18th September, 1829 BCE113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCq1MijjdNP
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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.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL890JFTuVd
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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.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwSrP0sFMd
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It’s Witch’s Festival Day.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCsorIKl7a
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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.)113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGBIfC3t5j1
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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.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRj4U5eTVtY
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“Returned from where exactly?” I ask, sitting up. “Kidnapping? The afterlife? A badly coded mobile game?”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ00R7HBUBRm
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Her smile flickers. “You really don’t remember anything, do you?”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgKU82Le2Ls
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“Not a byte,” I say.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRLsyTmhUj6
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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.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8fbszvyUAH
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“Today’s the Witch’s Festival,” she says softly. “We celebrate the day the darkness ended.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfV5mhTfcmQ
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I tilt my head. “Okay, sounds uplifting. Continue.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBIjdtYPsEc
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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.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvd66FsxYx
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“Diablo,” I repeat. “Subtle name choice.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsmQRcXGoAW
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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.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrk71EE5dIP
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“Sounds like the type to skip brunch invites,” I murmur.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡapRxZxCyk6
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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.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcowL8KoMwS
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There’s a beat of silence. The air feels heavier somehow.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiiloOIQ0qr
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I lean back, pretending to be casual. “So… you throw a festival for a witch who died saving everyone?”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHvfII1sBhM
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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.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwblimwv5aE
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Her tone softens, and for a second — just one — she looks genuinely sad.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdgoFZXCAas
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Then it’s gone. The mask slips back into place.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc5P5tkeO6Q
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“Get dressed, Ariana,” she says, standing up. “The people are waiting.”113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0FkR8t4Prx
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I watch her leave, the silk of her gown whispering against the floor.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyXpn87lbA5
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The Witch of Darkness, huh?113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDFt9h7QANX
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A sacrifice that ended a war.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm5PqdHfklq
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I stare at my reflection in the mirror — at Ariana’s face — and a strange chill runs down my spine.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Z9AFK8vJf
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“Great,” I mutter. “History lesson with ominous foreshadowing. Love that.”1234 copyright protection109ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPsFtEjO6i 尼

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