Spyro the Dragon: Creation and Destruction
By ValkierieDjermegandre
Disclaimer: Sigh...hey! I still don't own Spyro or any related characters that appear in this story! They belong to their respective creators at Vivendi Universal! I own Spyro's god form, his powers and any original characters including, but not limited to, Atlas! I also own the scenario and not...much...else!! Rawwrr!! Okay? Okay.
Plot: Through time, there has always been one god who has been the object of fear; one who's right hand is chaos…who's left hand is destruction…who's very breath is pestilence. Creation and destruction will clash…as forbidden myth becomes black truth…
Notes: It's here! The next part in my Spyro the Dragon God saga, Creation and Destruction. Mostly inspired by my own need for another story to write and an answer to the requests for the next part of the saga (I'm looking at Draganta the Dragonlord and Nightmare King). Hope you like this too!
Book II: Blood in Trial and Time
Chapter XXIV: Trust
A hard gravel floor stained with many bloodstains of many creatures of many kinds. A sinister light around that mimicked the color of those bloodstains. Flames all around and no means of escaping them. Chains dragging across the ground, seeming to eventually come to one single point. Tremors that marked His heart beating and called forth fissures that spewed the hellfire that was His blood. Scenes of destruction all around, His wrath brought upon many an unknown villa or town. An enormous spectral flame burning behind Him while he sat in His throne between two towers in this hidden land. Thick mist that floated above the ground, taunting to hide all steps into His kingdom. A dragon sat in the throne that seemed so far away...His throne that was far away from His apprentice.
A red dragon, he was; with a Yokkurei's defining features. The Devil's Script rose from his scales, breathing with every beat of His heart and every quake of His kingdom. The black marks were all across His body and turned into stately runes of the sun and moon on his hands; though the sun meant nothing to Him. He wore spiked studded bracelets on His wrists and the mid sections of His arms; these bracelets had chains attached and tribal moon gems embedded in them. He had grand muscles, strong enough to move the mountains themselves and there was an enormous sword behind His throne, though it had no features. His tail was long and powerful, ending in a beautiful but deadly crystal cluster. Jagged, three-pronged ridges that looked like enormous dorsal fins ran down His back and on both sides of His spine; they showed His authority and were filled with evil energy. The Grimoire of the Sealed Heavens was chained to His body and hung from His sides along with many scrolls hanging from the opposite side. Elegant white hair flowed from His head and bone-like horns ripped out of His cheeks only stretching a short distance as they curved toward his horn-tipped nose.
He wore a golden necklace that was made up of circular indentations that held gems and small rectangular sections to bridge each indentation. His eyes were closed and it seemed nothing would open them; the one that watched Him was curious. The small, injured Yokkurei walked up to His throne and suddenly, the Grimoire slid onto His lap and opened to an empty page as a quill pen with a black feather and bladed tip appeared; it floated above the Grimoire, gleaming with sinister energy.
"One is chosen to inherit thy land and the dark powers within. Dost thee know His name?"
Atlas slowly awoke and glanced at his surroundings; he was confused for a moment, but then remembered. Two days earlier, he had spilled his guts and let the elders and Spyro know his whole story; now they knew that his life was nothing but a trick played by Hinarious. The day after, Tomas noticed that even though the medicine that they had been giving Atlas was preventing his condition from getting worse, he was not getting any better. Through a unanimous decision (Spyro included), they decided to pack up and bring Atlas to the Magic Crafter's Home; these dragons were always fooling around with potions and old remedies...perhaps they would know of a quicker solution for Atlas. Upon arriving, Tomas made quick work of telling them that Atlas was a Yokkurei and the God of Destruction; the Magic Crafter's were shocked at the first part but understood the second part and offered Atlas a bed in the temple that Spyro's friends and the Elders had temporarily occupied only a few years earlier.
Atlas was truly confused by the dream; did it mean anything? Anything related to his ultimate destiny? More importantly, anything related to how he could get his powers back? The Yokkurei wanted to rise from his bed, but he found that it was either too comfortable or that he was getting weaker by the day. He looked out the window and looked at the clear skies that many birds flew through; despite lacking the bitterness that took over him when he destroyed the Artisan Home, the red dragon still flinched at the sight of peace.
"I'll never change...and if I don't, Spyro will never trust me..." Atlas whispered.
"You can't change what's written in your blood." came the voice of the devil. Atlas looked around intently, but saw no one, though he continued to hear a disturbing breathing noise.
"...Ryoshin?" As soon as Atlas said his name, the Grimoire of the Sealed Heavens (which sat on a chair across from the Yokkurei) glowed a deep red and Ryoshin's form emerged from it, smirking under the darkness of his hood. He just barely fit in the room and Atlas was not amused. "W-what the hell are you doing here?!"
"This is your payment for me telling you my name. I want to see your struggle with my own eyes. By the way, you can't tell anyone that you know my name; no one in this world deserves to know."
"Whatever. But why do you want to see my struggle? I though you didn't care..."
"Hmph, you really are a fool. I don't understand why you were chosen to be my successor."
