Waking up inside a blank white space was not something I expected when I went to sleep late into the night. I mean, I know that I went way too late to sleep, especially since I have work in the morning and I definitely would not get enough rest. That familiar, dull weight of exhaustion still lingered in my thoughts, as if my body expected to wake up groggy and annoyed, not fully conscious. But this feels too real for a sleep-deprived illusion. Too crisp. Too sharp. Like reality itself had been stripped down to its bare minimum.
All of a sudden, a beautiful blonde lady appeared in front of me. There was no sound, no flash of light—one moment the space was empty, and the next, she simply was. She was dressed like a secretary, and I would have definitely thought I was dreaming if not for the wings on her back. They were like angel wings, but a bit more ethereal, their edges faintly shimmering, as if they were half-made of light and half-made of something I couldn't name. And for sure, this is the first time I have dreamed of an angel, since my dreams were more rooted in possibilities than fantasy—at least the dreams that I remembered.
And for sure, this is the first dream in which I feel so self-conscious. Every thought felt sharp and deliberate, not hazy or fragmented like usual. I was aware of myself in a way that dreams never allowed.
My thoughts were interrupted by her beautiful voice: "Be not afraid, mortal!" she said with a serious face.
"Really? A biblical angel reference…" I said, raising an eyebrow despite myself. If this was my subconscious, it had a strange sense of humour.
"Sorry, I couldn't help it. You were panicking, and I wanted to break your thoughts from continuing," she chuckled before continuing. The sound echoed faintly in the empty space, oddly grounding. "Now, let's get serious. You have been chosen for a unique opportunity. You will be our test subject for the project Universe Creation and Recycling. Therefore, you will be given your own universe to shape as you see fit, along with opportunities to visit other places to collect material."
"WHAT?! What is this? Is this a joke? Though, if this is real, getting overpowered and omnipotent at the start is not something I would have guessed." I was shocked, my thoughts tripping over one another, though my fan-fiction and novel readings, together with all those CYOA forms that I liked playing and reading, were filling in some blanks about what this meeting represented. Therefore, my anxiety and panic were reduced, replaced by a hint of excitement. A dangerous, almost intoxicating curiosity crept in. I might even be able to make some waifus, though getting power might be more tempting.
Don't get me wrong. I was not some psychopath, but growing up in a lower middle-class family was nice compared with other alternatives. But you quickly learn that in my world, money means power. And with what we had, I felt more like an NPC than a human. Like someone watching life from behind glass, present but never truly involved. I mean, I had friends and family, but I always felt disconnected from the real world. All that excitement that was supposed to be part of life was missing. I don't really blame everything on someone else, as I was also a bit afraid to go without a backup plan and risk what little I had.
But my thinking was interrupted by the angelic beauty once again.
"Don't be stupid. You will not get any omnipotent power. Not even creation. That is not really something we can just give away." Her tone sharpened, cutting cleanly through my thoughts. "Hmm, I think saying 'Creation' might be misleading. Your role will be more like a manager."
I wanted to say something or ask more questions, but she continued without letting me speak, and even thinking about interrupting her made my skin crawl. An instinctive pressure settled over me, subtle but undeniable, telling me this was not someone to casually talk over.
"Don't interrupt me. I will finish my pitch with the details that I feel are relevant. After I finish, we will discuss your options," she said with a stern look.
"As I was saying," she continued, "you have been selected for the Universe Creation and Recycling Program. As in most stories you read, yes, the omniverse is the closest thing to a true infinite concept and is ever-expanding. There are worlds with all that you can think of and all you have read, watched, or played. So yes, any fictional universe is real somewhere out there." She gestured vaguely, and for a fleeting moment I felt the weight of endless worlds pressing just beyond my perception. "Now, we have some automated systems that make new universes, or some special beings that make such places. But a new program was proposed, where we can expand this already immense creation process using mortals."
She took a breath before continuing. "You are one of the first hundred testers for this project. You are not really special; the choice was made mainly at random. The only criteria were that the candidates should have an idea about the omniverse and be relatively good people." Her blunt honesty was oddly refreshing. "Now, I know what you think—why not use souls from heaven or people like that? Those people already reached their utopia, and they would just recreate their heaven with small changes. What we want is something more all-inclusive than just a utopia or a heaven look-alike. So people who are still alive and have not reached the afterlife were the candidates."
After a small, barely noticeable pause, she continued. "Now, getting back to what accepting this opportunity means, you will get a new universe where you will be the manager." The word manager echoed strangely, both mundane and terrifying at the same time. "This universe will consist of the physical plane, where all planets, stars, and other physical things will be present. This is the plane that you need to manage and expand. You will also have your personal plane, where you will live most of the time, but keep in mind that you can travel to all planes of your universe's existence. Next is the afterlife plane, where souls will stop so their paradise or punishment can happen before they disperse. These three planes are your starting ones. You will be able to add more in the future, but these are the base ones. Now, regarding souls—souls are unique in the multiverse."
"Now regarding your powers, you will not be given creation abilities, but you will be given a system with missions, where you will travel to dead-end universes or universes that have been neglected to complete missions, allowing you to gain more options to place in your physical plane. That sounded suspiciously like grinding, just on a cosmic scale. You will also gain immortality via your personal plane. If you die anywhere in your universe or during a mission, your body will be recreated inside the personal plane. Of course, if you die during a mission, that mission will no longer be available and will be considered failed."
