Rift Duology #2: Rift of Shadow

Chapter 21: Recovery

—Jayden's POV—

I woke up in the infirmary, or whatever was left of it.
"He's awake!" I heard a voice yell, and I looked around.

Owen and Aspen were waiting beside me.
"Thank gods- you've been out for a while now, Jayden." Owen said.
"Maybe— a few days? Like, 3 whole days."

"3 Days?! That means- todays October 29th?" I asked, and Owen nodded.

"Owen told me that after tomorrow, Halloween happens, and that's when Keros opened the Rift? He also told me that Azure mentioned a Lunar Eclipse is happening, a Partial one." Aspen stated.

"The thing is, I dunno how much closing the Rift would help us. Cassiopeia told me that the whole Rift thing was Keros' idea, not his." I reminded.
"Unless Cassiopeia uses the Rift to merge the realms, but I doubt that.."

"Actually, that isn't too far-fetched.
Aspen and I actually studied the Cassian-Wars, and found crucial information. Thanks to the remaining books at Camp Cetus, we found that Cassiopeia had the ability to create realms himself. He created Aether, after all.
But the scrolls and books all had a common theme- Cassiopeia wanted to change the Mortal Realm.
He couldn't overwrite Polaris' realm, because they were equal in power.
So, he decided to make his own and merge it." Owen explained.

"That's why he created the Rift Blade, or at least the Prototype.  He needed to open a Rift to slowly merge the realms, but the Wars prevented him from doing that." Aspen said.

"So.. this Rift is important again? But what realm is he gonna merge? Why would he want the Yang Realm?" I asked.

"We're not sure.. But, we do have a lead." Owen replied.

"We studied everything about Polaris and her resting place.
See, a bit after the Cassian-Wars, a truce was made with Keros. Polaris had a tomb deep under the Yanlang Mountain Range, and has been there for thousands of years. According to the books, of course." Aspen explained.
"If we could get the fragments and go there.."

"We could resurrect Polaris. So, it's a plan?" I asked.

"Sure, but we need the Fragments first, and we have no idea where they are." Aspen said.

"Then let's get a team going or something! We don't have a moment to lose." I said and got up.

After walking to the hearth, Aspen and Owen went to go tell people about our mission.
Up ahead, a few people kneeled by the Tree upon the hill.
I heard that it was made from Zeus, the Greek God of Thunder, when he took pity on his daughter, Thalia.
Appearantly, it protected the camp from monsters overrunning it.

"I can't find anyone. Everyone's too.. shellshocked? They're scared we might see Keros again." Owen said.
"They're scared of ending up like those who died during Keros' attack.."

"Have you had any luck, Asp?" I asked.

"Nope. They all say the same thing- they don't want to risk it. Especially now that Cassiopeia's around.." Aspen answered.

"It's okay. We'll go ourselves, right?" I said and they nodded.

"Jayden Candelora!" Someone yelled.
They ran down from the hill and their cloak fell to the ground.
She had tan skin and orange hair, and held a staff that was..

"Keros' Staff! And- and the Fragments! How'd you get those?" I asked.

"Hey, the former Commander of Camp Cetus still has some tricks! Also, they have terrible security. But, I do have some new information." She said.
"But first, we should take care of the horde of monsters behind the hill."

—Xavier's POV—

Practicing Destruction Magic is surprisingly difficult.
The Magic has a Chaotic way of performing, like any slight movement when practicing can cause an earthquake.

"Focus on your target. Focus on the Chaotic Energy floating all around everything, and even you. Use it. Use the energy to bend Reality and use the Magic." Cassiopeia said.

"Whew.. I got this." I said and put my palm out in the direction of the dummy.
I slid my foot forward and a huge crack in the stone ground snaked quickly towards the dummy, and the dummy fell into the crack.

"Well done. That sums up your Earthquake Control.
All you have left is the Light Lasers, Determino Magic and Storm Magic." Cassiopeia listed.

"Which one's the easiest?" I asked.

"Light Lasers. It's a quick lesson since there's only 2 moves for it, then we can go to the Storm Magic." He replied and I nodded.

The ground quickly smashed back together and the floor beneath me rose, and several dummies ahead of me rose at different heights and distances from me.

"For this lesson, you must focus on all the Light and Dark energy around you.
You have to merge them in a stream of energy, and that creates the blast. 2 particles are enough for a single thin blast, but you can learn to do several at once, creating a wide cone-shaped blast." Cassiopeia said.
"Try the 2 particles first."

I nodded again and put both my hands out.
Cassiopeia taught me about the whole 'energy is all around us' thing.
Light and Dark was an example. I didn't exactly understand it, but I guess it made sense.
Oposites don't always attract, so merging them is sure to cause an imbalance of energy.
I closed my eyes and tried to imagine the particles.
After several seconds, a little tingle burst through my hand and arms and when I opened my eyes, a thin beam of multicolored light shot out and sliced the stone wall in half.

"Good job, Xavier. We should rest now, though. It's been a long day and you've made lots of progress, you deserve a break." Cassiopeia said, and he made the wall smash back together.

"Alright, thanks again. But what are we going to do about the Fragments?" I asked.

"I already sent monsters. There are Shiftoids, Hydras, and monsters from across the Greek and Polarian Pantheon." Cassiopeia answered.
"I'd be surprised if we don't get the Fragments soon. But if we don't, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Why's that?" I asked.

"Because I already know their plan." Cassiopeia replied.
"They're trying to resurrect Polaris using them. Thankfully, by the time they arrive at Polaris' Tomb, we would have already snuffed out Polaris' Spirit into the depths of the Abyss."