Unleashing the power from within

Teresa, rushing with no clear direction, suddenly stopped for a moment. Though she could sprint as fast as possible - thanks to her special abilities - she hesitated. Oblivious to her true potential and thinking of herself as just an ordinary human, she chose to rest for a while, preparing for the unexpected battle Verdantia might bring.

She reached for her phone and quickly called her best friend, Maria.

Ringgg?

Maria, enjoying a relaxed Saturday, was immersed in her favorite romantic movie, lounging comfortably on her couch. Just as the lovers on screen were about to kiss, the sharp ringing of her phone shattered the moment.

Ringgggg!?

Annoyed, she groaned. "Gosh! Oh no!" she muttered in frustration.

Ringgggg?

The phone rang again. Since it lay face down on the glass table beside her, Maria hadn't noticed who was calling.

Finally, she picked it up. "Teresa?" she answered, surprised.

"Mary? huh, huh," Teresa panted, catching her breath. "Mary, we need to go to Ingrid - now! I need your help before it's too late!"

"W-what?" Maria stammered, her confusion deepening. "Am I already late to the news or what? Or maybe? there's something you haven't told me these past few days?" Maria asked, puzzled.

"Sorry, but I can't explain right now," Teresa said urgently. "Just get out there. We'll meet at Rizal Park first."

"Oh? okay," Maria replied, sensing the urgency in Teresa's voice. Though curiosity was written all over her face, her mood quickly shifted to a serious one. Something strange was happening - she could feel it.

Teresa arrived at Rizal Park first. She paced back and forth, her mind racing with the weight of the decisions she had to make.

About ten minutes later, Maria arrived, panting. "Huh? huh?" she struggled to catch her breath.

"Teresa, what's going on? What really happened?" Maria asked, anxiety clear in her voice.

Teresa met Maria's gaze - there was fear in her eyes, but also determination. "Maria, this is our real battle. We have our first enemy."

Maria's eyes widened. "Enemy? Who?"

"Verdantia!" Teresa declared firmly. But the real dilemma was that their enemy was once human.

Maria's curiosity turned into shock. "Wait? what? Who is she? Do I know her?" she pressed, desperate for answers.

Teresa took a deep breath before revealing the truth. "Brigette. She? she transformed into that wicked, beastly Verdantia. I don't know how."

Maria froze. The name sent a chill down her spine. She couldn't believe it. Brigette? Their enemy?

Yes - probably because of what she did to Ingrid, humiliating her and ruining her reputation. But? how tragic that she was doomed to a fate she never truly deserved.

Cutting their conversation short, Teresa hurriedly reached for her phone to contact Ingrid. But then she hesitated, realizing something. "Oh, right? Ingrid changed her number after that humiliating incident."

She sighed, frustration creeping in. "This is going to make it harder for us to reach her."

"Let me contact Kaeli," Maria suggested.

She quickly dialed Kaeli's number and told her where they were. Mere minutes later, Kaeli appeared near the bushes surrounding the Rizal statue - just a few meters away from where Maria and Teresa stood.

But? how?

Kaeli had been at home, several kilometers away from the park. There was no way she could have arrived this fast. Or was she not telling the truth about where she had been?

A gentle breeze drifted into their surroundings just as Kaeli approached from behind. She stopped a few steps away from the two ladies, her presence swift and unexpected. Standing tall, she said coolly, "You're looking for Ingrid? I'm not her keeper."

Maria and Teresa turned to her in surprise, caught off guard by how quickly she had reached them.

"Kaeli!" the two exclaimed in unison, their voices laced with surprise. A faint breeze brushed against their skin, sending a shiver through them as they fully registered her presence.

"Wow, I can't believe you got here in just a few minutes!" Maria exclaimed, a mix of admiration and suspicion in her voice. She marveled at Kaeli's swiftness, oblivious to the truth she had momentarily forgotten.

"I am the keeper of this! Remember?!" Kaeli retorted, her tone sharp but laced with amusement. She knew they had long forgotten the moment when the four of them had shared their powers and retrieved the original stones from the Montenegro brothers. "This is the Quartz stone that I possess, dear ladies. I flew all the way here."

With a swift flick of her wrist, Kaeli presented her glowing stone. A gust of air stirred around them, lifting specks of dust and scattered leaves, further proving her point.

"Oh, I remember now, my dear. I'm sorry," Maria admitted, her eyes widening in realization.

