The private beach at the Lupache region stretched wide beneath a morning sun, its white sand rolling into a horizon of blue.
Trish Il Lupache stood at the head of the stone steps leading down from the vacation house's veranda, one hand resting lightly on the rail.
The light caught her emerald-green asymmetric beachwear. Gold cuffs gleamed at her wrists, followed by small crystal earrings. Her expression has traces of amusement in her smile as her guests begin arriving.
"Welcome to the Lupache beach!" she called out, voice carrying easily over the surf.
"Everything here is optimised for you to use for the day. Our servants will bring anything we need. Ask them for anything. But—" her gaze slid deliberately to the figure near the back of the group, followed by an even bigger smile. "—please behave yourself so there will be no incidents this time."
Thalamik stopped mid-step, looking away from her gaze. "…You're never letting that go, are you?" His voice came from behind. Thalamik was wearing a dark grey hoodie with the zipper unzipped and black swim trunks.
"I've already forgiven you," Trish said, lips curving into a smirk.
"I just like to see your embarrassed face." Trish showed her teeth out of amusement.
A laugh came from Raymed as he walked up beside them wearing dark blue swim shorts and a fitted white sleeveless top.
"Thal, you should've expected it after what you did when you last came here. It's a surprise they would still tolerate you. Besides, it's a privilege to see you embarrassed like this."
Beside him, Carmilla stood in soft-pink frilled beachwear. Her beach skirt swirled gently around her legs while she adjusted her sun hat. "I second that." She said with a smile.
"Anyway—thanks, Trish. It's been a long while since I got to the beach." Raymed said.
"I agree. I believe thanks are in order. It's been a while since I visited this beach. Even though this is also where my family resided." Killiar entered the scene in her bold crimson one-piece swimsuit featuring stylish cutouts edged in silver trim. Her untied, long, crimson hair flutters. Her elven features are hidden beneath stylish sunglasses and a thin, black beach robe serving as her outerwear.
"No need for thanks, both of you. Especially you, Raymed a.k.a. the Hero who protected this region. This gesture is pale in comparison." Trish replied warmly. "Besides, I thought a day here might do everyone some good as well."
The conversation was interrupted by an excitable voice. "C'monnnn! Why are you two still standing there talking?!" Lulu Velulu bounced down the steps of the vacation house. Her floppy sunhat swayed in the wind, and her long ears poked out from underneath.
She wore a bright yellow beachwear patterned with carrots and trimmed with frills, carrying a beach ball under one arm.
Colorful bracelets jangled on both her wrists, and her sandals slapped noisily against the stone.
"Sandcastle contest!" she declared, planting the ball in the sand. "Winner gets—"
"Let me guess," Raymed cut in, grinning.
"It can only be that...." Thalamik smiled softly.
"Carrots?" Carmilla asked.
"BINGO! Carrots are Lulumazing!!," Lulu's ears were twitching indignantly. "They're good for your eyes, your skin, and most possibly your soul."
Thalamik scratched his head and spoke, "I fail to see how a root vegetable nourishes one's soul."
"That's because you've never had my carrot cake," Lulu shot back, sticking her tongue out. "Don't underestimate the power of the carrot gods!" She said.
A shimmer of light flashed near the water as a magic circle formed in the sand.
Three figures stepped out of it.
Kourin, Suiko, and Recca had arrived through Psytelier's portal.
Kourin emerged first. The wind blew her golden blonde hair as she adjusted her straw hat. Her beachwear was sleek and sporty, featuring a white design with gold accents.
She wore an outer which was a translucent beach kimono draped over her shoulders that is swaying with the wind. Oversized sunglasses hid her eyes, but the small smile she gave was warm.
"Wow, you really are here!" Raymed said, his voice lighting up, followed by a smile.
"Of course," she replied. "Suiko insisted it would be good for me to… unwind."
"Aren't you worried about the High Humans pursuers finding you?"
"We have gone to a bunch of different places, it's improbable the pursuers will check the same place twice, since it's improbable for people to escape back to a previous place they have left."
"I see so you outsmarted their outsmarting." Thalamik nodded.
"I kinda don't get it, but I kinda get it," Raymed said.
"Anyways, I said that 'we' need to unwind. All three of us," Suiko corrected as she stepped through.
Her navy-blue one-piece swimsuit shimmered with silver wave patterns. With the outer of a long, airy cardigan fluttering around her. She breathed in deeply. "It's peaceful here!"
