Born in apocalypse

The rays of light enter the room through the window as the lord of the island begins to wake up from his peaceful night... or that was how it was supposed to go, at least.

’Sigh! How many times I already had that same dream...’ Dhruv sighed as he looked at the clear blue sky from his window. A glimmer of hope ignited in his heart as he began to move toward his bathroom.

Bathing in the cold water, Dhruv tried to suppress all the memories from the dream. He really didn’t wish to go in the direction his dreams were guiding toward. He knew the consequences and thus was afraid to face them.

While he was trying to suppress this memory, a conversation of last night appeared in his head. Quickly finishing his bath he got out of the bathroom and began to change his clothes.

Looking at his reflection in the so-called mirror Dhruv whispers, "Let’s go. I have to change something as well,"

’Well, I can’t really blame Azarex for feeling that way... I shouldn’t have done that. I should have let him be there at least during the creation of his brother..’ Dhruv thought as he finally began to realize his negligence.

’No matter how much appeared to be grown, the craving of a child is still inside of them...The craving to get recognized... The craving to get loved...’ Thinking about many things, he exits his house and walks toward the center of the island.

’Maybe this is the reason the monsters couldn’t really think and only acted upon their instincts before evolving to tier 4. Of course, there might be rare cases here as well’ Dhruv began to understand some of the fundamental things that he was ignorant about.

Before he was halfway there, a connection seeped into his brain, [Master, Olivia had evolved in the middle of the night. You were asleep, so I didn’t disturb you.]

[It’s alright, Azarex. Where is she now?] Dhruv asked as he continued his steps.

[She is with the others. We are at the square, Master.] Azarex quickly replied.

[Okay, wait there. I’m coming.] Replying to this, Dhruv closed the connection, hastening his steps, he entered the square.

The moment he entered the area with the heavy population everyone began to greet him while bowing,

"Good morning, my lord."

"Morning, my lord."

"..."

Hearing all the greetings Dhruv began to greet them as well, "Good morning, everyone."

Nodding in their direction he continued to walk toward a lady with beautiful long white hair. Stopping in front of her he opens his mouth.

"How was the evolution, Olivia? How are you feeling now?" Dhruv asked as he looked at the ’monster’ in front of him.

Just from the first look, Dhruv could notice multiple changes. The most noticeable change was that her hair color changed from black to pure white. There was now a thunder-shaped tattoo under her left eye.

These were just surface-level changes, and Dhruv was sure that the changes that had happened inside were far more intricate to notice with normal eyes.

"Good. My lord, I feel great," Olivia preferred to answer in simpler terms.

"Was there any problem during evolution... or, more accurately, was there anything that you couldn’t understand?" Dhruv asked.

He was asking about this so he could improve the guide for anyone who was going to evolve in the future.

"No, everything was as simple as it can get." Recalling her experience, Olivia answers the question.

"Okay then..." Saying his goodbye to her, he began to walk on the island aimlessly.

Wandering on the island, Dhruv began to feel the sand underfoot and hear waves, surrounded by nature’s beauty. These are the things that let him forget about everything... even his dreams.

Soft ground, lush greenery, and endless horizons began to fill his vision as Dhruv moved toward the outer part of the island. Lost in the island’s charm, he discovers something that is out of place.

"Why is there a corpse here?" A frown appeared on his face as he looked at a goblin corpse lying on the ground.

Quickly connecting with Azarex, he asked a question, "[Azarex, was there any intruder last night?]"

[No, master, I don’t think there was any intruder last night.]

Being undead and the master of many such creatures, Azarex was the one with the job of making the island secure at night.

"Uhmm! If there wasn’t any intruder, then why is there a goblin corpse here on the outer side of the quest," Dhruv muttered under his breath as he observed the corpse in front of him.

[Ohh! About that, master...] Azarex carefully explained what had happened last night to Dhruv.

[No problem, just let someone remove the corpse from here; it didn’t look good.] Suggesting this, he was about to close the connection but stopped when he remembered that they had to plan something.

[Azarex, bring every leader to the meeting room.] Telling him this, Dhruv began to move toward his house.

[As you wish, my lord.] Nodding his head, Azarex cut the connection and began to find everyone else.

Reaching the room, Dhruv sat on the throne and began to wait for others to come.

’Hmm! I should focus on Illusion spells as well. Even though it doesn’t hurt physically, the thing it can do is far more interesting and deadly.’ Dhruv thought as he closed his eyes and dived deep into his mind.

After a moment of doing that, information and the blueprint of different spells began to form inside his head.

"I’m sure gonna learn this one today..." Dhruv thought as he read the description of one of the spells.

"Good morning, my lord."

Before he could try anything, the sound of a melodious voice entered his ears. Looking toward the door, he wasn’t surprised to see a familiar face.

"Good morning, Lyra. Where are the others?" Greeting back, he asked this question.

Before she could reply, the sound of multiple footsteps rang in the house.

"They are here as well, my lord." The blind prophet replied with a smile on her face.

Nodding her way, Dhruv began to look toward the gate.

’Who is that?’ Dhruv thought as he found that a new face was entering the room.