Sins of the Fallen, Scorn of Man

by IntoxicatingColors

A boy with a shadowed past and future is offered a place in the realm of dragons. Guided by a force dark and unknown his trust with the dragons will be pushed to the ultimate test. Why was he brought here and what are his reasons for being among the dragon race? Questions unanswered and a path not yet traveled, what will be the conclusion of his story, peace or destruction?

10. Hunted

Chapter 10 – Hunted/Don't Go

It had been almost a month since he had departed from the little no name town he had left in ruins. He had little choice in the matter and therefore was able to make a name for himself as a character of a less pleasurable disposition. That worked in his favor, since now he would go around as the villain and not the human that had died. One story would overlap another as the destruction of an entire town thanks to a species not known to this realm would surely be more problematic than some human no name who died. With the ability and disguise to start a new life he began making his very own name that would spread across Avalar. As a hobby he took up doing bounty hunting, caravan guarding and freelance work that involved someone not wanting to get their own hands dirty. This was murder and thievery yes, but that was the life he had chosen to live and he was not going to take back what he had begun. As a bounty hunter he had taken out many high class enemies, some that had been on a request board for years as there were none that could hope to win against them. This had conjured up many names among the masses such as Werewolf, Raven, Smoke, and by far his favorite, because of how funny it was and that a cheetah kid he had rescued dubbed him with it, Blood Puppy. He was known as he came to town by the armor he wore and the scales that covered his body. No one had dared to challenge him for any of the jobs that had been up for grabs, probably fearful of what might happen to them. There were those that talked about him behind his back, not that he usually cared. Other hunters had given him some names that could give him a bad reputation should they not know who he actually was. They gave him names such as Prey Snatcher, The Buzzard, and Shadow Claw on the account that they believed that he never actually killed any of the marks, but rather waited from a distance for someone else to take care of the bounty before he swooped in and claimed it himself. Yet no one had dared to say it to his face and none had dared to fight him on the grounds that such assumptions were true. He was living his life as he saw fit and found that hunting prey brought him a rush that he got from the dragon on the inside. He had accepted this as his calling and did everything he could to play upon the instincts. It brought him a newfound rush of adrenaline he would never had found back on Earth. He would go as far as saying that this was what he was born to do. He was an animal, a hunter, and he should not have to hold back such primal instincts. Sin jumped through the valley of leaves as he made his way to his next mark. Croc, a very simple name for a very simple creature, operating not too far from the village he was staying in and supposedly traded many different species. This job wasn't too complicated; just kill the leader and any henchman that got in the way before freeing the slaves as to not get them killed in any crossfire. The next was to escort the slaves back to the town so that they may be returned to their homes and be reunited with any family they had. Again, very simple and it wouldn't take him very long to make short work of such small fry. He had yet to come across a real challenge that would easily best him, one reason for his negative titles. He wasn't complaining though nor was he surprised since he did have the powers of one of the very first Dark Masters on his side. There weren't many that had any defense against the dark magic and therefore fell to him without any resistance. This would be no different and he would destroy anything that got in his way.

It wasn't long before he came across the camp, the many different crocodiles walking to and fro as they went back and forth between slave pens. Some of them were giving the slave lecherous grins, others would fondle the females through the bars getting negative reactions, but also a good laugh for them. Sin just sneered in disgust as he watched the brutish display that these slave traders gave out. He never knew why some would go as far as rape to find a way to please themselves. What they did almost set him off and caused him to go rampant in the camp. He held his cool, not wanting to put any of the civilians in danger and cause any casualties. He noted that the camp didn't have many sentries, probably believing that no one actually knew they were out here and didn't have to worry about being discovered. Sin's attention was caught when he watched as a fully nude creature he had never thought he would see was thrown out of one of the larger tents. A naga, a reptilian creature that had the lower body of a snake and an upper body of what could be considered human, something he had only seen in books on mythology. The female was struggling to get back up before she was kicked away by a giant creature that stepped out of the tent. Croc, a crocodile much larger than most with many scars that showed how accustomed to battle he was. He wore nothing but a loincloth, relying on his scales to take the brunt of any attack and his hardened body to raise his chance of winning. He had large grey spines that ran from the top of his head to the tip of his tail, each one sharpened to have an equal deadliness as that of a a sword. His scales were a light red with an almost pink underbelly and black eyes. How anyone found this guy intimidating he didn't know, but then again he knew to never judge a book by its cover. He watched as he inched closer to the naga, a sneer on his lips. "It seems you have no idea how to pleasure a man., Would you be a virgin by chance?" The naga only nodded, hoping she would get off a little easier if the large crocodile knew she wasn't experienced. He only smiled as he moved his loincloth to the side, the horrified look on the naga's face only bringing him more pleasure. "Then I can easily make you an example to the others should they decide to get more resistant. It's been a while since I ever had the luxury of deflowering a woman." The naga could do nothing as she was frozen with fear as Croc positioned himself over her, his henchman all watching with perverted grins. He thrust forward, causing the naga below him to let out a shrill cry. He sat there as he relished in the feeling of taking the innocence of a woman and began to move himself inside of her. The only problem with that was that he felt nothing moist, nothing squeezing him, nothing at all. He recoiled with a scream of pain when he looked down to find that his tool was no longer attached to his body. Croc held himself while the lesser crocodiles looked around for the one who attacked their leader. It wasn't long before they spotted the armor clad wolf that stood to the side of the naga who was still cowering on the ground. Sin stared at the crocodiles that surrounded him from all sides. They were just making themselves easier targets for him and he wasn't about to let it go to waste. Purple smog began to fall from the maw of his helmet as the crocodiles watched on in fury.

"Just who do you think you are?" Sin didn't answer as the smoke ignited into flames and he spun around, lighting every enemy around him in an eternal blaze. The scaled creatures ran about the camp, rolling and jumping in the nearby lake to rid them of the flames, but it was for naught as they soon found out that this was no ordinary fire and began to slowly cook. The slaves watched on in fear as many of the soldiers fell against their cage, calling out for help but had no true way of surviving. The screams soon died and the camp became deathly silent as the only one left was Croc. Croc seemed to have finally gotten over the pain and decided to stand up, shocked when he found that his entire camp had been killed within seconds. Croc glared at the wolf as he readied his claws at Sin.

"So, it seems that someone has finally decided to go for my head. Didn't think it would be some weakling such as Blood Puppy, they could have at least sent a challenge." Sin just laughed as he clapped before pumping a fist into the air.

"Yes, that name stuck! I seriously need to thank that kid, because that is by far my favorite title." The title had been earned when the child had seen him covered in blood. The child had been too young to understand death and only knew what the substance was. He was sure to cover the child as to not shatter his innocence by letting him gaze upon the massacre he had created to get to him.

"You cocky son of a bitch., I'll kill you!" He didn't have a chance to move an inch before Sin was in front of him and shoved his claw into the crocodile's throat. Croc fell lifeless to the ground, the blood pooling on the ground.

"All bark, no bite. Can I get at least one challenge before I die of boredom or old age." Sin walked over to the tent Croc had come out of, cutting some of the tent cloth off. He walked back over to the naga and crouched down to her. She was still shocked, not really sure what to do. "Hey, you okay there?" Sin snapped his fingers a few times. One of the naga males that had been confined to the cage decided to speak up.

"Hey, leave her alone you monster!" He quickly jumped back as Sin threw one of the hand axes the crocodiles carried, embedding into the soil in front of the naga. Sin said nothing as he turned back to the naga before slapping her across the face. Another one of the naga were about to say something before Sin sent them a look that dared them to speak.

"What was that for?" Sin smiled from under the helmet, glad that she had finally come to. He took the cloth he cut and threw it around the naga, covering her and showering her that he meant no harm. Sin stood up and put out a hand for her to grab. She took it and he helped her up. "I thank you for helping m-" She was surprised when he wrapped his arms around her in a hug, scaring many of the other slaves around them.

"I'm sorry." He didn't have to say anything else as the naga began breaking down and crying. She did nothing but release her sorrow as he held her for the time it took for her to let it all out. The slaves looked on with sadness, others had smiles on their faces as they had finally been sent a savior. When the naga calmed down Sin let her go and he moved from cage to cage as he broke each lock with a swing of his claws. There were all kinds of species that filed out in front of him. Cheetahs, nagas, sirens, dragons. There were just so many to count. It seemed as if Croc had been doing this for longer than the bounty had mentioned. With this many exotic slaves he had too have been running this ring for at least ten years or so. Sin rounded up every slave before he had at least four hundred or so bodies standing before him. He raised a hand, silencing all of the talking and causing them to focus on him. "I came here on a mission to take care of the menace Croc. Now that I have completed that mission you are all free to go." One cheetah male stepped forward, anger lingering in his eyes.

"So what now, are you just going to leave us?"

"No, you will all follow me and I will escort you back to the city I traveled here from. From there you will be sent back to your initial homes and families respectively. It will be a while before we make it back, but if we leave now we can make it there in the morning." With that said Sin began moving to where he had come from, the group following his lead. It wasn't long before night fell and they stopped to set up camp. Multiple fires dotted the small clearing as different groups huddled around the fires that were spread out. Sin sat alone, away from the citizens as he knew that he was rather intimidating and he didn't want to take his armor off for fear of others spreading word of the living human. His armor and scales kept him warm as he sat among the trees, staring up at the starry night sky. It felt nice to not be tied to any one place now. He was able to travel anywhere he wanted and was able to see sights he would have never witnessed on Earth. Below him were some of the most mythological beings that had been illustrated in mere book form. There was no way his life would have been this interesting back home and was pretty glad he took Malefore's deal when he did.

"Why do you not join us below?" Sin looked to his side to find the naga that he had saved from being raped had slithered up into the tree he had been occupying. Luckily she was now fully clothed, but he would hardly call a fur bra fully in any sense of the word.

"I enjoy looking out into the night sky. I also don't want to frighten anyone as I know I am a bit scary."

"Why would they be scared of you? Not only did you save me, but you saved everyone from the hell that we had been forced to live in. If anything they would hail you as a hero." Sin sat there, the naga unable to tell his expression from underneath the helmet.

"Yes, but they were also slaves not too long ago. I'm pretty sure that some of them might suspect that I will put them back in the trade ring. They're just too afraid of what I might do should they decide to disobey me. They are captured by the thought of death looming above them. I want to get them to town as soon as possible so that they can be sent off to their homes." The naga slithered uncomfortably close to Sin, her tongue flicking out against his armor.

"Then at least allow me to show you my gratitude for saving me." Her tail snaked between his legs and began to rub him. Sin didn't move as the naga got no response from the wolf.

"Sorry, but those aren't exactly my real legs more than they are pants. As much as I'd love to let out some pent up sexual frustration, I'm going to have to decline. You still have your innocence and should only give that to someone you deem worthy to love you for the rest of your life. Not some fake hero you met mere hours ago." She backed down after that, an actual smile on her face.

"I wish there were more men like you in the world. Those who can see true beauty under the skin of even so called monsters." She slithered back down the tree and went to rejoin the groups. Sin just leaned back and closed his eyes, letting sleep overcome him.

It didn't take long after everyone had awoken for them to finally get to town. Sin waved them off before heading back to the inn he had rented for him and his companions. When he entered he was met by quite the stare from Winter and a snore from the sleeping Cole. While she couldn't see it, Winter could feel that stupid look of confusion that would easily be drawn on Sin. "Would you like to explain exactly what it was that had you thinking that you should be going off alone to fight without our helped like we had talked about? You could have been killed or seriously injured and we would have no idea where to look." Sin just shrugged, upsetting the dragoness even more.

"Then just forget about me and move on with your lives. I'm pretty sure you hate getting dragged along with me and hate my presence to begin with, so I would get why you would just up and leave." Winter sat there in shock. She couldn't believe what Sin had just said to her. As if he was expecting them to up and abandon him when his back was turned. And how he said it so casually sounded as if he had experienced it more than once.

"I can't believe you, what would make you think we'd just leave you?" Sin just shrugged.

"You never really had any reason to be with me in the first place. I just assumed there were ulterior motives and you just tolerated me for the time being." Winter was steaming at that point.

"I can't believe that you would think so lowly of us." Sin took off his helmet and cuirass leaving him in pants and boots.

"I don't think lowly of you; on the contrary I like the company of both of you. I think lowly of myself so as to not be disappointed when such a thing actually happens to me." Winter flinched a little when she looked at the bare upper body of the human. Sin now sported a large scar that hit him in the mid-section of his stomach and came to about the middle of his stomach, just above the button of his stomach. It was mirrored on his back showing any bystanders what was the outcome of a trial and error at the head of an axe.

Sin clutched his side as blood pooled around his body. He had taken quite the hit from the head of histhis bounty's axe, and now it was slowly costing him his second life. "I told you that you were indeed not invincible. You may be considered immortal thanks to me, but thy body is far from it and cannot sustain large amounts of damage. You should consider yourself lucky." Sin looked to his side as he felt something cold found something closed envelope his body to find Winter working on his wound. He saw her mouth form words, but he was slowly losing his senses from the loss of his life fluid. He knew what he did was something beyond foolish, but it was best that he went ahead and snipped off any hopes of being invincible at the back of his mind that might get him killed in battle in the future. He had shrugged off much worse life threatening injuries and wasn't very concerned about this one. That was why he decided to bring both Cole and Winter on this hunt. He had already planned on looking like he was losing so that his enemy would perform a possible fatal injury. He knew that he could have been killed, knew that his second chance could have been for nothing, and in the back of his mind he liked to nurture that thought for some reason. Sin felt his body be hefted onto Cole's back so that they could transport him to their inn room and treat him there. This experiment was a complete success and would serve as an example for Sin to never underestimate any enemy heis wentcame after. He would give them no chance to retaliate and he would kill them the instant they let their guard down. He wasn't about to make some show of his fights, there was no reason to. No mercy, only bloodshed, every slaughter.

