Hello and welcome to the penultimate chapter for Love of My Life! That's right, we're finally in the final stages of this story and what a wild ride it's been!

In the last chapter, Hunter was able to bring a beaten Spyro back to the Artisan Valley after his brief fight with Kronos. With Cynder and Glacia left behind, Spyro and Hunter reunite with the Guardians and soon begin a plan of attack to bring Kronos and Prowlus down and rescue the dragonesses in the process.

Meanwhile, as Spyro and the others plot, Cynder and Glacia remain imprisoned in Kronos' dark tower over the course of a couple of days. The two, however, are soon rescued by Spyro, Hunter and the Guardians, where Glacia reunites with Ignitus after eighteen or so years being separated.

With a battle looming, who will survive the upcoming conflict? Let's find out. Enjoy!

(Chapter 11: Dragon Attack)

The final battle begins…

(THIRD PERSON)

The assault on the tower raged on, the impact of boulders crashing into the tower rumbled through the corridors. Prowlus' cheetah army scattered all over the place, eager to join in the battle against the purple dragon and his friends. No matter if the tower started to collapse, their priorities would always be focused on young Spyro.

And that was good news for Hunter, who separated from the group not too long ago. If his former cheetah comrades weren't focused on him, then he could slip by unnoticed and concentrate on achieving his mission: finding his uncle.

But that wasn't exactly an easy thing to accomplish; Hunter had no idea where to find Prowlus. He knew that his uncle wasn't outside with the rest of his tribe, as Prowlus was never one to fight on the front line unless for a good reason. Besides, Hunter had a deep feeling that his uncle would've had the same idea as him: finding each other and putting an end to this… once and for all.

That begged the question: where could Prowlus be?

Before he could figure it out, Hunter's ears suddenly pricked up as he heard footsteps coming from both sides of the corridor. He quickly caught sight of a nearby dragon statue that was almost shrouded in darkness and darted towards it, lifting his hood over his head as he crouched down out of view.

Fortunately for Hunter, no one saw him disappear out of view. The footsteps became louder before they came to a complete stop, the corridor now filled with sounds of distress. Hunter peered around slightly to see two cheetahs talking to each other. While he didn't recall the cheetah on the right, the cheetah on the left, who had orange fur and tiger-like stripes, was someone Hunter recognised immediately. It was the tribe's healer, Meadow, and potentially the key to finding his uncle.

"Meadow!" the distressed cheetah exclaimed, panic in his voice. "Thank goodness I found you! Where's Prowlus? Our people can't hold the line much longer!"

"I'm currently tending to him, he wishes to be alone at this moment…" Meadow said, more calmly than the other cheetah.

The other cheetah's eyes widened, not expecting that answer. "What? Right now? But we—"

"He wishes to be alone, that's his orders," Meadow muttered, putting a paw on the cheetah's shoulder. "Are there any wounded?"

The distressed feline simply nodded. "Y-Yes… loads."

"Then take me to them, they must be tended to," Meadow said, ushering his fellow tribe member away to the direction he originally came from.

Once the two cheetahs departed, Hunter emerged from the shadows and proceeded down the corridor once again. Now that he knew where he was going, Hunter could mentally prepare for the fight ahead of him.

A thought then occurred to him: could he actually kill his uncle? He was aware that these types of duels usually end up in someone's death, but did he have the inner strength to finish the job? Despite all that he did while under Kronos' command, Prowlus was still his uncle. He just needed a push in the right direction, at least Hunter hoped so anyway.

The corridor soon led Hunter to a wooden door that was dragon-sized and towered over him, and stood quietly as he peered up towards it. He pressed his ear onto the wooden surface and he could hear harsh whispers that sounded like someone talking to something in the room… or maybe they were talking to themselves?

Hunter knew one thing for sure: his uncle was in there, waiting for him to arrive. The time had come and there was no way out of it.

With a small deep breath, Hunter pushed the door open and crept through into the room that laid ahead.

The room was some sort of a training dojo; a circular base surrounded an array of torches which only slightly illuminated the room. However, a small hole at the top of the room managed to let a fraction of light seep out from outside. Because of this, ice had begun to form around the hole as snow sprinkled down to the ground.

Hunter saw that his uncle was sitting on his knees just slightly from the centre of the room, hidden from the light in his dark cloak. Prowlus said nothing as Hunter walked forward cautiously, putting a paw on his katana in case his uncle lashed out suddenly.

All was quiet. For once, Hunter wasn't sure what to do. Killing someone in the back wasn't exactly honourable; he was taught that warriors have to face their enemies head-on and look them in the eye with courage and respect.

But things had changed; Hunter had to do what had to be done to end this once and for all.

"Do you remember the training grounds in the village at Avalar?" Prowler suddenly spoke up just before Hunter could unsheathe his katana. "Your mother used to let me train you every now and then. She would've been proud of the cheetah you've become."

At the mention of his mother through his uncle's tongue, Hunter merely frowned. "She wouldn't say the same about you…"

Prowlus turned slightly, taking note of what Hunter said. "Everything I did, I did in the name of our tribe. Our code, the warrior's way…"

"Is almost killing an entire Valley part of our code? Was burning everything to the ground?" Hunter hissed, anger in his tone. "Don't bring our code into this, Uncle; the life we lead now has blinded you, corrupting you to the point where you can never come back!"

"Kronos has offered us the job of a lifetime, don't you realise that?!" Prowlus barked back. "Once this whole ordeal is done then we're free to live our lives the way we used to, we don't have to be mercenaries anymore!"

Hunter couldn't believe what he was hearing. "And then what? Live our life as Kronos and his new dark apprentice lay waste to the realms?! I can't let that happen!"

The cheetah then sighed. This argument was going nowhere and will only lead to more conflict. Hunter only had one more chance to fix this, and he had to do it now.

"There's still a chance to bring you back, Uncle," Hunter muttered, reaching out a paw towards Prowlus. "Just take my paw and join me in the fight against Kronos, just as we've always done it in the past. Please… we don't have to do this."

Prowlus stayed silent as he stared directly at Hunter's paw, his eyes darting up and down in uncertainty. He didn't move nor seemed eager to take his nephew's paw, and it was that hesitation that made Hunter realise that his uncle was too far gone.