Recca bounded out last, her bright-red halter-neck beachwear covered in tropical flowers. A colorful sarong clung loosely to her hips. "Now this is a real beach! I'm hitting the water first!"
A gruff voice broke the moment. "Where… are… the forges?"
Dwargo Kors trudged down the steps, goggles catching the light.
He was wearing a sleeveless white undershirt, dark cargo shorts, and leather wristbands wrapped tightly on both arms.
He carried a cooler in one hand.
"You made it," Thalamik said with a smirk.
"You lied to me, Fiend Kaiser!" Dwargo said without breaking stride.
"You and the Hero!" he jabbed a thick finger toward Raymed. "You both said we were going to inspect a place where great pseudo-artifacts are made."
"Technically, we are inspecting a place. It is indeed where great pseudo-artifacts are made." Raymed said.
"It's just that we are not making any artifacts, nor would we see them."
Dwargo knelt down in disappointment "I can't believe this... You two tricked me into a vacation. AAAAAAAA" He screamed, releasing his stress.
"You're welcome," Thalamik answered, smiling down at Dwargo, who was kneeling.
Dwargo opened his mouth, then closed it with a muttered, "Bah," setting the cooler down near the sand. "Fine. But I'm grilling. Might as well get something going."
From further up the steps came another voice, booming with theatrical flair.
"Behold! The Director takes a leave of absence!" Diko strode down as if he were taking the stage. He is wearing a brightly patterned Hawaiian shirt coupled with khaki swim shorts.
Oversized sunglasses threatened to slip off his nose, and a straw hat tilted at a deliberate angle.
"You brought the clipboard?" Carmilla asked with a faint smile.
"One must always be prepared," Diko said gravely, before grinning. "Though today, my only agenda is: fun."
The arrival of Besitulars and his gang was impossible to miss.
Their camouflage swimwear looked wildly out of place, but Besitulars himself topped it off with a captain's hat.
He marched straight to Thalamik and saluted. "Big Bro Thalamik! Ready for your orders!"
"Orders?" Thalamik arched an eyebrow.
"Drinks? Snacks? A chair in the perfect shade? Just say the word!"
"Relax," Thalamik said, shaking his head. "You're here to enjoy yourself."
"Enjoy myself by serving you, Big Bro," Besitulars replied earnestly.
Trish clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention. "Alright, you've all arrived. The staff has prepared everything—towels, umbrellas, refreshments, and any games you'd like. Just don't burn down the property."
Recca raised a hand. "What if it's just a little fire?"
"Recca," Suiko said without looking at her.
"Fine, fine," Recca sighed, wandering toward the water.
Raymed leaned toward Thalamik. "So, what's your plan? You're going to sit under that umbrella all day?"
"Yes," Thalamik replied instantly.
"Guess I'll have to drag you into the water later," Raymed said with a grin.
"We'll see about that."
***
The midday sun pressed warmly on the beach.
Lulu was already bouncing in the middle of an untouched stretch.
Her floppy hat swayed with every hop as she planted a bright beach ball into the sand.
"Alright, everyone! Official Lupache Beach Sandcastle Contest! Rules are simple—biggest, best, or cutest wins!" She pointed straight at Carmilla. "And yes, first prize is carrots."
Besitulars cracked his knuckles nearby, followed by a soft howl, his gang already stomping a rough perimeter in the sand. "Alright, wolves! We're building a fortress to rival the gods! WE WILL PIERCE EVEN THE EVEN WITH OUR GREATNESS! AUUUU!!!!"
"AUUU!!!!!" The other wolves howled in unison.
"That's not a castle, that's a fort!" Carmilla called from where she was kneeling in the sand, already patting a neat foundation with the hem of her sheer skirt tucked to the side. "A castle should be beautiful."
"Beauty? Hmph. Beauty is subjective," Thalamik said from his spot under a parasol. With a flick of his hand, three skeleton undead clawed up from the sand, each carrying a tiny bucket. "We'll aim for efficiency."
Raymed blinked. "WHAT THE—you're actually using undeads to win a sandcastle contest? You cheater!!"
"Hmph. Have you ever heard what Tsun Zu said? The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. By using undeads, I needn't fight you all," Thalamik replied without a trace of remorse.
Raymed's grin widened. "Oh, it's on." He tossed his sunglasses into the sand and crouched low, scooping wet sand into a mound. "I'm making mine taller than yours, Thal."
