With a groan, Cynder woke from her slumber. Her muscles ached, and she struggled to keep her eyes open. Last night's funeral had taken a lot out of her; she hadn't cried that long or that hard in a very long time. Even though she knew Hunter was happy and safe in the afterlife, she still mourned him. He didn't deserve to die. No one who had died deserved it.

The dragoness sniffled as she rubbed her eyes, before suddenly noticing that her surroundings were very different; she was no longer in her bedroom. Instead, she was surrounded by many large bookshelves that stood probably twice as tall as the Warfang Temple, and the room was absolutely massive. She'd never seen a room so big before; it was probably the size of a decently sized city.

"Hello?" Cynder called out, slowly standing to her paws with a groan. "Is anyone there? Where am I?"

She looked around, hearing her voice echo throughout the room, before fading into a still, eerie silence. Cynder began to walk around the room, making her way in and out of the aisles of bookshelves to find someone, but each aisle was completely devoid of life. It was rather spooky, standing alone in such a massive room with nothing but rows and rows of books.

Cynder continued to call out, her slow walk speeding up into a slightly panicked jog. She felt her heart pumping, sweat dripping down her face, anxiousness setting in as she ran around the unfamiliar room.

After a while, however, it suddenly clicked in her head where she was. At first she doubted it, but only one person would ever need a room this big with this many books, plus she knew people could come here in their dreams; Spyro did, and so did the four dragons that the Chronicler himself picked to be the next guardians. Were they here too?

The dragoness turned and continued to run, now less afraid and more focused on finding the celestial dragon that she had only ever heard referred to as a myth. "Chronicler? Are you here?" Cynder yelled. "Why am I here?"

As Cynder turned a corner, she found a large opening in the middle of the room where each of the bookshelves circled around. In the middle was a table with a large amount of books stacked on top of it. A large teal dragon draped in royal blue robes sat at the table, reading a thick red book. At the sound of her footsteps approaching, the teal dragon straightened, sighed, and closed the red book.

"Well, you've finally arrived, young dragoness," the dragon said. "I was just finishing up on making sure the final moments of a young fire dragon were recorded properly. Poor thing."

Cynder's eyes narrowed. There was something strangely familiar about this dragon's voice, but she didn't know what. It was strange; she had never met this dragon before, who she assumed was the Chronicler. How could she possibly know his voice?

"But you're here now, which is good. It's great to finally be able to see you again, face to face," the Chronicler said as he turned around, his piercing teal eyes staring right into her.

The dragoness felt like her heart stopped. That damned face was so familiar. She immediately recognised it, even after all these years. "Ig… Ignitus?! Is that you?!" she cried, starting to tear up.

The Chronicler—Ignitus—just spread out his wings welcomingly, smiling softly. Cynder stepped forward and hugged him. She didn't cry, but she was clearly shaken and upset. "I thought… I thought you were dead. It pained me so much to see Spyro mourn like that. To see the other guardians mourn. I mourned too! Ancestors, where were you?!"

"I was here, Cynder. I am dead. I am but a spirit now," Ignitus said sadly, his voice a little wobbly. "I was chosen, however, to replace the Chronicler before me—the one who visited Spyro—and now it's my job to chronicle the events and lives of this world. I had hoped I would be able to chronicle a more peaceful age, but then this happens… Well, I still have to do my job; it is what it is, unfortunately."

"I just want it all to stop. I don't know what to do anymore. I feel like nothing I do works or helps," Cynder murmured.

"I understand. But you're doing great. You'll know what to do, I'm sure of it."

"Thank you," Cynder said with a sniffle, pulling out of Ignitus' embrace and wiping her slightly wet eyes. "I miss you; it's been eight years."

"I know. I'm sorry, Cynder. I'm sorry I couldn't make myself known, but as the Chronicler I have other priorities and matters to attend to."

Cynder sniffled with a nod, her gaze lowering to her paws. "I… I understand," she murmured softly, the Chronicler only just managing to hear her.

"Cynder. Head up. Look at me. You're strong, very strong. You've been through hell on earth and you're still alive and well today, fighting for what you know is right. I admire that about you, Cynder. You're not afraid to back down and you're willing to put yourself in harm's way to protect others. Keep your head high, and don't stop fighting."

"Thanks, Ignitus," Cynder said. "I just… I don't know whether I should stop or not. This seems hopeless. Nothing we do works. We continue to lose so many lives. I feel like all we fought for was for nothing—all we sacrificed… I almost feel like your sacrifice was for nothing; we may have gotten to Malefor and beaten him but then Spyro became the exact thing we fought so hard to destroy. I feel like my efforts to warm up to people, try to get involved with society, break free from the dark thoughts in my head, were also all for nothing.

"My life has been nothing but hell. My past haunts me relentlessly; even in the eight years of peace we had, it never left. I was plagued by nightmares and reminders of what I had done, I was attacked for what I had done, and I was in a very dark place even back then. Was my past suffering worth nothing?"

