18th September, 1829 BCE158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3JUs9GrMVp
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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.158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvX6DV6IvxZ
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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.158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZyC4txD4sg
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It’s Witch’s Festival Day.158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwXvho5hocw
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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.)158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYPQSTXZpS
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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.”158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5DsejHuZU4
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“Returned from where exactly?” I ask, sitting up. “Kidnapping? The afterlife? A badly coded mobile game?”158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGxhX7dRNlE
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Her smile flickers. “You really don’t remember anything, do you?”158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9XUIIg42s9
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“Not a byte,” I say.158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQtVLpYsAg
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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.158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYQeD9i6bFV
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“Today’s the Witch’s Festival,” she says softly. “We celebrate the day the darkness ended.”158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQyBzmMHD5z
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I tilt my head. “Okay, sounds uplifting. Continue.”158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh664nQuN9H
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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.”158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRtQkvGaKSj
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“Diablo,” I repeat. “Subtle name choice.”158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMkS5uGSQWs
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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.”158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEV5W9Wgh2e
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“Sounds like the type to skip brunch invites,” I murmur.158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyE4fPzfCh1
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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.”158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV8eAT6ajD5
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There’s a beat of silence. The air feels heavier somehow.158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGLfNG1Ise
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I lean back, pretending to be casual. “So… you throw a festival for a witch who died saving everyone?”158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6FsyqNz3ZG
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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.”158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYeWV2QXLai
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Her tone softens, and for a second — just one — she looks genuinely sad.158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwzSMSszzP7
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Then it’s gone. The mask slips back into place.158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡINPKHgjSqQ
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“Get dressed, Ariana,” she says, standing up. “The people are waiting.”158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1XUXTyhf3a
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I watch her leave, the silk of her gown whispering against the floor.158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69bCDtsSS6
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The Witch of Darkness, huh?158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfqBjUBldc
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A sacrifice that ended a war.158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuBgCVIBwHV
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I stare at my reflection in the mirror — at Ariana’s face — and a strange chill runs down my spine.158Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWCugv3Kw4s
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“Great,” I mutter. “History lesson with ominous foreshadowing. Love that.”1234 copyright protection154ＰＥＮＡＮＡejriNALBYo 尼

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