"Nothing," Helios says, looking away.
"Is that so Leader?" Nova asks, a slight smile playing on his face.
"Guys, I challenge you to a swimming competition!" one member shouts, pointing at four people.
"Challenge accepted," one person replies, stretching their limbs.
"You're challenging the best swimmer in Blackthorn?" another member asks in a proud, boastful voice.
Nearby, other Blackthorn members were playing volleyball. "It's all your fault we lost!" one person cries out, clenching his hair in frustration.
"Shut up and just watch the other teams play," the person he was talking to snaps, eyes fixed on the court.
Some members simply enjoyed the sun, lounging on the sand. "The leader reserved this whole beach for us," someone says in a blissful, happy voice.
"Why don't we go play volleyball? It seems fun," Seer suggests, her eyes tracking the movement of the players.
"I'll be the referee," Rio says quickly.
"Are you that lazy, Rio, that you can't even play a simple game?" Riku asks with an amused, mocking glint in his eyes.
"No, I just don't feel like playing today," Rio says, yawning.
"So we have Riku, Ray, Nova, Sara, Leader, and me," Seer says, counting them off. "Let's write names on pieces of paper and let Sara and me choose the teams."
"Why do you two get to choose who's on your team?" Nova asks, pointing an accusing finger at Seer.
"We're not choosing; fate is choosing for us," Seer says in a teasing, mocking voice.
"That doesn't make sense," Nova mutters, crossing his arms.
"Just deal with it," Helios says, patting Nova's shoulder.
Seer and Sara choose their teams. The Red Team consists of Helios, Sara, and Nova. The Blue Team consists of Riku, Ray, and Seer.
"Now, let's go over the rules," Sara says, turning to her team.
"Aren't the rules just 'hit the ball back to the other team'?" Helios asks, sitting down and raising his hand like a bored student.
"Those are the rules for normal volleyball," Sara says, her blue eyes beginning to glow with an intense light. "In this game, you can use spiral energy and abilities too. Even giving your opponent serious injuries is permitted."
"I don't think a normal ball can handle that," Nova says, looking sceptical.
"Ray somehow had an invention that looks like a volleyball, so we are using that," Sara explains.
"Isn't it really suspicious how Ray just happened to have that with him?" Nova asks in a questioning, suspicious tone.
"Are you guys ready?" Ray shouts from across the net.
"We should do our best to win this," Sara says, her expression hardening with determination.
"So, who's starting with the ball?" Riku asks, looking at Rio.
"I don't know. You guys should just play Rock Paper Scissors," Rio says, floating on his pillow artefact, looking as if he's about to drift off to sleep.
"Everyone choose someone from the other team and play Rock Paper Scissors with them. The team with the most wins starts with the ball," Seer commands.
Nova and Ray play; Nova chooses paper and Ray chooses rock. Sara and Seer play; Sara chooses paper and Seer chooses scissors. For the final matchup, Helios and Riku face off; Helios chooses rock and Riku chooses scissors.
"Sara's team gets the ball," Rio announces, lazily passing the ball to them.
"Let's start!" Helios shouts. He serves the ball, coating it in a swirling aura of spiral energy as he hits it high into the air.
Ray uses his mechanical octopus arms to strike the ball back. Sara immediately slows down time around the ball and hits it back, speeding up time in the process so it streaks like a comet. Seer hits the ball back while infusing it with spiral energy, making it even faster. Nova moves to receive the ball, but Riku suddenly emerges from a shadow on the ground and pulls Nova's legs down into the darkness.
Nova doesn't give up; he hits the ball while pinned to the ground, and Helios jumps high, spiking it down. The ball slams into the sand. Rio blows his whistle and awards a point to Sara's team. The surrounding Blackthorn members begin to gather around, lured by the spectacle.
"It seems like the higher-ups are playing volleyball, and the Red Team is winning," one member observes.
"I don't know about that; the game just started," another member replies.
"I bet on the Red Team!" someone shouts.
"I'm betting on the Blue Team!" another cries. The members start placing bets on who will emerge victorious.
"This is going to be interesting," Seer says, a competitive spark in her eyes.
Helios serves the ball again, once more utilizing spiral energy. It flies toward Riku, who begins to grin. As the ball reaches him, Riku sinks into the shadows with it and reappears on Sara's side, slamming it down.
"Ref! Are you going to say something about this?" Nova shouts, pointing at Riku as he sinks back into the shadows.
"What are we talking about again?" Rio asks, blinking sleepily.
"Are you blind?!" Nova yells in a frustrated voice.
"I mean, we have no rules saying he can't do that. Remember, you guys agreed to use your artefacts," Rio says, closing his eyes and going back to sleep.
"So, this is how the game is going to be played," Sara says, staring at Seer through the net.
"Winners write history, not the losers," Seer says, looking at Sara with a smug, confident face.
Riku serves the ball with a burst of spiral energy. Sara slows down time on the ball and hits it back, but then she slows down time specifically for the Blue Team.
"How do you like that?" Sara says in an arrogant, triumphant tone.
Defying the odds, Seer somehow hits the ball back to Sara's side.
"How did you do that?" Sara asks, her face twisting in confusion.
"You forget—I can see the future," Seer says, pointing at the purple gem on her forehead that glows like a third eye.
Sara tries to press her pocket watch to reset the play.
"Before you do that, Sara—there's a new rule. You can't go back to the past," Rio calls out. "You can only speed up or slow down time."
"Why am I the only one who gets restricted?!" Sara snaps at Rio, her face flushed with anger.
"The rules are the rules," Rio mutters.
"We still believe in you, Red Team!" the members shout from the sidelines.
"Blue, you can do this!" others cheer.
The sun begins to set, casting long shadows across the beach as members prepare to go home.
"Today was the best day of my life," one member sighs contentedly.
"This is why Blackthorn is the best," another adds.
"Have you guys seen the Leader? Those people have already given the time the event starts," Seer says, her voice laced with frustration.
"You can't hate the Royal Family that much; they're your own family," Riku says.
"Who would like people like them?" Seer retorts, her expression sour. "Anyway, have you seen where the Leader is?"
"No, we don't know. He just disappeared."
"We won the game, why aren't you happy?" Helios asks, sitting down on the sand next to Sara.
"The sunset looks beautiful," Sara says softly, watching the horizon.
"The sun is beautiful, isn't it?" Helios agrees, looking at the glowing orb. The light catches his face, his long hair blowing gently in the wind. "About yesterday..." Helios begins, his voice turning nervous.
"Yes?" Sara says, looking at him. The wind catches her hair, and her ocean-like eyes sparkle in the fading sunlight.
"I should have said yes, but I was just shocked," Helios says in an awkward, hesitant voice.
"It's fine. Maybe I was just moving too fast," Sara says, tracing patterns in the sand with her finger.
"No! If you waited before going, I would have said yes to us dating," Helios says, waving his hands frantically to explain.
"Does that mean we are dating now, since you agreed?" Sara asks, her voice small and questioning.
"Yes... if you agree," Helios says, looking away, his face turning a deep shade of red.
"Yes, I agree," Sara says, looking the other way, her own face blushing furiously.