5 Who Are You? (1)

It started with a gash on her arm.

Michael knew that the children in Elisium had sparring matches and that small accidents usually happened when students got too excited. But a few days later, Aria had numerous black patches on her legs. Yesterday, there were remnants of a burn mark on her hand. Today, someone had decided to hit her on the face.

There was a layer of medical gauze on her cheek. Every now and then, her hand would unconsciously come up to the bandage and massage the area around it with an ice spell on her fingertips. The white cloth was starting to turn a light shade of pink. The wound was fresh and blood was seeping into the bandage.

"It happens when we practice," she explained. 373 felt that Michael was staring at her face too much so she decided to tell him the origin of her wound.

Michael gave the little female a worried glance. "Are the other children bullying you?"

The little female's gaze was blank as she stared up at him. If only her eyebrows weren't furrowed, then she would have looked pitiful and innocent. No words left her lips. The young man didn't know if she was affirming his conjecture with her silence or if Aria just didn't want to answer him. Still, he was alarmed by the gash on her right cheek. If it was deep enough and was left untreated, it was going to scar.

"Did your opponent really need to go for your face?"

The girl's lips pursed into a thin line and her expression became serious, almost as if she was recalling what had happened during their sparring practice. "If I didn't let him... the teachers' wouldn't have stopped the fight."

His eyes widened as he slowly digested what the girl had said. "You let him hit you?"

She didn't move from her seat but slowly nodded in response.

"What happened?" Michael Caelum asked, his voice filled with concern.

"I…," she began before shaking her head. "-was careless."

Careless? In the few days he was with her, he understood her personality. She wasn't rash. She was someone who preferred to stew in her anger or expressed it by pouting or sending him glares that were ineffective since they made her look cute instead of intimidating. She had a deep and profound thinking that was beyond the mindset of an eight-year-old. He could describe her in a million words, but he could never call her careless.

"Why?"

The small female shook her head and said nothing. She chose to immerse herself in "A book of Pentagrams and Formations."

"Doesn't it hurt?" Michael couldn't stop himself from worrying. "Aria. Are you okay?"

He thought that she wasn't going to reply. But he managed to catch a few muffled words leaving her lips.

"It's... manageable."

Michael felt a twinge in his chest. The more he though about the pain the little female was going through, the more his heart ached. His hand slowly reached out to her wound. When the girl saw him reaching out to her injury, her black orbs turned icy as her body visibly stiffened.

Michael sighed as his expression turned serious. "Can you trust me for a few seconds?"

A frown appeared on her small face but she nodded twice in affirmation.

"Don't move," he whispered. His fingers inched toward the white cloth and gently removed it from her face. He turned grave as he studied the gash on her face. The wound wasn't shallow and the area around it was swollen. Michael Caelum realized that the ice spell 373 used had brought the swelling down. His admiration for the small girl grew. Yet at the same time, his concern for her increased a hundred-fold.

His fingers hovered over her cheek and the black eyes that stared at him intently closed as she flinched. She trembled slightly as she waited for him to make his next move. Michael felt the pain in his chest grow stronger at the sight of her suffering.

He gathered his energy to the tips of his fingers and whispered, "Reparo."

A small white glow was emitted from his fingertips and covered the gash on her right cheek. The swelling around her cheek slowly disappeared as the wound closed and was replaced by pink flesh. Once the spell ended, the male checked his work and nodded.

"I'm not that good a spell caster so the patch of skin is still very tender and will easily scar," He explained as he examined her cheek. "Wear the gauze until a few days just to be sure. Make sure to stay safe, okay?"

He cast a glance at her, expecting to see her eyes closed shut. Instead, her black irises stared back at him with a cold and vicious glint. The girl quickly retreated from his hand and stood up from her seat.

"That spell... is an Intermediate-rank spell that isn't taught in Elisium," she said, her voice laced with suspicion. "The teachers aren't capable of casting it."

The words that she said made Michael freeze. Her eyes reflected confusion, doubt and caution. The girl's small body tensed as she slowly took a step away from. With every movement she made, Michael knew the trust he had built up was crumbling into dust.

"You're not from here." The child's voice held an accusatory tone. Her eyes bore into him, questioning him, probing him for the truth.

"Who are you?"

The boy with amber hair felt a foreign sensation wash over him. It was as if someone was trying to look inside his head. He stared at the female in front of him in shock. Before he could think, he said something that only made things worse.

"You've awakened your Talent?"

Her eyes widened and suddenly became alert. "How did you know...?

"Aria-," It was only when the words were out of his mouth that he realized he had revealed something he shouldn't have. The girl's guarded expression turned into one of panic. But in a split second, panic turned into caution. She no longer regarded him as a friend. Her eyes could see nothing but an enemy in front of her. She gritted teeth.

"Stay away."

She took a step back, static dancing on her body. Energy circulating in her blood stream. Her muscles were tense, like a tiger prepared to pounce. When he didn't move, she darted forward and went around him. In a blink of an eye, she had almost reached the door.

Michael didn't waste a second. With a step, he cast a spell.

"Adicio."

His body faded and appeared right behind her. No matter how keen 373's senses were, she wasn't able to react on time. Before she could take another step, Michael held her arm firmly in his hand.

"I won't hurt you," he said. His upbeat voice was soft as tried to calm her down.

Indignation filled the female's dark orbs. She seethed. "You're lying..."

"I'm not. You know I'm not." He placed her small hand on his chest. His heart was beating loudly that even he could hear the irregular beat echoing in his ears. "If you use your Talent, you would know I'm not lying to you. I have no reason to lie to you, Aria."

A flash of hesitation appeared in her eyes. But in a moment, hesitation turned into confusion. 373 stared at him like a child would at a stranger: her gaze was filled with curiosity, yet at the same time her eyes reflected a sharp vigilance that showed how she couldn't trust him in the least.

While her gaze tried to strip his secrets away from him, Michael could also feel something prodding at his thoughts. Michael Caelum sensed something peeking at his mind and with a deep breath, he emptied his head.

"I can't tell you everything. And I don't know everything you might want to know," He began. When he saw her frown deepen, he released a sigh before he continued, "The more you know, the more danger you'll face in the future. Just know that I will do all that I can to protect you."

She muttered a single syllable. "Why."

Michael blinked. "That's-"

Before the youth could finish, footsteps echoed in the hallway outside of the classroom. Both of their gazes fell on the doors.

"Tomorrow," He whispered. He placed a finger on her lips and let her hand go. His eyes pleaded with hers and Michael could only pray that the little girl could feel the sincerity in his words. He gathered his energy around his body and visualized the place he wanted to go to.

He felt a unique connection between him and the place in his thoughts. As the energy wrapped around him, he cast adicio and disappeared.