18th September, 1829 BCE35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYDJ7QT5cC7
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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.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR1hyid7zkn
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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.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9d40h9bQuq
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It’s Witch’s Festival Day.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcfhjp54iG9
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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.)35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNULtEugG1x
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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.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3PouIah4FL
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“Returned from where exactly?” I ask, sitting up. “Kidnapping? The afterlife? A badly coded mobile game?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCWyQ1a8KM
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Her smile flickers. “You really don’t remember anything, do you?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Q79ZeFxyA
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“Not a byte,” I say.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbAmZQQH7Qt
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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.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSyQxr83zxS
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“Today’s the Witch’s Festival,” she says softly. “We celebrate the day the darkness ended.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ67oewj4ojR
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I tilt my head. “Okay, sounds uplifting. Continue.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAWyjZF8BRA
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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.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8qJKpGsXoT
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“Diablo,” I repeat. “Subtle name choice.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI09P1oa0IY
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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.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡffGaypq3mq
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“Sounds like the type to skip brunch invites,” I murmur.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQf8EQqFgcI
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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.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzoZdofyX0r
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There’s a beat of silence. The air feels heavier somehow.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtP8WSDcmOD
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I lean back, pretending to be casual. “So… you throw a festival for a witch who died saving everyone?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2C146OVxii
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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.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3NGOl0Hkh
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Her tone softens, and for a second — just one — she looks genuinely sad.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZX51oR7bF
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Then it’s gone. The mask slips back into place.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaaOx2eZpiT
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“Get dressed, Ariana,” she says, standing up. “The people are waiting.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVYU77xb1nC
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I watch her leave, the silk of her gown whispering against the floor.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH3tsWxEuE2
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The Witch of Darkness, huh?35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ41GoSm3uOR
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A sacrifice that ended a war.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDp5XLGHvob
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I stare at my reflection in the mirror — at Ariana’s face — and a strange chill runs down my spine.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9a5TMJrInI
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“Great,” I mutter. “History lesson with ominous foreshadowing. Love that.”1234 copyright protection31ＰＥＮＡＮＡxaGZi5M1zR 尼

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