"Amnesia is often the start of a story—cliché but effective."
"A tragic past? Amnesia. A sinful experience? Amnesia. A hidden identity? Amnesia."
"It's practically a universal panacea that never fails. Letting past memories pop up like an epileptic seizure once in a while can even hook the audience's interest. A mature author doesn't necessarily need to learn how to write characters, but they must learn how to write amnesia."
"So today's story starts with amnesia... Huh? It's not amnesia?"
"Hey! Wait a second! What do you mean the special chapter is too short to fit too much content?!"
...
"...Please reply if received... Earth Cosmic Era, August 8th, 1032... I am an interstellar traveler from Third Earth... I need to dock at your station for supplies..."
Lin, his mouth dry, set the communication device—into which he had already spat countless bits of saliva and words—to receiver mode, then turned off the gravity system and floated listlessly in the zero-G cabin, his eyes unfocused.
Outside the transparent spaceship window was the vast and mysterious pitch-black universe.
After Earth entered the Cosmic Era, humanity, who could once only look up at the starry sky, could finally step into this unknown territory. Countless points of starlight rose from Earth, sailing toward the boundless universe.
Humanity was not the first civilization to explore the universe, nor would it be the last. After truly entering the universe, which was broader and deeper than the ocean, everything once possessed was but dust before this infinite darkness. After 100 Cosmic Eras of exploration, humanity finally made contact with other cosmic civilizations.
Now, humanity, having completely outgrown its childhood to become a cosmic civilization, had established interstellar starships named after Earth, and Lin was an ordinary youth born on Third Earth.
To see the frontiers of the universe, he left the human starships alone to find something that could take him to the place he sought.
But perhaps due to the carelessness unique to the young, he forgot to check the life-support system inside the ship before leaving... That machine that could convert matter and pour out fresh water and food—the only brand-new machine on this ship passed down from his ancestors! To think it would break down before even traveling five light-years!
Damn Interastral Peace Corporation! That salesman who sent fifty promotional links a day like harassment texts swore the quality was guaranteed! In the end, it broke before even one percent of the warranty period had passed! Next time, I'm definitely finding that guy's address to see him in person!
He even said this was a device that could let a human survive in the universe for a hundred years without breaking, and there were no bad reviews so far...
Wait... I think I know why there were no bad reviews.
Lin stomach growled. He started to hate why humanity hadn't evolved into a high-level life form that didn't need to eat after living in the universe for over a thousand years, but he soon didn't want to think about anything to avoid wasting what little energy he had left.
"Isn't there a base station... nearby? Where in the world have I drifted to..."
This situation was actually quite common. After all, the universe wasn't like humanity's mother planet, Earth, which could be measured in size; there were still territories untrodden by civilization, and strange phenomena and creatures emerged endlessly. Things like having no base station or being unable to communicate were perfectly normal.
Lin only hope now was for a space station or planet nearby to restock supplies. Although he had a trump card, it would be too pathetic to run back dejectedly after only a few days of traveling. According to his plan, he should at least travel for five Cosmic Eras before considering going home.
"...Static... Please reply if received..."
"Huh?"
Lin, who was so hungry he almost wanted to pinch himself unconscious, his eyes glowing, reached out to press the gravity system switch, then flipped up and bounced over to the communication device, pressing the intercom: "Kuhank No. 13 received! I need help!"
The language used in the reply was... Earth language? Did he run into other humans on an interstellar trip?
Lin walked to the window with anticipation, looking for the first group of living creatures encountered since departure based on the signal coordinates.
A space station? Or a spaceship?
But when he saw that "thing," he was stunned.
"Hello... static... stranger... static... this is Earth..."
Lin gazed at that azure planet, as if seeing the Earth, the birthplace of human civilization that had appeared in textbooks.
...
"Ah... I'm back to life. I never thought I'd be able to eat chicken leg rice after leaving home."
Lin licked the empty plate clean, slumped blissfully in his chair, and let out a burp, ignoring the weird looks from the creatures around him who looked exactly like him.
"Thank you for your help. This is truly the most delicious meal I've had since I was born. Praise the Lord of the Universe... Yeah, okay, I know you're all confused... By the way, do you have the expression 'confused'? Does the language system match?"
Lin unceremoniously picked his teeth with his pinky, leisurely looking at the black-haired woman sitting across from him with a serious face.
"Lord of the Universe... is the universe ruled by someone?" Her gaze reminded Lin of an academy teaching assistant—excessively strict, making one can't help but want to tease her.
"How is that possible? Since the Interstellar Alliance was established seven hundred Cosmic Eras ago, countless idiots who wanted to be kings or tyrants have been put in the Alliance textbooks as negative examples. Those guys can hunt down any 'Lord of the Universe' to the ends of the galaxy." Lin spread his hands. "Oh, right. You'd better not let anyone touch my ship. Without my authentication, any intrusion or dismantling will trigger the auto-counterattack system and turn it into a... uh, mechanical giant. You don't want a colossus rampaging on this planet, do you?"
"...I will. But I still can't believe you are a... cosmic visitor? After all, you and us..."
"Look alike? Hmm... that's actually easy to answer."
Lin snapped his digits, and the cramped scene around them suddenly changed. The expressions of the others shifted drastically as they saw the floor beneath their feet turn into a brilliant sea of stars, and the surrounding scenery transform into the void of space.
No one saw what device he activated; whether it was some alien technology or the alien's own ability was unknown. This scene was like a divine miracle, causing a commotion among everyone present.
"Easy now, everyone. This is just a projection... (whispering) So the book was right—behavior that's perfectly ordinary for high-level civilizations looks like a god casting spells to low-level civilizations."
Lin raised his hand, and the surrounding scene returned to the cramped shelter from before, only then allowing them to calm down.
The black-haired woman had remained perfectly calm throughout, as if observing whether Lin was truly an alien or just a fraud with eccentric methods.
He turned the surroundings back into a starlit sea, waited for the noise to stop, then reached out and pulled a distant star in front of the black-haired woman.
She was the leader of these people, so talking to her would save a lot of trouble. Lin was also happy to impart knowledge from the "gods" to these people who were still stuck in the planetary civilization stage.
Under his movements, the star turned into the appearance of a globe-like planet.
"You can think of everything in the universe—from galaxies to a plant on a certain planet—as a projection of information. We are all just shadows cast from different directions by some 'thing.' Even if that information is large enough to encompass the entire universe, cases of similar information combinations will eventually occur."
"Simply put... somewhere in the universe you don't know about, there might also be a 'me,' currently descending on a planet similar to this Earth, and... also looking at us."
Lin chuckled and zoomed in on a location on this planet. The prosperous scene of creatures almost identical to humans walking around made everyone present widen their eyes.
"Of course, you don't have to believe me. After all, I plan to leave this place as soon as I've fixed the life-support system. I won't disturb you. Perhaps your descendants will leave their mother planet for the universe after countless Cosmic Eras. If I'm still traveling then, maybe I'll even be able to meet them. That would be a fine story."
"..."
The massive amount of information was about to burst their brains, but the culprit was observing their reactions with interest, like standing outside a cage observing small animals inside panic at the dazzling world outside.
At this moment, the quiet black-haired woman made a move.
Click.
She raised a gun and aimed it at Lin forehead.
"Oh?" Lin wasn't very surprised. He curled his lips and looked straight into her eyes.
Black eyes just like his. Pupils without impurities like these were rare in the universe.
Before anyone else could react, the woman pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Bang!