I Possess the SSS Skill: Future Sight-Chapter 16: Awakening

The first days and weeks in Valtier Mansion were far from a happy fairy tale.

They were a brutal psychological war.

Kyle and Victor saw nothing in the palace’s luxury but a gilded cage.

In the early days, they refused to eat entirely.

They believed the roasted meat and warm soup were poisoned—or merely "fattening food" before being taken to the laboratory.

They sat in the corner of the room, sometimes even wetting themselves in terror whenever the door opened.

Morfind ordered all servants removed from that wing.

He allowed no one near them but himself.

On the fourth day of their hunger strike, Morfind entered the room carrying a tray of food.

He didn’t place it in front of them.

Instead, he sat on the wooden floor at a distance, took a spoonful of soup, and ate it.

Then he cut a piece of meat and ate that as well.

He continued eating calmly while reading a book, completely ignoring them.

He did this at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

On the sixth day, when hunger gnawed at their small intestines, Victor slowly crawled forward, trembling like a drenched sparrow, toward the tray Morfind had left on the floor.

He took a small piece of bread and darted back into Kyle’s arms. They shared it in silence.

Morfind watched from behind the slightly open door, tears silently streaming down his face.

That was the first step.

The steps that followed came one after another—each harder than the last.

The children feared bathing, terrified that the water would turn into the green liquid Serin had drowned in.

So Morfind would fill the tub with warm water and sit beside it, reading them stories about brave heroes and distant lands... until they realized that water was just water.

He never forced them to sleep in the bed.

When he noticed they preferred sleeping on the hard floor beneath it—because it reminded them of the dormitory floor and gave them a familiar sense of safety—Morfind brought thick blankets and slept on the floor beside them.

He wanted to send them one message:

"You are not alone in the dark anymore."

Slowly, with patient, fatherly care, the ice began to melt.

Victor was the first to speak.

In the fourth month, while Morfind was repairing a broken wooden toy, Victor approached him slowly, touched his sleeve, and whispered in a timid, broken voice:

"Will... will you break it again?"

Morfind smiled gently and said,

"No, my son. Some things break... but our hands were made to fix, not to destroy."

Kyle was the hardest.

His young mind had carved Edgar’s torn image deep within it.

He watched Morfind with his crimson eyes, extremely cautious, analyzing every movement, expecting betrayal at any moment.

But the consistent warmth... the sincerity in the old man’s eyes... the meals that were never followed by pain...

All of it slowly began to rebuild the shattered walls of his soul.

...

...

...

By the time they turned seven, the change was profound.

The palace that once terrified them had become their playground.

On a warm spring day, Morfind took Kyle and Victor to the vast garden behind the mansion.

The sun shone with a gentle golden glow, and flowers bloomed everywhere.

The children wore clean, comfortable clothes, their once-fragile bodies now gaining healthy weight, life returning to their faces.

Morfind sat on a wooden bench beneath a massive oak tree and had them sit beside him.

"Kyle, Victor," he began in his deep, warm voice,

"Do you know what the word ’family’ means?"

Victor looked at Kyle, then both shook their heads.

In the orphanage, that word had never existed.

Morfind placed his large right hand on Victor’s shoulder and his left on Kyle’s.

"Family is not just blood. Family is the shield that stands between you and the cruelty of this world. It is the place where you don’t have to fear closing your eyes. I lived my whole life alone—fighting monsters, gathering wealth I had no one to share with. But you... you gave me a reason to live."

He pulled two official documents from his coat, stamped with a shining golden seal.

"From today, you are no longer numbers. You are no longer merchandise. From today, you carry my name. You are ’Kyle Valtier’ and ’Victor Valtier.’ You are my sons. This mansion is your kingdom, and I will be the sword that cuts down any monster that dares to frighten you."

Kyle’s crimson eyes widened. "Valtier?" he murmured, as if tasting a new kind of magic.

"I... I’m Kyle Valtier?"

"Yes, my son," Morfind smiled.

Kyle said nothing more. He suddenly rushed forward, burying his small face in the old man’s chest, wrapping his arms around his neck.

He began to cry.

But this time, it wasn’t silent crying. It wasn’t the cry of terror.

It was loud, childlike, pure.

He cried out all the pain he had buried, all the horror he had endured in the orphanage... and he cried from overwhelming relief.

Victor joined them, hugging Morfind from the other side, crying as well.

In that moment, beneath the oak tree, the Valtier family was born.

The ashes of the past had not completely vanished—but a fortress of warmth had been built upon them.

...

...

...

Years passed like a beautiful dream, softening much of the past’s cruelty—but never erasing the scars.

Kyle and Victor grew into young teenagers.

Morfind spared nothing for them.

He brought the best private tutors, teaching them history, science, and most importantly: everything about monsters, gates, and Eitra.

As a B-rank hunter, Morfind possessed a respectable Eitra capacity and began training them physically.

He had them run in the garden, lift light weights, and learn basic combat techniques for self-defense.

The difference between their personalities became as clear as the sun and moon.

Victor (now fifteen) became a lively, energetic young man.

His blond hair shone brighter, his wide smile lighting up the mansion.

He was brave, optimistic, and dreamed of awakening powerful Eitra to become a great hunter like his adoptive father—protecting the weak and preventing tragedies like the one they had lived through.

