A hero's tale. It was the life that the two dragons lived; what could be any better? For him, it was the story of a young and courageous purple dragon who rose from nothing to become the savior of the world. For her, it was the story of her tragic upbringing – if you could even call it that – and of her redemption when she, along with the purple dragon, slayed the mighty Dark Master. The crumbling world was mended together, and they lived out their lives in serenity. In the ten years following the demise of the Dark Master, peace made its inevitable return, bringing with it an age of restoration, healing, and understanding.

In those ten years since the purple tyrant's downfall, much had changed, a lot of things for the better, a few things for the worse. Dragon society, no, all society flourished in the peace time, and prosperity finally returned after an innumerable number of years. Species of all kinds finally began to trust one another, and cooperate to face the challenges that awaited them looking forward.

And it didn't take long after Malefor's defeat for them to start appearing.

There was the mourning for the loss of Ignitus and the celebration of his greatest sacrifice, laying down his life to allow Spyro and Cynder to make it across the belt of fire. Eventually, a new Fire Guardian was chosen to be the teacher to the next generation of fire dragons. She was a kind-hearted dragoness with a fiery passion for teaching her element, and it was said that her students out-perfomred all the other hatchlings from the other guardian skill wise.

The other Elemental Guardians too had come to the realization that their time in the limelight as teacher and governors was over, and that it was time to pass the torch to the next generation of Guardians that would follow in their footsteps. The new Ice, Electric, and Earth Guardians quickly took the reins in a smooth transition, and quickly got to work in their teaching and governing duties.

As time progressed, previously unseen species began to show up at Warfang's gates: canines, avians, lesser reptiles, and many others made the journey to the city to call it their home. The mostly empty city was more than willing to accept them into her warming arms. It had effectively become the premiere city of the world, being a melting pot of all cultures.

Perhaps the most interesting thing to come about from this new peaceful age was the arrival of elements that were most rare and unusual. Poison, Shadow, Fear, and Wind dragons began to slowly filter their way into the city from the surrounding lands. Eventually, there had been so many new arrivals that the rebuilt temple of Warfang had to make accommodations for four new guardians, much to Cynder's delight.

So much had changed, yet everything seemed to be the same as it was before. The sun continued to rise in the east and set in the west. Little did anyone know that there was something out there that lingered in the shadows…

However, today was a special day. Everyone knew that it was only a matter of time before the Heroes of the Realms would get married, and even though both Spyro and Cynder might have denied the prospect, it all came to fruition. The ceremony itself would be held in private; only those that were invited and RSVP'd would be able to attend it, but the reception party afterwards was open for all to attend, and needless to say, it was a good thing that they had booked the largest venue available.

Citizens of all kinds were in attendance, and there was an abundance of them that had brought offerings of food for the newly wed couple that there was more to eat than hungry bellies to eat it. It was a feast and a celebration of the heroes of the Realms. As the band played their songs, the couple danced.

"Cynder, it's hard to believe that we're officially mates now," Spyro said, both he and Cynder dancing on their hind legs and holding each other's paws. He couldn't help but admire the gown that she with the help of her bridesmaids had chosen — Ember had insisted that Cynder wait to surprise him on the day of the wedding rather than show him after picking it.

Cynder smiled a little wider, already having one stuck to her face. "We always were, Spyro. This was just a formality," she replied with a subtle wink. He didn't question it.

"If only our families could see us now..." After a second of thought, Spyro instantly regretted saying those words. Their families had been a sensitive subject being that neither knew who their true parents were. Had it not been for the occasion, it would have completely killed the mood.

"They'd probably be proud of both of us, wherever they might be." Cynder had cleverly made a dicey subject for both of them to have a somewhat positive, albeit bittersweet topic. The Dark War raged on for all of their lives, and with Cynder's tragic past, it was a likely possibility that she might have killed both of their families without even knowing it. She didn't like to think of it that way, instead hoping that they fled to a place far away, far from the Dark Army's grasp, and by extension, hers.

Spyro, though, had it a little easier. He had his foster parents, Flash and Nina, who were there in attendance with their other friends. It was better than nothing, but nothing was all that Cynder had; she didn't have a biological family, at least not known to her. At least she had the support of her friends to make up for that.

