Scene: Jinn's Quarters – Late Afternoon
The sun had lowered, brushing the sky with orange. The air inside the Quiet Wing was still, save for a few soft creaks of wood cooling after the heat. Outside her chamber, the temple grounds quieted. Most of the ceremonial crowds had gone home.
But Jinn hadn't moved from her room since returning.
She had stood for a long time near the mirror with her appraisal glass, staring at that single glowing word.
Genesis – God of Creation
The text was floating, delicate, almost too faint to believe. And still, it was there—etched across the glass like a whisper meant for her alone. Beneath it, rows of status data still unreadable, foreign in language and structure.
Jinn, arms crossed, leaned closer. She put on her glasses. Her voice stayed quiet.
"Appraise."
The script stayed.
"My admin code tag again," she muttered.
Her fingers hovered over the glow. She didn't touch it. She didn't dare.
"It doesn't feel like healing," she said quietly to herself. "It feels... deeper. Like I opened something I wasn't supposed to. Not divine. Not magic. Just... beyond."
She looked at her palm. The faint warmth from earlier had vanished. But something lingered, something she couldn't explain.
"And every time I use it... it grows."
A pause.
"Feels like I could do anything, just by... thinking it. Like I could rewrite rules."
She pulled back from the mirror and sat at the edge of the bed, the ornate robe pooling around her like a shadow.
"Blessed by Genesis... or... am I Genesis?"
The words barely made it past her lips. And they made her stomach twist.
"I hope not," she whispered. "I'm not built for that." Her laugh was dry. "I didn't ask to be in charge of a damn world. I just want someone to tell me what to do for once. Someone higher. Someone real."
She leaned forward, elbows to knees, face buried in her hands.
"I just want to ask. One real answer. Something I don't have to fake."
A knock at the door.
"My lady?" came Lira's voice. "There are children outside. From the terrace crowd. They've been waiting a while. The guards say they've been very polite... and persistent."
Jinn looked up, brows raised. "Kids? What for?"
"They said... they want to thank you. Personally."
Jinn blinked.
Lira waited. "Shall I tell them to go?"
Jinn stood.
---
The sun hung low, casting long, warm shadows across the cobbled garden path. A breeze stirred the veilroot flowers. The soft hush of afternoon cloaked the temple's Quiet Wing.
Jinn stepped through the archway, her robe brushing the stone quietly. She paused, catching movement ahead—five small figures gathered where the path bent near the flowerbeds.
Children.
They didn't notice her at first. One tugged the sleeve of another. Another fiddled with a pouch of fruit.
Then one spotted her.
"It's her—she's here!"
The others turned, eyes wide.
Jinn blinked, surprised. Then gave a small, tired smile.
"Hello there," she called gently. "You waiting for someone?"
The children looked at each other. One girl stepped forward nervously.
"Um... Are you the lady from the light? The one who healed everyone?"
Jinn stopped a few steps away and gave a small shrug, half a smile.
"I guess that's what they're saying. But I didn't plan it, you know."
The girl clutched her pouch tighter.
"We just wanted to say thank you."
Jinn's brow lifted slightly. "Really? What for?"
"For mama," the girl said. "She was coughing all the time. Couldn't sleep. But after the light... she's okay now. She even laughed this morning. We haven't heard her laugh in weeks."
Jinn's smile softened. "I'm glad to hear that. That's worth a lot more than applause."
A boy stepped forward next, bowing low, voice small.
"My papa lost his job. We were gonna leave the city. But last night, he had a dream. He remembered what mama used to say. He said he'd try again. He smiled. He never smiles."
Jinn knelt down slightly to his level. "Then you hold on to that. Help him remember it when it gets hard again."
The boy nodded.
Another girl stepped in, her voice quicker.
"My big sister cried after the light. Like, really cried. Then she hugged us all and said it felt like mama and papa said goodbye properly this time."
Jinn paused, blinking. "I see... That's good. I mean—not the crying part. But maybe she needed it."
Then, one boy stepped forward quietly. He looked older than the others. Eyes steady. Ribbon tied loosely on his wrist.
He said nothing at first.
"What's your name?" Jinn asked gently.
He hesitated. "Reno."
She smiled. "Okay, Reno. You want to share something too?"
He looked at the ribbon. "I fought with my brother before he went to the war. Told him I hated him. He gave me this before he left. Said, 'Don't lose this.' But I was mad. I buried it."
His fingers touched the ribbon.
"After the light... I remembered. I dug it back up. I remembered the last thing he said. Not 'don't fight' or 'be good.' He said, 'Remember me right.'"
He looked up.
"So I am."
Jinn's smile faded slowly. Her throat tightened.
She crouched and placed a hand gently on his shoulder.
"You're a good brother, Reno."
He didn't cry. But his fingers curled around the ribbon like it meant the world.
The group went quiet for a moment.
Then another girl blurted, half shy: "Are you gonna leave again? Like the other Saintess?"
Jinn blinked. Her mouth opened. Closed. She looked at the faces—hopeful, unsure, small.
She sat on the grass, pulling her legs in loosely.
"I don't know," she said. "I'm not the Saintess. I don't even know what I'm supposed to be."
The kids sat too, forming a circle. One boy leaned on her knee. Another offered her a piece of dried fruit.
Jinn accepted it with a chuckle. "Thanks. Haven't eaten since morning."
A few laughed.
She looked at them—these lives changed by a moment she didn't even understand. A power she didn't call. But one that answered anyway.
And for the first time, she didn't feel like she was pretending.
She was just... there.
With them.
The sun shifted. Birds chirped somewhere beyond the Quiet Wing.
When Jinn finally returned to her room, the door opened with a soft creak.
Lira turned at once. "My lady—what happened? Your eyes are red! Did someone hurt you?"
Jinn stood still in the doorway.
Then smiled faintly.
"No. I just met five miracles today. That's all."
She stepped past Lira. The door closed behind her with a gentle click.