Cyrus POV

Staring down at the orb growing behind the Void Fang Basilisk, I knew that was the key to its ever-growing power. "But how am I going to get close enough to even affect it, let alone destroy it?" I thought to myself as the prismatic dragon sent out a beam of light at its opponent. The drake didn't stop there either, quickly phasing out of sight to attack the massive serpent from behind, creating a large shockwave below me.

"It looks like it's learning as the fight goes on, but the serpent is getting too large for these attacks to really matter," I muttered, watching the dark horns of the basilisk hum with energy as it absorbed another cosmic blast. "We have to get rid of those horns. That's the key." I watched the astral behemoths clash a few more times. I think the Nebula Drake realized it too, but targeting the horns would leave it vulnerable to a devastating counterattack. It needed help, and I felt like I was sent here for that exact reason.

I positioned myself as if preparing for the start of a swim meet, channeling cosmic energy into my legs in anticipation of the launch of a lifetime. I felt every muscle fiber become saturated with energy, as though I had just been supercharged by a battery. "I only got one shot at this, Cy. You gotta make this count," I whispered. A second later, I was hurtling toward the astral behemoths like a missile.

There was nothing in my way to stop my momentum. I knew this was reckless, but what else could deliver the damage I needed? Right before I entered my strike zone, something unexpected happened. The Nebula Drake noticed me and locked eyes with me. It gave me a subtle nod—almost like a grin—before I crash-landed onto one of the basilisk's horns.

The expression it gave me nearly made me lose my train of thought, but I quickly surrounded my body with cosmic augmentation, hoping it would reduce the damage from my kamikaze attack. The impact was like getting hit by a semi-truck several times over. With my eyes clenched shut, I had no idea if my attempt had succeeded—only that my shoulder cracked, sending searing pain through my right arm. "Yeah… you really did it this time, Cy," I muttered as my body was sent hurtling deeper beneath the battling astral behemoths.

Slowly opening my eyes, I could barely make out the shape of the creatures fighting above me. The basilisk still floated through the void, seemingly unharmed. "Damn… it didn't do anything," I thought, feeling dejected despite my all-out attempt to help the drake. Pain radiated through my body, my vision blurring as I started to lose sight of the basilisk. Every time I managed to focus, the Void Fang serpent was closer.

"Is it coming to finish me off? Did it already defeat the Nebula Drake?" I braced myself for one final stand, preparing to envelop my body in cosmic energy. But before I could, something struck me, knocking the air from my lungs. Looking up, I realized the drake had whisked me away from certain death. Without hesitation, it left the battlefield, using its scales to camouflage itself among the other cosmic entities in the void.

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Once we had lost the basilisk, the astral behemoth stopped, letting me float freely in the void. It didn't attack me—instead, I could feel it analyzing me for what felt like an eternity. Just as I was about to speak, a voice reverberated in my head, similar to how Solaris had spoken to me during my Starbirth Trial.

"I was wondering when someone would finally enter this part of the rift," the drake said, its tone surprisingly soothing.

Caught off guard, I was stunned to be communicating with a dragon. I couldn't help but wonder if other astral behemoths were capable of this as well.

I pushed the shock aside and asked the question I had been dying to know: "So, um… what exactly is going on here? And how are you able to talk to me?" I asked wincing after each word.

"You really don't know much about rifts, do you?" the drake responded.

"I'm sorry, I don't. I didn't have much of a choice—I had to enter it to save someone."

"No need to explain. I already know, little one. But answer me this—do you know how rifts are formed?"

"No… my father didn't get to that part of our lessons."

"All right then. Rifts form when extreme astral energy disturbances occur in the Astral Realm. Generally, these disturbances happen when a star dies in the universe. The energy released from the explosion—what you know as a supernova—creates stress in the barrier between your physical world and the Astral Realm."

"Wait… really? That's what causes them? Do stars die that often?"

"Yes, little one. And that serpent in this void was born from the residual negative energy of the supernova—just like all the other creatures you call astral behemoths. This particular one is guarding access to the rift's core."

The drake's words pieced together the puzzle in my mind, affirming the conclusions I had drawn about rifts. I knew they were something that couldn't be stopped from being formed, but I never imagined they were caused by something as chaotic and natural as a star's death.

"You called that Void Fang over there an astral behemoth… doesn't that make you one as well?" I asked, desperate for clarification.

"I am what you call a rift merger. I was created by the Pantheon to mend situations like these. We help turn rifts into pathways to the Astral Realm."

"Okay… but if the Pantheon already created a failsafe, why do we need to defeat the rift?"

"That's because we are formed from the positive energy of supernovas, meaning we cannot destroy the rift's core, which is made entirely of negative energy. We are opposing forces and the closer we get to the rifts core the more we get repelled. Starbound, on the other hand, do not fall victim to such limitations. You are beings blessed with the Pantheon's blood running through your veins." The drake's voice carried a sense of pride as it spoke.

But before I could respond, a deafening screech tore through the void. My heart pounded as I turned my gaze to see the Void Fang barreling toward us, crashing through celestial bodies like a force of nature.