Orion suddenly felt weightless, as if drifting through an endless void.
There was no ground beneath him, no sky above, only boundless darkness stretching in every direction. An unsettling silence filled the space around him.
Then a faint ringing echoed in his ears. At first, he thought it was just an illusion.
But the sound grew clearer, and a soft blue panel slowly materialized before his eyes, glowing quietly in the darkness. Lines of text began to appear
[Name: Orion]
[Energy System: Divine Energy]
[Abilities: None]
[Number of Planets: 0]
Orion stared at the floating panel, confused.
"What… is this?"
He wasn't sure if he had spoken aloud or if the words had simply formed in his mind.
"And… where am I?"
A moment later, an answer appeared, not as a voice, but as a message directly within his consciousness
[You are in Universe 0XXX.]
Orion froze. Then he asked the question lingering in the back of his mind
"Did I… die?"
The reply came instantly
[Yes.]
Silence followed. For a brief moment, Orion felt a tightness in his chest. His thoughts drifted to his family, his old life, and his only friend, Hiram.
Yet the sadness quickly faded. Everything surrounding him now felt far greater than the world he had left behind.
He looked into the endless darkness again
"So if I'm dead… what happens now?"
A short pause passed before new text appeared on the panel
[I am the Divine Shepherd System.]
Orion frowned
"Divine… Shepherd?"
[My purpose is to assist you]
[You will create planets and guide life upon them]
Orion blinked slowly. Create planets? Guide life? He repeated the words in his mind, testing their meaning. Then a smile slowly formed on his face.
In his previous life, Orion had always felt different, not superior, just different. As if something inside him had been waiting for the right moment to awaken.
Maybe this was it. A spark of excitement lit his eyes. If anyone could see him now, even from hundreds of meters away, they would notice that unmistakable smile.
Orion looked into the vast emptiness and asked one final question
"So… what do I do first?"
For a moment, nothing happened. Then the panel flickered again
A new message appeared
[You have received a mission, Shepherd]
[Create your first planet]