First Intergalactic Emperor: Starting With The Ancient Goddess

He paid the indulgence immediately. His records updated in seconds, wiping every charge clean.

Legally speaking, Arin Velmore walked out of that room as an innocent man.

Althea didn’t bother hiding her disgust. ”Get out of here before I forget the rules.”

Guards escorted him to the shuttle bay. The shuttle lowered him down toward the city centre like he was some dignitary returning from a vacation.

Arin stepped out with a nervous smile, adjusting his collar, breathing the fresh air like he deserved it.

He called a taxi and sat in the rear seat.

”Where to?” the driver asked as he clicked the switch that opened a map on the rear seat.

Arin quickly chose his destination, but it was to his home or a restaurant to eat, it was to a hotel. And it wasn’t just an ordinary hotel, it was a hotel famous for hooking up.

The car began to move to the set location.

”Hey, can you decrease the temperature a bit? It’s so hot.” Arin said as he opened the window.

”The AC is busted,” the driver responded.

”Argh! Useless trash...” he muttered under his breath.

Arin relaxed back into the seat and stared out the window, thinking he’d gotten away with everything. The bright towers slid past, the pedestrians blurred, and the taxi hummed through the traffic like any other ordinary ride.

The driver kept glancing at him in the mirror, like someone trying to remember the face of a criminal. Arin ignored it, focusing on his appointment at the hotel. A shower, a drink, a student, anything to wash off the prison smell and the fear he’d felt earlier.

The driver turned on the radio, where the news of the city played. And almost all the news was of Arin and his crimes.

The news continued blasting in the background.

”—the leaked footage clearly shows Professor Arin Velmore engaging in predatory—”

”Can you change the channel?”

But the driver didn’t respond.

”Hey, change the channel!”

Still, the driver didn’t do anything.

”I said, change the goddamn channel!”

Arin was annoyed hearing the news. He leaned forward, grabbed the back of the passenger seat, and tried to reach for the panel.

The driver’s hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, stopping him mid-motion. The grip was so strong that Arin couldn’t even move his fingers.

”Once a piece of shit, always a piece of shit,” the driver said.

Arin froze. The voice was unmistakable. He slowly turned his head to the front seat.

The driver glanced back with a disgusted look on his face.

”The fuck are you looking at?”

”X... Xavier?” Arin whispered.

”I figured you’d get released fast,” Xavier said, walking toward him at an easy pace. ”Didn’t think they’d be stupid enough to let you walk free, but hey... you rich people always surprise me.”

Arin forced a shaky smile. ”There was... a misunderstanding. The authorities ruled me innocent.”

”Innocent,” Xavier repeated. ”Right.”

”It was all legal,” Arin insisted. ”The system cleared me.”

”Sit back,” Xavier said.

Arin’s breath hitched. ”W-What are you doing? Why—why are you driving this—?”

”Sit back.”

Arin pressed himself against the seat, heart pounding. ”You— you can’t do this. I’m a free man. The system cleared me. I’m allowed to go—”

”You’re allowed to shut up,” Xavier said, eyes still on the road.

Arin reached for the door handle. ”Let me out.”

The lock clicked shut before his fingers even touched it.

He tried the opposite door. Another lock.

He kicked the front seat in panic. ”LET ME OUT!”

Xavier didn’t flinch. He just shifted gears and the taxi jerked forward with a violent acceleration that threw Arin backward.

Traffic lights and shimmering buildings flew past in distorted streaks as Xavier slammed the accelerator down harder.

Arin grabbed the seatbelt with shaking hands. ”Slow down! Slow the fuck down!”

”You’re sweating,” Xavier said, his voice quiet, almost amused. ”What’s wrong? Hot in here?”

”STOP THE CAR!”

”No.”

Arin tried banging on the glass, but the windows stayed locked. His voice cracked with panic. ”Where—where are you taking me?”

”Somewhere peaceful,” Xavier said.

”Peaceful? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!?”

”You’ll see.”

Xavier took the elevated interchange at full speed, ignoring the warning signs, weaving between traffic with a precision that would’ve impressed anyone who wasn’t currently trapped with him. Arin screamed as they barely missed a cargo truck.

He took another sharp turn and changed the lane.

The city centre was long behind them now. The tall towers thinned out. The polished roads gave way to older paths. Eventually the scenery shifted into the outskirts — abandoned construction zones, rusted barriers, rubble, and cracked pavement where nobody bothered to patrol anymore.

Arin’s legs were shaking uncontrollably. ”Xavier... Xavier... listen, p-please, we can talk about th—”

”No,” Xavier said. ”You talked enough.”

He turned down an empty dirt road and brought the taxi to a slow stop behind a collapsed warehouse — a dead-zone where no cameras or drones operated.

Arin immediately tried the doors again, but Xavier unlocked them this time. He didn’t even bother turning around.

”Get out.”

Arin hesitated. ”W-What?”

”I said get out.”

Xavier stepped out of the car first and walked toward the open clearing in the middle of the abandoned lot. The wind blew dust across the cracked ground, giving the entire place a hollow, dead silence.

Arin stumbled out after him. ”Xavier—please—whatever you think—whatever you believe—I didn’t mean—”

”That’s the problem,” Xavier said without turning around. ”You never mean anything. You just do it.”

Arin swallowed his fear and backed away slowly. ”Xavier... you’re a public figure. You can’t do this. If you hurt me—”

”I won’t hurt you,” Xavier said, finally facing him. ”I’m going to end you.”

Arin’s face drained completely.

”You harassed dozens of girls,” Xavier continued. ”I didn’t care about any of that.”

Arin blinked. ”Y-You didn’t...?”

”I didn’t,” Xavier said, stepping closer. ”I don’t go around saving people. That’s not my job.”

Arin nodded frantically. ”Then—then let me go—”

”But the moment you even thought of Lilia...” Xavier’s eyes hardened. ”That was the day you signed your ticket to hell.”