Azure blue.
A calm lie painted across a dead sky.
Takumi stood at the edge of the underground fortress, staring at the flickering holographic map that showed the destruction above. The surface world had once looked peaceful from orbit—like a sapphire jewel in the void. But every sensor feed showed the truth: collapsed megacities, vines crawling over steel skeletons, strange luminescent plants growing through shattered roads. Magical beasts roamed freely in the ruins, claiming the world that once belonged to humans.
And he was the last one left.
"Transmigration, huh…?" he muttered. "More like a cosmic prank."
He closed the last surviving logbook, its pages brittle and smelling faintly metallic. The previous inhabitants of this bunker—those who had fought until humanity's final days—had taken their own lives a century ago. Not from despair, but from mathematical certainty: with only a few men left, there was no future population curve that led to survival.
Takumi stared at their skeletal remains and felt nothing. Maybe shock had numbed him. Maybe he was too overwhelmed. Maybe he simply wasn't wired for a spectacle this grand.
"What's the point of bringing me here if I'm just going to die in a week…?" He kicked an empty ration box. "No power. No food. No cultivation method. No super weapon. No—"
His voice cracked.
"No system. At. All."
He glared at the ceiling.
"Hey! Whatever cosmic entity brought me here—I'm right here! Hello!"
No answer.
"What kind of garbage author would write a protagonist that dies in Chapter 1? Who greenlit this plot?! Send me home!"
Still nothing.
Takumi inhaled sharply, ready to curse the universe into rebooting itself.
Then—
DING.
A pleasant chime echoed inside his head.
Takumi froze.
Another chime.
[You have successfully joined the Multiverse Sign-In Chat Group.]
"What."
A series of holographic windows burst into existence, projecting neon-blue screens into his vision. His breath hitched.
[Group notification: User 'Reader Dad Most Handsome' has joined the group chat.]
"What—NO. No, no, no!" He scrambled mentally and forcibly slammed the rename button.
['Reader Dad Most Handsome' has changed their name to 'Takumi'.]
And then the chaos began.
—
Fujiwara Chika:Ehhh?! Newbie alert!! Also wow, tragic username choice.
Sagiri: @Takumi Hi hi! Another modern person? Your typing rhythm feels familiar!
Akeno: Fufu~ welcome~
Himeko: Welcome to the group!
Zhongli: Welcome, newcomer. May your stay be… stable.
Takumi blinked.
"Z-Zhongli? The Geo Grandpa?!"
The man himself answered.
Zhongli: Please refrain from using that nickname, Takumi.
Takumi stared blankly at the chat window.
This was real. Several anime characters… in one chat group. Not fanfiction. Not illusion. The Authority of the system felt real, like a subtle pressure behind his thoughts.
Sagiri typed again.
Sagiri: Go on, Takumi! Do the check-in! First-timer rewards are usually good!
Chika: Yeah! Free gacha roll! Maybe you'll get something cute!
Takumi pressed the check-in button almost on instinct.
[Group Member 'Takumi' has successfully signed in.]
[Reward: Cocoon of the End]
Everyone froze.
Zhongli nearly lost composure.
Zhongli: …Pardon?
Himeko: Wait—did I read that right?
Sagiri: That sounds ominous!! Like, very ominous!!
Chika: What's a Cocoon of the End? Is it edible?
Takumi felt the item manifest in his infinite dimensional storage—something he didn't know he had until now. His mind spun.
"It's… alive? Or asleep? It feels like a compressed universe…?"
The Cocoon pulsed faintly inside the endless void-space that had no walls, no bottom, no ceiling. An infinite warehouse of concepts, matter, possibilities. His thoughts brushed against the object—and reality twisted for a split second.
Space folded.
Time contracted.
Something ancient whispered.
Takumi reeled back as the underground fortress quaked.
"What the hell—?!"
In the chat, Zhongli typed again.
Zhongli: That item carries an Authority-like signature… This is problematic.
Before Takumi could respond—
DING.
A new system message exploded across every window.
[Warning: New user exceeds standard power parameters.]
[Warning: System stability at risk.]
[Leadership shift recommended.]
Zhongli: …Excuse me?
Takumi: "HUH?! NO NO NO, DON'T YOU DARE—"
Chika: Is the system breaking?! Did Takumi bring a virus?!
Sagiri: Ehhhhh?! Newbie leadership? But Zhongli-senpai is super reliable!
Akeno: Ara, chaos already~
Himeko: System, explain.
The system did not explain.
The system acted.
[Initiating emergency vote for new Group Leader.]
[Nominee: Takumi]
Takumi screamed at the air.
"I didn't ask for this!! Cancel, cancel—where's the cancel button?!"
[Voting…]
Chika: "Wait wait wait, I didn't press anything!! My screen is tapping itself!"
Zhongli: "…This interface is auto-selecting Takumi."
Sagiri: "S-Same here!!"
[100% of votes: Takumi]
[Zhongli has been dethroned.]
[Takumi is now the Group Leader.]
Silence.
Absolute, cosmic silence.
Takumi stared at the glowing notification, throat dry.
He had become leader of a multiverse chat group containing powerful characters… by accident.
Akeno broke the silence first.
Akeno: Congratulations~ Leader Takumi~
Chika followed.
Chika: I, for one, welcome our new confused and screaming overlord!
Sagiri:
Sagiri: Leader!! Please assign quests responsibly!! And no weird missions!
Himeko:
Himeko: Leader or not, you need a stable mental state. Drink water.
Zhongli finally typed.
Zhongli:
…It appears the system recognizes your Authority.
