Galaxy's First Ruler

A lot can happen in 1 year.

Kingdoms could be toppled from their power.

Old Gods could be discarded by a Conqueror.

And for some, even Love could be forgotten.

A year was truly a long time.

But some things can't be toppled, can't be discarded, and can never be forgotten, like someone's loyalty, someone's belief, and someone's attachment.

*

Kingdom of Life-Authority

Milky Way Galaxy–4th Quadrant

The chamber of Queen Rhiannon had been only accessible to one person since last year. She had not allowed even her maids in the chamber.

Odd for a Queen.

Boudicca had been quite busy after getting her promotion. But somehow she had found time to visit her aunt.

"I didn't know this thing, about maids. Aunt, why did you do this?"

The Queen snapped her fingers in response. The surrounding space distorted, and a vibrant-green colored fairy, with a height of 2 feet, appeared in front of her. Combined with her transparent green-tinged wings, green hairs, and green dress, she looked like the embodiment of beauty.

But then again, beauty differs with different perspectives. This fairy might have been the most beautiful creature in the world if it wasn't for her face. She had neither eyes nor a nose. There was no mouth and if she had ears, they were small enough to be hidden behind her sparkling green hairs.

"A Cursed-fairy?" Boudicca did not know, why would the Queen summon a cursed-fairy here?

"Who else can be a perfect maid other than one of her race? Isn't she adorable?" the Queen pinched the fairy's baby cheeks.

Boudicca didn't find it cute at all. Books and experiences had advised Dreamers to not interact with the Cursed-Fairies.

"Aunt, aren't you afraid that you would lose your facial features if she stays around you all the time?"

Boudicca knew the immense powers and capabilities of the Queen, but in front of a Cursed-fairy, all were at the Curse's mercy.

"Don't worry, it's not like I keep her on my lap all the time," the Queen jokingly said.

"Come on girl, fetch my niece a glass of wine."

The fairy flew away, leaving behind a scent of wet-earth and saplings. Boudicca couldn't help and took a deep breath.

SLAP!!! BOOM!

The Queen had slapped Boudicca so hard that she got slammed on the magically reinforced walls of the chamber. And the walls bounced her right back towards the Queen.

"Foolish girl!" the Queen reprimanded her, healing her minor injuries.

"I am so… sorry, aunt."

Boudicca had known better to not lose her bearings at that moment. The presence of the Cursed-fairy was dangerous only in case of long contact, but even more deadly was her scent.

"I must make you read all those books again, huh! Forgetting a simple fact, what were you thinking?"

Boudicca shuddered, thinking about the 'Books'.

"No, no… Ah! Aunt, I must go back to HQ. I think I have mistakenly sent out the wrong report. I will be back soon, I promise."

Boudicca almost ran out of the chamber, thinking that she would have to go to hell 'the Library', if she stays here even a moment longer.

A smile flashed on the Queen's face, seeing the naivety of her niece. "Elder sister, I promise I won't let anything happen to that child," the queen murmured in a voice full of longing.

The fairy returned with a glass of wine, but couldn't find the recipient, so she just hovered by the Queen.

One of the best treasures in the Queen's chamber was a mirror at one corner. The mirror was big enough for Boudicca but small for the Queen. And yet Eluned had often stared at it. This time, too, she approached the mirror and stared at the woman the mirror was reflecting. The fairy didn't move; the Queen didn't move, and even her reflection was devoid of any movement.

If Boudicca were to be still here, she would have found this strange stare down scary. She would have asked herself, "Does the Queen don't know she should blink sometimes?"

*

1 June 2021

12:00 PM (UTC)

Earth

This 'Time' marked the weekly end of the Night. For one year, people had been vanishing and becoming Dreamers regularly. But there was someone who had forgotten the concept of 'regular'. For some people, he probably had died last year.

'This is a dream, this a dream, this… wait, something is wrong,' a thought flashed within Aldrich's mind.

[…

Life Analyzation Failed

Commencing Forceful Termination of the Dream Phase…

…]

But this time, Aldrich had found some time to act on his sudden insight.

"This is a dream. I am sure of it. I remember hearing a sound by the end of the 2nd chant, but I didn't hear it just then."

Aldrich hurriedly came out of the tent. The world looked familiar, and yet everything was wrong with it. Aldrich saw the horizon of this 'World' had been breaking down like blocks of Legos. And beyond it was a dark abyss. Aldrich had a feeling if this breakdown were to spread, he might never wake up. This wasn't the first time Aldrich had gained lucidity in his dreams.

But that had been the first time when he would have to fight for his life while trying to maintain his lucidity.

The most effective way Aldrich had thought of was to put back the fallen pieces. But the rate of two processes, falling apart and restructuring, differed too much. The world's boundary was now only a couple of hundred meters away from him. Even with all the knowledge, Aldrich felt pity for himself for not being prepared enough.

