FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 2

The sun was perched high in the air as they left the Dragon City behind them, the not exactly hot weather and a soft breeze made flying a very pleasurable moment. It would be even better for Spyro if he would stop hassling himself about the past events. A turmoil was going on in his mind, he tried to change the point of focus on something more enjoyable but he couldn't do it, he was constantly thinking about Cynder, he blamed himself for not asking her what she felt not, paying any attention to her when she needed it, instead he focused all of his anger on the mole and his followers.

Every now and then he looked behind his shoulder, not far away from the swaying tip of his tail he saw Cynder, and every time she noticed him looking at her she arched an eyebrow but said nothing. Spyro's heart was aching, he thought he was doing the right thing but now it felt wrong, he didn't know if he should ask or not, he wanted to know, he wanted to apologize for ignoring her, after all they were flying for a while and no one of them said a single word, even Sparx remained silent.

On the other hand he didn't want to bring it up again, even if she puts up on a brave face he knew that this whole situation is uncomfortable for her at least, he blamed himself for not consoling his best friends after that accident at the temple, anger and hate for the mole made him forget completely about her. Only thinking about it made his heart pump blood faster, he couldn't understand how people can be so blind, do they really don't see that in every action she tries to achieve personal redemption for a thing that in his opinion she wasn't responsible for?

Spyro turned his head and looked at her once again, this time however Cynder didn't seem to be surprised, just like she expected it. One look at her was enough to quell the anger within him, pity guilt and concern took its place. He couldn't leave it like this, he has to make up for his mistake. Spyro slowed his pace, the soft breeze stopped whistling as he flapped his wings slower and slower with each second. He waited for her and it didn't take long before Cynder appeared right next to him, and only then he sped up to keep pace with her.

" Cynder..." Spyro whispered bashfully

" I know" she replied softly

He smiled at her but then his head hung down once more " I don't understand how can they treat you like that"

" They have all the right to do so"

" No they don't!" he snapped at her which made Cynder jerk her head back a little. He felt ashamed after realizing how he reacted " Sorry it's just that..." he lowered his head and clenched his paw into a fist" I can't help it, I'm so angry right now, at the Guardians, Brill, on all those people. It isn't right"

" That's not their fault" Cynder replied tenderly but yet with a soft touch of command in her voice " People hate me and I don't blame them for that, I have to redeem myself and it takes time they won't forget about everything in a day or two. Please Spyro give them time, give me time"

" I can't stand back and watch when they insult and threat you"

" You will have to" she smiled " I know you would want to help me but this is not your fight Spyro" she looked at him with pleading eyes " We had this talk already, please respect my wish Spyro and let me handle this myself"

He looked at her, determination burning in his eyes " I've already told you that your troubles and worries come first. Sorry Cynder but you have a friend now and he won't leave you because he gave you his word that he will stand by you. Live with it"

" Then tell my friend that he acts like a stubborn child" she snarled

" You do the same" he retorted with the same tone

Spyro could see her mouth twitching, however no words came out, after a while she bit her lower lip and averted her gaze " Just how are you going to help me my oh stubborn friend?" Cynder asked with a faked awe in her voice

" Whatever is necessary, I'll do everything for you Cynder, that I can swear" Spyro replied with palpable confidence

Cynder's heart jumped in joy, it felt like never before, just like her heart was pulled from a very long depression. She knew she can count on him but hearing him saying it out loud after the recent events made her shiver. Trust, perhaps a trivial thing for somebody else but for her it was as important as air for lungs, and hearing Spyro's words only helped her to realize even more how a precious friend he is and how is she grateful for his golden heart.

This simple words lifted her spirits up instantly, as far as she thankful for his caring attention she couldn't allow Spyro to be dragged into her own mess, the recent events showed her that he won't stop at nothing to help her. She wouldn't forgive herself if she would ruin her friend's reputation, life only because of her past actions for which she has solely pay, it is doubtful he will understand this but she has to try.

Cynder arched an eyebrow " Everything you say?"

" Everything" he replied confidently

" Alright my knight if you say so" Cynder began to scratch her choker and pretended she was thinking " What can I possibly want hmm...? I know!" she exclaimed, Spyro at sound of her shout jerked a little, she pointed her claw at him " I don't want you to stand in my defense every time people start to blame me"

" Wha..." Spyro's voice trailed off as realization struck him, he understood his mistake and she used it against him, maybe this will teach him a lesson that sometimes he should hold his tongue or else say one word too many

" Remember that you made a promise" Cynder teased him

He is not the one who breaks a promise but there is an exception to every rule they say, she doesn't have to know about it " Fine" Spyro replied half-heartedly " I'll stay out of it"

" Thanks!" Cynder exclaimed happily " I knew you would do the right thing. Thanks again "

Spyro only gave her a weak and not a very reassuring smile before he focused on the falcon in front of them.

The moment he turned his head Cynder smile disappeared, she has seen through his poor attempt of deception " Liar" she muttered.

Sparx soon approached the two dragons from ahead , just like he felt the mood had changed and the awkward silence was gone " you two finally remembered how to speak? Good, check this out" he presented them a brown feather

" A feather?" Spyro asked baffled

" Yeah bro, plucked it from that guy" the dragonfly pointed at the bird ahead " Dude you know what a plucked feather from a still flying bird can do?" Sparx asked excited

Spyro shrugged " Nothing?"

The dragonfly snorted " Nothing? Nothing? NOTHING?!" he shook his head and waved the feather in front of his brother " This baby makes your eyes all big and sharp, with this you'll be able to see even the smallest junk!"

" Then I suppose we would need lots of these to be able to see yours" Cynder teased with a clear amusement in her voice

Spyro accidently spit on his brother as he burst out laughing

" Hey, hey, hey!" Sparx exclaimed indignantly while he wiped the spit from his face and pointed an angry finger at the black dragoness " There are some things that we don't joke about!" he shouted abusively

Cynder put on a faked surprised expression " Who said I was joking?"

Her words triggered even a more hysterical laugh from Spyro

Sparx frowned " What are you laughing at? Don't forget that we are related!"

This time Cynder began to laugh while the joyful smile vanished from Spyro's snout " So what?" he asked with a wavering voice

" Bad blood runs in the family dude" the dragonfly whispered, almost threateningly

Cynder laughed even harder as she observed Spyro's changing expression, first he showed signs of disbelief but later his snout indicated symptoms of a sincere dread and she just couldn't stop laughing

" I don't understand" Cynder mumbled when she calmed herself a little " Why guys are so touchy about this thing?" she giggled

" No wonder you are single" Sparx replied bluntly

All three of them laughed " Enough!" Spyro exclaimed " Change of subject. Sparx tell us what else this feather can do?"

The dragonfly shook his head confidently " Nu-uh, I'm not telling you anything, you had your chance"

" Come on don't be like that"

" The feather's special abilities will remain a secret, only I know about them. Your loss"

" Honestly Sparx I'm too old to believe in your stories anyway" the purple dragon said sincerely

" You are no fun anymore" Sparx said with a hint of resignation in his voice

Not everyone was interested in their conversation. The brownish falcon which led them was entirely focused on the task at hand, every now and then the avian creature moved its head from left to right just to eventually look down as if searching for something or making sure they were heading the right way. How did Hunter managed to train those birds like that was a mystery but whatever secret he was keeping was paying off.

As they flew the falcon emitted the typical somewhat shrieking sound for their kind as if announcing for those weaker creatures that a new king is in the sky, a warning for those intelligent creatures that they should stay clear of its royal path. The bird emitted another sound and dived towards the earth to the surprise of the three friends, they didn't know what to do, should they follow it? Or wait till it rises to the sky once more?

