Teon sits alone at the beach, watching the sunset drown the sky in beautiful oranges and reds, while thinking to himself.

  "The incident between Cain and Aziel happened one month ago. Since then there have been no nightmare attacks. Kaia didn't train at all. But the others got much stronger. Especially Lloyd."

  He lies down, his eyes watching countless stars slowly appear in the sky as it gets darker.

  "But I didn't develop much further. I'm scared I reached my limit."

  Without his notice, Ragnar walks up to him and sits down closely.

  "What are you doing here all alone?"

  "Enjoying the quiet peace that you just interrupted."

  "Is that so?"

  Teon closes his eyes, annoyed.

  "You do know that I can barely stand your presence since then."

  Ragnar chuckles at his words, a grin spreading across his face.

  "You have guts telling me this to my face."

  He lies down as well, folding his hands under his head.

  "I figured that. You left the room every time I entered."

  "Can you blame me? You did nothing as Cain mentally tortured one of my friends."

  Ragnar nods.

  "Why are you here, Ragnar?"

  "I noticed that you didn't make much progress recently."

  "Thanks for rubbing salt into the wound."

  Ragnar chuckles at Teon's remark.

  "That wasn't my intention. I want to help you."

  "And how do you plan on doing that?"

  "Why don't you try copying more powers?"

  Teon sits up and looks over at Ragnar, annoyed.

  "Do you think I'm dumb? As if I didn't think of that myself."

  Ragnar doesn't move, his eyes glued to a single star many, many light-years away.

  "Then try to learn using more than one at the same time."

  Teon's annoyed expression turns into one of surprise. Why didn't he think about that himself?

  "I can supervise you if you want."

  "Like you supervised the training with Cain? No thank you."

  Ragnar sits up and smiles.

  "Touché. But jokes aside. If you want, I'll train with you. Kai would die for this opportunity."

  "I know."

  Teon runs his fingers through the sand, his eyes cast on the wide dark ocean.

  "Give me time to think about it."

  "Sure, take all the time you need. Oh, and take this."

  He reaches out with his closed hand. As he opens it, a device, the same that Lucius used to contact Ragnar, lies in it.

  "With that you can reach me wherever you are."

  Teon takes it surprised. Without waiting for a response, Ragnar stands up.

  "Then I leave you and your thoughts alone again."

  He leaves just as quietly as he came. Teon stares at the device for a while before stuffing it into his pocket.

  "Using more than one ability at a time. Can't be this hard."

  Kai knocks on the door of Teon's bedroom. The sun already stands high up again.

  "Hey, stand up. It's late!"

  No answer. Kai sighs and just enters. He finds Teon lying on his bed, right arm hanging down from it, while the other is pushing up his shirt slightly. Kai walks over, a smirk on his face. He leans down, close enough that Teon could feel his warm breath against his ear.

  "Hey love, wake up."

  Teon stirs and mumbles something.

  "W...what? Who's there?"

  He blinks and winces as he sees Kai's face so close to him.

  "Who are you calling 'love' here?!"

  Kai's smirk brightens, and he straightens up again.

  "Don't sweat it; I'm just teasing."

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  He takes a step back to give Teon more space and crosses his arms.

  "Why were you still asleep anyways?"

  "I was awake till the early morning."

  He finally sits up in bed and runs a hand through his disheveled hair.

  "And why?"

  Teon runs both hands over his face and explains the events of last evening. Afterwards he stands up and walks towards his wardrobe.

  "Are you planning to stay while I change or what?"

  "Oh, I don't mind you changing in front of me."

  "But I do."

  Teon responds while shoving Kai towards the door.

  "Come on, get out already!"

  "Okay, okay, I'm gone, spoil sport."

  He pouts for a moment before grinning and closing the door closely.

  "Come to the kitchen after you finish."

  "Understood. Now clear off. I don't need a guard dog in front of my door while I change."

  "Yeah, yeah, I'm off."

  Kai turns and walks down the hallway towards the kitchen.

  "As grumpy as ever after waking up. As if I didn't see him naked already in the group showers."

  As he reaches the kitchen, he sits down and waits. A little while later, Teon enters, heading straight to the fridge. Kai tells him that coffee is in the machine. Teon nods and pours himself a cup before adding some milk and sugar. He sits down at the table next to Kai and takes a sip.

  "So using more than one power at a time doesn't work."

  "Yep, not at all."

  "Too bad. I guess your ability is not capable of it."

  "Yeah, maybe."

  Teon takes another sip and sets his cup down.

  "Don't you want to drink or eat too?

  Kai shakes his head, responding that he already did. After a few more sips, the mug is empty. Teon puts it into the sink before walking towards the door.

  "Do you have any plans for today?"

  Kai's question stops Teon in his tracks.

  "No, not really."

  "Then let's go for a swim. We've been training for weeks and no nightmares; let's enjoy life a bit."

  Teon is caught off guard by his statement and just stares at his best friend for a split second.

  "I never thought I'd hear something like this from you."

  "Why not?"

  Teon smirks.

  "Are you for real? You are the Kai, the one who would never say no to a fight."

  "Maybe. But I also like to relax sometimes."

  With their minds made up, the two go to change into swimming trunks and then meet at the beach. Kai eyes Teon up with a teasing grin.

  "Looking good."

  "Shut it."

  They stand ankle-deep in the water as Teon asks a question.

  "Do you think sea monsters exist?"

  "What? Are you scared?"

  "No, I'm not. It's just... there are so many things in this world. Why can't there be a huge monster under the sea?"

  "I don't know if there are. But I know that if they existed, I would be stronger."

  "You're cocky for someone who is about to be surpassed by Lloyd."

  Kai pouts, and without another word, he walks deeper into the water and starts swimming. Teon follows close. The two start to race each other. From a balcony of the estate, Rumi and Lucius watch the two.

  "Give them this moment of peace, Lucius. Moments like this are rare in the world we live in, especially with the expectations forced upon them."

  "I know. I hope one day they can all enjoy a happier life. Without having to worry when the next Nightmare might attack."

  With a small smile on her face, Rumi nods and turns around, entering the building. Lucius remains on the balcony, arms crossed, watching out for his students, as the rest happily join Kai and Teon in the water.

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