A disastrous event awaits for Cynder. A new character is added into the story, but who is he? What does he really want? And what connection does he have with Cynder?

Chapter 4: A Nightmare Reborn

Location: Unknown

Unknown Time

Character: Cynder

Dark clouds were turning in the realm of darkness that the dragoness was now in. Purple hues of dark energy were flowing all around her as she gazed about the shadows. Nothing could be heard in the distant land where the dead had been slaughtered and the demons had been born.

Cynder turned her head in fright, not understanding what was going on. "Hello? Is anyone here? Where am I?"

Moans and whispers of the ancients were the only response to the black dragon as she shook her head. "I'm only dreaming. I must be!"

"Cynder..."

Cynder gasped and turned around to face the voice of a darkened soul. "What? What do you want? Who are you?"

A black abyss floated before her. "Ah, Cynder. You haven't changed a bit. Always brave, curious... desperate."

Cynder shook her head and widened her eyes. "What? No! Who are you anyway?"

As if by destiny, the shadow blew away into dust. It was gone. No one was there. Just a cruel, empty, dark world.

Cynder threw her face down in anxiety. "Don't go..."

"Oh, but I haven't left, Cynder," said the voice. This time it sounded as if it was coming from behind her.

Cynder spun around in a heartbeat, heart pounding. She gasped, fear striking her soul as she saw who was standing before her.

There, shadowed in a layer of darkened mists, stood a deformed, demonic dragon. The ferocious beast was eight times the size of the dragoness and fourty feet in length, its tail swiping through the clouds with enough force to chop down half of the Ancient Grove. The dragon's scales had a hint of amethyst with dark vapor forming around it like a stink that couldn't be ridden.

What shocked her the most was that the dragon had not one, but two crests of spines on his back. Each of the dragon's dusty spines were lined with blood, and they had writhered away many millennia ago along with the times of the ancients. The dragon's low-sweeping tail jagged and ancient, sharp as a dagger multiplied by twenty. The dragon's wings were out-stretched and battered down, piercings and holes torn through them through all of the countless journies he had made overtime. Unlikely any normal dragon, he had several horns sprouting from the back of his skull, each ancient as dust and pointy as the eye can see. His head was covered with them.

But what really frightened her was the fact that the dragon's eyes had no true color. Sometimes she would see them flash red, then, just as she blinked, they would turn purple. Then black. They would change through practically every color of the scale from black to white. What Cynder did notice was that his eyes mostly stayed red, purple, black and blue. Deep blue. She knew that for certain.

The dragon grunted with amusement. "Marveling the view? I always knew you had a crush on me..." said the dragon as he let off a slight grin.

Cynder noticed that the dragon's teeth were extra sharp, sharper than normal. "What? No! What do you want from me? Who are you?"

The dragon gasped and grunted, slamming his razor sharp claws into the ground, whatever was left of it anyway. "WHO AM I?" Tears were rushing down his eyes. "Y-you don't... remember..."

Cynder frowned. "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, but I have no idea who you are. I'm very, very sorry. You must have me mistaken for someone else."

"No... I know who you are. You're Cynder, the Black Dragon. Servant of the Dark Master," sighed the dragon as he flushed away the tears and looked at Cynder. "I've changed, Cynder. I really have."

Cynder looked at the dragon with concern. "Maybe you do no who I am, then. But I have no idea who you are. I've never seen you before in my life. I'm sorry."

"No; you're right. You don't know who I am. Of course you don't. You haven't seen me since the Change. I look so much more different than I did eight years ago. You were just a hatchling then. We both were. I doubt you even could remember what they served us for brunch." The dragon looked at Cynder in depression. "But you'll remember. I know you will. It will take some time, but it will all be worth it..."

"What? What do you mean? What do you want? Who are you?" screamed Cynder in fright as she stepped back from the dragon.

"Good bye, Cynder," smirked the dragon as he stepped back and disappeared into the shadows.

Cynder looked up at the sky, fright tearing through her soul. What's happening? Where am I? I just want to go home...

Location: Cynder's Lair

9:45 A.M.

Character: Cynder

"Don't worry, Cynder. You're safe. I've got you," said Spyro as hugged Cynder in support.

"W-what happened?" Asked Cynder as she looked around herself.

"You just had a bad dream. It's all right. I'm here," said Spyro. For some strange reason, his voice was calming and soothed her soul.

Cynder then realized she was lying on the ground and stood up. "It was so... bizarre. There was this dragon and - and-"

"Shhhh..." whispered Spyro. "It was just a dream. Everything is fine."

But little did Cynder or Spyro know that everything was not fine. In fact, things were about to get a whole lot worse.