"No." Karos' eyes brimmed with tears as she sat next to Vylor's bed. Spyro had cracked under the pressure of everyone demanding him to tell them what was happening to Vylor.

"I'm sorry Karos," Axius said solemnly, placing his hand on her shoulder. "There's nothing we can do." Karos turned to him with a tearful look in her eyes.

"There has to be something!" she cried. Axius just stared at the floor. Karos laid her head over Vylor's chest. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed. She looked up as a hand fell over the back of her head.

"K-Karos?" She looked up to find Vylor staring at her. Karos smiled weakly through her tears.

"Vylor." Vylor ran his thumb over her cheek, his gentle touch drying her tears.

"What's wrong?" Karos held his hand to her cheek.

"You're dying," she said. Vylor nodded and looked to Spyro. An ashamed look crossed the purple dragon's face.

"I'm sorry, Vylor," he said. "I should've kept my mouth shut."

"It's okay, Spyro," Vylor croaked. He coughed again and more blood leaked from his mouth. Karos turned back to Axius as Vylor lapsed back into unconsciousness.

"Is there anything we can do?" she asked. Axius kept his eyes glued to the floor.

"Only one person can save him."

"Who?" Axius looked up.

"His lover." Karos cocked a brow. Axius explained Vylor's fractured heart and how it was slowly killing him. Karos looked at the dying Scimitar of Light.

"Who is his lover?" Axius looked to his siblings and sighed.

"Ava the Selfless." Karos gasped. Axius thought for a moment. "One thing doesn't add up though."

"What is that?" Cynder asked. Axius began pacing back and forth.

"Ava died ten-thousand years ago. His Fractured Heart shouldn't be affecting him unless…" His white eyes widened. "Unless someone he's fallen in love with is in close proximity." He looked around the room. "Who?" he asked. "Who is it?" Everyone looked at each other. Axius noticed Spyro looking at the floor. "Who is it, Spyro?" The purple dragon looked up at Karos, whose eyes shone with tears. She had a look of sheer desperation. She would do anything to save Vylor.

"It's… It's Karos," he said. Karos gasped.

"No," she said. "No, it can't be." She looked back to the dying warrior.

"It is, Karos," Spyro insisted. "He would rather die than get between you and Devan because he would rather you be happy with Devan than be unhappy with him." Karos stared at the Scimitar of Light in disbelief.

"That… That means…" Spyro nodded.

"You're the only one who can save him." Karos turned back to Vylor, who coughed up more blood.

"If you're going to make a decision, you should make it now," Axius advised. "He doesn't have much longer." Karos thought back to her past interactions with the Scimitar of Light. How he had healed her arrow wound, the kind look that he always had, his witty humor, how awkward yet caring he was, and his warm touch. She remembered that night, when he had used his Light magic to heal the cut Devan had given her. In retrospect, it probably took more out of him than normal considering his current state.

"I…" she didn't know what to do. She had always been a pretty confident decision maker in the past. Why wasn't she now. She felt a new pair of eyes on her and looked at Vylor again. He was staring at her with those glowing yellow eyes. It seemed like the spark had gone out of them, but he gave her that kind and gentle smile that he would never lose.

"It's okay," he said softly. He coughed again and this time, blood began to constantly flow from his mouth as if he'd been punched. "Make the choice for yourself, not me." His eyes flickered. They were losing him.

"Hold on Vylo'vade," Axius said. He moved to help, but Vylor held up a hand.

"No, Brother," he said, so quietly that the others could barely hear him. "My time… My time has come." Axius took his brother's hand and dropped to his knees. Tears began to drip onto the floor as he cried. Vylor turned to Karos as the lights in his eyes dimmed.

"K-Karos," he said. His voice began to glitch like a record skipping. "I… I l-l-love… y—" His hand went limp in Axius's grip and his eyes' glow faded. Axius let his brother's hand go. He stood and placed a hand on Vylor's forehead.

"Vesta tyraga, vadan," he said. "May you walk the path of Light and may in the glow of eternal glory light your way to salvation." His voice broke on the last word. He turned and stormed out of the room. Cynder buried her head in Spyro's shoulder and sobbed. Spyro held his mate and led her out of the room trying to hide his own tears. Venama buried her head in her hands and both Chronos and Stratos led her out of the room. Volteer, Storm and Specter hung their heads, holding back tears for each other's sake. The Guardian of Lightning eventually walked the two younger dragons out as well. Karos buried her head in Vylor's chest. A hand on her shoulder made her look back. Axos stood with tears in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry little one," he said, his voice fraying. He had always been like a father to her, and that was what she needed right now. She threw herself into her master's arms and sobbed. Axos rubbed her back and slowly led her out of the room. He flipped the lights off as he left. Those illuminating the room weren't the only lights killed that day.