They didn't really have the time to make up their minds since the answer presented itself before them momentarily. The bird rose to the sky and took the same position in the air as before, it looked behind just if to make sure that its companions are still behind. The falcon parted its beak and emitted a sound almost beaming with arrogance, the avian creature cried once more and rose slightly in the air so the three friends could easily spot the bird's prey clutched in its talons, the little mouse probably didn't even see it coming. The falcon turned its shinning with palpable pride black eyes, emitted another cry that could trigger awe in every spectator before it concentrated on the task at hand again.

Sparx snorted " What a show-off"

" It seems that there may be some truth to those feathers after all" Cynder mused

" I've told you" the dragonfly spread his arms and shrugged somewhat prideful " But as always nobody listens to me"

" Sparx did you say something?" she asked with a faked shock in her voice while the corner of her mouth turned into a small smirk

He frowned " Smart ass" the dragonfly hissed

They followed the bird exchanging teases, jokes or other words between themselves as they traveled through the sky, putting aside all the worries for which Spyro was grateful for. His moment of relief didn't last long since before they knew it the falcon started crying and making circles in the air which only could mean one thing, they have reached their destination. He looked down, it was just as he expected, a small village sprawled below them barely visible thanks to the trees that surrounded it.

One glimpse at it was enough for Spyro to pull back all the worries concerning the veils and this whole time jumping or whatever it is. He felt like he was being drawn into the unknown, into something he might not actually be ready to face just yet and this time he has no one to guide him. All that time ago during Malefor's rise and corrupted Cynder's rule it was Ignitus who showed him the ropes, it was The Fire Guardian who pushed him beyond his previous limits, showed him new possibilities and what's more importantly he carried the problems of tomorrow on his back.

Now all that weight is on his purple shoulders and he feared he won't be able to cope with it. Spyro knew that he can count on his friends, Cynder, Hunter, Sparx or The Guardians will do anything in their power to help him, despite what they would most likely claim they can't lift the weight from his shoulders, they can only make the road a little easier but it is his burden to carry and only his. People expect that he will be their leader, however Spyro couldn't stop thinking what they possibly can see in him

Ok maybe he defeated Malefor, maybe he defeated the corrupted Cynder but people seem to forget that Ignitus roused that confidence in him, confidence that allowed him to do things he never thought he would be able to accomplish. Today nothing remains of that confidence, as he stares at the village Spyro can't feel anything besides doubt and fear, this is the leader they are waiting for? A true leader faces the unknown with his head held up high, ready to challenge every difficulty coming his way. That made him realize once more that he will make a poor leader the things that are about to come only terrified him.

" I just hope that this was a false alarm" Spyro said hopefully yet with fear in his voice

Cynder smiled " How can you lie to yourself like that? I've told you that you are jinxed, you should get used to it" she quipped

He shook his head " I'm not ready for this"

She looked at him, concern burning in her eyes " I've also told you something else remember? I trust you, whatever will happen, whatever choice you will make I will still trust you. It was you Spyro who showed me that you should keep going despite the odds, it was you no one else" as they hovered in the air Cynder grabbed his paw and said in a soft tone " You have what it takes, you just need to dig deep down to find it you know?" she shook his paw "Believe me" she let go of his paw and nodded towards the village " Lead on my leader" she smiled

Spyro lowered his head, her words pushed the right button, she embarrassed him slightly but also triggered a part of that lost confidence back to life. He looked at her and smiled " And you will follow me everywhere?"

Cynder nodded " Even down to the deepest bowels of Hell if need be, but I would really appreciate it if you wouldn't drag me there just now" she winked

Spyro chuckled " There is only one way to find out" with that he made a backflip in the sky and dived towards the village

As she observed him descending towards the small village she couldn't stop smiling, she was so proud of him

The village itself was one of those which you accidently stumble across just to forget about it a day after, no importance or mystery radiated from it, just a simple backwater village living its null life. No walls surrounded the so called town, it was just a place to live for those who wanted a quiet life, or those unfortunate ones who wanted to get away but couldn't force themselves to do it. Enjoyable feelings embraced them which probably beamed from every such village.

Serenity and innocence radiated from the settlement, the tranquility always returned to villages like this no matter if it was disturbed by war or some other domestic dispute, it always found its way home. People living in secluded villages like this one had a rough life but it shaped their resilience, protected them from every days disturbances. Tough life but a fair one.

The village itself would probably be missed by the three friends if it wasn't their destination. No wall surrounded the simple looking buildings, no guards were visible patrolling its dirt roads. It wasn't surprising since villages like this one hardly need trained soldiers, what for? This people have nothing of value, there is no reason to attack such a village, at least no self- respecting army would do such a thing, these people are more than capable of protecting themselves against common marauders, life in the wild prepares you for such outcomes.

The settlement isn't big, only a couple simple looking houses dotted the landscape, some were made of wood with modest porches at the front entrances, some cheetahs or young dragons could be seen relaxing on the house's wooden chairs or floor. Other buildings were made of stone, they weren't big or fancy but they surely accommodate a creature of any size, be it either a dragon or a dragonfly. All of these buildings were packed closely together, forming a circle around the settlement's well. All of these buildings looked alike, it was impossible to discern which one belonged to the village's leader and which one to the everyman.

As the three of them were slowly approaching the village they could see that it was living its own simple life, children were running through its dirt roads playing, some more older inhabitants were chattering with each other, sharing stories and passing on the newest gossip. Some other people were just doing their jobs, tending to the animals or renovating some of the houses while some others listened with great interest to a story from past times recited by one of the oldest inhabitants.

Whatever they may be doing right now doesn't change anything, they have been sent on a mission, a very important mission. If Spyro's worries have any truth to them then this blissful ignorance is going to be stripped from them. Wanted to avoid such a situation the purple dragon decided to find and speak solely with the Elder without attracting much of unwanted attention, things like that should only be discussed in a narrow circle.

As they entered the village shouts of surprise, excitement or even fear echoed throughout the village, people started gathering near their position, it was then when Spyro realized that strangers appearing in this village are a rare sight indeed and strangers who stopped the end of the world even more so.

" So much for discretion" Spyro sighed

Sparx shoved the two dragons aside and appeared between them " Finally someone who recognize a hero when they see one!" he exclaimed joyfully " Ready or not people, here comes your star" with that he dashed towards the gathering of villagers

Cynder shrugged " Not everyone complains" she observed the dragonfly as he was being surrounded by curious children who were intently listening to one of his imaginary accomplishments " At least he found an audience more his age"

Spyro followed her gaze and just chuckled at the sight and her little mean joke.

Not all of the people were really interested in the dragonflies' appearance, even from him Spyro could hear whispers of praise when they were mentioning his name, and murmurs hinted with distrust and despisal when Cynder's name or nickname ran through the people mouths. Only hearing such whispers reminded him of the situation at the temple, he had to scratch the dirt with his claws to somehow keep his boiling anger in check.

Soon from the group of people emerged a shriveled old dragon, just the one they saw telling stories to the children when they took a glimpse of the village for the first time. The dragon was old, very old, his scales were cracked in many places, his leathery armor lost the sharp color of the youth instead taking a dull hue, a more appropriate color for one of his age. Judging from the faint patches of green on his scales they could tell that he commanded the element of Earth. His brown wings were tattered, it was obvious he had no use of them now, it was unlikely they would hold his weight anymore. The dragon lived his life fully, that somehow triggered an instant respect in the two young dragons, in a war like specie like the dragons it is very rare to see someone who managed to stay alive for such a long time, almost reaching the end of his days without anyone _assisting_on the way so he could reach the end of his journey a little faster than he planned.

The wizened old dragon trudged towards the two of them, it almost looked like his every step was a great effort for him. It didn't seem to bother him in the slightest, as he got close he started to smile kindly showing many blunt and cracked teeth.