"Height is meaningless if the foundation is weak. Besides, I am making a necropolis." Thalamik said, already shaping the base of a spire complete with arches.
Across from them, Trish worked with elegant precision as she shaped symmetrical towers. "Elven sand architecture is centuries ahead of human attempts," she said without looking up.
"That's just a fancy way of saying you like pointy roofs," Recca laughed. "Move over, Carmilla. I'm helping you."
Within minutes, the shoreline became a gallery.
Carmilla and Recca's creation took the shape of a castle with a tranquil, temple-like garden ringed with delicate sandflowers.
Trish's citadel rose in sweeping curves, decorated with pressed seashells.
Raymed's structure was made with Killiar's help. It is shaped like a towering fortress that leans slightly to the right. Somehow it still stands.
Thalamik's necropolis was dark and perfect.
Besitulars' fort… the vibes are mostly intimidation, with crooked walls and a trench rapidly filling with seawater. Is it even a castle, or is it an evil lair? No one can understand the inner mind of that beast as it is an enigma.
When it came time to judge, Lulu walked the line with arms folded. Her expression was serious.
She paused between Carmilla's serene garden and Thalamik's necropolis. "This is hard… one's cute and peaceful, the other's scary but… cool."
"And ours?" Raymed prompted hopefully.
"It's leaning, like Tower of Pizza." Lulu said bluntly.
"It's leaning with character! Tower of Pisa has character!" Raymed protested.
Besitulars puffed out his chest. "What about ours?"
"…It has water trenches... and evil lair?" Lulu offered.
"Good enough! AUUUU!!!" Besitulars grinned and howled.
In the end, she declared a tie between Carmilla and Thalamik, awarding each of them a small, carrot-shaped charm.
"That's it?" Raymed complained.
"I'll make you carrot cake later," Lulu promised.
"That's not the same, I wanted to win," he muttered with a sad face.
***
With the contest over, swimming at the sea was the only option.
Killiar was the first to challenge Raymed to a mana-surfing duel.
Within minutes, she was conjuring controlled waves while he balanced on a board of hardened mana, skimming the crests in bursts of spray. Cheers and wagers flew from the shore, ending in laughter when he wiped out on the fifth wave.
Kourin also suddenly announced a game of "Invisible Tag."
The rules were simple.
Tag her using only mana-sensing while she cloaked herself completely.
The concept sounds fun.
But the reality was chaos.
Lulu lunged in every wrong direction.
Recca resorted to throwing handfuls of wet sand.
Carmilla tried a gentle mana pulse that only succeeded in pinging Thalamik's location on a nearby rock.
Raymed eventually caught her by sending waves of warm mana outward until she drifted close enough to be tagged.
She reappeared with a quiet laugh. "Clever."
"I learn from the best," he replied, shaking the water from his hair.
"What do you mean, clever? His mana pool is bigger than most of us! You Cheater!" Thalamik said.
Raymed stuck out his tongue and said, "Cry about it! BLEEHH!"
By the time the sun had shifted past its peak, the beach was alive with movement. Laughter mixed with the tide, shouts from the shallows, and the steady crackle of Dwargo's grill.
***
The water glittered like scattered coins under the afternoon sun.
Recca waded knee-deep in the shallows, hands planted on her hips. "Enough of these one-off contests," she called.
"Let's do this properly—relay race, teams of four. From the buoy out there to the rocks and back. Winner gets bragging rights… and first pick of Dwargo's food."
"That last part actually matters," Raymed said, shading his eyes with one hand. "Dwargo, you making those garlic shrimp skewers?"
"I was," the dwarf replied, turning another batch over with a pair of tongs. His sleeveless undershirt was speckled with oil, but his movements never faltered. "If you wolves don't eat them all first."
"No promises. This shrimp is too delicious," Besitulars called, grinning under his captain's hat.
Thalamik just stared with crossed arms at Besitulars before he choked and said, "FORGIVE ME FOR MY MISDEMEANOR, BIG BRO." As he knelt on the ground.
"Dwargo, are you making Chicken Cordon Bleu?" Thalamik asked.
"I will be after this."
"Chicken Cordon Bleu isn't even grilled!!" Raymed said.
"Yosh!" Thalamik said.
Then the teams formed fast.
Raymed with Kourin, Lulu, and Recca
Carmilla with Trish, Besitulars, and Killiar
Thalamik with Suiko and two wolves of the wolf gang.
