~17~

                                    

                                          
 Yusuke strolled into the first section he saw when he entered the library.  

This is bullshit, maybe I should have asked Ms. Harpy to come here instead. She's the bookworm out of this crazy pair.  

He scanned the books, selected one title at random, and yanked it off the shelf.

Man, it smells like aged dust here...  

~THUD~

"What the–?!"  Yusuke's narrowed eyes fell on the book that had fallen from behind his chosen volume. It had come from the depths of the shelves...almost as if someone had hidden it away on purpose...


Curious, he placed the previous one back and picked up the other. He brushed his finger over the dusty book and started blowing on it, even though it made him sneeze.   

"Damn," He rubbed his nose furiously then paused at the sign of the book cover.  

"Huh..."  

He wasn't usually the one for arts, but this design was quite peculiar enough that it piqued his interest. It reminded him of a grimoire from many fantasy books. What caught his attention most, though, was the intriguing symbol at its center.

Three smaller gemstones, a blue, a green, and a red surround a big iridescent one in the very middle.


                            

                                
                            
                              
                                  
                              
                              
                                
                                  
                                  
                                
                              
                             
                            
                            
                          
                          
[The Mysterious Book's Front Cover - Sketch Design by me ]

Curious, he opened a book at a random page. Or more like what was left of it.  

"Geez, did they run out of toilet paper or something?" Yusuke fiddled with that small torn-up part with the golden rose thorns before taking a few more pages to the left.

He came across an enchanting creature who resembled a woodland nymph surrounded by sakura flowers. Her long, flowing black hair was tinged with fading pink, and she gazed longingly at the moon.