" It pleases me greatly to see that the venerable Guardians heed my message" the dragon pronounced each word slowly with a weak and raspy voice " But to see that they sent someone of your stature..." the dragon's voice trailed off as he bowed respectfully " You humble us with your presence Savior"

" No, no, no, no " Spyro repeated quickly and apprehensively " There is no need for that" he smiled weakly and nervously " Just... just call me Spyro, no need to bow or anything like that" he chuckled uneasily

The elderly dragon nodded kindly and his eyes shimmered with sincere awe " It pleases me greatly to see that tales of your unique modesty weren't overestimated." The dragon cleared his throat and adopted a more solemn pose " My name is Cyren, I'm the Elder of this sober village. On behalf of all its people I greet you in Boven"

Spyro nodded solemnly " The pleasure is ours"

The old dragon jerked his head back startled " Please forgive me, I haven't noticed that you brought your friend with you, these eyes aren't as good as they used to be" he smiled kindly " Who is the one that travels with you?"

There was a slight stir amongst the people of Boven and it didn't escape Spyro's notice, he frowned uneasily expecting the worst. It surprised him however to see his friend completely calm, she seemed entirely unmoved by the situation.

" The name's Cynder" she replied confidently

Cyren's eyes shot wide open " Lightbane?!" he exclaimed and looked around the village in panic as if looking for support before he concentrated on the female " You are not wel...why have you...what are you..." he mumbled edgily

She craned her neck forward " Is something wrong?" Cynder asked almost mockingly

" Of course!" the Elder exclaimed angrily but as soon as he did so his eyes took a glimpse of the purple dragon standing just next to the black dragoness. With that the wizened dragon realized the awkwardness of the situation " Of course not!" he cackled nervously " It is our pleasure to welcome you here Light... Cynder" the dragon said half-heartedly with deception ringing in his raspy voice " Every friend of Spyro is our...friend" the last word came out stifled, as if it was barely formed within the dragon's vocal cords"

She grinned " Why thank you, I never expected such a warm welcome!" Cynder exclaimed cheerfully

Spyro knew her well enough to see that she is being sarcastic, not that she really tried to hide it. " I don't think that taunting them is going help you" he hissed through clenched teeth

" I could try to convince them of my good intentions but it wouldn't work anyway" she replied indifferently

" It's worth a shot"

" Please, they condemned me the moment they saw me, words are pointless here" she smiled mischievously " Good thing that you are here, that way I can watch the stupid looks on their faces without risking my head being impaled on a pike. I swear I heard people sharpening their pitchforks when we got here but with you around they won't touch me and I can have a bit of fun"

Spyro remained silent, it was not like he agreed or accepted what she was doing but he didn't try to stop her either. During his travels he has learnt that sometimes she innocently taunts people, she hates the damsel in distress role and occasionally her fighting spirit takes control and she starts to bark at people. Everyone needs to release the bottled up emotions somehow and maybe this is how she does it, or perhaps her natural maliciousness comes with being a black dragoness, who knows.

" Guys, guys, guys, guys" Sparx repeated the same word excitedly several more times until he finally hovered near the two young dragons " We have just been invited to a party!" he exclaimed happily " They were so interested in my tales and fell for my charm of course that they are going to start a feast in our name. IN OUR NAME!" the dragonfly shouted and his chest swelled with pride " And who is your favorite dragonfly now, huh?"

" A party?!" Cynder exclaimed like an excited teenager " I love parties! The dancing, the music, all these gossip and boys you meet. It's just so exciting!"

The old dragon was taken aback by the sudden outburst of joy from both the dragonfly and the black dragoness " But..."

" And we can't forget about the food!" Cynder continued her ruse " there will be food right? For a party like that there has to be lots and lots of food, am I right, am I right?"

Cyren looked at the group of people who talked with the dragonfly and threw them a accusing glance, they just shrugged apologetically. He turned back towards the three presumably invited friends " You misunderstood..." he started uncertainty but once again has been cut off by Cynder

" I would have nothing against a party that is a bit on the sophisticated side but truthfully I myself like something WILD. You know the thing when a fast music is being played and you do something crazy to its rhythm that would baffle all of the people there and out of politeness they wouldn't try to stop you. How awesome would be THAT!" she grinned evilly

Sparx hovered next to Spyro's head and covered his mouth with his hand " What's wrong with her?" he whispered

Spyro sighed " Don't ask"

Cyren swallowed " You misunderstood our intention" he said bluntly, obviously tired of this charade

Sparx balked " WHAT?"

The Elder bowed apologetically " Please forgive us, we didn't want to confuse you, but this party as you call it is dedicated only to our small community. We would gladly show you our hospitality but sadly the harvest was not as fruitious as we hoped so"

" But...but... " the dragonfly murmured resigned " ...they said that we are friends and friends are always welcomed here" he looked at the old dragon sadly

" It is correct, but I'm embarrassed to admit that in their haste they forgot about our problems, it would be our pleasure to invite you, we all are friends here after all" the dragon put emphasis on the word friends and threw a quick full of disdain glance at Cynder

It didn't escape Sparx' notice, he looked at Cynder just to look at the Elder soon after, he instantly put two and two together " At least you tried" he shrugged " because honestly I thought that you wanted to turn us down because there is someone here who you don't like very much" he intently pulled the teeth of the dragon

" Of course not!" Cyren exclaimed with faked indignation " We would never do such a thing, you are all welcome here" his eyes traveled impulsively on the black dragoness " All off you" he hissed before bowing once again apologetically " Forgive us"

Sparx covered his forehead with his palm and sighed " Figures" he began rubbing his forehead " Cynder honestly, get lost" he murmured defeated

She just giggled mischievously

" You're done?" Spyro whispered to his female friend's ear

Cynder grinned while she looked at the old dragon " Yeah"

Spyro exhaled and smiled while he concentrated on the Elder " There is no need to apologize, we understand" he cleared his throat wanting to break this awkward moment " The message you sent to us, could you tell us more about the ruins?"

Cyren looked at the purple dragon, obviously relieved that the topic has changed " I haven't been there myself but as you probably know I've sent some scouts to investigate in case the stories of the children had some truth to them. One can't be too careful, especially when living in a wilderness" the dragon looked at the gathering of people behind him and made a motion with his head that clearly signalized for someone to approach. With that he turned back towards the purple dragon " As I've said, this is probably just a wild fantasy of the youth, children have vivid imaginations"

Soon a young looking drake stopped next to the Elder, he was maybe a year or two older than Spyro and Cynder, judging from the color of his scales he wielded the element of Fire

" Please Lure tell our friend here what you saw" Cyren gently urged the young drake

Sparx frowned and folded his arms " You see how he only talks to Spyro and seems to forget about us?" he whispered

" I've noticed" Cynder replied

" Did I thank you for that already?"

" No, in fact you didn't"

" Oh, so let me correct that. Thank you" he hissed irritated

Cynder giggled " You're welcome"

The young dragon didn't even look at Spyro, his gaze was entirely focused on the ground below, the shuffling of his paw and tail betrayed his shyness and nervousness " As we followed the...the children we eventually a...arrived in a valley. A v...very old building is there Sir, very old and creepy" he swallowed and threw a quick glance at Spyro just to stare at the ground moments later

Spyro smiled " Just call me Spyro" he said calmly " Was this structure always there or it appeared just recently?"

Lure seemed to freeze for a moment, just as he didn't expect such a question, after a while his nervous shuffle returned while his eyes still remained on the ground " I...it's been there for ages I guess... it's very old, remember?"

The purple dragon winced as realization struck him, these people didn't know about the Veils and that whole time business, he could barely wrap his head around it himself. The young dragon is obviously intimidated by his presence and his words most likely baffled the drake even more, probably only the dragon's shyness prevented the young drake from calling him an idiot.