Winter shivered as that memory played out in her mind. That was the second time she had seen the human on the brink of death and she was not planning on having a third. They were in this journey together and she honestly thought that she wouldn't make it if it hadn't been for their little band of freaks. She was taken from her thoughts when she heard the rustling of cloth and looked over to see that Sin was now in nothing but his boxers. Winter's eyes followed him across to the room where he pulled out a chair, turned it around, and sat in it, all while she sported what could have been considered sunburn on her face. "Don't you think you should be a little more decent, especially when sharing a room with a female?" Sin just shrugged, throwing his hands up to his sides nonchalantly.

"You're a dragon who pretty much has everything being flaunted whenever. I still have an article of clothing anyways, so it's not really a big issue with me. I also deserve it since I've been running myself ragged with all of these hunts lately. Besides, you can't say you don't love admiring this body." Sin just smirked as Winter looked off in another direction. Sin threw a large bag onto the table next to him, causing whatever it contained to clink and clang against one another. "So with this, how set do you think we'll be and for how long?" Winter went over to a corner where a bag was resting against the wall. She opened it and began counting whatever it contained.

"With that, we can go without any bounties for quite a while, but knowing you that isn't really an option." Sin smiled as Winter said that. He had become rather fond of hunting all of these low life criminals. It was definitely good practice for his newfound power and he'd be lying if he said he hadn't loved the chance to take some anger out with a killing spree. Sin walked over to Winter and emptied the coins the bag he was holding contained. With that done Sin walked over to the window of the room and picked up the weapon that had almost caused his death. It was a large axe that beat even him in height, wielded by that of a large boar-man-thing. There was nothing special about it, sporting a rather normal steel hilt and neck. It had a large single head that resembled a cleaver with a nasty serrated edge. He hefted it over his shoulder and walked over to the bed Cole was sleeping on. Before Winter knew what was happening behind her she heard the scream of the dragon and the sounding of something heavy cracking against scales. She looked over to find Sin holding the axe he had taken from one of his kills and a very angry Cole rubbing his side as he glared daggers at the human.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing you asshole? There are plenty of other ways you could've woken me up!" Sin just hefted the axe overf his shoulder with a shit eating grin on his lips.

"Now while I'll agree with you there, I will disagree on the notion that this option was so much more fun for me in general." Sin leaned the axe against the bed and walked over to the open widow and leaned on the windowsill. "Now, since I have everyone's attention it is time that we discussed what we do next." The two dragons gained serious expressions, knowing just what he was talking about. "We aren't too far off from where we set off to go and we need to make sure that we are prepared. Today we will take some gold into this town and gather any supplies needed before we depart. With that said, only take the essentials and travel light. We don't know exactly what will be waiting for us and we might have to abandon anything we are carrying, so I would like to make sure we won't have to do that. So who wants to do what? I want to bounce out of this town come night and no later unless something dire arises." As if on que a knock at the door became the source of their full attention. Sin walked over and grabbed his helmet and put it on before scales covered the rest of his body, giving him his draconic hunter façade. He leaned in a chair and nodded to Winter who walked over and opened the door. When the door was ajar she came face to face with a fully armored cheetah. He gave a quick salute before setting his paw back on the sword at his side.

"Good evening ma'am, I was told that I could find the bounty hunter that stopped here in town here." Winter looked back into the room and at Sin who nodded. She stepped to the side and let the cheetah pass. He stopped when he saw the draconic abomination sitting at the table and eyed them both with him both a curiousness and cautionious eye. Without a word he sat down across from Sin and stayed silent as the human also examined his guest. They both just seemed to sit there as the dragons just watched from the side. The cheetah didn't say anything as he put a sack on the table, the contents clinking against one another. "I was told you would accept any job and would do anything to get it done. While I was informed to get someone more suited in the field of negotiation, I feel that it won't do in this world. I am working with a caravan that holds a very important official. We are going through questionable territory and remnants of Malefore's army are spread throughout the forest, so it makes safe passage close to impossible." Sin grabbed the sack and bounced it in his claw a few times. He put it back on the table and clicked a talon on the furniture's surface. This was a bit of a conflict. He wanted to take the job because money helps no matter what, but he also needed to keep his reputation. On the other handhand, they needed to leave and they couldn't really afford to lose too much time.

"Which direction are we heading?"

"A little to the north before heading a bit northeast. The next town over is two to three days from here and we don't know how dangerous the roads are. Once we get to the estate you will be allowed to rest up and we will help supply you with what we can." Sin cracked a smile under his helmet. This would actually work out perfectly. They could make it where they needed to go and make money on the way.

"When do we need to leave? I would like to stock up on a few supplies before we go."

"In about two hours is when we will depart. Meet us at the gate before the allotted time or on the dotat it."

"Will do, you can expect me there." The cheetah rose from his seat and gave a bow before heading out the door, closing it behind him as he left. The scales on Sin's body retracted as he took off the helmet and smiled at his companions. "Would you look at that, a free ride." Winter just rolled her eyes while Cole got off the bed. The dragoness grabbed the large bag of coins and took it over to Sin.

"Well then, we better get going if we're going to get everything beforehand." Sin nodded and put his helmet back on before putting his armor on and placing the scales over his body again.

It wasn't long before they were perusing the town gathering what they needed. A few things for food, some water and waterskinswater skins, alcohol, and a few other necessities. Lastly he was walking and browsing a few of the other stands to make sure there wasn't anything they forgot to get or anything that might come in handy. He was barely staggered as he bumped into something that either got in his way or he got in the way of. Sin looked over to his side to find a female white cheetah rubbing the ass she fell back on. She was dressed in a black corset that was threaded with gold straps and laces. Over that was a deep red half jacket. On her lower body she wore some rather tight black pants with some gold bangles around her ankles. On her right big toe and on her left pinkie toe sat a single gold ring. On her left ear were three ball piercings that lined the inside, one atop the other. Her eyes were a light hazel and glaring quite angrily at the human. "You, who do you think you are? Do you think you can just run into others and not expect to repent for it?" Sin looked down at her has smog dripped from the eyes and mouth of his helmet. He inched close to her, his face almost coming mere inches from hers before a sword interjected him. Sin only moved his head to look at the guard traveling with the female cheetah, who in turn looked damn near pissing himself.

"I-I will inform you, hooligan, that you should do well to behave in front of someone important. If you lay even a claw on herher, you willcan be executed." Sin inched closer to the sword before the head of a dragon engulfed his and then devoured the top half of the sword. The guard screamed in terror and fell back, throwing the sword to the side thinking that he might take his paws with the blade. The sound of crunching metal made both the female and guard cringe at each crunch. Once the metal was fully consumed the dragon disappeared and left the wolf helmet behind. A tail erupted from behind Sin and shot towards the guard, stopping only inches form his eyes.

"And I will inform you, simpleton, that it is unwise to anger those more powerful than even those who are backed by money. Kill and moved, a predator's technique of getting what he wants and leaving before the evidence can even point towards him. The one who travels with no pack has a scent so distinct that it makes prey cower." He crouched down do the sweating female, looking her dead in the eyes. "So you must be the one that guard hired me to travel with. You are so much more elegantly dressed compared to the common people that anyone could have deduced it. While you are protected by the payment that binds my chains you will do well to hold your tongue." The female shot to her feet in a matter of seconds with a look of hellish anger.

"I will have a word with Askir about this!" And then she just stormed off like nothing had happened. He looked back at the guard who scrambled to follow the female before they could share one last look. Sin snorted and stood back up to his full height.

"I hate nobles."

Time seemed to fly as Sin, Cole and Winter all stood among the group of guards that joined the caravan. They just stood there as the guards all shifted around and filled the caravan up with supplies and anything else they were taking. "And why are you not helping load the cart, soldier?" Sin looked to his side to find the noble he met in town. He waved a dismissive claw at her and continued looking forward.

"I am a hired blade, not some mover. I'll be the one killing anything in the way. Other than that, you guys will be doing the rest. I was not paid for lifting." She huffed and stomped forward, getting in his face.

"I order you to assist with loading the cart." She froze when she suddenly felt ice shoot through her veins. Looking down she found a spear of smoke piercing her stomach, but no blood pooling over the wound. The weapon evaporated and she suddenly felt fine again, but that didn't stop her from pawing at the spot she was stabbed.

"Remember this, you hired me first so I am on your side. If there were say, some bandits who hired me to kill you, you would be very much not alive at the moment. Stay behind me and don't get in my way so I can murder anything in the way and that will speed up the process of us never seeing one another again." He patted her on the head and walked past the stunned cheetah as the cart began moving through the gate. She turned and glared at Sin's back before walking with everyone else. Twenty minutes of walking passed rather quietly as Sin and Cole walked at the front while Winter brought up the rear with guards dotting around them. Sin kept scanning the underbrush to make sure that nothing was lurking the forest. He was surprised by the fact everything had gone smoothly for longer than he was used to. He wasn't going to complain too much, free money waus the best kind of money. "Hey Cole, you smell anything I can't see?"

"No, as far as I can sense everything is pretty clear at the moment."

"Winter, you got anything on your senses?"

"Negative, everything is clear." Sin put his claws behind his head and looked to the sky.

"Well damn, I wasn't expecting it to be so easy."

"You say that as if it that is a bad thing." Sin looked over his shoulder where the voice came from to find the cheetah that had hired him for the job.

"Nah, it isn't, but I've had a life filled with so much excitement that it feels weird to take it easy." The cheetah looked as if he was about to say something before he was cut off.

"Askir, stop conversing with and keep an eye out for danger." He waved a paw back at the female cheetah that had taken to sitting on the caravan.

"Sorry, Madame Eleith." Sin looked behind him to see that female cheetah from before lounging around just glaring up a storm. Sin turned and started walking to the cart before stepping up on it and standing in front of her. She stared up at him in shock while he just stared down at her.

"What do you think you're doing?" He didn't say anything as he turned to face the direction the cart was traveling in before lifting an open claw. A small ball of purple energy manifested that he threw at the ground, sending out a purple ring that stretched out into the forest.

"Everyone stop." Even his calm and quiet voices echoed through the ranks and the caravan stopped almost immediately. As soon as they stopped a giant mole burst from the underground. All of the soldiers scattered and clambered with their weapons as they prepared for a fight. Sin jumped off of the cart and walked forward with his calm demeanor whilst everyone else was on the edge. The mole roared in anger as the human approached it. The mole reared up to stomp on him, which would have been successful should there have been any actual recognizable piece of the mole left. Sin retracted his single claw from the gory mess and stepped back in line with the rest of the dumbfounded soldiers. He looked back at Eleith, not like she could see him. "It's best to know what your toy is capable of before you go and play with it. I suggest you watch your step, madamMadame. My name is not for show, nor is it a spectacle of grandeur. Your money has paid me to kill and I will not disappoint." The guards just stared at the remains of the mole, not really sure what had happened to cause it to burst into pieces. Some of them unconsciously stepped away from the hunter in fear while others moved to block his path to Eleith. The noble herself could not tear her eyes from the dark helmet sockets that had smog seeping from them. For a moment she could feel something…dark before the mole was completely annihilated. Something that not even a demon from the deepest pits of hell could muster up. And yet, it didn't even feel as if that was everything there was. "Let's keep moving." She was jostled from her thoughts as the cart and guards began moving once more. She couldn't keep her eyes off of him as they moved deeper into the forest. Every hair on her body stood at attention with his presence and there was this constant inkling of fear at the back of her mind. There was a fear that if she even took an eye off him,er he would end her life.

Hours later the caravan finally stopped to set up camp for the night. Guards took up a shift while others went to sleep, resting for when they would take their turn. Sin decided to be the first of his group to take watch and sat on top of the cart, looking around the forest. As he looked around he found that many of the guards kept glancing his way. He wasn't surprised, there weren't many people who inherited the power of one of the strongest and most dangerous beasts in that world's history. He summoned forth a few balls of smoke and began juggling them out of boredom. He would probably take over the shift for both Winter and Cole so that they could get more sleep. Most nights he couldn't sleep and if he could then it wasn't but for a few minutes. If he really needed any then there was always the option to set up sentries around the caravan. His juggling world record was interrupted when he heard something tap against the wood of the cart he was perched on. Sin looked over to find Eleith leaning against one of the wheels while sending him a very unsatisfied eye. "So let me ask you something. Just how is it that someone like you becomes nothing more than a lowlife bounty hunter that scrapes up the dirt in Avalar for his next meal? It seems to me that you could do much better as someone working for the military or even the guard of nobles. I've even heard that there was a temple in Warfang that could use instructors, heard they were getting ready to start taking students for the first time since before the war." Sin looked out to the forest in contemplation.