"You will get an ageless body that will remain young forever, and it will be self-sustaining, able to go without sleep, food, or water by using the energies of the universe." The implications hit me slowly, one after another, each heavier than the last. "You will still be able to sleep, eat, and drink, but they will not be requirements. Naturally, you will be able to design your new body, which will stay the same unless you obtain shapeshifting or something similar during a mission. You will receive an impenetrable mind shield that will block all mind control, mind reading, and similar effects, no matter whether the source is magical, physical, or spiritual. Your body will be able to adapt and internalize all powers that you acquire either through mission rewards or through personal action, therefore removing any conflicting downsides between power differences. And the last gift—your current powers and any other power you gain cannot be stolen."
"How strong you become and how your universe develops will depend on you." Her gaze locked onto mine, heavy with expectation. "Now, any questions? And if not, will you accept this opportunity?"
I started thinking about what she said. It was quite a lot to take in. My mind raced, jumping between excitement, fear, and disbelief. But even if I didn't gain any other powers, this was a good chance to be something more than just a normal person. I would be a fool to reject it. But before I could say anything, I started thinking about my parents—and, to some extent, my friends.
"What about my current life? I mean, this opportunity is something I always dreamed of, more or less. But I still love my parents. I can't abandon them. And there are also my friends," came out of my mouth instead of a simple acceptance. The words surprised even me, spoken more from instinct than logic.
Her gaze softened a bit at my question, and she answered, "A look-alike flesh puppet will be placed in your current life to replace you and live the life you leave behind. You can alter some things about its directives. Besides that, your parents and friends will be given the opportunity to spend their afterlife in the afterlife plane of your universe." She spoke calmly, as if discussing a routine procedure. "But keep in mind that they might not accept, as this would mean being torn away from their own friends and parents in the afterlife that was initially planned for them."
Hmm. This is good. Not perfect, but good. A knot I hadn't realized was forming in my chest finally loosened. I mean, if they don't have to suffer because I disappeared without any explanation, that's perfect.
"Thank you! And yes, I would like my replacement to be a bit more family-oriented and interact more with them, as I know I sometimes ignored them to do other things." A twinge of guilt slipped into my voice. "Other than that, if you can make it a bit more joyful and smart—not much, but enough that he will have no difficulty continuing my life and taking care of my family and friends," I said with relief on my face.
"Yes, all of that is possible. The changes can't be too much or involve things that can't be explained. But yes, your replacement will focus more on your family." She nodded, as if checking off a box. "Now, I already know the answer, but let's hear it from your mouth. Will you accept?"
"Yes, I accept, and thank you for choosing me!" I said with renewed enthusiasm. This time, there was no hesitation.
"Perfect. Now, for the first task, you will need to redesign your body. You will need to stay within human limits, but as long as a human has looked like that at some point, you can have those features," she responded.
Suddenly, a screen appeared in front of me, which looked very similar to a character creation screen from most games—but with far more options than even The Sims or any other game I had seen. Rows of sliders, menus, and options stretched endlessly, each promising a permanent choice.
I spent a lot of time in front of this screen, as this might be my appearance for eternity if I don't gain options for change. The weight of that realization made every adjustment feel deliberate. So I designed a 190 cm tall (around 6'2" in American measurements) white male, slightly tanned—just enough that it wouldn't be considered unhealthy. For the eyes, my current eyes were somewhere between green and blue, so I chose a mutation present in the menu: blue eyes that turn green in bright light.
For my ears and nose, I kept them mostly similar to my current ones, but made the ears slightly closer to the skull and the nose slightly smaller. I removed all my moles and any hair that grew out of place. Perfection was tempting when consequences seemed non-existent.
Thinking further, I removed all body hair except on my scalp and created a fuller beard than the stubble I had, though I kept it shaved with the possibility of letting it grow. Checking the system, due to my ageless body, it seemed I could stop hair growth at any moment and resume it whenever I wanted, even after finishing the menu. That alone felt absurdly convenient.
This made me reconsider body hair, and I chose to have it in my armpits, chest, and pubic area, though styled to look freshly shaved. I planned to stop hair growth after the design and body transference were complete. It felt better to have the option than regret it later. It also helped that a note in the menu stated my body would not suffer from ingrown hairs.
So I allowed chest hair and a beard, styled at different growth phases. As for hair colour, even though blonde was tempting, I decided to keep it black, though I made it ink-black instead of dark-black. Something about it felt more me.
Moving on to skin complexion, I cleared all pores and removed any hidden pimples beneath the skin, leaving the model with a fresh look. Nail growth control worked similarly to hair, so I set them to grow healthily and removed any markings. For my teeth, I made them whiter and as strong as the sliders allowed, aligned perfectly, and free of markings. I decided to have a little fun and made my canines stand out slightly—not fangs, but noticeably sharper. Despite this, the alignment was perfect, and they didn't interfere with my bite.
And that was mostly it. I made the body I wanted—without blemishes and highly symmetrical. As for health and performance, even though I was ageless, I maxed out everything I could. This gave me muscles that weren't bodybuilder-like, but lean and athletic, similar to a swimmer's physique. I also made my body double-jointed in both arms and legs, without any downside to normal function. If I was going to live forever, I might as well do it comfortably.
With the design complete, I felt a strange drowsiness wash over me. The screen slowly faded, and the white space felt warmer, softer. I figured this must be the moment to prepare myself to wake up in the body I designed—and in my own universe.