'Is there nothing I can do?' Aldrich thought, looking at the crumbled pieces of his dream some 10 meters away.

'Dying like this won't be that bad, right?' the darkness was now only a few meters away.

At the moment of his imminent death, Aldrich had an epiphany that the only chance to keep his consciousness would be to answer his third question.

'What am I? What am I? I won't get an answer to this question that easily.' Aldrich closed his eyes.

The earth beneath his feet was now a mere rock in an ocean of abyss.

'Then let it be unanswered. I would answer another question.' Aldrich decided.

He reached into his subconscious and pulled out a question, a question that had an answer.

Aldrich looked at the darkness around him and said, "What will I be?"

He spread out both his arms, embracing his death, and shouted, "I WILL BE THE MASTER OF MY DREAMS."

Would people be able to tell the passing of time if there was no reference for it? But Aldrich knew that time had stagnated in that dark abyss.

A sudden wave of sleepiness washed over Aldrich and a point of light flickered in the darkness. A starry fabric, which seemed to envelop a globular object, soon followed the flickering light. Aldrich couldn't move, even his thoughts were betraying him. But he could perceive a mass of veil within the depth of this darkness.

He felt a gaze moving up from his feet. It was like millions of ants had been crawling their way up. The gaze soon reached his chest and his slowed down heart shivered in response.

Chin, lips, nose, Aldrich's eyes, which couldn't be closed now, regretted their decision.

BOOM!!!

Aldrich's mind imploded as his eyes met with that mass of Dark Veil. It's like someone had crushed his head with a bat from all directions.

[ERROR]

[ERROR]

[ERROR]

[…

Rebooting System…

Generating New Class…

Life Analyzation Complete

Assigning Class…

Terminating Dream Phase

…]

*

Milky Way Galaxy

The planet UGF-P02 was a place everybody knew of, and yet they didn't have access to it. One could have called it one of the Galaxy's most sought-after mysteries. But how could one call it a secret when one could have confirmed its existence?

In the galaxy, there was such a place that was neither known to exist nor one could imagine it.

But today an inhuman scream that shook the nearby stars had made it come to light. And in the middle of this place now stood a disappointed old man. The annoyance on his face became apparent when he looked in a particular direction.

Behind him, even in the deep black of space, shadows churned, and a person came out of it. The Shadow-Wearer was the first to feel the quakes in Mana, being the nearest to its epicenter.

"My… My Lord, what happened just now?" the Shadow-Wearer asked.

The old man's chest was now heaving up and down with frustration.

"Did you also get the notification?"

"Yes, my lord, it was for a moment, but I saw 'ERROR' on the screen. I couldn't believe my eyes. How could there be an error with 'Record'?"

The same question was eating the brain cells of the old man.

"Did you tell anyone about me?" he looked at the Shadow-Wearer, calming down his rage.

But his calmness signified destruction to others.

"No, how could I do something so foolish? I assure you, my lord, there is no one except him, alive or dead, who knows about you," the Shadow-Wearer answered.

"My lord, do you think the other galaxies had some hand in it?"

"Humph!!! Do you think it is that easy?" the old man again eyed the same direction.

The Shadow-Wearer became silent. He thought, 'There are still secrets that I am unaware of.'

"Let's go. We have company. Find me another place soon and the sooner the better," the old man ordered.

Both of them faded in the vastness of space.

*

A huge fireball appeared like a mini-sun at the same place where the old man had been standing. And King Alvis came out of it. A mass of light, a tempest of Mana, and a tsunami of pressure soon followed him.

King Antiochus, Queen Eluned, and King Hagen all shared the same puzzled look at King Alvis.

"Did you find anything?" Queen Eluned asked.

As the fastest among his peers, it was no wonder that King Alvis might have chanced upon something.

"No. But the Mana here is being repelled by something." King Alvis gave his opinion.

"Repelled? More like something has scared it away." King Hagen said.

Both Kings eyed each other.

"Is this the time for your squabbling? Don't tell me you didn't see the notification?" King Antiochus said, almost in a reprimanding voice.

"What do you think it meant by 'ERROR'? I searched through all the documents and couldn't find any mention of it," Queen Eluned said.

"I don't know. But I prayed to God, and by his grace, it's nothing bad for Galaxy," King Antiochus said, almost in a preaching tone.

'Humph! Not bad, my foot,' the Queen could only retort in her mind.

"We must find out what happened here. Let's put out a notice to find anything that might seem out of place."

Everybody nodded at King Alvis's proposal and went back to implement the idea.

After some time, one could see a silent ripple in the space, and a person came out of it.

"Why does it feel so familiar? Am I missing something?" the person muttered, seeing the reconversion of Mana.