- 7 minutes ago
The Serpent Queen Returns HD
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00To survive the Ascension Fire, the Fireborn Crown Prince took me, a Serpent Princess, as his bride.
00:12I gave everything I had and made him Emperor.
00:15But on the day of his coronation, he used the Ascension Flames to destroy the entire Serpent Flame.
00:26One arm around Lily Vos, the Rabbit Spirit, the other hand driven through my chest, pulling out my soul core.
00:32Seraphina Mora, when your Serpent Clan destroyed the Hair Clan, you should have known this day would come.
00:37I watched my clan's people struggle and die in the flames.
00:41And I, without my soul core to protect me, was stabbed to death by that fragile little rabbit spirit.
00:46When I opened my eyes, the fire was gone, replaced by candlelights in every direction.
00:51Seraphine, when you go to the Fireborn Court, be a worthy Crown Princess. Don't shame the Serpent Clan.
00:56I looked around, recognized everything, and understood.
00:59I had been reborn to the day of my wedding, to Fireborn Crown Prince, Ashvane Solaris.
01:05My mother finished speaking. My father, King Aldric, added a few words.
01:08Someone placed the white veil over my head.
01:11Princess Seraphina.
01:12Lily Vos, the Rabbit Spirit, knelt on the floor.
01:15Let me marry into the Fireborn Court in your place.
01:18I carry the Crown Prince's child.
01:19We have long been promised to each other.
01:23Please, grant me this.
01:24The words hit the hall like a stone hitting water.
01:27My mother's face darkened.
01:28Even my father, who was always even-tempered, went cold.
01:31The Serpent Clan and the Hair Clan had been enemies since the beginning.
01:35Yet Lily Vos, a Rabbit Spirit, held a higher place in our clan than I did as its princess.
01:41She was the youngest daughter of the last Hair King.
01:43A century ago, a rebellion broke out among the male hairs who resented having a female king.
01:49On her deathbed, the Hair Queen entrusted her loyal servant to bring the infant Lily secretly to the Serpent Clan.
01:55People came to believe that the Serpent King and the Hair Queen had once shared a brief affair, and that
02:01Lily was the result.
02:02My father never acknowledged that past, but he still brought Lily into the palace, and, out of guilt, gave her
02:08treatment even better than what he gave me, his own princess.
02:12In my last life, Lily came to visit after I had already married into the Fireborn Court, and only then
02:17entangled herself with Ashveig.
02:19By the time I died, I had never heard anything about her carrying his child.
02:23I couldn't help lifting my veil.
02:25I saw Lily look up at me with a smile that had already decided how this would end.
02:29That was when I understood.
02:31Lily had been reborn, too.
02:34Outrageous.
02:34My father was furious.
02:35He stepped forward and pointed at Lily.
02:38Do you know how exalted the Fireborn Crown Prince is?
02:41He and Seraphina have had a betrothal for years.
02:45Lily's eyes were steady.
02:46Lily knows.
02:47Lily knows her place is too low to be his queen.
02:50She would be grateful even as a concubine.
02:52The Fireborn Court has more rules than anyone can count and shows no mercy to the weak.
02:57Going there is no different from walking into your own death.
03:00My father was so alarmed, he said this directly to Lily, without caring that I was standing right there.
03:05Lily, the match I arranged for you is far better.
03:09Marry into the Raven Order.
03:10Your standing there would be the highest of anyone.
03:13As my father said, the Fireborn were noble, but also arrogant.
03:17They looked down on every other spirit clan.
03:20Every thousand years, Fireborn faced the Ascension Trial.
03:24Those who passed became the next king of all heaven, but the number who passed was very low.
03:30Nine out of ten failed.
03:31Either their power was permanently destroyed, or they died in the attempt.
03:35Our Serpent Clan's scales were indestructible.
03:38They could protect a Fireborn through the trial without death.
03:41Our secret arts were powerful too, and dual cultivation with us amplified both parties' power.
03:48So the Fireborn had come to us a thousand years ago.
03:51The Fireborn forced the Serpent Clan to sign a pact.
03:53Every time a new Fireborn Crown Prince was born, the Serpent Clan had to send a princess with great cultivation
04:00to assist his ascension.
04:01In return, the Fireborn would protect the Serpent Clan.
04:05And because of that protection, the Fireborn looked down on us even more.
04:09Even married in as the Crown Princess, my standing would be no higher than a Fireborn Servant Girl.
04:16But no matter how much my father reasoned with her, Lily refused to hear a word of it.