Their close friends were in the crowd with them. Hunter of Avalar and Chief Prowlus were there, as well as the rest of the small village they saved. Kane and his Atlawa brethren were there, giving exotic gifts from their secluded far off lands. Mole-Yair, along with other Manweersmalls, were also present. Even reformed canines attended, some of whom were on Fellmuth when the purple dragon was forced into the gladiator fights – they weren't all that open about their past and what they did now, but gave the two their best regards.

Spyro and Cynder continued their slow, loving dance. "Spyro… this has been a blessing. You've made me the happiest dragoness the whole Realms…" she smiled widely as her teal eyes remained locked on his.

"A little cliche, don't you think?" He then laughed a little. "I guess that means that I am cliche too because you've made me the happiest dragon in all the realms too," he smoothly spoke, leaning in and pecking her on the tip of her snout.

The reception lasted a couple of hours longer. By the time it was finally ending, only those closest to the two remained in the reception hall. The cleanup was fairly quick despite being one of the largest events in the city. The couple rested, exhausted after all that they had gone through that eventful day. By the time the stars filled the sky, it was just the two remaining, left to their own devices. They sat together, wings over one another, watching the view of the city from the hilltop reception hall.

"So, what do we do now?" the purple dragon asked her in an open ended manner. "We saved the world, and we've become mates; I wonder what's next."

Cynder turned to look at him and giggled a little. "Think of things on a smaller scale — saving the world and getting married are pretty big things. How about a vacation, exploring the world, or going out to find and fight the next threat to the Realms? Things like that."

All of those were good ideas, but the last one had him raise a brow. "That seems rather extreme, don't you think?" he chuckled, squeezing her with his wing.

"You'll never know until it happens. Sometimes, they lay hidden, waiting for their moment, and when you are the most vulnerable, they pounce; a predator's and conqueror's minds work in very similar ways."

Cynder had a point. There was no time to strike when your prey, or target, was least expecting you to attack. It was the same thorough process behind the Dark Army attacking the Dragon Temple in the swamp during the year of the dragon. The Guardians were not expecting the attack, and therefore, the whole egg nursery, except for Spyro and Cynder, were killed before the nameless and faceless hatchlings had even hatched.

"You think that there's someone or something out there that's gonna do that? Especially after all the world went through all those years ago?" Spyro asked her questioningly.

The black dragoness shrugged. "But… there is something else that we could do…" the black dragoness spoke, gently rubbing her wrists in anxiousness.

"Whatcha thinking, hun?"

She shifted around uncomfortably as her face shifted. It was one of the things that Cynder was not all that good with. While she could be stoic at times, this was not that time. Whatever it was, it was something that was heavy on her mind. For almost a minute, she remained silent, contemplating her thoughts and whether or not she should say it or not. Perhaps she would have been stuck like this had it not been for a certain purple paw that reached over and interlaced its digits with hers.

Spyro saw the look of uncertainty on her face, and sought to help her, just as she would have helped him in a similar situation. "Whatever is on your mind, you can tell me what that is. You don't have to keep it locked in…" he spoke in a soft, soothing voice that worked to ease his lover's apprehensions.

"Maybe…" Cynder began, still showing a little hesitation. "Maybe we could just settle down… maybe finally start a family…" Her demeanor began to relax as she finally got her thoughts off her mind. It was as if a load of bricks had been lifted off of her shoulder. Now, with that said, she waited to see what the reaction of her mate would be.

The purple dragon's amethyst eyes lit up as she put forward the possible idea. He wasn't all that sure how to react, but what he did know was that his heart swelled at the notion. Perhaps that would have been one of the greatest things that they would accomplish in their life. Saving the world was one thing, but helping to give rise to the next generation would be another.

Spyro's eyes locked with Cynder's, ready to give his verbal answer. His mouth opened, about to speak, when a low hum filled the air, growing louder and louder as something approached. The purple dragon's mouth closed as concern filled his face. Slowly, he got to his feet, and looked intently out the window in the direction of the sound. At first, the only thing that was disconcerting about it was that the strange hum grew louder and louder, without any easily visible source.

Then, the moon and starlight struck at the right angle, and the source of the droning hum was revealed: a large flight of lumbering mechanical machines. Each one had a set of large, stretching wings, one atop another and attached together; and a long tail trailing behind it. Neither of them had any clue what these things were. All they knew was that there were a lot of them, and they flew over the city with a loud roar of their engines.

