Born in apocalypse

’Aurora... huh! That’s a beautiful name... a name matching her royalty,’ Dhruv thought, quite surprised that she had come up with such a good name so quickly. It almost put all his naming skills to shame.

"Well, that’s a beautiful name you have chosen there. From now on, your name shall be Aurora," Dhruv repeated, pleased with the name.

"So, meet him, he is your elder brother and also the second guardian. You can call him Azarex," Dhruv mentioned, gesturing toward Azarex.

"Nice to meet you, Aurora," Azarex muttered excitedly. He was really keen to see another powerful being added to their group. Now there was one more pillar protecting his Master.

"Pleasure is all mine, Brother Azarex," Aurora replied with a bow. Her calm gaze checked out Azarex and the undead beside him.

"Master, why are you standing? Shouldn’t you sit there?" she asked, gesturing toward the lonely throne waiting for its owner. She seemed eager to see him sitting on the throne.

"On the throne... ahhh!! How should I say this... it’s not mine..." Dhruv paused, embarrassed to admit killing her.

Taking a deep breath, he added, "... well, you see, this is your throne. Not just the throne either, we are in your castle as well as your dungeon. So how can I sit on that?"

"..."

Hearing the reply, the queen remained silent for a few seconds, then whispered something. Her words were so soft that nobody heard them.

Noting the silence, Dhruv was about to move forward but stopped as a voice rang in his ears.

"I think you have some confusion, Master... A throne isn’t a personal possession. It’s not something one can own..."

Pausing a bit, she continued,

"...instead, a throne belongs to those who are worthy to sit upon it." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"It is a symbol of responsibility, honor, and the trust of the people. It demands respect and the right character to hold its power, not mere ownership," Aurora muttered with a calm demeanor.

"...."

’Huh! Well, right!’ Dhruv thought, confused by this sudden speech from her.

He wanted to deny what she was saying but he couldn’t. Deep down, even he who doesn’t come from a historical era knew what she was saying wasn’t wrong.

A throne belongs to someone worthy...

’What should I do... should I sit on it though?’ Dhruv thought, looking toward Aurora.

Seeing her eyes full of expectation, he couldn’t help but sigh.

’Well I can’t say no to these eyes can I...’

"Okay..." Saying these words, he moved toward it. Reaching the throne, he placed his palm on the armrest.

Without waiting for any ceremony, he sat on it. The moment his body connected with the body of the throne he couldn’t help but feel a sudden power penetrating his body.

’So this is an Artifact as well... uhhh! Just how many of them has she collected..’ Dhruv thought making sure that the throne really was an artifact as well.

"How is it, master?" Aurora asked, a satisfied look appearing on her face.

"It’s... pleasant," Dhruv replied.

Not wanting to waste any more time with the formalities, Dhruv turned toward Aurora and asked,

"So, let’s see what exclusive abilities you possess."

Excited to see what type of exclusive ability she would have, he called her status with the help of Mark.

......

Name: Aurora

Species: Ice Empress [Asteri]

Level: [00/80] [99%] [Tier IV]

Magic Affinity: Ice (S), Soul (S), Crystal (E)

Stats: Strength Lv. 105, Stamina Lv. 105, Agility Lv. 90, Magic Power Lv. 250

Exclusive attributes: Soul Bound, Stellar Soul, Dungeon Keeper, Mark of Asteri

.......

’She indeed was about to evolve to Tier V, but now she can’t. After becoming an Asteri, she has to meet the level requirements as well,’ Dhruv thought, looking at her levels.

’It is quite unfortunate. If she had evolved, maybe I would have a Tier V guardian... but then again, would I be able to defeat her? I don’t think so,’ he thought, shaking his head.

’She indeed has a soul affinity...’ As Dhruv read about the affinity she possessed, an idea appeared in his head.

’Could she be able to heal my soul with her magic?...’ Dhruv thought really wanted this to happen. But after remembering the severity of the damage he couldn’t help but sigh.

’I don’t think she can do it now, but maybe she will eventually reach the level to heal my soul,’ Dhruv thought, making a mental note to talk to her about this.

As Dhruv further read her status a frown appeared on his face.

’Well, her stats aren’t that great... but still, she was able to cause that much trouble for me,’

Seeing her stats levels Dhruv couldn’t help but begin pondering the reason behind this significant gap in their strength despite both of them having similar stats.

As he observed her status, it didn’t take long for him to figure out the reason. Except for soul manipulation, all her skills were at Tier IV. Every single one of them had reached Tier IV.

From what he can tell most of them formed synergy as well. Each skill was strengthening the others.

’Is upgrading skills this important?’ Dhruv thought, questioning his approach regarding skills until now.

’Well, there is no other way I can see other than this.’ he thought nodding his head.

’I have to focus on upgrading my skills as well,’ Dhruv thought, taking a deep sigh.

He was sure his mana manipulation, metal manipulation, mana absorption, and illusion resistance had reached Tier III, but he wasn’t sure about the others.

Dhruv was starting to see why not having his skills appear on his status was a bad thing.

Not able to do anything about it, he looked at her exclusive abilities.

’So she has four exclusive abilities... of which three I know.’ Skipping the other abilities, Dhruv tapped on [Stellar Soul].

[Stellar Soul: You possess a great soul. Having a great soul makes you close with the souls. Unlike others, you store your memories inside your soul, protecting it from getting corrupted. Not even death can part them from you. Your soul will continue to shine together.]

’Your soul can’t get corrupted... not even after death.’ A chill ran down his spine as Dhruv read these words. It didn’t take him long to attack the strings.

Mana stirred inside him as an enhanced metal spear appeared in an instant. Placing it right beside her head, Dhruv began fusing it with flame.

Looking into her eyes, he asked, "Do you remember everything?"

Dhruv’s senses were ready to notice every movement of hers. Even a single trace of mana being moved here and there, and he would fire the spell without a second thought.

This time, he wouldn’t stop until her soul was destroyed as well.

"Yes, Master. I remember everything clearly," Aurora answered with a smile. Her reply contained no harm. It was as pure as it could be.