18th September, 1829 BCE176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm1sYCDOIxy
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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.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVIjxMKZ1rS
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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.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQH06XHEd1C
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It’s Witch’s Festival Day.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW7yXNCVrRp
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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.)176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOa4n2a4eh
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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.”176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUu87diOp3i
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“Returned from where exactly?” I ask, sitting up. “Kidnapping? The afterlife? A badly coded mobile game?”176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqWqldNttR
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Her smile flickers. “You really don’t remember anything, do you?”176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNPowxwSNX
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“Not a byte,” I say.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktmbcs6WmQ
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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.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg7gANTCnea
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“Today’s the Witch’s Festival,” she says softly. “We celebrate the day the darkness ended.”176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ70z73uLcuw
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I tilt my head. “Okay, sounds uplifting. Continue.”176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡps9Z053uMF
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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.”176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ3NmDOOSJT
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“Diablo,” I repeat. “Subtle name choice.”176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rmOszlOJg
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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.”176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa2NuQqhmkL
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“Sounds like the type to skip brunch invites,” I murmur.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2D78rd8BO
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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.”176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR4NDnGDekY
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There’s a beat of silence. The air feels heavier somehow.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8WrxupT064
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I lean back, pretending to be casual. “So… you throw a festival for a witch who died saving everyone?”176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEiXvtl2lv3
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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.”176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGXafgCBAaQ
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Her tone softens, and for a second — just one — she looks genuinely sad.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCEDPGeWfVU
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Then it’s gone. The mask slips back into place.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAUYxzaOJsF
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“Get dressed, Ariana,” she says, standing up. “The people are waiting.”176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4I3LShZj8Q
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I watch her leave, the silk of her gown whispering against the floor.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK9VCiQAZkX
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The Witch of Darkness, huh?176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhqyQKepVwg
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A sacrifice that ended a war.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM9YWkmNGPl
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I stare at my reflection in the mirror — at Ariana’s face — and a strange chill runs down my spine.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFcKpXdAG3z
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“Great,” I mutter. “History lesson with ominous foreshadowing. Love that.”1234 copyright protection172ＰＥＮＡＮＡjevpXmeKPE 尼

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