SSS Class Awakening: I Can Forge My Beast Soul Avatars
Chapter 2: Orphanage

Chapter 2: Orphanage

"You can have mine. I don’t feel so hungry."

The voice sounded heavenly in his dire situation. If angels didn’t exist in the real world, he would have definitely thought of her as one. Sitting up to land a gaze on the owner of the voice, his eyes relaxed as he focused on her.

Standing before him was a female with beaming blue eyes, and long, braided, dim-yellow hair that bristled from the wind. Her face was smooth, almost spotless, and her figure was mildly hourglass, she stood at least 5’6"ft in height — a testament to a future beauty.

She placed a plate before him, her hands outstretched, waiting for his response.

Seeing her eyes, which were devoid of any form of negative emotions towards him, he finally responded to her question.

"You’re kidding, right?" he asked, one of his brows raised.

"No, no, I’m serious. I’m not that hungry and it doesn’t seem like you got any food, so you can have mine."

Again, if angels did exist in the real world, most definitely she would be amongst the select few who would end up becoming one.

Atlas was left in a mental argument, contemplating which response was the right one for the situation: actually take the food and eat without any thought, or politely refuse the meal even though he was terribly hungry and could collapse in the next hour.

His stomach growled again, sounding like those hundred boars burping, which successfully brought his internal query to an end.

"Why don’t we both eat it? That way we’re both fed. It would be selfish if I ate it alone without considering you as the owner," he responded smartly.

She nodded happily, seemingly agreeing with his answer, and sat beside him, pulling out two spoons from a nylon bag she carried along with her.

"Here, this one is for you, and this one is mine." She shared the spoons, a bright smile evident on her lips. "By the way, my name is Emma. What’s yours?" she asked, scooping a full spoon and eating it in one chew.

"Atlas," he responded, trying to recall if he had any memory of her from before the regression.

It was common for one to know the names of everyone they were living with, as they weren’t exactly many in the orphanage, but Atlas had never been the type to carry names at the back of his mind.

Also, it was not long ago that he had arrived at the orphanage — barely two months since he got transported here due to the death of both his parents and in the future, he never really made any memories in the orphanage.

"That is a unique name," she responded with a smile, focusing on her meal.

Atlas glanced at her one last time before diving in to eat.

They both didn’t waste much time devouring the meal. Even with her earlier words, she had eaten equally as much as he did, meaning she was indeed hungry and had lied, or she was just a heavy eater.

"Are you full?" she asked, her voice vibrant and kind.

He nodded in response, eating the remaining food that was still in his mouth, making his cheeks look bloated.

After his response, she stood and left to return the plate to Chef Maya for cleaning, leaving Atlas alone by himself once more.

’That was a satisfying lunch, though now I feel guilty for eating her share of the food.’

She returned to his spot with two cups of water. Judging from her hand placement, one was for him and the other was for herself.

She handed the cup over, and Atlas collected it without complaint, chugging down the whole liquid in one gulp.

"Ahhh..." he sighed, swallowing the remaining liquid in his mouth.

After they were both done, she seemed to be lost in thought, staring at the distant clouds that were so far away yet so near.

"Is there something on your mind?" he asked instinctively.

She turned to him, her brilliant blue eyes staring intently at him as she asked, "What do you think the announcement will be? I hope they’re not planning on closing down the orphanage."

"No, I definitely don’t think they would. I mean, I know things have been tough, but they won’t close it down. It’s probably about something else," he said, trying to conclude her thoughts and ease the tension on her shoulders.

"I hope you’re right..." she murmured, her head faced down as she played with her fingers.

’Of course I am, I’m from the future after all!’

They sat quietly together in the sunlight as the day went by quickly, and evening arrived before he knew it. As he expected, everyone in the orphanage was summoned to the main room for a delicate announcement.

The main room was a small room, barely the size of a living room. It contained four long sofas on each corner of the room, a small shelf close to the door, and a center table that stood two feet above the floor.

Everyone occupied each of the sofas, leaving no space left for him. In the end, he had to stand for the announcement.

The head of the orphanage stepped forward to the middle of the room, where everyone was able to see and hear her clearly. She cleared her throat and counted everyone twice before she adjusted her posture to begin.

"Good evening, and thank you to everyone for coming. As you all have already been told, I am here to give joyful news to everyone in the orphanage, children and workers alike," she began, raising suspense throughout the whole room, leaving everyone contemplating what her announcement might be about.

"Following our continuous contact with the Academy, we have been trying to inculcate the idea that children of this orphanage should be given the chance to go for the awakening ceremony and join the academy if possible," she continued, making sure everyone present was listening carefully to her words.

"And I got the message yesterday that the idea has successfully been approved! The children of this orphanage will be given an opportunity to join the awakening ceremony, and if they perform considerably well, then they may attend the academy," she finally announced, breaking the suspense completely.

Everyone erupted in cheers and claps, the kids jumping on the sofas in celebration of the Joyful announcement of their shot at a better life, but Atlas stared at her with a confused expression on his face.

’Wait... this isn’t what the announcement is meant to be about!’