18th September, 1829 BCE174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0pw8lWPvtL
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYY5P6vNyEs
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwQVPLINKiS
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It’s Witch’s Festival Day.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEutMjbF6ln
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpu7E71EPR
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Py41NIfiB
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“Returned from where exactly?” I ask, sitting up. “Kidnapping? The afterlife? A badly coded mobile game?”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl47b02ykuT
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Her smile flickers. “You really don’t remember anything, do you?”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSNGZ3jZv31
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“Not a byte,” I say.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqkejlSVgf8
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtgab2YTpgv
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“Today’s the Witch’s Festival,” she says softly. “We celebrate the day the darkness ended.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡog6opLRk6j
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I tilt my head. “Okay, sounds uplifting. Continue.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyZKDGKK6w9
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZAPLBdDh5O
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“Diablo,” I repeat. “Subtle name choice.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡroJRHU1V0Y
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ52jt2JI3kc
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“Sounds like the type to skip brunch invites,” I murmur.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyPWxPoKD0e
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZ3pIKwztW
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There’s a beat of silence. The air feels heavier somehow.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqeTwJzdD84
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE2LpWC3Qxl
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL4zPkxO5nu
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Her tone softens, and for a second — just one — she looks genuinely sad.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBa9gjGVJJ0
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Then it’s gone. The mask slips back into place.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrSZZ6Qsndk
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“Get dressed, Ariana,” she says, standing up. “The people are waiting.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfaUXHz3IjB
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I watch her leave, the silk of her gown whispering against the floor.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXEyshc3amO
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The Witch of Darkness, huh?174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqYZbwf4P01
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A sacrifice that ended a war.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkkY9SMouop
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZGq1AxVDn2
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“Great,” I mutter. “History lesson with ominous foreshadowing. Love that.”1234 copyright protection170ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9fIuo9aIwF 尼

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