"You have been branded a traitor amongst our clan…" Prowlus murmured, his good eye forming a small tear. "And I'm the one who must punish you."

As Prowlus turned his back on him, Hunter's paw slowly dropped in disbelief. Nothing more could be done; whatever level of respect Hunter had for his uncle was lost within seconds. Prowlus was not the same honourable warrior he once looked up to in his cubhood; the mercenary life had changed him… and not for the better.

"You know what needs to be done," Prowlus then said, handing Hunter a piece of parchment and a quill. "Write your last words…"

With a shaky paw, Hunter grabbed the parchment and quill from his uncle and proceeded to walk a few paces away from him. Once he reached his spot, Hunter unclipped his katana from his belt and placed it, along with the parchment and quill, in front of him.

Reflecting on what he'd lost, Hunter dipped the ink into his quill and the words began to write themselves.

Lost in a conflict,

Scarred by lies, my uncle fell,

Our fates are unknown.

With his final words jotted down on the parchment, Hunter laid it down on the ground and placed a nearby cobblestone to keep it in place in case it rolled away.

The two cheetahs then stared at the wall in front of them, in complete silence as they refused to face each other. Deep down, neither of them wanted to do this, but they both knew that this couldn't be undone.

"I will miss this," Hunter managed to murmur, his voice shaky.

Prowlus took a breath before replying to his nephew. "So will I," he muttered.

With that final exchange, both Hunter and Prowlus stood up simultaneously and faced each other. Prowlus lowered his hood, allowing his nephew to see the damage Spyro had done to his face; flesh had been burnt away on the right side of his face, revealing an exposed clouded eye and half of his skull. Hunter couldn't help but grimace as his uncle's face reflected what he had become in recent times.

Uncle and nephew drew their katanas as they walked towards each other, both throwing their sheaths to the ground beside them as this would be the last time they would draw their swords. At least, for one of them…

The two cheetahs gripped their swords and readied themselves, waiting for one or the other to strike first. Hunter positioned himself in a stance that, according to his training, was more effective when facing against swordsmen. If his uncle struck fast, then there was a chance he could get an advantage.

Prowlus was indeed the one that struck first. Both of the blades vibrated against each other as his katana collided with Hunter's. Hunter did his best to defend himself against his uncle, parrying when there was an opening and rolling out of the way when Prowlus tried to strike him with unblockable attacks.

Hunter and Prowlus locked swords once again and Hunter could see the anger in his uncle's eyes. It was like there were two sides of him: the one side that trained him and treated him as the son he never had, and the other side that was a cruel, malicious monster that killed where and when he wished.

"It's not too late!" Hunter pleaded, trying to reach his uncle from his charred exterior.

Prowlus' eyes narrowed. "Yes, it is," he said coldly.

Prowlus then separated himself from Hunter's sword and proceeded to unleash an array of quickfire slashes onto his nephew, cutting at Hunter's fur since he wasn't quick enough to block them.

Hunter growled in pain, staring at his uncle in anger and disbelief as blood trickled down his shoulder. A wound like that would heal, but Hunter couldn't do anything about it until he defeated his uncle. He had to win, he needed to win.

The cheetah took a step back and grabbed a small vial from his pouch, quickly dripping a dash of liquid onto the surface of the blade. Once the blade was covered, Hunter then quickly scraped the blade on the ground which created sparks and ignited the top of the blade.

Prowlus was unable to defend himself as his nephew struck him with the way of the flame, setting him ablaze for a couple of seconds and forcing himself to pat down his body to get rid of the flames. The damage only badly singed Prowlus' fur with a few dark patches but it was enough to weaken him slightly.

With his uncle vulnerable, Hunter then prepared his next move. He gripped both hands on his katana once again, pointing the blade behind him before unleashing his next attack. Hunter moved towards Prowlus like a flash of lightning, going cleanly through his uncle's side with a single horizontal slash.

Prowlus merely stood still for a moment, seemingly unaffected by the searing pain of his injury, until his katana fell to the ground and he collapsed to his knees, grasping the side of his chest in an attempt to stop his blood flowing to the ground.

Hunter remained still, hearing his uncle's rasped breath behind him. A sigh of relief escaped his lips. He had won—he had bested his uncle. He just wished it didn't have to come down to this…

Katana still in his grasp, Hunter cautiously turned himself around to face his uncle. Prowlus was now on all fours, still clutching his wound with one paw. His uncle's expression read defeat and exhaustion, but Hunter could see a hint of regret in his eyes. Hunter thought there was perhaps a glimpse of the old Prowlus emerging once again, just as his life was ebbing away.

Prowlus stared at his nephew, a hurtful look on what was left on his face. "Hunter… you know what happens next," he croaked. "Honour me… with a warrior's death."

Hunter stood his ground, unsure what to say next. Never would he have thought that he would ever hear those words uttered by his uncle, nor would he be the one to do the deed. But could he go through with it? Even after contemplating in his head during his journey here, Hunter's choice wasn't quite made up yet.

"You were right, my boy… I should've seen what I had become," Prowlus looked up to his nephew with tearful eyes, any sign of his psychotic persona seemingly dissipated. "Please Hunter… I can't face our clan again after what I did. Please… honour me."

Knowing that his uncle couldn't harm him, Hunter knelt down opposite his uncle with one paw tightly gripping the hilt of his tantō blade. "I will make sure everyone remembers you for what you were… before all of this," he murmured, maintaining his composure. "I'm not sure how but—"

"Hunter… it's alright," Prowlus coughed, his head lowering in regret. "I don't deserve any redemption, all I want is an honourable demise. It's the least that can be done with what I've done over the years…"

Hunter had, of course, heard stories about his uncle's life whether it was from before the war, during the war, or when he was starting out as a mercenary. But they didn't seem real to him, being stories from before his lifetime; he couldn't imagine the cheetah that trained him to be capable of any of the stuff that the stories described… until the attack on the Artisan Valley proved him otherwise.

But now, those stories would soon come to an end.

Hunter unsheathed the tantō blade and held the tip against his uncle's abdomen, his eyes refusing to see the blade.

