Three days.

Seventy-two hours.

Four thousand, three hundred and twenty minutes.

The time I had remaining was drawing to a rapid close, and I didn't seem to notice. At least, not yet. That's the way it always is—what would you do if someone just told you... in fact, they don't even tell you. What if you just had three days left until the beginning of the end, and you didn't even know it? Only a part of you, deep down inside, knew. But that part is buried under everything else, all your other thoughts, and you don't tend to take its advice anyway. So what then?

On the third day, everything seemed fine. Perfect, in fact, like nothing was going to go wrong. But it was just an illusion... Everything, everything would go wrong, and soon.

The day started out normally. Though it'd only been two days, my wounds had sufficiently healed and I was finally allowed to take that hindering bandage off, which was very much a relief. I drifted around a bit at first, bored, and finally Spyro, Cynder, Sparx, and I ended up deciding to go outside and take a walk. After all, we had nothing else to do.

Cynder, on the other hand, took a little convincing. It was a bit worrying to me—usually if I mentioned that we were going on a walk and would she like to come, Cynder would be right behind us. Now, not even my usual phrase, "it'll be fun", seemed to convince her. But, finally, she agreed and we were off.

The walk was normal at first; we all clustered together in a group and talked back and forth about this-and-that. It was pretty standard fare for us. But none of us seemed to be paying attention; one step after another we headed further and further into unknown parts of the swamp.

It was dark here... darker than normal. The mushroomcaps above us nearly blocked out the sun, casting long and eerie shadows that danced in the darkness.

"Uh, guys?" I asked, halting as I realized where we were—or more accurately where we weren't: familiar territory!

Blinking, everyone stopped. "Where are we?" Spyro asked. "How did we get here?"

"You led us here!" Sparx exclaimed.

Looking around, Cynder murmured to herself, "I've never seen this part of the swamp before."

"Neither have I," Spyro agreed. "We better get out of here."

I'd remained silent throughout this short conversation, but now I spoke up, saying, "If we've never been here, why don't we explore a little? It can't hurt."

"It could be dangerous," Spyro pointed out.

"Since when did I care about that?"

"Since you nearly got killed a few days ago."

The mood suddenly spun around, turning from lighthearted to somber. Cynder and Sparx, wisely remaining quiet, watched us with uncertainty, gold and emerald eyes snapping back and forth.

Unsure how to reply to this, I paused, then said reluctantly, "Well, I'm going anyway. Follow me or don't." With that, I trekked off towards the lighter part of the mushroom-forest.

"You're not supposed to go out on your own! I'll tell Ignitus!" Spyro warned. His tone of voice reminded me of our previous childish antics from... not so long ago. How could that have only ended a few weeks ago?

"You just tell him, then!" I yelled back, pretending to be unfazed as I tramped stubbornly onwards.

Spyro stood silently for a moment, but finally, as I rounded a bend, raced off after me. Cynder and Sparx exchanged glances, reluctant to follow, but they soon remembered their not-so-friendly rivalry. With a glare at each other, they headed off after Spyro.

Once everyone caught up with each other, we continued towards... wherever we were heading. As we walked, the forest got darker and darker until it seemed... nearly unnatural. Branches from the occasional tree reached out to grab me, while shadow people stalked us, disappearing when I turned to look, and I began to feel uneasy. Where were we?

Finally, finally we received our reprieve from the darkness. Who knew that on the other side of this dark, frightening piece of swamp, there was a haven of light?

We stumbled onto it unexpectedly. Emerging from this forest of eternal darkness, we ran into a clearing. But this wasn't just any clearing. It was almost... unnatural. The sun seemed to shine just a bit brighter here, in this small patch of free ground. Flowers of various shapes, sizes, and colours populated the ground, running wild over them and blooming passionately. They were odd flowers, types I'd never seen before and were thus indescribable.

In the middle was a small pool, and surrounding the pool were various types of plants; three willow trees grew near the edge, providing shade, while various types of ferns and semi-aquatic plant littered the water's edge, rising almost as high as the trees. But the most notable part of this whole clearing was the pool itself—its waters were crystal clear and reflected just like a mirror.

"Wow, it's beautiful here," Cynder breathed, but I could only nod my head in agreement. Even Spyro and Sparx, who were usually unimpressed by these types of things, exchanged glances; their eyes were filled with wonder.

