18th September, 1829 BCE176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLuWgfsZ3Fr
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMsd15awL5S
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfMg1SoDlHX
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It’s Witch’s Festival Day.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEOF7Db2R0F
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPgke2r7Mx
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjHW5j2bJ8y
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“Returned from where exactly?” I ask, sitting up. “Kidnapping? The afterlife? A badly coded mobile game?”176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyhtELrZ1q1
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Her smile flickers. “You really don’t remember anything, do you?”176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGuU39C3CC2
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“Not a byte,” I say.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpmVANOkmu
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvd4DZX6o8a
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“Today’s the Witch’s Festival,” she says softly. “We celebrate the day the darkness ended.”176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrMM7Z6jB6s
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I tilt my head. “Okay, sounds uplifting. Continue.”176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6gNTyF1gZ3
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgRLhMaD8Dk
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“Diablo,” I repeat. “Subtle name choice.”176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbbMFJ3Yf5b
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxEBgGLn6Kh
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“Sounds like the type to skip brunch invites,” I murmur.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIDSQl4Thl
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMybZ9w3jKc
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There’s a beat of silence. The air feels heavier somehow.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSiAXwmlkYj
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRbCZ1dl4u4
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6My6BCeMyh
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Her tone softens, and for a second — just one — she looks genuinely sad.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8iM16qBK2v
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Then it’s gone. The mask slips back into place.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqJGCyqTtTf
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“Get dressed, Ariana,” she says, standing up. “The people are waiting.”176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmuXAQrF9mz
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I watch her leave, the silk of her gown whispering against the floor.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgtkoBdUi9P
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The Witch of Darkness, huh?176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmJGeHgR55a
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A sacrifice that ended a war.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQpOlvIclK
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9MOr8tt1hz
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“Great,” I mutter. “History lesson with ominous foreshadowing. Love that.”1234 copyright protection172ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9lmPiYuMPn 尼

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