"Find me… in the next life," Prowlus huffed.

Hunter nodded. "I will…"

In his last moments, Prowlus managed a weak smile. "Thank you."

Hunter then struck his uncle, quickly penetrating the blade into his flesh. Prowlus' eyes remained widened and still as the feeling of being stabbed overwhelmed his face. Hunter immediately erupted to cries of agony as his uncle slumped onto his shoulder, blood expelling from the blade and onto his paws before dripping onto the ground in a small pool.

The young cheetah held his blade in place as he rested his chin on his uncle's fallen shoulder, tears streaming down his face while the dojo echoed with his cries. He was lucky that everyone else was busy with each other so he could have this time just for himself, as well as not being killed on the spot when the other cheetahs saw what he did to Prowlus.

Lying his uncle down in a respectful manner, Hunter stood himself straight and regained his composure. He wiped his tears and looked down at his uncle's body once again; burying him would have to wait until the battle was finished.

Hunter then made his way to the scroll that Prowlus was writing on before their duel. He unravelled it and read his uncle's final written words:

Hunter, I'm sorry,

My pride has overwhelmed me,

Will I be redeemed?

Hunter read over his uncle's poem over and over again, making sure the words truly sunk in. His mourning was interrupted by the sounds of another assortment of boulders hitting the surface of the tower.

Grabbing his katana and strapping it onto his belt, Hunter strolled over the doors and opened them with a mighty heave. Before he departed, he stared at his uncle's corpse one last time in a sorrowful manner.

"I don't think you ever will be, Uncle…"

(SPYRO's POV)

I don't think I'd ever witnessed such a battle…

Sure, I'd been in many battles myself, but they were always on a smaller scale and were mostly just goons that I could fire or charge at in one second flat. Even the final battle with Malefor was a lot shorter than I originally thought it would be, considering the armies of both parties were both wiped out before Cynder and I could get there.

But as I looked out the window, I saw only fire and chaos. It was a battle that our side was winning, thankfully, but it was still a battle I shouldn't witness. Our side of moles, cheetahs that weren't a part of Prowlus' tribe and the Dragon Elders were caught up in a conflict with a stone knight with purple electricity illuminating from inside of him. The knight used his sword and struck it down to the ground, releasing sparks of energy towards our forces, luckily not harming them due to the blockade that was put up.

Maybe I should help them? It could only take me a couple of minutes; that was plenty of time right? Kronos would still be waiting until I get back—

"Spyro?"

I jolted slightly at the sudden sound of my name being called, I darted around and saw that Cynder was standing behind me.

"Oh, uh, Cynder! You gave me a fright," I said.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Cynder muttered. "I just wanted to see if you were okay; you just… wandered off earlier."

I rubbed my eyes in frustration. "I'm going to fight against someone who almost nearly killed me, of course I'm not okay…"

"Hey, things will be different this time," Cynder said calmly. "We're going in with a plan, or something resembling a plan once Volteer and Cyril stop bickering, and it's not like you're going to be completely alone this time, you've got me by your side remember?"

"That's just it; I'm not just worrying about myself, I have to worry about you too…"

Cynder softly grabbed my chin and moved my face so I was now looking directly into her eyes. "I have to worry about you as well," she assured me, burying her head under my chin. "That's what being part of a team is all about, you have my back and I have yours."

"But—"

"Shh… I just want to be close to you, one last time."

Hearing Cynder's downcast tone and shocked at her sudden affection, I instantly dropped the subject and snuggled into Cynder's embrace. "Ok," I murmured.

The two of us stayed silent for a few precious moments, moments that soon could be coming to an end. I didn't want everything to end with me and Cynder, I couldn't bear to be without her. There was so much that I wanted to do with her, as my best friend, as my constant companion… maybe as my wife and mate someday.

Oh man, I was never going to say those words… I knew I would do anything to make this happen but was that what Cynder wanted? I had to know before shit goes down.

"Cynder?"

My girlfriend separated from our embrace and glanced into my eyes. "Hmm?"

"Just in case we—" I cleared my throat to avoid saying the next bit. I couldn't say it, I didn't want to say it. Cynder didn't need any clarification anyway, she already knew what I was trying to say. "I just wanted to ask… what would've your future been like?"

Cynder sighed. "Well, I do hope for a future without any conflicts to this degree," she answered, gesturing to the battle outside with her wing. "Maybe I would like to attend a class or two from that university the Professor mentioned, maybe become an author or something someday… but most importantly, I would've liked to grow old with you."

That last part made my girlfriend's eyes water slightly. I noticed this and gave Cynder a comforting nuzzle, which she appreciated. Cynder then smiled from the corner of her mouth and asked me. "What about you?"

"I'm… not sure," I admitted, frowning at my lack of direction in life. "My life has mostly been about adventuring or fighting something, so a normal life would be strange to me. I don't know what I would do with my life…"

I then chuckled. "There's always the sandwich shop."

"You couldn't handle it."

"No, I couldn't, could I?" I snorted amusingly. "But there was one thing I'm definitely sure about…"

Cynder's eyebrow raised. "Oh yeah?"

"I thought, maybe, sometime after this ordeal I would… propose to you."

Cynder's eyes widened. "P-Propose?" she stammered. I wasn't sure if she was saying that in a flattering way or in a rejecting way.

"Yeah, well, it was just an idea in my head," I muttered, nervously rubbing the back of my neck. "I haven't even bought a ring yet… I didn't spoil the surprise, did I?"

Cynder shook her head. "No, honey, you didn't," she assured me. "I just didn't expect something like that."

"I thought, if this was my last moment with you then I figured you should know," I said. "I love you, Cynder and I would've liked to have spent the rest of my life with you…"

"Me too," Cynder murmured, giving me a loving smile. "I love you, Spyro, forever and always."

Cynder then leaned in closer and kissed me on the lips, my eyes closing in relaxation as soon as she made contact. As much as I loved Cynder's kisses, there was something bothering me at the back of my head. It wasn't the kiss, but what was happening around me.

It was quiet… too quiet.

"Did you hear that?" I wondered, separating from our kiss.

Cynder gave me a concerned look. "I didn't hear anything…"

"That's the weird thing, it's supposed to be a loud fight going on outside right?"

