It was just another day, a day like any other, and yet it felt heavy. Staring into the mirror, I couldn't help but sigh. The reflection that greeted me wasn't kind—a pudgy face, acne scattered across my skin, and dark circles from sleepless nights spent gaming. My eyes, once sharp, had lost their luster. I didn't like who I saw. Fat. Ugly. Invisible.
I tore my gaze away, turning back to my phone, hoping for the latest mobile game release to distract me. Despite my miserable appearance, I was good at something—gaming. It allowed me to escape, immerse myself in worlds where appearance didn't matter. Where I was in control. Where I could be whoever I wanted.
Scrolling through the app store, I stumbled upon something new, something odd: "World Builder - Create Your Own Realm". The name piqued my interest.
What kind of game lets you build an entire world?
It seemed different, more than just the usual resource management or city-building fare. The game icon was minimalist, just a globe surrounded by golden light, giving off an air of mystique. I hesitated for a moment. Is it really worth trying another one of these gimmick apps?
But I had time to kill, and with nothing better to do, I hit download.
It took only a few minutes for the app to install, and once it was done, the title screen greeted me with grand orchestral music, the sound of winds blowing over mountains, rivers crashing down valleys. It was as if the app wanted me to feel the gravity of what I was about to undertake.
Welcome, Creator, to the World of Endless Potential.
The words glowed across the screen in gilded letters. Below them were two simple buttons:
Start New World
Settings
That's it. No instructions, no hand-holding tutorials. It was oddly minimalist for a game promising the creation of entire worlds. I hit Start New World without thinking too much about it.
Suddenly, a prompt appeared:
"Name your world."
I stared at it blankly, trying to come up with something.
"How about... Soleria?" It was the name of a world I'd used in other games, where I crafted stories in my head. It felt fitting.
I typed it in and hit enter.
What happened next was... odd.
The screen lit up as if it had come alive. Slowly, the darkness gave way to a vast expanse of nothingness—an empty void that stretched endlessly in every direction. And then, in the center, a small point of light appeared. It grew, pulsating gently, expanding into a swirling orb of energy. A world, it seemed, was in the process of forming, but it was still a raw, chaotic mass of elements waiting to be shaped.
A new message appeared on the screen:
"Your world is in its infancy. Observe it carefully. Shape it with your will."
There was no rush, no time limit—just a quiet invitation to observe. I watched as the swirling mass slowly started to take form. Landmasses emerged, great continents formed from the molten chaos, and slowly, rivers and oceans filled the crevices, spreading like veins over the world's surface.
It was mesmerizing, unlike anything I had seen before in a game. There were no points to tally, no timers to manage—just the quiet development of this tiny, fledgling planet. I could zoom in, shift the camera, watch the landscape shift and change on its own. But the game wasn't asking me to interfere. Not yet.
Time slipped away as I became lost in the sheer wonder of creation. Hours passed, but it felt like mere minutes. I'd never seen a game like this. Even though I wasn't directly shaping anything yet, there was something deeply satisfying about watching this world grow on its own.
"Your world has grown. Continue to nurture it, or take a more active role in its development."
Another message appeared after what seemed like days in-game. I understood that time was flowing differently in the game compared to the real world. Only a few hours had passed outside, but it seemed like centuries of development had taken place within Soleria. The landscapes were more detailed now—mountains taller, forests thicker, rivers more defined.
But no sentient life had yet emerged.
I couldn't stop myself from getting drawn into the game. I opened the Settings tab, curious if there were more instructions or tips hidden there. But something caught my eye. A greyed-out option at the bottom of the screen labeled:
Story Mode: Locked.
Huh. Story mode? But why was it locked?
I stared at it for a moment, my mind racing with possibilities. Maybe, just maybe, as my world developed further, that option would unlock. After all, a story needs characters, a world to be lived in, shaped by sentient beings. It made sense that I needed to nurture my world first.
And so, I returned to observing, occasionally making small tweaks. There were subtle controls I could use to speed up or slow down time, adjust the environmental factors. Rainfall here, volcanic eruptions there. It was subtle but impactful.
Days passed. Or maybe weeks? It was hard to tell. Each time I returned to the app, I'd spend hours watching Soleria's evolution, becoming more and more attached to this little world. I couldn't help but feel... responsible for it. Like a parent watching a child grow.
"Life is ready to emerge."
The next message jolted me out of my trance. Life? Already?
Sure enough, I could see the tiniest hints of greenery spreading across the landmasses. Tiny creatures crawled out of the oceans, evolving in real-time. Small ecosystems were forming, slowly but surely.
The world was becoming alive.
"Soon, your role as an observer will end."
Another cryptic message, but this one sent a chill down my spine. What did it mean?
I pushed the thought away, focused on the growing ecosystems before me. I had a feeling the next phase of the game—the so-called Story Mode—was drawing near, but for now, I wanted to enjoy this sense of quiet creation for just a little longer.
[An : This is my first original book I have this idea in my mind for long time but now I decided to put it in action and see how it's go I hope you all will like it comment your views on this chapter]