A figure limped toward them, his steps slow, deliberate.
He looked human. His skin was smooth, yet his presence was unlike anything they had ever felt before. His eyes—ancient, burning with a power as deep as the cosmos itself. His body, though weakened, still carried an aura of undeniable authority.
He was not fully healed. But he was awake.
Their god had returned.
Silence swallowed the chamber. The survivors, once filled with fury, could only stare.
The being—their god, their planet, their protector—looked at them, weary but resolute.
"Welcome to my dimension."
The words echoed through the space, carried by a force far beyond sound.
The survivors exchanged uneasy glances, their anger fading into confusion.
The being exhaled and gestured around them.
"This universe you see… it is safe."
He limped forward, running a hand through his hair as if remembering the sensation of having a physical form. "The spaceship you were in? This is it. But inside, within me—this dimension is my own."
A hush fell over the crowd as the weight of his words sank in.
"If you want to leave," he continued, "you are free to do so. The outside is simply… the spaceship. And only my helpers remain there."
His voice lowered.
"But if you choose to stay, you live within me now. This dimension is yours, just as the world you lost once was."
Questions erupted.
"Why didn't you save the planet?!"
"Why let our guardian die?"
"Who were they? The ones who attacked us?"
"What are we supposed to do now?"
The being sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before meeting their stares again.
"Your planet was never going to last forever." His voice was gentle, but there was pain behind it. "I knew this moment would come. That is why I built the capital, why I made sure you had a place to run when the time came."
His gaze turned toward the far sky, where stars twisted in strange, mesmerizing patterns.
"The ones who attacked us feared what I would become. They wanted to kill me before my body could fully regenerate."
His fingers flexed, as if testing his strength.
"They failed."
The survivors stood still, absorbing everything.
They were still homeless, lost, and grieving. But they were also alive.
And their god was with them.
The silence stretched until one of the Xerzes finally spoke.
"…So what happens now?"
The being smiled faintly.
"Now?" He looked at them, the fire of rebirth burning in his eyes.
"Now, we build something greater."