On the day we were to choose our magical guardians, my sister laid claim to the griffin's egg, leaving the serpent's egg to me.

She boasted that, as the trueborn daughter of the queen and the eldest princess, she was destined to become the chosen heir.

However, her griffin egg never hatched, what stumbled out was nothing more than a pitiful turkey.

My serpent egg, however, nurtured by the waters of the enchanted spring, awakened into a true white wyvern.

When I was named heir to the throne, my sister raised a cup in celebration, only to poison me with the wine and end my life.

I opened my eyes again at the moment of choosing. This time, my sister snatched away my serpent egg, shattered the griffin's before my eyes, and imprisoned me on a distant isle: determined that I would witness her glory as the chosen of the white wyvern and heir to the crown.

Yet when the white wyvern cracked its shell, destiny shifted. I bound myself instead to the Titan Ape, a beast mighty enough to bring the wyvern to its knees.

From the dawn of our kingdom, the nobility forged bonds with mystical creatures that guarded and guided them.

As heirs to those noble lines, the power of the creature each of us was paired with at birth determined our standing and sway within the royal court.

Today was meant to be a monumental day for my sister Yasmin and me: The day we would bond with our magical guardians.

"Father, I've chosen this serpent egg," Yasmin declared.

"And let Selena have the Griffin egg," she added.

Yasmin approached, the Griffin egg cradled on a silver tray. However, as I reached out, she yanked her hand back. The egg tumbled and shattered, its yolk painting the floor.

Yasmin gasped, stepping back with a look of shock. "Selena, I thought you loved Griffins, that's why I passed the egg to you. How could you let it break on purpose?

"Even if you despise me, you shouldn't reject Father's gesture. That Griffin egg was his decade-long quest."

She cut herself off and turned to our father, her head bowed in apology. "Father, it might have been an accident. Please, don't be angry with Selena. Blame me instead! I'll accept any punishment on her behalf."

Father's voice was ice as he dismissed her plea with a flick of his wrist. "Enough, Yasmin. I'm not blind. Selena, since you disrupted such a crucial ceremony, I must be stern.

"Effective immediately, Selena will be confined to Ebonwave Island. She'll stay there until she sees the error of her ways.

"Yasmin, you're tasked with taking Selena to Ebonwave Island. Keep a close eye on her for me."

Once we were alone, Yasmin's smile spread across her face, smug and self-satisfied.

"Selena, you lucked out and became the heir in your previous life, but this time around, don't kid yourself. You'll just be a spectator on Ebonwave Island, watching me take the reins as the heir with the white Wyvern at my side!"

That was when it hit me – Yasmin was reborn, too.

In our previous life, Yasmin, convinced she was the queen's true-born daughter and rightful eldest princess, proudly took on the mantle of heir. When it came time to pick our magical guardians, she naturally went for the Griffin egg.

The only egg left with any promise of hatching a strong creature was the serpent egg, so I had to make it my choice.

Digging through ancient tomes, I discovered that those eggs could evolve with the right kind of magical nourishment before they hatched. Lucky for me, there was a spiritual spring among the nobles' possessions, and I submerged my serpent egg in its waters.

Yasmin looked down on my efforts to enhance the serpent egg with the spring's power.

"Selena, no matter how much you try to improve that serpent egg, it's still just that – a serpent egg. It'll never become a Wyvern.

"However, me? I've got the real deal – a Griffin egg. I don't have to lift a finger, and what comes out will be a Griffin, no doubt about it."

Yasmin's taunts did not faze me. Day in and day out, I tended to the serpent egg with waters from the mystical spring, while Yasmin neglected her Griffin egg, leaving it to gather dust in the corner of the room.

To everyone's surprise, my diligent care paid off, and a majestic white Wyvern emerged from the serpent egg. Yasmin's egg, however, hatched only a half-formed creature, more turkey than Griffin.

Armed with my formidable white Wyvern, I won my father's approval and was declared the rightful heir. Yasmin, once the darling of the court, was relegated to a distant and insignificant landholding.

On the day of my ascension, Yasmin, under the pretense of a celebratory toast, poisoned me.

