That day, humanity was declared extinct from the universe.
A cosmic war that had lasted for thousands of years had polluted the universe, and planets had become completely uninhabitable.
Lucas Alhamera was one of the scientists who had tried to prevent this massive disaster.
He discovered a formula capable of rebuilding a planet into a habitable state, creating a system that could generate a healthy atmosphere and even artificial organisms similar to edible animals.
But it was all in vain.
Lucas ultimately became the last human left in the world.
He settled on a planet three-fourths the size of Earth, named Antroseda. Old, frail, and longing only for the peace that so many others had already found.
In that utterly silent universe, Lucas was alone. Though humanity's technology had once been so advanced that they could exploit the entire cosmos, it was now nothing more than empty history.
Their legacy would end along with the universe, which was beginning to grow cold.
Lucas gazed outside from the window of his floating home. Antroseda reminded him of the planet where all human life originated—a beautiful planet called Earth.
The vast lakes resembling seas stretched between the archipelagos. Brown plains occasionally sprouted with wild grass.
Though categorized as Lucas's greatest experimental success, Antroseda still contained high levels of cosmic radiation. Life, even the smallest microbes, had failed to adapt here.
Moreover, the overwhelming gravity made it extremely difficult for other forms of life to thrive. If not for the special materials used, Lucas's floating home wouldn't have lasted more than three seconds in the air.
Even if life were to emerge, it would require billions of years of evolution.
Humanity had indeed achieved extreme longevity in recent times, but no one had lived that long.
Lucas swallowed hard, the bitterness in his throat growing stronger. The dimming light of the red giant star signaled that night was approaching.
That meant his time was running out.
Lucas turned and entered a room containing a mechanical capsule and a comfortable interior, suitable as a final resting place.
It wasn't a sleep pod. No liquid oxygen would keep him alive in hibernation. Instead, nitrogen and a mix of deadly gases would be released, granting him instant death.
Lucas took a deep breath, pressing several buttons on the capsule's control panel before finally stretching his body.
He lay inside, watching the capsule's lid slowly slide shut, engulfing him in total darkness.
Lucas closed his eyes. "This is the end of humanity."
And so, he drifted into eternal slumber.
Or not.
Somehow, within a few hours, the capsule's lid opened, and oxygen burst in.
Lucas coughed violently as the air rushed into his lungs.
What happened? Was there a short circuit? An error?
Impossible. Lucas had even prepared a triple-lock protocol to ensure nothing could stop his death.
Then what…
The answer appeared right before his eyes.
[As the last of the dominant species, you have been chosen as the new Overseer of this universe.]
[The cycle of life must continue to preserve balance.]
[If balance is disrupted, catastrophic events will occur.]
[You may now create and develop a new species to become the rulers of the universe.]
Huh? What… is this?
Overseer? Ruler? The last time Lucas had heard about rulers was decades ago, and they had all been corpses since then.
Could this be a message from God?
That figure had long been forgotten, especially since humanity had become a nearly omnipotent and terrifying species.
The idea of God as an absolute existence had eventually become something people thought they could reach. Instead of worshiping or even remembering God, humanity had turned the concept into a joke.
"And now… to develop a new species?"
It made no sense. Lucas had already tried countless methods alongside other researchers, yet reviving the universe under these conditions was utterly impossible.
As if to challenge him, the notification screen reappeared.
[Select planet <Antroseda> as the birthplace of the new species (default)]
[Select another planet...]
Lucas pressed the second option.
Suddenly, the room filled with a massive projection of galaxies and their countless clusters. Although each planet appeared no larger than a speck of dust, Lucas could somehow perceive and distinguish each one.
And among the trillions of planets, he saw it: Earth. The home he and all others had longed for.
If a species were to be born, wouldn't it make sense for it to start where humanity began?
But Earth was no longer the planet humanity had once known.
That beautiful world had turned into a scorched gas ball following the Sun's expansion, precisely one million years ago.
And besides, Lucas didn't want this species to suffer the same fate as humans—falling into destructive conflicts that would ultimately ruin themselves.
So, he pressed the first option again.
[Planet Antroseda identified as uninhabitable!]
Well, of course it is.
It was rather pathetic that Lucas was relying on a screen for something even humanity's brightest minds had failed to achieve.
[Would you like to begin the terraforming process?]
Sure, go ahead if you think you can.
Suddenly, Lucas felt a massive tremor. As if something colossal had stirred in the void, shaking the world with its titanic hands.
Lucas scrambled out of the capsule, his floating home—once stable—now trembling violently.
Don't tell me I'm going to fall!
He rushed to the control room, where various house mechanisms were located. His eyes landed on a green lever labeled [Do not pull unless in emergency.]
Lucas pulled it without hesitation.
The entire floating house was enveloped in a pitch-black barrier.
It was dark energy.
Humanity had discovered its properties around 2,000 years ago. A flexible energy source that could be reprogrammed and its efficiency optimized as needed.
Dark energy had become the ultimate power source, even influencing the military as both a defensive tool and a weapon.
The same applied to this barrier, making his floating home impenetrable—even if Antroseda itself were destroyed.
But what was happening outside?
Lucas pressed a yellow button, activating an external feed showing the situation beyond his home.
Antroseda was being bombarded by a massive asteroid storm. The land was shattering. The lakes boiled over. The atmosphere thickened with toxic fumes.
I knew it. This won't work.
Even if the system somehow terraformed Antroseda, it would be long gone by then.
But that never happened.
The asteroid storm lasted several days. Lucas hadn't slept since it began—he couldn't.
When it finally ended, Lucas couldn't believe his eyes.
The once-barren land of Antroseda had collapsed into several craters, but the remaining soil had become rich and fertile.
The toxic green lakes had turned crystal clear.
And the atmosphere—it seemed to have been completely reset, reverting to a pristine, pollution-free state.
Somehow, Antroseda had been terraformed.