Second Fate of the Twin Brides

I and my twin elf sister married at the same day.

She was to marry the the Light Falcon Lord of the Holy Light Kingdom, and I the vicious Lord of the Black Scale Wyrms.

All elves envied her fortunate match.

But on our wedding night, the Falcon Lord left to fight a battle, and sacrificed himself for the realms.

The Serpent Lord later ascended to godhood, his glory outshining the Holy Light Kingdom.

Left widowed in the light court, my sister betrayed her vows with a knight.

The King stripped her elven power and banished her to the cell.

When I visited her, she tricked me into drinking corrosive spring water, erasing my soul entirely.

But I woke to find we had both reborn on the day our betrothals were declared.

This time, my sister fought hard to marry the Lord of Black Scale Wyrms.

I smiled quietly.

How could she cast aside a blessed life revered by all realms for a hollow dark divinity?

"The royal decree is hereby proclaimed."

My father, the Elven King, struck his crystal staff against the marble floor of the grand hall. 

"Elowen, bearing the silver moon mark, will marry Draven, Lord of the Black Scale Wyrms in the Shadow Abyss." He didn't even look at me. 

His gaze shifted entirely to the girl standing beside me, his eyes softening with unmistakable pride. "And Seren, bearing the gold moon mark, our clan's shining glory, shall wed Kaelen, the Light Falcon Lord of the Holy Light Kingdom."

Draven was a monster. A ruthless, lecherous beast who survived on the law of the jungle, notorious across the continent. Marrying him was being sent to a slaughterhouse. 

Kaelen, however, was the continent’s recognized guardian deity. The Light Falcon Lord. Noble, powerful, and flawless. 

The elders nodded in approval. 

But before the royal scribe could press the seal onto the parchment, a loud thud echoed through the hall. 

Seren dropped heavily to her knees. 

"Father! Mother! Wait!" Tears spilled perfectly from her eyes, tracing the edges of the golden crescent mark on her cheek. 

"No!" Seren wept loudly, turning to look at me with an expression of manufactured agony. "I am the elder sister. I carry the 'Moon's Glory.' How can I watch my twin sister walk into the Abyss to suffer? The prophecy says Elowen brings doom, but she is still my blood! Let me take her place!"

"I volunteer to marry the Wyrm Lord! I will go to the Shadow Abyss. I will secure the peace for our clan. Let Elowen marry the Light Falcon Lord!"

The elders erupted into shocked murmurs. 

"Such sacrifice!"

"The true heart of the Moon's Glory!"

"She is willing to throw her life away for a cursed sister!"

My mother rushed down the steps, pulling Seren into a tight embrace, sobbing into her golden hair. "My stupid, brave girl! How can I let you plunge into that hell?"

My father’ brow furrowed in sharp disbelief. He strode down from his throne. 

"Have you lost your mind?" he hissed. 

Seren leaned in close, her eyes gleaming with a hidden, frantic ambition. "Trust me, Father," she murmured, just loud enough for my sharp ears to catch. "The secrets of fate cannot be revealed. I know exactly what I am doing."

They stood there, exchanging rapid, hushed whispers. I watched my father's face shift. The shock melted into deep doubt, then slowly settled into silence. 

Stepping back, he cleared his throat. He forced a solemn, tragic look onto his face, though his eyes still flickered with lingering uncertainty. 

He waved his hand at the scribe. "Change the decree," he finally commanded, his tone rigid. "Seren marries into the Shadow Abyss. Elowen goes to the Holy Light Kingdom."

My father stood tall. "Seren, your selflessness will be carved into the eternal pillars of the Elondrin Woods. You are the absolute pride of our bloodline."

"Since the decree is set," my father’s voice pulled me back to the present, "we must discuss the dowry."

He turned to the treasury minister. "For Seren’s noble sacrifice, open the supreme vault. Give her eighty chests of elemental spirit stones, ten ancient healing artifacts, and half of the clan’s royal guard to escort her."

"Father, what about Elowen?" Seren asked, her voice laced with fake innocence. "She is marrying the great Light Falcon Lord. We cannot let her look poor."

My mother sneered coldly. "The Holy Light Kingdom lacks nothing. Giving her too much will only make us look like we are flaunting our wealth. Three chests of basic silk garments and a standard maidservant will suffice. Don't embarrass the silver mark, Elowen."

Eighty chests of ancient treasures against three boxes of clothes. 

"I understand," I replied evenly, my voice devoid of any emotion. 

Seren stood up, wiping the last of her fake tears. She walked over and took my hands, her nails digging painfully into my skin. 

"Elowen," she whispered, her eyes gleaming with dark anticipation. "Since we are twins, let us marry on the exact same day. Let our carriages leave the forest gates together. I want to see you off properly before I go into the dark."

I looked into her eyes. I knew exactly what she was planning. 

She wanted to stand in her lavish, treasure-filled carriage and watch me roll away into a widow’s curse. She wanted to count the hours until the news of Kaelen’s death arrived, savoring my impending doom while dreaming of her own ascension. 

"Of course, sister," I smiled back, my grip tightening on her hands until I felt her bones grind. "Together."

Not a single person turned to ask me if I agreed. My marriage, my life, was just a bargaining chip they could swap on a whim. 

I didn't argue. I simply lowered my head in submission. 

I caught Seren’s gaze over our mother's shoulder. 

Her tears were still flowing, but her eyes were dry of sorrow. Through the weeping facade, a vicious, triumphant smirk flashed across her face. 

I knew. 

We had both come back. We had both been reborn.

In our previous life, I was meant for the Abyss, and she for the Light. Seren, obsessed with Kaelen’s unmatched prestige, used a forbidden potion to disguise her gold mark. She stole my identity and climbed into the Holy Light carriage. I was shoved into the abyssal transport.

But her theft bought her nothing but ruin. 

Kaelen died on their wedding day. He sacrificed his soul to seal the Shadow Rift, leaving Seren a widow before they even shared a cup of wine. Unable to endure the loneliness and the strict rules of the holy kingdom, she slept with a subordinate knight. She was caught, publicly stripped of her titles, her reputation destroyed, and banished to a filthy dungeon to rot. 

Meanwhile, Draven—the monster I was forced to marry—ascended. He broke through his mortal limits, ascending into a dark god. As his wife, I was crowned the Supreme Matriarch, holding an exalted, unmatched status across the continent. 

In the damp cell, Seren listening to the guards gossip about the Wyrm Lord's supreme reign, regretting her choices until her last breath. 

When I visited Seren in her cell, my glory drove her mad with jealousy. Feigning remorse, she tricked me into drinking from the Abyss Corrosion Spring. My soul shattered. 

But her triumph lasted mere seconds. The moment my life force vanished, Draven lost his power anchor and suffered backlash. His berserk energy swept the Abyss, instantly tearing Seren to shreds. 

Our simultaneous deaths coincided with the MILLENNIAL LUNAR ECLIPSE. The violent obsession of our twin bloodline shattered time, dragging us both back.

Now, she was back. And she wanted the dark throne.

I almost laughed out loud right there in the hall. 

Seren thought Draven’s ascension was his destiny. She thought she was stealing a one-way ticket to becoming the supreme ruler of the continent. 

She didn't know why he ascended. 

Seren wanted that monster? She wanted a throne built on my torn flesh? 

I would gladly hand him over. Let's see how far her one miserable Scale takes her when the Wyrm Lord gets hungry.