Spyro scratched the back of his head " I mean... did that building, um, caught your attention before?"

Lure kept staring at the ground " No Si...Spyro. Nobody of us ventured that far into the valley, we...we never thought it existed. It looks like a remnant from centuries ago"

Alright, from the dragon's words Spyro could presume that the old building was probably always there, he wasn't even sure if the Veils can even drag whole structures in time, it all smelled like a false alarm but since they are already here they might as well check it out. Not to mention that the ancient building nobody thought ever existed piqued his curiosity, they don't have anything better to do anyway. This pondering made him think about the other part of the message, that part about wisps and the like, a fairytale most likely but there is no harm in asking.

" Your message..." Spyro said after a while of silent thinking "...said something about...ghosts?"

" The children say that they saw something b...but when I've checked there was nothing there. You know how ch...children are Si...Spyro"

" Ok thanks Lure"

The fire dragon bowed and began slowly retracing his steps

" Lure please call the children here" Cyren gave a gently order to the young dragon scout

Spyro cackled nervously, children were not his ground of expertise so to speak " There is no need for that" he said startled

" The children would really like to meet you" the old dragon said almost pleadingly " They would be thrilled to know that someone from outside our humble village is interested in their story"

Spyro gulped, as much as he would want to avoid it, politeness demanded that he speak with them " Very well" he mumbled tentatively

Cynder approached her purple friend seeing his troubled snout " You want me to talk to them?"

His eyes grew wide with hope and relief " Would you do that for me?"

" I'm doing this for the kids" she replied teasingly and sneered

Soon a group of children made themselves visible, there were five of them, three dragon hatchlings and two cheetahs, they are were fairly young and remarkably innocent. The group was approaching the Elder in a cheerful pace, jumping all around the road as they made their way towards the dragon, just like nothing bothered them and no problem existed in the world.

Just as they got close Cyren smiled at them kindly " Children our friend here would want to hear your story"

Cynder stepped in front of Spyro with a smirk on her face " That's right" a surprised gasp coming from the old dragon caught everyone's attention, as soon all eyes were set on him Cyren started coughing as if something got stuck in his throat. His reaction only made Cynder's smile grew wider, satisfied she fully concentrated on the kids " So I've heard you had seen some ghost" she said cheerfully

" Nu-oh you will laugh like the rest of them!" a female hatchling protested

" I'm not like the rest of them"

" We don't believe you!" all of the children started shouting at her

Cynder shrugged " Ok then" she said indifferently " If you don't want to tell me anything then I'm going to look for ghosts somewhere else" she turned around and started walking away swinging her tail joyfully

" How can we know that you are not trying to make fun of us!" one of the cheetahs shouted after her

"Yeah!" all of the other children exclaimed soon after

The smug smile disappeared from Cynder's snout as she looked over her shoulder " I'm not trying to make fun of you" she replied keeping a hint of seriousness in her voice

" Prove it!" one of the other hatchlings demanded

Cynder jumped excited towards the group of kids " See this?" she pointed her claw at the white markings around her eyes " These glyphs are magical in nature, every one of my Order gets those"

" Order?' another dragoness asked

Cynder nodded " Order of the All Seeing Eye, it was founded specifically to hunt ghosts"

" Really? All of you have these magical drawings?' a young cheetah asked fascinated

" Yes"

" What do they do?"

Cynder smiled and began tracing her white markings with her claw " Those around my eyes allow me to see ghosts even if they try to hide from plain sight, the one on my head helps me to concentrate, those on my shoulders protect me against their attacks, those on my back grant me the power to fight them"

The children stared at her with eyes filled with awe " And you can kill every ghost?" one of them asked

Cynder nodded once more " Yes, but to fight them I need to know first what I am up against so I can prepare myself. You need to tell me how the ghosts looked like"

"They were all tras...tres...trespr...ghostly. You could barely see them"

" Yeah!" one of the female hatchlings exclaimed " And, and when they moved they left a mist behind them!"

" Don't forget about the glowing eyes!" another hatchling added excited

" Yeah!" all the rest of the children yelled

One of the cheetahs started lively gesticulate near his eyes " They had that creepy looking yellow eyes and they were glowing"

" Those were the ghosts of the Ancestors! They had armors, crowns and all that stuff what Ancestors had!"

One of the children looked at the black dragoness excitedly " Can you fight with the Ancestors? Can you kill those ghosts?"

Cynder kept bowing her head slightly as if she was absorbing the new information " interesting" she huffed " But to prepare myself I first need to ask you some questions so I determine what type of ghosts I'll face" she focused on the children, she watched them closely barely holding herself from smiling " These draconic ghosts...how did their tail look like? Was it shining with a bright white light or was it ended with a shadowy tip?"

The children exchanged confused looks between themselves " I...I'm not...sure" one of the cheetahs mumbled

" They had shining tails!" a male hatchling exclaimed gaining instantly the attention of his friends " Remember when I told you that something blinded me? You said it was the sun!"

" Now I remember!" one of the female hatchlings shouted " They had shining tails for sure!"

"Yeah! Shining tails!" a commotion broke among the children as they've agreed upon one version of the story

Cynder nodded " Mhm interesting. Wings, how did they look like? Were they extremely large with even bigger blade claws on their thumbs? Or were they small illuminated by a delicate gold hue?

The children looked at each other again " Remember how I got scared because I saw something strange and you guys told me that it was just a part of that creepy building?" a female dragoness asked

" I remember now!" a cheetah shouted

" Me too! I saw the blade before I got blinded" the male hatchling added

" Wings! They had wings!" the second cheetah shouted

"Yeah!" all youngsters exclaimed, reaching a common agreement

" I see" Cynder huffed using a very serious tone " No other questions are needed since you already told me that these were ghosts of the Ancestors. I now know with what type of a ghost we ran up against" she made a pause for a dramatic effect " Voughs, dangerous if provoked, they usually stay out of sight, Voughs only appear in places that have been abandoned for centuries"

Cynder nodded solemnly " Thank you, but now I must prepare myself for the upcoming confrontation" with that she turned around towards her two friends and approached them with a broad smile on her snout

Sparx folded his arms " Since when you are a ghostbuster?"

" A girl has her secrets" she winked " At least we know now that they've made up the whole ghost story"

" You have quite an impressive way with children" Spyro admitted, his voice was filled with awe and surprise

" I've got experience, I'm hanging out with you two after all" she smiled

Spyro chuckled and turned his attention towards the Elder " We would like to check out the ruins"

Cyren nodded " Naturally, however I must warn you that reaching the ruins from the sky is impossible, the ancient structure is very well concealed, you will need to cross the forest"

They've left the village of Boven behind them and made their way through the dark forest, it was dense and twisted, many of its path were in poor condition rendering them unpassable. They would most likely get lost if not for their guides. The group of children volunteered to show them the way, however firstly nobody agreed to let them go with complete strangers to a dark forest, at least that was what they said, in truth they just didn't want them near Cynder.

The children didn't gave up and surrounded the Elder, they started to shout and jump all around the old dragon until he finally broke and gave them permission to go. It wasn't their first visit to the forest, the children had to be coming here more than often. Boven is a pretty secluded village this dark forest was their only entertainment, it was the children's only playground.

From the looks on the children's faces they could tell they were surprised that they were held back, it seems they got used to playing in the forest without their parent's consent since they knew they will be back anyway, trust must be very important in such small villages.

The children knew the forest's every nook and cranny, they knew when to turn to not get stuck, they knew how to avoid the more difficult obstacles, sometimes they even split up just to join up again after some time in a completely different part of the woods. The three friends following them could only wonder how long it would take them to reach those ruins and head back to the village because the children looked like they would be capable of doing it in mere moments, with them around the crumbled structure didn't even feel like it was that far away from the village, knowing a shortcut or two always comes in handy.