"Our guys must've defeated the stone knight," Cynder theorised. "Honey, I don't see—"

I parted myself from Cynder and went straight to the window behind me. Our forces were still fighting off the stone knight outside but something didn't seem right. There were no sounds of electricity being shot out towards the troops, no one calling out to 'fall back' or 'fire', no swords clashing or arrows firing. Did they win the battle? Did they lose?

Then I saw why everything was so quiet.

"Cynder, come look… everything's stopped."

Cynder stood next to me and peered outside the window. However, she didn't seem as convinced as I was. "I still don't—"

I pointed towards the stone knight. "The electricity, look. It's frozen."

Cynder squinted her eyes to see where the knight was standing. Electricity was spurting out of his body and redistributing itself in the blade of the sword, but the energy wasn't moving. It was like the knight had become a statue again midway through powering himself up. Everyone was like that. There were creatures at the blockade, still crouching under cover to avoid the knight's attack, and they were still. Even if they were under cover, there would still be some movement right?

"Holy shit," Cynder exclaimed, finally noticing the frozen battlefield below. "But I don't get it. Why did everything just stop?"

"I don't know," I said. "Let's go ask the Guardians, they might know what's going on…"

So Cynder and I walked down the corridor to where the Guardians were discussing how we were to fight Kronos. I had walked off because everything they were saying or suggesting was just too much for me. I had only one chance to fight this bastard and I just couldn't handle their ideas on how to end my life sooner than I wanted to.

Normally Volteer and Cyril's bickering would be loud enough to hear through closed doors, however, as Cynder and I got closer and closer, their arguing seemed to have ceased. Everyone else was strangely quiet as well.

When we approached the Guardians, everything just sunk. "Oh no," I mumbled.

In front of us stood my mother and the Guardians sitting on their haunches in a circle formation, stiff as statues. It appeared that whatever stopped them from moving, it stopped them mid conversation. Volteer and Cyril looked like they were in the middle of an argument, no surprises there. Terrador had his teeth bared in their direction, possibly trying to de-escalate their bickering, which was unsuccessful from where I was standing.

I wandered over to where my parents were standing. "Mum? Ignitus?" I said, hoping to get a response.

Neither of them didn't respond. My mother seemed to be peering behind her, with Ignitus looking at her in a concerned way. What was Mum looking at? Did she hear something strange? Maybe she just noticed that I disappeared and was wondering where I was?

I looked shamefully at the ground; I should've said something before I left…

"I don't understand," Cynder said, utterly confused as she walked around the Guardians as if they were sculptures at the museum. "Why is this happening? How come we haven't stopped?"

"There is one possibility," I replied. "But I don't like it—"

"CAN THE PURPLE DRAGON COME OUT TO PLAY?!"

The voice erupted throughout the corridor, causing me and Cynder to jump in sudden shock. It was like the voice was right there in the same room but, as I glanced around to see where the voice was coming from, I saw that nothing was there. Just me, Cynder, and the frozen Guardians.

While I didn't know where the voice was coming from, I knew who it belonged to. A voice that made the frill at the back of my neck stand up. It was the voice of Kronos.

"I know you're around here somewhere, Spyro!" Kronos' voice bellowed out, making my eardrums vibrate slightly. "Let's finish this, shall we? You, me, and Malefor's brat… Come to the top of the tower, come and face your destiny."

Kronos' voice then faded away, leaving Cynder and me alone once more. All was quiet; I remained where I was, too afraid to move. This was it… the final battle was about to begin.

"Bastard," I heard Cynder mutter.

As much as I didn't want to face Kronos, I knew that I had to stop him. I was the only one that could, after all. There was no time to be afraid… I needed to be brave.

I was the purple dragon, everything that had ever happened to me in my life had happened because of this asshole. He was responsible for turning Malefor into the monster he was and now he wanted me. Well, he can have me.

I had to do this. For Cynder, Ignitus, Mum, and everyone that had fallen under this dragon's claws like the Skylanders… and Sparx.

"Come on," I said. "It's time to finish this…"

(-)

All was silent as Cynder and I traversed up towards the top of the tower. I didn't know what I could say; I had no clue what Kronos was truly capable of thanks to his newfound powers of freezing time itself. No dragon I'd ever heard or read about had no abilities like that; how was I supposed to fight someone with a power no one has ever survived against?

Eventually the two of us made it to the top floor of the tower, and a large gate stood in between us and Kronos. I gazed at the gate with uncertainty; I'd never been so nervous and terrified in my life. This wasn't one of my horror films that I enjoyed watching so much, this was real life.

Still… I couldn't turn back now. This has to end, now.

I turned to Cynder. "Are you ready for this?" I asked her.

"I'm scared…" was her response. She looked more terrified than I was; she might not show it but I could tell from her eyes.

"Just stay close to me," I assured her, trying to sound brave. If I sounded like I was the fearless and courageous hero like I was meant to be, then maybe I would act like one when we confronted Kronos?

I wandered over to the gate and jumped up on my hind legs to push it open with my full might. The gate creaked open to reveal a small gap that allowed Cynder to go through it, with me trailing behind her.

The top of the tower had a hexagonal floor with six spires curving out from each side, while the floor was covered in decorative marble that surrounded a large black hexagon in the centre. My first thought when I saw the floor was that it resembled bathroom tiles.

I gazed around at the area in front of me, which made me wonder what this place was used for before the war. I knew that the tower was once a training area for electricity dragons but other than that? There was nothing more, so why was there an open space at the very top? Secret dojo? Where they stored energy, perhaps?

Kronos sat near the very edge, sitting on his haunches as he looked upon the battle below him. A part of me hoped he was frozen as well, but the other part soon reminded me that he was the one that made everyone stop in the first place. It would be a stupid ability if it came with a flaw like that!

"You know many, many years ago, back when Malefor was young and innocent, he learnt to use his electricity element right here. Kallik, the Electric Guardian at the time, wanted to ensure that the other dragons would maintain their training so she and Malefor came up here. Quiet, private, no one to disturb, it was perfect…" Kronos suddenly spoke up, still focused on the horizon. "It's a shame that she didn't see her work pay off."