"Because I don't enjoy war, nor do I enjoy violence. While I could teach the next generation to battle the dangers in the world there is no guarantee that they will succeed and can die way before their time. Out here I can use my abilities to make this place a little biut safer. While it won't make too much of a difference there are things that will follow the butterfly effect. Some good things will come from these actions, while bad things will also spawn. Revenge against the one I killed will raise another crime boss, but at the same time a family traveling on the road those bandits were stationed on will have less of a chance of being attacked. There is nothing that can bring forth substantial change, no matter how big the deed may seem on the outside. So while there are nobles inside the safety of their home passing laws that they hope will lower crime rate, I will be out here making sure there are some crimes that will be stopped. I know that I can't save everyone, but helping even the few makes change."

"So tell me then, mister patriot, just what are you doing traveling with us?"

"You just so happen to be heading near where I need to be. So I decided that I could pocket a few extra coins from helping you and get a few more things in the next town."

"Uh huh, and let me ask you another question. Just what is under all of that armor? I know you're not a dragon given your bipedal state of motion and you're not of any species that I have seen or read about in the world. What are you?"

"Geez lady, first you want to be a complete bitch to me back in town and now you want to be all buddy-buddy. Make up your damn mind, friend or foe?" Eleith huffed and crossed her arms.

"Well I was going to apologize for the way I acted in town, hopefully getting one from you for your actions, but now you're just being an ass." Sin just sighed in defeat. Women were so over the top sometimes.

"Fine, I'm sorry for the way I acted, I should have been watching where I was going, I was rude when I shouldn't have been and those pants make your ass look good. Anything else?" She just stared at him, a little surprised.

"Can you uh, can you repeat that last one?" Instead of saying anything he took his claws and set them about a foot apart from each other in the air. He brought them straight down before they inched apart to make a sort of circle shape before coming back together in their former position. He then took his claws and put them where the circle was formed before squeezing the air in a groping gesture. Had Sin not have caught himself he was pretty sure the laughter from the look on Eleith's face would have sent him tumbling off the cart. She tried to gain her composure, failing miserably, as she coughed away her embarrassment. "Yes well, I am also sorry for the way I had acted when we first met. Just because I am a noble doesn't make me any better than even a bounty hunter. So, where exactly will you be going after you are done here…?"

"Sin, and I'm not even completely sure at this moment in time." Eleith put a digit to her mouth in contemplation.

"Sin, as in the evil of one who commits deeds most heinous?"

"Indeed. I am the sins of those who have fallen before me and a scorn to all mankind." Sin fist pumped before looking to the sky. "Yes, cliché title drop for dramatic effect can be marked off my bucket list." Eleith raised an eyebrow at the human's ramblings.

"O…kay. So what exactly brought you to this point in time? Not everyone lasts so long in your line of work and I have heard a bit about you traveling across towns. You've done work basically everywhere and every kind of job that has been given to you. You also have an almost perfect track record to accommodate. Rather strange for such an upstart." Sin gave her a nod of agreement.

"I would say the same things had it not been for what I've been through and just what I am. Coming here was completely by chance and almost a mistake. I've done so much more here than I would have ever hoped to at my original home. There was no real place for me there and I chalked this up as a way to enjoy something and somewhere that would accept me. So far, I haven't been wrong. Then again I feel that there is much more to what I am supposed to do. Calling it being the hero of some make believe story would be too much, maybe just someone who helps a greater cause? I feel like I play a part, but I have yet to find it so I am just traveling the countryside at the moment. See where it takes me." Eleith sat in silence as Sin stared off into the forest. She was genuinely interested about just who and what her new bodyguard was. There were so many questions revolving around him and she was sure there were a majority of them that wouldn't be answered. And yet she couldn't stop thinking about what he could be. Eleith was startled from her thoughts when Sin summoned a large javelin and hurled it into the forest. A howl of pain echoed through the camp when the weapon disappeared behind the trees. Eleith was shocked when Sin vanished from her sight when he reached out and touched a sliver of the smoke trail the javelin left behind. She then turned around when she was startled by an explosion and found a large column of purple fire reaching towards the stars. And just like that the screams of pain ended along with the fire. "That should scare away anything else that might wander too close for the rest of the night." Eleith jumped back and clutched her chest as Sin popped up right next to her.

"Where the hell did you go, and come from?" He just patted her on the head.

"No need to worry your pretty head about it, just know that we'll be safe for quite some time." She swatted his claw away and glared at him.

"That isn't something I can just count as you being you. That magic was completely different to that of what the dragons use. It looked…unnatural." Sin gestured to his entire body.

"And what part of me even looks remotely normal. There is shit I can do that you probably have never seen before. The only thing you need to know is that I will protect you and this caravan, no excuses." Sin jumped back on top of the cart and laid down. "So just go back to sleep or whatever and I'll handle the rest." Instead of leaving, Eleith climbed up on the cart and sat next to him. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. Sin looked over to her before looking back at the sky. "What do you people see in me? Back where I came from women avoided me like a virus, but now good looking girls do nothing but associate with me. After what I just did I'm surprised you're even willing to come within five feet of me."

"Well, it doesn't seem right forto me to up and judge you based on one thing you do. You don't seem like that bad a person when you get past your sarcasm and smartass remarks. As a noble and the daughter of a very well-known noble I don't get to interact with different people very often. Many that I have met just treat me like a noble should be and others are just plain boring. I rather like the idea of someone treating me like an actual civilian and a friend. And you're the first person to ever do that. It makes me want to talk to and learn more about you. And if that magic was anything to go by, then you're definitely an interesting character too."

"Just know that I don't fuck on the first date." Eleith raised a fist to punch him, but lowered it when she saw the very hard armor and sharp scales.

"Don't flatter yourself. I wouldn't bed just anyone, even if I were only looking for a night of fun. I plan to marry before I even nurture the thought of mating." Sin just gave her a thumbs up.

"That's good to hear. You should always consider yourself good enough to share something so sacred with only the one whom you will be with for the rest of your life. Where I come from there were very little who would hold something so close and would be willing to give it away for even one night of debauchery." Eleith grinned and put her cheek in her paw.

"I'm guessing you would know, huh party animal?"

"No." That wiped the grin off her face as she straightened up again. "Even if I wanted to, not that I really did, I was always outcast from my very own race. Giving up my virginity was not something I was eager to give up. There were many diseases in my world that were transferred through sexual contact and sex was not always safe no matter what you did. Relationship wise I have always been alone. I was seen as a freak and therefore never given a chance atI finding something as heartwarming as 'love'." Eleith was stunned by his little speech. She worked with nobles and those of the lower class, but she had never heard someone who sounded so depressed. Even families in poverty found solace in one another, but it seemed like he never even had that luxury.

"What was it like for you back home?"

"Oh man, it was shit. The whole country, nay the world, was nothing but people and their burning hate for one another. Not a single person could get along and there was just constant killing out of the spite of someone else's opinion. I am so glad to be out of that hellhole. I was picked on constantly for being different and being an orphan did not help. I would not wish that form of living on any other being."

"Damn, that bad huh? We just got done going through war times here, so things are still stabilizing. One thing is for sure though, this world got much safer afterwards. There's hardly any remnants of Malefore's army and the only thing left in this world is just lowlife criminals. Safety has become much better than before."

"Every day was a war for survival. You could walk out of your home early morning and die as soon as you crossed the door. Nowhere was safe, not even your own home." They went silent and just stared up at the stars. Hours passed without anything else happening aside from guards changing shifts. Eleith had fallen asleep and Sin had picked her up and put her in her tent before going back to his post. Morning came quickly as they all packed up and began moving once more. Today they would make it to their destination and Sin would get his pay and go his own way. Sin checked with his companions telepathically and got no signs that there was anything hostile in their way. It seemed that it would be an easy ride from there and they would get to town with no problems. .

"Look"Look out!" Sin crouched into a battle stance as he looked around for whatever Ventile sensed. He didn't see anything right off the bat, but he knew better than to doubt the old dragon's judgement. It wasn't long before he jumped into the air as a mass of sludge formed beneath his feet. When he touched back down he found that it was one of those dogs that attacked the town a few weeks back.

"Winter, Cole, we've got Wretched!" Both dragons took the air and began picking off the monsters that started to form from basically nowhere. The guards were having a bit of trouble fighting the weird muck monsters, leaving some of them to meet their demise. More Wretched bolted out of the woods and joined the fray, all of them looking the same as the dogs, but each with different animal forms. Some were feral cheetahs as well as bears, wolves, deer, and raccoons. Sin cut through countless amounts of the animals, but it seemed as if they just kept multiplying when he killed one. Only a few of the guards were left aside from himself, Winter, and Cole. He hadn't seen Eleith since the start of the fight and could only assume the worst. His assumptions were proven wrong as he saw her jumping through the crowd of animals, rapier in paw. Sin fired a smog from his mouth that caused a large line of the Wretched to decay and fall apart, opening a path for Eleith to run to him. She took the opening and ended up at his side in mere seconds. She pressed her back to his as they stared at the sea of almost endless creatures.

"Just what are these things?" Sin grabbed one that leaped at him and tore it in half.

"They're called Wretched and I have only fought them once. I was in a town a few weeks back and they attacked out of nowhere lead by a giant lizard. I don't know what they truly are or their purpose, but they are dangerous so watch yourself." Eleith skewered a few that jumped at her.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious." Sin summoned a purple ball and bounced it in his claw.

"Just make sure to stay close and stay alive. I still have a job to do." She didn't have a chance to say anything as he tossed the ball out into the crowd. When it hit the ground it opened a vortex that started pulling in a great number of Wretched before erupting into a column of flame. He then picked Eleith up and jumped over the creatures and landed amidst the last remaining guards. "Listen up, stay next to me and form a circle around me! Give me a few minutes and I'll take care of this problem!" The guards questioned nothing as they formed a wall around Sin and readied their weapons. Sin went stone stiff as everyone else began fighting. The Wretched they were faced with were not very powerful so it was easy to dispatch them, but soon they began to pick up their attacks. More began attacking at once and the bigger animals moved to the front to break the wall. Eleith was pushed back next to Sin as she blocked an attack from a bear.

"Thanks for doing so much asshole!" Sin didn't answer as he kept staring at the ground. She huffed and jumped back into the fight, shoving her rapier right in the bear's eye. She pulled back and let the bear melt to the ground before stabbing a dog that jumped right in front of her. The cheetah spun on her heels and bent backwards as a raccoon jumped over her, impaling it on her sword. She stood straight and hurled the raccoon at a dog that charged her, stunning it and giving her enough time to pierce its throat and effectively killing it. The sound of screaming threw her off as she turned around to find some of the guards losing ground and being slaughtered. With her attention stolen she didn't notice the bear charge, knocking her back and down. Eleith flipped over and shoved her sword in the bear's mouth, holding it at bay. "Come on Sin, we can only do so much!" She cursed when she once again got no answer. She gritted her teeth as more screams echoed in the fight, signaling the death of a few more. "Please, do something!" She stared over the bear to watch more of the Wretched close in on them. The amount of creatures werewas overwhelming and she began to believe there was no way out of this. The pace of the world began to slow down as she pretty much stared her demise in the face. Her eyes teared up as her grip on her sword became weaker, allowing the bear to get closer. She was running out of stamina and soon she would be dead. Her eyes widened as a roar louder than any dragon's she had ever heard forced silence on the battle. Every Wretched froze in place as Sin roared to the heavens. A purple fog exited his body and began to climb towards the sky. The smoke slowly began to take shape until it was reminiscent of a dragon. The beast stared down at the sea of Wretched before releasing smog from its mouth. The smog passed over the guards and the Wretched, leaving everything to howl in pain. Eleith instinctively held her breath as it engulfed her and the bear. She had no idea what was happening, but was surprised when she felt the weight against her sword vanish. She wanted to look, but was a afraid of what the smoke might do to her should she open her eyes. After a few minutes the only thing she could hear was the heavy breathing of the soldiers and even heavier breathing from someone else. She opened her eyes and looked to the guards to find that every single one of them were alive and revealed of all of their wounds. She couldn't believe it with her own eyes. She knew that guards had died during the skirmish, yet they were alive and healthy. Heavier breathing brought her attention to Sin who was kneeling with his forehead to the ground. Eleith rushed over to him and helped him sit upright. His breathing didn't slow down as he clutched at his chest through his armor.

"Sin!" Eleith looked to the sky as Winter touched down and rushed to the human, Cole following behind. "What did we tell you about using so much magic? You don't have enough practice and will end up killing yourself if you push it too far."