04:21Ravens are cursed birds.
04:22Their standing is even lower than the Serpent Clan's.
04:25Even I became their quine, I still wouldn't rank above a Fireborn Servant Girl.
04:29I want to marry the Fireborn Prince.
04:31The auspicious hour was almost here.
04:33My father ran out of patience.
04:34He called guards to drag Lily away by force.
04:37Send for the physician.
04:39Get rid of the child she's carrying.
04:41But the moment they reached the door, each of the guards was struck by a bolt of golden light and
04:47thrown back.
04:48When the light faded, Ashvane Solaris stepped into view.
04:51Ashvane was strikingly handsome, refined and polished as jade.
04:55At just three years old, he had already stood out from among the Fireborn Princes and been named Crown Prince
05:00by the old Fireborn King.
05:02But this man with such a fine reputation,
05:04After I helped him ascend, listened to Lily's scheming and approved to destroy the entire Serpent Clan.
05:13Because Lily believed her mother's death had been orchestrated by my father.
05:17She had been born a distinguished hair princess and ended up as the Serpent King's illegitimate daughter.
05:22And she had never forgiven that.
05:24At the time, I knelt and begged Ashvane to stop.
05:27I told him that if the Serpent Clan fell, the Fireborn would never again have an easy path through their
05:33ascension.
05:34Ashvane drove his hand through my chest and pulled out my soul core.
05:37Don't worry.
05:39I'll use the scales of your entire clan to forge the finest armor in the world.
05:45Considerer eti au reclaine s'attonement.
05:47I watched my clan's people have their scales stripped from their bodies one by one, then be thrown into the
05:53ascension flames.
05:54That day, the ground ran with blood.
05:57Screaming filled the air.
06:01The fire dyed the whole sky red.
06:04Thinking of it now, I wanted to kill this man where he stood.
06:09But I knew the moment wasn't right.
06:11I was no match for Ashvane.
06:13Not yet.
06:14Ashvane helped Lily to her feet and looked at my father.
06:17Serpent King, Lily carries my child.
06:20I intend to make her my queen.
06:22As for Serphine Moro, she can serve as my confine if I'm feeling generous.
06:28Lily leaned against Ashvane's chest.
06:30That wouldn't be right.
06:31I'm only a humble servant girl.
06:34I couldn't compare to Princess Seraphina.
06:36Ashvane smiled coldly.
06:38No matter how noble she is, her nobility is only among the Serpent Clan.
06:43And the Fireborn court, she isn't fit to carry my shoes.
06:47The Fireborn had never respected the Serpent Clan.
06:50Every time there was a marriage between the clans, the Fireborn never bothered to send anyone.
06:56The Serpent Clan always delivered the bride themselves.
06:59Both sides understood this unspoken arrangement.
07:01But Ashvane saying it aloud in front of everyone had ignited genuine fury.
07:07Several of the elders went dark-faced.
07:10My father's anger rose too.
07:12If the Crown Prince holds our clan in such contene, perhaps this marriage is not one we need to pursue.
07:18Ashvane knew well enough that without Serpent Scales, his ascension would be nearly impossible.
07:24Realizing he had said the wrong thing, he clasped his hands and apologized.
07:29Ashvane spoke out of turn.
07:31Serpent King, please forgive me.
07:33It's only that I cannot bring myself to fail Lily, so I must ask the Princess to bear with the
07:38arrangement.
07:38He pressed on.
07:39I hope the Serpent King will decide quickly.
07:42My father is waiting to celebrate.
07:43In terms of power, the Serpent Clan was nowhere near the Fireborn court.
07:48Even if my father was unwilling, he had no choice but to be able to.
07:52For the sake of his people, he looked up at me.
07:55Seraphine, what do you think?
07:58His mouth asked for my opinion.
08:00His eyes had already made the answer clear.
08:02He wanted me to accept.
08:04The realization made something in me go cold.
08:07Everyone said my father adored me, but I knew.
08:11He favored Lily more.
08:13From childhood, he had trained me in how to please the Fireborn.
08:16How to survive at their margins.
08:18How to fight for the Serpent Clan's interests.
08:21He made me cultivate day and night without rest.
08:24It was because the Fireborn set the bar impossibly high in her own Serpent.
08:30Without immense cultivation, she couldn't protect the Crown Prince through this trial.
08:35When the Fireborn ascended, a Serpent was always beside me.
08:40For every Fireborn who came out alive, most Serpents alongside them had been sacrificed.
