Running south for another hour led the two to a valley where a white powder rained from the grey sky covering the ground and scenery. Massive skeletons of dinosaurs and other animals were embedded into the sides of the valley, the bones protruding from the walls.

Shahra noted the white flakes falling down. "Snow? No… It's something else…"

Running through the white valley, Sonic glanced up at the walls. "These bones are giving me the creeps…"

Shahra looked at a ledge higher up. "I think there is a secret entrance up there," she pointed. "You can probably use the skeletons to climb up."

"Fine by me. I hate skeletons…" Sonic jumped and rocketed into the bones, climbing up them as he ricocheted off them at an acute angle. Making one final jump, the speedster landed on the stone ledge. Spotting a tunnel hewn into the rock face of the valley, Sonic ran in, Shahra generating a beam of light so he could see where he was going. After a minute of blasting through total darkness—the only exception being Shahra's light—he found himself running on a long bridge constructed of nothing but bones. The path was extended dangerously over a massive crater. Sonic couldn't tell how deep it was. Moving gingerly on the narrow walkway, using his aerokinesis to stabilize him somewhat, the blue streak made for a corridor that didn't look so primitive. In fact, the hallway looked like it had been carved by a professional builder in service to royalty.

"Hey, is this an underground castle?" he asked, running through the passageway.

The genie confirmed her master's suspicions. "Yes, as a matter of fact."

"So, why do they call it the 'Skeleton Dome'? I mean, there were bones on the outside of the place, but I haven't seen anything in here…"

Shahra shrugged.

Sonic continued to run down the hall. Reaching the end, he found some kind of treasure room with an exit on the other side. Speeding out the other door, the aerokinetic looked at the ceiling.

A giant bronze dome covered the area where he stood. The upside-down bowl looked at least six stories high.

Shahra also glanced around. The place was littered with bones and rusted swords. The circular room looked like its diameter was about the length of a football field. Torches lining the walls gave off a golden glow as their surroundings seemed to reflect the flames, amplifying the light.

Stopping, Sonic noticed the bones lying around on the ground. "Is this a tomb?"

"I think this is some kind of arena," Shahra responded.

"So this is why they call it the 'Skeleton Dome'…" he said, looking at the ceiling again.

Noticing a flash of light out of the corner of his eye, Sonic instinctively leaped back.

—SHINK!—

One of the skeletons had come to life and took a swipe at him with a sword.

The blue streak looked at his already tattered shirt. Two long, fresh cuts from the sword swings added to the collection of damages to his clothes. "Hey! Uncool! This is the only change of clothes I've got here!"

"Sonic, watch out!" Shahra screamed.

Three more piles of the human bones resurrected themselves, taking up the only available weapons on the ground.

The speedster slapped his forehead. Greeeaaat… More skeletons to deal with…

Sonic took ten steps back clenching his fists. His blue aura enveloped him again as he blasted through the evil spirits, completely obliterating them.

Noticing a door on the other side of the arena, the blue streak ran for it, hoping for a way out of the underground maze. "I've had enough of the walking dead for one day!"

Sonic jettisoned through the opening and found himself running through another long hallway, also lined with bronze plating and torches to light the way. The corridor was just as high as the arena and a tenth of the width. Piles of gold coins, jewels, and precious artifacts were stacked on either side, narrowing the width of the walkway. Up a gradual flight of steps was a large, purple and gold throne. The royal armchair was empty save for a large skull with a thick, black, curly beard and a crown resting on the top of the cranium.

Sonic cautiously approached the throne, staring at the skull. He turned around and looked at Shahra. "It looks like we might be a little late…"

A deep, gruff voice came from behind the aerokinetic. "I should say so!"

Sonic jumped and whipped around, startled. "Whoa!"

The skull had come to life and magically hovered above the seat.

What is it with these skeletons and coming to life around here?! This is ridiculous!

Shahra stared in horror at the floating cranium. "King… King Solomon?!"

The reverse-beheaded king confirmed his identity. "Indeed! I am the great and powerful King Solomon!"

Sonic chuckled nervously, accompanied by an equally-nervous expression. "If you say so…"

"Don't think I'm happy looking this way either!" Solomon said angrily. "The Erazor Djinn did this to me! He resurrected the Forty Thieves as evil spirits and sent them to attack me here!"

Sonic paused for a moment. The Forty Thieves? Evil spirits? That means the skeletons I just bopped in the arena were four of their members!

"And that's how you ended up… like that?" Shahra asked.

"Precisely, my dear," Solomon confirmed. "And that being the case, could I ask you a favor? Might I beseech you to track down the rest of my body? I'd also be grateful if you could do something about the Forty Thieves as well."

Sonic laughed. "No problem!"

The two friends walked back out into the domed arena.

"Okay," Sonic explained, "the Forty Thieves have to be out here! Based on what Solomon said, they are all evil spirits which means they will vaporize as soon as they are destroyed. That also means all these skeletons in here are alive and members to the gang based on what happened to me earlier. They will also have the king's own bones which will be considerably larger than these undead midgets we're seeing on the floor."

Stepping near a pile of bones confirmed Sonic's suspicions.

Five of the members jumped up from the spot, swords in hands.

Leaping skyward, the speedster rapidly performed a circular spin dash in the air, creating a tornado of blue wind. The villainous skeletons were sucked up into the vortex, smashing each other apart. When the cyclone cleared, a large ribcage was found lying on the floor.

Alright! The king's torso!

Sonic scooped up the ribs and spine, tossing it to Shahra as he ran for a bigger group of the thieves. He was met by seven more skeletons. Firing up his boost again, he plowed through the evil djinns like they were nothing but cardboard.

The gang members dissipated as they flew in the air like bowling pins.

"Strike!" Sonic laughed as he ran for another ten villains. The same thing happened as the he unleashed his aerokinetic power, sending the crooks sailing into the walls of the arena.

The final fourteen gang members were standing in the center of the dome. A faint white glow could be seen from inside the army of bones.

Sonic cracked his knuckles. "Okay, time to put this to an end!" Taking a step back, he ran in a circle around the remainder of the Forty Thieves. As expected, a massive blue tornado lifted the entire group off the ground, swirling and smashing them to splinters inside the cobalt vortex.

Sonic threw on the brakes as he grabbed Solomon's skeletal leg and tossed it to Shahra who had just now caught up with him. She had managed to keep herself busy by following her master and finding the rest of the king's bones as he cleared out the evil spirits for her. She had gathered Solomon's arms and his left leg while Sonic took care of the rest.

She set the bones down on the floor. "Well, that's all of them… Sonic?"

Her master wasn't paying attention. His focus was on a white, glowing band that slowly floated down from above. It had gotten sucked up into the speedster's tornado attack while he was disposing of the final group of crooks.

Sonic called Shahra over. "Hey, look at this."

"It's a white ring. One of the seven, I'm sure."

The aerokinetic grabbed the floating ring. A minor jolt followed. "Definitely one of the World Rings! It feels… it feels like light…" Sonic stared at the band, a hand on his hip. "To think this little thing… could cause so much trouble."

"You mean… the ring?"

"Such great power could bring people either happiness… or misfortune."

Shahra confirmed his suspicions. "There are many such stories told of in the Arabian Nights."

"For instance," the speedster theorized, "this ring seems to be filled with 'desire'. That could mean aspiration, or maybe it could be greed and ambition."

Sonic continued to stare at the ring as Shahra's face bore a saddened, almost guilty look. She floated to the spot where the king's bones were, bowing her head.

"Just what does Erazor want by collecting all of these rings…?"