From their travel the three friends could only tell that the ground was getting slightly steeper and nothing else, in some places the sun rays managed to penetrate the dense crowns but even with the occasional light every tree, log and bush looked the same, it almost felt like they've been walking in circles. Luckily that was not the case, with each next step the forest was getting thinner, the number of trees was getting lower and lower until they finally revealed what they were trying to hide.

They have found the ruins. The ancient structure was located in a pretty well concealed clearing, if there was a trail leading downhill towards it, it was long gone by now, the time hid it below the grass. The structure was surrounded by many trees with a small hill at its southern end. Who know what purpose the building served but at first glance it looked like a remnant from older times, even the ground was a proof of that, a new life thrived around the building just as if tried to say that whatever was here before now has no place here, it time has ended.

The ruins themselves were quite huge, some kind of black stone littered the ground, whatever it purpose was nobody will find out now but it definitely wasn't used to construct walls since those were made from some brownish stone, most likely the black stone was used for making ornaments, statues and the like. Spyro kept observing the crumbled structure and something didn't entirely seem right about it, as for a decades old building the walls seemed very well preserved, right, they were cracked in many places, whatever towers it had now laid in ruins but they didn't show any sign of decay, it looked like the building was torn apart, or more precisely cut in half.

He might be wrong of course but logically thinking the stone should lose its bright color or at least show signs of passing time but he couldn't see anything like it. Not to mention that something else caught his attention, the building was surrounded by fully grown trees, basically nature thrived all around it but there was no moss or lichen growing on its presumably old walls. The structure might be crumbled but even from here he could see that the interior was in the same state like the outer walls.

As Spyro kept thinking about the ruins he felt a tingle running through his front paw, he impulsively looked at his leg and saw as it was slightly shaking. Then another tremor hit him, however this time it was more fierce, whenever he encountered a Veil a tingle ran through one of his limbs and it was a delicate sensation, but now it was a completely different matter. The shiver ran through his whole body, shaking his every limb, muscle and vein, he even felt the air in his lungs vibrate, this awkward sensation lasted for a while but as strange as it was it didn't bother him much, not like the fact that his worries were just confirmed. One of the Veil's is here.

" We need to get the children out of here" Spyro hissed with a glimmer of fear in his voice while staring at the ruins

Cynder furrowed a brow when she heard the tone of his voice however the moment she looked at him and saw that he was shaking, everything became clear " It's time to go home kids!" she shouted at the children

It took them a while to convince the children to leave since they thought that it was just a game, they didn't have time to check if the kids left for real or if they only hid in the forest, they just hoped that if they actually are still here they won't get to close to the ruins.

The three friends arrived near the severed building, from this distance Spyro could definitely tell that this building was torn in half, he saw his share of ruins during his travels and this wasn't one of them, it definitely was dragged here by the Veil but it looked like the portal wasn't able to pull all of it. They circled the building looking for any sign of the Veil, Spyro moved slowly, closely examining every rock, he sniffed, he touched but he couldn't locate the portal, even if he could feel it nearby.

They've made two circles around the structure and didn't see anything, Spyro with a frown returned to the spot where the tingle seemed to be stronger. He ended up facing a wall, the same wall he looked at so many times before, Spyro decided to examine it from the other side but even looking at it from the interior revealed nothing. He touched the stone with his paw and began moving his leg back and forth, he didn't know what he was looking for but if the tingle is any clue then there has to be something here. He kept moving alongside the wall constantly sliding his paw across its surface until something stung his paw.

He stopped, in this place the rocks seemed more jagged, all other spots of the wall were smooth but this one was not, it was edged, just like something would collapse here. Impulsively he looked up, there was a hole in the ceiling above, with nothing left to lose he made some steps back. Spyro charged his Earth powers and released an projectile at the wall, there was a rumble, dust shot from the wall as some rocks fell down to the ground. It was just as he expected, a not very powerful missile pierced through the wall when it would shatter on a more solid construction, the rocks at which he was actually staring at weren't originally from here, they were to weak.

Before he made another attempt Spyro driven by his curiosity decided to take a peek through the hole. The sight confirmed his suspicions, there was something on the other side, on closer inspection he also spotted something that looked like some kind of depression, unfortunately the hole wasn't big enough for his paw to fit. With renewed determination he released another missile at the wall which made the hole bigger. This time his paw slid inside easily, he felt the stone for a while until his paw slid into the depression with much ease.

The inner side of his paw was illuminated by a delicate purple light. The walls began to shake and a sound that of stone grinding on stone echoed throughout the ruins, Spyro impulsively withdrew his paw and looked at it, on the inner side of his foreleg he had a tiny hole, directly in the middle, blood was dripping out of it, he didn't even fell how it was made but he was sure that the depression had something to do with it.

Soon rocks started to roll down on the ground from the wall Spyro struck with his elemental attack, slowly first but then there was a loud thud and the stones fell from the wall, he had to jump backwards to avoid being hit by them. Blinding dust filed the interior, it was so thick that they all began to caught until the air finally took care of it and revealed what it was hiding.

Spyro rubbed his eyes and looked ahead, some sort a gate has opened revealing a flight of stair behind it, the staircase was wide but as crumbled as the rest of the structure, not many levels remained intact and those that did looked like they were barely holding themselves together. Just above the entrance there was a word carved from black stone "_DISPOSAL"_was formed from the rocks. Whatever it meant or whatever the purpose the room served they probably would not find out judging from the state of the whole structure, one thing was for certain however, if the tingle is any clue, the Veil is in there.

With a deep breath they've descended the remains of the stairs, as they moved closer the tingle intensified but there was something odd about it, instead of delicately caressing his scales it shook Spyro's whole body, he even felt his blood jumping in his veins. If there is one of the portals down there it isn't like the rest they've encountered, it felt...strange to say the least, just like it was bigger than the others.

They've reached the room, the whole floor was made of cracked marble, remains of the pillars were scattered all around the place, some of them still remained intact, holding parts of the ceiling. Near the walls there was some kind of statues or something similar made from black stone, from the remains they could tell that it depicted dragons with scoldful, hateful and full of disgusts expressions on their artificial snouts, the whole thing protruded from the wall, the statues looked like a crowd observing the scenery ahead without any notion of pity for those who walked these halls.

There was a large mosaic at the north wall or at least what remained of it, wide cracks ran through the wall ahead, shattering the mosaic. It was hard to say what it depicted thanks to its poor state, but they could see some dragons, something that looked like statues, especially one drake stood out from the others, he was standing on a hill or something and... well that's about it, it was impossible to discern anything more from the cracked artwork.

Farther away the marble floor formed a circle around a hole filled with dirt, whatever was in there when the building was operational didn't make its way through the portal, nature taking its place instead. One thing caught their attention however, there was a pile of dust or some kind of black powder laying in the middle of the dirt. Spyro didn't really have the time to focus on such details since the tingle was growing stronger with each second , it didn't escape Cynder's notice since she was near him instantly. He looked at her concerned eyes, he saw her mouth moving but he heard no words, Spar appeared next to her, he seemed to be yelling and touching him but Spyro couldn't feel or hear anything, whole sound was dampened, only the shaking remained.

As time passed the sensation filling him began sending strong pulses through his body, it wasn't him resonating it, it was something else, something he felt already but it never was so intense. Spyro looked past the worried faces of his friends and it was then when he saw it, the air above the dirt began pulsing, just like a heart would be pumping blood, with every thud he saw some disoriented images but couldn't really tell what it was, the images blinked quickly and his eyes weren't able to assemble the scenery they wanted to present.

