18th September, 1829 BCE210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJW6LuLgamU
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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.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYyvOBsOQ98
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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.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzvYVt4vrTi
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It’s Witch’s Festival Day.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQfr13PjNwl
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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.)210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNLavNnFcm
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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.”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfySrw0wB5i
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“Returned from where exactly?” I ask, sitting up. “Kidnapping? The afterlife? A badly coded mobile game?”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJXT9Q0P497
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Her smile flickers. “You really don’t remember anything, do you?”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGeu09hlsh
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“Not a byte,” I say.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhSIjsNsiof
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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.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9N2aq4I7Y0
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“Today’s the Witch’s Festival,” she says softly. “We celebrate the day the darkness ended.”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk8KUXfYK3j
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I tilt my head. “Okay, sounds uplifting. Continue.”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAZlRGUgEmt
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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.”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlXKKjmkAfm
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“Diablo,” I repeat. “Subtle name choice.”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhzho3GELRD
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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.”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBiwyixOInr
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“Sounds like the type to skip brunch invites,” I murmur.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfcDvap5WeE
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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.”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqMzBIiExdY
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There’s a beat of silence. The air feels heavier somehow.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYQ1s1PObAA
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I lean back, pretending to be casual. “So… you throw a festival for a witch who died saving everyone?”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiYECCKsVp1
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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.”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxwctPkTu7
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Her tone softens, and for a second — just one — she looks genuinely sad.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLDVgZHcR6O
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Then it’s gone. The mask slips back into place.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV44esD99df
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“Get dressed, Ariana,” she says, standing up. “The people are waiting.”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgTwopZfXeO
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I watch her leave, the silk of her gown whispering against the floor.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8nitU2RA6n
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The Witch of Darkness, huh?210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkovE6Eg7ON
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A sacrifice that ended a war.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSykcblbBxi
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I stare at my reflection in the mirror — at Ariana’s face — and a strange chill runs down my spine.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHMD08WorNg
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“Great,” I mutter. “History lesson with ominous foreshadowing. Love that.”1234 copyright protection206ＰＥＮＡＮＡ54AuaDAYOF 尼

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