Born in apocalypse

As the duo moved, the view was only getting better. Everything from the ceiling and wall to even the floor beneath them was a marvel in itself as well.

Dhruv looked down as he found the floor adorned with mosaics of ice tiles, each one etched with intricate patterns and swirling designs that seemed to elusively shift and change as he moved.

Crunch! Crunch!

Every step they took sent echoes of soft crunching through the hall, a sound both delicate and profound in the now-silent grandeur of the castle.

As Dhryv moved from the hall, the structure began to open up. Giant ice pillars rose up on either side of the hall, supporting a ceiling that looked like a night sky in the throes of winter.

’Fucking beautiful...’ In his entire life, this was the first time Dhruv had seen something this beautiful, grand, and royal at the same time. He couldn’t believe something this beautiful could exist in this hellish dungeon.

Lifting his head, he gazed upon the ceiling, trying to understand its design. Stars seemed to be trapped within the ice, twinkling faintly and casting a gentle, celestial glow over everything.

As Dhruv gazes at the ceiling, something clicks inside his mind. Activating the newfound power of his eyes, he looked at the ceiling once again. Instantly, his eyes widened as he realized it wasn’t as simple as it looked.

It wasn’t just beautiful.

’What the hell. Mana is flowing through the ceiling...’ Suspecting something, he looked around, and within a second, his suspicion was confirmed.

’Not just the ceiling either. Mana is flowing through the whole castle. What type of engineering did they use to achieve this feat? And how are they even providing this much mana to the castle... are they using some sort of core?’

Shaking his head, Dhruv thought, ’No, There is no way they can continuously provide the castle with this much mana just from some cores. That can’t be possible. They must be absorbing mana from the surroundings and using it to feed the castle.’

Dhruv nodded thinking that must be the case. Looking at the surroundings he wanted to research the whole castle, but unfortunately, he didn’t have that much time. Letting out a sigh, he moved forward.

As they ventured further, they passed through arches carved from ice, each more elaborate than the last. Eventually, one of the arches led them into chambers filled with something amazing.

Dhruv looked around and found the room in front of him was filled with sculptures of lifelike figures.

To be precise, there were five figures in front of him: three of them were women while two were men. As Dhruv looked at them, he couldn’t help but find a male and female familiar.

’Huh! Don’t they look like the queen? Her parents, perhaps?’ Dhruv thought, nodding his head. He wasn’t surprised that there was a sculpture of her parents in her home.

He wasn’t surprised but... curious he was very much.

Not wanting to disturb her ancestors he quickly left the room. Moving forward the duo began to look through room after room. After moving for a while he enters a room that looks quite different from others.

From his somewhat limited history knowledge, Dhruv realized he had entered a grand ballroom.

The floor, made of ice, acted as a perfect mirror, reflecting the chandeliers made of frost that hung from the ceiling. The delicate icicle chandeliers sparkled like a thousand tiny stars, brightening the room.

Dhruv could almost imagine the room filled with elegantly dressed nobles, gliding across the floor in a timeless dance... but he stopped, realizing he was in a dungeon where royalty wasn’t a thing.

Every room they entered was a new marvel. They passed through libraries filled with books written in a language he had no idea about and even found dining halls with long frozen tables set for banquets of royalty.

As time passed, Dhruv realized that the air was always cold, but not uncomfortably so, and it carried a faint scent of pine and fresh snow.

Dhruv had long found the evolution chamber but engrossed in his sightseeing he hadn’t entered it yet. He wanted to roam the castle first.

Finally, the duo reached the throne room. At the far end of the room, on a raised dais, stood the Ice Queen’s throne. It was a magnificent creation, carved from a single, enormous block of ice.

The throne was adorned with intricate carvings of snowflakes and winter scenes, glowing with an inner light that made it seem almost alive.

The throne room was vast, with high, vaulted ceilings and walls that sparkled with embedded crystals. The floor was a smooth sheet of ice, reflecting the throne like a frozen lake.

He could almost imagine the queen sitting at the center of the throne, regal and imposing as she commanded the castle and the beings around her.

Sigh!

"Let’s go," Dhruv said, turning around. He decides to go into the evolution chambers.

There were a few more areas to explore in the basement and on the second floor of the castle, but after seeing the throne Dhruv didn’t have the mood to do so.

Looking at his back, Azarex followed his master. Soon the duo reached a room that looked very different from the others. Where every other room was filled with decor and elegance, this one was barren.

The whole room was empty... except for one thing. In the middle of the room, there was some sort of device. It was shaped in a way that could be used to collect liquid and not let it get far away.

"Hmmm! It’s this room, right?" Dhruv asked, looking around the empty space.

"Yes, master. You have to sit in that thing and begin your evolution," Azarex explained.

"Okay!" Nodding his head, Dhruv entered the room and sat in the middle of the strange device.

Azarex turned around as Dhruv unequipped his armor and got fully naked. Making sure everything was right, he opened his status.

[You have reached the maximum level of your species. Do you want to continue your evolution?]

[Yes/No]

"Yes..." Dhruv whispered as the world around him began to change.