"WHAT THE HELL?!"
"NO—NO, NO, NO!"
"I'M… I'M FALLING?!"
The last thing Kai remembered was the shriek of twisting metal and a sky that was suddenly, terrifyingly, falling.
One moment, he was hauling a massive girder across the construction site, sweat stinging his eyes, muscles screaming in protest.
The next, a shadow engulfed him, and a crushing weight slammed him into darkness.
It wasn't a noble end.
It was just another Tuesday for a heavy-hauler, gone wrong.
Then, a light. Not the harsh glare of the sun, but a soft, all-encompassing white that washed away the pain and the memory of grit and grime. It was peaceful.
Suddenly, a crisp, clean sound, like a bell chiming in a silent room, echoed in the whiteness.
A transparent blue screen flickered into existence before him.
[Galactic Empire System Activated!]
Kai, or whatever was left of him, felt a sense of detached curiosity.
Is this what happens?
You die and get a video game menu?
[Shuffling for unique starting skill…]
[Shuffle complete!]
[Congratulations, new Lord! You have acquired a Level 100 Skill!]
Level 100? That sounds… excessive.
[Skill: The Galactic Eye]
[Description: You can perceive the fundamental level and core statistics of any individual, object, or celestial body.]
The screen dissolved back into the serene white light, and the feeling of peace deepened, pulling him under like a warm tide.
He didn't understand any of it, but he was too tired to care.
He just let go.
Kai awoke with a gasp, his lungs filling with air that was clean and sweet, entirely unlike the dusty, polluted air of the city he'd known.
He was lying on something impossibly soft.
Silk sheets, maybe?
He ran his hands over them. Definitely not the threadbare blanket in his cramped apartment.
He sat up, his body feeling strange. It was light, yet full of a quiet energy. Gone was the familiar ache in his lower back, the permanent stiffness in his shoulders from years of manual labor. He looked down at his hands.
They were his, yet not. The callouses were gone, the skin smooth, the fingers long and elegant.
Panic began to bubble in his chest. He threw the covers aside and scrambled out of the massive bed.
The room was vast and opulent, with shimmering curtains, furniture carved from a dark, polished wood, and glowing crystals embedded in the ceiling that cast a gentle, warm light.
It looked like a palace from a fantasy movie.
He stumbled toward a full-length mirror and stared.
The reflection was of a stranger.
A young man, perhaps in his late teens, with sharp jawline, silver hair that fell softly over his eyes, and a tall, lean frame that hinted at a wiry strength.
He was wearing silken pajamas that felt ridiculously expensive.
This wasn't his short, stocky body, built for leverage and lifting.
This was someone else.
As he stared into the stranger's—his own?—startled violet eyes, a flicker of blue text appeared above the reflection's head, just as the system screen had described.
[Kai - Level 3]
Level 3?
The memory of the blue screen came rushing back.
The Galactic Eye… So I can see my own level?
He blinked, and the text vanished. He focused again, and it reappeared.
It was real. A level 100 skill that let him see he was only level 3.
The irony wasn't lost on him.
Just then, the grand double doors to the room burst open.
A young man who looked remarkably similar to him, though with a gentler face and warm brown eyes, rushed in.
He looked frantic, his eyes wide with a mixture of fear and hope.
As he got closer, Kai's new skill automatically activated.
Blue text hovered above the newcomer's head.
[Elara - Level 1]
The man, Elara, didn't seem to notice. He threw his arms around Kai in a desperate hug. "Kai! You're awake! You're finally awake!" he cried, his voice thick with emotion.
Kai stood stiffly, completely bewildered. "Uh…"
"The Emperor is awake!" Elara shouted over his shoulder, his voice echoing out of the room.
Within moments, a dozen other people rushed in. They were dressed in fine robes and simple servant's attire, their faces a mix of relief and awe. As they crowded around the doorway, Kai's vision filled with a sea of floating blue text.