Then, a new source of commotion. A bright flash and concussive boom, then followed by a rising dust cloud and fireball. It was barely a second after that when another similar explosion occurred, and another one, and another one, all in a line. All of the city below was being hammered by the source of the explosions.

A grim realization then hit both of the twenty-five year old dragons. Warfang was under attack. Furthermore, the line of explosions was headed straight for them. Neither of them had to exchange words to know what the other was thinking. They needed to find some better cover. Both Spyro and Cynder quickly jumped to their feet and began to make a mad dash towards the exit. The Temple of Warfang was not too far away, and knowing that the temple was constructed from thick stone walls and concrete roofs, it would be a much safer place to take shelter than the reception hall with a wooded cathedral style ceiling.

The reception hall was longer than it was wide, and with the entrance being at the opposite end of the building, the dash to the exit seemed to stretch on for an eternity. It didn't take long for the wave of explosions to race up the hillside. Then, right in front of them, the source of the explosion smashed through the roof and lodged itself in the floorboards.

It was a long, black, metallic cylinder that had a set of fins attached to the rear of it. And it just sat there, motionless. The couple skidded to a stop, the bomb having landed between them and the exit. With wide eyes and sensing the immediate danger, both turned and began to high-tail it in the opposite direction, trying to put as much distance between them and the waiting bomb. Neither of them got that far from it.

In a blinding flash of light and a deafening crack, the bomb exploded within the reception hall. The blast reduced the finely cut floorboards into tiny splinters, shattering the windows and smashing the roof and its supporting beams. Metal fragments, wooden splinters, and the blast wave wrecked havoc around the two married dragons, sending them flying and skidding across the floor on their side all the way to the opposite end of the building. When they stopped, the blood began to make itself immediately known, seeping readily out of their wounds.

Spyro groaned as he attempted to get back up onto his feet, only to lack a shred of strength to do so — the shrapnel having utterly shredded his leg muscles. The same fate befell Cynder, whose cries were more laced with pain and sorrow. Spyro could see that her black scales were losing more and more of their color, before looking down to see that he was undergoing the same change. Both were going through traumatic shock.

Never before had either of them been this hurt before, at least not without a supply of red gems nearby, or in their enemy's possession to heal their injuries. But here, there were none. There wasn't anyone around to help either. The Guardians were likely doing what the couple was intending to do: ride out the attack in the temple. Kane and Hunter were either in an inn somewhere, or already headed to Tall Plains and Avalar respectively. Even the canine sky-sailors were likely already gone.

With all chances of help being little or non-existent, both dragons came to a grim conclusion. It would be their happiest day that was destined to be their last.

Cynder's sobs, among the sound of the explosions from the falling bombs, filled Spyro's ears. "W-Why…? Why, Spyro…?" she asked him in a weak, quivering voice.

The dragon's heart sank. He knew that she was asking him questions, wanting some kind of answer or explanation, even though he was just as clueless as he was. "I-I don't k-know…" he said lowly, disheartened by her sadness

"Today was supposed to be our happiest day! Were we fated to die today?! Who decides such things?!" Denial, anger. She had every right to feel this way, and he did too. He couldn't believe it either. Yet, through the pain, he somehow managed to stay stoic.

"Ancestors know…" he spoke, trying to. Full of pain, he fought to move over to her side, to comfort her the best that he could. Meanwhile, Cynder sobbed as their respective puddles of blood had merged into one big puddle. He tried to remain stoic in the face of adversity, but the cracks were starting to show when he put his paws around her and held her close.

With what strength she had, she put hers around him."T-Thank you for everything, S-spyro... Th-thank you for giving me a s-second chance where the others w-would not... Had it not been for you, I-I am sure that I would not have lived to see this day..." Those words cut deeper than the metal fragments of that bomb ever could. He felt her slowly getting weaker, just like he was. It wouldn't be long.

By now, the cracks in his stoicism were becoming too much, and finally, the tears began to stream down his face. "I'm so glad that the one that I spent my life with, Cynder… You've made it a real adventure, one that I am glad to have taken part in… thank you…"

Their respective grips got weaker and weaker on each other.

"I love you, Spyro…"

"I love you, Cynder…"

The last action either of them did was to wrap their tails around each other as their eyes slowly slipped shut. This would be their final moments together. There was nothing that could be done for them. The sound of explosions gradually faded as the sudden attack was halted. Had they been conscious, it would have given both of them a false hope that there would be some miracle dragon that would come along and give them the help that they desperately needed. But that never came.