Polaris shot through Warfang's skies like a rocket. The Guardians had just received word that the expedition was returning. She couldn't wait to see him and his siblings, as well as meet the guests they had mentioned. She saw the other Guardians, Vanguard, Scimitars, and Council members already sitting on the wall. Terrador gave her a questioning look as she touched down next to him.

"More paperwork than expected," she quickly explained. Terrador nodded in understanding. He began to say something but was interrupted as Maelstrom pointed to the tree line.

"There!" he shouted. The others turned to see what he was pointing at. A massive vehicle crashed through the forest, coming to a rest outside the wall. The welcoming party quickly moved to meet the returning heroes. A door on the side of the massive vehicle slid open and Spyro and Cynder walked out. Behind them stood who Polaris guessed was Chronos. Behind him stood a two-legged dragon and two bird-like bipeds. Spyro and Cynder made their way down the ramps and introduced their new friends. Something seemed off about all of them, however. They all looked like they had an invisible weight on their shoulders and moved like Typhoon used to, all slumped over with their heads hung low. PT emerged with another dragoness and cloaked figure. PT greeted Polaris, but the other two were shuttled away. Venama also disembarked with Volteer, Storm, and Specter. Polaris was about to burst. Axius always had to make her wait. Her heart leapt sky high when she saw her big strong warrior emerge from the hatchway. She squealed with glee and bounded over to her mate. She wrapped him in her arms and shouted with glee. She stopped, however, when she noticed something. Axius would normally reciprocate a hug like that, especially for her. He, however, had his arms at his sides, his eyes to the floor. Polaris pulled back and looked at him worriedly.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Axius looked up at her and she stifled a yelp. Tears shone in his sunken eyes. His shoulders sagged so much that if possible, they could scrape the ground.

"V-Vylor…" He thudded to his knees and buried his head in his hands. Polaris gave him a confused look. Axius pulled himself together and noticed the puzzled expression on his mate's face. He trudged over to the hatchway and disappeared for a moment. He appeared seconds later with a long cloth wrap. He undid the wrapping and Polaris gasped. One of the wrapped objects was a sword like the other Scimitars had. What got her attention, was the staff that had a white crystal inlaid in it. Her blue eyes widened.

"No…" she gasped. Axius looked at the ground and another wave of tears came. Polaris looked around and saw the others had fallen silent. Terrador and Cyril walked over to Axius. The Scimitar looked up at the two dragons.

"What happened?" Terrador asked. "Where's Vylor?" Axius looked at the ground again.

"He… He didn't make it." Terrador and Cyril's eye widened and they both looked at each other in shock.

"No…" Nyxis dropped to his knees. The other Scimitars just stood there, dumbstruck. Axius heard someone scoff.

"That's one down," Anima said to himself. Axius and his siblings reacted before anyone knew what was happening. Anima froze and was lifted into the air. Polaris realized Axius was using his Gravity element to levitate him. Four chains of rock shot out of the ground and clamped around Anima's ankles. Obviously Caminus' doing. The other Scimitars were on the dragon in seconds. Axius stood and took his time striding over to the incapacitated dragon. His eyes turning a flaming black again.

"Normally," he said in a deep and warbling voice that was not his own. "I would kill you quickly, but given that this isn't your first offense, I don't think I will." He nodded to Vespex, Venama, and Everithon. Venama and Vespex moved to opposite sides of Anima's head. Venama raised one hand and a fine layer of acid formed over it. Vespex did the same and his gauntlet became coated in flames. Together, they pressed their hands onto Anima's temples and the shadow dragon screamed in agony. Everithon placed a hand on Anima's neck and pulsed. The dragon roared again as thousands of volts of electricity were pumped through his body. Axius then nodded to Nyxis, who strode over next to Vespex. He and Venama backed away as the black armored Scimitar placed his hand on Anima's forehead. He used his control over Darkness to contort Anima's mind. The dragon screamed again. Axius waved Nyxis off and he obeyed without as much as a word. Axius hopped onto Anima's chest and drew his sword. He squatted down and looked Anima dead in the eyes.

"I am going to cut your heart out and fucking feed it to you," he growled. He raised his sword, prepared to gouge out the shadow dragon's heart.

"AXIUS!" He stopped and turned to Polaris. She had tears streaming down her face. Axius saw what he had done, and his stomach bottomed out. He looked around at all the terrified faces around him. He looked back to Polaris with tears in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. He deployed the Wind Seal and shot into the sky.

"AXIUS! WAIT!" Polaris called after him. It ate away at the Scimitar as he kept going. He knew what he had done, and how he had hurt Polaris. He had broken his promise.