Auronis

Caelen's POV

They say Auronis was a gift.

But if that's true, then it was a gift wrapped in blood, sealed with fire, and forgotten by the ones who made it.

A long time ago—so long that no one truly remembers it—this world was not ruled by men or elves or dragons. It was ruled by gods and demons. The gods came from the stars, the demons from the void beneath existence itself. They hated each other, yes, but more than that… they fought for mana.

Mana is life here. It's not just energy. It's not just power. It's alive. It moves through the world like breath, like thought. Auronis is the only world that loves mana back. That's what made it special. That's why the gods and demons both tried to claim it.

The war they started nearly destroyed the planet.

Oceans boiled. Mountains shattered. The sky burned. And when their blood spilled—gold from the gods, black from the demons—it soaked into the land and birthed the races.

Seven races, each touched by divine or demonic power:

The dragons, proud and ancient, with scales harder than steel and breath that scorches time itself.

The phoenixes, born from flame, reborn again and again with every death.

The elves, graceful and wise, bonded to forests older than memory.

The fairies, small but full of raw light and trickery, able to bend nature to their whim.

The half-angels, noble and cold, descendants of fallen seraphs.

The half-demons, chaotic and powerful, children of shadows and ambition.

The demigods, few in number but each born with impossible strength.

And then… us. The humans.

We didn't come from god blood or demon ichor. We came from silence. From nothing. But maybe that's why we learned to survive. To adapt. We built cities while others slept. We studied mana while others were born with it. And in the end, our hunger made us the most dangerous of them all.

The war finally ended, but not because one side won. They just… left. Fled? Faded? No one knows. Maybe they're still out there, nursing wounds, whispering in the ears of kings and priests.

Auronis was quiet after that. But not for long.

The seven great races formed their own continents, each ruled by a mighty kingdom. Borders were drawn. Peace treaties were signed. But everyone knew it was only a matter of time.

And so, a secret pact was made.

To stop a future war, the kings of the seven continents offered their oldest daughters to the strongest human kingdom—Altheon, where mana flows like rivers in the earth. A soul contract was signed, one that cannot be broken, not by magic, not by death. These princesses would be married to the crown prince of Altheon when he came of age. That union would link every race by blood.

They called the daughters the Seven Goddess Princesses. Not just for their beauty or power, but because each one held the future of their people in her hands.

But here's the catch.

No one knows about the pact… except the kings and the princesses themselves.

And me.

Well, not the original "me." He was Caelen Arathorne, first son of King Malrick, heir to Altheon's throne. A genius as a child. People said he was born to rule.

Until his mother died.

After that, the boy fell into ruin. He stopped training, stopped studying, stopped caring. Wine replaced books. Parties replaced battle drills. While his younger brothers fought monsters and studied war, Caelen laughed in brothels and drank until he passed out. They called him the Trash Prince. A disgrace. A stain on Altheon's proud history.

When he turned eighteen, his father—furious, ashamed—stripped him of his title and cast him out. His punishment: to govern a patch of land that no one wanted.

A place cursed by drought, disease, and death.

The Barren Lands.

That's when I came in.

I wasn't a prince. I wasn't even from this world.

My name? Doesn't matter anymore. I was just a guy. Seventeen years old. Lived on Earth. Loved novels. Read everything—cultivation stories, system stories, empire-building tales, overpowered protagonists who start from nothing and rise to gods. I loved them all.

Then one day, I just… died. I think. I don't remember it well.

One moment I was in my room, reading on my phone. The next, I felt like I was being pulled apart and stitched back together all at once. And then I opened my eyes…

And I was him.

Caelen Arathorne.

My head hurt. My body was weak. But inside me, something new had taken root. A voice. A presence. Something alien and ancient. It didn't speak with words. It just was.

[SYSTEM ACTIVATED]You have been granted the Sovereign Path System.Status: Mana Convergence Vessel.Gift: Infinite Mana Core.Good Luck.

I remember staring at that blue panel, floating above my vision, blinking like a notification screen from a game.

And I remember laughing.

Because somehow… I knew.

This was real. This was my new life.

When I opened my eyes for the first time in this new life, I was lying on cold stone. The air was heavy and dry, smelling of dust and burnt wood. I tried to sit up, but my body was weak — like it had forgotten how to move. I could barely remember how to breathe.

I looked around. The room was dim, lit by a single candle flickering against the rough stone walls. Old tapestries hung torn on one side, and a wooden door was slightly open, letting in a faint breeze.

Someone was watching me.

She stepped forward quietly, her footsteps barely making a sound on the floor. At first, I thought she was just a maid — the way her dress fluttered, the soft way she held herself. But the moment she looked at me, I felt something strange. Power. Calm. An unshakable confidence that didn't belong to a simple servant.

Her hair was silver, falling like a waterfall down her back. Her eyes were the deepest green I'd ever seen, shining like emeralds in the candlelight. She smiled gently, but it wasn't a smile given lightly.

"You're awake," she said softly.

I blinked. "Where… am I?"

She knelt by my side and placed a cool hand on my forehead. "In the Barren Lands, Prince Caelen. Your father sent you here two years ago."

The name felt foreign in my mouth, but not to my body. Caelen Arathorne — the "Trash Prince," the exile, the failure.

I looked at her. "Who are you?"

"Call me Elowen," she whispered. "I'm your maid."

I wanted to laugh at that. Maid? This woman radiated more strength than any noble I'd met in Altheon. But I kept my thoughts to myself. I needed to understand more.

