First Intergalactic Emperor: Starting With The Ancient Goddess

Xavier leaned on the edge of the blackjack table now, sipping on a drink he didn’t even remember ordering.

”Sir, your chips,” the dealer reminded with a stiff smile, sliding over his winnings like he was scared to offend.

Xavier didn’t even look. Just waved a hand, distracted. ”Keep ’em. Spread it to the losers who need it.”

The people around the table froze.

A tall man in a grey suit narrowed his eyes. ”You serious?”

Xavier turned his head slow. No rush.

”Do I look like I’m joking?”

That was enough. The man shut up. Someone clapped. Another guy muttered, ”Must be some royal rich brat,” under his breath, not knowing Xavier’s glasses had audio filters sharper than a sniper scope.

Xavier smirked but didn’t react.

He walked away. Not a single chip in hand. Didn’t need it.

Because what he wanted couldn’t be bought with chips.

He passed a bar section and two guys in flashy jackets nodded at him. They’d seen his play. They weren’t nodding in respect — they were weighing him.

One whispered to the other.

Xavier caught the full sentence.

”Think he’s cheating?”

That made Xavier grin. Good. Let the rumors brew. Let people wonder. Suspicion was the first step to fame in this world.

Then came the second.

From the other side of the floor, a woman walked toward him.

She had presence.

Blonde waves, slit-red dress, legs that didn’t end, and the kind of heels that could stab someone if needed. A red rose tucked into her neckline for no reason at all.

She didn’t walk. She glided.

”Nice streak back there,” she said, coming to a stop beside him.

Xavier gave her a glance, then back to his drink. ”Wasn’t a streak. That was me getting bored.”

Her smile sharpened. ”Modest.”

He turned fully now, took her in, slow.

”No,” he said, voice lazy. ”Just accurate.”

She laughed. Not forced. It had that husky edge. The kind of laugh that said she wasn’t here for drinks or company — she was here for someone worth her time.

”I’m Yelena,” she said, holding out a gloved hand.

”Xavier,” he replied, taking it without hesitation.

”You don’t look like the type who hangs around casinos.”

”And yet,” he said, ”I’m here.”

”You here for fun? Or someone?”

Xavier’s smirk faded just a little. ”Someone.”

Her eyes sharpened, but before she could probe deeper—

A stir. At the entrance.

Security straightened up.

Civilians stepped aside like the air had gotten heavier.

Then they walked in.

Ethan.

He wasn’t alone.

Four men. Two bodyguards. One old man in a sharp navy coat — probably some sponsor or higher-up. And a chick with green hair and a leather trench coat that didn’t belong in a casino. She looked ex-military or something.

Xavier didn’t move.

Yelena followed his gaze and smiled.

”That who you’re waiting for?”

”Maybe,” Xavier muttered, straightening the cuffs of his shirt. ”Show’s about to start.”

The lights didn’t dim. The music didn’t stop. But the air in the casino shifted.

Ethan didn’t see him yet. Too busy laughing with his group, flashing his gold watch, walking like the floor owed him.

Xavier raised his glass and finished the drink.

Game time.

Xavier took a back seat for a while with Yelena, and observed Ethan and his group from the second floor balcony.

Ethan leaned back in his chair, a glass of violet liquor sloshing in his hand like it was meant to spill on peasants.

”Thirty thousand,” he said, grinning like a wolf.

One of the guys at the table — some rich heir with a tattoo that screamed midlife crisis — coughed and folded.

”Coward,” Ethan laughed. ”Come on, boys. Don’t make me win by default again.”

The girl beside him leaned in, whispering something. Ethan smirked, waved her off like she was a lapdog.

Xavier watched from the shadows of the bar, drink untouched.

His glasses zoomed, scanned, tagged. Everyone. Background. Expressions. Sweat levels. Even Ethan’s breathing — surprisingly cocky and relaxed, like he had no worries in the world.

”Same table as last time?” Yelena asked, already ordering a new drink. ”You’ve been watching him a while.”

”He’s entertaining,” Xavier said. ”Like a puppet that thinks he’s the master.”

She grinned. ”You sure you don’t want to just blow his cover now?”

”Where’s the fun in that?”

He set his glass down. The clink was soft but final.

And then walked.

Through the crowd. Around the velvet carpet. The bouncers didn’t even glance his way.

A seat opened at Ethan’s table. Just one.

Xavier took it without asking.

Ethan barely looked up.

”Buy-in’s half a mil,” he muttered, shuffling cards with lazy flicks. ”Hope you’re not just here to watch.”

”I’ll play,” Xavier said.

Yelena trailed behind, perched beside him with a leg crossed high. Like she belonged there.

A few heads turned. The chemistry was visible now. The girl in red and the mystery man in silk. People noticed. Even Ethan’s group exchanged glances.

”Name?” Ethan asked.

Xavier smiled. ”Call me X.”

The game started.

First round. Small bet. Xavier played dumb.

Ethan grinned. ”Newbie luck might save you.”

Second round. Xavier made a risky call.

Yelena tilted her head like she didn’t get it. But she did. She was playing along.

Third round. Xavier won. Barely. Like a fluke.

Fourth. He lost.

Fifth. Won again. Clean.

By the seventh, Ethan’s smile was starting to slip. His tone dipped. Less teasing, more guarded.

”Interesting plays,” Ethan muttered, watching Xavier through narrowed eyes. ”You’re not bad.”

”I get that a lot,” Xavier said, brushing nonexistent dust off his sleeve.

By the tenth round, Xavier had tripled his chips. Ethan had dropped over a million.

The crowd had grown. Quiet murmurs. Curious stares.

The energy at the table was electric now.

Last round.

Ethan upped the ante. Big. Desperate to reclaim pride. Even his own team started shifting uncomfortably.

Cards dealt.

No one spoke.

And then—

Xavier won.

Again.

Ethan slammed his cards down and stood up. ”Alright, who the hell are you?”

Xavier leaned back, finally pulling off his glasses.

”You sure you don’t recognize me, Ethan?”

The tone was soft. Friendly. But it hit like a bullet.

Ethan froze.

His lips parted. His jaw twitched. Recognition bloomed on his face like a bomb.

”...Xavier?”

The girl beside Ethan gasped.

Yelena raised her brow. ”Oh. That Xavier.”

Xavier smiled.

”Nice to see you again,” he said, offering a hand across the table.

”I missed your... confidence.”

Ethan didn’t take it. Just stared. Eyes wide. Words stuck.

And around them, the casino buzzed louder, unaware that a bomb had just been planted right in their golden table.