“We will meet again under the same star.”

THE RISE OF A HUMAN EMPEROR

"We will meet again under the same star."

Those were her last words before I lost her forever. No matter how I tried to hold on to that promise, each day without her was a constant reminder of my failure.

"For I am nothing but a phantom of the person I once was before…

…A fragment of burning memories…

…A shard of unknown knowledge…

…A wisp of emotions for her…

…Love...?

…Admiration...?

…Or something else I cannot name but feels the same…?

But the universe has given me something special—a chance, a second chance to make up for my regrets or a mission to save humanity's hope...

Do you want to know what happened?

We humans have become one of the most powerful existences in the galaxy.

But as everyone knows, human greed never diminishes.

As humans left their galaxy, they came into contact with a mythical story about the ancient Shadow Galaxy.

The "Shadow Galaxy" stood at the pinnacle of galactic technology, far beyond what current human technology could achieve.

To gain access to the technology of the ancient "Shadow Galaxy," the ruler known as the Shadow Emperor—the person who created an entire galaxy, a name respected even by aliens as a god, myth, and legend—became a coveted target.

Let's talk about our current situation...

When humans touched upon "Ancient Human Technology," greed grew among human leaders, each vying to inherit the legacy of the Shadow Emperor, to find the hidden garden of Shadow-Tech and the Shadow Walkers.

But aliens, always fearing the rise of humans, seized the opportunity to attack the human alliance from within. The council, embroiled in corruption, fought amongst themselves for the power of technology. They formed an alliance with aliens, forgetting that it was the aliens who almost destroyed humanity in the past.

And so, war began. Earth was destroyed, and I was a soldier on the front lines. Years later, when the war ended, humanity had lost miserably. And I had lost her in that war. But who would have thought the universe had something else planned for me?

"So, let us return to our current situation, shall we?"

The universe has granted me something special—a chance, a second chance to make up for my regrets or a mission to save the hope of humanity.

Aarav Sharma's eyes snapped open. His body convulsed with a jolt as if he were surfacing from the depths of a dark, suffocating ocean. His heart hammered against his ribs, each beat a drum of war echoing through his flesh and bone. He lay in sweat on a cold bed, the chill seeping through his clothing, grounding him to the earth, yet reminding him of the unreal nature of his awakening.

His eyes adjusted to the dim light of his room.

Yet here he was—alive. How? Why?

Struggling to sit up, Aarav touched his forehead, feeling a ghostly ache that seemed to echo from a life already lived.

As he quickly surveyed his surroundings, the flush of memory came back—the battlefield, the death, the fear, the mission, and… her?

Trying to make sense of his situation, he left his house and saw the silent streets of New Delhi, a silence deep and pervasive, as though the city itself held its breath in the shadow of impending doom.

Today was the first day of the internal conflict within the Human Council, and everyone knew this fighting could lead to the rise or fall of humanity.

Walking through the buildings, which now stood like ancient ruins, who would have thought that the city known for its luxury would become nothing but a bloody battlefield?

As he continued down the deserted streets, a voice—mechanical and emotionless—suddenly spoke in his mind.

"Welcome, User. System initiated.

"Blueprint unlocked: Human Machine Prototype—'Titan.'"

The words appeared sharply in his mind. A vision struck him—a titan of war standing vigilant. It was more than an image; it was a blueprint etched into his mind's eye, clear, detailed, potent with potential.

"Titan," the System introduced, as though reading his information.

"Designated for frontline defense. Capable of autonomous combat and strategic deployment."

Overwhelmed by the flood of information, Aarav closed his eyes…

…And when he opened them again, he made a vow not to repeat his past mistakes. He shouted an announcement to the world that, from this day onward, his name would be Vihaan.

Vihaan—meaning the beginning of a new era, a new generation…

A second notification came from the System:

"Blueprint unlocked: Disaster-Class Battleship. Technical Analysis Mode activated.

SYSTEM:

Recommended establishment of an Interstellar Human Empire.

Time until invasion: 29 days, 20 hours, 45 minutes."

The message was a warning—a declaration of war. As Aarav...

....No…

...No…

..No…

.No…

Now, as Vihaan, with no hesitation, he stood up and began planning for the future.

The System's urgency was clear—build his own force to fight against the aliens.

Vihaan remembered his fallen comrades—their laughter and courage on the battlefield, their faces haunting him to this day.

"With determination, Vihaan's face hardened. He knew his destination—the mythical and legendary leader of the Shadow Guardians, Siddharth."

A man known in myth as the last survivor of the legendary Shadow Galaxy…

...The last Shadow Walker…

...The last member of the Shadow Clan…

...And the one with the knowledge or key to unraveling the secrets of untold history..?

As he moved through the isolated streets and read the information given by the System to build the Titan, the disaster-class battleship, and to prepare humanity to fight against the aliens, he gathered every resource.

No…

No…

This time, no alliances. Only one emperor. I will not repeat the mistakes of my previous life, as we have seen the consequences of alliances.

I want to build an army capable of confronting the cosmos itself.

Vihaan's heart was a drumbeat of defiance as he stepped into the storm, rain washing over him in front of the Humanity Alliance building. The world seemed to whisper in his ear that he was sealing his fate with humanity and the stars as witnesses.

This mysterious rebirth—a chance to change everything, to save his fallen comrades, and to keep the promise he made to her.

"I don't know where she is now, and I'm not sure she was human, but I must find her.

We will meet again under the same star."

Vihaan would forge humanity's resistance against the unknown alien threat and the void beyond.

For this was the beginning of a bloody road, and it marked the rise of a new dawn.