By the time Elara returned from the celebration, evening had already settled over the city. The streets below her apartment were still alive with lights, vehicles, and people, but after such a long day, she barely paid attention to any of it. She stepped out of the car, adjusted the strap of her bag, and turned toward her driver.
"You can take tomorrow off. I'll be staying home."
The driver smiled. "Understood, Young Miss. Enjoy your evening."
Elara nodded before heading into the building. A few minutes later, she reached her apartment, unlocked the door, and stepped inside.
The moment the door closed behind her, the composed girl everyone had seen throughout the day seemed to disappear.
Elara dropped her bag onto the couch, kicked off her shoes, and headed straight for her bedroom. A few minutes later, she emerged wearing comfortable shorts and an oversized black hoodie that was obviously too large for her. It had once belonged to her older brother. She had borrowed a few dozen of his clothes before her family sent her to live alone to learn independence.
She walked into the kitchen, grabbed a large bag of chips and a cold bottle of Coke, then returned to the couch and curled up in the corner. She turned on the television, opened the chips, and took a large handful before leaning back with a satisfied sigh.
"Much better."
The apartment was finally quiet.
No teachers.
No classmates.
No one asking about her class.
She could simply relax.
After several minutes of eating, Elara's attention drifted toward the translucent blue interface still floating in front of her. She had looked through it earlier, but the entire day had passed so quickly that she hadn't really had time to investigate anything.
Her eyes settled on the final line of her status.
[Innate Talent: Evolve]
She had been thinking about it since the Awakening Ceremony.
"What exactly are you?"
Elara focused on the talent.
The interface changed.
[Evolution Points: 0]
She blinked.
"Zero?"
She continued staring at it until another option appeared beneath the number.
[Activate Talent]
Elara leaned forward slightly.
She pressed the button.
The interface flickered.
[Talent Activated.]
A second notification immediately appeared.
[Evolution Points Received: 48,888]
Elara stopped chewing.
The chip in her hand remained suspended in front of her mouth as she stared at the number.
Slowly, she lowered it.
"...Forty-eight thousand?"
She checked again.
[Evolution Points: 48,888]
Her eyes widened.
"Oh."
A small smile appeared on her face.
"That's probably a lot."
Before she could investigate further, the doorbell rang.
Elara looked toward the security display and immediately recognized the person standing outside.
Her older brother, Mike.
She got up and opened the door.
Mike stepped inside, and the first thing he noticed was the oversized black hoodie she was wearing.
He stared at it.
"Is that mine?"
Elara looked down at herself.
"No."
Mike raised an eyebrow.
"It was my hoodie before you stole it."
"Borrowed."
"Stolen?"
Elara didn't answer.
Mike sighed and shook his head before stepping farther inside.
"I came here to congratulate you, by the way."
"I know."
"Congratulations."
Elara smiled faintly. "Thank you."
Mike took a seat while Elara returned to the couch. He already knew what had happened at school. Their family had been informed as soon as she awakened, and there was no point going through the entire ceremony again.
Instead, he asked her about the day.
"How was it?"
"Long."
"I can imagine."
They talked for a while about the ceremony, the other students, the Federation registration, and the celebration. Mike listened carefully, occasionally asking questions about specific details, but there was no need for Elara to explain things he already understood.
Eventually, he looked at her more closely.
"You were nervous."
"A little."
"A little?"
She looked away.
Mike smiled.
Elara sighed.
"I thought I might fail."
His expression softened.
"Everyone does."
There was a brief silence before he smiled again.
"But you didn't."
Elara looked at him.
"I'm proud of you."
Her expression softened.
"Thank you."
Mike reached over and lightly ruffled her hair before sitting back.
Then his eyes moved toward the bag of chips beside her.
His expression changed immediately.
"This your dinner?"
Elara looked at the bag.
"No."
"What did you eat?"
"I ate at a restaurant."
"And after that?"
She remained silent.
Mike sighed.
"Elara."
"I'm hungry."
"You're an Awakener now."
"I know."
"Then you need to start eating properly."
Elara frowned.
"I do."
Mike pointed at the chips.
"That's not what I mean."
He leaned forward.
"Your body is going to require more resources as you grow stronger. More calories, more protein, enough carbohydrates, good fats, vitamins, minerals, all of it. You can't treat food as something you only need to stop yourself from being hungry anymore."
Elara nodded.
"I understand."
"No more chips, cola, chocolates, candies, instant noodles, fries or burger or anything junk."
Her head immediately lifted.
"What?"
