"Jinn?" Gearalt saw the lack of focus in the blue eyes of the black-haired boy and nudged him. "Father is calling; you should go."
Jinn snapped out of his daze and glanced at Gearalt before looking back at the lazy priest standing on the platform looking back at them with a lazy look in his eyes.
He turned back to Geralt and shook his head. "Go on. I don't think I will do it today. Maybe tomorrow, or some other day."
Gearalt was stunned hearing Jinn refuse the chance to awaken. He wanted to say something but held off, seeing Jinn's lack of interest.
"Hurry up, or that priest will start sleeping on the stage." Under Jinn's prodding, he finally relented and walked up to the stage.
While Geralt thought Jinn was letting him go up first because of their friendship, the others did not think the same.
"Eh? Why did Jinn not go first? He was clearly in the front."
"Maybe he was scared seeing what happened to the girl."
"What a scaredy-cat. What does he even think he has despite his mind? In this world, just having a sharp mind does not cut it."
Jinn ignored the constant whispering from the side and watched Geralt's every movement. He even failed to see the look of worry on the matron's face as she stared in his direction.
From the moment Gearalt stood in the middle of the glyph and held the medallion of the Order of the Seven, Jinn noticed something had changed within Gearalt.
It was not just him; even the others around him noticed this uniqueness.
"What is this? This never happened before."
Everyone marveled when motes of light appeared around Geralt. They were a mixture of pink, azure, and black. From the way Father Augustus looked at Gearalt, eyes brimming with anticipation and reverence, Jinn understood… Geralt was about to receive the grace of gods!
Without even needing to drink the magical liquid within the cup, Geralt felt something budding within his body and closed his eyes. A gust of wind surged from the circle beneath his feet and rose to his head.
The motes of light gathered to form the phantom of a twin-headed fox behind his head. Around the magnificent creature, three star-shaped flames flickered into existence around it like a crown, shocking the high priest.
"This is…" He mumbled as the fox raised its head towards the sky, taking a proud stance. "Grace of the Third Order, and that's… Two-Faced Lord!"
Two-Faced Lord?
Who was that? Not one god in the Order of the Seven had that title or name. Several questions popped into Jinn's mind, but he held his curiosity in check and kept his attention on the kind boy.
Geralt opened his eyes and looked down in confusion. Below his navel. Just around his belt, he saw a wisp of twin-colored energy, similar to the fading image behind him.
"Was that presence…?" he asked the priest with his voice tinged with awe and disbelief.
"A god."
Father Augustus nodded in admittance. "The two-faced lord was one of the gods who fought beside the god of the end and perished in the Great Purge of the second epoch."
"The god of the end took it upon himself to find a suitable successor for him and allow his legacy to continue forward."
Geralt was overwhelmed with shock. He looked at his hands and then again at the flicker of light at the base of his spine. The light almost looked like a serpent coiling around something, but the vague image of the energy made it difficult to discern.
"Now that you have unlocked your root chakra, wait for me in the matron's office. I will guide you about your powers and what your future holds."
Geralt nodded seriously before glancing towards the nun standing beside him. The woman was looking at him with a warm smile and genuine happiness.
"Congratulations on your awakening, Gearalt." Her voice, as clear as the chime of a bell, made Gearalt smile back at her.
"Thank you, Matron Agnes."
After a polite greeting, he stepped down off the stage and walked towards Jinn, who was still in the same spot from the start. As he walked, others whispered among themselves, making way for him unconsciously.
"As expected of Geralt."
"He is truly exceptional!"
"Now he will have no problem taking Jinn's spot." All the kids knew about the two of them since they were from the same class, even though their sections were different.
"Congrats." Jinn nodded once at Gearalt's arrival before him. The energy at his waist had disappeared, but the changes it brought in Geralt were permanent.
His eyes had turned pink with a red tint in the middle of them. His body seemed to be more pronounced, his posture was straighter, and his gaze was more attentive.
There was confidence and pride within them, which they lacked before. Even though Geralt was trying to hide some emotions, Jinn noticed them instantly.
"Thanks." Gearalt showed a smile filled with warmth. The kids nearby were slowly moving closer towards them, seeing that his smile turned bitter.
"You go ahead; I have something to talk to Father Augustus about." Jinn naturally saw the crowd closing in and did not even wait for a response before disappearing.
Gearalt was left with his words hanging and a group of very enthusiastic kids surrounding him.
'Is he too lazy to even use his hands?' Up on the stage, Jinn saw the priest using his powers to gather the materials.
The cleric saw him and offered a polite smile.
"Father Augustus." Placing his right hand on his heart, Jinn bowed like a gentleman, a greeting of courtesy in the Mars Kingdom.
"Greetings, Child." The man nodded with his droopy eyes before hastily adding. "I already told your matron, I am not doing more than thirty in one day. Come back tomorrow if you want to have your turn."
Jinn paused for a second, hearing the man speak all that in one breath. Feeling a little exasperated, he shook his head.
