𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐘, 𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑, 𝐆𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐘 || 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐔𝐒 𝐒𝐍𝐎𝐖

𝐗𝐗

୨୧ 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 ୨୧

IN THE AFTERMATH OF FESTUS' MYSTERIOUS DEMISE, the Capitol buzzed with rumors and whispers, each more surreal than the last.

The once-charismatic figure had met a gruesome end, discovered with eyes as black as the night, and black bile oozing from his mouth and nose.

The sensational details fueled wild speculations, but the truth remained buried beneath layers of secrecy.

The Creeds, despite their vast wealth and influence, failed to uncover the identity of Festus's assailant.

In a city where power and money often held sway, the enigmatic circumstances surrounding Festus's death became an unsolvable puzzle.

The blame was conveniently shifted to rebels, a faceless enemy that could absorb the sins of the Capitol without ever being held accountable.

At Festus's funeral, family and friends, including Seraphina and her parents, gathered to mourn the loss of a life cut short.

The air was heavy with grief, but Seraphina expertly wore the mask of a grieving friend.

She exchanged condolences, shed crocodile tears, and participated in the charade of shared sorrow.

Despite the solemnity of the occasion, Seraphina's mind wandered, boredom seeping through the facade of mourning.

She observed the mourners, their exaggerated grief, and wondered if anyone could truly mourn a man like Festus.

The pretense of emotion was exhausting, and she longed for the day when she could escape the drudgery of the Capitol's shallow rituals.

The funeral, a theatrical display of grief, marked the end of Festus's story, leaving Seraphina to navigate the aftermath of her own creation.

In the hushed silence of Seraphina's room, shadows danced across the walls as she meticulously arranged her surroundings.

On the desk, neatly laid out, were papers outlining her future— a path that led to the prestigious University of the Capitol.

The ink on the enrollment forms would soon seal her destiny, a destiny she was determined to shape.

Adjacent to the academic paperwork, a square terrarium held her captivating rainbow snake mutt.

Its vibrant scales shimmered like a living spectrum, a mesmerizing presence in stark contrast to the unfolding darkness.

As the rainbow serpent gracefully slithered within its confined space, an unexpected visitor emerged from the shadows at the rear of the terrarium.

This new serpent, unlike its colorful companion, possessed scales as black as the night sky, mirroring the depths of the secrets Seraphina harbored.

The scales of the viper gleamed with an eerie darkness, a blackness that seemed to absorb the very essence of the night sky.

It was a shade as deep and profound as the void, reminiscent of the fateful night when Festus met his demise.

Those scales mirrored the inky blackness that had overtaken Festus's eyes in his final moments— a haunting transformation witnessed by no one but the dark shadows.

The viper's scales resonated with the same profound blackness that accompanied the bile pouring from Festus's mouth and nose.

As if absorbing the echoes of his demise, the serpent's presence became an enigmatic reminder of the secrets buried within Seraphina's machinations.

The blackness of the scales mirrored the mysterious liquid she had artfully introduced into Festus's drink, setting in motion a sequence of events that led to his unexpected demise.

In the subtle interplay of shadows within her room, the viper coiled, its scales reflecting the clandestine actions that unfolded beneath the surface of the Capitol's polished exterior.

The darkness encapsulated by the viper encapsulated the essence of Seraphina's calculated moves, her mastery of secrets, and the subtle, venomous dance of power she orchestrated in the elite circles of the Capitol.

The snake, a viper with fangs capable of delivering potent venom, reflected the darker aspects of Seraphina's intentions.

As it coiled and moved, it seemed to embody the secrets she kept, the deeds that transpired in the shadows, and the unseen forces at play.

The viper's emergence signaled the convergence of deceit and calculated moves, an embodiment of the shadows she cast to shape her destiny in the Capitol's complex web of power and deception.

The creation of the black viper mutt stood as a testament to Seraphina's ingenuity and resourcefulness.

Unlike the rainbow snake mutts, this new breed was entirely her own creation, born from her clandestine experiments, without any involvement or permission from Dr. Gaul.

It was a symbol of her growing autonomy, a secret power she harnessed for her own purposes.

As she observed and studied the black viper mutt, Seraphina found that they shared many characteristics with their rainbow counterparts.

They were agile, quick, and possessed an acute sensitivity to smell— traits that made them formidable creatures in their own right.

However, what set them apart was their venom, a potent and lethal concoction that acted with unparalleled speed and brutality.

Seraphina, driven by a relentless pursuit of knowledge, delved into the intricacies of the black viper's venom.

Through meticulous research and experimentation, she uncovered the horrifying truth— that the venom, once injected, initiated a rapid deterioration of internal organs within mere seconds.

This revelation explained the black bile that had marked Festus's tragic end.

With this newfound knowledge, Seraphina harbored secret plans to create more of these mutts in the shadows.

The black vipers became her covert allies, tools she could employ to further her ambitions and secure her future.

Each slithering creature held the promise of power, a force to be wielded in the pursuit of her desires— desires that were rooted in love, concealed beneath layers of calculated secrecy.

It was all for her future... all for them... all for love.