The duo of speed and magic slowly approached the throne of the skeleton king, having retrieved the rest of his body. The two kneeled before the ruler extending their arms which held Solomon's bones. The limbs and ribcage floated out of their hands and reassembled themselves so the king's body was whole again. A royal robe floated from off to the left, attaching itself to Solomon's shoulders.

As Sonic stood up, Solomon noticed the glowing band in the speedster's hand.

"Ah. I see you have found the White World Ring," he concluded.

"Yep. It was right after we found that last limb of yours," Sonic explained, storing the white ring into the one on his finger.

"I appreciate that. Thank you both for your efforts."

"If I might trouble you for a moment, your highness," Shahra interrupted, "but I was curious… Why are we seeing so many of these evil spirits? There weren't near this many of the ones you sealed away."

Solomon leaned back in his throne, sighing. "It's a long story…" He explained that some years after he had sealed the spirits away, Erazor had resurrected the Forty Thieves and sent them after him while the genie broke the seal that contained the evil spirits. The king stated that he wished he had kept a closer eye on things and monitored the situation carefully. Because, not only did those spirits become unleashed into the world of the Arabian Nights, but the words Erazor stole gave him the power to brainwash others and cause them to do his bidding. All the rest who tried to escape were pursued by the evil minions of Erazor and 'repurposed'.

Solomon paused to clear his throat. "…and many such spirits were driven to madness. It is my fault that they became the minions of the Erazor Djinn. However, by carving up the words that make up our world, new spirits have also appeared. His power is nearly godlike."

Sonic crossed his arms. "Godlike, huh? Well, that's a problem, then…"

"Even so, supernatural beings like the Erazor Djinn always have weak points that are told of in stories."

The speedster perked up. "Huh?"

Shahra also paid closer attention.

"In truth," Solomon continued, "he is a Genie of the Lamp. Somehow, though, he has escaped… If we had the lamp he belongs to, it could be possible to seal him away again… forever."

"Lamp, huh?" Sonic pondered.

Shahra's face sunk again.

The king paused for a moment. "There is one problem, though… Returning the lost stories to their original state requires greater power than we have. It would take a miracle."

Sonic boldly took a few steps closer to the king, punching a thumb to his flaming chest. "Leave it to me. That's why I'm here, after all."

Solomon looked deep into Sonic's eyes. "I see… So then you are the 'legendary blue hedgehog'… A great curse has been placed upon you." The king moved closer, staring deeper as Sonic's skin started to crawl. "I can see in your eyes, the grim fate that awaits you…"

The blue streak couldn't stand his skin crawling any more. Okay, I've had enough of freaky skeletons for one night. He backpedaled away, slightly raising both hands. "Hey, quit staring! You're giving me the creeps!"

Solomon sat upright in his throne once more. "I am a bit hesitant to put this upon you, but… I will tell you this… You can find the Erazor Djinn to the north of here, in his palace up in the sky. Show me that your part of this legend can come true."

Sonic turned to leave, still looking at the king. "Thanks… Now it's time I make a legend for myself, then!"

"Hold the White World Ring up to the palace gates and they will open."

Sonic bolted down the hallway, exiting the Skeleton Dome. "Okay! Thanks for your help!"

Solomon sat in his throne room alone, solemn and somber. An uneasy feeling washed over him as the two heroes left his sight. "I sense death approaching…"

It was midnight. The full moon lit up the barren, desert landscape below. In the distance, a lone blue streak of light blazed around a mountainside. It took a detour in the switchback and shot up a ramp made of rock, its momentum causing it to sail high into the air. The blue blur began rapidly spinning vertically as it plummeted toward the desert floor. Unfolding at the last split second, Sonic hit the ground with an arm outstretched, the impact forcing him to take a knee and use the other hand for support. Rising from his landing, the light from the full moon revealed a slim muscular figure. The speed demon had ditched his torn shirt and tattered track pants and replaced it with a full-body skin-tight suit.

The royal blue lycra jumpsuit had a solid, thick, pointed cyan design starting from his waist and up to the top of his chest, parts of it going over the top of his shoulders to form two thick downward facing spikes on his back. In the center of the chest was a royal blue silhouette of the side of his head. The same symbol was on his back, but in the lighter shade. Two more cyan strips snaked down the top of his arms, ending at the wrists where red and blue gloves were attached. White accents covered the two primary fingers and the thumb of each hand. A thick white band was also seen around each wrist and ankle.

His shoes remained mostly the same, the only exception being that instead of being red leather, they were red lycra, fused with the white cuff on his ankles, bonding it with the rest of the suit. The grey sole along with the white leather strap and gold buckle remained the same. About where the waist was, a thick red strip stretched around his backside, ending at his hips. Another long red line snaked down the outside of both legs, ending at the ankles. A royal blue skin-tight mask was in the blue streak's left hand. Six extensions protruded from the backside, where his quill-like hair would slide into, solidifying the spikes. A cyan stripe covered the topside of each quill. The eyes were made from the lenses of a pair of trapezoidal-shaped, gold-mirror sunglasses. Black plastic bordered the lenses to secure them onto the mask slanting down, giving the wearer angry-looking eyes.

