18th September, 1829 BCE88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpYklg2HvA
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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.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZIVYd9YOZT
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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.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡto2OvzN18Q
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It’s Witch’s Festival Day.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEF5Ks4n8OV
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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.)88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWP1zuWToBK
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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.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQ5uzJkU1S
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“Returned from where exactly?” I ask, sitting up. “Kidnapping? The afterlife? A badly coded mobile game?”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1angdYBbRT
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Her smile flickers. “You really don’t remember anything, do you?”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtXyPs8q6lc
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“Not a byte,” I say.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRKZT3i4W7
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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.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUAKmnfaEM6
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“Today’s the Witch’s Festival,” she says softly. “We celebrate the day the darkness ended.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9X9UsjuAQ3
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I tilt my head. “Okay, sounds uplifting. Continue.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMhdwiEbPNB
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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.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiwAymy0CAa
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“Diablo,” I repeat. “Subtle name choice.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvw3mdxKiiR
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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.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsZmJKYrZPD
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“Sounds like the type to skip brunch invites,” I murmur.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfA9KmtY5x9
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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.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU6XeBQPmkN
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There’s a beat of silence. The air feels heavier somehow.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdrXQIyQxjq
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I lean back, pretending to be casual. “So… you throw a festival for a witch who died saving everyone?”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡurRG9lAa9Q
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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.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ11UTWhwAOK
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Her tone softens, and for a second — just one — she looks genuinely sad.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWHsuDS32f9
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Then it’s gone. The mask slips back into place.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvIwkooS3Ie
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“Get dressed, Ariana,” she says, standing up. “The people are waiting.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB5jHP1vocI
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I watch her leave, the silk of her gown whispering against the floor.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNvCccNsgR
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The Witch of Darkness, huh?88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuCymn09Avp
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A sacrifice that ended a war.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzen0txjYbL
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I stare at my reflection in the mirror — at Ariana’s face — and a strange chill runs down my spine.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgsTRDnMiam
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“Great,” I mutter. “History lesson with ominous foreshadowing. Love that.”1234 copyright protection84ＰＥＮＡＮＡW04VOifgcf 尼

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