"No…choice….would've…would've killed…everyone…good thing…I….never…leave home…without…phoenix down." Sin started hacking as he bent towards the ground again. He flopped onto his back, his chest pumping faster than normal at the loss of breath. Eleith was about to ask him if he wanted anything before a roar erupted form the forest. Every occupant of the caravan turned towards the underbrush as something that was able to shake the earth was making its way towards them. Eleith was the only to react as a large club swept through the trees, crushing them and swatting away both dragons. Sin just let out a cough as he staggered to his feet and picked up Eleith. He threw her over his shoulder before taking off into the woods. Eleith stared at the giant beast that stepped out of the forest. It was at least twenty feet tall with two massive horns on its head. Just like the Wretched it had glowing yellow eyes and a tar like body. It heaved the large club it was holding on its shoulder before locking eyes with her and following. Sin was pretty much limping through the forest, trying to get both of them a safe distance away and keep the caravan safe. He knew that he couldn't get very far, but he could at least keep the guards alive and it was easier to protect one person instead of multiple people. He didn't stop moving, not wanting to take his chances on just how close those footsteps were. A root jutting out of the ground caught his foot and sent him falling forwards and down a small hill. Both he and Eleith rolled down the hill, separating the two by a few feet. Eleith recovered and stood back up, but Sin had used up about all of his energy and therefore could barely move. Eleith was about to go help him up before the sound of large footsteps drew her attention away. She looked over to find that the giant creature had caught up to them and was now hovering over the both of them. Eleith looked to the Sin, the monster and lastly the forest before making a mad dash for the forest. She picked up a large rock on the run and chucked it at the monster, pegging it in the head. That seemed to get its attention as it began to follow her and leave Sin behind. Eleith never slowed down and never looked back, afraid that she would find that behemoth just a footfall away from her. She heard the trees cracking behind her and jumped to the right as soon as a club came crashing to the ground. The cheetah sped up, knowing just how close the monster was. After she kept running for a while she came face to face with the edge of a cliff. Stopping at the very edge she looked down to find that it was nothing but ground at the bottom and there was no way she could jump the chasm to the other side. She thought about it for a moment, thinking that she could make the jump to the other side closer to the middle and slow her descent. She didn't have much time to think as the sound of the large creature approaching made up her mind and she made the jump. Everything slowed down as Eleith smiled to herself, seeing that her plan would work in her favor for the most part. She looked behind her and lost the smile as she watched the monster make the same jump. She gaped in horror as the creature closed in on her and raised its club. Another thing that caught her attention was the feeling of a claw holding her side. Eleith looked over to find the armored Sin holding her. She also took note of the spectral wings on his back and large sword clutched in his claw. Before she could take detail on the sword a cry of pain brought her back to the monster and watched as it was split and half before being split down the middle, leaving it to fall to the ground below. Eleith was jerked around as Sin flapped his wings and took them up to the top of the cliff on the other side before landing and collapsing once more. "Son of a bitch, let me check my checklist. Killed the monster, save the princess, looks like everything is accounted for. Am I getting my kiss or what, shit?!" Eleith patted all across her body to make sure that what just happened wasn't a dream. She sighed in wonder and relief and leaned back to rest.

"Hey, you guys okay?." Eleith looked back across the chasm to find that Winter and Cole were on the other side with a few guards. Sin pushed himself up and walked over to the cliff before waving.

"Yeah, we're okay. Continue to town and we'll me-" Sin was cut off as he fell backwards and hit the ground, unconscious. Winter faceclawed and sighed in annoyance.

"Hey cheetah, take care of that dumbass for me! We're going to keep heading towards town with the group and we'll meet up with you there." Eleith stood up and dusted herself off.

"Okay, I'm just going to make a camp here until he wakes up and then we'll see where we go from there." Winter nodded and turned around before walking back into the forest with the guards. With that taken care of Eleith set off into the forest to gather wood for a fire and hopefully some fruits that were safe to eat. After a few hours Eleith returned to the cliff side and set the wood she collected down. Since they were attacked near morning it had yet to get too late and therefore gave them some hours of daylight left. As Eleith sat there and snacked on an apple she had found in the forest she thought about what the hell just happened back at the caravan. First off they had been attacked by something Sin had called Wretched, but she had never seen nor heard of such a thing. Second off was the fact that he wiped out all of them in but a second by having some giant dragon erupt from his body. He had said he wasn't a dragon, but after seeing that she was questioning his story. Afterwards he had somehow healed the guards that were injured and even resurrected the ones who had died! If there was one thing she knew it was that whatever he did was indeed some of the darkest magic she had ever seen. Another thing was that there was no way in hell that any mortal creature, or anything that walked the plane of the living, that could use such power. She was scared and intrigued altogether and for some reason wanted to know more. He saved her life and the life of her guards and for that she was grateful, no matter how evil his power was.

Night came in what felt like second without any stirring from Sin. Eleith sat alone, poking at the fire in boredom. She had not expected him to be out for this long and there was no telling just what everyone else was doing. They could all be at the town by now and they were out here all alone. She looked over to the now sleeping Sin, a curious thought running through her head. She stood up and walked over to his splayed out form. Kneeling down next to him she studied his armored body. Eleith traced a claw from his cuirass up to his helmet, hooking it under the rim. When she did, she was surprised to find something fleshy and wet. When she pulled away she found her claw drenched in sweat and blood. In a state of panic, she pulled his helmet off and froze in complete shock. What she was met with was a creature like no other she had seen walk the planet. His face was white and somewhat ape like when she noticed the hair atop his head. She shook that surprise aside when she also noticed that blood was leaking from his ears and nose. She cursed when she noticed that she had nothing to wipe up the blood at all. Thinking quickly, she jumped to her feet and dashed into the woods. A few minutes later she happened upon a small creek. Pulling the jacket from her shoulders, she dunked it into the water and let it sit for about a minute before yanking it out and running back to their camp. When she made it back to Sin's side she used her claws to cut off one of the sleeves to dab up the blood. As she was tending to his wounds she didn't notice that she had been followed back to her camp. Eleith froze when she heard something behind her break and quickly whipped around, scanning the forest line. Everything went silent once more, only the raging beat of her heart filling her ears. Before she could even sense it, a wolf jumped from the underbrush. She had just enough time to jump and meet it midair with a kick to the face with both of her paws, sending it flailing backwards. It wasn't enough to put it out of a fight, as it lifted itself back onto its paws before dropping into a pouncing stance. Eleith back up as she watched six more wolves pour into the clearing with the first one. While she was backing up she tripped over Sin's helm that she had taken off, getting a shallow gash under her forearm from the point of the ears that adorned the helmet. She hissed in pain as droplets of blood hit the ground, causing the wolves to sniff the air and drool slightly at the mouth. They moved closer to her, causing the cheetah to quickly scoot back. It was all for naught, as the wolf that had first entered the clearing pounced at her. She covered herself with her arms and let out a scream that would never be heard. A few seconds passed before she noticed that she was definitely still alive. The one thing that confused her was that she definitely heard something being devoured along with the scent of the blood of a fresh kill, but it wasn't her. She slowly looked up, wide eyed as she saw who it was that was making the horrible slurping noise as they ate. Sin was crouched down on all fours, devouring the insides of the wolf that pounced at her. She crawled back when he threw his head up to swallow a chunk of meat he savagely ripped from the corpse. His head was engulfed in some weird purple fire, but it didn't seem to be harming him. Strangely enough, the fire seemed to resemble what looked to be the head of a dragon, but without horns. On his cheeks were spines the pointed back towards his neck and were green at the tips. Swooping down the back of his head was on long, thick strand of flame that looked like an overextended ponytail. The entire thing was golden and seemed to flow on its own accord. She looked back around at the other wolves and noticed that they seemed to be hesitant for a moment and just shifted in one spot. Sin paid them no mind and just kept devouring his meal. One of the wolves took that as sign to attack and took the evident opening. Eleith was about to warn Sin about the attack, but there was no need as his 'hair' shot forward and whipped the wolf straight the middle of his body and splitting it in half. Both pieces of the wolf fell without a single drop of blood hitting the ground, the fire cauterizing the wound as soon as it hit the animal. The rest of the wolves took a step as the previous wolf's action had grabbed Sin's attention and he was now starring the rest of them down. Sin stepped forward and let out a deep roar that felt as if it shook the ground itself. The flame on his back split into multiple strands and began to wildly flail. His body jerked as two jet black wings erupted from his back. With a mighty flap he shot towards the wolves, slicing two in half with his outstretched wings. He grabbed another by the head and tossed it into the air. Sin jumped under the airborne wolf, his wings cracking as they twisted horizontally to create what looked like scissors. The wings quickly slammed together, cutting through the beast like paper. He then whipped around at the sound of the last wolf jumping at him. Sin opened his jaws and locked them with the wolves, confusing the creature. Flames could be seen licking at the edges of Sin's mouth, but the muffled pained howls of the wolf could be heard as he was cooked from the inside. The fur on the wolf's muzzle became singed as the body fell limp, leaving Sin to drop the body. Sin let out another roar to the sky, signaling his victory to any other predator who may be nearby. Eleith was scared stiff, unsure of the events that had transpired before her. She looked to her side to make sure she wasn't just seeing things and indeed found that Sin was missing from where he had been lying. When she turned back to her feral companion she found him muzzle to muzzle with her. She just stared into his golden orb, her blood cold and leaving her body to feel as if death had already taken her. Sin opened his jaws and lunged forward, his intent killer.

"Halt, you fool! Have better control of yourself. Don't give my power such free reign over your body!" The fire that encased Sin's head snuffed itself and left a wide eyed human staring at a horrified cheetah, mouth wide open. He slowly closed it before shifting his eyes from side to side, as if he had no idea where he was.

"How long have I been asleep and why do I taste smoked blood?" Sin moved back to his original bipedal stance before looking around more. His eyes scanned to multiple mutilated wolf corpses before coming back to Eleith. "Strange, I was always told the hangover would be much worse after a blackout." He raised a claw to his head and was startled when he felt himself touch his bare head. He looked down at the cheetah and caught his helmet in his peripheral vision lying on the ground beside her. Sin rubbed his neck and sighed as he looked to the sky. "So, you saw my actual face." A hint of confusion overtook Eleith's expression before it turned into utter terror as a javelin made of purple shadows constructed in Sin's claw. "I can't allow what you saw get out to others." She moved her mouth to asked what he meant, but her words came out as a gurgle and a cough. She looked down in confusion to find a bloodstained javelin in her throat. She stared back up at Sin with tears in her eyes as he gave her an insulting melancholy smile. Her chokes were the only sound as he lifted her up off the ground and began to slowly walk forward. Eleith rose a weak arm to grip the javelin and tried pulling herself off of the weapon. Sin came to a stop as he held the dangling cheetah over the gulch they had jumped across. She looked down at the bottom of the crevice with blurred vision before looking back at Sin, her eyes begging him to stop. Sin let the javelin go as it faded from existence and let her fall. No screams, just struggled gurgling as she fell to her death. He watched as her body hit the shallow water below with no remorse. He turned and picked up his helmet and put it back on before disappearing into the forest. "Are you two there?"

"Thank the ancestors, I thought something might have done you in this time!" The sound of Winter's voice brought a smile to his face to know that they had made it through the forest safely.

"It would take a little more than a forest to kill me. Sadly, it did take Eleith's life. She was attacked by wolves while I was passed out. I awoke to them feasting on her corpse and killed them before trying to save her. It was too late."

"What do we tell everyone here? They'll surely get suspicious if we just up and leave."

"Wait until nightfall and depart by flight. Head west from there, you should see where it is we have been looking for. It would be really hard to miss. I'll meet you there." Winter was silent, which he took as her confirmation and focused on his journey ahead.

"Thou did not have to kill her. We could have taken her with us to keep her quiet." Sin did not answer and instead kept walking. "It is slowly consuming you."

It was nightfall before Sin reached the rendezvous point he had planned to meet Winter and Cole. When he finally cleared the forest and the rest of the underbrush he came upon a rather curious site. The clearing was vast, stretched farther than he could see. It was rather strange to see something like it in the middle of the forest. In the clearing was a mess of rubble strewn about everywhere. It was partly the reason he couldn't see the rest of the clearing thanks to it being piled one top of one another and obscuring his view. From what he could gather from just looking at the remain it seemed to be a castle from previous times, and a large one at that. "Many do not know just where these ruins originated from, not in this time. What you see are the remains of my once grand castle that was destroyed before even Warfang was a thought. This was where I ruled Avalar for many moons and also the downfall of my rule. If we are to go any further, we must wait for the others."

"I am capable of handling it myself. Just tell me what I must do and I will do it."

"Fool, you cannot even get into the structure without the help of Cole. Do you take me for a fool who would make his castle a home in which any intruder may wander through the front door? The castle is collapsed and you may only enter via hidden passageways now. Thou needs to stop thinking he is a god."

"I am no child Ventile! Just tell me what I must do!" Sin was answered by silence, forcing him to comply with the dragon. He instead walked around and looked at the fallen kingdom. It was covered in mostly greenery and no longer held whatever former color it was. It was hard to even distinguish what part of the castle he was even examining. After a few hours his ears were assaulted by the sound of flapping wings. He climbed back over the rubble, happy to finally be able to get on with what they came here to do, but he was welcomed with something much more surprising. Standing atop the rubble he was met with the phantoms of many dragons of varying shapes and sizes. They seemed like they were conversing with one another, but no words were verbally spoken. Sin watched as they all threwough their wings up in a cheer before they began running towards the castle. Sin watched as they almost made it to the structure before angling downwards and passing through the ground. He watched as they all disappeared in the same spot until he was left alone once more. Sin jumped off the rubble and looked at the area the ghostly figures vanished in. He raised a claw, summoning a larger phantom claw, and jammed it into the earth. He scooped out the ground and threw it to the side, revealing a hidden passageway that he assumed lead to the castle's innards.

