In the vast, silent expanse of outer space, where stars are born and galaxies move around, floated Xelar.
He wasn't made of flesh and bones like us; he was more like a walking, talking constellation.
Imagine a shape that kept changing—now a star, now a comet, now something dazzling that you couldn't find even in the coolest sci-fi movies.
As one of the Universe's mightiest beings, Xelar had seen the birth of nebulae, the swirling dance of black holes, and the rise and fall of civilizations. But nothing excited him anymore.
On what could be considered an ordinary day for an overlord would definitely be an extraordinary one for anyone else.
Xelar was bored. Really bored. You know the kind of boredom that makes even video games seem dull? Multiply that by a thousand. That was Xelar on a good day.
Floating near a star that was simply existing in its corner of the universe, Xelar flicked his finger—a trivial gesture for him. The star responded by exploding into a supernova, sending a brilliant cascade of light across the cosmos.
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
Picture the grandest fireworks display you've ever seen, then amplify it to a cosmic scale. That's what unfolded. Yet, Xelar barely blinked. The spectacle that once thrilled him now barely elicited a yawn.
"Boring." he muttered to himself as the colours faded.
'Ugh, I'm just so over it.' He sighed—a sigh potent enough to set hurricanes spinning across planets if he wasn't careful.
His eyes, if one could call them that, roamed the cosmos, searching for something, anything, that might spark his interest. But nothing did. Space was just being space—vast, beautiful, yet so predictable after witnessing it a billion times.
As Xelar drifted aimlessly through the cosmos, a tiny, gleaming orb caught his eye—a planet painted in hues of deep greens and blues, adorned with sprawling forests and towering mountains.
This was Vesta, a realm of medieval fantasy where magic crackled in the air and knights clashed swords in the name of honour.
Curiosity, a sensation long forgotten, stirred within him.
Bending his cosmic senses, he focused on the vibrant pulse of life below. From his lofty view, Earth transformed into a living tapestry of emotions and actions, bustling market squares and quiet mystical groves.
Humans, and creatures of folklore alike, hustled through their lives, each moment filled with struggles for power, love, and survival.
"Why do they care about such little things?" Xelar wondered quietly, his voice blending with the whispers of the stars.
His gaze sharpened, cutting through the celestial veil to a medieval village alive with the buzz of a market day.
He watched a mage haggle hard over a vial of beast's blood, a knight parading through the crowd in clanking armour, and a group of peasants laughing over tales of cheeky faeries.
Their emotions—excitement, pride, joy—shone like small sparks, a stark contrast to the cold, unchanging cosmos.
Xelar chuckled, his form shimmering with amusement. "They think they're so powerful," he thought, amused by their boldness.
Their little fights over magical gems and enchanted swords seemed so important to them, yet so small from where he floated.
His attention was drawn to a duel—a young mage throwing spells at a tough old warrior. The air buzzed with magic, swords sparking with light, every strike ringing out across the market.
For the people watching, it was a serious fight; for Xelar, it was just mere child's play. The mage threw a big fireball, leaving charred scorch marks on the ground.
WHOOSH!
Xelar laughed quietly, the sound rustling the leaves of the world-tree. "I could blow that out or set the whole world on fire if I wanted," he said to himself, amused and a bit fond of their boldness.
As he watched them, a slight feeling of connection flickered in him. These people, with their short lives and small powers, held onto each moment so fiercely—it was both funny and kind of great.
"Why not join them? Try out their little magics and carry a sword?" he thought, finding the idea more and more fun. It was a crazy idea, but incredibly tempting.
As the echoes of laughter died down and the market's din faded, Xelar floated above Earth, the amusement still twinkling in his cosmic form.
This tiny world below buzzed with vibrant life and petty conflicts that, surprisingly, charmed him.
It was refreshing, like a breeze that somehow made its way through the vacuum of space.
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"Okay, let's think this through," Xelar mused aloud, his voice a cascade of celestial vibrations that could stir comets from their paths.
"I'm bored out of my mind up here. And down there? Well, it looks like one grand party."
He pondered while watching another flare of magic light up a distant forest—a mage probably got into a fight with a troll.
"Humans and their magic tricks, their sword fights, their… what do they call it? Drama! Yes, drama. It's like they're in their own little show."
Twirling a star or two absentmindedly between his fingers, Xelar chuckled.