"Cut me a break, will you? I know that I'm not the best of dragon Gods..."
"That's putting it lightly. As they say Spyro's the best dragon God, you are indeed the worst. No other God has fallen for so many tricks at once and completely lost his powers."
"Damn it, I know! I know! Did you just appear to chew me out?!"
"Believe it or not, I'm actually here to help you; you may as well be my apprentice after all."
"Your...apprentice?"
"Don't get too happy. Of course, I'll want another favor in return."
"I'll think about it...like when I'm truly desperate."
"You don't really have a choice..."
Atlas was about to comment to Ryoshin about his last words, but the hooded dragon had already vanished back into the Grimoire as a firm knock came to the door. It opened and Tomas walked in, either hearing Atlas' voice or just being generally worried about him. The red Yokkurei gave Tomas an innocent look and the blue elder smiled as he handed Atlas a glass of water.
"How are feeling?" Tomas asked.
"I'm alright...still not a hundred percent, though..." Atlas responded as he sipped on the water. He then took a glance at Tomas' arm. "Hmm? No sling?"
"Huh? Oh yes; my arm has made a complete recovery. I didn't expect it to be so fast."
"Well, that's a miracle...or something..."
"Don't worry, Atlas. I'm sure that you will be able to use your powers again very soon."
"How, huh? Hinarious completely broke my aura and shattered my Godhood. The only thing I can really do is defend against attacks and even then I can potentially kill myself that way..."
Tomas simply patted Atlas on the head and left the room. The red Yokkurei got up from his bed and walked out of the temple himself, mostly to get some air. It was mostly chance that he ended up seeing Spyro standing near the ledge, looking out toward the direction of the Artisan Home. Atlas was nervous and actually wanted to steer away from the white dragon as long as possible...but, that would never do. The God of Destruction shrugged to himself and walked over to the God of Creation, who obviously didn't hear his footfalls.
"...hello, Spyro..." Atlas whispered.
"Huh?" Spyro said. He was snapped out of a daydream and didn't recognize the voice until he saw Atlas. "Oh, Atlas...what is it?"
"Well...urg, never mind; you probably don't want to deal with me right now, anyway..."
"Atlas, what is it?"
"I was...hoping that now that you know everything about what I went through, that you would be able to forgive me for what I did..."
"..." Spyro said nothing and an uncomfortable silence hung in the air. "Atlas...to tell the absolute truth, I'm not convinced that you're completely innocent."
"Huh?"
"I know that Hinarious pretty much spun you in every direction that messed you up...but, it's not like none of your actions weren't convinced by you yourself. After everything you did, I can't possibly forgive you so easily."
"Why?!"
"Well for starters, you betrayed my trust and made me let down my guard so you could destroy my home...and that was actually the second thing I was going to mention. Your nature is no doubt another factor that drove your behavior!"
"You don't know that!"
"Atlas, you're the God of Destruction and a Yokkurei. It's practically written into your brain to cause suffering and discord unto others, especially if they're a Pure Dragon!"
"...so now you're just like the others?"
"No. Others didn't know any actual Yokkurei; I came to know you and understand everything that you don't stand for."
"That's not fair! I always believed that everyone deserved a second chance no matter who they were! Why the hell shouldn't I get a second chance?!"
"You did. After we escaped that prison and you said that you would find a different way to save your world. That was your second chance and you used it already."
"...you know, you can't stay mad at me forever..."
"Huh?"
"The only way that you'll be able to defeat Hinarious for good...is with my help."
"I'm sure. Don't worry about me, Atlas."
Atlas showed a slight scowl as Spyro turned away from him, but that soon dissolved into a look of despair. However, soon Spyro was on his guard as he sensed an unnatural aura approaching; the God of Creation stood in front of Atlas in a gesture of protection and the God of Destruction was predictably puzzled. A bright flash of white appeared before the dragons and the smooth yellow Sage Dragon, Laxeius appeared with a cocky look on her face; she directed that look toward Atlas.
"Poor wittle Atlas...all alone in the world?" Laxeius taunted.
"Greetings to you too, Laxeius..." Atlas growled. "So to what do we owe this unexpected visit?"
"Oh you know, standard; Lord Hinarious told me that you were being a major annoyance...you and this tiny little dragon God."
"Tiny? You were calling me 'Master' a little while ago..." Spyro growled, drawing his sword.
"I was? Oh, that was just a front. But we should just skip the formalities...I'm not here to talk, you know..." Laxeius pulled out her staff and raised it into the air, where it transformed into her trademark wind bow.
"Atlas, do me a favor and stay back..." Spyro said.
Atlas dipped his head and did as he was told, while Spyro leaped forward and executed a broad horizontal slash, mostly just to guage his opponent. Laxeius jumped back and pulled back her arm, drawing an arrow that was covered in lightening; she released it and it sailed toward Spyro at an impressive speed. The white dragon ducked to the side at the last minute, but quickly had his leg raked by another lightening arrow; Spyro cursed under his breath and again when an arrow nicked at his shoulder. When the next arrow came, the God of Creation put up his sword and parried the projectile, finally getting enough peace to start closing the distance between himself and the Sage Dragon. Spyro started to take a vertical swipe with his sword, but Laxeius surprised him by pulling apart her bow into two blades and parrying his attack.