I approached the pool, followed by the others, where nothing grew. This served as an entryway into the depths. Gently, I touched the surface; I couldn't help myself, as I'd never seen such pure, clear water before. To my surprise, though, it was colder than Dante's Freezer—yet it was the middle of summer! Even the Silver River had warmed up considerably throughout the season.

"Brr, it's freezing," I said with a shiver, backing up. Laughing, I said nervously as I remembered the almost-terrifying darkness, "At least we finally found something. I was starting to get bored."

The others laughed too, though just as shakily as I had. But Spyro, always the party killer, said, "I dunno, maybe we should head back. Who knows what could be lurking around here..."

"Quit being such a stick-in-the-mud," I said with a laugh, a real one. "It's fine. Besides, do you have any other ideas?" Spyro didn't reply. "Didn't think so."

So we decided to stay in this strange mirror-water area for a while since, as I'd said, we didn't really have much else to do. Of course, seeing as it was us, it wasn't long until mischief struck.

Scooting over to the water's edge with my plan in mind, I tried not to grin as I peered into the water and said to Spyro, "Hey, what's that?"

Spyro walked over and stood beside me. "I don't see anything," he said, squinting at the water.

"Really?"

"There's nothing there." By now I could see the suspicion in Spyro's eyes.

"Well, maybe you should get a closer look, then!" With that, I shoved Spyro into the water and immediately burst into laughter, feeling quite pleased with my prank. It'd been a long time since I'd done that.

Bursting through the top gasping for air, Spyro shivered. "Crystal!" he yelled at me, struggling to get out of the water as he floundered towards the shore. Neither of us were terribly good swimmers. His yell only made me laugh more, though, until I was nearly out of breath.

"It's freezing in here!" Spyro exclaimed.

"You shouldn't have fallen for that then! Hey, get it—fallen?" At this, even Sparx and Cynder, who'd been staring at us in disbelief (the former less surprised than the latter, though), laughed. Standing up, I reached out a paw and said, "Here, let me help you."

"No, let me help you!" Spying his chance for revenge, Spyro grabbed my outstretched paw and pulled me into the water as well.

I emerged from the water a second later, wildly flailing for a few moments until I realized that I was not, in fact, drowning. "Coooold!" I breathed, feeling all the heat being sucked out of me.

"That's what you get," Spyro said smugly.

"Shut up!"

Spyro and I, somehow managing to flail our way to the edge of the water, climbed out and shook ourselves off. I shivered, feeling as if I was once again back in the cold arctic.

"You fight too much," Cynder, who sat nearby, commented. Despite her deadpan expression, I could see the amusement in her eyes.

"Aw, we don't fight all the time," I said in a complaining tone.

"Exactly," Spyro said. Turning, he asked, "Hey, Crystal?"

"What?" I'd scarcely finished my question before I was back in the water again. Emerging and immediately paddling wildly for the shore, I asked with chattering teeth, "What was that for?"

"You deserved that." Spyro smiled, but I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever, now we're even." I pulled myself onto land and again shook myself off, taking a step away from Spyro and the water.

Sparx stared at both of us incredulously. "How are you two still alive? All you do is try to kill each other!"

"Hey, that's not true," Spyro commented.

"Yeah! We spend at least half of our time plotting how to kill each other. It's different!" I exclaimed defensively.

Sparx smacked his face with his hand, sighing, and that was the only answer I received.

We spent the whole day there, all four of us, laughing and joking around though we didn't go swimming. I think that day, that one beautiful day of childish games and giggles and fun, was the last time I'd ever truly be myself. After those rich, bright, and truly fun moments with the others, it all began to go downhill.

My naivete in the day would be paid for in the night. It was at that time I began to realize that something was wrong.

The nightmares were worse than usual, then. They plagued me endlessly that night; I'd awake with my heart pounding as I thrashed wildly, nearly screaming. It was a wonder I didn't wake anyone up. No matter what I did, as I fell back to sleep, trying to reassure myself that everything was alright... I'd always awake again in the same terror.

The worst part was that I couldn't even remember the dreams. In my mind I could remember remembering glimpses, but when I reached out for them, they faded away. I began to get more and more uneasy until finally, after the fifth time, I reluctantly stood up and headed through the door in the training room.