"Don't you dare go any further! You have no idea what you are getting yourself into at this point." Sin shut him out as he began to make his way down the steps. When he made it to the bottom he found something that made him stop in his tracks. Some of the phantoms that he saw run down the stairs were now either splayed out on the ground or their remains painted the walls. Some bodies were missing limbs and the organs and such that sprayed the walls were easily noticeable by their glow. He continued on, trying hard to not pay attention to the many dead bodies. He used the bodies as a form of torch since the hall was not lit by torch fire. As he traveled the bodies became more scarce, but luckily he had made it to the end of the hall. Sin walked up another set of stairs that seemed to lead up into the castle that was now rubble up above. The only strange part was that he could see light at the top. He climbed the stairs, feeling a dizzy as he did, and found something that took his breath away. At the top was an extravagant castle lined with what looked to be expensive paintings and tapestries. On one wall he found a self-portrait of Ventile that was even bigger than a Guardian. The picture looked as if it had never aged, no tatters or tears. He peeled himself from the painting and examined the rest of the room. There was more than he could even name. If there was any way he could describe it, it would definitely be a house fit for a king. Sin turned to a set of stairs that lead farther up into the castle and began walking up them. If this truly was Ventile's castle, then there was no telling just what he had. As the former Dark Master he assumed he would come upon ancient and forbidden text and artifacts. So Far he had only found his wealth. He assumed if he could find his room then that was where everything was. Once he got to the top of the stairs he was met with more deceased dragons, only this time there were actual bodies that were outlined in the glow of their spirits. From what Sin could conclude, this castle was on an entirely different plane of existence where time no longer flowed. That would explain why everything was so pristine. He stepped up to a large set of double doors that he easily pushed open to reveal a grand throne room. Without another word he stepped away from the door and went on his merry way. He wasn't looking for riches and extravagant trophies. He was here to find tomes of dark origins to help him in his travels. As he was walking down one of the side hallways of the castle he heard a ringing start to chime in his ears. Sin gripped his head in pain and fell to his knees as the chime became the only thing he could hear. He looked up to find an army of dragons running through the hall back toward s the throne room he ignored. His vision blurred and everything began to slowly rock.

"You believe you can stop me, but there is nothing in this world that can kill me. Your search is futile and you will die, just as Ventile did. So continue your search if you must. Just know that in the end, it will not help you." The female voice just cackled as it faded and everything went back to normal. Sin stood back up and looked around to find that the dragons had also disappeared. He put a fist to his chin in thought. So that was who they were after. He was surprised that she had decided to contact them so early in the game, but at least that meant that they were going in the right direction.

"SIN!" The human flinched as Ventile screamed inside his head.

"What!? Jesus, there is no reason to yell."

"I have been trying to speak with you for hours. It seemed as if something was blocking communications between us."

"Well I am sure that you'd be happy to know that she was the reason that we couldn't speak. She contacted me only a few seconds ago with some cliché bad guy riddle shit."

"So she showed herself sooner than I had anticipated. No matter, we must find what we are looking for and leave. Since you decided to disobey my orders we must find it and leave soon. There is no telling just what she has done in my absence. At the end of this hall should be a door so big you would have to be you to miss it, that would be my room." Sin turned and saw the very noticeable door that he mentioned. Sin jogged over to it and kicked it open without a single regret. "Happy to know you take care of others' belongings." Sin said nothing as he began to invade the privacy of the dragon that lived in his thoughts. Sin came across many weird trinkets and voodoo looking relics along with dusty tombs that didn't look like they belonged in the immortal castle. "Right side of my bed when facing it from the foot. Second tile to the right in front of the nightstand. Flood it with some of my dark magic." Sin did as he was instructed and felt the tile depress into the floor. The bed was lifted off the ground as the floor rose. In the secret compartment was a book that was bigger than he was. There was no title on the cover and it looked older than Ventile. Sin called forth two shadow claws to pick it up and tilted the book, examining it. Some pages looked torn and some were even tabbed with smaller pieces of paper. Sin shrugged and exited the room and made his way back from here he came.

"So what exactly will this book do for us in the long run?"

"It will allow me to train you to control my power better and teach you even more of the dark arts. You will be a what Malefore wished he was, minus the insanity and death to everything else in existence." Sin stepped down the stairs of the secret passageway and walked down the hall. Soon enough he stepped out into the night where he found two dragons waiting outside, looking very pissed. Winter was first to meet his gaze and he was hard pressed to dodge an icicle that she fired at him.

"And just were in the hell have you been? We have been waiting out here for hours! We thought you were dead, which is bad since we always tend to think that is what happened. Not that you might have gotten caught up or something or maybe you're actually just a bit behind." Sin raised his hands in defense.

"Sorry, sorry, I got a little impatient. On the flip side I at least found the book we were looking for so we can get out of here." Cole eyed the book that Sin carried above him in his oversized claws.

"And what exactly should we expect from it?" Sin just shrugged.

"It's dark magic, so nothing good of course. We should go ahead and make our way to the next nearest town after setting up camp. Where are we heading next Ventile?"

"We will be heading to Dante's Freezer. It has been deserted for some time after the war and will make an excellent spot for training you. Sadly, we will need to head somewhat back towards the Temple to get to the original Dragon Temple and head from there. It is a little of a back track, but it is for the best. We will be hidden from everyone and the secluded area with keep casualties low." The party of three groaned in annoyance as they began walking back towards where they began their journey.

Cynder huffed in exhaustion and collapsed to her stomach as she spent the last of her energy. She looked around at the training ground around her and examined her handy work. For the last month she had been training to better herself with Sin's weapons. She was finally able to summon them long enough to keep a fight going, but the amount of energy it consumed would be the death of her in the end. She had no idea how much of a strain they put on the user and gained even more respect for the human's fighting prowess. "I believe that is enough for today, Cynder. Pushing yourself to near death will do nothing to help you better wield them. You must learn to trust them with your life before you can truly use them such as Sin once did. Forcing them to fight only makes you use more energy." Cynder didn't respond as she just buried her muzzle in the sand, too tired to give a response to her mentor. Since there was only one other person who knew what the jewelry was and how they worked she had decided to ask for Malefore's help into training her. While it sounded really strange, especially after 'training' her last time involved pumping her full of dark magic, she had made leaps and bounds in progress compared to when she first tried to train on her own. The first week of training on her own was spent just trying to summon her weapons and even then she could only do it for merely a second or so. Since then, Malefore has helped increase that time to three or so minutes. Cynder turned to the sound of footfalls to find Malefore next to her and offering a claw to help her up. She gladly took the help and got off the ground and leaned on the dragon. "You must be very careful when overextending the use of your summons. Remember that you were cleansed of your dark power, unlike Sin. Meaning it will take longer for you to get to the point of having full command without extinguishing so much power."

"I know, but I've always felt like I was the weakest link when it came to battle. Always relying on Spyro to push me forward. I don't want it to always be that way. I need to be able to handle some things by myself."

"That is well said and a very valiant goal, but do you think that Spyro got to where he was alone?" Cynder stared at him in confusion. "He was brought into this world believing himself to be a dragonfly. It wasn't until he met the Guardians did he even learn how to fly! He did not learn everything he knows alone, he had help along the way. We cannot do everything alone, no matter how much we try. I should be a perfect example of that. My goal to become so powerful that I could protect everyone myself worked against me and caused me to lose everything I held dear. None of us are perfect and that is why we make friends; to fill the flaws that we ourselves have." Cynder looked down in thought as they continued down the hallway. She hadn't really thought about it that way. She just wanted to show that she wasn't some weak dragoness and that they no longer had anything to fear from her. "You are not weak and I am sure that Spyro would tell you the same. You two harbor a deep care for one another, everyone can see it. You two are an unstoppable force when you put your minds to it. The two of you alone stopped even me when it seemed as if the odds were stacked against you. Let that be an example of how much you can accomplish with the help of others. Spyro could not have done that without you, just as you could not have been saved from my control without him." As their conversation went on she did not notice that they had made it to her room. Malefore pushed the door open and escorted her inside and helped her onto her bed. "You should spend the rest of the day resting unless it is necessary that you get up. Your body is no longer used to harnessing dark magic and I am not sure what effects it could have on your body if you experience prolonged exposure." Cynder just nodded.

"Thank you, Malefore. Even though it is still a little hard to trust you I thank you for all the help you have given me. You truly have shown that you can change, just like I have. Sin was right to trust you and bring you back. Everyone else may not believe that you deserve it, but if I got a second chance than it would only be fair that you get one to." A genuine smile graced Malefore's muzzle.

"Thank you, Cynder. You have no idea how much that means to me. Sin was the only friend I have had in so long and it actually pained me when he was thought deceased. Being trapped in the body of the Dark Master made me lose any hope of me being saved, but because of him I see that even someone like me has a chance." A silence took over the room as Malefore stood there while Cydner tried to get comfortable in case she needed his help. When he saw that she needed no assistance he began to stand up to make his leave.

"Before you leave, may I ask a favor?" Malefore rose a brow.

"And what would that be?"

"I know that you have been dodging it, even though you said you would tell me the day after, but could you tell me about what happened to your sons?" Malefore let out a deep sigh and scratched at the back of his neck. It was true that he had put off his explanation out of fear of bringing up the bad memories, but he also felt that it would help him emotionally. There was no longer anyone who knew his true origin story, only the one that involved his life as the Dark Master. He wanted there to finally be those that knew what he used to be before all of that happened. He took a deep breath and sat back down as he prepared his story.

"Very well, I will tell you the story of who Malefore used to be before the dark magic that corrupted me made me destroy my entire life."

A single being was awoken from his slumber as the sounds of childish laughter echoed throughout his home. He cracked open an eye and arose from the bed he was sleeping in, rubbing the crust out of the one that was still closed. He gave a quick glance at the other occupant of the bed with a smile. Lifting the covers off of himself, gently as to not wake the other, he stepped onto the stone floor and made his way to the door. He slowly turned the knob, making no noise as he carefully pulled the door open and shut it with the same delicacy as he stepped out into the hallway. As soon as the door was closed he felt two smaller masses bump into him. He grinned as the two hatchlings tumbled backwards from the collision, but that didn't stop their giggling. He craned his head over them, gaining their attention and eye contact. "Now what are you two doing, Gren, Kyte?" Both hatchlings stared up at him ion glee. Gren rolled over and stood back on his claws.

"We were only playing father! We didn't mean to wake you." Kyte joined his brother, bouncing inhis place.

"Yes father, we apologize for disturbing your sleep." The older dragon chuckled at his children.

"There is no need to worry children, I was already awake before I heard you. Do know that your mother is still sleeping and you don't want to wake the monster up do you?" The hatchlings giggled at the joke and shook their heads. "Well then you two go play on the other side of the house for the moment and let your mother sleep a little while longer, okay?" They said nothing and just walked off as to not make too much noise. He chuckled as the children rounded a corner and disappeared from his sight. He quietly stepped back into his room, but what he wasn't expecting to do was come face to face with the other occupant of the room. It was an ashen grey dragoness who sported a set of four black horns that swooped behind her head. She had no spines down her back and at the tip of her tail was that of what resembled a harpoon without the spear head. Her wings were a darker grey compared to her scales and the membranes were a tad darker than white. Her eyes were eerily white, giving her the appearance of possibly being blind. Her entire left front leg was covered in a tribal tattoo. And lastly was the grin on her face that possibly spelled trouble for him.

"So, you didn't want them to wake the beast huh?" At this point was sweating bullets while trying to look off to the side.

"Oh, Deeshile, I didn't know you were awake. Uh, what do you mean?" Her grin turned into a full blown smile as she touched her muzzle to his.

"You know you can't hide anything from me, Malefore. You're the worst at keeping secrets." Malefore backed up a little, giving her a nervous smile.

"You know I didn't mean it honey. You're nothing but an angel." She cocked her head to the side a bit.

"Uh huh, and many angels are pure, so don't expect anyd tail tonight." The look in Malefore's eyes almost sent Deeshile into a fit of laughter. "Wipe that look off your face and come clean up. You need to get to the Temple early so you can train with the Guardians and I need to get the children to school." Malefore lowered his head in defeat and walked back into the room as Deeshile stepped aside. He made his way to the washroom and stared at himself in the mirror. He was unlike most dragons, sporting a more serpent like body. His scales were a deep purple and his eyes an amber yellow. His purple horns stood up on his head, only slightly curving backwards. On his face were whiskers thate draped from his upper lip and a beard flowing from his chin. The tip of his tail didn't end in weaponry like most dragons, but instead ended in a tuft of fur.

Cynder's eyes widened in realization. "Wait, does that-"

"Yes, Gren and Kyte got their looks from me. I was not always the same dragon you see."

Malefore scooped some water up from a nearby wash bucket and splashed it across his face before proceeding to wipe down the rest of his body. Lastly he grabbed a few mint leaves and put them in a mortar next to the bucket and ground it up with a pestle. He added a little water before knocking it back. He swirled the mixture around in his mouth before spitting it out into a disposal bucket they kept on the other side of the wash bucket. With that done he poured a little more water into the mortar and swirled it around to clean it out before disposing of the water. He set the mortar and pestle back and turned to leave as Deeshile walked in. "Gren and Kyte are all set for school. Are you ready to head off to the Temple?" Malefore gave her a nod.

"Yes and I should get going soon. They are very impatient and I do not want to hear another lecture from them." Deeshile smiled as she walked up to Malefore and pecked him on the lips. She recoiled a bit and tasted the kiss.

"A bit strong on the mint this morning, don't you think?" He only chuckled before kissing her on the snout.

"I'll be back late afternoon. If I get held up, go ahead and eat without me. The kids are still growing and you all don't need to starve while waiting for me." She gave him a quick nuzzle.

"Okay dear, but do please be careful on your way home if it does end up getting late."

"I will honey, I promise." With that, Malefore made his way out of his home and off to the Temple.