"You mean, unravel?" Cynder called out, teeth bared. "She didn't train Malefor to become a killer! That was all on you!"

Kronos peered around and smirked. "What Malefor did was his own actions. I merely just… pushed him in the right direction."

"More like manipulated him," I said. At this point, Cynder and I moved away from each other and crept on opposite sides to where Kronos was standing.

"I see that there's no way of convincing you to train with me, is there Spyro?"

"No."

"Shame, I had lots to show you," Kronos muttered. "Stuff your Guardians wouldn't touch with an inch of their lives… there's more to being the purple dragon than you know, young one."

"I know enough," I murmured.

"Do you?" Kronos queried. "My boy, you've only scratched the surface of what the purple dragon can do. Even Malefor still had a lot to learn before he died."

"Like what?" Cynder scoffed.

"Many things, child, many things," Kronos responded. "In order to advance the world to the next, the purple dragon not only has to master the primary elements, but all the other elements as well."

I tried not to listen to what Kronos was saying, but I couldn't help but take that information in. Could that really be true? Could I wield every element that ever existed? I was not sure if I actually wanted that amount of power; the primary elements and a power that I can't even control seemed enough for me already.

"Then, there's also Dragon Time…"

Both Cynder and I exchanged curious looks. "Dragon Time?"

"You haven't heard of it? Typical," Kronos murmured. "While it was originally thought to be an ability only purple dragons can use, there have been a fair few that have been blessed with it…"

Kronos then smirked once again. "Including me."

Before I could even react, Kronos had suddenly appeared behind me and clutched my tail with his large jaws. I yelped in pain as his teeth sunk deep into my scales, unable to move as the larger dragon then yanked me off the ground and hurtled me off the tower.

"SPYRO!" I heard Cynder yell out from a distance.

The sky was spinning around me, I had no idea which direction I was going or if I was going upwards or downwards. Eventually I was able to get my bearings, using my wings to gain momentum and stopping myself from falling down further. Now airborne, I soon flapped my wings to propel myself straight back towards the tower.

As soon as I landed back on the tower, Kronos' face curled into a sneer as he shook his head in disappointment. "I was hoping that you'd be spared from all this, Spyro, but you left me no choice," he growled. "You want to change the way your kind is meant to live? Fine! But you won't see the end of this day!"

"You talk too much," I deadpanned. I then glanced quickly towards my girlfriend, who was out of Kronos' line of sight and ready to attack. "Cynder, go!"

Cynder nodded and proceeded to blast out a large plume of smoky shadow fire towards Kronos' face. However, Kronos was able to manipulate the ground below him and create a block of Earth that completely blocked the shadow fire from his face.

Kronos then snorted, half-amused by Cynder's attack. "Pathetic…"

At the ancient dragon's command, the block of rock then started to move quickly towards Cynder's position. Cynder's eyes widened at the unexpected attack and thankfully dived out of the way before the block could knock her off the tower.

Cynder flew herself to my position. "How did he—?"

"Let's not stand around and find out," I interjected. "We have to take this guy down!"

"How?"

"You hit him high, I'll hit him low," I said. "We have to be quick, who knows what other tricks he has up his scales…"

Cynder nodded and quickly took off into the air once again, leaving me on the ground as I faced Kronos. To give Cynder a chance to use her abilities, I exhaled an array of ice spikes towards Kronos. Unfortunately, the older dragon was once again prepared to block the array of ice as a wall of rock appeared in front of him, stopping the ice in his path.

Distracted by my ice attack, Kronos didn't see that Cynder had begun to spin around him. Her speed increased, creating some sort of cyclone that started to surround him. Kronos seemed affected by the cyclone for only a few moments until he managed to catch Cynder's blurred form and backhand her into one of the columns.

"Wind, huh?" Kronos remarked. "Too predictable…"

Predictable? How could he know that Cynder would possess the Wind element? Malefor didn't even know she had those abilities!

Cynder growled and got straight back up, plunging her front paws into a small pool of shadow she had created. Soon enough, giant demonic shadow claws emerged from the ground near Kronos' paws and slashed at the dragon's sides. Kronos roared in pain as he fought off the shadow claws, using an Earth flail to bat them away.

"How's that for predictable?" Cynder muttered with a slight smirk.

Kronos' face turned furious and shot a powerful green energy blast towards Cynder. I quickly got in between and put my own wall of earth in front of me and Cynder.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

Cynder's eyes widened, her attention not focused on me. "Spyro, watch out!"

Before I could react, Kronos punched through the wall of earth and aggressively pulled me through. He then, like a ragdoll, chucked me across the arena, my body coming to a halt near the edge.

Kronos had me pinned before I could even think about getting up, his eyes full of rage and insanity. If he hadn't become full on mental before the fight, he definitely had become mental now.

"You dare use my own element against me?!" he barked. "You're just as foolish as I thought!"

I retaliated by firing a short-ranged fireball at his face but, much like my other attacks, Kronos was able to dodge with relative ease.

Kronos simply scoffed. "Please… even you should admit that was obvious."

What? How could he know something like that? Where to dodge or even what element I was going to use?

As I was fighting off Kronos, Cynder then took flight and leapt up towards the ancient dragon's back with her claws extended and her teeth bared. Then suddenly, a large boulder crashed right into Cynder and knocked her sideways just before she could touch Kronos.

My eyes widened. There was no way he could've known that Cynder was going to attack from behind; he was too focused on me to think about where she was or what she was going to do next.

I briefly glanced at one of Kronos' paws, the one that wasn't going to bash my skull in, where I saw a hint of green Earth magic radiating from it before it vanished completely. It suddenly dawned on me, if Kronos had the ability to slow down time or even stop it altogether then maybe he could use it to see into the future…

Then it hit me. He can predict our moves.

There was no way we were going to win this battle if Kronos was going to cheat his way to victory. We had to do something different, stop him from seeing the future…

Wait… see? See! Of course that's it!

"Poor Spyro, poor stupid Spyro!" Kronos spat into my face. "Pathetically predictable, like a moth to a flame. You've seen the power I can use; how does my generous proposal sound to you now? Are you in or are you out?"

