ML C10, P10- "As The Sun Rises"

"As The Sun Rises" is the tenth Part of "Miracula Luxia" 's final Chapter. It was released on 10.06.2020.
== Plot ==
Jared continues roaming around the dark realm, his mind filled with conflicting emotions. He wonders if he will ever see the light of the sun again.
Meanwhile, John enters a different realm, in a futile attempt to find his friend and bring him out of the shadows before it is too late.
However, something unexpected happens. Something unexpected that might give both boys a hope to finally go back home.
== Story ==
Jared wanders around the dark realm.
Although he promised himself to always be brave, no matter what happens next, the current situation that he is in is clearly taking a toll on his well-being.
His hands are trembling. His heart is beating as if he is running from a wild beast.
And, the worst of all, he is cold.
Somehow, the atmosphere in the realm is affecting his temerature and making it go down rapidly. What sorcery is this?
Anyway, this does not stop our hero from bravely moving forward. He continues to look around for a possible exit everywhere.
Under every piece of rubble.
Behind every corner.
He knows that, if he wants to escape, he has to leave no stone unturned.
However, soon the cold takes an even bigger toll on him as the palms of his hands become icy cold.
"I... I can't feel my hands."- He says, wondering what to do next.
He sees a few sticks left on the ground and some ashes from a burned building further ahead.
Although Jared thinks that they might not help him out, he decides to give them a shot.
With great difficulty, he picks up the sticks and carefully places them near the ashes.
Then, he picks up some dark grass from nearby and puts it on top of the sticks and ashes.
"Now, I need something to light this up."
Jared sees a piece of flint left on the ground nearby. It's kind of strange for such an item to be left on the ground, but not impossible.
"Great!"- Jared says- "Now I just need to find a second one and use them to create a fire!"
Not long after, he finds another flint near the location of the first one.
However, upon closer inspection and comparison between the first and second flint, Jared realizes that the second is much smaller than the first.
"Oh, dear."- He says to himself- "This might be a problem for my hands."
He looks at the sticks, ashes and grass that he has prepared and sighs.
"But... it is the only thing that will keep me alive and warm right now, so... let's see if I can get it to work."
Jared makes an attempt to create a fire by rubbing the two flints together.
At first, it seems like nothing is happening. However, after a few minutes of hard work, the first wisp of flame finally comes out.
Seeing that his hard work is rewarding him with the fire that he desires so much, Jared also uses a small fireball to make the fire even larger.
Our hero admires his work and smiles.
"A good start of my long exploration."- He says and sits near the lit campfire.
As he warms his freezing hands near the fire, he remembers how his father used to take him to camping in the woods outside the city, from time to time.
He remembers how he told him about his scuffle with a huge bear a few years ago when it tried to take his bag from him... and how he defeated it with his bare hands.
It's probably just a fake story which his father thought about in around 5-10 minutes. However, it somehow motivates him. To protect what is important to you, no matter who or what you have to fight with.
This reminds our young hero of something else that his father told him on one of their last camping trips:
Jared and his father pack their things and start to leave the woods.
Before they leave, however, Aleks stops his son and places his hand on his shoulder.
"Son, do you know the difference between the Light and the Darkness?"- He asks him.
Jared thinks about this.
"Well, the darkness is scary and filled with scary monsters. And the light scares the monsters away."
"Right?"
Aleks nods.
"Exactly. But do you know why the light is the most important thing for us when we are alone?"
He pulls out something from his backpack and shows it to him. 
"Because the Light is our guiding key. No matter where you are, when you are alone and afraid, it will always lead you back home. It will always keep you warm and safe."
"Don't try to stay away from it. Don't be scared. Instead, go forward. Feel its omnipresent self. Let it guide you to where you belong. To where the ones you care about the most are. And when you do, then and only then, you will feel true joy within your heart."
Jared smiles.
Then he looks down.
"Daddy, but what if there is no light to guide me? Do I have to find it myself?"
Aleks nods.
"Yes, son. If you cannot find the light in the outside world, find it within your heart. It will show you the way."
Jared smiles again.
"Daddy."- He says- "What about you? If I am unable to find my inner light, can you be my guiding light?"
Aleks smiles.
"Son, I will always be there for you. No matter where you go, when you are afraid, think of me. Know that I will always love you and will never let you down. And, once you truly realize that, the door of light will open for you."
And thus, the time returns back to an older, lonely Jared.
He looks up at the sky.
"Dad, give me a sign. What must I do to return to my friends? I cannot leave them alone!"
Somehow, his prayers are answered when a small mote of light comes out of the sky and slowly floats to the ground.
Then, it moves forward.
"H-hey! Wait for me!"- Jared says and runs after it, leaving the barely lit campfire behind.
The mote of light moves forward for a whole hour, with Jared moving right behind it.
Finally, it reaches its destination- a small, white portal. Its task done, it disappears.
"Wait! Come back!"- Jared says.
Then, he sighs and smiles as he stares at the sky.
"Thank you so much. Whoever you are."
He looks at the portal.
"Another one?"- He says to himself- "But, it doesn't look like the previous one. And it doesn't... try to stop me from coming closer."
Indeed, the portal doesn't push him back with a malevolent force. Unlike the previous, purple one that he entered not long ago.
Instead, it gives Jared a feeling of joy and safety. His brain compels him to step forward and enter it.
