Chapter 1

Stars

'…Spyro, when a dragon dies, he does not truly leave this world…His spirit lives on, binding itself with nature...Offering hope for the future…'

'I know what I have to do. Just get out of here, Cynder!'

'Spyro, no! You don't have to do anything! Let's just go!'

'Where, Cynder? There will be nothing left! The world is breaking apart! But I can stop it. I'm meant to!'

'Then I'm with you!'

'…I love you…'

'Now, Ignitus…I pass this honor…to you.'

'And what of Spyro? Is he…?'

'That is the question, now, isn't it? Each time a dragon dies, another page in written in this book…I cannot seem to find any trace of Spyro…'

'Well, young dragon…where might you be…?'

The young, purple dragon woke up and slowly brang his paw to his forehead. Ugh. Headache. He looked to his left and saw a black-blue dragoness curled into a ball. Cynder. Then it all came flashing back. What had happened, how far they had come. And the fact that they had defeated the ultimate evil. The Dark Master. Malefor. He had almost won, too, and he had even managed to corrupt both himself and Cynder…

'…Perhaps you need a little…nudge…'

'Cynder! Cynder, no!'

'Ignitus should have warned you…You are alone here, young dragon…You have always been alone…Still, here you are, trying so desperately to save this miserable world…Refusing to accept the true role of the purple dragon. I'm sure you have been told that I was the first of our kind…but I assure you, there have been many! It has been the duty of our predecessors to resurrect the Destroyer and the Golems of the deep…to bring about the great cleansing…This is the true nature of our kind. Your destiny is to destroy the world!'

'No! I don't believe that!'

'Of course you don't. But you have fulfilled your destiny nonetheless. In my time, I was stopped…prevented from completing my quest. But you…you have carried the flame…be it through your own will or not! And soon, the world will be destroyed, you along with it.'

'No…'

'Fight back! Fight back! Why won't you fight back?'

'Because you've left me nothing to fight for…'

'There's always something…'

Spyro rolled over to face the dragoness. She was still fast asleep, but he couldn't manage to lay still. This cave is cold and damp, he thought. After all she's been through…She deserves some warmth.

He stood up and walked around her so he could see her face. She looked so calm…

He shook his head and looked around. He had something to do. The purple dragon spotted some sticks lying around the cave, enough to hold a steady flame. He gathered all of the sticks he could find and piled them up near the sleeping dragoness, trying to breathe a flame onto the pile. When nothing came, he tried again and again and again, but still no flame. He sighed and turned to the mouth of the cave. The stars were out, and there was a nice cool breeze, so he slowly walked out to sit on the rock cliff just outside of the cave.

Looking up to the sky, he couldn't help but let his mind wander. What had happened to the others? Hunter and his clan, the Guardians, Volteer, Terrador and Cyril, Sparx and…

Ignitus.

Spyro felt his heart beats speed rise with worry. What had happened to Ignitus? The fire Guardian had helped him and Cynder into Malefor's land and then…

Oh, no…

'Ignitus, let's turn back! There's got to be another way!'

'Spyro…Cynder…I've never done right…by either of you…Allow me to do this…'

'What are you saying?!'

'My path ends here…But yours lies beyond this. Draw strength from eachother…and follow your heart…It will never fail you…Now go…go…go!'

'Ignitus! No…!'

'Spyro, stop! It's too late! You can't do anything for him now!'

'No…he isn't gone…'

'Spyro…let it go.'

'No!'

'No! Spyro, don't!'

'You can't stop me!'

'You're right. Only you can do that. Please, Spyro. Don't do this. We have to go on. He wanted us to.'

'It wasn't supposed to be like this. I feel so alone…'

'You're not alone…'

Spyro looked down at his claws as his heart strings pulled. Ignitus was gone…he would never see the Fire Guardian again…his…'father.'

He heard the soft patter of a set of paws behind him. Turning around slightly, he gave Cynder a weak smile and turned back to the stars, eyes closed. He heard Cynder stand next to him and opened his eyes, looking at her bright green ones. He saw a flash of worry in the black dragonesses eyes.

"Spyro? Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine." He gave her a slight smile.

Cynder smiled back. "Come back inside." She laughed slightly. "I mean, we just saved the world, right? You need to rest."

Spyro nodded and turned back to the sky for a mere second. He smiled as he looked at the brightest group of stars in the corner of his eye. When he did, his thoughts turned back to Ignitus. He was still out there.