Chapter 7- Michael’s system

Evelyn went home that day and definitely felt like her housewife life was turned upside down. She could learn everything in the world, it got her very excited.

But what should she prioritize for an apocalypse? Learning to shoot a gun in case it is a zombie apocalypse?

She continued to wonder what kind of apocalypse it would be.

Now Michael on the other hand was home with the kids while Evelyn was at work and he came across the strange egg.

Michael was holding the obsidian egg with oven mitts because it was very spiky and when he touched it, it became hot. staring at it like it might explode he asked. "What is this thing? A weird science project? Did one of you kids leave this out?"

Anwan, standing in the doorway, rolled her eyes. "Dad, don't touch that. It's an artifact of immense power, probably tied to the apocalypse or some ancient prophecy. Mom paid a thousand dollars for it." 

Michael blinked at Anwan, oven mitts still clutched around the spiky, dangerous-looking egg. "A thousand dollars? For this thing? Why would she do that? We have bills to pay! It's okay for her to like creatures of chaos, but we don't need to spend money on them! And we definitely don't need to waste money on props for dress-up conventions!"

Anwan sighed, crossing her arms. "Dad, this isn't a prop. It's an artifact. Mom said it's tied to some ancient prophecy, probably involving the apocalypse or something. She said it could change everything."

Michael raised an eyebrow and pointed to the egg with his oven mitts. "Oh, I'll tell you what it's changing—our bank account balance! What does it even do? Is it just… spiky and mysterious?"

"It's powerful," Anwan replied. "Mom said it picks someone to bond with and trains them. Maybe it's tied to some big cosmic event. She didn't give me the exact details."

Anwan crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe. "She got it from an ancient market in some shady corner of the internet. It's legit."

The egg suddenly pulsed, a low hum filling the room. Michael froze. "Oh no. Oh no. I didn't do anything! I didn't even crack it! This is exactly why I used oven mitts!"

Glass shards embedded into his hands the mitts not helping, he dropped it onto the ground and it attempted to embed itself into his flesh. 

"It's attacking me!" He cried. "Maybe… it… it's choosing me! I didn't sign up for—"

Before he could finish, a voice boomed in his head:

"SYSTEM ACTIVATED. WELCOME, MICHAEL. LOADING PERSONALIZED SKILLSET…"

Michael's eyes widened as a virtual interface appeared before him. He stumbled back. "What is this? Am I in a video game?"

Anwan rolled her eyes again. "Relax, Dad. It's just a system. Mom got hers yesterday."

Anwan rolled her eyes again. "Relax, Dad. It's just a system. Mom got hers yesterday. It's why she suddenly knows how to build water filtration systems and talk about quantum mechanics."

Michael stared at her, slack-jawed. "She can what? I thought she was just bingeing a documentary."

The voice interrupted his panic:

"Skills Generated Based on Personality Traits and Daily Habits…"

Michael gulped. "Oh no. I don't like where this is going."

The skills began to load on the screen before him:

**- Skill: Master of Last-Minute Solutions Unlocked!

• Skill: Dad Strength (Temporary Burst Mode) Unlocked!

• Skill: Instant Snack Location Unlocked!

• Passive Ability: Unstoppable Sleep Despite Chaos Activated.**

Michael blinked. "What the… Instant Snack Location? That's not even a real skill! Who designed this thing?!"

The egg continued to hum as another notification appeared:

"Emergency Quest: Create a Survival Plan for the Family. Reward: Basic Apocalypse Proficiency."

Being distracted, the egg suddenly jumped and Michael screamed. 

———————

Evelyn came in from the car and heard Michael screaming bloody murder "get it out!!!! Get it out!!!!

…of 

….me!"

She ran into the house and as Michael turned around, the egg had embedded itself into his abdomen. Michael was now a pregnant man. 

"Michael!" Evelyn screamed. 

Anwan died on the floor laughing. 

————————

Suddenly, Evelyn jolted awake, sitting upright in bed, her heart pounding like a drum. "Aaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!" she screamed, clutching the blankets.

Michael shot up next to her, groggy and confused, his hair sticking up at odd angles. "What?! What happened?! Are we being robbed? Did the apocalypse start already?"

Evelyn whipped her head toward him, wide-eyed. He looked perfectly normal. No egg embedded in his abdomen. No virtual interface hovering over his head. Just plain, oblivious Michael. She let out a deep, shaky sigh of relief.

"It… it was just a dream," she muttered, wiping the sweat from her brow.

Michael frowned, still half-asleep. "A dream? Did I die in it? You always dream about me dying. Or worse—was I doing taxes?"

Evelyn ignored him, her eyes darting toward the kitchen table. The egg. It sat there, silent, spiky, and harmless… or so it seemed. Its shadow stretched across the countertop ominously in the dim light of the early morning. She shivered just looking at it.

Evelyn stomped into the kitchen, grabbed the egg with a pair of tongs, and shoved it into a shoebox. She taped it shut like it was about to explode. Just as she set the box on the counter, a low hum filled the air, barely audible but unmistakable. She froze.

Evelyn stepped back, her heart racing. "Nope. Not today. Not ever." She grabbed the box and marched straight toward the door, muttering, "You're going straight to the dump, or I'm throwing you into a lake. I don't care which."

Behind her, Michael called out sleepily from the bedroom, "If it's the rent money, don't forget to get a refund!"

Evelyn slammed the door behind her, leaving the house in silence.