Kaiser hovered his cursor over the glowing word.
[Miracle]
The letters shimmered with a subtle pulse, like a heartbeat under the glass. He clicked.
The screen darkened.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then a ripple of soft static swept across the screen, as if the laptop itself had exhaled. A new menu bloomed into view. Pixelated icons danced in place, arranged in a neat ring, each etched with a different symbol—fire, rain, a seedling, a shining sun, a faded skull, and a jagged bolt of lightning.
He moved the cursor slowly, cautious. Each icon had a name:
[Blessing of Rain] – Cost: 3 Faith[Rapid Growth] – Cost: 5 Faith[Daylight Extension] – Cost: 2 Faith[Divine Fire] – Cost: 7 Faith[Culling] – Cost: 6 Faith[Lightning] – Cost: 1 Faith
He chose the simplest one. [Blessing of Rain]. He wanted to choose [Lightning], but something held him back. The simplicity of rain seemed like a safe start, a gentle first step.
As soon as he clicked it, the view returned to the island.
Soft pixel clouds gathered overhead.
Rain fell.
The berry bushes shimmered, glistening under the downpour. The villagers, those seven small sprites, lifted their heads and danced. A new message appeared:
"The people rejoice! Their belief has deepened."
The faith counter rose from 4 to 5, even though he had just spent 3. Something about their joy had increased his return.
"This... is a feedback loop," Kaiser whispered. "Miracles generate more faith. Faith lets me trigger miracles."
The more they believe, the more I can act. The more I act, the more they believe.
He didn't even realize he was smiling until his cheeks hurt.
The villagers began constructing a second hut. One knelt before the temple, entering prayer. The others cleared a forested patch to the west.
Kaiser clicked on the temple.
A new tab appeared:[Temple Upgrades – Locked]
Another message below it:
"Upgrade available upon reaching 10 Faith."
He leaned back against the damp cave wall, thinking. He'd spent a month in this world surviving like a rat in the gutters. Always hiding, always scraping. His transmigration group had long stopped replying. No guidance, no second chances. But now—now he had this.
A cheat? A divine interface? A literal god-game?
It didn't matter.
He could build something here. He could start from zero and carve his own order, his own civilization.
He opened his group chat one last time. Still nothing.
No messages. No users.
Just kaiser(1).
He closed the panel.
No more begging. No more waiting.
He was no longer the kid who stared at tutorials and quit halfway. He was building something real now—something alive.
Kaiser continued his exploration, his fingers dancing across the ancient keys. The virtual temple shimmered with new detail.
At the center stood a stone bonfire, glowing faintly, pixel embers floating upward. Beside it sat a humanoid statue in a meditative posture—its features blurred, neither male nor female, neither kind nor cruel. An entity that resisted description, as if shaped by belief more than design.
At the foot of the statue stretched a stone altar. Two slots rested upon it:
The left was marked [Sacrifice], its rectangular groove almost exactly the shape of a keyboard.
The right, marked [Gift], was oval and slender, reminiscent of a mouse.
Kaiser leaned forward.
"Symbolism?" he murmured.
He scoured every pixel of the temple screen. No tooltips, no interactions. The two slots remained inert—waiting.
Frustration itched at him. Was this where it stopped? A dead end?
Then a thought crept into his mind.
"I need to build this world brick by brick... maybe that's how I gain strength."
He reached into his coat and pulled out the smooth marble he had looted days ago—the one with strange engravings that seemed to shift under light. He hesitated only briefly before dragging it from his inventory screen to the [Gift] slot. [Accept] or [Decline]. He chose [Accept].
"Will you gift [Lumen Core] to your devoted followers?"
Lumen Core? Is that what the marble was?
Without hesitation, he deftly clicked [Yes].
Beyond the temple walls, exclamatory symbols materialized above the heads of the faithful who had gathered in fervent worship.
"Behold, the divine manifests!"
"God has blessed us with a wondrous miracle!"
"Hail the miracles! Hail our Almighty ruler!"
"Great Deity, we offer gratitude for this munificent gift!"
The marble hovered over the altar, glowing.
He let go.
The screen flashed white.
A moment later, the temple pulsed with energy. The bonfire blazed higher, throwing golden light across the villagers. The kneeling one at the temple stood and lifted his arms. The others dropped their tools and fell to their knees.
"A gift has been accepted."
Kaiser watched, his breath caught in his chest. This was beyond what he had expected. The power he had just unlocked was tangible, real—he could feel it in the air, in the warmth of the light that radiated from the temple, in the jubilant cries of the villagers.
The villagers, now kneeling before the temple, seemed to glow brighter. Their faith had deepened, and he could feel the shift in the very fabric of the world.
The faith counter ticked up again, this time to 8.
He had done it.
Kaiser leaned forward, his mind racing with possibilities. The [Gift] slot had worked. The marble was no longer just a strange object—it had transformed into something that had empowered his followers, increased their belief, and in turn, increased his strength.
The temple's power pulsed again, stronger now, as if recognizing the gift had changed the balance. The villagers began moving with renewed vigor. One went to the western forest, gathering more wood for the next expansion. Another began gathering berries, which were now plentiful thanks to the rain he had summoned. The others worked in unison, a true community formed under the light of the divine.
Kaiser felt an odd sense of pride, mixed with power. This was what he was meant to do. Build. Grow. Command. The power was his to shape, but so was the responsibility.
The world outside his cave was just beginning to take form. His civilization was still in its infancy, but now, with the faith of his followers rising and his powers growing, the world itself began to bend to his will.
"What's next?" Kaiser muttered to himself, his eyes scanning the temple screen again.
He opened the interface, examining the miracles he had yet to unlock. [Rapid Growth], [Divine Fire], [Culling]... There were still so many possibilities, so much potential. But he knew he couldn't rush it.
Not yet.
Kaiser leaned back against the cave wall, looking at the village below. The temple pulsed softly in the distance, the flames of the bonfire casting shadows that seemed to dance with the flicker of possibility. This world was his to shape now.
One step at a time.