Perhaps the one thing that managed to escape unscathed from the bombing was the big grandfather clock that still ticked away. With both hands facing upwards, it chimed twelve times — the clock had struck midnight.

It would take another hour before anyone found the two, and by then, it was far too late to do anything. The city was left mourning and reeling from the surprise attack by the unknown adversary as the heroes that saved them ten years ago, whose coming together in mateship they had earlier celebrated, lay dead in each other's arms. All stories must come to an end, and for Spyro and Cynder, their stories ended on that fateful night…

…

…

…

"Bloody hell! Quick, get some water and gems, fast! They're still alive! I'll get in contact with the site overseer!"

"What?! That's impossible! There's no way that they could have survived that long!"

"Just look at them! Their chests are moving, they are breathing!"

"Oh shit… I'll be back as soon as I can!"

"You better!"

The voices were hard to hear at first; the only thing that he was able to hear was occasional snippets of their conversation. Was this it? Had they finally joined with the ancestors? The more Spyro became conscious, the more his body began to ache. But wasn't the afterlife supposed to be a place without pain?

The purple dragon let out a prolonged groan, as his eyes fluttered open. Everything was aching and incredibly stiff, like his entire body had been cramped up for ages and had only now relaxed. It was hard to see anything, the lights being so incredibly bright and harsh on his eyes. A few moments later, his ears picked up something. Almost immediately, he recognized the sound. It was Cynder.

She too had her eyes flutter open, only to shut them once more when met with the same harsh light. Everything that Spyro was experiencing, she experienced. The aching and soreness, and the incredible stiffness. There was one thing that both of them could agree on independent from one another: they were very much alive.

When Spyro attempted to open his eyes once again, the light was not quite as bright as it once was, and after some blinking, finally was able to see all of the surroundings. They were in the middle of some sort of excavation operation as evident by the almost perfectly squareness of the room and the large timbers used to hold the structure together. The most particular thing was the collection of slightly yellow, translucent crystals that littered the floor

"Spyro…" the black dragoness hoarsely spoke, reaching out to him, although not very successfully. He looked back towards her, a smile tugging at his lips as he saw that she appeared to be perfectly fine.

"Cynder…" he responded back, his voice also being in a very rough state. "W-we're alive…" After what they had just one through, they were fortunate to be alive and unscathed.

But that in of itself was something odd that didn't quite add up. The last thing either of them remembered was that they had gotten married, and then late at night after the reception, the city had been bombed by some unknown threat. Now, they were in a completely different place. Sure, they felt like a bomb had exploded next to them, but it seemed that nothing at all had happened to them.

Before either of them began to ask questions, two new dragons entered the spacious room. One of them was a curvy dragoness, who possessed sandy-colored scales with a bronze chest and underbelly with the appearance of rougher, more armored plates. She also had coppery wings, with black horns, spines, claws, and tail blade. The other was one that neither of them had even seen before. His scales and wings were all differing shades of green, with his wings being the deepest of the various shades. Perhaps the most striking part was that his horns were more antler-like than actual horns.

The green dragon carried to them two grey buckets that were made of a strange material. One contained red gems and the other was filled with water for the two dragons that lay on the floor. Once both buckets were placed near them, the green dragon backed away cautiously, as if this was something that he had never expected to happen. He was scared. Something wasn't right here…

No sooner had the red gems been presented to them, they began to vibrate and shoot towards their bodies, splitting themself equally among the two. Both of their bodies gratefully accepted the healing properties of the spirit gems, and the aching and soreness faded away almost completely. Even the stiffness had been worked away. Now able to move, both of them greedily began to drink their fill of water.

As the dynamic duo guzzled down the refreshing water, the sandy dragoness stared at them in amazement. "This is absolutely amazing!" she exclaimed. "It is a miracle that you two are alive! This is truly magical!"

Cynder raised her head up first from the diminishing water bucket. She raised a confused brow at the other dragoness. "And who are you?" Cynder was quick to ask the sandy-colored dragoness. She had never seen such a scale color before in her lifetime, mostly seeing the primary four in their various shades — the same could be said for the other dragon with the antlers. This dragoness was rather unique.

"I'm Sierra, Sierra Dunerunner," she replied back.