I laid my paws on the ground, letting my elemental magic flow towards them. When I was ready to attack, I merely smirked cheekily towards Kronos. "It's you who's out, Kronos. Out of your mind."

At my command, two sharp ice formations shot out of the ground and headed straight towards Kronos' eyes. One managed to penetrate through his right eye, making the ancient dragon roar in pain; blood immediately gushing down the icicle.

Before the other icicle could do the same, Kronos quickly backed away in agony as he clutched at his eye, giving me room to escape so I could see if Cynder was okay.

"Are you alright?" I asked Cynder when I approached her.

Cynder nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay," she muttered, getting herself back up. She then looked curiously at Kronos and the injury I caused him. "What the hell did you do?"

"Kronos could see our moves before we could," I answered. "If he can't see then he won't be able to predict what's going to happen next."

"So you blinded him? I'm impressed."

"Not quite, I only managed to get one eye…"

Cynder didn't seem fazed by that. "That still gives us an advantage. Come on, let's get the other eye while he's still vulnerable!"

I gave my girlfriend a nod and we charged towards Kronos, who was still focused on stopping his wounded eye from bleeding out. Cynder dived into her own shadow and re-emerged from underneath Kronos, uppercutting him in the jaw with a shadow claw.

While Cynder proceeded to keep him busy with her shadow fire, I took to the air and mustered all up the energy I could and spewed out a blazing ball of fire. The ball of fire hit Kronos directly in the neck, making him howl in pain as his scales became volcanic ash.

Kronos, unfortunately, didn't back down. He blasted Cynder away with a burst of earth energy and dashed towards me viciously, grabbing me by the neck and pinning me to a nearby column.

"Did you really think blinding me would work?!" Kronos hissed. "You have failed, purple dragon, I can still see you! And even with only one eye, I still get to see the life leave your eyes!"

Using his earth element, Kronos conjured up a rock spike from the ground and pierced it right into the side of my body. I screamed in agony as blood seeped out of the wound; the pain was like a burning sensation in my system. I was too shocked to even register it at first.

The rock spike soon disappeared back into the ground, which made me roar even louder as the rock left my body. Dropping me onto the ground like a sack of potatoes, Kronos used one of his forelegs to keep me in place, extending his claws further and raising it in preparation of his next attack.

"And now, Spyro… this is what your destiny has led to," he muttered, going in for the kill.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to see my final moments, and prepared for the end to come. However, before my life could flash before my very eyes, I heard another agonising roar of pain coming from Kronos' mouth. I didn't want to open my eyes but I needed to know what was going on… did Cynder sneak up behind him?

When I reluctantly opened my eyes, I saw that Cynder wasn't the one that attacked Kronos.

Kronos had backed away again, frantically looking around to try to see who hit him. Well, more like trying to see anything in general as both of his eyes were caked in blood. What surprised me was that there was an arrow stuck in the eye that I missed with my ice attack.

A figure in a cloak then jumped down in front of me, bow in his paws as he watched Kronos intensely. Before I could ask who this stranger was, the cloaked figure turned himself around and knelt down beside me.

"Spyro, are you alright? Anything broken?" He wondered.

That voice. I knew that voice…

"Hunter?"

The figure lowered his hood, revealing the smiling reassuring face of Hunter. "Yeah, dude, it's me," he said.

"But how? Kronos froze time…"

Hunter gave me a confused look. "He did?" he queried. "When?"

I mentally facepalmed. Right, only Cynder and I knew that Kronos has time powers. He must've resumed everything when I stabbed him in the eye. He couldn't be focused on freezing everyone in place when he can't see anything. "Nevermind that, your timing couldn't be better," I muttered. I then realised that my girlfriend was nowhere to be seen, and I started to get worried. "Where's Cynder?"

"She's heading this way, don't worry," Hunter assured me, glancing at Cynder who glided near to where we were. When she saw that I was lying down, she immediately raced towards me.

"Spyro!" she exclaimed breathlessly. When she saw the wound on the side of my body, her eyes widened with concern. "Oh ancestors… honey, you're hurt."

"Yeah I noticed," I grunted, half-amused by Cynder's obvious comment. "Don't worry, it's just a flesh wound."

I leant out towards my wound and huffed out a soft breath of my ice element to seal it. Once the ice made contact with my scales, I hissed at the slight searing pain from the cold. It wasn't much but it would do until we got back home… if we got back home, that is.

"Ah shitshitshitshit!" I wheezed. "Okay, that wasn't pleasant…"

"I did have bandages you could've used," Hunter stated.

"No time for that," I said, slowly getting myself back up with Cynder's support. "We need to finish this."

"You got a plan?" Hunter asked.

"Well, the plan was to blind him," I responded. "After that… I'm not sure, how do we even kill him?" That question was something I didn't think I would ask; adult dragons were usually pretty difficult to kill; their scales were much tougher to penetrate as opposed to younger dragons like me and Cynder.

Hunter raised an eyebrow. "Don't ask me, you're the one that killed Malefor."

"I disintegrated him, big difference."

"Guys, be quiet!" Cynder suddenly interjected. She was staring curiously at Kronos, who had suddenly become quiet after Hunter had arrived. "Why is Kronos standing like that?"

I stared at Cynder, concerned by her suspicious glance. Worrying, I darted back to where Kronos was standing. The ancient dragon was sitting on his haunches, his wings tucked in like he was a stone statue. He wasn't laughing or getting ready to attack, he was just… sitting there. As much as I was relieved that he was attacking us this very moment, there was still something not quite right. It's like he was waiting… but for what? He wasn't the type of dragon that was kind enough to let us get back up after a battle.

A smirk soon crept onto Kronos' face. "I got to hand it to you, Spyro, you've lasted longer than I thought. Blinding me? Great tactic. But while you've stopped me from using my time abilities, you still forgot one small detail…"

I looked at the blind dragon with horror as I realised what I had forgotten. Uh oh.

Despite being unable to see, Kronos looked up and stared directly at where I was standing. "I'm still the Guardian of Earth…"

The ground rumbled below the three of us, causing us to look down in fear. Before any of us could react or get away, the terrain started to shift around us. Cynder and Hunter tried to evade the incoming danger but they found themselves being trapped by rock encasing their limbs, permanently stopping them from getting away or to me.

