18th September, 1829 BCE174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwKm4Bez2Kc
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoMoFZUkPJF
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ZFpIcp4Ja
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It’s Witch’s Festival Day.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5j47os9m7i
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHbjk85fJFE
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmBOHPQS1HP
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“Returned from where exactly?” I ask, sitting up. “Kidnapping? The afterlife? A badly coded mobile game?”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBXSoKT9FDY
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Her smile flickers. “You really don’t remember anything, do you?”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLJSxMt7sNr
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“Not a byte,” I say.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyOlTWfNcBL
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1G5HzJ4R9j
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“Today’s the Witch’s Festival,” she says softly. “We celebrate the day the darkness ended.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcCLvtXR3Cw
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I tilt my head. “Okay, sounds uplifting. Continue.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhZ9WR1uXw
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlvuANYofO5
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“Diablo,” I repeat. “Subtle name choice.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAjULE4IAdC
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwmrBxMHzrL
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“Sounds like the type to skip brunch invites,” I murmur.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcABWYn1DJ
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWOCG59MAtn
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There’s a beat of silence. The air feels heavier somehow.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcXpEtGxlWf
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXa48MDP3wi
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKMjzAojSJa
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Her tone softens, and for a second — just one — she looks genuinely sad.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSdhDAtFOhR
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Then it’s gone. The mask slips back into place.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZDNXEEGbz
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“Get dressed, Ariana,” she says, standing up. “The people are waiting.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7QzPkKJeai
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I watch her leave, the silk of her gown whispering against the floor.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPFWEu6DWwc
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The Witch of Darkness, huh?174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd9hP3fJ6D8
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A sacrifice that ended a war.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6nkUrvOq4i
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOcLSfOCBFu
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“Great,” I mutter. “History lesson with ominous foreshadowing. Love that.”1234 copyright protection170ＰＥＮＡＮＡj1TxwrsinN 尼

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