Chapter 57: One In A Billion, Awakening Hollow Eyes
"What is it?" I asked.
"You are getting a little sister soon," he said, grinning wider.
"...What?"
He burst out laughing.
"I’m just joking. But..." he paused, then winked, "don’t worry we are trying hard for it."
My lips twitched.
This guy really would let his mouth run whenever mom wasn’t around.
He stood up, still chuckling, and started walking around the room.
He picked up some of my books from the shelf.
One of them caught his attention, a storybook version of King Arthur.
"Have you read this one?" he asked, flipping through the pages.
I nodded.
It was a simple story about Arthur Pendragon, the brave king, the strongest swordsman, the one who could pull the sword from the stone.
"What did you think of it?" he asked.
"It was good," I said, trying to sound like an excited kid.
"What did you like about it?"
"I liked the magic. And the monsters. And the sword that could cut anything."
He laughed, shaking his head.
"You’ll like Dad’s home then. It’s just like that. You’ll see people who can cut through boulders, run on air, leap over rivers. Some of them are even stronger than your mom," he said, adding the last part as a joke.
My eyes widened in fake amazement. "Really?"
"Yup. And guess what? You’ll learn to be just like them."
"You mean I’ll learn magic?" I asked, bouncing a little on the bed. "Like fireballs?"
He smiled. "Well, not exactly magic. More like swordsmanship, or another kind of weapon training if you want."
"No magic?" I said, pretending to be disappointed.
He blinked, then panicked a little. "Ah, wait—no, no. You’ll learn magic too! Fireballs, frost blasts—everything from your books!"
I smiled again, pretending to be excited. "Really?!"
"Of course," he said quickly, relieved that I was "happy" again.
He sat down beside me and picked up the black box once more.
"This," he said, holding it carefully, "is your real birthday gift."
He opened it slowly.
Inside was a single pill.
It was smooth and glossy, a deep red so dark it almost looked black.
"This is an Awakening Pill. You need to take it before we leave tomorrow."
He continued, "After you take this, I’ll be able to bring you home. To where we really belong."
I stared at the pill for a moment, then looked back at Dad.
"Will it hurt?" I asked quietly, keeping my voice small.
"No," he said, smiling softly. "It might feel a little strange, but it won’t hurt. And I’ll be right here with you the whole time."
I nodded again.
"What will the Awakening Pill do?" I asked.
"It’ll awaken a trait called Hollow Eyes in you. But don’t worry too much. It won’t happen right away. It’ll take a few years before they fully awaken."
Traits were mutations.
They were special genetic quirks that families passed down through generations.
Only about forty percent of humans had one.
Most were small advantages like better strength, sharper eyesight, faster healing.
In my last life, when we became stronger in Wageah, we were allowed to buy back our traits and bloodlines if we paid the right price.
I had bought back my old trait, Hyper Reflexes.
I probably inherited it from Mom since Dad’s family, the Daelthorns, had Hollow Eyes.
Hyper Reflexes
was an extremely rare trait. Only one in a billion humans had it. It had saved my life countless times.Because of that, I knew something strange was going on.
If I already had Hyper Reflexes, then I shouldn’t have Hollow Eyes.
The body usually inherited only one genetic mutation, from either the mother or the father, not both.
’The soldiers in Wageah told me I didn’t have a bloodline. But now I can clearly feel I have a dragon bloodline.’
’They must’ve lied to me. They probably kept my bloodline for themselves.’
’Maybe they even hid my Hollow Eyes trait. A pureblood Daelthorn should definitely have it.’
Still, I wasn’t sure if I really had it or not.
In theory, someone could inherit traits from both parents, but that was almost impossible, even in Wageah.
Dad smiled and handed me a glass of water. "Go on, swallow it. It’s safe."
I did as he said. The pill was smooth and tasteless.
"There," he said with a grin. "See? It’s not bitter, or sour."
He leaned forward, waiting for a reaction.
I didn’t say anything.
Then, suddenly, I felt something warm stir inside my stomach.
It wasn’t painful, just strange, like a small wave spreading from my abdomen outward.
My hand moved to my stomach without thinking.
Dad noticed right away.
"You feel that warmth, don’t you? That means it’s working. That energy will spread slowly and fuse with your eyes over time. You’ll be able to use the Hollow Eyes one day."
So the pill really worked?
Did that mean I actually had the Hollow Eyes trait too?
’There’s no way...’ I thought, feeling a spark of excitement. ’What are the chances I inherited both traits?’
I forced myself to calm down.
I needed to be sure I was awakening Hollow Eyes, and this was not just a simple reaction.
I closed my eyes and reached inward.
Inside, I sensed the pill releasing mental energy clearly.
It was like a bright stream of light swirling in my abdomen.
Thanks to my Shadow Class, I knew how to handle mental energy. It was how I used my skills before.
’He said the energy released by the pill needs to fuse with my eyes. Let’s see if that’s true.’
I took a slow breath and began guiding the energy upward, focusing carefully.
At first, it resisted, like it didn’t want to move. But I kept pushing.
Bit by bit, it started to flow through me, rising from my stomach, up my chest, through my neck, and finally to my face.
A pleasant warmth spread behind my eyes.
Then I heard Dad’s startled voice.
"Huh? Y-your eyes..."
I opened them and looked at him.
He was staring at me, his eyes wide.
He stepped closer, bending down until our faces were only a few inches apart.
"The color of your eyes is changing," he whispered, his voice full of disbelief. "Wait, are you... are you awakening the Hollow Eyes already? That shouldn’t be possible! It takes years!"
I didn’t answer.
I was still focused on the mental energy.
The warmth in my eyes grew stronger, more concentrated.
It felt like another layer of vision had formed behind my normal sight.
Everything around me suddenly became clearer.
The room brightened, but not in a blinding way.
I could see more colors, and tiny shades I’d never noticed before.
The world looked sharper, and more defined.
I could tell exactly how far everything was, the distance between the bed and the wall, the gap under the door, even the height of the lamp beside me.
My depth perception had improved drastically.
I blinked and realized I could see details I shouldn’t have been able to before.
Like the tiny threads in the bedsheets, the faint scratches on the metal doorknob, the faint pulse in Dad’s wrist.
He was frozen, still staring at me.
"Unbelievable. You really awakened it... instantly."
I felt the warmth settle inside my eyes like it had found its place. The world looked different now.
Before I could say anything, a faint voice echoed beside me.
"This... Force Eyes?" Yuna muttered.
I glanced to the side.
She was hovering near my face, eyes wide, inspecting my gaze.