"Should I?"- Jared wonders.
He looks back at the dark, unwelcoming realm. Then, he looks at the portal.
A sense of nostalgia overwhelms his decisions. He decides that anything is better than staying in this cursed realm of darkness.
He cautiously enters the portal. It takes him away.
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Meanwhile, John enters another realm, seemingly normal. Unlike the one that Jared was trapped in.
He looks around.
"Jared? Jared!"- He calls for his friend.
However, there is no answer. Jared is nowhere to be found.
"Please, Jared."- John continues- "It's me, your good buddy John. Don't be afraid, I'm here!"
There is still no answer. John gets worried.
"What if... what if I was teleported to a different place? Not the same one as Jared?"- He wonders to himself.
However, he soon shrugs off the bad feeling.
"No. I mustn't think about that. Jared must be in here. He is probably hiding somewhere. There's no way that we're in different places!"
"Or... at least I hope so."
He steps forward, carefully listening for anything that would indicate that his friend is here.
After a few hours of tireless searching, John gets tired. He falls to his knees and sighs.
"No trace of Jared. Why, God? Why can't I find my friend?"- He says.
His guilt and fatigue taking over his desire to keep searching for his friend, he decides to rest for a while.
During his rest, he almost falls asleep. However, just as his eyes are about to close, he remembers where he is and why and immediately reopens them.
"No. I must not let my fatigue take me down. I must keep pushing foward! If it's not for me, it's for my buddy, Jared. Even if it means risking my health in the process, I must find him. No matter what happens next!"
"I refuse to go home empty-handed!"- He says and quickly stands up.
He leaves the area and continues to look for his friend.
For two whole days, John tirelessly looks for Jared everywhere in the realm. Every corner, every hole, every tree and every stone- he leaves nothing unexplore.
Sadly, in the end, even his best efforts turn out to be in vain.
He falls to his knees and punches the ground with his fist.
"Curse you for taking our friend away from us, cursed land. Curse you!"
A light shines in the distance and forces him to look up.
When he does so, he sees a small wisp. Somehow, it is staring at him. Despite being a magical being of pure energy, clearly unable to see or feel anything.
"You... you look interesting."- John says.
Then he remembers what he used to study back in Duskwood when he was a child.
"Wait, this must be a Wisp of Light!"- He says to himself- "A rare, magical creature that only appears when a person proves himself (or herself) to be a true hero."
"If what my teacher said back then is truly right, then this means that this creature regards me... as a worthy one?"
The wisp floats away, heading towards the portal.
Maybe it lost interest in John and is going back from whence it came...
... Or maybe it wants John to come with it?
Either way, John decides to see why it is going towards the portal.
However, once both of them are close enough to the portal, the wisp gets close to John, "looks" at him.
And suddenly, it dissapears.
"No, little wisp! Don't go!"- He says as he watches the remaining light from the wisp float up into the sky.
He sighs.
"Well, that is indeed very sad."- He says to himself- "But nothing is everlasting. Not even those creatures."
He looks at the portal.
"At least it did its job. Well, now I'm here."
He looks up at the sky and smiles.
"Thank you, little wisp."
He stares at the portal and notices that it shines in a green light. It soothes the young man's nerves and gives him the feeling that he is truly at home.
However, unlike the purple portal, it does not stop him from entering it.
John looks back at the realm that he explored for two days, desperately looking for his dear friend. Then, he looks at the portal.
Without a moment of hesitation, he enters it and it takes him away to a new land.
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Meanwhile, Jared is teleported on the beginning of a very long bridge. He stares ahead, but cannot see the end of it.
"Looks like another challenge."- He says to himself- "Well, if it means going back home and seeing my friends and family again, I will definitely take it."
Having said that, he walks on the bridge.
After an hour of walking, he looks up at the sky and sees that the sun is rising. However, this does not give him hope. Instead, he decides to go back and seek his fortunes elsewhere.
Just as he is about to turn back, however, he sees someone walking towards him and decides to see who it is.
A few minutes later, the two of them see each other and Jared realizes that the person who is approaching him is his best friend- John.
"John?"- He says.
John recognizes his friend and smiles.
"Jared!"- He says and runs forward.
Jared does the same.
Soon, the two boys are reunited.
"I missed you, buddy!"- He says.
Jared smiles.
"Me too, my dear friend. Me too."
The sun stands over them, as if it is about to fall down. This forces the two boys to stand back a little bit.
A minute later, a portal is created under the sun. When that happens, the sun returns to its rightful place- the sky.
And now, it is time for our two heroes to return to their rightful place- the city of Paris.
They look at each other.
"I'll never understand this sorcery!"- John says.
Jared smiles.
"You do not need to. Just leave it to me!"
John smiles back.
"Oh, I definitely will!"- He says.
The two boys enter the portal at the same time.
A moment later, they go to the other side of the portal and leave it.
The portal vanishes just as John steps through it.
The two boys look around and see that they have returned to the place where they belong.
Paris.
Jared smiles.
"Here we are, John. We are back."
John raises his eyebrow and smiles.
"Back where, my friend?"- He asks him.
Jared looks up at the sky.
"We are back home."
== Trivia ==
* The words "No matter where you go, when you are afraid, think of me." are a reference to a part of the lyrics of a popular song by Avicii- "The Nights" (Think of me if ever you're afraid)