Behind every throne lies a hidden ambition. But when power is obtained through a pact with the devil, human blood and souls become the price that must be paid.
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After agreeing to return to the Kandis Srinjani Kingdom and occupy the throne left vacant by the late King Tarumanagara, Queen Amarpati began revealing her true nature.
Change after change took place from the very first day of her reign.
The laws and traditions upheld by previous kings for generations were gradually abolished. Agricultural management was altered, wages distributed to the people were restricted, and military strategies that had once been used to protect the kingdom were now redirected to serve the queen's ambitions.
The freedom they had once enjoyed was gone.
So was the peace that had long been cherished by the people of Srinjani.
To Amarpati, the prosperity of her people was unimportant. She had no desire to see them live peacefully and happily. Instead, she wanted everyone to kneel before her and obey every command without daring to question her authority.
She wanted to be feared.
She wanted to be worshipped.
And above all, she wanted her power to last forever.
One night, Amarpati summoned her trusted confidant, Darmawangsa, to a private chamber within the palace. Torchlight illuminated the queen's face as long shadows danced across the walls, following the flickering flames.
Darmawangsa stood before the throne with his head bowed.
"There is an order you must immediately deliver to every inhabitant of Srinjani," Amarpati said coldly.
"What is Your Majesty's command?"
Amarpati leaned back against her throne. A faint smile formed on her lips.
"From this day forward, the kingdom shall hold a special ritual every week in my honor. Every inhabitant must attend and participate in every stage of the ceremony without exception."
Darmawangsa raised his head, visibly surprised.
"A ritual to honor Your Majesty?"
"Indeed." Amarpati fixed him with a sharp gaze. "Just as I honor Saracana Naraya, they must show me the same reverence."
Darmawangsa remained silent for a moment before finally bowing.
"Very well, Your Majesty. I shall immediately announce this decree to all the inhabitants of Srinjani."
However, before leaving, he asked another question.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty. What must they prepare for the ritual?"
Amarpati smiled faintly.
It was a smile that held not the slightest trace of kindness.
"A goat, chicken blood, three eggs, seven varieties of flowers, and water taken directly from the spring at the summit of Mount Srinjani."
She paused briefly before continuing in an increasingly commanding tone.
"Everyone must gather beneath the summit of Srinjani. They shall sit in a circle around the offerings and repeat every incantation I recite."
"The ritual shall be performed on designated nights. Therefore, all preparations must be completed one day before the ceremony begins."
"Make certain that no one dares to refuse."
Darmawangsa bowed once more.
"Your Majesty's orders shall be carried out."
He then left the chamber, unaware that the command he had just received would bring destruction upon the very kingdom they had sworn to protect.
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🐍 The Queen's Unholy Pact
To most of Srinjani's inhabitants, Saracana Naraya was merely a name passed down through ancient tales.
But to Amarpati, the creature was no mere legend.
Saracana Naraya was a colossal serpent that had lived since the earliest formation of Mount Srinjani. According to legend, the creature possessed the power to bestow immense wealth, promise eternal life, and grant dominion to anyone willing to enter into a pact with it.
Yet every gift bestowed by Saracana came at a price.
A price that those tempted by its promises could never truly comprehend.
Saracana's body was covered in rough scales of green, black, and gray. Its enormous size was said to be sufficient to coil around colossal structures. Upon its head rested a distinctive crown, as though the creature had been born to rule the realm of darkness.
The ancients knew it as Saracana, the Devil's Ally.
No one had ever succeeded in defeating it. Even the mighty rulers of the past had dared not challenge the creature directly.
So how could a woman named Amarpati possibly have formed a bond with such a terrifying being?
It all began when Amarpati was ten years old.
At the time, she was playing alone in a river that flowed through the Mount Srinjani region. The water was crystal clear, trees grew thickly along the banks, and birds called to one another amid the dense foliage.
Amarpati was splashing in the water when the river's surface suddenly rippled.
At first, she assumed that a large fish was swimming nearby.
But the ripples grew wider.
The water gradually darkened, as though something enormous were moving beneath the surface.
Amarpati took several steps backward.
Before she could scream, the head of a gigantic serpent emerged from the water.
A pair of yellow eyes stared at her without blinking.
Amarpati froze.
She should have run. She should have screamed for help.
Strangely, however, she felt none of the terror a child should have experienced when confronted by such a monstrous creature.
Instead, the serpent regarded her with intense curiosity.
"You can see me?"
A deep voice sounded directly inside her mind.
Amarpati flinched.
"Who are you?" she asked, her voice trembling.
The giant serpent raised its head higher.
"I am Saracana. A ruler who existed long before the kingdoms of humankind were established."
Amarpati swallowed nervously.
"Why are you speaking to me?"
"Because you are different from other humans."
The serpent's gaze sharpened.
"Within you lies something ordinary humans do not possess. You desire to become stronger, more powerful, and greater than everyone else."
Amarpati did not answer.
Yet deep within her heart, those words touched something she had long concealed.
The desire to possess everything.
The desire never to live under another person's authority.
From that encounter onward, Saracana began weaving its influence into Amarpati's life. Little by little, it introduced her to powers beyond the knowledge of ordinary humans.
And Amarpati, unaware of the magnitude of the danger awaiting her, accepted them all.
As she grew older, their bond became increasingly intimate until, eventually, an unholy pact was formed.
A pact that would one day change the fate of the Kandis Srinjani Kingdom forever.
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🩸 A Kingdom Built Upon Human Souls
Long before the Kandis Srinjani Kingdom was established, Saracana had possessed a domain of its own.
A hidden kingdom that existed in another dimension of Mount Srinjani, far beyond the reach of ordinary humans.
There, Saracana had built its power alongside followers who had surrendered their souls.
The creature had forged alliances with demons to prolong its dominion. Humans who fell victim to its deception were turned into slaves, while their souls were taken to sustain the existence of its dark kingdom.
To Saracana, humans were not beings deserving of respect.
They were merely sources of power.
And Amarpati had now become part of that grand design.
As queen, she possessed the means to bring Saracana into contact with hundreds, even thousands, of people who could be offered as sacrifices.
That was the true purpose behind the ritual she had ordered.
It was not merely an act of reverence.
Nor was it a royal tradition.
It was a means of binding human beings to an unholy pact they could not comprehend.
Perhaps this also explained why so many hikers had mysteriously disappeared on Mount Srinjani over the decades.
Those who became lost in certain places had not necessarily lost their way.
Some might have entered territories no human was ever meant to reach.
Others might already have fallen victim to Saracana.
They were promised magnificent lives, noble positions, and limitless prosperity. Yet all those promises were nothing more than bait designed to ensnare souls hungry for wealth and power.
Once someone accepted the offer, the path back was almost never open again.
And that night, hundreds of Srinjani's inhabitants were walking toward the same fate.