I watched her revel in her supposed victory, but I kept silent about one crucial fact: Wyverns are innately arrogant and hold humans in contempt.

Sure, a mystic contract could bind a Wyvern to serve as a magical guardian, but it would do so begrudgingly.

In my previous life, when the white Wyvern first hatched, I was ecstatic. However, joy turned to dismay as I realized it would not heed my commands. It wreaked havoc, each incident more catastrophic than the last, all to compel me to break our bond.

I knew all too well that if I severed the contract, the Wyvern would become an unstoppable force of destruction, with me as its first victim.

To prevent further calamities, I sustained it with my own lifeblood, which it accepted with reluctance. This sacrifice, however, drained me, shortening my life considerably.

Yasmin thought she stole a powerful ally, but what she actually took was a curse. To think she could live a second life and calmly assume the role of heir was nothing more than a delusion.

Yasmin swiped the serpent egg and was nurturing it with the mystical waters of the spirit spring, just like I did in my previous life.

She did not stop there; She tapped into the nation's coffers, gathering a trove of rare materials.

All of it went into pampering the white Wyvern egg, which was then on the brink of hatching, its progress hastened by her lavish care.

Meanwhile, I was stuck on Ebonwave Island, my Griffin egg shattered and my right to bond with magical guardians taken away.

Yasmin, elated by the impending arrival of her white Wyvern, came to gloat.

"Selena, how's life treating you on Ebonwave Island?

"I've been swamped lately, but I finally found a moment to drop by and check on you.

"You know, that serpent egg I claimed has transformed into a white Wyvern egg. And it's all thanks to you, in a way.

"The King, our father, to commend my success, has showered me with all sorts of heavenly treasures to nurture the white Wyvern egg. It's about to hatch, Selena. Soon, you'll witness me soaring on the white Wyvern, on the day I'm named the heir!"

Her laughter grated on my nerves, and I could not help but frown.

"I've heard the Wyverns are born proud, disdainful of humankind. The stronger a Wyvern, the harder it is to tame. Pampering that white Wyvern egg this way may not be wise."

Yasmin's hand struck like lightning, knocking me to the ground. She towered over me, her eyes icy and triumphant.

"What are you even talking about? The contract, sealed by divine and demonic laws, ensures that no matter how mighty the Wyverns are, they're still my loyal magical guardians, bound to aid me. Right?

"Selena, you're just bitter because life dealt you a worse hand. You're the one locked up by our father, stripped of your right to a magical guardian. Wake up and see the truth, you've been cast aside by our father, and you've lost any chance of competing with me for the throne."

I picked myself up off the ground, brushing the clinging dirt from my hands. "My apologies, I misspoke. Someone of your noble birth is clearly only suited for the Wyvern clan."

Yasmin, pleased with herself and eager to flaunt her status, was interrupted as Ebonwave Island began to quake, and the once tranquil sea whipped into a frenzy of waves.

Yasmin gave me a look of pure glee.

"The old books say that Ebonwave Island is a desolate place, plagued by constant quakes due to its harsh conditions, making it the perfect prison for nobles. Looks like we're due for another shake-up. I'm heading back to the palace. Selena, you'd better just hope for the best and survive this calamity."

I ignored Yasmin's delight in my misfortune; my gut told me that was no ordinary quake.

Sure, Ebonwave Island was known for its relentless disasters, but they were predictable. This quake was different, sudden, and it reminded me of the white Wyvern from my previous life, only this felt far more ominous.

Then, a Wyvern's call thundered across the heavens, and a regal white Wyvern took to the sky.

Yasmin's voice rang out in triumph: "It's my Wyrm Lord! It has awakened!"

I watched in horror as Yasmin, her arms flailing, charged toward the white Wyvern. I lunged to intercept her.

"Yasmin, there's something off about that white Wyvern. It shook the earth the moment it was born. You need to be careful!"

"Out of my way! How dare you, you vile schemer, plot against the noble Wyvern kin?"

With a shove, Yasmin brushed me aside and sprinted toward the creature.