08:46Lily only needed to eat well, rest well, and enjoy herself.
08:50My father even chose for her the freest and most equal of all plans.
08:54The Raven Lord, who has her future power.
08:57For the first time in my life, I had a thought that went against my father.
09:02I clasped my hands.
09:05Father, I refuse to be anyone's compine.
09:08The moment I said it, I heard a sharp intake of breath from half the room.
09:12Ashvane blinked, clearly not having anticipated that anyone would refuse to marry him.
09:17Lily's face filled with satisfaction.
09:18My father frowned.
09:20If not a concubine, what about equal wives?
09:24You and Lily both married to the Crown Prince.
09:28Neither ranked above the other.
09:30I don't want that either.
09:31I don't want to marry into the Fireborn court at all.
09:34Ashvane looked at me.
09:35His expression said, I didn't know what was good for me.
09:38My father lost his patience.
09:40If you won't marry the Fireborn court, then who do you want to marry?
09:43I want to marry him.
09:44I pointed at a man in black sitting in the corner.
09:47Under every eye in the room, I walked toward him.
09:55Will you marry me?
09:58The man was none other than Corvus Blackwood, the young lord of the Raven Order, who had
10:03come today to meet Lily.
10:04Before Corvus could say a word, Ashvane burst out.
10:07I thought the serpent princess had set her sights on someone important, and it turns out
10:12to be a raven.
10:13Ravens were considered bad omens, and naturally held in contempt by the proud Fireborn.
10:17But the Raven Order was free-spirited, graceful, and mysterious.
10:21They believed in equality.
10:22They looked down on no one.
10:24My father's expression went dangerously dark.
10:26Even my mother, who always showed me warmth, went pale.
10:29Lily spoke up.
10:31Princess, are you serious?
10:33You want to marry Corvus?
10:35You're not just saying that?
10:36Of course.
10:37I have long admired him.
10:39Naturally, I want to marry him.
10:42Ashvane's expression curdled instantly.
10:44A raven.
10:45It will never cultivate into a phoenix.
10:47It will never even reach divine transformation.
10:49And yet the great phoenix still relies on ours, our serpent clant, to survive the ascension.
10:54There are those who strut around giving orders here, but the moment they need something,
10:58they wag their tails harder than a stray dog begging for scraps.
11:01I thought of how, in my last life, Ashvane had been especially attentive to me as his trial
11:06approached.
11:06That was when he charmed me so thoroughly that when the moment came, I gave everything I
11:11had to protect him through it.
11:12When it was over and I had somehow survived, I was gravely injured.
11:15That was why Ashvane was able to take my soul core.
11:18Then Lily found my weakest point.
11:20Together, they stripped my scales from my body, and she killed me with a final blade.
11:25Thinking of it now, the place where my heart used to be ached, nully, Ashvane went white
11:29with fury.
11:30Who are you calling a dog?
11:31Whoever fits the description.
11:33At that, a soft laugh broke through.
11:35I looked up at him and paused.
11:37I hadn't really looked at him before.
11:38This Corvus Blackwood.
11:40He was surprisingly handsome.
11:42Even you dare laugh at me, Raven.
11:44Die!
11:45Ashvane was still the Fireborn Crown Prince.
11:48He had real power.
11:49Ashvane was provoked by Daryloth and immediately stroked toward him with an open palm.
11:52My instinct was to shield Corvus, but he was already there ahead of me, meeting Ashvane
11:57palm to palm.
11:58In that instant, black energy and gold energy collided and held perfectly even.
12:03Ashvane was forced back.
12:05Again!
12:05He said, refusing to accept it, but Corvus lowered his hand.
12:09A misunderstanding, your highness.
12:10I laughed because Princess Serafane said she admired me.
12:13I was simply too excited to contain it.
12:15Your power is formidable.
12:16Corvus concedes.
12:18He said he was conceding, but anyone could see.
12:20Ashvane was not his match.
12:22Others might marvel at how deep Corvus' cultivation ran.
12:25Only I knew the truth.
12:27Ashvane had never been as powerful as his reputation claimed.
12:30In my last life, without me, he couldn't have bested his own personal guards.
12:34Ashvane's face went dark, but then Lily stepped forward.
12:37Your highness, since the princess and Corvus' clearly have feelings for each other, there's
12:42no need to insist on marrying her.
12:44I was still puzzling over when Lily had become so reasonable, when she turned and knelt before
12:48my father.
12:49Your majesty, by the pact between the Fireborn Court and the Serpent Clan, a serpent princess
12:54must marry the Fireborn Crown Prince.
