"You… are you Grey?" Alissa asked, uncertainty lacing her voice.
She studied his face closely. It was unmistakably Grey, yet something had changed. His jawline seemed sharper, more defined. Having seen him every day, she noticed immediately.
Before, Grey had been slightly chubby with an average build. Now, he looked lean, his shoulders broader, his figure sharper and more imposing.
Hearing her voice, Grey turned toward her lazily, eyes half-open, still chewing on the slice of pizza in his hand. In a blur, he turned back to the TV, as if her question barely registered.
"Oh, hey Alissa," he greeted casually, voice still thick with sleep.
He had woken only twenty minutes ago, starving after his morning nap. Without hesitation, he had cleared the fridge, and now, pizza slice in hand, he lounged in front of the TV, feeling light-headed but satisfied.
This was the side effect of metamorphosis. Grey constantly felt light-headed and fatigued, his body wracked with an insatiable hunger as an immense surge of growth hormones coursed through him. Nexus Energy worked relentlessly, smoothing out every imperfection, reshaping his body to be fully compatible with his newfound power.
He had many plans for today, yet it seemed he would have to wait until his metamorphosis was complete before taking any action.
This was only day one, and each day would bring even greater changes.
The higher one's power, the longer the metamorphosis took. For instance, Alissa had needed three days; Grey might require even more.
"You…" Alissa felt a headache when seeing this sight. "Did you go through a Second Awakening and become an Evolver?"
Second Awakening—it was a rare occurrence where one would suddenly undergo a change and become able to sense energies. This happened very rarely, but it wasn't impossible, and she believed that she herself might have had a hand in this.
Usually, Second Awakening only happened when there was a high-level Evolver in your house, where their higher life level would indirectly affect you. But Alissa was only a 1st Ranker.
However, she was not ordinary. She was something known as a True Dragon, which even her father didn't seem to know about. And being one, it was easy for others around her to awaken.
Thinking back, she realized she was a dragon at the age of 17, the night before the awakening ceremony at the academy. She had even received a message from her "mother," whom she thought was dead, along with the inherited memory she received as a True Dragon.
Her mother, who had been Richard's wife, didn't reveal too much aside from telling her to conceal her secrets at all costs, and to keep the fact that she was a True Dragon even from Richard himself.
She didn't know what exactly was happening, but she chose to believe her mother and didn't reveal it to anyone.
Her mother had also said she would get answers to her questions once she grew stronger.
Right now, her goal was to find her mother. She knew she wasn't on Blue Star—she believed her mother was from a different world, one that existed beyond the endless skies of Blue Star. Of course, that was just a theory, as those who went beyond the endless skies never came back.
But she believed in herself. After all, she knew for sure that no dragons existed in this world.
Just then, Grey's voice cut through her thoughts.
"Yeah," Grey replied absentmindedly.
"So, you're undergoing metamorphosis?" Alissa felt it clearly, a surge of energy within Grey's body. From sensing it more closely, she realized that it was True Energy.
This guy had become a Martial Artist!
"Yeah," Grey replied in the same tone again.
"Go back to bed. Don't you know it's bad to stay awake when your body is undergoing change?" Alissa said in a stern voice.
Hearing this, Grey nodded blankly and spoke. "I woke up and ate all the food in the fridge. Now I'm sleepy again. I should really go to sleep."
"…" Alissa, hearing this, didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She swiftly made her way to the fridge and, indeed, the fridge was still left open. However, there was nothing inside—the entire fridge was wiped clean, not even leaving vegetables.
Seeing this, Alissa's expression slightly darkened. She realized even her ice cream had been eaten by him.
"You ate my ice cream," Alissa shouted, then sighed.
She couldn't do anything about it. She knew Grey wasn't to be blamed.
It was only natural to feel hungry in a phase like this.
And that was when another shocked shout entered her ears.
"Who are you?! What are you doing in my house?!" Richard asked with a shocked look.
Grey, hearing this, blinked and turned to the source. Seeing that it was his father, he stopped caring and shifted his focus back to the TV as he chewed on the last piece of pizza.
"Grey…?" Richard's face turned from confusion into doubt, then into shock.
Then, he shifted his attention to his daughter, who was also standing there with a helpless look on her face.
She quickly recounted what happened to Grey to Richard, who silently listened.
"Second Awakening?" Richard was slightly surprised. Then a satisfied expression appeared on his face. "Good, I knew Grey had it in him. He will definitely be able to become a top Evolver!"
Richard laughed as he patted Grey's shoulder, but to his dismay, Grey fell onto the sofa with a bored expression on his face from that single tap. He looked one step away from going to sleep.
"…"
The two of them stared silently at Grey with speechless looks. He was so unreactive it was making them worried, but they knew it was due to his body going through changes to adapt to energy.
"Son, come, let's get you to bed," Richard spoke coaxingly to his son.
Hearing this, Grey looked at Richard and nodded dumbly. He was so tired not even his mind was functioning properly.
Then, with Richard's and Alissa's assistance, Grey was sent back to his room. As soon as he lay down on the bed, he drifted away into a deep sleep.
"Looks like we're eating out tonight," Richard said with a laugh.
He was in a rather good mood now after hearing that his son could also become an Evolver. Things had gotten better with Grey recently, and this news was the cherry on top.
"I want ice cream…" Alissa said to Richard.
And just like that, five days passed.