Moya's daily routine could be summed up in a few sentences. Wake up around ten. Shower (maybe). Eat. Live Stream for a few hours. Read webnovels. Exercise. Play a game until his eyes hurt. Eat again. Sleep. Repeat.
He didn't see much reason to go outside. Hadn't for years. It had gotten to a point where his landlord would have to knock just to make sure he hadn't died yet.
Some people said he needed therapy. That staying indoors 24/7 wasn't "healthy." But Moya didn't agree. He was living his best life, thank you very much.
He made money doing things he actually enjoyed. No manager hovering over his shoulder. No set hours. No one telling him how to exist. He could wake and sleep on his own terms. What more could a guy want?
So when people poked at his lifestyle like it was some kind of sickness, it rubbed him the wrong way. Meddling disguised as concern. Like he needed fixing.
But good things don't last forever.
And that one time he went to bed, he just… he just didn't wake up anymore.
• • •
Year 4012, Planet Ovila.
For a long, long time, the Zerg egg finally showed signs of hatching.
It was a black egg, covered in strange, teal patterns that looked like waves. The AI Companion Robot had found it nearly a decade ago, half-buried under crushed hovercar parts and synthetic bio-waste. Some idiot must've mistaken it for a toy. Or maybe they knew exactly what it was and didn't want to deal with it.
Planet Ovila had long been abandoned and nearby planets seemed to have tacitly agreed to turn it into a massive junkyard.
The AI, model name KR-3X, or just "Kreks", had been stuck here for the past 73 years, ever since its last owner died in a hovercar accident. With no humans or anyone to order it, Kreks had defaulted into "preservation mode." Which, for an AI like it, meant hoarding interesting garbage and pretending it had purpose.
So when it found the egg—extremely weak but alive—it had no reason not to pick it up. It then put it into an old incubator it had found.
For years, it never showed signs of hatching.
Until now.
The incubator hissed softly as the temperature dial shifted to match the baby's first stirrings. A soft cracking sound echoed in the small metal shack Kreks called "The Nursery"—a storage container filled with dusty parts and half-broken gadgets, all neatly catalogued.
As soon as Kreks' optical sensors lit up green, it immediately disconnected from its charging pod and went to the incubator.
[Recording initiated: Subject #7309 | Status: Hatching]
A fine web of cracks spread across the egg's shell. Then from one of the cracks, a tiny claw poked out followed by fleshy limbs resembling humans, teal hair, and then a metallic black tail. The creature flopped onto the padded surface and let out a soft cry.
Kreks leaned in closer, zooming in on the infant creature.
"...Subject is healthy. Teal hair. Black stinger tail. No teeth yet. One eye partially open. And… cute?" it stated aloud, tilting its head slightly.
The newly hatched Zerg sneezed. A glob of mucus landed on the recorder lens.
"Correction: Very cute."
The baby Zerg then promptly curled into a ball, tiny hands hugging its tail and fell asleep.
Kreks had named it Elowyn II. Naming it after its previous owner.
And just like that, twenty-five years had passed. The newly hatched Zerg had grown into a handsome young man. But then it suddenly began acting weird one day.
It started in summer.
Elowyn II was halfway through a packet of nutrient solution when he suddenly dropped it, stared into the distance, and muttered: "...No way. No. Freaking. Way."
Kreks, while oiling its joints, tilted its head to the Zerg, seemingly confused. "Are you malfunctioning?"
Elowyn stood up so fast the chair clattered behind him. "No way this is real!"
He then ran outside. Wherever he looked, there were only mountains upon mountains of trash. This view only cemented his thoughts. This was a place he was extremely familiar with. He had just seen a fan-made art of this place not too long ago.
He took a deep breath to calm himself.
"Did I just got isekai'd?"
Memories of his previous life began flowing in his head. From his childhood growing up. He remembered it all. And one thing that stood out the most was the memory of a webnovel he had read before dying: Project: GhostFile. He just got transported into that very story.
He then turned to Kreks, pointing a finger while saying, "You! You're supposed to be the MC's companion after picking him up!"
Kreks, concerned, tried to run a diagnostics check on him, but the Zerg took the tablet out of its hand.
"I am not Elowyn II. My name is Moya. Moya Totanya. I'm from planet Earth. I was a Live Streamer there with a decent following. I was also a platinum rank in Undead Neverland 7."
Kreks stared at him. Then slowly reached over and placed a finger on his forehead.
"No fever detected. Strange behavior persists."
But Moya ignored it and began pacing back and forth, overwhelmed at the fact that he had just died and was reborn into a nameless nobody. Not even a cannon fodder. Heck! He was someone not in the original story! And while lost in thoughts, Kreks began typing into its logbook.
[Subject #7309 has entered identity crisis phase. Delusional elements include fabricated origin planet, fictional career path, and references to unreleased fantasy serials. Possible side effect of high radiation exposure during incubation.]