A heavy silence pressed down on the throne room. It was so quiet, the air seemed scared to move.
Kael Draven sat alone, straight up on a black, stone throne. It was covered with faint gold lines that glowed slightly under his hand.
The loading screens and white light were gone. The server countdown was done. Now, there was just this: A big hall. A throne. His city.
He blinked hard.
The air felt thick. It wasn't digital or computer-made. It felt real.
A movement in the corner caught his eye.
A woman stood in front of him, her head slightly bowed. She wore a black uniform with silver details, and her pale hair was tied in a neat, perfect braid. This was Alyss Venera, the Head Maid of the Valefar Imperium.
Her posture was graceful, but her eyes looked lost. Confused.
It wasn't the fake, programmed confusion of a game character. It was real confusion. She looked like she could make her own choices now.
"…My Lord?" she asked, her voice quiet and careful.
"I can't get to the server channels. I can't get to the master control panel. Something… is wrong." Her breathing was fast. She looked nervous.
Alyss had never looked nervous in ten years of playing the game.
Kael opened his mouth, but no sound came out. His throat felt tight. He swallowed.
"…Alyss," he finally said, his voice surprisingly low, "what's the last thing you remember?"
She lowered her eyes a little. "We were in the Throne Hall, during the maintenance before the shutdown."
Her eyebrows creased. "Then… a bright white light. And now— this."
She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling her heart beat under her skin. She stared at her own fingers as if this feeling was a new, strange miracle.
"My Lord… I can feel my pulse. That wasn't possible in the game."
Kael stood up slowly from the throne. His black and gold armor moved with him. Each piece felt heavy. It wasn't just a costume anymore. It was real weight.
He touched the armor on his chest—solid, cold metal. He could feel his own body's warmth beneath it.
This body, his powerful, immortal emperor game avatar, was him now. It wasn't code or pixels. It was flesh.
A sharp, static noise cut through the air. The main power system, the Sovereign Nexus, was turning on.
[SOVEREIGN NEXUS STARTING UP…]
[CITY NODE: ELYSION PRIME — ONLINE]
[DIMENSION: CLASSIFIED: ETHERNIA]
[STATUS: REALSPACE CONFIRMED]
Kael's breathing stopped.
Realspace confirmed.
That one line changed everything he believed. Earth was gone. There was no server. There was only this world.
Alyss looked up at him again. "My Lord… is this still a game world?" Her voice shook, as if she already knew the scary answer.
Kael turned and walked toward the throne room doors. They opened instantly, gears sliding silently.
He stepped out into the corridor. Far below, the city spread out.
Elysion Prime. His capital city.
Black towers. Gold pipes. Power cores glowing under clear glass.
He had built this map himself in a 3D editor. He knew every tower, every area. The trade district. The magic labs. The airship docks.
But now, there were no blurry textures. No pixels. Everything had a depth and detail no computer could make.
He stepped onto the balcony and grabbed the black railing. He squeezed the metal so hard it groaned.
Beyond the city dome, a world stretched out past anything the game had ever shown. Twin suns. Mountains made of crystal. Rivers of silver mist.
This world wasn't programmed. It was alive.
Alyss walked up quietly behind him. She stood beside him, watching his face.
"My Lord?"
Kael kept his eyes locked on the horizon. "…Alyss. This is not a game."
She froze. He heard her sharp, sudden intake of breath.
Slowly. "…Then… this world is real?"
Kael gave one, sharp nod. An impossible truth.
A shiver went through Alyss. It was so small, most people wouldn't have noticed, but Kael saw everything.
He spoke softly. "We are in another world."
Her fingers curled tightly at her sides. Her eyes lowered, not from simple obedience, but from a need to steady herself.
"What are your orders… Emperor?" she whispered.
Kael turned his head slightly. His eyes, cold and focused, reflected the city below. He was no longer a player or a guild leader. He was the sovereign.
The Valefar Imperium was real.
His voice was firm when he answered: "First, we confirm who else is awake in this city."
The Nexus spoke again.
[AWAKENING COUNT: 2 / 500,000]
[ACTIVE ENTITIES: KAEL DRAVEN / ALYSS VENERA]
[ALL OTHER IMPERIAL ASSETS: SLEEPING]
Only two people were awake. Everyone else—generals, soldiers, staff—was still asleep in the power chambers.
Kael's voice sounded like he was making a promise to destiny: "Then we wake my empire."
Alyss bowed her head deeply. "As you command."
Kael lifted his gaze to the alien suns. He announced to the new world:
"Elysion Prime has returned. The Valefar Imperium rises again."
The wind answered, scraping across the dome like a great beast breathing against glass.