The dark clouds looming over the Veloria City started to recede, but the air of doom they brought along had already settled deep in the heart of the city. Many souls had stirred from their sleep, but one was still lying on the cold hard floor.
Under the shade of the moonlight coming through the windows, Jinn's figure remained unmoving. His eyes were closed shut, and his breathing was even.
However, his slumber did not last long. By the time the clouds had dispersed, Jinn stirred awake from his sleep.
"Argh…" Jinn groaned in pain as soon as he moved a little. Rubbing his eyes, he slowly pushed himself off the ground, gritting through the pain.
The first thing he saw was the shattered glass at his feet. His gaze moved towards the once silver mark he had drawn on the ground by hand.
Only it was no longer silver. Now… it had turned black.
Jinn reached out and touched the mark only to realize that the liquid had turned into ash. Rubbing his forefinger and thumb, he looked around before rubbing his forehead.
'What happened to me? Did it work?' Jinn closed his eyes and tried to recall what happened after he drank the liquid from the cup. But the pain in his head only intensified. No matter how hard he tried, he could not recall anything, but one thing seemed to have stuck in his thoughts.
'Never trust a god…'
The faintest echo of his own voice rang in his mind before it faded away as well.
Not to trust a god?
Okay… sure… but why?
A chill ran down his spine. He had no idea why he would think that out of nowhere, but something told him that things were not as simple as they seemed.
"Did it work?" Jinn looked down, and just like what he saw with Geralt, there was a faint glow at the bottom of his abdomen. However, unlike Geralt's glow, the one on Jinn's stomach was gray, almost silverish.
He could even see a faint outline of a snakelet slithering around something.
"This must be the dragon energy Sister Agnes told me about. I can feel it, the power wriggling inside of my body. I also know what I am, a spiritualist." Jinn's gaze drifted towards his hands.
"When will I be able to do that?"
"You know when." The raspy voice returned near Jinn's ears. The mist grew more solid, seemingly taking a shape.
"Right, you should be able to appear in your real form, right?" Jinn suddenly remembered something and asked. The small, snake-like energy could no longer be seen on him.
"Now is not the right time." The fog paused before dispersing away, and the voice drifted away, "you should return to your room."
With swift motion, Jinn took out a rag from some corner of the room and wiped the ground. Stashing the shard of broken cup in the paper bag, he made sure no one would find a trace of anything even if they stumbled upon this room.
Once he was done with the cleanup, Jinn took the bag filled with everything he brought into the room and left. Closing the handle on his way out, he looked around to check but did not find anyone.
My eyesight has improved by a lot. Compared to how much he saw before he became a spiritualist, his vision had improved by ten times. Not only in distance but also in quality.
He was able to see the tiniest details of something within a few feet of his vicinity.
But everything had its limits, and his vision only allowed him to see so much. Even then he was able to see clearly to the end of the hallway, which was all he needed.
After a quick look around, he made his way towards the stairs on his left; his gait was calm and composed, nothing matching a person who had something to hide.
From the time he left his room till the moment he walked back into it, barely ten minutes had passed. His hands were empty, and his clothes were straightened out.
Jinn looked out the window adjacent to his bed. Looking at the clouds drifting away from the city and a calm breeze floating through the streets, he smiled slightly before climbing in under his sheets.
Although he could not remember what had happened when he sort of blacked out, Jinn felt joy at finally having the power he needed and desired.
But like always, Jinn's happiness was short-lived.
"Someone was watching while you were awakening your dormant powers."
The whisper came like a cold breeze bearing bad news, but Jinn barely even reacted. He blinked once before closing his eyes and covering his head with the sheets.
Right next to his bed, Sally, still curled in a fetal pose, woke up. She stared at Jinn's back with a complicated look in her eyes for a moment before going back to sleep.
***
With the arrival of a bright morning, Jinn walked down the snowy path leading to the academic building. The campus featured three buildings arranged in a C shape.
In the middle was the academic building, to the left was the living quarters of the students, and on the right was a slightly small building where the staff stayed and the resources of the orphanages were stored.
"You hear me? I tell you, you are making a mistake going there now."
Most of the orphans of different age groups were making their way to their classes, but Jinn had a different destination.
"How will you explain to others how you awakened when you walk up on that stage?"
With a calm smile on his face, he made his way towards the assembly hall. It was the same hall where he watched Geralt awaken yesterday. The hall was on the ground floor of the academic building, so he did not have to walk around much.
By the time he arrived, everyone was present, just like the day before. His arrival caught the attention of many, starting a few whispers about how he was too 'scared' to step on the stage yesterday and how he would be no different today.
"You are here early."
Jinn showed a surprised look on his face when he saw Geralt walking out from the crowd. "Why are you here?"
Since he had already received his blessing, Geralt had no need to come to this place at all.
"I came here for your awakening." The sunny boy showed his signature warm smile of encouragement. "I am sure that someone like you will definitely be awakened. So I am here to support you."
Jinn hummed and walked with him to the side, away from the excited mass. 'Where do they get all this energy? I am also their age now; why don't I have all this energy?'
"There are so many gods; I wonder which one will choose you."