It was an unusually bright night. The waxing moons' phases were drawing to a close and it was almost time to begin the full moon cycle. And, as it was one or two in the morning, the moons themselves were almost directly overhead.

As I walked past the great statues, its yellow eyes glowing dimly, I suddenly tensed. Looking up, I stared at the dragon's dark face. I couldn't help but wonder... Who was this dragon, the statues of whom were littered everywhere about the Temple? And why did I feel this strange connection to this piece of carved stone... To him?

Sighing, I shook my head and continued on. I was just tired, that was all. It'd been a long day, and I was sleepy after having no rest.

I slipped outside, into the moist, warm air. Crickets chirped brightly, though their songs were beginning to die down. They, too, were tired, even though their day had only just begun. With another long sigh, I dropped down beside the wall and lay there. Perhaps, I thought, the fresh air would help quell the nightmares.

It didn't.

The night terrors never did leave me alone, really; not even on the happiest days, where it seemed pleasant dreams were a certainty, did they stop. Every time I slept, I received a new nightmare. No two were the same. Except, perhaps... for one. And the recurring one was the worst of them all.

It was the same nightmare I'd received when I nearly blacked out while I was leaving Munitions Forge. Spyro... Turning into some monster...

I could see it every time I closed my eyes. My brother, slowly growing, his scales becoming discoloured as his features became nightmarish. He was turning into a monster before my eyes and it scared me. It frightened me more than anything ever had before, and I didn't even know why.

When the dream came, it was always the same. But now... something was different. Something was wrong. As Spyro transformed, I found myself locked in place. Instead of fleeing like usual, I stood rigidly still, unable to move, to run from this creature, this thing, that was Spyro yet somehow wasn't.

You cannot hide... The whisper, spoken by Spyro, filled me with terror that prickled painfully throughout by body. I will find you...

I tried wildly to find the will to run, but it just wasn't there. The only thing I could do was watch Spyro slowly approach me, head down, like a wolf stalking its prey. His dead eyes, somehow familiar though I wasn't sure why, penetrated my soul.

There-is-no-life-here-in-the-dark. Wisps of shadows began to form, swirling and pulsing like a heartbeat, and covering everything. Spyro came ever closer, though now he was beginning to blur.

My mind was starting to crack under this pressure. It wildly tried to pull me out of this dream, and much to my relief, I could feel consciousness returning. But before I could fade completely, I heard the hoarse whisper one last time.

But-now-I-have-escaped-the-dark...

I was pulled out of my dream suddenly. In a panic, I shot up into a sitting position, sure that something or someone was attacking me. "Who—what—" I tried to find the words, to piece together a sentence, but my scrambled mind wouldn't allow it. I merely gasped for air, each heavy breath becoming deeper as I felt I couldn't get enough air in. Had I stopped breathing completely during the dream? Had I died?

"Crystal, are you alright?" I nearly jumped five feet into the air when I heard the concerned voice. Panicking again, I quickly stood and backed against the wall to get away. A massive wave of relief washed over me as I realized it was only Ignitus.

"I—Ig—Ignitus?" I stumbled over the simple word, but releasing a breath, managed to calm myself down. Realizing he'd asked a question, I said quickly, "I'm fine, it's just a..." I paused here. My voice shook like the leaves of a tree in an autumn wind. Steadying myself, I continued, saying calmly, "It was nothing," and hoping with all my heart that my voice conveyed that nothing was wrong.

It wasn't really bad to say it like that, was it? I didn't want to worry Ignitus over some silly nightmare, after all.

Ignitus himself said nothing, but I could tell by the look in his eyes that he detected my hesitation, the lie in my story. But it wasn't really lying... was it?
Yes, it was a lie and I knew it. I wanted to tell him about these nightmares, dreams, visions—whatever they were. But I held back. I wasn't sure why, but something told me not to tell him of the frightening occurrences in my dreams, that strange dragon who haunted them.

Guilt washed over me, but I ignored it as best as I could. Saying nothing, I walked past Ignitus and headed towards the door. I only glanced back at him once. The suspicion was gone now, replaced with worry, but I only turned and headed inside.

I didn't like to lie to him, but I had no choice.