12:56Since Princess Serafine refuses, I am willing to go in her place, on the condition that she
13:01transfers her title of Serpent Princess to me, along with her Scales and her Serpent Stone.
13:06So that was where she had been waiting.
13:08The Serpent Clan had three treasures.
13:10Scales, indestructible, capable of withstanding divine lightning.
13:14Serpent Stone, which absorbed the essence of sun and moon, and amplified both parties'
13:18cultivation during dual practice.
13:21She was demanding two of the three.
13:24How was that any different from taking my life?
13:28I hadn't yet opened my mouth.
13:30Ashvane was already pressing my father.
13:32Serpent King.
13:34Serphine broke the pact first.
13:36If she won't hand over those two things, I'll have a difficult time answering to my father.
13:41Here we go again.
13:43Can't win the fight, so bring out the Fireborn Court.
13:47My father's brow tightened, but he gave way.
13:49Seraphine, if you truly won't marry into the court, then I'm afraid you'll have to hand
13:54those two things over to Lily.
13:55At that moment, my faith in my father was gone entirely.
13:59And if I refuse?
14:01The moment I said it, the whole hall went still.
14:04Every serpent in the room looked at me, expressions shifting rapidly.
14:08My father's brows were nearly not together.
14:11Seraphine, this is not the time for stubbornness.
14:14He took my hand and lowered his voice.
14:18You know what it means to anger the Fireborn Court.
14:21Can you not think of our people for once?
14:23The Fireborn were powerful, and every Fireborn Emperor eventually reached divine transformation.
14:29No clan in the spirit world was willing to make an enemy of them.
14:33But even so...
14:34Father, your daughter refuses to accept this.
14:37I clasped my hands.
14:39The wrong is clearly on the Fireborn Court's side.
14:42Even if I refuse to marry, even if I refuse to hand anything over, no one has grounds to fault
14:47me for it.
14:48You are forcing me out of nothing but fear.
14:50But have you ever asked yourself,
14:52Is the Fireborn Court truly that shakable?
14:54Is our serpent clan truly beneath them?
14:57The more you yield, the more they will take.
15:00That is all they have ever learned to do.
15:02I thought of my last life,
15:03when the Fireborn came to destroy us.
15:06The moment they arrived,
15:08our serpent clan surrendered.
15:10Not a single person dared to push back.
15:12Because even my father feared the powerful Fireborn.
15:15How could the people below him be expected to resist?
15:18Yet I remembered my mother once telling me that,
15:20when my father was young,
15:22he was not a man who bent easily.
15:24Hearing my words,
15:25my father stared at me as though he didn't know me.
15:28Ashvane gave a cold laugh.
15:30Quite the speech.
15:32Since the serpent clan clearly has no interest in negotiating,
15:36I suppose there's nothing left to discuss.
15:39I'll have to bring this matter back to my father.
15:41I thought my words might have reached something in him.
15:44Then his hand came across my face.
15:46I looked up at my father,
15:48his face burning with fury,
15:50and felt something freeze inside me.
15:53You ungrateful ret.
15:54What nonsense are you spouting?
15:56Hand over the scales and the serpent stone now.
15:58Or do you intend to force your own father's hand?
16:01Those words.
16:03Each one a blade driven straight into my chest.
16:07I looked around.
16:08Contempt in every clans person's eyes.
16:12Triumph all over Lily's face.
16:15Only Corvus made a move to step forward.
16:17The person beside him grabbed him and held on hard.
16:20I closed my eyes.
16:22You cannot wake someone who is only pretending to sleep.
16:25I was about to shift form.
16:27About to strip my scales.
16:30Wait.
16:31I opened my eyes.
16:34My mother looked at Ashvane.
16:36Your Highness, use my scales and my serpent stone instead.
16:39I cried out.
16:42Mother, why would you?
16:43My mother's face was full of quiet pleading.
16:47My scales are denser.
16:48My serpent stone is stronger.
16:50I started to say it didn't matter, but Lily looked at my mother with undisguised disdain.
16:56You're so old.
16:57Who wants your things?
16:58We want Seraphine Moros.
17:01Ashvane nodded in agreement.
17:03It's just as you see.
17:04My mother knelt directly on the floor.
17:08Please, let Seraphine go.
17:12Mine are not lesser.
17:14Every word my mother said drove deeper into me.
17:17My tears fell before I could stop them.
17:20My mother, like my father, had always kept the best things for Lily.
17:25I had always resented that in her.