Takumi, I recommend you breathe.
Takumi fell backward onto an old metal crate, hands in his hair.
"Authority? What Authority? I don't have anything except—"
He stopped.
A sensation bloomed inside him.
A structure.
A blueprint.
An infinite mechanical cosmos unfolding like origami.
The Authority.
Herrscher of Reason.
A voice whispered inside his mind—not external, not divine, but a conceptual truth.
Construction
Engineering
Recreation
Creation through cognition
He understood.
He could recreate anything he understood. Anything he could imagine with structural accuracy. Entire buildings. Machines. Ecosystems. If he conceptualized the blueprint, reality would obey.
His breath stuttered.
Then the second message appeared.
[Infinite Dimensional Storage unlocked.]
He felt the void-space inside him—endless, layered, interconnected. He could store universes in there. Conceptual objects. Ideas. The Cocoon of the End pulsed quietly in the depths.
The fortress lights flickered as his presence warped the environment.
"Okay. Deep breaths," he whispered. "Maybe I'm hallucinating."
In response, the metal floor rearranged itself to give him a chair made of smooth hexagonal plates. It rose from nothing, assembling molecule by molecule in perfect precision.
Chika: Leader Takumi! You made a chair from thin air!!!
Sagiri: EH?! THAT'S SO COOL!!
Himeko: That's Herrscher-tier behavior. Be careful not to collapse the building.
Takumi slumped into the chair.
He wasn't hallucinating.
His power was real.
Reality bent when he asked it to.
A wave of vertigo washed over him.
"Why me…?"
Zhongli answered calmly.
Zhongli: Power often arrives without consent. What matters is what you will build with it.
Takumi laughed weakly.
"Build? There's nothing left TO build. Earth is dead."
DING.
A new system window appeared.
[Leader Takumi has unlocked: Dimensional Domain – Takumi's World]
[Time dilation: 1 day outside = 100 days inside]
[Access cost for members: 10 points]
Takumi stared.
He had a whole pocket dimension?
A domain where time obeyed him?
Chika: WHOA!! Leader's private world?! Sounds like a theme park!!
Sagiri: Time dilation?! I could finish my deadlines early!!
Akeno: Ara~ a private world~ how intriguing.
Zhongli:
A realm with 100x time dilation is… significant. Such a world can become the foundation of a civilization.
Takumi blinked.
Civilization?
Empire?
He looked around the underground fortress.
Dead machinery. Cold steel. Faded hopes.
A spark flickered in his mind—not divine, not heroic, simply stubborn.
"…Maybe I can save something," he whispered.
If he built a world—
If he seeded culture, education, technology—
If he rebuilt from scratch—
Maybe humanity wouldn't end here.
The Herrscher Authority stirred in agreement.
He lifted his hand.
Blueprints unfolded inside his thoughts.
Foundations. Buildings. Libraries. Seed vaults. Atmospheric stabilizers. AI caretakers.
He could create it all.
For the first time, he exhaled with purpose.
But then—
DING!
[New Group Leader Item Unlocked: Mission Board]
Chika: Oooh!! Missions!! Does this mean we get points?!
Sagiri: Points!! I need points!! I want snacks from the mall!!
Akeno: Leader, would you assign the first mission~?
Takumi blinked at the sudden barrage.
"I—I don't know what missions even are!"
Mission Board:
— Daily tasks
— Weekly assignments
— World visits
— Civilization support
— Exploration
— Cross-world assistance
Zhongli typed again, solemn.
Zhongli: Leader Takumi. You should establish the first mission. Something simple. Let the group adapt.
Takumi nodded.
"Right. Something simple…"
Akeno:
Akeno: It's okay if it's weird. Everything's been weird so far~
He took a breath and pressed the mission creation button.
[Create Mission? Y/N]
He selected Y.
The interface opened.
He typed:
Mission: "Send me one photo of your world."
Reward: 1 point
Sagiri:
Sagiri: THAT'S SO EASY!? OMG THANK YOU LEADER!!
Chika: Easiest point of my life!
Himeko: Reasonable starting task.
As the members began uploading images—
Liyue Harbor glowing in the sunset.
A quiet Japanese bedroom.
A futuristic academy rooftop.
Sparkling shrines and neon-lit streets.
—Takumi's chest tightened.
Other worlds.
Living worlds.
He swallowed hard.
Then—
The fortress ceiling cracked.
A beast's roar echoed above, shaking the earth.
Takumi snapped back to danger.
"Oh, right. This planet is trying to kill me."
Chika:
Chika: Leader?? Something exploded? That sounded explode-y.
Sagiri: Are you under attack?!
Himeko: Takumi, identify threat level.
Zhongli: Steel your mind. You are not helpless.
Takumi inhaled.
Exhaled.
His fear quieted.
A blueprint formed.
Armor.
Exosuit.
Energy shield.
Hexagons of light burst around him as the Herrscher of Reason Authority materialized a sleek, dark-blue suit over his body.
Comedic panic evaporated, replaced by cold clarity.
"…I think it's time," he murmured. "To step outside."
The fortress doors groaned open.
Outside, the ruined world waited.
In the chat—
Chika spammed cheering stickers.
Sagiri screamed encouragement.
Akeno sent a teasing good-luck kiss emoji.
Himeko watched silently, tension in her voice.
Zhongli offered one final message:
Zhongli: Go, Leader Takumi. Show your Authority to the world.
Takumi smiled faintly.
"Fine. Let's build the future… one disaster at a time."
He stepped onto the ruined earth—
And the planet itself seemed to hold its breath.