The night was filled with incoherent babble and excited chatter, among many things. Vibrant lights filled the night, along with the smell of happiness. It was quite the luxurious day.
Farther along, going closer to the shore, it was quiet. Calm and serene. The receding shoreline balanced against the waters like a pastel painting. The salty smell of the sea graced Julian and Umilythe's noise. Now, it was just the chirping of crickets and the waves of the shore.
"What... what are you doing here, Umilythe?" Julian asked.
Umilythe looked at Julian with an expression that made it seem as though she could easily ask him the same question, and she would be perfectly within her rights to do so. Though she didn't.
The silence was ended by the smacking of her lips. She stared at the shore.
"After you left, I managed to get a scholarship at one of the many prestigious schools of Sar. They say I have an 'astounding amount of mana'. Though I already knew this."
"You're still the same..."
Julian warmly smiled.
"No. You aren't allowed to smile. I understood why you left, but still... it's unexcusable."
"I-I'm sorry."
"You're rude. Impertinent. Disrespectful. That's what you are, Julian.
"...
"Seems like you're doing fine. Are those your friends? The ones that you were working with."
"No, just classmates of mine," Julian said.
"You guys worked pretty well together, although you lost," she snickered.
"Yeah, I guess we did. We were pretty close, though."
"Close isn't winning. It's nothing to be proud about. Second place is simply the first person to lose."
"I... guess I'm the King of Losers."
It became silent. Then, Umilythe suddenly burst into a cute laughter.
"A-Are you serious, Julian? Wow, you're so self-deprecating and awkward. I was kidding.
I... how could anyone tell?
"You always manage to surround yourself with inferior people, Julian. Why is that?"
"These are pretty strong people. Out of them, I'm probably the weakest."
"There's that inferior mindset that they've drilled into you, Julian. Have you forgotten? I dubbed you as the most courageous, most brave man that I know?" she said, pulling at Julian's ear. Julian yelped.
"Ack... ack."
"Anyone who survived the.... brutal torture of that woman...
Julian shuddered, suddenly feeling sick.
"Then, right after that, you free every single slave from that... hellhole!"
"With the help of everyone, along with the slaves. You were the one who killed the headmaster."
"Damn it, Julian."
"...
"What type of people are you around, Umilythe? Are they... worthy of your presence?" Julian laughed.
"Eh... no one is really worthy of my presence. Besides, maybe you... friend," she smiled, "but I think there are a lot of talented individuals in that school."
They stood on the shore.
"Julian... I..
"I missed you.
"I feel like it's wrong for me to say that, though. After I came at you for leaving, is it right? Although I say I miss you, it doesn't mean I'm not mad about what you did. It wasn't right either. I'm allowed to feel conflicted about things-"
She stopped talking as Julian hugged her. Embraced her.
Her eyes widened. Then softened.
Julian pulled back, his arms still around her. They stared at each other, underneath the moonlight.
"Julian... you have contacts now?"
"I didn't want to stick out too much."
"Huh... no wonder. You seemed so normal, so ordinary."
The tension was starting to increase.
What is this?
I'm feeling nervous... my heart is almost — fluttering?
"Umilythe... I have to go."
Julian quickly released her and walked away with heavy strides. Her brows scrunched, mouth agape.
(Julian Thorne)
Love... no, it's the fondness of a friend. That's what it is.
I suppress it, but I guess those positive feelings really amplified it.
God, everything hurts!
To describe it as briefly as possible, it feels as if every cell of my body is trying to reject me.
I rushed through the crowd. A terrible feeling. It's a horrible feeling.
I feel everything — the wind blowing on my skin, my clothes clinging to my body, the sweat dripping down my forehead. I even taste the smoky air from the festival. The moon shines just a little brighter than ever.
Where am I heading?
I'm not sure anymore. My legs are moving on autopilot. It's growing harder to think.
"Julian, are you okay?"
A familiar voice calls to me. It belongs to Ian. or is that cera
It's vaguely
it's vaguely understood
it's vaguely understood to me that theeffectsoftheturnification would do this, but
the world is spinning and i'm smelling sounds and feeling colors and all the unimaginable things of the world are being imagined
my brain is
my brain is splitting
in half into several pieces and i cant take it i cant take it i cant take it
ithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurts
the moonisbeautiful and i can't help but
think about umilythe at this moment
and the end of the world
andtheresaman
hes playing the flute and its horribly
it's the worst
and theres a child he cries
his mother has left him
and i know what i need to do
Kchk!
What... what was that?
My head hurts like hell...
"Gyaah!-"
I could not help but scream. Amidst my confusion, I had stabbed myself in the hand with a knife. Damn it, that hurts! Fuck!
But... it's... it got me out of that extreme mental pain. I'm still sweating.
What was that?
I saw something.
Damn it, my head hurts. I have to find that man. There's no time at all.
I... I might not be able to last.