"If I can't kill you… then maybe the very earth itself can," Kronos growled.

With that ominous threat, I tried to take to the air in an effort to escape. However I was snatched by a coil of rock and dirt that slammed me down to the ground, before throwing me to the pillar behind me. The earth then shaped itself around my waist and hind legs, making its way up my chest, covering my forelegs and slowly rising up towards my head.

The last thing I heard before emerging into the darkness was Cynder crying out my name.

Everything felt quiet, everything was gone. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't even think… I didn't know what to do.

I couldn't beat Kronos… What was wrong with me? I was supposed to be this almighty dragon that could wield four elements and potentially bring peace to the realms if pushed in the right direction.

Fire was useless. No oxygen and I would probably do more damage to me than anyone else.

Ice, I couldn't do either… I would be encased in ice with no way out.

Electricity? Not useful against Earth.

Earth? Kronos was the Earth Guardian, no way I could counteract that.

There was another element, the true power of the purple dragon, but how could I summon it? The only time I could was when I lost control of my emotions and that didn't go down well last time. Losing control of emotions in these circumstances was easy to do, but harnessing them and not letting them overwhelm me? A little bit harder to achieve.

This was it, wasn't it? There was no way I can get out of this…

"Spyro?! SPYRO?!"

I could hear a voice, muffled but I could tell it was close by. Cynder? Was that Cynder calling out to me?

She was in trouble, everyone was in trouble! I couldn't just sit here and let death claim me! I needed to get out of this godforsaken trap… and the only way I could is with the true power of the purple dragon: my Aether element.

Maybe there was another way to unlock the element within me, something that won't result in losing myself completely. If my Aether element emerged when I had negative emotions, would positive emotions do the same?

I guess there was only one way to find out…

I closed my eyes and I began to search for my memories, pulling out as many happy moments as I could at a rapid pace. Come on, this has to work! It needs to work!

My memories swam through my head like a raging river; it almost became unbearable. I thought of those times when I was younger, before I found out who I really was, where the Guardians and I used to spend time together. Just me and my four dads, a life before all hell broke loose.

Through the darkness, a purple glow dimly lit around me. My heart began to race; it was working but it wasn't enough! I needed more!

The moments I had with my mother came to mind instantly. I was so thrilled and ecstatic that I found her alive and well after eighteen years of her being presumed dead. The brief time I had with her before my conflict with Kronos started was simply amazing and I hoped that when I got out of this rock, I could have more moments like this.

The purple glow brightened, much to my relief. Good, good… but I needed more! It had to be stronger!

My memories soon flashed to the times I used to spend with Sparx. Even when I was feeling low, I always had Sparx as a constant companion… and the brother I never had. I remember our usual routine that we used to have: wake up, burn some sheep for no reason, then relax for most of the day. For a kid that had nothing better to do with his life at that moment, that daily routine was everything to me.

Then my thoughts dwelled on Cynder, my perfect killer queen. The one that's been there for me every step of the way and the one that believed in me when no else could.

Every single event that happened between the two of us made my heart flutter every time I remembered: The day we first met, the night we sat under the stars, the times we spent together as she was recovering in the infirmary, our first date and all the dates after that, and the first time that we… explored uncharted territory in Dragon Shores. All those memories gave me power when the world started to crumble around me, and these memories are going to give me power now!

The purple glow soon became even brighter, so much that darkness had been completely overwhelmed. I opened my eyes and saw the earth deteriorate around me, freeing me from my rocky tomb and allowing me to see the world once again.

I felt so different, so powerful. The dark thoughts I had over the past few weeks had completely vanished; I didn't feel like I was going to lose control of myself whatsoever. In fact, I never felt so alive in my life.

I examined my paws and was curious to see that I had a purple aura illuminating around them. It wasn't just around my paws, I was glowing purple all over!

My eyes widened. I had unlocked the true power of the dragon once again, only this time it was the right side of it. No more Dark Spyro… not ever again.

Both Hunter and Cynder had their mouths wide open when they glanced at my powerful form as I hovered slightly over them.

"Spyro?" Cynder wondered, unsure if I was still in mental control knowing the last couple times I used the Aether element.

To ensure that I was still myself, I glanced over and gave her a wink as well as a reassuring smirk. I then turned my attention to Kronos, who had no idea what was going on due to his blindness. It's time to end this… once and for all.

"What's happening?" Kronos barked. "What have you done, purple dragon?"

"Evening the odds," I shouted back, cracking my knuckles. "Now then, you ancient bastard, shall we dance?"

Kronos only answered with a slight growl under his breath, a response I couldn't care less about. I flapped my wings and dashed at an incredible speed towards the ancient dragon, eventually tackling Kronos off the edge of the tower with sheer strength alone. I was like a rocket as I soared into the open sky, Kronos' body shielding me from the frosty atmosphere hitting my face.

The ancient dragon soon regained his bearings and backhanded me away from him, using his wings to stay in the air. I shook my head and flew quietly around him, trying to find an opening as Kronos looked around frantically to search for any signs of me with his other senses.

"There's no point in hiding, Spyro, I will find you eventually," Kronos muttered.

"I doubt that," I said.

I then flew around Kronos and spat out a flurry of purple blasts directly at him. Since he had no idea where I was or where I was attacking, Kronos simply had to stand there and take whatever I was throwing at him. Kronos roared in agony as his scales crumbled away from his body with each hit.

"NO!" Kronos growled, recklessly firing his Earth blasts all over the place. "I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED!"

I was able to dodge the Earth blasts with relative ease and dashed towards him again, making the two of us plunge down towards the ground. Even with my upgraded power, Kronos was still putting massive resistance against my strength. No matter how I pushed, his wings were a lot stronger than one would think. If I push myself away from him now, he would just fly back up.

Unless…

"I'm sorry, Kronos, but this is where fate has brought you to," I said.

Releasing my grasp on the ancient dragon, I took a deep breath and released a powerful purple beam from my maw. The beam went straight for the top of Kronos' right wing and it kept going down until the wing joint completely separated from Kronos' body, a massive amount of blood gushing out of the severed limb and immediately dissipating in the cold atmosphere.

