‘Wait!’ he called. ‘I want to learn more about this!’
He ran toward her holding the chain she had given him out in front, the crystal dangling at its end.
Raquel stopped and nodded as she took the crystal from his hands and placed it between his eyes. In an instant he was sent spiralling into the emptiness before landing heavily on the same smooth stone ledge of the crumbling tower as the first time. He stood slowly, nursing his ribs. The fall had slightly winded him. The sky was as gray and haunted as ever and he stared at the city of ruins before him, stretching as far as he could see.
Raquel walked from the single door behind him to stand next to him.
‘What is this place?’ he asked.
‘Your mind,’ she said.
‘There’s nothing but ruins here,’ Jaden observed.
‘Each holds a part that must be healed. You may heal them with the jewel.’
Jaden scanned over all of the buildings ahead.
‘That would take thousands of years,’ he said, and Raquel did not seem to disagree. ‘How do I heal?’
Raquel turned to walk back to the single door behind them and Jaden followed her down a staircase to the left he had not seen before. She led him into another door at the bottom of the staircase and entered a room where there was no light, but their footsteps had echoed for miles in all directions.
‘They have fought since their awakening,’ came Raquel’s voice from a few steps ahead, but he could not see her.
In the emptiness, a whole array of strange life had formed almost instantly, with animals and plants covering the now-scenic landscape. There were dark mountains in the distance, entire forests covering them and the land below, while the sun hid behind the clouds above but kept the sky blue. There were dark shapes moving about in the sky, birds of some kind, and ahead, a two-legged reptile chased down and killed a baby reptile with four legs. Both disappeared and were replaced by four-legged mammals hunting down other mammals with four legs, in the same manner as the first. They were soon replaced by men in uniform hiding from one another, guns held ready as aircraft replaced the birds in the sky.
‘In the name of life, they cry for death,’ Raquel continued. She was now standing beside him, as they both watched.
Gunfire erupted as a group of soldiers spotted some fleeing people, many of whom were now dying at their hands. The soldiers continued their ruthless fire as they shot one after the other, without thought or regret for what they were doing.
‘Strength will see survival, until one more powerful rises.’
As Raquel’s words sounded, energy shields were erected around the battlefield, people dressed in Daijuarn garments now protecting those that fled.
‘Power grows, balance comes,’ continued Raquel, and then all except the landscape disappeared. The animals no longer chased or fled. The soldiers no longer attacked the people running away. And all but the plants had gone.
‘I don’t understand,’ said Jaden. ‘What does this have to do with the crystal?’
‘All paths are long when lived by chance. Paths are shorter when lived on purpose.’
‘Then the crystal gives purpose? How? What is my path?’
Raquel turned to him as the sky became black with cloud, the many breaks in its blanket shining brightly with blue from the rings above. All else disappeared as the animals did, leaving only the dark mountains around them.
‘One life or a thousand, the path is lost to those who walk it.’
‘Then how do I find my path?’ asked Jaden.
‘No matter the world, there is always a choice,’ she said, her eyes staring at him intensely while her expression remained relaxed.
‘My thoughts, my own,’ said Jaden.
Raquel bowed slowly.
‘I want to be as powerful as the Daijuar. How do I make my path shorter?’
‘See what is there. The answers lie before you,’ she said, and as her hand waved over what was in front of them, the world came alive again but remained shadowed by the cloud above. All was dark blue, but this time Jaden noticed that everything around him was moving. From the tallest mountain to the smallest grain of dust, there was movement, as if all he saw was buzzing with life.
‘Once you have seen, you may learn. Once you have learned, you may use.’
Jaden looked down at his wrists where the endobraces remained underneath his skin. He began to feel the energy drawn to him as he imagined giant waterfalls all about him. As Raquel had said, his visions became a reality inside the crystal’s realm, and with the energy he had mustered, he began to push the water left and right, throwing it around him with the power of the endobraces. He could feel it all, the energy and power at his calling. With each push and pull he felt he was gaining strength.