"Can you beat us, Thal? With Cordon Bleu at stake and Raymed on the other team? Will you lose?" Carmilla taunts him.
"Nah, I'd win", Thalamik smiled as his hair flew a little.
Diko planted himself at the starting line like an overdramatic referee. "On my mark. Three… two… one… GO!"
Water erupted as Raymed surged forward in the first leg, strokes slicing clean through the waves.
Killiar was just behind him, her movements smooth and efficient.
Out on the far side, one of the wolves practically launched himself like a torpedo.
Raymed slapped Kourin's hand at the buoy.
Killiar switches with Trish.
The wolves switch with another wolf.
Kourin dove in with the smooth confidence of someone who didn't waste energy, her translucent kimono abandoned on the shore. Trish kept pace for a time, her form elegant even against the pull of the sea.
By the third leg, Carmilla's deliberate pace had shaved the gap, tagging Besitulars, who exploded forward with a howl that startled a nearby gull. On Thalamik's side, Suiko entered the water with slow, steady strokes, murmuring something about hydrodynamics moving quickly with the power of science.
The final stretch came down to Lulu and Killiar.
The bunny girl churned the water at an impressive clip, ears flopping wildly with each kick. Killiar, however, was all focus—her gaze fixed, her form relentless.
Then the Fiend Kaiser came,
Suddenly, a vortex appeared as Thalamik swam like a maniac from the back, aiming for the finish line.
"CORDON BLEUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!" Thalamik screamed.
He was in a state of frenzy due to the promise of Cordon Bleu.
He was giving 120%
Then, as he was about to cross the finish line.
Due to his own recklessness.
He can hear a terrifying sound.
SSRTT!
"WHAT! NO!!!"
That's right, his trunks were on the verge of breaking. Holes started appearing.
"NO I CAN'T LOSE NOW!" Thalamik began swimming like crazy again. Making the pants only break further.
"NOOO IAM SO CLOSE!!" Thalamik stopped his movements, now floating in the water, trying to cover holes in his trunks. With a sharp cry, he says, "Cordon... Bleuu..."
Killiar and Lulu, seeing this opportunity, began swimming faster than before.
"Go Lulu!"
"Go Killiar!"
Killiar finally touched the finish in mere seconds before Lulu.
Diko raised both arms. "Victory to Team Carmilla!"
"Woohoooo! I didn't expect this to be honest." Carmilla said with a small blink, accepting the cheers.
"That's because you had me," Besitulars boomed.
Thalamik stared from a distance with an unpleasant face.
"I'M SORRY, BIG BRO!" Besitulars bowed their heads.
"You were… fine," Killiar said, wringing her hair dry.
Lulu collapsed into the shallows. "We were robbed."
"Want a rematch?" Raymed asked.
"After food," Lulu groaned.
All of them had left Thalamik, which was still on the water.
"Damn. I am my buttocks are nearly naked here, what should I do?"
"Need help, human?" Trish appeared with a smirk and new trunks.
"Trish... Yes, Please!" He smiled with tears.
Only at that moment, Trish was an angel in Thalamik's eyes despite her being an elf.
***
The smell from Dwargo's station had grown impossible to ignore.
The grill hissed and popped, laden with skewers of shrimp, fish fillets, and thick slices of meat.
The dwarf worked with quick, sure hands, plating skewers.
"Winners first," he grunted.
"That's the chef's privilege," he added when Besitulars tried to reach over the counter.
"It's delicious," Suiko said after her first bite.
Dwargo only grunted again.
Raymed lingered beside the grill, snagging a skewer. "For someone who didn't want to come, you're feeding half the beach."
"I did say I didn't want to come. But it's quite nice you know, grilling stuffs." Dwargo replied.
Despite losing, Thalamik still gets his Cordon Bleu. Well, it's because everyone else knows just how much he likes it. Then after eating on the sand, Suiko and Thalamik had started skipping stones into the low tide. "If you alter the surface tension—" she began.
"—you can increase skips by thirty percent," Thalamik finished.
Lulu paused mid-hop to watch them. "Are you two… turning skipping stones into science class?"
"Mana application is never just science," Thalamik said, sending a flat pebble spinning.
Further down the beach, Recca and Lulu were shaping sand sculptures of the trio. Lulu's version of Thalamik had absurdly broad shoulders; Recca's take on Raymed gave him a heroic mane of sand hair.