With each passing second the pulsing became faster, thud after thud struck him filling his ears with a hollow sound. He observed the pulsing portal and imagined a heart working to its limits, it pumped blood faster and faster, never slowing down but always increasing its temp. A thud, another one, and another one, they rang in his skull not even allowing him to rest, the tempo intensified even harder. Spyro could barely take it, he could feel his head cracking, his brain clashing against his skull just as if it was trying to get out, he felt as his head was about to explode.

It was then when a blast echoed throughout the ruins with its hollow sound, a bluish ring shot from the crackling air above the dirt, it dragged some stones and dust from the ceiling as it passed through the room. It passed through the three friends as if was never there, they couldn't even feel it, all of them concentrated on the sight ahead, even Spyro's troubling sensations have passed away with the blast but he didn't even notice it, he was staring at the scene ahead with wide eyes.

Time seemed to slow down slightly, the black powder materialized into some sort of a creature, it looked draconic but it had some strange features that didn't really were fit exactly with the dragon kind, not that they could make out everything since the creature was lying flat on the ground, it was completely still just like something was holding it down. Soon they found out what was pinning the creature to the ground, a large rocky hand materialized itself tightly gripping the form in its palm. In seconds the owner of the hand appeared, the creature was tall and bulky, it looked like a statue or a golem.

The construct appeared to be trying to dip the creature it was holding into the ground but instead it found itself smearing the draconic figure along the dirt. Its arm stopped moving just as if it realized that it won't achieve its goal this way. The statue changed its grip, it clenched its fist around the dragon looking creature's neck and lifted it upwards as the construct straightened up.

They didn't really focus on the draconic creature since their eyes were momentarily drawn towards the construct, they could take a good look at it in its straightened up position. It was no statue but definitely a golem of sorts, it seemed even taller and more bulky when it stood on two legs. The golem's body was made from rough black stone, two cavities were carved into the stone adjacent to each other, most likely for eyes, a long slit was seen below them which could only resemble a tightly shut mouth. The rocks from which the golem was made seemed to be melted with each other since there were no joints connecting its limbs, the rock was illuminated by a dim red light, just like a fire would be burning inside the construct's body.

It didn't notice them, it was focused entirely on one task- to crush the creature it was holding. The deathly grip prevented the draconic figure from escaping, it kept thrashing as it hung above the ground with its life was slowly ebbing away. There was no chance it could free itself from the grip, it movements were getting slower and slower, the lungs stung and no sound could pass through its crunched throat, a silent death was approaching.

" Not this thing again" Sparx said with a wavering voice, fear seeping through his tone as he understood the danger, it wasn't their first golem they met but every time they fought with one it proved to be a deadly opponent. This one seemed forensic in particular.

Spyro didn't care, be it a dragon , ape or a golem nothing of that mattered for him. They are here now and they won't stand idle and watch as the construct kills mercilessly a creature which can't protect itself. With determination he charged his Earth powers and released an missile towards the construct clenched hand.

Chips of little rocks shot from the stony hand as the missile made an impact with it. It caught the construct by surprise, it didn't hurt it much but it was enough to force its hand open. The draconic creature fell on the ground with a loud gasp for air, as it landed ungracefully on the floor it began to crawl away to safety immediately.

" How about you attack someone who can fight back you good for nothing piece of crap!" Spyro yelled provocatively at the golem, just to gain its attention " Come on! Attack us!" he waved with his wing " We are over here!"

It worked, the construct slowly turned around to face them, after a while of silent staring it arched forward and cried out a rumble sound. As its mouth parted a flame gushed from inside its mouth and its eyes sparkled with an intense red light, just like a flame would gushed from inside its body. Even its body seemed to illuminate with a more intense red hue than before as if was trying to show that time for jokes is over. The golem kicked the slithering figure on the ground and sent it flying with a painful grunt behind some columns just as if tried to get it point across and then charged.

" Just for the record, you know that I've been kidding about that Hell stuff right?" Cynder whispered while not losing the approaching golem from her sight.

Spyro didn't answer since they both jumped out of the way as the hulking creature threw its arms downwards hitting the spot where the two dragons stood previously and creating a hole in the floor, the marble jutted from the ground on some sides, if they would stay there this one move would be enough to turn them both into a pulp. They've done this before, a simple dodge and attack from both sides was enough to cripple every opponent and this golem like the rest of their enemies fell for this trap.

They couldn't be more wrong, as they began charging their elements the golem instead of attacking one of them crossed its arms crosswise around its body and hunkered down before it instantly straightened up and threw its arms sideways emitting the same rumbling war cry. A reddish ring shot from around the golem that shook the very foundations of the building, it resembled a fire but it wasn't hot and the moment it reached them they both could feel their insides squeezing together before a tremendous shockwave was released that hurled them across the room and towards the walls.

Both dragons grunted painfully while they made a hole in the wall at the impact and the moment they slid down to the ground some little stones fell on their heads. It was then when Spyro could feel the tremors of the floor just as if an earthquake would be approaching him, focused returned to his eyes and he looked ahead just to see the golem almost in front of his nose making a swing with one of its fiery and enormous arms. Adrenaline pumped through him and Spyro instantly turned into a boulder, even in his protective cocoon he felt the power of the impact as the fist slammed against him. The force of the strike sent him rolling across the room, he spun around so quickly that his head started to ache. Spyro rolled onto a knocked over column which was leaned against a wall. Unwillingly he made his way upwards and the speed with which he kept spinning allowed him to vertically on the wall until he finally reached the ceiling. The vertigo prevented Spyro from maintaining focus, his boulder form dissolved and he found himself falling down towards the ground. Seeing what is happening Spyro limply began flapping his wings, but his moves were so uncoordinated that he only managed to slow down his unwilling descent. He hit the floor with a loud thud, the impact and the wild spinning left him dizzy.

Cynder recovered just to see the golem running in Spyro's direction, her eyes focused on the debris, rocks and parts of destroyed columns littered the ground ahead. It was unlikely that the debris would hurt the construct but she was sure that it will stall the creature and that's everything she wanted to achieve. Cynder charged her Wind element and released a powerful gust, the wind blew the debris straight at the running golem. The debris only forced the creature to sway as it fought to regain balance, it straightened up and turned towards the black dragoness who dared to attack it, with another loud rumbling war cry it began its charge.

Cynder once again sent some debris flying towards the golem, however this time the creature seemed unmoved by it, some rocks he destroyed with a fast swing of its enormous arm just to catch and crush some other stones in its other palm not even slowing its advance. Cynder's eyes went wide when she saw the golem catching one of the bigger stones and hurling it towards her, thanks to her natural agility she jumped out of the rocks way and instantly took to the sky. The golem slid on the ground rippling the floor as it forced itself to stop instantly, the creature looked up at the flying black dragoness who was just starting to spin around charging her Twister ability.

Before the wind started to howl through the room the golem extended its arms towards the hovering dragoness and clapped its hand forcefully that some small chips of rock fell from its body at the impact. Another shockwave ring was sent her way, Cynder had no chance to dodge it and was sent flying towards the ceiling, the powerful impact kicked the breath out of her lungs and she began falling down numbly with some parts of the ceiling behind her, the moment she was in the right altitude the golem swung its arm and slapped the black dragoness sending her flying across the room like a bolt shot from a crossbow.

Spyro was already charging leaving a fiery trail behind him as he used his elemental power to fuel his Comet Dash ability, it was then when he saw a black shape quickly flying across the room. The room was filled with a rumbling noise as she collided with remnants of the black statues, dust burst forth into the air from the place of her impact. Spyro was worried about her health but he also knew that it takes much more than a single strike to put down a dragoness like her.

