The sound came quietly.
A small, familiar tone that Alexander had not heard in nearly a year.
Ding.
For a brief moment he was still standing on the shoreline of Niijima, watching the calm morning ocean roll against the harbour rocks while the settlement slowly woke behind him.
Then the world folded.
The air dissolved.
Reality blurred.
And when everything settled again, Alexander Greywald stood once more in the capital of Thalora, heart of the Helion Dominion.
The skyline stretched endlessly before him—towering structures of metal and crystal rising toward the pale sky, aerial traffic lanes humming quietly overhead, distant star ships drifting across the upper atmosphere like silent whales in a sea of light.
For the first time in nearly a year…
The zombie apocalypse felt impossibly far away.
Alexander exhaled slowly.
Then immediately accessed the system interface.
Because the mission might have ended…
But the promises he had made had not.
The system responded instantly.
A translucent interface appeared before him as he navigated to the stored HOTD solar system.
His first question appeared on the command panel.
Can I extract individual people from the stored world before deploying the system?
The response appeared seconds later.
< Once something is placed inside the world, it cannot be returned to system storage.>>
Alexander nodded slowly.
"Good."
That simplified things enormously.
Before doing anything else, he opened a communication channel with the administrative council.
Several familiar faces appeared across the holographic display—governors, logistics officers, and the Castellan sisters who managed much of the Dominion's internal administration.
"Good morning," Alexander said calmly.
They immediately noticed something had changed.
"The first mission is complete. I survived it and we will have new additions to our universe soon."
Relief spread across the room.
But Alexander raised a hand.
"There's something else."
He explained quickly.
"The people I'm about to bring here come from a pre-space civilization. Technologically they're roughly two centuries behind us."
One of the administrators leaned forward.
"But they know you."
"Yes."
"And they trust you."
Alexander nodded.
"We survived a global collapse together. So prepare translators, medical staff, and temporary housing."
Then he opened the system storage.
The first arrivals appeared minutes later.
Saeko.
Saya.
Shizuka.
Rika.
Takashi.
Rei.
Kohta.
Kyoko.
Asami.
Officer Matsushima.
Souichiro and Yuriko Takagi.
Mrs. Komuro.
Tadashi and Kiriko Miyamoto.
And Tajima.
They materialized inside the capital reception hall.
For several seconds nobody moved.
Their eyes slowly lifted toward the enormous glass ceiling above them, where floating light panels illuminated the vast chamber and the distant skyline beyond.
Saya was the first to recover.
"…Alright," she muttered.
She crossed her arms while staring at the distant towers visible through the walls.
"This is definitely not Japan."
Shizuka blinked several times.
"Oooh… everything looks so shiny!"
Kohta stared at the hovering transit lanes outside like a child in a toy store.
"…Are those flying cars?"
Alexander smiled faintly.
"Something like that."
The explanations took nearly an hour.
Alexander introduced them to several members of his administration and explained the structure of the Helion Dominion.
The reactions ranged from stunned disbelief to cautious curiosity.
But there was no time to linger.
Nearly twelve hundred survivors were still waiting.
Alexander began bringing them through in small groups.
Families first.
Then the rest of the island population.
Medical staff and translators waited beside the arrival platform while each group appeared.
Confusion was inevitable.
But familiar faces helped stabilize things.
Slowly…
The entire Niijima settlement population arrived on Thalora.
Once everyone had been brought across, Alexander turned to something far more ambitious.
Buildings.
The system storage allowed them to be extracted as well.
He began with the obvious ones.
The Takagi Estate appeared first.
Then several houses from Tokonosu City that had belonged to survivors from their camp.
Then another.
And another.
He continued adding familiar locations.
Fujimi Academy.
Taiei Shopping Town.
The East Police Station.
Each structure was carefully placed within an empty district near the capital city.
Gradually, a new neighbourhood formed.
Traditional Japanese houses stood between sleek futuristic towers.
Wide streets curved through newly placed gardens.
The entire district slowly began resembling a fragment of Earth transplanted into a different civilization.
Even the Busujima estate appeared.
Alexander had never personally visited it.
But Saeko deserved to have her home nearby.
Then he studied the placement map again.
And decided to do something far more daring.
The capital of Thalora sat along an enormous coastline.
Which meant…
There was room for something larger.
Much larger.
With careful adjustments, Alexander selected Tajima Island from the stored world.
The entire island materialized offshore from the capital city.
Forests.
Cliffs.
The fishing harbour where they had survived for a year.
He adjusted the placement carefully, minimizing disruption to Thalora's existing wildlife and geological structures.
When the process finished, Tajima Island rested quietly within alien waters.
A piece of Earth orbiting a distant star.
Engineers were dispatched immediately.
Infrastructure teams began linking the new district to Thalora's transportation grid and power systems.
Within days the Japanese neighbourhood, funnily enough named Tokonosu neighbourhood by some, began functioning as a seamless part of the capital.
The population brought into the Dominion barely exceeded a few thousand. Compared to the 4 million people living under the Helion Dominion, their arrival was little more than a small district expansion.
Alexander's next task was far more personal.
Using the system's integrated search function, he began locating surviving relatives.
One by one.
Whenever the system confirmed someone alive, he brought them.
The reunions were powerful.
Sometimes joyful.
Sometimes painful.
Not everyone had surviving family.
But many did.
Kohta Hirano nearly collapsed when both of his parents appeared.
They embraced him immediately.
Though their expressions became slightly confused when they noticed Asami standing beside him.
His mother whispered something quietly.
Kohta turned bright red.
But both parents were clearly proud of the person their son had become.
The most difficult encounter came later.
Master Busujima.
He appeared inside the courtyard of the Busujima estate.
After speaking privately with Saeko for some time, he approached Alexander.
