10th chapter of this book, a minor milestone for me! Thank you for all your support, readers!
Malefor raised his right paw, morphing it into a massive blade coated with black flames, his eyes cold and unfeeling.
"A new age shall begin. Once I've destroyed the both of you, your bodies will be soulless puppets for me to control, a shadow dragoness and a purple dragon, nothing will be able to stop me!" With that, he brought his blade down onto Spyro and Cynder, their paws still interlocked.
However, as his blade neared them, the flames suddenly dissipated and his blade faded out of existence. Startled by this, he quickly withdrew his paw. It reformed before his eyes and he tried again but to no avail.
Spyro and Cynder lay there, expecting Malefor to kill them there and then but, after a while, nothing seemed to be happening. They opened their eyes and saw a slightly translucent crystal lattice had formed around them. They saw Malefor trying to hit them but nothing happened, his attacks all failed to damage them through the crystals.
"Well, isn't this interesting?"
A deep bass voice echoed throughout the room, reverberating across the walls. Malefor heard this as well and spun around, growling.
"Lazarus…" Malefor snarled, turning his attention away from Spyro and Cynder momentarily.
"I will not let you harm them, Malefor."
"Lazarus!" Spyro shouted joyfully, standing up but immediately falling back down again from the pain of his wounds.
"You're Lazarus?" Cynder inquired, propping herself up on her front paws, grimacing at the sharp pain of every movement.
"Yes, Cynder, I believe we've never met before, have we?" Cynder nodded.
"Show yourself, Lazarus." Malefor said to the empty room.
"No, I shall not interfere physically in here. Malefor, you shall not succeed in destroying this world."
"Ha! Surely you don't expect that failure of a dragon to stop me, do you?" Malefor laughed and turned towards Spyro, who was glaring at Malefor angrily.
"He's tried to stop me many times and he's failed once again!"
"At least he's tried, I have faith that he will succeed eventually. He's done much more than you did at his age."
"Regardless, he cannot stop me, neither can you!" Malefor shouted, grinning evilly.
Suddenly, Spyro and Cynder's paws glowed brightly where they were holding each other. Spyro felt a warmth travelling through his paw into Cynder. As the light shone, their wounds healed before their very eyes, leaving no scars.
"Ah, finally, it's happening."
"What's happening, Lazarus?" Spyro asked as the light diminished.
"The true strength of Flare lies deep within the heart. It stems from the purity found deep within all hearts. The only way to bring forth this strength is through a connection stronger than love. you and Cynder are willing to fight by each others' side to the end, even till death, you remained by each others' side."
Spyro and Cynder blushed despite the peril they were in.
"After all, two is better than one. Now, put an end to this…"
With that, the barrier dissipated and the room fell silent once again. Spyro and Cynder felt almost reborn, they had never felt better.
Malefor snorted.
"Delusional old fool. No matter, I shall still destroy both of you as well as your children, painfully." He formed his tail and arms into long scythes, his wings phasing out and replaced with sets of swords, all comprised of darkness. Malefor pointed his blades at them, their edges shimmering with Hellfire.
"Are you ready, Spyro?" Cynder asked as she readied herself.
"Ready as I'll ever be, Cynder." Spyro replied, dropping into a battle-ready stance.
"Alright then, let's go."