They fought with Malefor after all, he slammed them against a wall several times and they both survived the offensive of the powerful Dark Master, he was much more powerful than the creature they are fighting right now. Spyro hoped that she isn't injured very badly, he needs her and if the golem knocked her out cold then he is in big trouble. As he kept looking at the hanging dust he saw a glowing yellow shape diving into it, Sparx had to understand what is happening. Good, if she fell unconscious he should be able to resuscitate her.

The golem wields abilities that they never met before, the scene of Cynder being blown from the sky taught Spyro a lesson. The construct creates some kind of might shockwave whenever they are out of its reach, Spyro needs to adapt to the situation, he has to keep his distance to the creature since he has no means to protect himself against that tremendous force. Sadly Cynder learnt that lesson the hard way.

As he ran with his horns pointed at the rocky leg he felt rage rousing inside him, that creature will be sorry for hurting his friend. With an angry growl and new determination he continued his advance. All of these emotions vanished the moment he rammed into the creature, he expected that his horns would sink into the golem's leg, that his attack would at least cripple it a bit but nothing like that happened. Spyro bounced from the rocky body and found himself landing on his butt with a stinging pain in his neck and dizziness in his head. Spyro shook off the unwanted sensation and focused, the moment he did that he noticed that the creature's leg didn't even bend, his attack didn't even leave a mark on the construct's body.

Just as he observed the golem he noticed a clenched fist coming at him from above, Spyro impulsively rolled to the side, the creature's hand slammed into the ground creating a hole in the floor as a result. After the strike the whole ground in the nearby area began to shake violently, Spyro tried to pull himself up but the small earthquake every time pushed him back onto the ground. The golem however was completely unmoved by the shaking foundations, it swung its leg at the defenseless dragon. The kick sent Spyro spinning sideways on the ground with a painful grunt, after a while his wild spinning came to a stop, the moment he landed on his belly he coughed up blood, painting the marble floor with a crimson hue.

It was then when a large shadowy splotch dragged itself on a nearby column which was close to the whole action. Cynder learnt another lesson from her friend's anguish, fighting the golem on the ground is useless and way too risky for her taste. Even a simple miss has tragic effects, the only way to fight with the golem is to take to the sky and get as close as possible to the creature so it won't use his shockwave strike. New tactic formed itself in her mind and this was the perfect opportunity to put it to the test.

Cynder jumped from the previously mentioned shadow, with her empowered claws she began her attack. The golem seemed to be surprised by her sudden appearance since it didn't make a slightest move to defend itself. She slashed her claws burning with a dark flame at the construct, chips of rocks were sent flying as her claws connected with the golem's body. Cynder swiftly moved to an another part of the creature's body and repeated her move, as before only small rocks splinters were thrown in the air. Another part, the same move ended with the same result, she tried again just to experience the same ending,

As she hovered in the air and looked at the golem Cynder realized that she made a full circle around the golem, she gasped faintly in shock when she saw that the golem wasn't hurt. Her claws didn't even leave a scratch on the construct's body, by looking at the rocky armor she could say that her attack never happened since the golem looked exactly the same, no wound or anything similar scarred its body. It was like the creature tried to taunt her, now when that was over it was the golem's turn to attack.

It swung one of its enormous arms at the hovering dragoness, Cynder keeping close distance to the golem dodged the attack with a quick flap of her wings and a swift move. Just as the arm flew above her she stabbed the creature with the blade on her tail right in the chest, another small rocks fell from the golem's body but as always it seemed not to feel it. It sent an uppercut with its other arm at the pestering dragoness, she made a quick turn sideways avoiding the strike and cut the golem right below the elbow. Another strike, this one came even faster than before, she could hear the whizz of the wind as the fist ran missed her by mere inches. Cynder attacked again but as always no damage seemed to be inflicted, the golem once again attacked even faster this time, she dodged again but this time Cynder couldn't counter attack since soon another arm was heading her way. One of the golem's fingers hooked against her wing, the slight impact made her totter in the air but thanks to her natural grace she recovered her balance quickly just to dodge another attack. The golem seemed to speed up with each strike, if she won't come up with something quick one of these punches will hit her eventually.

That's when Spyro returned to the battle, he sent cone after cone at the swinging golem, the earth missiles struck the construct delicately slowing it down. He released another one missile and then another one, the golem stopped obviously angered by the interruption. It was then when Spyro channeled his earth powers once more, with elemental energy swirling inside him he opened his mouth. Instead of an projectile a glowing green chain burst forth connected to a giant swirling bomb, he decided to use his Earth Flail ability. Spyro spun around, the glowing chain extended and as he made a left turn the bomb destroyed everything in its path, be it a column, rock or a statue, nothing was strong enough to withstand such force, expect the golem.

Spyro's eyes went wide when the bomb finally reached the construct's torso, instead of delicately throwing him away so he can strike once more and creating a hole in the creature's body the impact sent him spinning in the other direction wildly, involuntarily and uncontrollably. Spyro lost his focus and the glowing chain began to slowly dissolve but not before the bomb reached the other side of the golem, the creature caught the bomb in his enormous hand and flicked it away to the side just like it weighted nothing. Spyro was lifted from the ground and sent flying across the room, as he made his way across the air he noticed Cynder's wide stare, the chain wrapped around her entwining them both, with their wings held in place they were sent flying towards the ground, the scattered debris made for a rough landing.

The both groaned in pain as the scattered rocks scratched their leathery armors, as they slid on the ground they left a trail of delicate blood behind them. Their wild ride finally came to a stop, both dragons rolled on their sides, with pain and adrenaline pumping through their bodies.

" This thing..." Cynder hissed "...is immune to our every attack..." her voice trailed off as she pulled out with a groan of pain one of the rocks protruding from her body

" Everything has a weak spot...somewhere" Spyro hissed through clenched teeth as he was slowly pulling out a bloody long piece of marble from his body " We...just need to find it" he yelped faintly in agony as the piece finally came out, with a pant he flicked it away

" Take that!" a shout caught their attention, both dragons looked ahead just to see a glowing yellow shape flying all around the golem, the construct was swinging its arms wildly just like it tried to crush a fly. Sparx took a risk and started to distract the golem giving them some time to pull themselves together and think of a strategy

" I feel so useless" Cynder hissed angrily while pulling out another blood rock from her body " Shadow and wind doesn't seem to work, not to mention that there is no point in using my other two elemental attacks. What kind of golem is that"

" My attacks don't hurt it as well" Spyro admitted with a painful groan as another bloody piece of marble fell to the ground

" Convexity?"

" No" Spyro stated firmly his voice ringing with a commanding tone " it's too risky, it might hurt it but there is no guarantee that it will kill it, we need to make a crack first in that armor somehow"

Groaning Cynder pulled herself up" Any idea how to kill it?"

He followed in her wake hissing in pain " I'll use my Fury attack on it we'll see what happens. Just stall it long enough, with these wounds I need some time to focus"

" That's your plan?" she blurt out incredulously " Hit it with a Fury and see what happens?"

" You got a better idea?"

She turned to face the golem, Cynder watched the construct but nothing crossed her mind, she had to admit that Fury was their best bet. She sighed and wincing unfolded her aching wings " Just don't keep me waiting" as she took to the sky Spyro made his way on the ground, hiding behind some debris so the golem would not notice him as he prepared his attack.

As Cynder approached the construct she saw the creature swinging its arms faster and faster at the pestering dragonfly, Sparx put up a brave fight but he won't be able to withstand the creatures wild swings for much longer

" Move!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, hearing her loud shout Sparx to his relief got away from the golem

Cynder channeled her Wind element once again, chill filled her body as a delicate breeze mixed itself with the blood in her veins, she started to spin around while still in the air. Momentarily she transformed into a deadly tornado, the howling wind around her sucked all the nearby debris, rocks and parts of the black statues started to swirl all around her. As she approached the golem more and more debris accumulated within her Twister, the moment the rocks blocked her view she started to spit them out. The debris started to fly in every direction with incredible momentum, the hurled debris wrecked everything in its path.