Cynder sat shocked as she took in the information. "So how long ago was this exactly?" Malefore just shook his head.

"I honestly do not remember. I was the Dark Master for quite some time and all of the years just meld together for me. Years felt like centuries and I soon stopped caring about the time. I only wanted to die."

Malefore rolled through the sand of the Temple training grounds as he was thrown back. He quickly rolled over and dodged another fireball that quickly impacted his previous location. "You must not be afraid to consume the fire to power your own, Malefore. You hold the command over all elements and must learn to bend them to your will." A much larger red dragon called out to Malefore from the sidelines. This dragon had stubs for horns and red-orange eyes. Down his back were small spine and his tail ended in a simple spear head. His wings were a light orange and the membranes matched his scale color. Malefore dodged even more fireballs that came flying from the training dummies placed around the field. It wasn't long before Malefore became overwhelmed by the attacks and was pushed out of the ring, causing all of the dummies to slouch over as if deactivated. Malefore picked himself off of the ground as the older dragon made his way towards him. "This is the fourth time during training that you have lost all concentration and have ignored my advice. What has gotten into you lately?" Malefore shook his head.

"I honestly don't know. Maybe it's with the whole purple dragon and prophecy thing. I have a family now and it scares me to think that I might lose it all because of it. I'm sorry, Master Volcane." Volcane stared down at Malefore with a look of understanding before sitting down next to the purple dragon.

"You have every right to be afraid my child, but know this. It is stated that the purple dragon of prophecy will overcome the darkness and defeat the Dark Master and bring peace to this land. If you wish to fulfill that and protect those you love, then you must master the elements."

"Yes, or become the Dark Master myself should I lose." Volcane craned his head to Malefore's level.

"Yes, but you have a wife and kids that you never want to abandon. Shouldn't that be enough to steer you from the wrong path?" With that said, Volcane stood up and began walking off the training field. "Go ahead and join Jolt for the next part of your training and keep what we have spoken of fresh in your mind." Malefore made his way back into the Temple, eager to get his training out of the way so that he may get home early to spend time with his children. Whilst he was walking, Malefore collided with another as he rounded the corner. Malefore wasn't affected by it, but whoever he bumped into fell to the floor.

"Oh, Rethe, sorry about that. Didn't see you rounding the corner." Rethe looked up to Malefore at the sound of his name. Rethe was a light yellow dragon with dark green eyes and three horns, one in the middle of his forehead and two above his eyes. His wings were white while the membrane was the same color as his scales. At the tip of his tail was what looked like the head of a hatchet. Malefore extended a claw which Rethe grabbed and was hoisted back to his feet by the purple dragon.

"Sorry about that, Malefore. Was kind wrapped up in my thoughts." Malefore raised a brow in question.

"What happened?"

"Not really sure…just…something. Anyways, where are you heading off to?" Malefore didn't quite accept the offered explanation, but didn't push it since he didn't have much time.

"I was just about to head to Master Jolt's training room." Rethe winced a little.

"Then you're in for a fun time. Today is one of his grumpy days and boy is it bad."

"How so?"

"Lightning Round."

Malefore jumped to and fro, no time to even catch a breath as the lightning kept crashing onto the field. Malefore didn't have time to dodge the bolt that came crashing down and had to settle with quickly absorbing the electricity. "Come now, is that the best you can do? That was only the third one this session! Surely the great and powerful purple dragon of prophecy can do much better than that!" Malefore gained a look of anger as his master taunted him. It brought up something deep within him and his body tensed up. Jolt wasn't ready for what happened next as a pulse of purple energy erupted from Malefore, sending Jolt rolling backwards and cutting off the lightning that was raining down on the training course. Jolt picked himself off of the ground and dusted himself off. Jolt was a large and dark yellow dragon with hazel eyes and two regular horns atop his head. His wings were a dark brown and the membrane were a little lighter. At the endo of his tail was a stub, indicating that his tail had been cut off at one point and no longer held a weapon like most dragons. A look of anger overcame him as he watched Malefore walk off of the field. "And just what exactly do you think you are doing? Training is not over!" Malefore looked at the older dragon before stomping a claw to the ground, erecting a small pillar of earth that hit Jolt in the shin, causing him to hiss in pain.

"That is not training, that is you taking anger out on your students! That is unprofessional and I will not train with you until you can control it. If this continues, I will take this up with the other Guardians and find myself a new teacher. You are not the only one in this world who knows how to wield electricity and you are surely not the best. When you can apologize I will gladly take it, but until then you can consider our training courses cancelled until further notice." Jolt's eyes twitched in anger as Malefore receded back into the Temple.

"So you told off and assaulted a Guardian of the Temple? How were you not banned from training?"

"They couldn't do that to their precious purple dragon. Besides, the other Guardians knew of Jolt's fits of anger and agreed that my actions were justified. He had multiple cases of his students getting injured to the point of them not being able to train for multiple weeks at a time. He had many different complaints about his training methods, despite how well he knew his element, and many students changed teachers before they endured his teachings for even a month."

Malefore let loose a breath of ice, coating the floor beneath his claws and caused him to skate safely out of the way of icicles that fell down behind him. He used his serpent like body to slither through a field of icicles that erupted from the ground. As a wall of ice shot up from the ground he quickly made a path of ice off to the side to go around the wall and used his wings to push himself onto the path. As he rounded the wall he made a small ramp as a hole formed in the ground, allowing him to jump the obstacle and touch down outside of the training field. He touched down in front of a large and slender ice blue dragoness. She had light green eyes and four horns, two that started at her eyes and two that set behind them. Her tail ended in a very dangerous looking drill like spear that seemed to be made of ice. Her wings were white along with the membrane. Malefore gave the dragoness a deep bow of respect, leaving her to smile. "You did very well, Malefore. Learning to exploit your body's shape to help you in your exercise was very wise and quick thinking such as that will help you on the battlefield." Malefore rose his head and flashed her a toothy grin.

"Thank you, Master Hail Storm."

"Wait, you were trained by Hail Storm?! One of the greatest users of the ice element?!"

"Indeed. Contrary to her name, she lost her ability to fly after an injury left her wings unable to keep her afloat. She was a master at aerial combat with her command over the ice within the clouds themselves. She later gained the nickname 'Black Ice' due to her deadly ground combat tactics she developed after getting out of her stupor when she lost the ability to fly."

"Master Earth Tremor, is something wrong?" Malefore watched as an elder dragon jumped around his private quarters as if looking for something. He was a dark brown dragon with dark blue eyes, the right eye whited out due to succumbing to blindness. He had large horns that curled in on one another like a ram. His wings were a dirt brown while the membrane were a dark green. His tail ended in what looked to be a great hammer. His movements were frantic, as if he had lost some precious memento. It seemed as if Earth Tremor didn't hear the question and was about ask once more before the dragon turned around.

"Ah, Malefore, I apologize for my disorganization. It seems as if I have misplaced something very important, so for now we will have to suspend your training for today. Again, I apologize for this inconvenience and promise to make up for it." Malefore bowed to his teacher before backing out of his room.

"I understand master; I do hope you find what you are looking for." He got no answer as he closed the dragon's door. With his training done he took a look outside to find that it wasn't too far into the afternoon. He guessed that he had some free time before Deeshile picked up the kids and headed home, so he made his way to the library. On his way there he happened upon something a bit suspicious. Rethe was skulking through the hallways, looking left and right every second as if he had committed a crime. He didn't seem to notice Malefore so he decided to follow his friend. He followed him for almost twenty minutes into the deeper parts of the Temple that not many passed through. Malefore watched as Rethe slipped into the cellar and quickly followed him in. The room was pitch black and he was barely able to see had it not been for the candle that was soon lit inside the room. Following the light, Malefore found the dragon in the corner of the cellar with a rather large, black book. "Ahem!" Rethe jumped in alarm as he looked up to see the disapproving stare of Malefore. Seeing that it was someone he knew, Rethe let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh man, you sure scared the hell out of me. I thought you were one of the Guardians."

"And why would it be a bad thing if I was one?" Rethe gently pat the book he had in his claws.

"Cause, I may or may not have stolen this book from Earth Tremor's room." Malefore thought back to how frantic the elder dragon was in his room.

"So that was what he was looking for when I stopped by for training. Just what is that book and why is it so important that you have to send an old dragon on his way to a heart attack for it?"

"Well, Master Jolt hasn't been teaching me much lately on account of his temper and I don't have the ability to find a new teacher due to financial issues. So instead I found the book I heard about when the Guardians were talking about a book that could teach any dragon about the element they wield and more. They seemed really secretive about it and it sounded as if they didn't want anyone else to know about it, but I don't know why." Malefore could only facepalm at his explanation.

"Don't you think that if the Guardians didn't want anyone in possession of it that it would be wise to leave it alone."

"Well, yeah, but nothing bad has happened so far. I was honestly going to just peek in it and see just what it taught and put it back. I've been having trouble with continuously consuming another dragon's electricity to power my own and Jolt won't give me any time to learn it before he fires more at me until I almost pass out because of the power consumption. So I wanted to see if it had anything that might be able to help me with it." Malefore scratched at his chin as he thought about it. He wouldn't mind some help himself. The only element he was having trouble consuming was fire due to the heat that varies from dragon to dragon. Maybe he could get some useful tips.

"Okay, but only if I can take a look at it with you. I go the rest of the day free since you stole that book, so you owe me. I could use a little help with my training." Rethe smiled and scooted over to make room for Malefore. He sat down next to his friend as he placed the book down and set the candle far enough to not torch the book, but close enough to let them read. Rethe cracked the book open a little and both dragons began to hear voices invade their minds. They gently whispered words of encouragement in their ears, begging them to open the book further. Malefore felt ice down his spine as some dark sensation skulked over him, but had no time to rethink his decision as Rethe threw the book open and that was where Malefore's vision when dark.

Malefore let out a groan as he gently rubbed at his aching head. He felt something sticky cling to his claw and looked down to see what it was. It was all for naught as the light that was the candle had dimmed to the point of near blindness in the cellar. Without a thought he blew a stream of fire to strengthen the candle, but quickly choked back the fire when he saw what the light revealed. The book that he and Rethe had decided to read was left untouched by the life essence that was splattered across the entire cellar floor. He looked around as there was nothing but red and nothing left of his friend. He looked down at his claws and found that even more of the blood was plastered against his scales. Malefore wanted to scream out in horror, but something in his head told him not to. No one could know of his horrid crime. Malefore looked at the book once more and felt that voice in the back of his head. It told him to take the book and leave. Don't let anyone take the book from him. He put a claw on the book and watched as it seemed to suck the blood of his friend of his body, leaving him clean among the bloody pulp that was the cellar. He grabbed the book and candle and ran to the door. He quickly opened and shut it back, snuffing the candle and raising the floor on the other side of the door so that it may never be opened ever again. He threw the candle out of a window and took off down the hallways. As he was coming to the entrance of the Temple he came to a screeching halt as he heard voices coming from the main chamber. "Hove you found any clues as to where the book went Earth Tremor?"

"Nothing yet Hail Storm and I fear what could happen should one of the young ones come across it. That book needs to be disposed of otherwise great harm could come to others."

"Why didn't you just destroy the book when you got a hold of it?!"

"Because it is only one of the few other books in existence that has teachings of the elements no one who is alive knows anymore. It also holds very ancient magic that assists in healing the sick. I had hoped to copy down the less harmful magic, but now it needs to be found and destroyed." Malefore quickly found an open window and jumped out of the Temple and into the night. He touched down in an alleyway a few minutes later and leaned against a wall before sliding into a sitting position, tears streaming down his face. He had killed one of his friends and yet had no recollection of his actions. What had caused him to do so? He looked down at the book and once again felt voices poke and prod against his skull. He wanted to push the book away, destroy it, but instead clutched it closer to his body. He had no control over his actions and could not push himself to get rid of the book no matter what.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Some poor sap who came to town at the wrong time." Malefore looked up to find three dragons blocking the alleyway entrance. He could see that two of them were red and one was blue, but he couldn't make out any details in the night. "Just give us whatever you have and we promise to go easy on you." Malefore wanted to hold the book out to them, to get rid of the cursed tome, but instead picked himself up and held it to his chest. It looked as if the dragon was going to say something else, but Malefore could only hear the sound of him choking. He was shocked when he looked to his side to find black tendrils reaching out from behind him had shot forwards and impaled the three muggers, killing them in mere seconds. The sickening sound of breaking bones and blood dripping to the ground as the tendrils retracted made Malefore sick. Without a second thought he jumped over the bodies and made a mad dash back home before he did anything else against his will.

Malefore quickly opened his house door and closed it as quietly as his frantic movements would let him. He tossed the book onto the table in the kitchen and fully opened the book once more, the voice becoming as clear as day. "Ah, Malefore. It seems as though you have shown that you wield the power to claim the knowledge this book holds. So for coming this far, I wish to bestow a gift upon you." Malefore fell to the ground as he clenched his head in agony, letting out a silent scream of anguish. He felt blood bubbling up in the back of his throat and also slowly tearing in his eyes. It felt like hours before the pain subsided and he was finally able to stand once more. When he finally did, he noticed that the book had disappeared from where he had put it. "Do not worry, for the book is now a part of you instead of a physical manifestation. You now hold all of the knowledge that was ever recorded within that tome." That sickly sweet feminine voice was alluring, comforting and overall malicious, but he could no longer ignore it. He could feel something evil beginning to fester inside of him and he didn't know just how long he had before it fully took him over.

