18th September, 1829 BCE175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8uH7X1eEF
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT6N6sG5i3o
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsvjBEntClP
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It’s Witch’s Festival Day.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp3BGKgbi2M
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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.)175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmSCOane0Kk
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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.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Jb2IR5jIZ
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“Returned from where exactly?” I ask, sitting up. “Kidnapping? The afterlife? A badly coded mobile game?”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLjXYn9gpXD
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Her smile flickers. “You really don’t remember anything, do you?”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLkGor0hnhl
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“Not a byte,” I say.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlGZSDA9oNX
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2VFqkhrAma
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“Today’s the Witch’s Festival,” she says softly. “We celebrate the day the darkness ended.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1jl6E4SM1j
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I tilt my head. “Okay, sounds uplifting. Continue.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvjsLu0MO3R
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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.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgW2Ft8OaLb
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“Diablo,” I repeat. “Subtle name choice.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDB0Ifkikj2
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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.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDvWKkqjU8b
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“Sounds like the type to skip brunch invites,” I murmur.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6kQndnim4C
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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.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlauHrjYXRu
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There’s a beat of silence. The air feels heavier somehow.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeJjDZymExW
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I lean back, pretending to be casual. “So… you throw a festival for a witch who died saving everyone?”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡozb9aOCd7c
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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.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvA05uSw5n8
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Her tone softens, and for a second — just one — she looks genuinely sad.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGxjsIfOuwG
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Then it’s gone. The mask slips back into place.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1Moc4h7He
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“Get dressed, Ariana,” she says, standing up. “The people are waiting.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNBoWoJ4IX3
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I watch her leave, the silk of her gown whispering against the floor.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4IJFbIdtXC
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The Witch of Darkness, huh?175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPOSOREo71j
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A sacrifice that ended a war.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFQmbiKGuHl
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I stare at my reflection in the mirror — at Ariana’s face — and a strange chill runs down my spine.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx5FS4knjSi
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“Great,” I mutter. “History lesson with ominous foreshadowing. Love that.”1234 copyright protection171ＰＥＮＡＮＡriYMEDB4Zk 尼

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