18th September, 1829 BCE174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxi8S6wgOMi
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsoOAvxtXtL
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyPzIdoO7B2
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It’s Witch’s Festival Day.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2HkjtXRkXb
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ91ZFyS7kEA
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH2by3Tblzc
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“Returned from where exactly?” I ask, sitting up. “Kidnapping? The afterlife? A badly coded mobile game?”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkOYr8p7qjp
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Her smile flickers. “You really don’t remember anything, do you?”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡctCHSeD3gZ
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“Not a byte,” I say.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6281GTOj8e
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlZcfIL2VO1
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“Today’s the Witch’s Festival,” she says softly. “We celebrate the day the darkness ended.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEX8eqjoIng
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I tilt my head. “Okay, sounds uplifting. Continue.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgSqxjUUepc
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ623WzoKYj5
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“Diablo,” I repeat. “Subtle name choice.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtIQtVu54pj
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFun7ZI79Dd
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“Sounds like the type to skip brunch invites,” I murmur.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyK14JLfsWF
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL18guum3Hm
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There’s a beat of silence. The air feels heavier somehow.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs8CzQG6A2l
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeS4LvTWIts
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7posEqwfFh
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Her tone softens, and for a second — just one — she looks genuinely sad.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡllrSn7Ik9n
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Then it’s gone. The mask slips back into place.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6OOy8fn7fN
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“Get dressed, Ariana,” she says, standing up. “The people are waiting.”174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh88Xj1TY9v
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I watch her leave, the silk of her gown whispering against the floor.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtAPwMryX7z
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The Witch of Darkness, huh?174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKb9jFrW299
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A sacrifice that ended a war.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡySBlkzykEz
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqVg3ovbYm6
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“Great,” I mutter. “History lesson with ominous foreshadowing. Love that.”1234 copyright protection170ＰＥＮＡＮＡLD0EhUkjMi 尼

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