18th September, 1829 BCE175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsmPyAqUPRG
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpVIXaB0Mdr
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDRGd5lDw9c
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It’s Witch’s Festival Day.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvfraKsMW8X
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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.)175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0VBGHeF8QZ
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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.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYORYNLRkok
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“Returned from where exactly?” I ask, sitting up. “Kidnapping? The afterlife? A badly coded mobile game?”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb9eAlnjzhe
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Her smile flickers. “You really don’t remember anything, do you?”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWqSkfamg9w
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“Not a byte,” I say.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeqvAwmGgv8
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4wfTdX44B3
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“Today’s the Witch’s Festival,” she says softly. “We celebrate the day the darkness ended.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZNiRFmwGjT
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I tilt my head. “Okay, sounds uplifting. Continue.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfgM1IVZZTp
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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.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVpfpgbD9Um
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“Diablo,” I repeat. “Subtle name choice.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMGnQtqBG3w
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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.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjG8n2bMhKC
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“Sounds like the type to skip brunch invites,” I murmur.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvvbs6u4DM
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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.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7CgSAD6fNg
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There’s a beat of silence. The air feels heavier somehow.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY8hhN2th7m
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I lean back, pretending to be casual. “So… you throw a festival for a witch who died saving everyone?”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFSA4630itg
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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.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWkZJE0bzSA
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Her tone softens, and for a second — just one — she looks genuinely sad.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡun7kpVinkd
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Then it’s gone. The mask slips back into place.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO1z3ererYS
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“Get dressed, Ariana,” she says, standing up. “The people are waiting.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4T91Zmecni
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I watch her leave, the silk of her gown whispering against the floor.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq9rEXnDxIE
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The Witch of Darkness, huh?175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyX6uyLjpJM
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A sacrifice that ended a war.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡws0tquqngD
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I stare at my reflection in the mirror — at Ariana’s face — and a strange chill runs down my spine.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdYGoSi5lJH
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“Great,” I mutter. “History lesson with ominous foreshadowing. Love that.”1234 copyright protection171ＰＥＮＡＮＡOlLtBkt1lF 尼

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