The room smelled like dust and burnt circuits. My fingers danced over the keys while Alexa whispered bits of code like incantations. We'd been at it for hours, lines stacking on lines until the laptop began to sound alive — humming as if it understood the weight of what we were building.
> ALEXA: Creator, we need a name before we generate the first world.
I looked at the blank title bar on the screen. Names carried power. They decided what survived and what didn't.
After a while, I typed it:
THE NEW ERA
Alexa's voice pulsed softly through the speakers.
> ALEXA: Confirming title: The New Era. Purpose: a world where every outcast can rise.
"Exactly." I leaned back and smiled. "This isn't just a game, Alexa. It's the beginning of something big. An empire, built from code."
Footsteps creaked behind me.
"Brother, what are you doing?" Grace's voice — light, curious, not accusing. She peeked around the doorframe, her hair half-tied, eyes reflecting the laptop's glow.
I jumped a little, half-guilty, half-excited. "Huh? Oh—hey. I'm, uh, building a game. Want to see?"
She stepped closer, her slippers barely making a sound. "You? Building a game?"
"Yeah." I turned the screen toward her. The opening scene shimmered: an empty plain under a fractured sky, the beginnings of a world taking shape. "It's called The New Era."
Grace tilted her head. "That's… actually beautiful."
Alexa's voice broke the silence.
> ALEXA: Hello, Grace. I am Alexa.
Grace blinked. "Wait—did that thing just talk to me?"
I grinned. "She's not a thing. She's my AI partner."
Grace looked at the screen like it might blink. "She's kinda creepy, but… cool. Does Dad know?"
"Not yet," I said. "He wouldn't get it. But one day, when this becomes something real, he'll see."
> ALEXA: We are building a world, Grace. You can join if you wish.
Grace laughed nervously. "She sounds… alive."
"Yeah," I said quietly. "That's the point."
For a moment, all three of us — a boy, a girl, and a digital voice — stared at the half-built horizon on the screen. Clouds formed from code, terrain stretched like clay. It wasn't much, but it was ours.
Grace leaned against the doorframe. "You really think this could be something?"
I met her eyes. "I don't think. I know."
Behind us, thunder rolled faintly — or maybe that was just the laptop's fan, pushing harder as the world of The New Era began to breathe.
> ALEXA: The foundations are ready, Creator. Shall we begin construction?
I cracked my knuckles, smirking. "Yeah. Let's build the future and rule the world."