"Was this what caused your decent into becoming the Dark Master?"

"Yes, and it was very agonizing. Every day I began to slowly lose myself, lose control over my body, the ability to feel until I was nothing but a shackled puppet before an audience left to gawk at in mirth and laughter. Until the final time came."

It had been weeks since Malefore had found and gained the power of the dark magic hidden away within the book. Many had begun to notice changes in his personality. He had become more hateful, lashing out at those who would try and correct him. He had lost any friends he had made and was now nothing but a loner. Deeshile had become worried about her mate. She didn't know the dragon Malefore now was, but she knew it wasn't truly him. She had decided to go and talk to the Guardians about it to see if they knew what might have happened. As she entered the Temple, she came across Earth Tremor who was speaking to a few of his students. "Alright everyone, I must ask that you all return to your homes for now. There will be no training for the rest of the week and it will not be charged against you on account of a serious predicament. I also ask that you practice what you already know during morning sessions and no later. You are all dismissed." A hushed conversation began between all of the students as they filed out of the Temple, leaving Deeshile and Earth Tremor. The much larger dragon looked down at the female in curiosity. "Ah, Deeshile. What brings you here?"

"I came to talk to you about Malefore. I'm sure by now that you have noticed that he has changed into something completely different from the dragon I love. Do you have any idea what might have happened?" Earth Tremor looked to the ground in sorrow as he scratched at the back of his neck. "Master Earth Tremor?"

"Come with me, Deeshile. I must show you something before everything can be explained." Confused, she settled with following the earth dragon into the deeper parts of the Temple. Minutes later they came upon a dead end with nothing but a stone wall. Deeshile looked around in confusion before Earth Tremor tapped the wall and it split in half to reveal a hidden doorway. "What I am about to show you must never leave the Temple. I have a theory about what really happened to change Malefore." He opened the door and she was instantly met with the smell of death. The room was fully lit with light and showed the gory seen that Malefore had left behind that faithful day he dared opened the book. Deeshile had to choke back the vile in her throat and looked away. "Weeks ago I lost an ancient tome that had been taken from my room. We checked the roster of students that we train here and found that Rethe had been absent from his classes and when we spoke to his parents they informed us that his friend Malefore had offered him a place at his house because he needed help with training in electricity. The book that was stolen held knowledge on how to master every element and even more on darker elements such as shadow. We believe that one of them stole the book, but not with bad intentions. Rethe was always having trouble with Jolt's training, but never gave up. We believe that he took the book and Malefore spotted him running off with it. Sadly, and somewhat happily, they are both very intelligent and loved to learn. I believe that when they opened the book the dark energy within tried to find a host between the two of them. Since Malefore is the purple dragon of legend, he was easily going to be the one to gain the power. Sadly, Rethe was chosen first and was rejected and this is what became of him." Deeshile held back tears as she stared at the bloody mess that was the cellar of the Temple. She didn't want to believe what was being said. She wanted to believe that she would go home and she would find the same dragon she had come to love all those years ago at home and playing with their children.

"And just how sure are you of this?" Earth Tremor lowered his head, confirming her fears.

"I am one hundred percent positive that that is what happened. It is the only thing that can explain the sudden change in who Malefore has become." He punched the ground with a balled fist and the wall swallowed the door once more, hiding the dark deed forever. "I would advise you to find a way to get you and your children away from him and your home for the time being. Me and the other Guardians are working on a way of pulling the darkness out of him, but for that to work we cannot let him know we are onto what happened. So whatever you do, do not let him catch wind of what you learned. I know I am saying that after I have showed you this secret, but it was the only way to get you to believe in what was happening. I am sorry that it has to happen this way, but do know that we will bring Malefore back to his former self." Tears were now flowing freely down Deeshile's face as she thought about her predicament. She didn't want to lose Malefore, nor did she want to lose her family. She would do everything in her power to save him.

After her talk with Earth Tremor Deeshile made her way back home. She had thought up a plan to get her and the kids out of the house without letting Malefore come with them. She would go take a visit to her parent's house until the Guardians informed her that they had found a way to revert Malefore. She had already given the address of where she was staying to Earth Tremor so that he could send her messages with updates on the situation. When she got home she felt a sudden chill in the air as she took hold of the doorknob. The lights in the home were all off, so she didn't believe that there was anyone home. Pushing past the fear she entered her home. When the door swung upon the chill was no longer there. She breathed a sigh of relief and entered the house. Dusk was slowly claiming the day and the light from the sun was slowly diminishing, leaving the house to become darker with each passing second. Deeshile whirled around as she felt something trickle down her neck. It felt as if someone was breathing straight down her neck, but there was no one to be found. She wanted to call out for Malefore, curious as to if he was home, but at the same time she didn't want him to know she was there. In the back of her head she believed that he already knew. She had no time to react as she felt something grab her by the neck and lift her off the ground. She struggled to look down and see who it was assaulting her and found that it was another purple dragon. The dragon gave her a toothy grin, a glint of bloodlust in his eyes.

"What is it honey, do you not remember your dear mate?" She was surprised to hear Malefore's voice come from the dragon's mouth, but was startled by how deep it had become. His entire body had changed and he had become the Dark Master that everyone would see him as for the rest of his life. He threw her to the ground before grabbing her once more and dragging her into the back of the house. They soon made it to their bedroom where Malefore threw he on the bed without an ounce of chivalry. She tried to get up and run away, tried to scream, but something kept her from doing it. She choked on some dark force that filled the room and it kept her paralyzed. Her heart began to break when she felt Malefore climb on top of her. He chuckled darkly as he licked up the tears that were pouring down her face. "Come now dear, why would you cry? It is me, your mate. The one you will love forever." She felt blood trickle down her body as his claws penetrated her scales and his teeth clamped down on her neck. There was nothing she could do as she felt him enter her in the most intimate of manner. She did nothing but cry the entire time he ravished her body. She felt herself slowly began to lose consciousness, that was until he finally stopped. She wondered if he had come to his senses and had turned back into the Malefore she knew. She felt him lift off her body, his fluids leaking out of her as he placed his muzzle against her ear.

"I love you."

That was the last thing she heard as he took hold of her throat in his maw and ripped it apart. She wanted to smile as she thought about not having to live through his torture, but it still stood that Malefore had been taken over and she could not live happily without him by her side. Deeshile was left with nothing but his dark chuckle as her eyes closed for their final time. Malefore lifted her body off the now bloodied bed and set it on the floor inside a strange circle he had been drawing with her blood as she slowly passed away. "Don't worry honey, we will always be together."

Malefore smiled as Gren and Kyte jumped around the kitchen. It had been a few days since Deeshile left to go to her parents and the children were happy they could play around without being scolded. "Now come on you two, you're going to be late to school." Both hatchlings laughed as they made their way to the door, their father in tow. The family of three looked happy as they passed through the town square. Malefore looked around at everyone and their little market stands. While glancing around, her spotted Hail Storm in the crowd. Hail Storm's attention was caught when she noticed a very out of place purple dragon making his way through the crowd with his hatchlings. She didn't know who the purple dragon was at first glance, but when she saw the hatchlings she knew exactly who it was. She was shocked when she noticed that the dragon had completely changed and was no longer the slender serpent he once was. When she watched him smile at her she thought she saw something behind him, something large and frightening, like a shadow that would wash over and consume her entire being. She watched them disappear behind some buildings before she took off towards the Temple.

"Oh my god…" Earth Tremor held his head in his claws as a huffing Hail Storm stood in front of him. He was such a fool. How could he not have thought this would happen? It was obvious that Malefore would find a way to keep an eye on the Temple. He must have used seals from the book to eavesdrop on any conversation in the Temple. Malefore knew, he knew and there was nothing they could do to stop him.

"What are we going to do? There's no telling what he is capable of with the power of dark magic."

"There is only one thing we can do. We must evacuate everyone from the city and try to hold him off until they are all safely away. We will mostly likely not come out of this alive, but I'll be damned if I let him have his way any longer. Send out the evacuation notice, me and the other Guardians will go to his home and grab the children and get them to safety before dealing with him ourselves." Hail Storm shot off to go and start the evacuation as Earth Tremor went off to gather the other Guardians.

Jolt blasted the door off of Malefore's house before making his way inside, the other Guardians soon following. They all looked around the house and found that nothing seemed to be out of place. They each split off to search different areas of the house to try and find the children as quick as possible. Volcane was the first to come upon anything as he decided to check Malefore's bedroom first. When he walked inside he felt his insides twist up in disgust as he identified the smell of the room and fluids that soaked the bed. He craned his head over the bed and found the body of Deeshile inside some strange circle of blood. He rushed over to her, checking her pulse first. He cursed to himself when he found that she was dead. He studied her body and found some things strange. Her body looked to be very malnourished and her skin clung to her skeleton as it were nothing but a thin sheet. Her eyes were white and hollow, not even an inkling of color left. He sat her body back down gently and exited the room, a silent promise to come back and give her a proper burial. Earth Tremor opened up a door farther down the hallway and entered what looked to be a study of some sort. All around the room, on the walls, ceiling and floor were seals of all sorts that he had no knowledge of. On the desk was a small black journal that was opened to that day's date. It had nothing written in it, meaning that nothing important enough happened for him to write it down, hopefully meaning that he didn't know they were coming. He took the book and skimmed back a few days and began reading. What he found was that Malefore had heard just about every conversation that happened at the Temple. Everything anyone ever said about him along with the conversation between him and Deeshile when he showed her the cellar. Before he could get any further a loud crack of thunder that left the house shaking caught his attention. Earth Tremor took the book and made his way upstairs to Jolt. He met Volcane in the hallway and they both jumped up the stairs to find Jolt standing outside a door, a look of fear across his face. Earth Tremor stepped up to him and took a peek into the room. What he found was a large portal that had the head of a dragon larger than he had ever seen sticking out of it.

"You are too late mortals. Everything has been set in motion and you are only here to witness your own demise." It said nothing more as it laughed and sank back into the portal, leaving it to close. The three Guardians almost fell to the ground as they felt the entire earth began to shake. They wasted no time and opted with destroying the roof and taking to the skies. What they saw dashed away any hope they had left. The top of the Temple had been blasted off and the rubble was scattered among the streets, a few unlucky bystanders crushed by the stone. A large tear had opened up in the sky and what looked like two yellow eyes peeked out.

"Hey!" All three dragons looked down to the streets to find Hail Storm waving them down. They all touched down as Hail Storm made her way over. "Care to explain what the hell that is?" Earth Tremor just shook his head.

"There is no telling. Whatever was in that book was much more powerful than I had anticipated. The only option we have left is to fend Malefore off long enough for everyone to escape."

"Well we don't have very long." Earth Tremor followed her vision and found that a large shadow like dragon claw had begun to reach out of the sky towards something on top of the Temple.

"That must be where Malefore is! Jolt, Volcane, quickly make your way to the top of the Temple. Hail Storm, come with me." Jolt and Volcane shot off towards the Temple while Earth Tremor and Hail Storm went back into town.

It wasn't long until Earth Tremor came to a halt at the school for the younger children. He scanned the group of kids trying to find a specific pair, but had no luck. He spotted the teacher and quickly scooped her up. "I apologize for my mannerism, but I must ask if you have seen two hatchlings by the name of Gren and Kyte?" The scarred dragon shook her head, leaving Earth Tremor to set her down before turning back towards the Temple. "So that's what he is planning." Hail Storm gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean?"

"That book held a secret to gaining a form of immortality and that is what he is trying to accomplish. It requires the sacrifice of those that you hold dear to you and if Gren and Kyte are not here-" Hail Storm's eyes shot open in realization.

"Then that means they are with him." Without a second thought, they both made a mad dash to the Temple.

Malefore stared down at the unconscious forms of Gren and Kyte, a simple silver pendant necklace in between them. It wouldn't be long before the spell was ready and then he and his family would never be apart again. The sound of flapping wings caught his attention and he looked to the sky to find Jolt and Volcane above him. He smiled at the two of them as they circled around the Temple. "Why hello Master Volcane, Master Jolt. It is a pleasure to see you both one last time." Jolt sneered before firing a bolt of lightning right at Malefore. The purple dragon only smirked as the electricity disappeared after being absorbed into his body. "Hey Jolt, let me show you the power of the precious purple dragon." Jolt had no time to react as a bean of pure purple energy shot from Malefore's maw, disintegrating the entire left side of his body. Volcane was left slack jawed as his fellow Guardian fell back to the earth. He had never seen something so powerful before in his life. The attack was so fast that there was no time for his eyes to track it. His attention was brought back to Malefore at the sound of whistling. "I would be careful if I were you, Master Volcane. You never want to take your eyes off the enemy."

Earth Tremor and Hail Storm were stopped in their tracks as the body of Jolt crashed down in front of them. Earth Tremor rushed to his friend's side only to find that he had been dead long before impact. He looked to the Temple in anger before setting Jolt back down and making his way inside. Hail Storm spared a glance at Jolt before following the earth dragon.

