Yune continued to relax as the wind flowed in her hair. The gentle breeze passed by her. The water wasn't very cold or warm as she stuck her feet in.
As Mary sat there on the sand with her detailed sand-castle, she began to also become less nervous. It was almost therapeutic. The sound of seagulls became pleasant. She no longer felt like there was any threat nearby, at all.
"You're right, Yune," Mary called out, "This is pretty relaxing."
"See. Sometimes, you do have good ideas that don't involve going out to get pizza," Yune replied happily.
"Yeah. This was all my idea," Mary replied laughing.
Jack was putting up a good sweat. She came upon a nice piece of shade near a cliff. She finished up her bottle of water and held onto it, since there was no trashcan in sight. She looked out towards where Yune and Mary were. They laughed happily. And Jack smiled. She knew that Yune never forgave her, but at least Yune and Mary were friends.
She watched as some teenagers were playing volleyball nearby. And to her fright, she saw a dead mouse near the cliff. She ignored it and got herself up. She walked over to the sea, and put her feet in. Unfortunately, she couldn't tell whether it was hot or cold. She couldn't even feel the sand between her toes. She was jealous of others who could experience that, but didn't let it drag her down. As she stared at the open ocean, she wondered what her life would have been life if she hadn't been a Light Guardian. Would she still be in school with Annie as a friend, knowing none the wiser? Or would something else happen? She didn't know. What she did know was that she was lucky to have Yune and Mary with her. Otherwise, she thought that her inner demon would take control.
As she pondered her life, a volleyball was thrown onto a nearby tree branch.
"Oh, c'mon!" one of them yelled.
"Can you grab it?" another asked.
They tried to jump up, but none of them could reach it.
As Jack saw them struggle, she knew that she could reach that height. She went over there happily and helped them get the volleyball out of the tree. It wasn't too hard for her, but the others were grateful.
"Thank you, miss," One said.
"Thanks," another said.
Jack felt a little embarrassed receiving thanks from strangers, but it felt good to be not considered as a monster for once.
And then the last girl came ran by her and said, "Thank you."
But Jack's eyes turned to confusion. She recognized the girl with pink hair, but didn't know from where. And then she saw the girl's black sclera and orange irises. Before she could even think about it, a portal in front of Jack was conjured. An obsidian arm came out with a sharp fist. It pierced right through Jack. She tried to call towards the girl, but her voice was weak. That's when she noticed the arm sticking out of her abdomen without her feeling it. The portal closed, and the arm vanished.
She recognized it, but couldn't remember from where. Then, her mark appeared - the mark of the snake. And when she looked at the girl, a mark appeared on her left arm as well - the mark of the mouse.
As Mary and Yune were relaxing, their whole bodies began to shake. Their stomachs twisted inside and out as their marks appeared. Yune's mark of the cat. Mary's mark of the crow.
A wave of water washed over them. Mary's sandcastle was gone, but she didn't care.
The pain was unbearable. They felt like their insides were being ripped apart. And as they looked at each other, they knew that Jack was in trouble. They saw Jack not that far away. They saw a gaping hole inside of Jack's abdomen as she was beginning to fall.
Jack's body was weak, but she was able to transform her right arm in a blaze. She aimed her arm to fire a barrage of flame towards the girl, but she was surrounded by other innocent people.
As the girl looked back towards Jack, she smiled knowing that Jack wouldn't hurt people who weren't Light Guardians. She watched Jack enough to know that. And she was right.
As Yune and Mary passed by the group of volleyball players, Yune noticed somebody there that looked a lot like Mizu. It was only for a second, but she could have sworn it was her. Her short, pink hair was messier than usual. And she was taller and older. She didn't get a good look at her eyes, but noticed that she held her left arm tightly.
But when Yune turned around, that girl was completely gone. She thought that it must have been some mirage. Nonetheless, she couldn't think about it. She rushed over to Jack.
As Jack began to fade away, she saw the dead mouse on the ground near the cliff. She fired a shot of fire right at the mouse lighting it ablaze. She hoped that it would be enough to give the other two girls a clue if she didn't make it. She watched as Yune and Mary ran towards her.
But then her sight was gone. She fell to the ground lying under the shade alone.