17:28I thought she was weak.
17:29That she had spent her whole life losing herself for my father's sake.
17:34But now I saw how completely wrong I had been.
17:38That kneel broke something open in my chest.
17:41Mine.
17:42I wiped my face and spoke aloud.
17:44I looked Lily directly in the eyes.
17:46Lily.
17:48I'll give you my scales and my serpent stone.
17:51But whether you can keep them, that depends on your own abilities.
17:56Lily curved her lips.
17:57Then I'll thank the princess.
17:59In front of everyone, I shifted into my true form.
18:03The pain of stripping scales went beyond anything that can be described.
18:07My tail swept across my body.
18:09The scales fell away one by one.
18:11I shook with each one.
18:12One.
18:13Two.
18:14Three.
18:14Every scale I lost added another measure of pain.
18:17When all of them had fallen away, the blue-green scales gathered together and wove themselves into a sheath of
18:23armor that drifted down onto Lily.
18:24She couldn't help spinning once.
18:26A smile on her face, uncontainable.
18:32I shifted back to human form.
18:35I lost my footing for a moment, staggering, and was caught.
18:40I turned to look.
18:42It was Corvus.
18:43I thanked him and then used my inner energy to force out the serpent stone.
18:48The blue-green serpent stone rose into the air.
18:51Lily swallowed it without waiting.
18:53But the next second, she let out a scream.
18:56Instead of the flood of power she had expected, a violent pain erupted from the center of her chest.
19:03She writhed on the floor, shrieking.
19:05The sound was raw and tearing.
19:07Ashvane frowned and moved to channel energy to help her.
19:11Before he even touched her, Lily screamed once more.
19:14The serpent stone burst out from her chest.
19:17Lily looked up and vomited a mouthful of blood.
19:21Seraphine Moro, you tampered with the serpent stone.
19:25The next instant, Ashvaney's sword was pressed against my throat.
19:28What did you do to her?
19:29I did nothing.
19:30If you did nothing, how did she end up like this?
19:33A serpent stone is naturally a serpent-clin treasure.
19:36Without a serpent's soul core to anchor it, it cannot be absorbed by anyone else.
19:41That is common knowledge.
19:42This was not a secret.
19:44Lily had lived among us long enough to know it.
19:47Her face went pale.
19:48Impossible!
19:49I carry serpent blood!
19:50Why can't I use it?
19:51You must have done something!
19:53I asked her.
19:54Who told you that you carry serpent blood?
19:58I am the serpent king's daughter!
20:00How could I not carry serpent blood?
20:02My father finally stepped forward.
20:04Who said you were the serpent king's daughter?
20:06Your father is not me.
20:08In my last life, my father was gravely injured before Ashvane's ascension trial.
20:12After I went back to see him one final time, my mother told me the truth.
20:16There had never been any affair between my father and the Hare Queen.
20:19It was my mother who had once been saved by the Hare Queen.
20:23They had called each other sisters ever since.
20:25When my father learned the Hare Queen was under attack, he had even sent troops to rescue her.
20:30But they arrived too late.
20:32In my last life, I told Lily the truth as I was dying.
20:35She didn't believe me.
20:36She thought I was lying.
20:37But now, hearing it from my father's own mouth, with the serpent stone's reaction as proof,
20:43Lily had no choice but to believe.
20:46Her expression changed in an instant.
20:48Everything she had ever done in her last life had been driven by a desire to avenge her mother.
20:53But now she knew she had avenged the wrong person.
20:56She had no idea what to do with that.
20:58Lily went silent.
21:00But Ashvane was relentless.
21:01His sword still pointed at me.
21:03So the serpent stone alone isn't enough.
21:06A soul core is needed too.
21:08I looked at him with cold eyes.
21:10In your dreams, a soul core was everything to a spirit being.
21:14Once it was taken, any chance of revenge I had would be gone forever.
21:17My words had pushed Ashvane past his limit.
21:19Then I'll take it myself.
21:21He gathered his power, took his stance, and flew at me with his sword.
21:24I had just stripped all my scales.
21:26There was no way I could match him now.
21:28At that moment, Corvus stepped in front of me.
21:31I heard the person beside him shout,
21:34Corvus, this is a matter between the serpent clan and the fireborn court.
21:38Do you want to bring destruction on the raven order?
21:41Corvus's foot shifted slightly to the side.
21:43Then he held his ground.
21:45But in the end, it was not Corvus who blocked Ashvane's sword.
21:50It was my father.
Comments