Rift Duology #2: Rift of Shadow

Chapter 1: Endings

-Jayden's POV-

After the whole rift situation on the Day of the Dead, the world fell.
The Veil, a magic that hid the godly things from mortal eyes crumbled, as well as anything similar from other pantheons.
King Keros had shoved Mythos under his rule, and became their one and only god.
The City of Polaris, now renamed Keros County has become the hotspot of oni and monsters.

The Polarian Skyscraper? Renamed to Cassiopeia's Spine.
The top of the skyscraper was 'corrupted' with a weird, dark purple substance, along with dark red and black.

The Day of the Dead, the day that daytime died.
The day that night never ended, the day the world fell.
Luckily, me, Jayus, Nyctos, Owen and Xavier managed to escape to a smaller town in the Desert of Despair, a large desert in the middle of Mythos.

The town surrounded an Oasis, and usually collected the water given by Azure, the Mythonian god of Weather.
But after the disappearances of the gods, they relied on weather from other pantheons.
We also made a monthly trip to the Nile and The Red Sea to collect loads of water.

Since Jayus and I were legacies of the Greek Goddess Styx, controlling water to go into the trucks and buckets was rather easy.
It was getting back that was the hard part- Sand Snakes, a large serpent that lived under layers of sand thrived in the desert.
After we got back, we started talking.

"We still need to find Albus. It's almost been a year- it's almost October, meaning we're close to Halloween and- and the Day of the Dead." Jayus reminded us.

"But we've looked everywhere! Even Camp Cetus' Ruins, and he's always there- or at least always leaves a clue!" Owen replied.

"Yeah, before it was in ruins. Plus, if he was taken by Keros, he wouldn't be free. He would be imprisoned, as bait. For us to go directly to Cassiopeia's Spine, and be captured. He's a war hostage, and you people are too naive to see that." Xavier explained.
"We can't just go saving people without a plan."

"He's right, guys. Keros is playing it safe right now. He's already strained the power of the Cassiopian Fragments, and he has to wait for them to recharge. It'll be about a month, and during that time, he's vulnerable."
Nyctos said.

"But that's exactly why we should go! He's strained the power of the fragments, and already exhausted his resources and his armies. Right now, he's at his lowest. If we plan a quick attack, we could stun him, get our stuff back and save Albus!" Jayus countered.

"Uh- guys? Don't you remember the encounter Nyctos and I had with- with Abaddon?" Owen reminded. "He has the gods stuck in some sort of flame, and he's probably using it to recharge the fragments and refuel his resources and army. That month that Nyctos said we have in actuality is a week, at most."

"Well then- that kills the possibility of an invasion. What if- what if we use the Chroma Shards?" Jayus offered.

"We already went over this, Jayus. If we use the shards- Keros can easily use it to his advantage. He can steal it, and use it to level our cities even more. We can't risk that." Xavier explained.

"Fine. But I hate staying here, doing nothing! We could be fighting back, but we're not." Jayus yelled.

"Jayus, the best we can do right now is wait until reinforcements come."

"Jayden, we can't rely on others, okay?! The damned Greeks haven't arrived and we sent a message several months ago! For all we know, they can be working with Keros himself!" Jayus yelled, right before a white pegasus flew in the distant clouds.

"A pegasus? You don't think the Greeks actually came- do you?" I asked, but I didn't receive a response.

As the pegasus grew closer, I realized it was the reinforcements we needed.
She had dark skin, brown eyes and choppy, dark hair, tied in a ponytail.

"Hey guys. What's up?" the girl on the pegasus said.

"Who're you? The Greek person we asked for, arriving after months? We could've used your help, y'know?" Jayus spitefully said.

"Hey, that's not fair! We're going through stuff too! Don't think your pantheon is the only one being affected. We're fighting for our lives back at Camp Half-Blood, and-"

"You mean your camp hasn't fallen yet?" Owen's voice broke mid-sentence. Everyone here knew he was hurt the most, and for what reason, no one knows. He longed for a proper home to stay in, even if it was under attack.

"Of course not. While you have those flashy artifacts, we have a Clarisse and a Percy, which is basically the same thing." The girl said.
"Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet!
Riley, daughter of Dionysus and legacy of one of your gods, actually. Legacy of Keros."

"Keros. The Keros that's invading the world right now?" Jayus seemed ticked off.

"Look, I know it seems bad- but I'm not. I can help you guys! We have a temporary camp in Nigeria, and we have a boat to sail back to Camp Half-Blood!" Riley exclaimed, excited on her plan.

But everyone was.. wary. The fact that she was related to Keros, the god that took over the world in a single day? What if she's leading us into a trap?

"Okay, but we have an easier way. Do you have anything that belongs to your camp?" Owen asked.

Riley rummaged through her stuff before pulling out a twig.
"This is from Thalia's Tree! Well, I don't think you know what that is- I'll explain on the way?"

"There's no need, Riley." Owen took the twig and dropped it on the ground, and activated the hammer.
"This'll open a portal to your camp!"

Owen slammed the hammer onto the twig and a portal sparked open. On the other side, monsters were attacking again. But it was weird.. there was a border? An invisible border, protecting the camp from the monsters. When we entered the portal, we quickly ran behind the tree.
In the distance, I saw Keros.
Turns out both Nyctos and Owen were wrong.
It didn't take long for the fragments to recharge.

Because as soon as he tilted the staff, a flurry of red lightning bolts shot at the border and tree, shattering the shield and engulfing the tree in flames.