This was the suit that Miles Prower had made for Sonic, allowing him to perform at his best. He had recently taken it in to his shop to make modifications and had just gotten it back to Sonic before he took the snooze on his couch.

Sonic bore a hard, concentrated look as he glanced to the right.

Erazor Djinn's palace was spotted in the distance. It was basically one tall tower with several balconies and extensions on its various levels. It bore a striking resemblance to the Taj Mahal in his own world, walls of white alabaster and a rooftop of gold.

The ground started to shake as the palace lifted itself high into the air, taking its dirt foundation with it.

Sonic took note of a similar place back in his own world. Kind of looks like Angel Island from here.

Deep inside the top of the tower, a pair of doors with seven different colored loops carved into it began to shake, like someone was trying to break it with a battering ram. The doorway burst open as a violet energy poured out of it.

Outside and overhead, ominous storm clouds formed, swirling around like a hurricane. A tornado formed and its funnel went directly into the castle and through the open doors in the heart of the palace. The vortex was made up entirely of Arabic text. A few seconds after the cyclone finished sucking itself into the doorway, legions of evil spirits flooded out of the chamber and all through the palace.

Inside the mysterious doorway was Erazor, whose skin color changed from a purple to a pinkish-lavender from absorbing the words of the Arabian Nights. An evil grin appeared on his face as he sensed his mission coming to a close. The doors to his chamber slammed shut as he prepared for the completion of his quest.

Outside, Sonic could see the swarms of evil spirits darting in and out of the palace windows and flying out into the wilderness, intent on finishing the destruction of the book. The Arrow of Flame burned brightly on his chest, fueled by the gentle breeze.

Shahra's ring was worn over his gloved hand. Donning his mask, the speedster clenched his fists, causing the ring to glow white for a brief moment. Extending his right arm, the hedgehog grabbed the flaming dart, causing a tornado of dust and rocks to form and swirl about him violently. After a few seconds of charging the wind energy, up the blue streak slammed his foot down, abruptly ending the cyclone. Enveloping himself in his blue aura once more, Sonic charged at the Night Palace faster than the speed of sound.

The blue blur leaped high into the air as he broke the sound barrier. Even that momentum-aided jump wouldn't be enough to get him up there. Sonic pressed the palm of his hand with his middle and ring fingers. A stream of the glowing, sticky cable fired from his wrist, latching onto the floating castle. Yanking on the blue rope, Sonic pulled himself onto the foundation and started climbing up it despite being upside-down. Miles had modified the suit so the wearer could climb up and down walls without worry of falling off.

Reaching the actual floor of the palace, the speedster clambered up onto the marble walkway where he found Shahra waiting for him.

She stared at her master intently for a few seconds. "…Sonic…?"

He yanked his mask off. "You guessed it."

"I almost didn't recognize you. You look different."

"Yeah, I kinda figured. Tell you what; I'll only wear this thing on when I'm going to run fast. That way I can see and time my movements better. Other times, I'll leave it off so we can make eye contact. How's that?"

"That works for me."

"Okay, then!"

Sonic rubbed the ring on his finger, rematerializing the White World Ring. The speedster held it high in front of the main gates. "Time to end this."

In a flash of light, the palace gates burst open, revealing a long hallway of white alabaster with an open wall to the right.

A pain formed in Sonic's chest. Everything partially faded to black as he felt a surge of weakness go through his body. He sank to one knee, wincing, grabbing his chest as the Flame of Judgment shrunk down to a tenth of what it originally was. It had been gradually diminishing throughout the course of the day and it was currently on its last legs.

Sonic chuckled weakly. "Looks like my time limit is about up…"

Shahra quickly flew to his side. "Sonic?!"

Her master slowly got back to his feet. "Sorry… I don't mean to worry you. …I'll be okay."

The genie's eyes welled up as tears streamed down her face. "I'm so, so sorry," she sobbed, sinking to her knees. "It's my fault that this happened to you…"

A warm smile formed on Sonic's face as he kneeled down again, gently hugging his friend and companion. Shahra returned the embrace as he spoke softly to her. "Really, don't worry about it." He extended his little finger again as a reminder. "Just remember my promise… The one between me and you…"

Shahra wiped the tears from her eyes as she stared at her own little finger. She smiled back as she remembered. "I haven't forgotten that promise."

Sonic bounced to his feet like nothing happened, ready to defeat the evil genie who had caused the world so much trouble. "I knew I could count on you, Shahra. It's going to take more than some tiny flame to bring judgment down on me! Come on, let's go!"

"Okay." The genie floated beside her master as they prepared to face the Erazor Djinn.