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It was a great nap.

In hindsight, it was clear why the memory remained so persistent without fading to oblivion. It was not because it was memorable, but because it had been awakened from the deepest parts of his soul.

Because it originated from his soul and was not recorded in his brain through the original means, it needed time to properly integrate with his body.

The sleep did exactly that. Eve's brain properly absorbed the information while the body rested.

In a hypothetical scenario, if Eve got Alzheimer's disease or dementia and destroyed his memory, this piece of his life would most likely outlive the rest of his memory due to its unique origin.

'Soul. A widely spread concept of a person's individuality taking a spiritual form. It is not always consciousness either, it is the spiritual reflection of one's body or a container of mystical energy. It all depends on the portrayal.

I wonder what the soul in this world is like. Is it something well-known or something else entirely? Have the imagination of humankind run amok and managed to discover the actual thing before it is announced publicly?

Are all souls carbon copies of each other? Does it mirror a person's unique traits and personality? If so, then what would be mine be like?

Bland and empty I suppose. That was food for thought.'

Eve lay still on his bed, comfortably and completely wrapped within his soft cloud-like blankets.

This was it.

He would finally go outside and meet the world.

He strangely didn't feel like it.

The human brain is wired to establish a schedule of its own, a safe zone for it to properly function. If an anomaly occurs, the brain reacts by releasing the sensation of fear or by falsely ignoring the fact to cope.

However, Eve felt none of the two at the moment. It was hard to explain it in acute detail but the gist goes like this.

Although Eve was welcome, somewhat excited even, at the prospect of leaving his humble abode and starting his own adventure in life, a large part of him wanted to stay within the warm embrace of his smooth blanket.

In the distant corner of his mind, Eve faintly recalled Jonathan showing him a dictionary to properly start his education. Amongst those words that he had learned that day, a specific word seemed to fit with his situation perfectly.

'It's just laziness isn't it.'

After witnessing what he was forced to go through a decade from now on, Eve felt compelled to take a nap for an hour or two again to compensate.

Regrettably, the universe does not work that way and if Eve were to avoid that future, it was time to act.

Groaning, Eve wriggled around his blankets like a worm and the wrap became undone, making him vulnerable to the cold air.

His body shivered, his muscles twitching at high speeds to regain the body heat that he had just lost.

'It's unusually cold today, isn't it? Is the heater working?'

His breath materialized into mist under the temperature, That was how cold the house was.

In the middle of the day, in the middle of summer.

Eve frowned. 'That's not normal.'

He quickly got up, opened up the closet located in the corner of his room, and pulled out a grey sweater and his winter slippers to seek refuge in.

*

The atmosphere downstairs was… not good.

The cold down here was more intense and even with his wool jumper, Eve felt the cold air pierce through it and directly assault his body.

The inhabitants of the lower floor were in a more difficult situation, namely Jonathan and Melina.

Both of them noticed Eve descending the stairs at the same time.

"Took you long enough." Murmured Melina. Her voice was barely audible, and the way she had shrunk as if to escape an embarrassing situation seemed out of nowhere.

Meanwhile, Jonathan didn't communicate with Eve verbally but his eyes told something.

'At least I tried.' His determined brown eyes seemed to say.

'Now it's all up to you.'

"What is happening and why is it freezing down here?" Eve inquired.

Melina gritted her teeth. "Ask your grandpa." 

His eyes turned to his grandfather.

His face was stoic as always and his eyes were full of youthful perseverance but his beet-red ears revealed that he was poorly masking his feelings.

Eve was reminded of the times when his grandfather screwed up, either by getting caught in the act of concocting mischief, forgetting to do the dishes, or adding a tad bit too much salt to the food, and was about to fall into the clutches of the demoness Charlotte. Every time, he tried to mask his feelings of annoyance, sometimes joy, and sometimes embarrassment.

After spending his entire life with him, Eve learned to decipher and guess one of the three emotions accurately, and this time it leaned towards the last one.

Whatever Jonathan did, it was not good for his reputation amongst young teenage girls. The big guy seemed a bit more relaxed than usual though and he had the will of approval in his eyes.

It changed as soon as he saw Eve. To poorly masked hatred.

Jonathan almost jumped out of his seat, gave Eve a pat on the back as if to reassure him, and headed upstairs.

Melina crashed her fist into the table, still blushing. "So what are you waiting for? Get dressed and let's leave already!" 

"I am dressed. Let's leave."

"...No way. In a dusty, torn, oversized jumper, track shorts, and fluffy slippers? You intend to go out with that!"

In terms of flexibility and comfortability, his outfit had no blind spots.

However, in the Empire, a land of the elite, it was too out of the ordinary.

If a person were to look at Eve now, they would never know that this was the outfit of a future omnicidal maniac.

"I have never been outside so I don't have a need for fancy suits. This is all I have, take it or leave it. Personally, I prefer to take it since I don't intend to go naked in this freezing cold."

A look of understanding struck Melina, and then her eyes widened.

"Oh wait, sorry, this cold is my fault. When your grandfather said to… consider… you- Nevermind that, I just got flustered and accidentally used soul power."

As soon as she said that, the temperature climbed back at least 20 degrees, returning to an acceptable, but still cold range.

He sighed in relief. At least he didn't have to feel like in a refrigerator.

'I thought controlling soul power was a hard task? Is it something that can be triggered by emotions?' It has to be accident-prone then.'

"As for your clothes problem, can't you borrow some from your grandfather?"

"I can't. Jonathan and Charlotte's room is locked and Charlotte has the key."

"Can't you ask her to open it?"

"You want me to talk to her, voluntarily? No way, she will sneak into my room again."

"Argh, can't you ask your grandfather to persuade your grandmother?"

"Impossible. Simply impossible. But can you like, break down the door or something? Or unlock the door with your magic and all?"

"First, don't call it magic. It sounds too nerdy. Second, you want me to invade personal territory in broad daylight?"

Eve stared.

"Then I'm going like this."

"Hell, fine, I will get it myself. Where is the room?"

"Just follow along the corridor and it's on the right side."

"Got it"

Melina stormed off with a tired expression. Soon, there was a weak -Pop- sound and a high-pitched screech followed. Two screeches actually.

Melina came back not even thirty seconds after she left, now her entire face red.

"YOU FUCKING BITCH, I WILL KILL YOU!" Charlotte screamed but never came out of her room.

Melina pressed her palms against her face and groaned.

"Why did I have to stumble on her changing." 

'I see. Well deserved then.'

His comment was directed towards both Melina and Charlotte.

On one hand, Charlotte got her privacy violated after she violated his in the morning.

On the other, Melina tasted some more embarrassment as payback for the earlier blizzard.

Eve felt cheerful. 'Today is my lucky day.'

"Well then, let's get going." He walked up to the door and was about to open it when Melina silently cursed.

"At least take that jumper off and take this." She took off her jacket and handed it to Eve.

"At least that way you will look like a citizen of the Federation visiting instead of a hobo."

Not bothering to go through the effort of taking off his jumper, he put the jacket on.

It was smooth, light, and obviously high quality. It also had a pleasant smell to it.

Mouth agape, Melina watched Eve calmly inspect her jacket and smell it as if it was his own.

"You know what? Forget it, you can take that jacket. Now, let's fucking go already!"

'That I can agree on."

The big guy opened the door first and the two followed suit.