"Dunerunner? What's your element?" Cynder questioned Sierra's last name with great skepticism. Last names could have been any variety of things, usually in association with that dragon's element. With a last name like that, she easily could have pieced two and two together and figured it out on her own, but to hear it from the dragoness herself would confirm her initial suspicions.

"The element of sand."

"Sand?"

"Yes, sand. Our kind has only been around for a little over three thousand years so we are a rather new elemetal clan." Sierra explained with a tinge of pride of her origins, before cringing nervously. "Oh wait…"

"But I've never once heard of a sand dragon before." Cynder deadpanned

"Me neither, otherwise I would have been able to learn sand breath." Spyro chimed in with her.

Was sand breath even a thing? It sounded like a horrible way to have bad dental hygiene considering that one would have an almost persistent presence of sand in their mouth. Spyro shook his head at the facetious thoughts and focused back at the situation at hand

"Oh, Ancestors, how on this earth am I going to explain this to you easily?" Sierra paused for a moment, thinking long and hard on what she was about to say. She shook her head, then looked at both of them. "You two have been… asleep for quite some time after you... disappeared." It was very indirect, but the more the two dragons thought about it, the more the connections in their minds started to link things together.

"W-Wait a minute!" the purple dragon yelled out. His whipped his head around towards the crystal shards. Yes, he was remembering! Before he lost consciousness all of those years ago after the defeat of Gaul by his hands, he encased himself, Cynder, and Sparx into a crystal to protect all of them from the collapsing mountain of Malefor.

It didn't take Cynder long to come to the same conclusion. "No, this can't be where I think this is…" She shook her head, her breathing picking up as the potential implications of what this place was began to pile up in her mind.

Sierra couldn't keep being indirect with her information. They had already begun to piece their fate together, and by now, there was no need to give it to them easy when they had already made it hard on themselves. "Yes… this is the Mountain of Malefor, or rather what remains of it…"

Both Spyro and Cynder were in total disbelief to the information that was being provided to them. None of it made sense at all. The purple dragon turned to his lover. "But you remember everything, right? The wedding? The attack?" She nodded. He then turned back to Sierra.

"What about Malefor?! What about Warfang, the Dragon Temple, everything!?" Spyro demanded in rapid succession. Nothing was making sense, not even the information that the sand dragoness had provided them. The reality that they had been living and the reality of the situation were two, very different things. Was it all just a shared fantasy? Their subconsciousness connecting within the crystal and living out their desires?

Spyro and Cynder eyed Sierra with confusion-ladened expressions of concern. Though it was hard to believe, she was the only one that was communicating with them and providing answers, whereas the antlered dragon had managed to slip away somewhere else. With a sigh, she opened up to them.

"Malefor's right over there," the sand dragon said, pointing off in a general direction. For a brief moment, both dragons feared that just out of their stasis, they were about to meet their end...again. Sierra pointed to a pile of rather lackluster dusty bones nearly arranged to form a skeleton.

"The Night of Eternal Darkness was a time where malicious spirits of the dead would wake and roam the halls of the complex during its duration," Sierra continued. "When the mountain collapsed and trapped you two, the other awakened spirits were trapped as well. Malefor, soon after his resurrection, was crushed to death under the massive weight of his own mountain fortress.

"And I hate to break it to you, but the Guardians — Ignitus, Volteer, Terrador, and Cyril — they've long since passed on into distant memory, nearly forgotten to all but the historians. As for Warfang and the Temple... They've been gone for over four thousand years."

Both dragons were bemused. It all seemed so surreal to them that the previous ten years were nothing but a shared illusion between them. They saved the world, officially became mates, and even spoke plans of starting a family. They looked to be the same twenty-five year olds as they were before, but in a new world in which they would have very little understanding of.

"S-So where do we go from here…?" Spyro asked. Both he and Cynder looked at each other, unsure of what to do given that the world that they knew was one in the distant past.

"I-I..." Cynder's words faltered, words failing to formulate.

This new information was hard for both of them to process, so much so that they were almost in a state of denial over the fact that they hadn't been discovered until four thousand years later.

Sierra rubbed the back of her neck, herself not sure what to say either. Silence between all of them reigned for nearly a minute before she spoke up, choosing less-than-appropriate words, but the only ones that she could think of:

"Welcome to tomorrow."