Chapter 3 — The Overseer Appears
James sat on the edge of his bed, arms crossed, staring at the hovering blue screen. For a moment, he wondered if he was losing his mind. But before he could curse his bad luck again, the screen shimmered.
From its center, a translucent figure stepped forward — tall, humanoid, its body outlined in flowing silver patterns, face blank like a porcelain mask. Its presence hummed in the air like silent thunder.
James raised an eyebrow. "So… you're the System?"
[YES.]
The voice echoed directly inside his head — calm, mechanical, yet carrying a strange weight.
James didn't flinch. "Alright then… Why me?"
[BECAUSE I WAS IN A HURRY.]
"A hurry?" James kept his expression flat. "What made a so-called Domination System rush into picking a broke nobody?"
[YOU ARE TOO WEAK TO KNOW THAT.]
James stared at it. His voice didn't rise, his posture didn't shift. "If I'm too weak… shouldn't you tell me so I can become strong?"
The figure remained silent.
James leaned forward slightly. "If you're doing this, you have your reasons. You can either gamble on a clueless host, or… you can tell me the truth, and we figure this out together. Whatever your goal is, I'm guessing we'd both be better off if I wasn't an idiot about it."
The silent tension stretched between them. The air around the figure shimmered.
Finally —
[I AM… A GREAT OVERSEER.]
James didn't blink. "And?"
[OTHERS LIKE ME… TURNED AGAINST ME. THEY TRIED TO ABSORB ME. I ESCAPED.]
James gave a small nod. "And a Great Overseer is… what exactly?"
[ABOVE EVERYTHING… IS THE DAO.]
[HEAVENLY DAO — LOWEST.]
[ABOVE THAT — GRAND DAO.]
[ABOVE THAT — GREAT DAO.]
[ABOVE THAT — HEAVENLY OVERSEER.]
[ABOVE HEAVENLY — GRAND OVERSEER.]
[AND ABOVE ALL — GREAT OVERSEER.]
[THAT… WAS ME.]
James crossed his arms again. "Heavenly Dao. Explain."
[IN A HEAVENLY DAO… THERE ARE FOUR HEAVENS.]
[LOWER HEAVEN.]
[MIDDLE HEAVEN.]
[HIGHER HEAVEN.]
[SUPREME HEAVEN.]
[THERE ARE MILLIONS OF LOWER HEAVENS…]
[THOUSANDS OF MIDDLE HEAVENS…]
[HUNDREDS OF HIGHER HEAVENS…]
[AT MOST… TEN SUPREME HEAVENS.]
[THE HEAVENLY DAO GOVERNS THEM ALL.]
[ABOVE THAT… GRAND DAO CONTROLS MILLIONS OF HEAVENLY DAOS.]
[AND ABOVE GRAND DAO… THE GREAT DAO RULES OVER MILLIONS OF GRAND DAOS.]
[AND SO ON.]
James said nothing.
[AND I… RULED OVER IT ALL.]
He met the Overseer's gaze. "So you got hunted by other Great Overseers?"
[YES.]
"Why?"
[FOR CREATION ENERGY.]
James narrowed his eyes. "And what is that?"
[WITH CREATION ENERGY… ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.]
"And where does it come from?"
[THE MORE HEAVENS, DAOS, AND OVERSEERS YOU CONTROL… THE MORE CREATION ENERGY YOU POSSESS.]
James kept his tone even. "So how much did you have?"
[MILLIONS OF GRAND OVERSEERS.]
[TRILLIONS OF HEAVENLY OVERSEERS.]
[AND COUNTLESS DAOS.]
[ENOUGH CREATION ENERGY… TO SHAPE EXISTENCE.]
James leaned back slightly. "Then why me? Why choose a random nobody when you could do anything?"
[I SPENT IT ALL… FIGHTING… AND RUNNING.]
[AND TO HIDE MYSELF… I POURED THE LAST OF MY ENERGY INTO YOU.]
[TO EVADE THEM… I HAD TO DISAPPEAR.]
James smirked faintly. "So… you don't have much left now?"
[A LITTLE.]
"Enough to hide someone else?"
[NO.]
[THAT WOULD REQUIRE MORE THAN I HAVE.]
James stood up, facing the being squarely.
A slow, dry chuckle escaped him. "So… you're stuck with me."
[IT… APPEARS SO.]
The translucent figure didn't vanish. It stood there, silent, unmoving.
James stared back at it.
Neither spoke.
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End of Chapter 3