"No more."
"But—"
"No."
Mike's tone left no room for negotiation.
"You need proper food. Meat, eggs, dairy, grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, quality fats, and enough carbohydrates to keep your energy up. You're an Awakener now. Your nutritional requirements are going to keep increasing as you progress."
Elara looked at the bag of chips.
"It was just one bag."
"Today."
She sighed.
"Okay."
"Good."
Mike pulled out his device.
"Take this."
A second later, Elara's own device chimed.
She looked down.
[Transfer Received: $500,000]
Her eyes widened.
She looked back at Mike.
"What's this?"
"Your spending money."
"Five hundred thousand?"
"Yes."
"For me?"
"For the year, Tell me if you need more."
Elara stared at the number again.
"That's too much."
Mike shook his head.
"It isn't."
"It is."
"It really isn't."
He leaned back.
"You're an Awakener now. You need weapons, equipment, storage, training resources, transportation, food, and eventually supplies for Genesis World. Being an Awakener is expensive, especially at the beginning when you're still building everything you need."
Elara looked at him.
"Five hundred thousand is enough for all that?"
"For the first year."
She stared at him.
"The first year?"
Mike nodded.
"Don't be stingy with it. Buy good equipment and high-quality food. If you need something, get something that will actually last. Don't buy cheap equipment just because it costs less and then replace it three months later."
Elara nodded.
"I won't."
"And don't spend it all immediately just because you've got money sitting in your account."
"I won't."
"Good."
Mike looked around the apartment.
His eyes moved from the couch to the chair, then toward the bedroom.
He sighed.
Elara immediately knew what was coming.
"No."
Mike stood.
"I'm not doing anything."
"You are."
He picked up a shirt from the floor.
"I can do that."
"I know."
"Then give it to me."
He folded the shirt calmly and placed it on the bed.
Elara followed him.
"I said I'll do it."
"You always say that."
"I mean it."
Mike picked up another piece of clothing.
"Of course."
Elara's face reddened.
He knew exactly what he was doing.
Whenever he came over and noticed something she hadn't taken care of, he would simply start doing it himself. He didn't actually think she was incapable of cleaning her apartment. He just knew that it embarrassed her enough to make her finally help.
"I was going to do that."
"I know."
"Then stop."
"You're not stopping me."
Mike picked up another shirt.
"Give me those."
He handed her a small pile.
"There."
Elara looked victorious for about two seconds.
Then Mike picked up another piece of clothing.
"There are still more."
Her expression immediately fell.
"I hate when you do this."
"I know."
She muttered something under her breath and began folding the clothes herself while Mike continued organizing the rest of the room. Once he had started, he apparently intended to finish everything regardless of whether she helped or not.
"You realize you're making me look incapable, right?"
Mike smiled.
"You're doing a good job of that yourself."
Elara glared at him.
"I hate you."
"No, you don't."
"...A little."
Mike laughed quietly.
Eventually, the apartment was properly organized, and Elara returned to the couch while Mike took the seat beside her. She laid down in his lap.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
Then Mike glanced toward her.
"Mom and Dad couldn't come tonight."
"I know."
"They're both busy. They'll call you later."
Elara nodded.
"Okay."
"Grandpa also asked me to tell you to visit whenever you've got some free time."
She looked at him.
"Why?"
"He wants to see you."
Elara thought about it for a moment.
"Okay. I'll visit."
"Good."
Mike checked the time.
"I'm staying tonight."
Elara looked at him.
"Here?"
"Yes."
"You could go home."
"I could."
He shrugged.
"I don't feel like driving back and i have some work in the neighborhood it will be quite bothersome."
Elara nodded.
"Okay."
Then she picked up a remote.
"What do you wanna watch?"
"I don't want anything."
They eventually settled on a comedy movie and spent the next few hours watching it together. Elara gradually relaxed again, laughing at the more ridiculous parts while Mike occasionally tried to pretend he wasn't amused. The earlier conversation disappeared into the background, replaced by the simple comfort of spending time together.
At some point, the chips she had been eating earlier were finished.
Mike noticed.
He didn't say anything.
By the time the movie ended, it was well past midnight.
"You should sleep," Mike said.
"You too."
He stood and grabbed a blanket from the nearby cupboard.
"I'm sleeping here."
Elara looked at the couch.
"Comfortable?"
"I've slept on worse."
She smiled faintly.
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
Elara disappeared into her bedroom.
Mike settled onto the couch, pulled the blanket over himself, and closed his eyes.
The apartment slowly became silent.