Before Cynder could continue, Ignitus rushed forward and hugged her again. "Don't say that. Don't say that, please," he murmured; Cynder noticed his voice quivering a little. "I know you've been through hell; I looked into your book and my heart broke for you. But please, don't let that suffering go to waste. Use it. Use it as a weapon. You can use your past experiences to help you manage this hell we're going through right now, to help you and those around you get through it, to fight the demons that Spyro has created. You have a lot at your disposal, especially knowledge. You know how dark magic works, for example."

Cynder just nodded, pulling herself back out of Ignitus' embrace. She struggled slightly to hold his gaze, but she continued to stare into his eyes, now a bright blue like the rest of his body.

Ignitus continued, "Stay strong, Cynder. Keep fighting. Don't stop until this war is won. I also want to say that I'm very proud of you, for all that you've done."

"Thank you," Cynder replied, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"Now, for the reason why I called you here: I need to let you know that there are lots of things that are about to happen. Bad things," Ignitus explained. "Dark magic readings from Dark Peak are getting worse, and Spyro's book has been getting… rather disturbing, to put it simply.

"But it's not just Spyro I'm referring to about these bad things. Those you call friends are in quite a lot of danger; after Muras' identity being revealed to everyone, they've been… well, not in a great place. If you don't help them pull themselves back together, they could go down a path that could have unspeakable consequences. Especially your brother."

"Oh, that's right, Aerus… He reacted… very strongly then," she murmured.

"Can you blame him?" Ignitus inquired. "He thought you were still under Malefor's control, and had brought him back."

"I'm… I'm his sister! He knows me! He knows I wouldn't do such a thing, and that that isn't the case!"

"You don't know his full backstory then, do you?"

Cynder blinked, her heart skipping a beat. Sadly, she shook her head. Aerus had briefly, and only very briefly, explained to her about his childhood and how he and their parents saw her. But she didn't know anything more than that. He didn't talk about his childhood.

Ignitus sighed, before he lifted his paw, glowing blue particles floating between his claws. The crystal hanging around his neck also began to glow. Cynder followed Ignitus' gaze, looking down one of the aisles as a grey book emerged, floating towards them. It wasn't the largest book around, but it was significantly large. As it got closer, Cynder noticed the name 'Aerus' printed on the front cover.

"This is my brother's book," Cynder gasped.

"Indeed it is," Ignitus replied, using his magic to set the book on the desk, before he made his way over to it. "Come."

Cynder blinked, before following, sitting beside Ignitus at the desk, looking at the book with both awe and fear. She was scared of what might be inside it. "Isn't this… like a breach of privacy?" she asked. "Like… is it okay to just look into my brother's book like this?"

"Somewhat, but… in certain cases, a Chronicler may show someone a book. No one's allowed to see their own book, however. Plus, I feel like this would help you understand your brother a bit more, and help aid him back to a somewhat better mental state."

Cynder sighed, before nodding. Ignitus opened the book. He skipped the first few pages going through Aerus' birth and very early childhood, but stopped at an image that broke Cynder's heart. There sat Aerus, four years old, sitting on the ground, crying.

"He was four when your egg was laid. Young Aerus was so excited to be a big brother, and then that fated night came and you were gone. He mourned hard," Ignitus murmured. "His childhood only got worse from there."

Ignitus turned the page, and Cynder was met with multiple images, all depicting Aerus cowering or crying, and around him were a group of other younglings who were either beating him up or running away from him.

"Aerus was shunned for being your brother," Ignitus continued. "Once word spread about you and what you were doing under Malefor's control, even ending up in Typhaar, it affected Aerus negatively. He had no friends, as everyone was either to afraid of him to get close, or beat him up to 'put him in his place', to submit to them so he wouldn't go rogue. Your parents were also treated somewhat similarly."

"Oh ancestors… I don't have words," Cynder whimpered.

The Chronicler turned the page again, showing Aerus, in his early teens, with tears streaming down his face as he shouted at his parents. Her parents. Her heart broke again, not only from seeing Aerus so broken and angry, but from seeing her parents again, whole. Completely untouched by Spyro's bloody wrath and the weight of malnutrition, they looked amazing. Her mother was the most beautiful dragoness she had seen. Her father was very handsome. Even though they too were also crying and appeared to be in a lot of pain from whatever words Aerus was spitting at them, they looked incredible.

Cynder reached out to touch the page, running her paw along the sketches of her parents. Then she turned to Aerus, taking in his expression, his stance, everything. He was so hostile. It hurt Cynder, because she very much knew, after what she had just seen and heard, that she probably had something to do with this too.

What Ignitus said confirmed her assumption. "It wasn't long before Aerus got into intense fights with your parents," he said. "He despised you, while your parents still loved you, and had some hope for you that you would break free. They knew that Malefor was controlling you, and they just couldn't see their daughter as the same monster everyone else saw; they were more hateful towards Malefor than anyone else.

"Because of their different viewpoints on you, however, the family was… very almost destroyed. Many harsh words were said, and there was constant hurt. One night Aerus ran away and almost fell off a cliff. He was lucky your parents found him or else he could have died."

