--


    A few more years passed by, and in a couple of hours, the triplets will be thirteen years old.


    With the nourishment of their environment and their parents, the boys grew up well. They''re tall, fit, and energetic. There''s still traces of youth in their faces, but their maturity is showing. Their temperaments remained rtively the same all these years, but it''s inevitable that there will be some changes here and there, which is perfectly normal for teenagers like them.


    Godwyn tossed and turned in his bed. His room was mostly dark, illuminated only by a smallmp on the bedside table. He''s been trying to sleep for the past three hours now to no avail. His mind was too active to let him sleep. At this point, he''s close to giving up the thought altogether.


    Groaning, he sat on his bed and stared at an empty space; his face didn''t betray his thoughts. He then scratched his head and stood up grumpily. He put on his shirt and went out of his room to get some fresh air.


    He went to the garden. Hey on the grass and looked above the boundless velvet nket above. His thoughts continued drifting as he stared at the sparkling stars above.


    Not long after, he felt some movement near him. He didn''t bother looking or anything since he already knew who it was.


    "Can''t sleep either?" Gilderoy, sitting next to him holding a cup of warm milk, asked.


    "Yeah," Godwyn replied, "too stimmed to sleep. I have so many thoughts right now."


    "Same," his brother replied before taking a sip of his drink. "Dad said to not feel pressured...as if it''s that easy."


    "Right. To him, it doesn''t matter whether we got a good ss temte or not because he can and will do something to make that almost negligible, but..."


    "It would still be better if we could get a really good ss temte because we don''t want to be a disappointment. But Dad said he wouldn''t be disappointed no matter what since he too started with a weak ss. Yet it''s different for us. It''s a never-ending dilemma of trying to prove something even though we have no real need to." Gilderoy finished the thought for him.


    "Yeah, that."


    Their parents never censored too much information for them. They grew up hearing stories about their lives. What the world was like in their time when Demons still roamed this earth. How small humanity''s territory was. How weak and frail humans were in front of these space pirates and how they could only carve a small piece of this world for themselves.


    They heard stories about how this world danced at the edge of life and death, barely holding on to its form and shape. They heard stories and legends about old heroes and their sacrifices.


    More importantly, they heard how their father rose to his legendary position. They listened to their mothers telling them how their father became the Holy Son first, then the Sun Sageter. They told them stories of how he changed the world for the better little by little, of how he revived hope for humans and paved the road towards a better future for everybody.


    Even now, their father is still doing that, all without expecting anything in return. It''s because of his selfless efforts and unwavering resolve that he''s being worshipped as a literal god amongst humans. The only reason why Prime Earth and the entirety of Sris Prime became the territory of humans was because of him. Nobody could achieve even half of what he did.


    Having a father like him was both an immense blessing and a little bit of a curse. A blessing because he was able to provide them a safe and stable environment to grow up in. A curse, because he''s so goddamn impressive that it almost feels impossible to follow his footsteps.


    With or without considering people''s opinions about them, the children themselves also want to carve out their own legendary path. They didn''t want to be overly dependent or be a disappointment to the family, even though Cedric himself emphasized that he would never feel that way towards them. Hell, hearing that from him had the opposite effect on them; it made them even more unwilling to disappoint him.


    Their awakening ceremony will take ce in a couple of hours. And to say that their feeling nervous would almost be an understatement at this point.


    The worst part about this is that the allocation of the ss temte waspletely random. Their identities and backgrounds will never give them any advantage towards it. Their father will never allow something like that, especially since it''spletely unnecessary.


    "Is Geld sleeping?" Godwyn asked after a brief silence.


    "Soundly," Gilderoy snorted.


    Godwyn rolled his eyes and sighed: "Must be nice. I envy how he can sleep through this."


    "Don''t be surprised. That one treats father''s word like a revtion or something. If Dad tells him to not feel worried, then he wouldn''t feel worried. That''s just how he is."


    Gwyn can''t argue with that. That brother of them is weird.


    "Come, let''s y a game or something. For distraction. I really don''t want to think too much or else I''ll feel like I''ll cry."


    "Fair. Yeah, let''s do it."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    **


    "You two are hopeless." Gerald sighed at the state of his brothers.


    Just from a single nce, he could tell that they barely slept. Their hairs were a mess and their faces a bit haggard. He found them sleeping on the garden outside, and they were lucky that it''s him who found them and not their mothers, or else they''d have a sermon as their breakfast on this special asion.


    He watched as they groggily drank coffee to wake their spirits up. After all, they can''t appear toozy today since it''s their awakening ceremony.


    Truthfully, this isn''t going to be a problem at all. Gerald knew that they just needed to adjust for a bit and they''d be back to their usual selves, with or without coffee. Their training honed them far better than this, so one sleepless night won''t take them down.


    "Hop on the showers after you finish your drink. Don''t tarry either; our parents are waiting."


    After saying his piece, Gerald left them to their own. He really didn''t feel like looking after them since it''s no use anyway. He instead went back to his room and sat in front of his desk.


    There, he filled with a small charm, a gift he received way back then from his parents. This charm was made by both of his parents by hand. It didn''t look special or anything. It didn''t look like it held deeper secrets either. It''s just a mundane charm, yet for Gerald, it''s a priceless treasure.


    It would be a lie if he said that he wasn''t nervous, because he definitely was. After all, the awakening ceremony was their first step into adulthood. It is an integral part of their journey to be worthy sons of the Sun Sage, so how can anybody expect him to feel calm?


    Gerald''s just really good at keeping things to himself and disciplining his actions. Behind all of this, he''s just a kid too. He''s really not that different from his brothers.


    He held the charm and prayed while doing his best to remain calm. This was all he could do until the awaited moment arrived.


    About a couple of minutester, he heard Cedric''s voice in his head...


    ''Come here, boys. Let''s get this party started.''


    Gerald rolled his eyes at the ''hippie'' words of his father, but he went down nheless. On his way down, he met with his brothers, and as expected, they looked much better now. He could see the glint of determination and a little bit of apprehension on their faces.


    The three of them remained silent as they made their way down. Upon arriving there, he saw their mothers waiting for them withforting smiles on their faces, a stark contrast to their rigid expressions.


    Of course, there''s also their father, who''s already standing by the awakening altar. He grinned at his boys and said,


    "Come on, guys. Don''t look so constipated. Rx. It''s just the Awakening Ceremony, not circumcision without hesia. You''ll be fine."


    "Cedric!" Erica gasped scandalously while ring at him. Chrissy just chuckled while Isabe rolled her eyes.


    "What? It''s true!" Cedric defended himself. "Circumcision without hesia is much, much worse than the Awakening Ceremony. The former is very painful and traumatic, while thetter was painless and actually life-changing. It''s a ''boys thing'', you women won''t understand."


    Cedric huffed despite the re of his wives before looking at his sons, who are holding back their giggles. He thought to himself, ''Good. Not as nervous as before.''


    "Well, we can start. You three, stand on the tform and do your best to empty your thoughts just like I taught you."


    The brothers looked at each other before nodding. Then, they stepped onto the altar at the same time and closed their eyes to empty their thoughts.


    Without wasting any more time than necessary, Cedric activated the altar to start the ceremony under the nervous gazes of their mothers.