The golem however as expected was unmoved by this offensive, it tottered slightly when the first stones hit it but other than that nothing serious happened to it. Cynder to prevent it from using its shockwave let go of her elemental power and started once again chopping at the creature with her claws and tail. The construct seemed infuriated by the previous pestering from the annoying dragonfly, it swung its arms at tremendous speed, she had hard time dodging its strikes. As dangerous as it was she didn't back down, she had a goal and she will see it completed no matter what, their own lives may depend on it. With every swing of the golem's arms and with every slash of her claws she wished that Spyro would hurry up, as important as her task was she didn't want to get struck by those hands again.

Spyro appeared close to the two fighters, adrenaline and anger coursed through his body, the elemental power he channeled allowed him to mix those two companions into one. Fury filled his entire being, fury so strong that it made his heart pound at his chest relentlessly with a tremendous force, the surging power forced the blood to hastily flow through his veins, he could feel it vibrate inside. He was ready

" Hide!" Spyro's shout was hoarse, somewhat stifled just like a grunt of someone who was in the middle of a strenuous task, as short as it was it echoed throughout the whole room

Cynder knew what was going to happen. Several flaps of her wings, a couple of swift moves and she was out of the golem's reach. She was fast in the air, maneuvering her body in such a way that it looked like she danced to the unheard music of her wings. As Cynder made her way through the sky she noticed a dragonfly hovering in the air, staring at her wing wide eyes. She grabbed Sparx in her paw and dived instantly towards the nearby debris, when on the ground she laid low behind the pile of stones with her black wings covering her.

It was then when the air became unnaturally cold, freezing almost. Spyro closed his eyes and bent on his legs, deadly cold wind rushed through him and swirled all around his body. It killed all the sound, only the howl of the freezing wind remained. Spyro opened his eyes, they were cold and blue just like they would be incased in ice, it was then when he finally released his Fury.

Huge glaciers of solid sharp ice formed like spikes started to protrude from the ground, they formed a circle around the purple dragon and in that form they made their way through the room destroying completely everything that stood in their path. A freezing gust followed soon after, an icy ring burst forth from Spyro carrying with it a wind that sucked the life even from the rocks. As the gust made its way through the room it turned everything that still remained standing to ice.

Cynder shivered so badly that even her teeth started to rattle against each other when the chilling wind passed above her. It has ended as quickly as it began, only a still unbearably cold air remained. She craned her neck upwards and as her trembling head protruded from her now icy cover she started to examine the surroundings to the sound of her rattling teeth. Everything was destroyed or turned to ice, every object that remained standing emanated a freezing steam.

Cynder didn't care what happened to the room, her eyes were instantly drawn towards the golem, the construct stood there completely covered in ice just like some kind of sculpture, it looked like they have finally got it. Her hopes diminished quickly when the ice began to crack and shatter on the ground, the construct's limbs were slowly coming back to life, ice upon ice shattered on the ground until the golem freed itself from its icy prison. It emanated the same cold steam and layers of frost covered its body, also its movements seemed to be slower.

" How the hell...?" Cynder thought to herself, how it was still moving after such an attack was beyond her but she just couldn't believe that Spyro's Fury attack didn't scar it, it had to reveal a weakness she just needs to find it

" Sparx..." she mumbled through rattling teeth, icy mist bursting from her mouth as she spoke " listen...I'll distract it while you...you look...for some kind of weakness....It had to feel that a....attack"

Sparx started to hover beside her with his arms wrapped around himself just like he tried to warm himself up " What...what kind of...weakness?"

" A crack in the ar...armor, a cut...I don't know....look fo...for something out of t...the ordinary. Go" with that she took to the sky once more, the dragonfly followed her soon after.

She started pestering the golem once more, this time however she managed to hit it more often thanks to its slower movements, while she has been distracting the creature Sparx was circling around the construct looking for any sign of weakness. Spyro soon joined her, as a purple dragon of prophecies he had more elemental energy than any dragon who wielded only one element. While the Fury attack would hinder any other dragon, he was still ready to continue the fight, he was drained and weakened of course but he kept pushing on.

As both dragons were keeping the golem busy Sparx slowly circled the creature carefully looking for... well he didn't know what he was looking for but he hoped that he would find it nevertheless. The golem was slowly losing its frost layers, the black rock leisurely reappearing, The creature eventually turned its back to Sparx and that was the moment when he narrowed his eyes, a slight part of the golem's neck was still covered in solid ice, with the receding frost that seemed odd.

He darted towards Cynder " That guy has something on the back of his neck!" Sparx yelled

She looked at Spyro, he just nodded giving her a clear signal that he will take care of the golem so she can check it out. Cynder circled the creature and her eyes went wide when she noticed the ice, not much but still better than nothing. She decided to peel it off and check what's beneath it, Cynder plunged herself into a shadow of her own creation just to jump out of it soon after with dark energy burning from her claws. With a fast slash of her claws she shattered the ice easily, a hole has been made in the golem's armor. Cynder wanted to take a peek inside but flames suddenly burst out from the hole , she impulsively jerked her head back. The flame looked exactly like the one that burnt from the golem's eyes, she wasn't sure but her instinct told her that the fire is what makes the golem tick. Cynder could attack that spot with her Wind element but she decided not to, better to hit it with something and hit it hard, this may be their only chance to finish it once and for all.

She made her way towards Spyro " There is a crack Spyro. Convexity time!" she yelled

" Are you sure?" he asked while dodging a blow

" Yes!" she whistled " Sparx! Distract it, make sure that we can see its back!" she could hear him whining but he still did what he was told to do " And get away when the big guns are fired"

Both dragons landed quite a distance away from the golem, with a deep breath they concentrated. They've been lifted slightly from the ground and as they hovered in the air they began to draw power from every corner. They could feel all of their elemental powers swirling and twisting with each other inside them until they became one. That powerful creation demanded energy, energy which was the very source of their existence. Magical essence started to flow through them dragged from their very souls to empower and sustain the destructive force within them, it fed on it with great appetite and with each passing second it became stronger. The power within them started to pulse, just like a heart but with an undeniable notion to be finally free. The golem turned around and they noticed the hole in its neck, it was now or never.

They opened their mouths, purple laser beams were released at the golem. The Convexity attack vaporized everything on its path no matter how solid or thick the obstacle was, nothing was able to withstand such tremendous power. As the beam kept going they became weaker and weaker, the laser not only carried their elemental reserves but even the very essence of their own creation. As the magical energy drifted away so did they, the beam was becoming weaker when the last dozes of their energy were being sacrificed, they couldn't stand it any longer. Both of them collapsed on the ground panting heavily, they didn't even have the strength to see if it worked.

" It worked! It is dead!" Sparx excited shout echoed throughout he room

They were too tired to cheer, they had the strength only for a weak smile. Some time has passed but eventually they pulled themselves together and examined the golem, it was nothing more than a pile of rubble now, its flame extinguished for all eternity. However something unexpectedly broke their moment of glee.

" You!" an angry and scared young male voice echoed throughout the room " I won't let you harm anyone else!"

Cynder rolled her eyes "Here we go again" she mused. Once again she helps to defeat a dangerous creature and once again they prefer to ignore it. Hate is a strong emotion indeed

She sighed " Listen-"

" I'm going to kill you for everything you've done Purple Dragon!" the male shout cut her off

Sparx, Spyro and Cynder looked at the direction from which the voice was coming from "WHAT?!" they exclaimed simultaneously