"How long have you been here?" I asked.

"Since you arrived," she said. "I watch over you, even when you don't want it."

I studied her closely. She didn't look like any human I'd ever seen. Her skin was pale, almost glowing softly, and there was a grace to her that felt... otherworldly.

"Are you one of the Seven Goddess Princesses?" I asked quietly.

Her smile faded just a little, and she looked away. "Not yet," she answered. "At least, not publicly."

I frowned. "What does that mean?"

She shook her head. "Some things must remain secrets. For now, you have more important things to focus on."

I nodded slowly. She was right. I was the ruler of a land no one wanted. A king without a kingdom. And if I wanted to survive, I had to start somewhere.

The Barren Lands stretched as far as I could see—rocky soil, cracked earth, dead trees like skeletons reaching for the sky. No one wanted this place. It was cursed. And now, it was mine.

But with the system in me—this strange power that gave me infinite mana—and with knowledge from another world, I could change it.

I promised myself then, sitting on that cold stone floor with Elowen by my side, that I would not be the Trash Prince anymore.

I would be the man who built an empire from dust.

And maybe… just maybe, I would earn the love of the Seven Goddess Princesses who had been bound to me since birth.

Because this time, I was ready.

I spent the next few days wandering the edge of the land I was supposed to rule.

Calling it a "kingdom" would've been a joke. There were no towns, no farms, no rivers. Just cracked soil, dying grass, and a sky that always seemed covered in dust. There were ruins, though — stone foundations, broken towers, dried-out wells. Maybe people lived here once. Maybe something happened that scared them all away.

Or maybe they just gave up.

But I wouldn't. I couldn't.

I had two lives' worth of memories now. My old world — Earth — had taught me how to think. Strategy. Engineering. Planning. And this world… this body… had power I hadn't even begun to understand.

The system hadn't spoken again since that first message. But I could feel it inside me — like a sleeping beast waiting to be fed. Every time I focused inward, I could sense it — the mana. Endless, warm, thick like golden syrup, just flowing and flowing, never stopping.

Most people had a mana core — a pool of energy that drained when they cast spells or used abilities. Mine was different.

I didn't run out. Not even a little.

[Mana Core: Infinite][Stamina Recovery: Accelerated][Body Synchronization: 100%][Unlocked Ability: Soulbind Contract]– Description: Form an unbreakable bond with another being. The bonded one receives enhanced growth in mana, skill, and potential. Contract breaks only upon your death.

When I read that last line, I paused.

So that's how the kings did it.

That's how they sealed the deal with the princesses.

They didn't just make a normal marriage agreement. They made a soulbound contract with Caelen — this body — when he was still a child. Probably without even telling him.

And now that I was here, in this body… the contracts were still active.

I wasn't just their fiancé.

I was the one thing keeping them all tied together. If I died, the contracts would shatter. Until then… we were bound. Whether they liked it or not.

No wonder some of them wanted to break it. To escape. To avoid being tied to a drunk, exiled fool.

But they couldn't.

And that gave me time.

Elowen stayed close, always watching, always silent.

She cooked. She cleaned. She followed me when I walked. But every now and then, she would say something strange — something that didn't belong on a servant's tongue.

Like the morning I tried channeling mana into a dead seed, just to see if I could get it to grow.

"You're doing it wrong," she said, passing by with a bucket of water.

I raised an eyebrow. "You know how to grow crops?"

"I know how to use life magic. And that," she said, glancing at the seed glowing in my hand, "is too much mana. You're flooding it."

I narrowed my eyes. "You're not just a maid."

She looked at me and, for a brief moment, I saw it — the power behind her calm face. Something old. Something sad. She said nothing, but that silence told me everything.

So I changed the subject.

"How much do you know about this land?" I asked her.

"A lot," she replied. "I've scouted the borders. There are underground springs you can tap into. A few magic ore veins, though unstable. And the soil — it's damaged by curse energy. You'll need to purify it before anything can grow."

I blinked. "How do you know all that?"

"I read," she said with a small smile.

I smirked. "Fine. Then help me plan. If I'm going to build something here, I'll need someone smart beside me."

She looked at me, serious now. "Are you serious about building something?"

"Yes."

"Even after everything they've done to you?"

"Especially because of what they've done to me."

She paused. Then gave me a small nod.

"Then I'll stay," she said. "As your maid. For now."

That night, I opened the system menu again and found a new notification.

[Quest Unlocked: Reclaim the Barren Lands]Objective: Establish a functioning capital.– Build a Town Hall– Recruit 100 Citizens– Produce 3 Food Sources– Establish a Mana WellReward: Domain Upgrade / Skill Token / Territory Blessing (1)

I grinned.

This was it.

Not just survival — not just revenge — but something more.

A chance to build. To create. To rule.

I would turn this cursed wasteland into a shining empire. And one day, when the world looked down on me again… they'd see me standing tall, not as a broken prince, but as an Emperor born from ashes.

I swiped the system window away and stepped out into the cool night air.

Above me, stars shimmered. Somewhere far away, the other princesses — dragon, phoenix, angel, demon, fairy, demigod — lived their lives, watched me from afar through spies and magic mirrors.

They didn't know it yet.

But I would win their hearts.

Not because of a contract.

But because I would become the man worthy of being called their king.

And when the gods and demons finally returned to fight for Auronis again…

They'd find it no longer belonged to them.

It would belong to me.