"I request a duel."
Alexander didn't refuse.
The fight took place beneath the courtyard trees.
Steel against steel.
Busujima moved with terrifying precision.
But Alexander's enhanced body gave him the edge.
The duel ended quickly.
Alexander lowered his blade.
"That wasn't fair. I'm enhanced."
Busujima shook his head.
"You used everything available to you. As did I."
Then he bowed slightly.
"I accept your relationship with my daughter."
Even if it was…
He glanced toward the others nearby.
"…unconventional."
Then he made another request.
He had been leading a small survivor camp abroad.
Alexander located it instantly.
The entire camp appeared near the Busujima estate.
This time he did not transport their houses individually.
Instead, he recreated their camp beside the estate at the far edge of the district.
Busujima nodded approvingly.
"They will follow you. But I will command them directly."
Alexander accepted easily.
A clear hierarchy was useful.
When things finally began calming down, Alexander gathered the population together.
"You have one week," he announced.
"One week to reunite with family. Rest. Learn your surroundings.
After that you will be contacted about the future and what you want to do."
After that, integration programs would begin.
Language courses.
Educational equivalency.
Cultural briefings.
Personality and aptitude assessments.
Paths for employment.
The Dominion ran efficiently—but newcomers needed preparation.
Alexander spent most of that week with the four women closest to him.
Saya immediately began asking questions about governance.
"You have administrators for your other colonies, right?" she asked.
"Yes. The Castellan sisters. Three woman that I know from when we were young. They are like sisters and they decided to help me in leading the Dominion"
Saya's eyes lit up.
"Then I want to help too. You will have other missions. I want to be a stand-in governor for Thalora when you are gone."
Shizuka took a different interest entirely. She stared at the medical facilities like a child in a candy store.
"Do you realize how many diseases we could cure with this technology?"
She was already considering training programs. She wanted to become better in medicine, even if she was just a nurse before the zombies, and not a doctor.
Though Alexander suspected she would still enjoy the occasional luxury boutique.
Being emperor's partner had its perks. Perks that I am tankful for, else Shizuka would have bankrupted me in any other position. Maybe that's why she does not seem to have had a long relationship previously.
Rika Minami's choice was unsurprising.
"I'm joining the military."
Alexander introduced her to Helene Asbjorn, my fleet admiral, who agreed to mentor her.
Saeko's decision was quieter.
"I will remain at your side."
She became his personal bodyguard.
Though she still trained regularly and visited her father.
She also made one unusual request.
"A shrine."
Alexander smiled.
It was rare for Saeko to ask for anything unrelated to swordsmanship.
He approved it immediately.
Takashi and Rei decided to return to school, or at least the Thalora equivalent. They still were not sure what their place in the Helion Dominion would be. School can be quite different when you need to teach interplanetary travel and economy. Also having basic piloting lessons in a school, is quite different from the normal Japanese curriculum.
Being the 'Emperor', or 'King' of a population allowed me to choose the most fitted people for each job and also remove clutter from any institution. And not have the leaders choose based on popularity but based on skill. I know that monarchies usually fail when you have pampered successors, but a long life like mine should offset that particular problems. And I don't really believe in the democracies, or at least the capitalistic ones. With keeping the population un-informed, they basically become popularity contest and who can lie better.
Coming back to my friends from Highschool of the Dead, Kohta and Asami planned to join the military also, after they finish the accommodation courses.
Alice Maresato continued her education but visited frequently. Her cheerful presence remained a bright light for everyone who had survived Tajima. She become something like the little sister of everyone there and was quite looked after.
Later, Alexander made another decision.
Using the system search function, he located every surviving child under thirteen who was not part of a survivor camp or accompanied by an adult.
The number was depressingly small.
1,708.
Far fewer than he had hoped.
They appeared inside a large reception hall.
Confused.
Frightened.
But alive.
Translators explained the situation.
A new orphanage complex welcomed them immediately.
Alexander then turned to Earth itself.
Animals.
Plants.
Seeds.
He began collecting specimens.
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault appeared inside the Dominion's botanical archives.
Potted plants followed.
Then livestock.
Wildlife.
Not everything.
He especially searched for zoo animals and pets still alive and trapped or caged.
He wanted Earth to remain liveable.
But took enough to enrich Thalora's biodiversity.
At times he felt like Noah.
At others like a hoarder.
Collecting one of everything.
Marine life followed.
The oceans had flourished during the year humanity stopped industrial fishing.
Volturnia's seas welcomed the new species easily.
Finally, Alexander cleaned something else.
The ruins of Earth.
Collapsed cities.
Industrial debris.
Tons of abandoned material.
He moved it all to Selara, Thalora's moon.
The moon already contained ancient Domain ruins. And it was used as a penal colony and a dumping ground before they stuff got sorted for recycling and a good place for archaeological dings inside the very vast Domain ruins. Once a liveable place, better than Thalora, now it was just a ruining world with barely breathable air, but it still had it's uses.
Adding twentieth-century wreckage wouldn't matter. The Helion Dominion's recycling capabilities could process it, together with the Domain ruins.
When he finally closed the system interface, Alexander leaned back.
He had finished extracting everything he wanted.
But he still had not deployed the HOTD solar system.
Instead, he studied the interface thoughtfully.
A new possibility had appeared.
The ability to move things from one stored planet to another.
If another Earth apocalypse mission ever happened…
He could consolidate survivors onto a single world.
Maximize population density.
Increase survival chances.
Make a fully populated Old Earth, with a bigger population and then have another empty Sol solar system or planet ripe for placing. A safe line in case other missions just gave people or aliens without their planets.
So he will try and keep untouched planets in reserve.
He leaned back slightly.
For the first time since the mission began…
Alexander allowed himself to think about the long future ahead.