Novel & Cerita Serpent Ancestor Chapter 1

My shadow stirred. It rose, blacker than the abyss itself, writhing like a living thing. And when the beast roared in the distance, my shadow smiled. For the first time, so did kael. --- ☠️ End of Chapter 1.

“Double the guards on this door. On all our people. No one from this pack comes near any of us without my say-so. From this moment, all our food and drink is tasted first. By someone we trust with our lives.” The healer prepared a bitter, foul-smelling drink. She helped me sit up to swallow it. It burned my throat and made my stomach cramp in protest, but I forced it down. Inside me, I felt a stirring. My wolf, Seris, let out a low, internal growl of defiance. Deeper still, I felt Veylara, my dragon, uncoil from her place of rest. A warm, cleansing fire began to glow in my belly, fighting the cold, creeping tendrils of the poison. Together, they were burning it out, purifying my blood.

"The Nectar… it’s being pulled down faster! The entity below… it’s actively drawing it in!" Bima felt it too. A subtle, insidious pull, like a hungry maw opening in the earth's depths. The air grew heavy, thick with a new, primal hum, a low thrum that was ancient, powerful, and terrifyingly alive. It resonated not with Core Prime's manufactured perfection, but with something far older, something primordial. "That's it," Bima breathed, his eyes wide with horrifying realization. "The serpent's root. It's awake. And it's feeding."

A wave of memories suddenly flashed across my mind. Ancient battlefields. Silver warriors. Dragons roaring across burning skies. And at the center of it all… A monstrous creature bound by chains of light. The same creature now standing before us. I staggered slightly. “No…” I whispered. The creature’s lips curled into something that almost resembled a smile. “Yes.” The cavern shook as it stepped fully out of the fissure. “I am the one your bloodline feared.” Another step. “I am the one your ancestors betrayed.” Another step.

The crown hits the marble floor with a sharp clang just before my father’s body does. The hall erupts in screams. I want to shout, to rush over to him, but my voice sticks in my throat. All I can do is watch the blood pool beneath his throne, creeping toward me. The soldiers kneel, but not for the king—for her. Queen Lunice, my grandmother. “Long live the Queen,” they chant, their voices hollow and obedient. Her eyes meet mine. Those dark, ancient, endless eyes hold me in place across the years. “No male heir shall survive,” she whispers. “The curse has already begun.”

I stared at that long string of zeros until my vision blurred. Then I ran to the safe. It was packed with gemstones, glittering like a dragon's hoard. "Heh heh heh." Jackpot. As the most powerful purebred serpent, Victor had inherited the entire Serpent Clan the moment he came of age. Five years of marriage, and he'd not only bought me an estate that rivaled a palace, but because I liked shiny things, he'd hoarded enough gemstones to fill a vault. And now? All mine.

"We'll hold the line!" Some hesitated, clearly reluctant to abandon their posts to strangers. But as the first wave of chimeras surged forward and Rex raised his sword bathed in golden light, unleashing a blinding arc of golden energy that scythed through the creatures like a blade through silk, their doubt transformed into awe.

I pleaded in a tiny brittle voice, breaking the silence. "No mortal, I didn't," it said with a hint of anger etched to its tone, "I say these things verily unto thee, I shall kill ye and trap thy soul so it may not rise again." I felt my wrist being grabbed by an invisible strong hand the moment those words were voiced and I was forcefully dragged. I know too well than to fight it. It will be a wasted effort if I try freeing my hand so I let myself be dragged. It drags me on what felt like rough stony ground but it didn't hurt, I felt no pain.

If I didn’t know any better, I would have said it was studying me. Another throb went through me. Then another. I squeezed my eyes shut. The feeling was becoming too much. My body was spiraling, my breaths heavy. This was the worst way to die for sure. When I opened my eyes, the greatest shock hit me. The serpent was…crying. I blinked. Once. Twice. Alpha Theo’s voice filled my mind almost instantly. “There's this creature, a snake from old stories…the Shadowscale Serpent. Legend says the tears of the serpent have magical properties.”

The thing in front of me was no longer a man. It was a serpent. A massive serpent. Its body stretched across the garden, thick and powerful, its coils gathering beneath it as it continued to grow, towering over me. I had never seen anything like it. Nothing even close. This was a monster from a nightmare, a creature of legend. The creature slowly lifted the upper part of its body. Higher. Higher. Until its enormous head rose above me, blocking out the moon. I nearly screamed. I dropped behind a cluster of flowers, covering my mouth with both hands, my body shaking uncontrollably.