"And what about me? The all-powerful Xelar joining their little play? Now, wouldn't that make for a good story? From cosmic overlord to… what's the most ridiculous thing I can be? A human child! Tiny, powerless, and prone to tantrums over the simplest things. Perfect."
"Alright, I have decided that I will be going down there," Xelar declared, his voice echoing with a celestial resonance that stirred the very fabric of space.
"I'll live a little, or a lot. Depends on how these human years feel."
"Time to swap this dull immortality for something with a bit more… flavour. How hard can it be, right? I mean, I've experienced quite a bit of difficulty myself. How complex can human life be?"
"It's settled then," Xelar continued, his tone infused with determination. "Vacation mode: Activate!"
As he set his sights on a small, sleeping town below, ready to make his grand, albeit absurd, entrance into humanity, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of excitement. It had been millennia since he'd felt anything quite like it.
"Here goes nothing," he whispered.
Just as he was about to Dive in, he paused.
A thought struck him.
'What if, even in a diminished form, my cosmic power accidentally obliterated the planet? '
"Wouldn't want to sneeze and blow up my new playground," he mused, chuckling at the mental image of Earth popping like a soap bubble.
"Let's just pick up a suitable vassal".
He looked over various potential lives—a boy from a rich family dressed in fancy clothes, which seemed too extravagant for him; a prince whose life involved too much from diapers to diplomacy; and a merchant's son, which involved fun haggling but wasn't quite right.
He decided against all these, seeking something simpler.
Xelar looked at the poorer part of town where children lived in simple houses. They didn't have much adult supervision. He watched each child carefully, thinking about his choices.
There was a not-so-attractive nine-year-old, but Xelar didn't consider him. Another child always looked sad and cried, which didn't interest Xelar either. Then there was a chubby kid lying down in his house.
"That kid is rounder than a star at the end of its life cycle!?" Xelar mused with a mix of bewilderment and amusement.
"There is no way I am taking this human ball".
He then shifted his gaze towards another house.
Finally, he noticed a quiet child sitting alone, drawing in the dirt. "Hmm, what's this? Quiet, thoughtful, and look at those drawings. Is that a dragon eating the sun? That's creative."
"I like this kid," he mused to himself. "You are going to be my vassal."
Just as he was about to choose a quiet child, a rogue comet streaked across his field of vision.
The sudden burst of light was dazzling, even to his ancient eyes, pulling his attention away in a critical moment of decision.
"Blasted celestial traffic!" he muttered, struggling to refocus.
But physics, as they often do, had other plans, and his essence was already slipping toward an unintended destiny."
"Oh no, not that one— waittttttt!" Xelar cried out as the comet's distraction threw his concentration into disarray.
Realization dawned a moment too late as his essence began its irreversible descent.
"This is not the plan!"
"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" Xelar's voice boomed through the vast expanse of space as he was forcefully dragged towards Earth, the sound reverberating through the cosmos.
His cosmic form collided with the tiny, earthly body, the merging process was intense and disorienting.
WHOOOSH!
Xelar's vast essence spiralled into the confined space of human flesh, a jarring squeeze from the infinite to the infinitesimal.
The transition from a free-floating celestial form to a dense human body overwhelmed him with a barrage of new sensory inputs.
THUD!
Landing in the body of the chubby child, Xelar attempted to stand but stumbled and fell, grappling with the unfamiliar heaviness of his new form.
"Why this one? Of all the cosmic jokes, this is the punchline?" Xelar groaned as he attempted to stand, feeling the unfamiliar weight of his new form.
The unfamiliar sensations of heartbeat, breathing, and the rush of blood in veins felt so confining compared to the boundless expanse of space.
"To be bound by flesh and bone, what a curious confinement," he thought, his voice now a mere whisper compared to his usual celestial boom.
"How do these creatures manage such a fragile existence?" His mind raced as he tried to adjust to the cacophony of sensory inputs.
After regaining some composure, he sat up, still grappling with his new reality.
"How could this be? I, Xelar, who commands the stars and communes with black holes, fumbled over a mere child's selection?"
He dusted off his new, smaller limbs, his tone mixed with disbelief and a wry chuckle.
"Perhaps the universe decided it's time I learned humility. Or maybe it's just having a laugh at my expense."
A small smile began to form.
"Well, it can't be that bad right? After all, every big adventure starts with one small step—or in my case, a tiny tumble."