18th September, 1829 BCE157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjCzJNgqeSN
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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.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFvy6JQzZvB
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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.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡekwXKM17YR
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It’s Witch’s Festival Day.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi10bLqoDzq
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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.)157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCHer6ukzyX
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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.”157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCrsekglkBy
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“Returned from where exactly?” I ask, sitting up. “Kidnapping? The afterlife? A badly coded mobile game?”157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzSadIUrxdC
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Her smile flickers. “You really don’t remember anything, do you?”157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFAgFo5wPT3
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“Not a byte,” I say.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqk73rt9jfZ
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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.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZD7aAwc7rg
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“Today’s the Witch’s Festival,” she says softly. “We celebrate the day the darkness ended.”157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHvsL6KldEy
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I tilt my head. “Okay, sounds uplifting. Continue.”157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4a0Pl3yJtu
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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.”157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmk7Vl2GEjo
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“Diablo,” I repeat. “Subtle name choice.”157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSwojTrk9qi
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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.”157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnlHl7gzVc9
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“Sounds like the type to skip brunch invites,” I murmur.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3DMoKG0tHl
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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.”157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4tBI9fR355
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There’s a beat of silence. The air feels heavier somehow.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNG2rGACDZM
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I lean back, pretending to be casual. “So… you throw a festival for a witch who died saving everyone?”157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhNIIWLiqyO
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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.”157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Y2W37mzby
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Her tone softens, and for a second — just one — she looks genuinely sad.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQRamCN7h2I
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Then it’s gone. The mask slips back into place.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE8LdZxtSER
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“Get dressed, Ariana,” she says, standing up. “The people are waiting.”157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuZkBZEofRS
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I watch her leave, the silk of her gown whispering against the floor.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsdzyBJ7GX
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The Witch of Darkness, huh?157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLnGhGmDbWy
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A sacrifice that ended a war.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1q89KUI1OY
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I stare at my reflection in the mirror — at Ariana’s face — and a strange chill runs down my spine.157Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDml7d0wDb
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“Great,” I mutter. “History lesson with ominous foreshadowing. Love that.”1234 copyright protection153ＰＥＮＡＮＡToIHawMaxk 尼

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