Teresa, on the other hand, remained silent. Though intrigued by Kaeli's sudden entrance, she had been too preoccupied with Verdantia to recall that Kaeli was just like them - an equal bearer of power.

"You're looking for Ingrid? I guess something's not right. Is this about Brigette again?" Kaeli inquired, already anticipating their motive.

"We need to find her now! Brigette has transformed into something? unnatural, and she might use this chance to eliminate Ingrid!" Teresa's voice trembled with urgency as she urged them to hurry.

"W-what? Really?" Kaeli's eyes widened in shock.

"Yes," Teresa affirmed gravely.

Kaeli exhaled, steadying her emotions before giving them a determined nod. "Alright, let's get to Ingrid. But first, let me use my inner senses to locate her."

The three girls clasped hands as Kaeli closed her eyes, focusing deeply. A quiet intensity settled around them as she reached out with her power, scanning the unseen threads of energy that connected them to Ingrid.

A few seconds passed before Kaeli's eyes snapped open, her expression sharp and resolute. "I've found her."

Without hesitation, she commanded, "Let's go!"

A powerful gust of wind swirled around them, engulfing their forms. In an instant, they vanished, the air carrying them swiftly to the exact place Kaeli had envisioned.

Like Maria and Teresa, Kaeli was also endowed with a jewel that possessed a supernatural ability to control the air element. To Kaeli, acquiring the jewel seemed like a random opportunity, but just like Maria and Teresa, she was undoubtedly destined for it.

It all began a week after the first day of school - Kaeli had yet to attend her classes due to family problems. Her parents, whose relationship had long been strained, finally separated after her mother caught her father with another woman inside their home. Enraged and heartbroken, her mother threw him out, severing their family bond.

Kaeli, their only daughter, suffered in silence. Deprived of her parents' care, she buried herself in academics, excelling despite the emotional turmoil. Yet, beneath her strong facade, she carried a pain too heavy to bear.

One evening, overwhelmed by emotions she could no longer contain, Kaeli ran. She ran without direction, desperate to escape the suffocating weight in her chest. She had always been proud - too proud to show weakness, even to her family. But now, she cried uncontrollably, her sobs lost in the wind.

When she finally stopped, she realized she was at the edge of a forest, standing precariously at the top of a steep cliff. The abyss below was nauseatingly deep. She took a trembling breath; torn between the unbearable pain she felt and the fear gripping her. The thought of ending everything crossed her mind, and as hopelessness consumed her, she made her decision.

With one final breath, Kaeli let go.

The cliff was fifty feet deep - enough to be fatal. The air rushed past her, enveloping her falling body. A faint scream escaped her lips, but no one was there to hear it. She braced for impact, for the agony of bones shattering upon the ground.

But it never came.

Just inches from the earth, Kaeli's descent slowed. She wasn't falling anymore - she was floating. As if an unseen force had caught her, shielding her from the cruel embrace of death. The force of gravity still pressed against her, making her body tremble, but something - or someone - was holding her up.

Her eyes widened in disbelief. Tears welled up once more, but this time, they were not just of sorrow, but of confusion and awe.

Then, from the wind itself, a presence emerged. A being unlike any she had ever seen.

"The Jewel of the Air," it introduced itself.

An hour before this incident, reports of unusual tornadoes circulated across the region. These violent, erratic storms had been destroying certain areas within minutes, baffling meteorologists and terrifying residents. Some believed it was a natural disaster, while others whispered of something far more mysterious - an omen of something emerging.

Little did Kaeli know, these storms were not mere coincidences. They were the harbingers of the Jewel of the Air - the very force that would soon intervene in her fate.

The scene unfolded on the rooftop of the tallest building in Dumaguete City, approximately 45 kilometers from Bais City. The power of the air had carried the three of them there, guiding them to where Ingrid had been detected by Kaeli's heightened senses.

Standing at the edge, Kaeli closed her eyes, inhaling deeply as a flood of memories resurfaced - her near-death experience, the moment she first encountered the Jewel of the Air, and the destiny it had set in motion. She exhaled slowly, grounding herself in the present. As she opened her eyes once more, clarity washed over her. She had embraced her past, and with it, the purpose that had been waiting for her all along.

Now, alongside her comrades, Maria and Teresa, Kaeli stood ready. The air around them pulsed with energy, whispering of the inevitable.

And they were prepared to face whatever was about to unfold.

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