18th September, 1829 BCE174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQWPKgBTBjn
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2iBdQBp46H
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJCwuE62oBe
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It’s Witch’s Festival Day.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDd4FdjOEf
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFwmHrF3eTP
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvhWDq4tMRv
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“Returned from where exactly?” I ask, sitting up. “Kidnapping? The afterlife? A badly coded mobile game?”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq2NB3qqyjc
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Her smile flickers. “You really don’t remember anything, do you?”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0IgETaFMO9
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“Not a byte,” I say.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdnFNDQ9M7j
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWVVbM0t4gR
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“Today’s the Witch’s Festival,” she says softly. “We celebrate the day the darkness ended.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7rulUsG09I
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I tilt my head. “Okay, sounds uplifting. Continue.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpfy5UPu2af
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGyJjUqzb57
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“Diablo,” I repeat. “Subtle name choice.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJFbTZBLY3
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBwIi8qbIN
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“Sounds like the type to skip brunch invites,” I murmur.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1S1mVQxJSm
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbshmBL2zNv
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There’s a beat of silence. The air feels heavier somehow.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjoWJIwatj4
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP02PZPl55i
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6zdHNYqwuk
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Her tone softens, and for a second — just one — she looks genuinely sad.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI3QJqZIYwx
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Then it’s gone. The mask slips back into place.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpawh2tO3fM
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“Get dressed, Ariana,” she says, standing up. “The people are waiting.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM5pOr7TBop
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I watch her leave, the silk of her gown whispering against the floor.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04JeVEQACD
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The Witch of Darkness, huh?174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtoICCLXNcH
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A sacrifice that ended a war.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALSLia7oO9
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZalC24VCo0
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“Great,” I mutter. “History lesson with ominous foreshadowing. Love that.”1234 copyright protection170ＰＥＮＡＮＡZjlaQC6GOf 尼

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