"That's… an interpretation," Raymed said, crouching beside them.
"It's artistic," Recca said.
Kourin and Carmilla strolled slowly at the water's edge, waves lapping at their ankles. "You seem lighter today," Carmilla observed.
"It's easier to be," Kourin replied softly, her gaze on the horizon.
"I bet that's because of Raymed." Carmilla said.
"Oh, you shuddup please!" Kourin playfully hit Carmilla's arm.
***
By the time the sun had dropped toward the horizon, the pace of the day had eased.
The golden light stretched long shadows across the sand, bathing the beach in a calm glow.
Carmilla had claimed a spot under a broad umbrella, sitting with her legs folded neatly to the side. The frilled edges of her soft pink top fluttered with each sea breeze, and her skirt lay pooled around her. Thalamik sat beside her, knees drawn up, arms resting loosely over them.
"You haven't moved from this spot much," she said with a small smile.
"I moved to the water once," he answered. "Then I realized it was loud and full of people."
Carmilla tilted her head. "Hahaha, such an antisocial. You really terrible at relaxing."
"This is relaxing," he said. "Shade, no one is asking me to fight, and food is within reach. It's perfect."
She looked at him for a moment, then said, "I'm just glad you're here you know. I wasn't sure you would."
"I wanted to," he admitted. "Besides, Trish's invitation was… hard to refuse. No..." Thalamik stopped abruptly.
"No?" Carmilla asked.
"I want to spend some more time with you and Raymed. That's how I felt." Thalamik opened up to her.
"You don't need to say it if you don't want to. Besides, I already know."
"Even if you know. Isn't it nice to have verbal confirmation?" Thalamik closed his eyes and spoke his thoughts.
"You're right, thank you for that, Thalamik." Carmilla smiled.
"Don't tell anyone else I feel that way, though."
"It'll be our secret!" Carmilla said.
Elsewhere along the shoreline, Raymed walked barefoot beside Kourin.
The tide swept in and out over their ankles, leaving wet prints that the waves quickly erased. Her translucent kimono caught the light with each step.
"You've been smiling more today," Raymed said.
"There are many reasons for that!" Kourin replied, glancing at him before looking back toward the horizon. "It's strange. Being with all of you feels like the normal I thought I couldn't have."
Raymed's lips curled in a faint smile. "Normal? This group? I'm not sure that word applies."
Kourin's voice softened. "Maybe not. But it's still… good." She extends her hand, "Come on, let's walk and find a seashell."
Raymed smiled before taking her hand.
Trish and Killiar sat together on the low stone wall near the vacation house steps, both gazing toward the glittering water.
"Everything still running smoothly here?" Killiar asked.
"Yes," Trish said quietly. "My family's still adjusting to recent events. And of course that Drama with Thalamik."
Killiar's eyes flicked briefly toward the beach, lingering on Thalamik before returning to the waves. " Ah, I remembered. The proposal of him becoming your husband, right? And you? Was the proposal a direct result of your father's influence, or was it by any chance..."
Trish smiled softly but with a tone of regret. "You know how it is, Killiar. They wanted to marry me off at this age. Well, if I am going down like that, might as well choose someone I can count on."
"That person is Thalamik? Is he the candidate you deem perfect?"
"Well no. But at least he's closer than any candidate."
"Ah, I see. I had the impression that you had fallen in love."
"Me? With Thalamik, no way!" Trish said.
In the shallows, Lulu crouched beside a sand bunny she'd sculpted, ears as tall as her torso. Beside her, Recca worked on a sand version of Raymed with arms like tree trunks and a mane of exaggerated hair.
"It's perfect," Recca declared.
"It's terrifying, Raymed doesn't has this sort of vibe at all." Lulu countered with a giggle.
"That's art. Perhaps he was hiding it all. Hahahaha." Recca shot back.
Raymed passed by, stopping to look. "My hair's not that spiky."
"It should be," Recca said with a grin.
Further down the sandy shore, Besitular was buried up to his neck, only his head and captain's hat visible. Two of his wolves lounged nearby, smug in their handiwork.
Lulu strolled by, stuck a carrot into the mound like a flag, and walked off without a word.
Besitulars blinked. "... Have I been claimed?"
At the grill, Dwargo had finally stopped cooking. The cooler beside him was empty, and he leaned back in his chair with his goggles pushed up onto his forehead.
"Thank you for the food, Chef." Suiko said as she passed him.