Ignitus turned the page again, revealing an image of Aerus, covered in bloody cuts and scratches, his wing membrane torn, as he hung from the cliff face. In the distance was a large thorn bush, which was possibly where Aerus got the cuts from.

The teal dragon closed the book, and Cynder let out a whimper. "Upon hearing that you had helped save the world, Aerus began to realise how wrong he was," Ignitus continued, his voice soft and calm. "So… when you brought Muras back, Aerus was terrified. He suddenly started doubting his re-evaluation of you, and wondered if you'd ever really changed at all. The hatred swallowed him up again.

"However, he didn't want to lose the dragoness he had grown to know and love as his sister over the prior days and weeks, so instead, he erased you from his reality, trying to pretend that 'Cynder' didn't exist. All he sees now is the Terror of the Skies, and without a confrontation from you to help break down that wall, your relationship with him, and he himself, will not recover. You need to bring him back."

Cynder sniffled, trying her hardest not to breakdown at what she had just heard about her brother. She turned to Ignitus, defeat overwhelming her. "This… this is all my fault. I'm to blame for this. I wish I could change things, take things back. But I can't. I can't take any of this back," she murmured, curling in on herself and beginning to shake a little.

"But Cynder, you can change things," Ignitus said. "You can go to your brother and your friends, talk to them, try and explain why you let Muras come back here and what you see in him, and tell them that you don't plan to hurt anyone and neither does Muras."

"What if they don't believe me? What if they hate me even more?"

"I don't know. None of their books go any further from this point onwards, so we're trekking in the dark now. Even if I did know, I wouldn't be able to tell you. I can give prophecies, but I'm not allowed to show you the future."

"I… I understand," Cynder replied with a little nod.

There was a brief moment of silence. Cynder was about to move forward to hug Ignitus, when the emotional moment was destroyed as a low rumble shook the room, and a horrifying, distant roar resonated through the walls of the Chronicler's Temple. Cynder stiffened, looking up to Ignitus with concern.

Fear immediately engulfed her when she saw Ignitus' expression. Terror was painted on his face, his eyes wide and dilated. He uttered one curse, before he turned and bolted off down the aisle and out of the room.

Cynder was taken aback, having never seen such a look of terror on Ignitus' face, and having never heard Ignitus resort to such vulgarity that would be normal for her to use. Now she was really scared, more scared than she ever had been.

If the Chronicler was terrified, then whatever that roar meant was something bad.

Not wanting to be left alone in the massive, eerie room, Cynder took off after Ignitus—she was honestly surprised that he didn't send her back to the waking world.

She caught up to Ignitus rather quickly, and followed him out of the massive library, down a few corridors, into what looked like an office. It was tiny in comparison to the library, but it was still enormous, also containing many shelves and desks full of books, as well as a few magic trinkets. On one desk in particular, there was a massive book that covered up the whole area of the desk's surface. The cover was purple, with many dark, waving markings decorating the cover. It looked like an evil tome.

Cynder was sure this book was Spyro's.

Ignitus ran to the book, reaching forward to open it up, until a black, pulsating aura began to form around it, almost encapsulating it in a protecting veil. The Chronicler moved to touched it, but a black beam of lightning shot out of it, zapping Ignitus' paw. He staggered backwards, collapsing to the ground and clutching his head.

Cynder moved towards him but Ignitus screamed, "CYNDER, STAY AWAY!"

He sounded like he was in pain. Cynder could only stand and watch as Ignitus lay on his side, clutching his head as he cried out in protest, eyes hazy and distant, as if he was focused on something that was not in this world. He was having a vision.

Another rumble shook the room, and Cynder turned towards Spyro's book to see it floating, rising up into the air, the black aura getting larger as a thick, black goo began to drip from it.

"Ignitus? Ignitus, something's wrong with the book!" Cynder cried, her voice wobbling in fear. She'd never felt so helpless before.

Ignitus let out a loud, violent scream, before the colour returned to his eyes and he looked up at her. "Cynder, you need to go to the Well of Souls, NOW," Ignitus ordered, his voice low and raspy. "Forget everything I told you to do earlier, this is much more important. The world depends on this."

"WHAT?!" Cynder shrieked. "Ignitus, what is happening?!"

"Spyro is there, and what he is planning there is incredibly bad," Ignitus said, tears streaming down his face. "Go, now. Do not hesitate. Take Muras with you too, you might need him. I'm counting on you."

"BUT WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" Cynder cried as her vision began to get blurry.

"There is no time to explain, Cynder. Go! JUST GO!"

The last thing she heard before she blacked out was a shriek, but it wasn't from Ignitus. It was shrill, ear-piercing, and was one of the most evil sounds she had ever heard.


And we're back, and things are going south lol XD We're starting to reach the climax of the story so we're almost finished!

Uni's been stressful and all that so I haven't had as much time to write as I wanted to, but I did manage to get this done so that's good at least lol

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Dragon of Mystery: Yup the moment you mentioned the Thor Dark World funeral I immediately went 'yup I agree' lol; I'm really glad you liked the scene/atmosphere tho. Bit of a calm before the storm if you will lol.

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Hope you guys all enjoyed! Chapter 53 should be out soon hopefully