Adam had always been a little… different.
Not in a flashy, stand-out-in-the-crowd kind of way. Just quietly different. He was the kind of person who watched the world closely, who noticed things others didn't. He grew up in a small town just outside Chicago, the only child of two loving parents who had almost given up hope of ever having a child. Years of heartbreak, treatments, and prayer had ended in a single miracle—him.
He'd always felt the weight of that miracle.
It wasn't pressure, exactly. His parents had never made him feel burdened by their struggles. But Adam was observant, and even as a child he'd seen the glances they shared when he laughed, the way his mother held him for just a second too long, the quiet pride in his father's eyes when he aced a test or helped an elderly neighbor with groceries. He was their world.
The extended family had more kids than anyone could count—cousins by the dozen—but his immediate family was just the three of them. Close-knit. Warm. His mother baked like it was a competitive sport, and his father had a garage full of half-finished projects that Adam loved to tinker with. Weekends were for board games, movie marathons, or deep dives into the latest sci-fi and fantasy media.
Adam had a deep love for stories. He devoured books, video games, fan theories, alternate endings. Star Wars, Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect, Stargate, Lord of the Rings—they weren't just entertainment. They were worlds he could escape into, study, dream about.
Still, despite his passions and talents, he lived a simple life. A quiet job in IT. Occasional volunteering. He wasn't a hero. Not until the day everything changed.
It was raining that day—light but steady. The kind that coated streets in silver and made headlights glare in the mist. He was walking home, earbuds in, lost in his latest audiobook. That's when he saw the child.
A little girl, no older than six, standing at the edge of the crosswalk. The light was green. She shouldn't have been crossing. But something rolled into the street—a ball, maybe. And she chased it without thinking.
Adam didn't think either.
He ran.
He yelled, but the car didn't stop. A sharp honk. Screeching tires. And then—impact.
Not hers. His.
He didn't remember much after that. Just the girl's wide eyes, the feeling of wind rushing past, and a strange warmth as the world faded.
Then silence.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
When Adam opened his eyes, it wasn't to flashing lights or hospital ceilings.
It was to stars—so many stars. More than he'd ever seen. The sky above him was vast and strange, painted in hues of violet and blue that no Earth sunset had ever matched. He was lying on soft grass that shimmered faintly under twin moons.
He sat up, blinking. He didn't recognize the constellations. The air was cleaner than anything he'd breathed. Crisp, vibrant… alive.
"What the hell…?"
The landscape stretched in every direction. Mountains crowned in crystal spires. Forests that pulsed with a quiet energy. Rivers glittered with colors that seemed unreal. And not a single building, ship, or sign of civilization in sight.
That's when the voice echoed.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZING…]
Adam blinked at the screen in front of him, heart pounding. The holographic interface sharpened, becoming more vivid and detailed.
[WELCOME, ADAM. EMPIRE BUILDER INTERFACE ONLINE.]
The screen split into several panels:
Resource Overview – Showing rich deposits of metals, minerals, wood, energy sources, and even materials that should only exist in fiction: Vibranium. Beskar. Mythril.
Construction Menu – A scrollable catalog of structures, each labeled with its universe of origin. He saw everything from The Elder Scrolls' Arcane Enchanters and Dwemer Forges, to Stargate's Naquadah Reactors and Star Wars' Droid Foundries. Even fictional Earth constructs—like Vault-Tec vaults and SCP Foundation containment zones—were listed.
Magic and Abilities – This was marked SYNCED: SKYRIM MODULE. A list of known spells appeared: Flames, Healing, Sparks, Clairvoyance—with room for learning, upgrading, and combining spells later.
Enhancements – This tab had a glowing Spartan helmet icon.
When he tapped it, the display shifted.
[BODY ENHANCEMENT PROFILE: ORIGIN — HALO UNIVERSE (SPARTAN-II PROGRAM)][ENHANCEMENTS ACTIVE: AUGMENTED STRENGTH, SPEED, REFLEXES, STAMINA, BONE DENSITY, MUSCLE MASS, NERVE REACTION TIME, VISION, IMMUNE SYSTEM][DRAWBACKS: NONE][GENETIC STABILITY: 100%]
Adam whistled. That meant he could lift cars, sprint faster than elite athletes, punch through metal, and survive wounds that would kill a normal man. His bones would never break easily. His vision would adapt in low light. His immune system could likely fight off anything.
He felt… incredible. Like his body was still his, but tuned to perfection.
Then came another pop-up:
[NEW USER BONUS: WELCOME PACKAGE GRANTED]
A swirl of light appeared beside him, forming a solid crate made of reinforced alloy—gleaming and futuristic.
The system read aloud:
[Welcome Package Contents:]
Basic Construction Drone (x3) – Automates simple builds
Universal Fabricator – Converts available resources into any known material or part (limited to Earth and select fiction)
Basic Survival Kit – Contains food, water, medical nanogel, portable shelter
Spell Tome: Flames, Healing, Telekinesis, Candlelight
Blueprints: Watchtower (Skyrim), Barracks (Halo), Generator (Command & Conquer), Greenhouse (Stardew Valley)
Gear Crate: Reinforced Combat Bodysuit (Spartan-grade), Utility Knife, Multiscanner Tool
"Okay," Adam muttered, opening the crate and running his hand across the bodysuit. "This… is wild."
He equipped the suit, and it sealed around his body smoothly, automatically adjusting to his size. The heads-up display lit up inside the visor with environmental data, power levels, even GPS markers for where resources were detected nearby.
[EMPIRE BUILDER INTERFACE LINKED TO NEURAL PATHWAYS — MENTAL COMMANDS ENABLED]
"So I can just think what I want?" he asked aloud.
A small tower schematic hovered into view, projected in front of him. He imagined placing it nearby, and sure enough, the schematic floated toward a flat area of land and snapped into place with a soft ping.
[CONFIRM BUILD? RESOURCES AVAILABLE: YES.]
Adam grinned.
"Yeah. Let's get started."