Dwargo shrugged. "All good."
"How has this day been for you?" Suiko asked.
"Meh. Not as bad a day as I expected."
"That's practically a compliment," she replied, smiling faintly. "I heard a lot about you Mr. Kors."
"Uh you have?"
"You were the one who forged Avalon right?"
"Ah that's right."
Suiko took out a card and passed it to him.
"Perhaps if fate permits, we may do business with each other. We specialise in magical items and artifacts."
Dwargo's eyes shone. "Are you for real?"
"Yes, we are. We'll be sure to find ways to contact you if the need comes, and be sure to send us letters if you have any inquiries on materials for artefacts or pseudo-artifacts."
Dwargo then thought to himself, maybe he should have never doubted Thalamik and Raymed in the first place.
A sudden whump echoed from the edge of the pier, followed by a streak of light climbing into the sky.
All eyes turned upward just in time for the first firework to burst—brilliant red scattering into gold sparks over the ocean.
From the vacation house steps, Carmilla's voice rang out. "Consider this the finale to our day!"
One by one, fireworks shot into the air, exploding in vivid blossoms.
Blue chrysanthemums.
Green peonies.
Dazzling silver willows cascade toward the sea before fading.
The colors reflected across the water, each burst mirrored in the waves.
Raymed stood beside Kourin, their faces lit in alternating shades of red and blue. "It's amazing," he murmured.
Kourin's lips curved. "Because I am with you~" She whispered inaudibly.
"What was that? I can't quite hear you?"
"Nothing!" Kourin said with a smile.
Nearby, Thalamik had his arms crossed, but the faintest smile tugged at his mouth as gold sparks rained down in the distance. "Hanabi (Fireworks)"
Trish and Killiar watched from their perch, silent until a massive firework bloomed in violet and white.
Trish tilted her head forward. "That one's mine."
Lulu clapped every time the sky lit up, shouting out which colors she wanted to see next.
Recca joined her, trying to predict the following pattern.
Besitulars enjoyed the warmth of the moment, even if his legs were still half-buried in sand.
The night sky above Lupache's vacation house was filled with colors.
Fireworks thundered one after another, lighting the white sand beach in bursts of crimson, gold, and sapphire.
Their reflections danced across the ocean's surface like fleeting dreams.
Carmilla stood near the shoreline as the wind tugged gently at her long hair.
Her gaze wasn't on the fireworks — it was on the two men walking toward her.
Thalamik's usual smirk was softer tonight, and Raymed's bright demeanour carried a quiet edge.
Two weeks had passed since Carmilla's birthday karaoke party, but the memory of laughter and music still clung to them.
This, however, was different.
Their paths had diverged.
"You picked the dramatic timing," Thalamik muttered, stopping beside Carmilla as a golden firework blossomed above them.
Raymed chuckled. "Says the guy who probably engineered this whole 'goodbye during fireworks' moment just to look cool."
Carmilla smiled faintly, but her voice trembled. "It's not about looking cool. It's about remembering this night… so none of us forget what we've fought for together."
For a moment, silence stretched between them, broken only by the distant cheering of Trish, Lulu, Besitulars, and the others still enjoying the display.
Thalamik tilted his head back, watching a cascade of blue sparks fall like rain. "We're walking into things we can't predict. This… might be the last time we stand like this."
Raymed reached over, clapping a hand on Thalamik's shoulder. "Then we make sure it's not. Simple as that."
Carmilla stepped closer, linking her arms through theirs. "No matter where we go, we will always meet again."
The final volley of fireworks came all at once.
A cascade of golden comets, an explosion of red and blue stars, and then a massive silver crown that hung in the sky before slowly dissolving.
The sound rolled over the beach in a long, soft rumble.
When it faded, there was only the hush of the tide and the quiet sigh of the wind.
They didn't let go.
Not until the last ember faded, and the night sky returned to darkness.
For a while, no one spoke, letting the glow of the moment linger.
But she definitely sees it.
Something flying.
A black moth.
.
.
.
.
.
"AAA OCTOPUS!!!" Lulu screamed.
Raymed Carmilla and Thalamik stood up and look at a giant octopus that had appeared and took hold of Lulu.
"Well... Well... Well..." Thalamik said.
"That bastard picked the wrong day to mess with us." Raymed smiled.
"We're having takoyaki today, boys," Carmilla said.
The three launched themselves, followed by colors of blue, red, and green.