"I am not here for that." The middle-aged man with a long, clean shave relaxed as he heard those words coming out of Jinn's mouth. As if noticing Jinn's reaction, he coughed before straightening up his posture.
"I am here to understand more about the nature of the ritual you performed before." Jinn reeled the conversation back onto the topic he wanted it to be. "I was fascinated with ritual but did not truly understand what it was that these things helped in receiving the Grace."
The priest looked at Jinn with eyes wide in shock. Now he saw this child in a fresh light and said, "You are not like other kids, are you?"
Jinn merely smiled.
With a sigh, Father Augustus finally answered him.
…
In the distance, a group of fourteen-year-olds had surrounded Gearalt. There were both girls and boys. As for Matron Agnes, she took her leave after her conversation with Gearalt, leaving one of the workers from the orphanage to help Father with the rest of the work.
"Hey Gearalt, how was it? How does it feel to awaken the Root Chakra?" one of the girls asked with a dreamy look in her eyes.
"It was like a warm embrace. You hear a faint voice before everything changes." After a thoughtful look, the awakened boy replied calmly.
"Can you use those powers like Father Augustus to do those cool things?" That question made others look at the raven-haired boy with intrigue.
Sadly for them, Geralt shook his head in denial. Soon one question turned into several until one of the boys noticed Jinn talking to Father with familiarity.
"Hey, what is Jinn doing there?" He gasped in shock, "Is he trying to get some secret way to awaken and get one on us?"
The rest of the kids were startled upon hearing this; everyone, including now awakened Gearalt, turned their heads toward Jinn with curiosity.
"Maybe he is trying to suck up to someone from the church." A girl tilted her head cluelessly, not even realizing she had revealed her thoughts out loud, or maybe she had that planned all along.
"Heh, first he gets scared, and now he wants to have the Father awaken him specially." Another kid spoke in a sure tone as if he had guessed everything.
From the start, Gearalt did not say anything and only watched Jinn intently, hearing their talks from one ear.
It was only after Jinn's talk ended with the father that he said, "You should not think like that. Maybe Jinn was asking Father Augustus for a way that can help us awaken without suffering like that poor girl did."
Some of the boys openly sneered at his words, but no one said anything anymore, knowing Gearalt considered Jinn a very close friend.
As Jinn neared the group, the same boy who seemed to be sure of his guess stepped forward and asked sharply, "So Jinn, were you talking to Father Augustus? Do you realize he is not someone the likes of you can talk to as you please?"
Jinn looked at the boy who had suddenly stepped in his path without stopping. He walked around him as if he were not even there.
"You!!" Enraged at his brush-off, the boy snarled before turning around sharply. But before he could say anything, Jinn was standing before Gearalt.
"I am skipping the class today; tell the teacher I will join tomorrow. I have some work to do."
"You are skipping class?" Geralt looked just as shocked as the others. Jinn had an immaculate attendance record, and he never skipped a class once, even when he was sick. To hear someone like him was skipping like any other trouble-causing student was shocking, to say the least.
Without giving any other explanation, Jinn stepped towards the gates, leaving a bunch of shocked kids behind.
As he reached the main gate, Father Augustus also happened to be on his way as well. As their paths coincided, the older man looked at him and smiled, "See you tomorrow, Jinn."
"…"
If someone was not shocked before, they were baffled now. No one, not even Geralt, had any words to speak.
…
Walking out of the main hall, Jinn took the right stone path surrounded by beautiful flowers, tall trees, and lamp posts. He found himself before another building, just as tall.
This was the dormitory. Every orphan in the Stirling Orphanage lived here, from infants to the fourteen-year-olds.
Jinn saw one of the stairways right upon entering the building and rushed to the fourth floor. There was not a soul on this floor, and just a few rooms that appeared like no one had opened them in years.
One such room was the storeroom, rarely used by anyone. The rumors of ghosts haunting this place made even the oldest of the orphans in this place stay away.
Jinn had closed the doors behind him upon entering this room. The room was a mess of broken and dusty furniture. At the far end of the room, the tinted windows veiled half of the room in a cold white light.
"Come out." Stepping in front of the windows, Jinn whispered in the air; his voice lingered for a second before the air in the room halted. He turned around and saw it.
The temperature in the room lowered to the point even Jinn's breath became visible. The shadows in the room twisted as if they were coming to life. Seeing this scene, children or even many adults would have felt their stomachs twist in fear.
But Jinn looked calm, eerily so. He stood still as if this was the most normal thing in the room.
Suddenly the air moved once more, but it had changed. Wisps of blood-red smoke weaved through the air, moving towards the tinted window. Forming streaks of light that twisted and tangled, the mist revealed a crooked smile that curled underneath a pair of menacing crimson eyes.
Jinn stared back into those eyes as they loomed over him like a shadow of a mighty being. Out of nowhere, the smile suddenly flew towards Jinn.
Before he could even blink… It was right before him, with no intention of stopping!