18th September, 1829 BCE9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIM2miFqIb
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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.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbgXBTCr0RC
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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.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5QBLWwrYnD
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It’s Witch’s Festival Day.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZoma2DxFl
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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.)9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzuDEApbz67
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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.”9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqAH90UHbb9
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“Returned from where exactly?” I ask, sitting up. “Kidnapping? The afterlife? A badly coded mobile game?”9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCnzExuap8q
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Her smile flickers. “You really don’t remember anything, do you?”9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNZyzOV8NEH
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“Not a byte,” I say.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDW3FOxta97
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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.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡklJvi21ylv
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“Today’s the Witch’s Festival,” she says softly. “We celebrate the day the darkness ended.”9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkR7STDv3rU
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I tilt my head. “Okay, sounds uplifting. Continue.”9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKeVhlq4oCG
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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.”9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8FkspTF3cA
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“Diablo,” I repeat. “Subtle name choice.”9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl6xsBfet8y
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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.”9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeKgvct4dlx
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“Sounds like the type to skip brunch invites,” I murmur.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY15SC1uzkC
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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.”9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCHiWA7TRhs
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There’s a beat of silence. The air feels heavier somehow.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH59KmIuSrj
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I lean back, pretending to be casual. “So… you throw a festival for a witch who died saving everyone?”9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ86NFlH2xXP
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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.”9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrOCT3LJOnW
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Her tone softens, and for a second — just one — she looks genuinely sad.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPPZIeoRXEp
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Then it’s gone. The mask slips back into place.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡguntUaxRY7
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“Get dressed, Ariana,” she says, standing up. “The people are waiting.”9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡopZfFrHS2r
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I watch her leave, the silk of her gown whispering against the floor.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXriUNvwFuH
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The Witch of Darkness, huh?9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNlS4DfWpcD
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A sacrifice that ended a war.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNaoK2CThgT
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I stare at my reflection in the mirror — at Ariana’s face — and a strange chill runs down my spine.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8VmgbFmW93
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“Great,” I mutter. “History lesson with ominous foreshadowing. Love that.”1234 copyright protection5ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9SaR1qpsGu 尼

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