It was twenty minutes before Earth Tremor and Hail Storm had made it to the top of the Temple and they were not ready for what they happened upon. Earth Tremor was caught off guard as he raised his claws up in defense as something flew at him. What he wasn't expecting to be thrown at him was the head of the now former fire Guardian. He stared at the head in utter horror, not sure just what he was going to do about Malefore. He had bested two of four Guardians and that did not make him any more confident in their abilities to beat him. When he looked up to Malefore he found the purple dragon smiling as the large claw from the sky crushed the body of Volcane with all of its might, sending blood and gore to paint both dragons and the Temple floor. Malefore looked over to Hail Storm and Earth Tremor, a look of boredom now conquering his expression. "You know, this was fun for a while, but now it has just become tedious. I believe it was time I went ahead and wiped this entire town away." Malefore looked up to the shadow that now had half of its body protruding from the clouds. Its maw opened up and a large orb of green energy began to build up in its throat. Earth Tremor didn't have any time to waste as he turned to Hail Storm and tackled her, sending her off the side of the Temple to the ground below. He had no idea if she would be safe as long as she wasn't at the point of the attack, but he was hoping by some miracle she would still live. Earth Tremor heard nothing as a flash passed by his vision before a wave of serenity flowed throughout his body. When he dared open his eyes he found the rest of the Guardians gesturing their claws out to him, which he gladly took hold of as they pulled him forth. He had no recollection of what had happened, he only hoped that everyone was able to get to safety.

Malefore looked around in anger as he couldn't find the one thing he needed. "Where is it!?" He knew he had brought the necklace, he had placed it between Gren and Kyte. He stared down at where there were two rings that replaced the bodies of his children. The only thing that was missing was the necklace, the most important part of the ritual!

"Do not worry, my child. We can still make use of the other two to insure your immortality, we will just need to find someone else to take the spot of Deeshile. I am sure you have family somewhere out there." A dark smile took over Malefore's muzzle as he jumped off the only remaining piece of the Temple left that was being held up by dark magic. It fell to the earth as it no longer had anything holding it up and joined what little remains there were of the city below. Nothing but a crater was spread out for miles even beyond the city. He didn't even look back as he flew off in the direction of his next victim, prepared to take anyone's life needed to get him what he wanted.

"And from that day forward, I no longer knew what was going on. I had lost full control over my body and would only get memories here and there as decades to centuries passed by. To this day I am still not completely sure of all that I have done in the past, but I know that none of it was pleasant." Cynder stared at Malefore in shock as he finished weaving his tale. She didn't really know what to say. She now knew just how the Dark Master came to be inside Malefore and what had caused him to do such a thing. A part of her wanted to believe that he was lying, just using the story to make her feel bad for him, but when she looked she found tears slowly beginning to form in his eyes. This was a part of Malefore she would never even think to see. He was always so heartless and quick to end a life for his own gain or amusement, but this, this was someone that had truly spent years as nothing but someone's play thing. Just like her. She knew that feeling when the Dark Master forced her to change and try to fight Spyro and the Guardians. No one would ever know that those actions were not chosen by her alone, nor would they ever believe her. Cynder's eyes went blank as she raised a talon to Malefore before placing it on his forehead. The purple dragon was surprised when he found himself in a void before having two sets of claws wrap around him. He looked down to Gren and Kyte, a waterfall now crashing from his eyes. Gren nuzzled his father's chest, a smile on his face.

"We love you, daddy, and nothing will ever change that." Kyte strengthened his grip on his father as he too began to cry.

"We know that monster wasn't you, so please don't think we or mother would ever hate you for what happened. All of us loved you to the very end and we still love you now." Malefore bent over and returned their hug with a smile on his face.

"And I love you too, my children. I will always love you, till the day I die and even in the afterlife." Malefore was brought back to reality as he felt Cynder pull him into a hug. His body shook with every sob as he let out pent up emotions that had been gathered throughout his time of being a puppet to the Dark Master. He hadn't cried since that day and it felt rather nice to know that he still had a heart and was still his own person once more. When he was finally dried out he gently broke the contact and backed up, wiping away any excess tears. "Thank you, Cynder. For listening to me and giving me a chance. It has been so long since anyone else knew of what happened and I hope that one day I can prove to everyone else that I was not that monster." Cynder gave him a smile.

"You have proven to me that you are no longer the same dragon that you were all those years ago. Everyone has the ability to change who they are; I know that personally. I was saved just as you were and was given a second chance. Sin believed that you had the ability to change and so he cleansed you of the darkness that had taken over your conscious all those years ago. I know you won't let his gift go to waste and will do everything you can to help." Malefore looked down as he thought about the human he had pulled into this world seemingly against his will.

"I would never want to let Sin down. I had never thought that I could call another a friend, but he was the first one when I returned to this world. He gave me kindness that I did not deserve and brought me back to the Temple and even defended me when the Guardians were against me coming back. He didn't hesitate to take on everything to make sure that I could stay. If there was anyone that I would put my life at stake for, it would be him." Malefore stood up and made his way to the door. "I don't mean to leave so quickly, but you do need to get some rest and I don't want people getting the wrong idea when they see that neither of us have been seen around the Temple for a couple of hours." Cynder nodded.

"I understand, and Malefore," Malefore stopped before he was able to close the door on his way out. "if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask. We are all friends here." He said nothing as he pulled the door to a close and began walking down the hallway. As he was walking he thought about everything that had transpired since he had returned. Something just felt really off to him. With Sin alive and being the vessel of one of the very first Dark Masters, it didn't sit well with him. It felt as if there was something bigger than he could imagine sitting on the horizon. His thoughts were interrupted as he dodged a fireball, sinking into the shadows as another one came his way. When Malefore emerged once more he fought back a stream of fire with his own purple fire. The battle seemed to be at a stalemate before Malefore summoned a block of ice between him and his assailant, the fire creating a quick burst of steam that filled the hallway. With his escape covered Malefore made a mad dash for the Temple's main chamber. It wasn't long before he heard something following him. When he entered the main chamber Malefore quickly came skidding to a halt as he turned towards his attacker. Terrador was rather surprised when the purple dragon hastily entered the room breathing as if he had run for miles. He looked to where Malefore was staring and went wide eyed at what he saw. Spyro stepped out of the mist that had been created in the hallways, but instead of his usual purple scale they were now pitch black. His soulless white eyes stared straight through Malefore without an ounce of emotion.

"What did you do to Cynder? Why was she crying?" Malefore looked confused as he also wondered the same question.

"I don't kn-"

"LIAR!" Malefore jumped to the side as a beam of purple shot from Spyro's mouth. The beam melted a hole in the side of the Temple before being dragged as Spyro moved his aim to Malefore. It was cut off as he felt something from below him hit the bottom of his jaw and close his mouth. Terrador stomped his claw against the ground, summoning a box of earth to enclose around Spyro. Without a moment of hesitation, he turned to Malefore.

"Just what did you do?"

"Nothing!" No further conversation could be held as the rubble of Spyro's prison was thrown about the room. Terrador grit his teeth in anger as he turned to his student.

"Just what has gotten into you Spyro? Can you not see what you are doing?" Spyro said nothing as he readied himself to fire another beam of energy. Terrador erected a wall of earth in front of Malefore before he could fire. When Spyro did there was nothing left of the wall or anything behind it. Terrador was worried for a moment before he remembered that Malefore held control over all of the darker elements along with the four basic ones. He suspected Malefore sank back into the shadows to dodge the attack. "Spyro, as your teacher and Guardian I am telling you to stop this nonsense at once! There is no reason for all of this violence. You are destroying the Temple for no reason!"

"Spyro?" Spyro's attention was brought to Cynder who had come at the sound of fighting. He calmed down at the sight of her and her worried face. The shadows that surrounded his scales began to slowly disperse. Malefore could no longer hold the magic that kept him hidden and had to emerge from the ground, gasping for air as he felt his magic reserves hitting empty. That seemed to trigger Spyro and the shadows came back again as the purple dragon turned on Malefore once more. He charged another attack, but what he wasn't expecting was for Cynder to jump in front of Malefore. Spyro went wide eyed, but could not stop the attack on his own. Malefore swept a claw across the ground, causing wisps of shadows to disperse from under Spyro to reveal a seal. Malefore slammed his claw into the ground, making the seal light up as the head of a large shadow dragon shot out from the ground and consumed the purple dragon above it. Cynder was shocked until she saw that the dragon didn't hold Spyro in its jaws, but rather the shadow that had taken him over. The dragon sunk back into the portal, taking the dark clone and leaving a cleansed Spyro behind. Malefore choked on a few of his breaths and spat out a bit of blood. Without all of the excess dark power he used to have he wasn't able to use dark magic in succession of one another like before. Spyro stumbled in place with a look of fear. His body felt weak and heavy, like all of the magic in his body had been sucked out or shut off. He tried to use his flame, but only exhaled smoke. He tried ice, but only let out a foggy breath.

"You won't be able to use your elements for the time being." Spyro whipped his head towards the other purple dragon who had given up on trying to stand. "I sealed off your powers after consuming the darker half of whatever you let take control of you. So you may have to wait a day or so before they come back." Spyro moved to charge Malefore, but stopped when Cynder stepped in his way. He stared at her in bewilderment, wondering just what had gotten into her.

"What are you doing Cynder? He made you cry; so why would you protect him?" Cynder just shook her head.

"The tears I shed weren't because of him, they were for him." Spyro took a step back in shock.

"What?"

"You have no idea what he has gone through, what twisted evil made him do those unspeakable things that he had no control of. We may have had a bad beginning in life, but at least it got better for us with time. At least we got to see those we loved." Spyro just sported a frown and stepped forward.

"I don't know what he did to you, but it is obvious he can no longer be trusted. Step aside and-" Spyro was cut off as shards of metal impaled the ground in front of him. He looked to Cynder and found that she had her wings raised, the rings on her wings slightly glowing.

"I am not a child, Spyro, and I will not let you do something so stupid. You need to grow up and learn to accept that Malefore is not who he used to be." Spyro slammed his claws into the ground.

"Someone as evil as him can never change!"

"Well what about me? Is that the same thing you thought when you met me?" Spyro held his tongue and his temper at that. "Malefore and I are one in the same. We were both consumed by dark magic and changed against our will. Now we have been offered a second chance, but it seems that you only intend on letting whoever you choose get another chance at life. You and I both know that if Sin were here to witness this then he wouldn't hesitate to kill you."

"Shut up!" A cold chill passed over everyone in the room as Spyro seemed to be holding back tears. "I'm tired of hearing about Sin, about Malefore. I don't want to hear about how great they are or how good. Shut up! Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" Spyro turned around and shot off down the hallway he came from, no one making a move to follow him. Attention was drawn to Malefore once more as he spat up a bit more blood. Cynder bent down and helped him stand since it was apparent he didn't have the strength to do it alone.

"Thank you, Cynder." She only nodded as she let him right his body. Malefore looked up as heavy footfalls stopped in front of him.

"Might I ask what it was that made him behave like that." Malefore could only shake his head.

"I could not give you any information that would help you. He attacked me while I was making my way through the Temple without a warning." Terrador scratched at his chin in thought.

"I will need to keep an eye on him. This isn't the first time he has taken that form before and it is not easy to get him back."

"I know, that was the darkness that is always embedded inside the purple dragon." Terrador lifted a brow at that.

"Excuse me?"

"The prophecy states that the purple dragon of legend will either save the planet from sure destruction or fall to darkness, only to become the next Dark Master. What no one has known for centuries is that every purple dragon that is born has that darkness within them. We are born with the power of dark magic, that is why it is so easy for us to use it and why we have such adept use over the power of Convexity. There is no other dragon that is more masterful in dark magic then us. That is also why there are only purple Dark Masters. What you saw was the bit of dark magic that lives inside of him, just as it has every other purple dragon. If he can learn to cool off and get along with me I can teach him how to harness and control that power. That would lessen his chances of losing control and becoming the next Dark Master because of an explosion of irrational emotions." Terrador massaged his face. There was just too much going on for his poor old heart to take. If it wasn't one thing, it was another. Next thing he knew; another war would be on the brink of emerging.

"I will honestly have to think about that one. I know that he needs to control that primal power, but I also know just how destructive and dangerous it can be."

"I understand, Master Terrador. I will abide by your wishes, whatever you may choose."

"Thank you, Malefore. Please take him to his room Cynder. He looks like he is about to pass out any second." Without another word Cynder began to escort Malefore back to his room. Terrador looked once more at the holes in the wall of the Temple. How he was sometimes rather thankful he wasn't a father.

"Well damn, never thought I'd see that so soon." Sin looked over the ridge where he could only spot the enormous outline of the Temple in Warfang. They had made their way back to Warfang since everyone could now fly which cut down the travel time exponentially. He turned to the rest of his party who had set up camp for the night. Sin joined them by the fire, sitting down and getting comfortable. "So what do you guys think we'll run into at Dante's Freezer?" Winter just shrugged and Cole didn't answer on account of already being asleep.

"Last I had heard, nothing has been there since the war ended. The temperature there is very hard to constantly live through for many different species. We should be in the clear as far as trouble is concerned."

"The only trouble I am concerned with is with use being this close the Temple. I don't want any sentries stumbling upon us while we're sleeping." Winter just waved a claw.

"No need to worry about it. If anything they'll leave us alone on account that we don't really look like a band of bandits. Another thing would be that they would recognize you from the bounty board workers. We should be in the clear until morning." With that said, Winter laid down and prepared to get as good a rest as possible. Sin wasn't too far behind her as he used bits and pieces of foliage as a pillow. While Winter tried to lower his fears of being caught, there was something in the back of his mind that told him that nothing was going to work out quite the way they ever wanted it to.