjKk
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp2IDCTSuYA
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsxabmnXVyg
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe4ajlX7p9r
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkhVEXe8IfV
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4zuHBL5Sz
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsvJdsDG9qQ
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPp31qkbyeq
It’s Witch’s Festival Day.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ66bHCFS3qw
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgXjAYgWSlG
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYUDUXrGQN
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvgh2rw0Gw
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnHK4prcPlo
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeY03gpYg93
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyZ3AgpepXT
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQ6PLXDvev
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOoSGeezPD0
“Returned from where exactly?” I ask, sitting up. “Kidnapping? The afterlife? A badly coded mobile game?”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg2CMC6sMUl
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq5jbFptKKk
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSm4MTYHKqy
Her smile flickers. “You really don’t remember anything, do you?”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡShswu7WWGx
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVR0fhOcj8z
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ14fHBL05tZ
“Not a byte,” I say.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxVcEc5jVsu
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQTTaFCLwej
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjyJWisbRcE
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoaHAfULNLx
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcuFA2EKPbp
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjqoeAl5qHm
“Today’s the Witch’s Festival,” she says softly. “We celebrate the day the darkness ended.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBahq0GMiF
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJzf5T8uGP
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtXtr8BzMW5
I tilt my head. “Okay, sounds uplifting. Continue.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9xPBSfxrPl
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOgqYRBF7Wh
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIdw2NQcryz
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhtGSe9LI9z
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW5Dp2NaPMj
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtXyzH0iNJ7
“Diablo,” I repeat. “Subtle name choice.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUp219CDWzW
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB8mS2tgw9X
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡefSEkHAyYe
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnSmdz6DIyX
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk9pLhUpA94
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVX4s1ygBrH
“Sounds like the type to skip brunch invites,” I murmur.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNqUJuoQLeh
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9ERvTa6kR
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpPauXeI22r
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfkySexjnVR
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx7O6zijnIV
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡriblfdQs5x
There’s a beat of silence. The air feels heavier somehow.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrE6kk9edK9
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiWebQKfIpm
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfdZ3h3cusF
I lean back, pretending to be casual. “So… you throw a festival for a witch who died saving everyone?”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9KMC6NXWnW
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkSl4d11Vpl
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRFKaL2KiVW
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKBA1m4ieyj
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡglow6N8Yoy
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpanJZV3GjT
Her tone softens, and for a second — just one — she looks genuinely sad.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcgSxsP3U1O
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcv8kPxdVtn
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZsw4VmELl
Then it’s gone. The mask slips back into place.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdXQ26FmlPu
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3zJiwJwpsg
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNEG5wiEslX
“Get dressed, Ariana,” she says, standing up. “The people are waiting.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaclxKin33U
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIKvFceB3Ij
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTkA1DjMdpC
I watch her leave, the silk of her gown whispering against the floor.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSiZGdbF7dm
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpN2uie5pe0
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUKojFhzhTC
The Witch of Darkness, huh?174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7zA22CLxw2
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn4GdqsxTMt
A sacrifice that ended a war.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfq7cawT1WS
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCtvml8brLj
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJiIlDt0bqb
I stare at my reflection in the mirror — at Ariana’s face — and a strange chill runs down my spine.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZJRQfpO2I
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhtdOoPBaqG
174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6rZyZoDna
“Great,” I mutter. “History lesson with ominous foreshadowing. Love that.”1234 copyright protection170ＰＥＮＡＮＡtrBvc1mrDG 尼

216.73.216.133