"What the hell?!" Spyro said.
"I'm full of tricks...especially for you." Laxeius taunted.
The yellow dragon attempted to kick Spyro away, but the latter jumped back on his own terms and held his sword firm. The blade of Adamatinacor showed a brilliant glow, giving Spyro the cue to swing his sword and release a wave of light energy that took the form of a flurry of holy swords. Laxeius held her hand firm in front of her chest and swung it to release lightening bolts to counter Spyro's attack. The God of Creation smirked and took his chance to leap forward and deliver a horizontal slash empowered with light energy; however, Laxeius' superior speed allowed her to duck under the attack and put her foot to Spyro's chest, sending him crashing to the ground.
"Okay, little dragon God...time to die." Laxeius said, as she charged up an enormous wind arrow.
In less than a second, she fired it and it sailed toward Spyro with no hope of it missing or being countered. Spyro was in trouble...until Atlas jumped in the line of fire. The God of Destruction put one of his palms out before his body and the other in the same general direction, except closer to his body. Spyro was questioning Atlas' actions and so was the red Yokkurei himself, until Laxeius' arrow made contact with Atlas' body. Laxeius smiled a dark smile...but, that smile dissolved when she noticed that her arrow had converted back into wind energy and was swirling around Atlas' body. The crimson dragon was slowly being pushed back by the force of the energy and the stray winds were shredding his body, opening wounds in various places. His hair was flowing in every general direction, but Atlas held his ground as he took each stab of pain in stride. His patience was rewarded when his wings blew up to their glorious size once more and gave off serpent-like flares.
Just like when he redirected Terra's energy, he had trouble regaining control over his body...and when he did, he bent his knees and clenched his fists to his sides before his pupils shrunk. The God of Destruction bared his fangs and took a small step forward, before letting out a savage war-cry and strongly flapping his wings, completely redirecting Laxeius' attack as his own chakra in short order. The energy took the form of many black tornadoes shredding through the ground and slowly directing themselves toward Laxeius; the energy roared and gave off access winds as it conflicted with the pure air around it. Laxeius was stunned by this movement and didn't react as her energy made contact with her body, doing its damage as it did. Spyro was impressed and somewhat frightened when a powerful explosion of shredding winds followed.
When everything blew over, Laxeius was on one knee and her robe ripped to shreds, exposing her yellow scales and black runes. She looked at Atlas through her mussed up hair and was breathing heavily...Atlas was making the same motion as he was weakened by the use of the technique again.
"There's no mistaking it...that...that is Yokerra...Rajenken..." Laxeius gasped.
"You...you know what this is...?" Atlas growled.
"Who cares?! Gragh!" Spyro said, picking up his sword and rushing toward Laxeius. The Sage Dragon gasped and fearfully put up her damaged bow, before disappearing in a flash of white light. "Damn, I could've had her!"
"Ugh...don't worry...chances are when we meet her again...she'll be considerably...weakened..."
"Atlas! Are you okay?!"
"Hmph...you're worried about me?"
"Yeah, considering that you saved my life...by putting your own in danger..."
"Urgh...why are you...surprised? Couldn't you have guessed that...I'd do anything to pay you back for what I...did...? I want to be...forgiven..."
Atlas rose to his feet and it seemed like he recovered much faster this time, considering that this was his second time performing the move. Spyro helped stabilize the tired Yokkurei, but he pushed him away as he walked through the damage that he had done...the destruction that suited him so well. Many Magic Crafters had heard the sounds of battle and came over, stopping when they saw the two dragon Gods. Spyro followed Atlas and made sure that he didn't fall off the ledge. The Yokkurei was covered in his own blood and suddenly, a flood of emotions came over him.
"Spyro...do you know what it's like to be like this...to have two halves that you can barely control? To be...the God of Destruction; a power-hungry beast by nature?" Atlas said.
"Well...I guess I figured that being the God of Destruction was the same as being the God of Creation..." Spyro responded.
"No; it's very different. I have to keep destroying...keep killing and causing havoc...otherwise, I disappear. I barely have any free will...sometimes, I do everything that I do on impulse alone..."
"Look, Atlas...I'm sorry I was acting like such an asshole...but, I..."
"I know. You were angry with me for so many things...but I told you, if I knew that there was any choice to my actions than I would have done so many things differently...you could believe me when I say that..."
"Alright, Atlas...I trust you..." Atlas smiled when Spyro made this statement, but Spyro gave him a strange look, "I can't forgive you...but I trust you. I trust you enough to feel that you won't threaten my existence anymore..."
"Good...but listen, because I'm not asking twice. Please...help me...help me restore my Godhood."
"...yeah...I'll help you in any way I can."
End Chapter Twenty Four...next chapter, Overture...