The Betrayal and the Second Awakening
807 Words
The moment the Nine-Headed Serpent returned to its smaller form, it did not move back toward Elara.
Instead, it turned.
And walked straight toward Seraphine.
Every step it took across the broken battlefield felt strangely calm, as if the destruction behind it meant nothing. Dust still lingered in the air. The cries of dying soldiers had not fully faded. The scent of burned metal and blood still hung heavy in the wind.
But the snake did not hesitate.
It stopped only when it stood directly in front of Seraphine.
The princess who had always stood in the light of admiration and fear.
Seraphine frowned slightly, still recovering from the shock of what she had just witnessed. Even Kael, injured and silent behind her, seemed unable to react.
Then the snake raised itself gently.
And took her hand.
Its movement was almost… respectful.
As if this moment had been decided long before the battle.
A low voice echoed clearly.
“Only someone like you… can truly command me.”
Silence fell.
Then everything changed.
Seraphine’s expression shifted from disbelief to something close to exhilaration. A laugh escaped her lips—sharp, relieved, almost triumphant, as if she had just been handed victory after staring into defeat.
“So that’s how it is,” she said softly, her eyes narrowing with satisfaction.
Behind them, Elara stood frozen.
The world around her felt distant, unreal.
The creature she had saved.
The creature she had carried.
The creature she had believed was bound to her.
Was now standing with her sister.
And speaking against her.
The snake turned its head slightly.
And looked at Elara.
For the first time, its gaze was no longer empty.
It was sharp.
Intentional.
Cold.
“You,” it said.
The single word cut through the silence.
Seraphine tilted her head slightly, watching.
The snake continued.
“You hid your true nature.”
A pause.
“You pretended to be weak.”
Elara’s breath stopped.
The battlefield seemed to hold still.
“You never intended to let me rise,” the snake said calmly. “You suppressed me. Controlled me. Kept me in the shadows so that I could never reach my true potential.”
Elara’s eyes widened slightly.
“What… are you talking about?” she whispered.
But the snake did not stop.
“You never cared about your father. Or this kingdom,” it continued. “If I had not acted today, everything would have fallen apart because of you.”
The words were sharp.
Precise.
Like accusations already prepared long ago.
Murmurs spread through the surviving royal soldiers.
Confusion quickly turned into anger.
Then into judgment.
Seraphine stepped forward slightly, her voice calm but firm.
“She deceived us all.”
The king’s face darkened.
“She hid such a strong beast… and pretended to be harmless?”
The pressure in the air shifted.
Something had broken.
And Elara stood alone in the center of it.
“No,” she said softly. “I didn’t—”
But no one listened.
The decision was made quickly.
Too quickly.
Execution.
Immediate.
To protect the kingdom.
To remove the threat.
Even Kael, barely standing, let out a low growl in agreement.
The sentence was not questioned.
Only accepted.
Elara’s hands trembled slightly, but she did not step back.
She did not run.
Perhaps she already understood there was nowhere to go.
The snake moved again.
This time, not toward Seraphine.
Toward Elara.
Its body shifted, gathering power in a single point.
There was no hesitation.
No emotion.
Just conclusion.
“This is the end,” it said.
A flash of overwhelming force erupted.
Everything went white.
Elara felt her body fall.
But before her vision disappeared completely, she lifted her gaze one last time.
Through the fading light, she saw something beyond the crowd.
A figure standing at the edge of the battlefield.
A man in armor.
A general.
And beside him—
A wolf.
Its eyes were fixed on her.
Not cruel.
Not mocking.
Just watching.
As if remembering something.
And then—
Everything went dark.
Silence.
Death.
—
Then she woke up.
Elara gasped sharply, sitting upright in bed.
Her heart was pounding.
The room was quiet.
Too quiet.
The same palace chamber.
The same morning light.
The same curtains.
A familiar knock sounded outside.
A servant’s voice.
“Princess Elara, it is time. Today is your coming-of-age ceremony. You must prepare for the Beast Selection Rite.”
Her breath slowed.
Her fingers tightened slightly against the sheets.
The words echoed in her mind.
Beast Selection Rite.
The same day.
The same beginning.
But everything inside her had already changed.
Because she understood now.
She had died.
And she had returned.
Reborn.
On the day it all began.
Elara slowly lowered her gaze.
This time…
She would not choose the same fate again.
- Writer