Kyle (also fifteen), on the other hand, was quiet, contemplative... perhaps overly cautious.

His crimson eyes held sharp intelligence and unsettling depth.

He read constantly, analyzing everything he saw.

Despite his deep love for Victor and Morfind, there was still that shadow in his gaze at times.

The gaze of someone who knows the world is rotten—and that the peace they lived in was the exception, not the rule.

Kyle planned in silence.

He studied laws and dreamed of one day joining the magical intelligence agency—not out of loyalty, but to infiltrate it from within.

To reopen the files of "Dawn Hope."

To learn what happened to Kayla and Serin.

And to avenge Edgar.

Morfind saw that darkness in Kyle and always tried to drown it in love and guidance, so that hatred would not consume him.

Their years were filled with laughter—learning to ride bicycles, celebrating birthdays they had never known, sitting by the fireplace at night (though Kyle sometimes tensed at the sight of fire, something Morfind quietly noticed and would occasionally extinguish under the pretense of excess warmth). 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

They were happy.

They were a real family.

...

...

...

In the world of Elysium, when a person turns fifteen, they undergo the "Awakening" test.

It is the day that determines one’s fate—either you awaken Eitra and become one of the Awakened, or you remain an ordinary human, destined for a harsh life in the lower ranks.

It was their fifteenth birthday.

Morfind took them in his luxurious car to the Awakening and Guild Center in the central district.

The building was a massive glass dome filled with magical technology.

Tension gripped Kyle and Victor as they stood in a long line, their palms sweating.

"Don’t worry," Morfind said, patting their backs.

"Even if you don’t awaken any Eitra, you are my sons. My wealth is enough for you to live like kings for the rest of your lives. Power isn’t everything."

But Kyle wanted power.

He needed it.

Victor’s turn came first.

The blond boy stepped forward and placed his hand on the large magical crystal at the center of the hall. He closed his eyes.

Seconds later, the crystal flared with a strong, brilliant blue light, illuminating the entire hall.

A mechanical voice echoed:

[Name: Victor Valtier. Result: Awakened. Initial Eitra Capacity: Rank E (high growth potential). Likely Specialization: Close Combat.]

"Rank E at the start?!" one staff member whispered in shock.

"That’s a prodigy! Most beginners start at J or H!"

Victor leapt into the air in pure joy and ran to embrace Morfind.

"I did it, Dad! I’m a hunter!"

"I’m so proud of you, my son!" Morfind laughed, his eyes glistening with tears.

Victor turned to Kyle and gave him a thumbs-up.

"Your turn! I’m sure you’ll be stronger than me!"

Kyle stepped forward slowly, his heart pounding violently.

He swallowed hard, staring at the crystal still warm from Victor’s energy.

He raised his slightly trembling hand and placed it on the cold surface.

He closed his crimson eyes and wished with all his heart for a chance... a chance to become strong.

One second... two... five...

The crystal did not glow blue.

Instead, it emitted a faint, sickly gray pulse—so weak it was barely visible.

The machine’s voice echoed again, devoid of excitement:

[Name: Kyle Valtier. Result: Awakened. Initial Eitra Capacity: Rank J (minimum measurable). Likely Specialization: Undefined / Weak Support.]

Murmurs spread through the crowd.

"Rank J? That’s pathetic."

"He can barely light a match with that."

Kyle opened his eyes and stared at the letter "J" floating on the holographic screen.

Cold spread through his veins.

Rank J... the absolute bottom.

Despair tightened around his heart.

All the darkness he feared rose again.

How would he get his revenge?

How would he enter intelligence with power that couldn’t even kill a dungeon rat?

He lowered his head, a tear forming in his eye.

But before it could fall, strong arms wrapped around him.

Morfind had rushed forward and embraced him tightly.

"Congratulations, my son! Congratulations!" he roared, silencing the mocking whispers.

Kyle looked up in shock.

"Dad... but I’m... Rank J. I’m weak."

Morfind cupped his face and looked directly into his crimson eyes—his own filled with nothing but pride and love.

"Weak? You are Awakened, Kyle! You possess Eitra! You’ve broken the shell of humanity and stepped into a new world! Rank J means you have infinite room to grow. Remember what I told you—true weakness isn’t in Eitra capacity, but in the strength of the heart. And you have the bravest heart I’ve ever seen."

Victor joined them, hugging Kyle from behind with a grin.

"Dad’s right! We’ll be an amazing team! I’ll be the sword—and you’ll be the mastermind! We’ll conquer dungeons together!"

Kyle looked at them.

There was no disappointment in their eyes.

Only pure joy that he had joined their world—no matter how weak he was.

That moment... those words... melted all the despair in his heart.

He smiled—a real, wide smile—as tears streamed down his face.

But this time... they were tears of happiness.

That night, Morfind Valtier held a grand banquet in the mansion.

The finest dishes were prepared, music filled the halls, and laughter echoed everywhere.

Kyle and Victor ran through the garden, testing their new powers.

Victor could shatter a small rock with a strike.

Kyle could barely lift a leaf off the ground for a few seconds.

Yet... they laughed harder than ever.

That night was the peak of happiness.

The summit Kyle had reached after climbing out of the abyss of the orphanage.

For the first time... he felt that life had made peace with him.

That the past was finally dead.

How wrong he was.