Yurian did not know what came over him.
He knew that he felt a strong sense of familiarity when he was around Libby. It was a warm feeling, like that of kinship or family. But it was an emotion he should not have felt for a stranger, even if they got along well.
Yurian came from the Omkaran family. It was as famous in Bylonia as it was amongst the three kingdoms for its sensory powers, or at least that was what the world called it.
In fact, the Omkaran's power came from the spirits.
This was one of the greatest secrets of the Omkaran family, for the spirit arts was prone to envy and therefore was dangerous to its users. Most importantly, the church of Auglarus, the most powerful kingdom amongst the three, highly disdained unorthodox beliefs. While small spiritual tokens such as Melodies were overlooked due to their usefulness, large-scale worship and learning of the spiritual arts was highly controversial. If the king of Auglarus knew about the Omkaran family's secret, his family would probably be wiped out.
When Yurian concentrated, he could see the spirits of the world. He did not have strong spiritual powers, so the spirits of the world only looked like sparkles of different colours in the air. For instance, Marianne who had the holy power of healing, would radiate calming white sparkles, while Alistair who had fire magic would be surrounded by flickers of flame. Sylvester did not have any magic power, so all five elements would radiate off him. Each person had their distinct mix of spirits, and so radiated an identifiable aura.
There would always be a sensory overload whenever he met new people, but he had learnt to control his expressions and bear with the irritation. Only with people he was close to, could he feel entirely comfortable and loosen his guard once he got use to their auras.
In fact, Yurian had guessed that the king of Auglarus had been suspicious from the start, which was why he had been indirectly ordered to attend the Academy by his tribe. But the secret never bothered him as he continued his act of an ordinary person, until he met that girl.
The first time he saw her, he only felt a sense of familiarity.
The second time he saw her, his heart had burst in a frantic concern that he could not understand and had made him flustered.
But as he got in contact with her more often, he realised that she was unique in her quietness.
Libby did not give off any aura at all. This made Yurian extremely confused. How could someone not give off an aura?
However, contrary to his expectations, he felt the most relieved whenever he was with Libby. Unknowingly, his smile would become brighter, and his laughter more frequent, as he explored the streets with Marianne and the strange girl without the usual hesitation when interacting with great numbers of people.
And when the girl had praised him for his hair colour and his vibrance, the cold ice-cream in his hair no longer bothered him as much.
And his mask had cracked.
When she reached out with her hand, he could see the dimple in her cheek, the gentle arc of her pink lips, the smooth curve of her nose, and finally, in those big, brown orbs, he saw his stunned, bewildered expression in the reflection of her eyes.
So he roughly threw her off and walked away. His brain was in a mess. But he knew that he had not fallen in love with her. Love was something sweet and gooey like what Marianne and Alistair had between them. It was impossible for him to imagine being that with Libby.
And he could sense it. Underneath the happiness, there was a darker, meaner veneer to his feelings.
It was an insanity, an anxious suffocation, a dreadful feeling in the pit of his stomach that made him want to grab her, possess her, in order for everything to be alright.
So what was it? What was this all about?
As he quickly washed off the ice-cream from his hair, a blue butterfly caught his eye. He reached out a finger. Alistair's low voice travelled out from the butterfly in his mind.
"Yurian, we are heading back to the restaurant to set down our items. Libby went to find you, so either wait for her, or come back on your own."
'Wait for her, or come back on your own? It seems that Alistair still has doubts on the girl,' Yurian thought. 'And he is not the only one.'
He looked back into the distance, where he could imagine the girl happily eating her three-layered ice-cream. His brows furrowed in frustration and confusion.
'What is it about you that is distracting me this much?'
The stickiness in his hair serving to aggravate him more.