[Servant - Level 1]
[Guard - Level 1]
[Advisor - Level 1]
[Royal Chef - Level 1]
They were all… Level 1. Every single one of them.
A strange thought began to form in Kai's mind.
If they were all Level 1, and he was Level 3… did that make him strong?
He looked at the hopeful, tear-streaked faces staring at him.
He had no idea who these people were. He had no idea who he was supposed to be.
"I… Who am I?" Kai asked, his voice cracking slightly.
The room fell silent. The joyous expressions on their faces froze, replaced by confusion and concern. They exchanged worried glances. Elara pulled back from the hug, his brow furrowed.
"What do you mean, brother? You are Kai, the Galaxy Lord. Our Emperor."
The words hit Kai like another falling girder.
Brother? Galaxy Lord? Emperor? It was all too much.
The crowd started murmuring, their anxiety palpable.
Elara held up a hand. "Everyone, out. The Emperor needs his rest. He is still recovering." He gently but firmly ushered the bewildered staff out of the room, closing the heavy doors behind them, leaving the two brothers alone.
He turned back to Kai, his expression soft and patient. "The physicians warned this might happen. A memory lapse from the… incident."
"Incident?" Kai asked, latching onto the word.
"You were observing a spatial anomaly near our sun when there was an energy flare. It sent you into a deep coma. You've been asleep for three months," Elara explained. "Do you truly not remember any of it? Our galaxy? Your position?"
Kai shook his head slowly. "Tell me. Tell me everything."
Elara let out a long, sad sigh. "Of course, brother." He led Kai to a balcony overlooking a breathtaking starscape. But it was a small, sparse starscape. A single, bright yellow sun dominated the view. Orbiting it were two lonely planets. One was a lush, green world, and the other a barren, red rock. And that was it. Black, empty space stretched out in every other direction.
"This is our home," Elara said, his voice a mix of pride and melancholy. "The Astoria Galaxy. We are its only inhabitants. You are our Lord, the one who inherited the System from our father. You are the strongest among us."
Kai looked at the tiny, two-planet system.
He thought of the bustling, overcrowded world he came from, a single planet teeming with billions of people.
This was a whole galaxy? It felt more like a forgotten solar system in the cosmic backyard.
Then he remembered the levels.
His own, Level 3. Elara's, Level 1. Everyone else's, Level 1.
He was the strongest person in this entire galaxy… and he was only Level 3.
The absurdity of it all was staggering.
He wasn't a mighty emperor. He was the king of a glorified sandbox.
"I see," Kai said, the words feeling hollow.
"Rest now, brother," Elara said, patting his shoulder gently. "Your memories will return in time. I'm just glad to have you back."
After Elara left, Kai stood alone on the balcony for a long time, the cool, sterile air of the palace washing over him.
He was a lord of nothing, the strongest in a galaxy of beginners. It was a joke. A cosmic prank.
But as he stared at the two small planets hanging in the void, a spark of something ignited within him.
A flicker of the grit and determination he'd possessed as a hauler who moved impossible weights every day.
This was his now. This tiny, pathetic, Level 1 galaxy.
He focused his gaze on the green planet, pushing his new skill, The Galactic Eye, to its limit.
He tried to see not a person, but a world.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then, a new, far more complex blue screen materialized in his vision, shimmering with data.
[Planet: Veridia Prime]
[Class: Terrestrial Garden World]
[Resources: Poor]
[Population: 1,204]
[Civilization Level: 0.1 (Pre-Agricultural)]
[Development Potential: F-]
[Special Trait: Hidden Spire of Ancient Energy (Dormant)]
Kai's eyes widened, locking onto the final line.
Dormant?
A hidden spire of ancient energy.
It was a single thread of hope in a sea of mediocrity. His F-rank galaxy had a secret.
A slow smile spread across his face.
Maybe being the weakest Galaxy Lord wasn't an end.
Maybe, just maybe, it was the perfect place to start.