The white Wyvern swooped down, lifting Yasmin onto its back, and they danced through the sky. Yasmin's fear quickly turned to exhilaration, her shouts of joy piercing the air.

"Fly, Wyrm Lord! Soar even higher! These waves are too tame, let's make a real splash!"

Caught up in the thrill, Yasmin failed to see the ground crumbling, the sea reversing, swallowing Ebonwave Island whole.

I saw my father, the King, with his council in tow. Desperate, I pleaded, "Father, you must stop Yasmin. If she keeps this up, the people of Noxeria will drown!"

With a swift kick, he sent me sprawling. "Selena, I sent you to Ebonwave Island to reflect. Is this your idea of penance?

"The emergence of the white Wyvern is a sign of good fortune. Yet you would even curse our people just to frame your own sister. You're hopeless!"

Descending from the heavens, Yasmin landed before the king on the back of the white Wyvern. "Father, you must understand, the Wyrm Lord may be a fierce fighter, but to the Wyvern kind, it's merely a newborn. It's not the monster Selena makes it out to be. Father, I'm to blame. Despite all this time, I've failed to make Selena see the error of her ways."

The white Wyvern lay submissively on the ground, while all around me, eyes filled with suspicion and awe.

Just then, a stone the size of a newborn shot up from the depths of the sea, hanging suspended in the air. It cracked open, releasing a burst of rainbow light that danced across the sky.

A golden titan ape materialized before the crowd, its presence so commanding that even the Wyvern did not dare draw breath.

"I am the Eternal and Boundless Grand Titan. Who dares to ruin my home?"

A wave of astonishment swept through the onlookers.

No one imagined that Ebonwave Island, a gilded cage for the nobility, concealed such a formidable being.

Yasmin shoved me to the front. "It's Selena! She did it!

"She was sent to Ebonwave Island by our father, the King, to reflect on her actions, but instead she defied his authority and laid the island to waste!"

Her accusation drew nods of agreement, and even our father, the king, seemed to silently concur.

I knew all too well the ways of noble families, power, and advantage above all else.

A mighty white Wyvern could significantly bolster Noxeria's might, so what was the loss of one expendable daughter to them?

However, remembering how I once nourished the Wyvern with my own life's essence to keep Noxeria strong, at the cost of my own years, only to meet my end at Yasmin's hands, I could not suppress the coldness creeping into my heart.

Then, under the titan ape's intimidating gaze, they were quick to cast me aside, and my heart sank.

I shot back, "Isn't it convenient to pin everything on a scapegoat when you need someone to blame? I don't even have a magical guardian bound to me. How could I possibly have destroyed Ebonwave Island? It was clearly Yasmin's Wyvern that did it!"

Yasmin, displeased, retorted, "You lack the skills, but it's not just about that, is it? You're bitter because Father locked you up and took away your chance to bond with those magical guardians. And you're green with envy because I've got the Wyrm Lord on my side. So, you're out for payback against him and me! Hiding behind your princess title, you swiped the white Wyvern egg, acting like you never stepped foot off Ebonwave Island.

"However, what you didn't see coming was today's Wyrm Lord's big debut, and he's already teamed up with me. When he found out a little thief like you took his egg, he was ticked off. He's out for blood, ready to give you the traitor's due.

"Titan Ape, you see right through it, don't you? The whole mess at Ebonwave Island, that's all Selena's doing!"

The Titan Ape's stare weighed on me, a pressure that could have squashed me flat, and I was left speechless, unable to plead my case.

However, I did not admit to anything. Even with my insides feeling like they were in a vice, I would not take the fall for someone else.

"Ha ha ha, you're a tough one, girl. How about it, want me to be your magical guardian?"

In the midst of the tension, the Titan Ape eased up, zipped right in front of me, and started goofing around, scratching his head and making circles around me.

Everyone was gobsmacked. Yasmin gave it a shot: "Your Excellency Titan Ape, she's-"

"Zip it! I've got zero patience for fibbers!

"You think I don't know what's going on outside just because I'm stuck in a jungle? I was just sizing you all up."

That's when it clicked for me. I bit into my finger and declared, "Titan Ape, let's make a pact!"