18th September, 1829 BCE174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡozqCwGPIem
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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.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3cmrKKiIhI
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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.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY63cIP9jat
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It’s Witch’s Festival Day.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5OE81iRFrW
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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.)174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡobAYbmSb68
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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.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIAR3VKMEAY
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“Returned from where exactly?” I ask, sitting up. “Kidnapping? The afterlife? A badly coded mobile game?”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSrIrtTCxEN
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Her smile flickers. “You really don’t remember anything, do you?”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk1fDVaVWV0
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“Not a byte,” I say.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM0ikQ8G49w
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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.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSzUvYelmMZ
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“Today’s the Witch’s Festival,” she says softly. “We celebrate the day the darkness ended.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9MLLarAIBD
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I tilt my head. “Okay, sounds uplifting. Continue.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKs5CzMulou
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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.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx2eOmZGS6d
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“Diablo,” I repeat. “Subtle name choice.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUTHrZ8th2
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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.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0TrtAnxO6u
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“Sounds like the type to skip brunch invites,” I murmur.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLBD26FS5OG
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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.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRMmZOKJVI
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There’s a beat of silence. The air feels heavier somehow.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5FzKByuvTZ
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I lean back, pretending to be casual. “So… you throw a festival for a witch who died saving everyone?”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfJCKLu3m6n
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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.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNxR3QceKBf
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Her tone softens, and for a second — just one — she looks genuinely sad.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdBcYAbzOmM
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Then it’s gone. The mask slips back into place.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUHnC3HxQy7
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“Get dressed, Ariana,” she says, standing up. “The people are waiting.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7GG5zE1c2I
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I watch her leave, the silk of her gown whispering against the floor.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzIbiVIQPuB
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The Witch of Darkness, huh?174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaVU3lD0mCA
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A sacrifice that ended a war.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7x69enWQF4
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I stare at my reflection in the mirror — at Ariana’s face — and a strange chill runs down my spine.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGNNRXmAqN5
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“Great,” I mutter. “History lesson with ominous foreshadowing. Love that.”1234 copyright protection170ＰＥＮＡＮＡyTFmDUMRGd 尼

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