Now only having one wing, Kronos began to fall but his speed wasn't enough to kill him on impact instantly. I stopped firing from my maw and rocketed towards the body of the ancient dragon and grasped onto him, pushing with all my might.

As the sky became clearer, I saw that we were plummeting towards one of the crystal spires that surrounded the land, but this particular one sat closer to where the tower was. My eyes widened when I noticed how ridiculously close we were getting so I let go of Kronos one last time and used my Aether breath to propel him down to the crystal spire.

"NOOOOO!" I heard Kronos cry out.

Due to the force of the breath and how close I was to Kronos, I was sent flying back towards the tower and plunged down towards the rocky terrain that surrounded the bridge. Fortunately, I was able to use my claws to get a grip on the cliff that the bridge was built on until I was left hanging.

I sighed with relief. Thank the ancestors that I managed to somehow survive… but now I needed to get myself back up. It would be a lot easier if there were vines growing out of the cliff; It looks like I was going to have to do this the old fashioned way.

I made my descent upwards towards the side of the bridge. As I got higher, I could hear voices coming from the other side of the bridge. They were a little muffled from where I was climbing but I could tell who it was from the volume they were speaking at.

"Spyro!" Cynder's voice called out. "SPYRO!" She must've flown down with Hunter when I tackled Kronos off the edge of the tower.

"I can't see him anywhere, Cynder…" I heard Hunter mutter.

"Look harder then!"

Then, further down the bridge, I saw an assortment of wings, tails and horns of my mother and the Guardians sprint towards where Cynder and Hunter's voices were.

"Ancestors, what happened?" I heard the voice of my mother ask.

"Kronos is dead," Hunter responded.

"But what about Spyro? Where is he?" Ignitus questioned, panic in his voice. "Cynder, where is he?!"

"I… I don't know!" Cynder exclaimed, sounding like she was on the brink of tears.

All went quiet when I finally made it to the top of the bridge, as the false realisation started to stink amongst the rest of the group. I climbed over the edge and collapsed onto the rocky surface, trying to catch my breath from scaling a large amount of surface.

After lying on the ground for a minute or so, I looked over to see that Cynder and the others were still peering over to where Kronos had landed. Had they not noticed that I was on the bridge yet? I wasn't exactly being quiet.

Feeling exhausted, I got up and staggered towards the group and squeezed myself between Cynder and Ignitus and gazed over at what they were looking at.

The body of Kronos laid still in the distance, limp and moving slightly in the wind. A crystal spire had pierced cleanly through his body, the surface glistening with fresh blood. There was no way that Kronos was going to get up from that, he was as dead as a doornail.

I grimaced at the sight of Kronos' corpse. At least when Malefor died he crumpled into dust, but this was different. I actually managed to kill one of my own kind… that's not something I thought I'd ever do.

"Damn… that had to hurt," I said.

After I spoke, everyone's heads slowly turned towards me and their eyes widened. I then felt Cynder wrapped her paws tightly around my neck, to my surprise.

Relaxing into Cynder's embrace, I nuzzled her neck softly. "Hey, I'm okay… I'm okay," I mumbled breathlessly.

"I thought I lost you," my girlfriend whispered.

"I thought you had too…"

Cynder separated herself from our nuzzle to allow Mum, Ignitus and the others to approach me and see if their eyes weren't deceiving them. Mum lowered herself down and wrapped her neck around me, slightly squeezing me in a tight hug.

"Young dragon, you never cease to amaze me…" Ignitus said, a warm smile on his face.

"We were so worried about you," Mum murmured, moving herself from the hug. "When you and Cynder disappeared, we feared the worst…"

"However it seems that the two of you had the situation well in hand," Ignitus chimed in.

Hunter, encased in his cloak, looked at Ignitus as if what he said had just offended him. "Hey, I helped!"

"My apologies, Hunter," Ignitus then corrected. "It seems that the three of you had the situation well in hand."

"Barely, Kronos had power over time itself," Cynder said. "If it wasn't for Hunter putting an arrow for his eye, I don't know how much we would've lasted."

Volteer's eyes widened. "Sorry, did you say that Kronos had power over time itself?! But that's impossible, impractical, absurd!"

"It's true," I said. "We mentioned something about Dragon Time. It was an ability that a selective few can have…"

"Interesting, fascinating–"

"As much as I want to hear how many words Volteer can muster from that motormouth of his," Cyril interrupted. "Maybe it's best if we discuss this elsewhere. We have quite the mess to clean up here…"

"Agreed," Terrador grunted. "The sooner we're out of this winter, the better."

I smirked at Terrador's comment; I too couldn't wait until I was back home again, back in the warmth and in an actual bed. As the others started to head back into the tower, I saw that my mother remained where she was, her gaze still glued onto Kronos' corpse.

"Mum?" I spoke up. "Is everything okay?"

My mother snapped back into reality and turned over to face me. "It's all over, isn't it?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it is. Once we're all finished here then we take you home… your real home."

At the mention of home, Mum's eyes soon began to water, but she maintained her composure and gave me a tearful smile. I comforted her by leaning my head against her foreleg; the mother and son embrace I'd always craved having. Now that I'd reunited with my long-lost mother, things would change for the better.

"H-Home? Thank the ancestors…"

And… that's it for this chapter! Lots of stuff going on there! We're down to the final stretch now, the next chapter will deal with the aftermath… will it be as peaceful as everyone wants it to be? Guess you'll have to find out next year!

I apologise for the delay, procrastination has really hit me like a truck this year. Hopefully 2023 will be a lot better… unless life gets in the way.

So since this chapter has come out in December 2022, I thought I might share my plans for the new year. When Love of My Life is finished, there'll be a one-shot that takes place after this story, similar to The One.

After that… I'm going to take a wee break from this universe (Don't worry, I might be planning a threequel) and take on the Legend universe as I'm doing a slice-of-life anthology after the events of Dawn of the Dragon! And yes, there will be Spynder.

Plans for stories outside of the Spyro archive are a bit up in the air but I can guarantee there will be crossovers. That's all I can say at the moment.

This is TARDIS1039, wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Allons-y!