The invitation arrived unexpectedly.
A silver-robed messenger found Eliah and Mariam resting beneath a fig tree.
"You've been noticed," the man said, smiling with dazzling teeth. "The Congregation of Radiant Truth requests your presence."
Mariam raised an eyebrow. "Radiant truth? Sounds sparkly."
The man bowed, handed a scroll, and walked away without another word.
Eliah unrolled the parchment. Inside were golden letters etched like flame:
"Come forth, Seekers of Light. Witness Truth beyond shadows. No fasting, no pain—only awakening."
Eliah read it twice.
"No fasting?" he murmured.
"No pain sounds nice," Mariam joked. "But when someone starts advertising salvation like a perfume—brace yourself."
—
The next day, they entered a marble amphitheater carved into the side of a cliff. Hundreds gathered. At the center stood a figure cloaked in white and gold.
"I am the Voice," he declared. "The scripture has burdened you. I offer freedom—not discipline. Radiance—not struggle."
The crowd cheered. Incense filled the air.
Eliah remained still.
"What do you think?" Mariam whispered.
"I think truth doesn't need theatrical fog," Eliah replied. "And light doesn't blind—it reveals."
—
Later, the Voice approached them.
"You two have stirred whispers. Your message is gentle—but perhaps naïve."
"Perhaps," Eliah said quietly. "But truth doesn't need to be loud to be real."
The Voice smiled tightly. "Then you won't mind proving your conviction."
He gestured to a small stage.
There stood an elderly woman, trembling.
"Restore her strength," the Voice said. "Or perhaps your light isn't enough."
—
Eliah walked slowly to the woman. He didn't chant. Didn't raise his hands.
He knelt beside her.
"How long have you been tired?" he asked.
"Many years," she replied softly.
"Would you walk with me?" he asked.
She nodded.
They walked—slowly, painfully—around the amphitheater. No miracle. Just movement. Mariam joined, holding her arm.
By the end, the woman was crying—not from healing, but from feeling seen.
—
The Voice remained silent.
So did the crowd.
—
Outside the cliffs, Eliah and Mariam rested by the river.
"That didn't go the way he expected," Mariam said.
"No," Eliah replied. "But maybe someone in that crowd saw what light really looks like."
And far above, watching through a veil, the Fallen Wing took note.