Planet: Terra
The sky stretched endlessly above, a vast ocean of sapphire bleeding with amber and gold as dusk crept across the horizon. The sun—like a fading titan—cast its final warmth over the world, while the wind carried the hush of a city drifting between noise and silence. Birds cut through the air in spirals, their songs lost in the soft hum of distant traffic.
It should have been just another ordinary day.
But it wasn't.
I sat on an old rooftop, the brick beneath me rough and warm from the sun's last touch. From here, the city looked like a living maze—buildings stacked like puzzle pieces, roads winding like the veins of something ancient and sleeping. It was beautiful, sure. But beauty didn't mean anything to me anymore.
My name is Lucian Eryndel. Seventeen years old. A ghost with a heartbeat. Some called me lazy. Others whispered that I was wasting my life. Maybe they were right. I quit my job not out of rebellion, but because the monotony was suffocating. Money? I had just enough to get by. But none of that mattered.
Because deep down, I craved something more.
Sovereignty.
Not just power. Not strength.
But dominion—the ability to bend the unknown, to tear through the rules of existence itself.
A fantasy, of course.
Until the sky cracked open.
It started as a ripple—barely a shimmer in the atmosphere. Then came the silence. A silence so heavy it pressed against my chest. The wind stopped. The birds vanished. Even time hesitated.
And then… it arrived.
A presence descended—one that defied form, reason, even imagination. It wasn't human. It wasn't even alive. It was existence incarnate. Or maybe the universe itself, wearing the disguise of something vaguely familiar. I couldn't say. My thoughts fractured just looking at it. The air distorted, the stars in the sky above pulsed as if afraid.
Then… it smiled.
And the cosmos wept.
A voice rang out—not through the air, but through me. It echoed in my bones, my mind, my very soul.
> "What is your name?"
I couldn't move. Couldn't speak. My body was frozen, locked beneath a weightless pressure. But somewhere in the depths of that silence, something stirred—small, but unyielding.
A flicker of defiance.
> "L...Lucian," I managed.
The being tilted its head, like a god amused by a child's whisper.
> "Tell me, Lucian… what is it you desire?"
It already knew. I could feel it peeling back the layers of my soul, unraveling every hidden truth. Yet it waited—for me to speak it aloud.
I clenched my fists. This was the moment. The moment I stepped beyond everything that had ever held me down.
> "I seek dominion," I said. "The ability to shape fate. To command the unknown."
The being raised a hand.
From the void, a book appeared—a Codex, vast and ancient, forged from the raw beginnings of creation itself. Symbols crawled along its spine like living light, shifting in ways that made my head ache. It radiated power—so dense it bent the air around it.
Then it moved.
The Codex shot forward, striking my chest.
Agony.
A searing force tore through me, unmaking what I was. My thoughts cracked. My body shattered. I reached for something—anything—but there was nothing.
And then—
Silence.
When I opened my eyes, I had no body. No breath. No form.
I was.
> "What... am I?"
My voice echoed like a ripple across existence.
The being looked upon me, its eyes shimmering like collapsing galaxies.
> "You are now the Arbiter of the Unknown."
I stared into the void, stunned. I wasn't human anymore. I wasn't even alive in the way mortals understand life.
> "But be warned," the being said, its tone darker now. "Power of this kind can unravel even the strongest minds. Temper your will… or be lost to oblivion."
Then it turned to leave, and the universe bent in obedience to its departure.
> "We will meet again, Lucian… when the time is right."
And just like that, it was gone.
---
One Year Later
A fortress stood in a realm untouched by mortals—black stone laced with silver veins, spires reaching into dimensions unseen. Lightning danced along the skies. The air buzzed with energy that did not belong to any world.
At its center, I sat upon a throne of shadow and crystal.
This was my dominion. A realm forged by my will alone.
And yet, despite everything I had become...
Emptiness gnawed at my thoughts.
I leaned forward, fingers drumming against the armrest. A year had passed since I ascended, and yet a question haunted me.
What now?
What was a throne without purpose? A kingdom with no meaning?
I rose from my seat, and the cosmos trembled in response.
Worlds faltered. Stars flickered. Reality itself bent beneath my presence.
It was then I realized:
I was too much.
This existence—this multiverse—could no longer contain me as I was.
So I sealed it away. All of it.
Locked my power behind countless veils, leaving only a fraction of myself awake.
And then, I turned my eyes back to that familiar, fragile world...
Terra.
A smirk tugged at the edge of my mouth.
> "It's been a while."
There, on that little blue planet, limitations still existed. Struggle still had meaning. And maybe—just maybe—something awaited me there that power could never give.
A reason to rule.
I stepped forward into the void. My old name would no longer do.
From now on…
> "I am Eryndor Vael'Thyris."
The universe bent around me, obedient to the whisper of my will.
> "Let the game begin."
---
10 Days Later
First things first—I needed information.
I had sealed away my godhood. No more tearing open reality or summoning knowledge with a thought. For now, I was just a man.
So, I needed tools.
Step one: Get a job.
Step two: Buy a smartphone.
Step three: Learn everything I can about the world I left behind.
Time to start from the ground up.
And this time...
I'll conquer it my way.