Handing the mask back to her master, Shahra watched as he rubbed the ring on his finger, causing the seven World Rings to materialize in front of them. The speedster grabbed each one and set them on the floor in a circle around him. To him, these were no different than the seven Chaos Emeralds back in his world, so, out of habit, they were placed on the marble ground in the same order: red, blue, yellow, green, white, cyan, purple.

As the final band finished the circle, their glowing intensified.

Sonic reached for the final object that appeared in front of him: the golden, spherical relic Shahra had given him while exiting the flock of the Rukh. Grasping it, he stepped out of the circle of multicolored bands.

The seven rings lifted into the air and fit perfectly into their corresponding loops in the door. In a flash of light, the doors burst open as the glowing bands floated behind Shahra. Strong currents of wind poured out from the opening as Sonic walked in, using an arm to shield his face from possible flying debris.

Inside was a kind of royal chamber. An opening to the left revealed another large balcony overlooking everything south of the Night Palace. Leaning against the far wall was a crimson throne with gold trim. A red carpet covered the marble floor where the royal armchair sat.

Erazor's sword was found pinned into the floor, a plume of smoke encircling it. The black cloud soon transformed into the Erazor Djinn, having recovered from his battle with the speedster.

Sonic's cocky smirk returned. "You just don't give up, do you?"

Erazor knew what kind of key was needed to unlock his doors. He grinned in satisfaction. "You've brought me all seven World Rings? Well done!"

"Hey, of course! We're such good buddies, after all!" Sonic joked.

Erazor floated by his throne. "Shahra…"

Her gaze met his as he called her name.

"…You have done well in using him to gather the rings. Now, give them to me."

Sonic spoke up, pointing to the Flame of Judgment in his chest. "Hey, hold on! Aren't you going to do something about this?"

The dart of fire had just shrunk again. If it decreased in size once more, it would be extinguished.

Erazor called Shahra again. His voice sounded softer, almost loving, as his arm extended toward her. "Shahra… Please, quickly. Let us rule this world together…"

After a brief pause, the Genie of the Ring slowly floated in Erazor's direction, the seven rings encircling her.

Sonic was shocked. "Shahra? What's—?"

She stopped for a moment, her back still turned to her master. "I… I must…"

"What are you doing?!"

"Me… and him…"

Erazor and Shahra were a couple?! How could I have missed that? Sonic extended an arm toward her. "Shahra, stop! You can't do this! Think about what will happen!"

Tears formed in her eyes as she began to slowly advance towards Erazor again. "I'm sorry… I have no choice… I just want to be back with him…"

Sonic's expression hardened. He refused to let a one-sided love come into play and cause the world's destruction.

Rubbing the ring on his finger, he ordered his friend to stop. "No! As Master of the Ring, I command you, 'do what you truly know is right'!"

Lightning flashed and Shahra screamed as her mind cracked, torn between the two choices she wanted to make. Unable to handle the metaphysical battle between her love for the evil spirit and her wanting to save the world, she fell to the ground unconscious.

Sonic ran towards her. "Shahra!" Kneeling, he saw that his friend was alive. But he had made his move too late.

One by one, the glowing rings formed in a circle above Erazor as he named off the specific emotion for each colored band.

Blue, "Prayers–" purple, "–Sadness–" red, "–Rage–" green, "–Hatred–" yellow, "–Joy–" water blue, "–Pleasure–" and white, "–Wishes." The circle around him complete, Erazor looked at his enemy as he explained what the rings really were. "The seven hearts that make up the stories: these are the seven World Rings that bind these pages together!"

Sonic couldn't believe his ears. He stood up in shock. "What?!"

Erazor's face changed from gleeful to menacing as he quoted from the newest chapter of the book. "'But the life of the collector of the rings shall be offered up in sacrifice as the key for that control.'"

Beads of sweat formed on Sonic's forehead as he watched Erazor's sword pull up from the ground and float in the air.

The evil djinn trained his sights on his enemy. "I offer up your life, blue 'hedgehog'!"

The magic-riddled sword shot in the teenager's direction, blade-first.

Sonic froze. He cringed, closing his eyes, not wanting to see this coming.

—SHINK!—

Sonic grunted as he felt the impact. But it wasn't cold steel.

A warm body? Oh, no…

He opened his eyes and glanced to his left.

No, no, NO! It can't be…!

Shahra.

At the last second, she had thrown herself against the aerokinetic, wrapping her arms around his neck as she shielded his body. Impaled and dying, she fell to the floor

Sonic dropped the golden orb she had given him in shock, horror, and grief as he had a flashback from his trek's beginning.

Sonic snapped out of his train of thought only to see Erazor shoot a small ball of fire at Shahra's back.

Oh, no!

The blue streak bolted for his companion and guide. "Look out!"

Shahra turned around just in time to see a flaming dart head straight for her. She froze.

Sonic leaped in front of her at the last second, shielding her from the attack. The fireball hit him square in the left side of his chest, knocking him to the ground.

"Sonic!" Shahra screamed.

"SHAHRA!" Sonic screamed. Quickly kneeling, he supported her head as he looked at the wound in her torso.

Shahra's voice quivered as her life began slipping away, punctuated by pain and sharp inhaling. "Sonic… You saved my life from Erazor at our journey's start… It was time for me to return the gesture. Also, I'm… sorry. For everything… I knew… all along… I knew what would happen and I still got you involved…"

"It's okay," Sonic soothed, cradling her in his arms. "It's not your fault!"

Droplets of water slid from her eyes as she touched Sonic's cheek. "Did I change my destiny?" She extended her little finger. "Did I keep our promise…?"

Her master's eyes welled up as he made one final request. "Shahra, grant me a wish. I wish for you to not die, and to go back to the way you were!"

"I'm so sorry, Master… I… cannot grant…" Shahra's head rolled to one shoulder as her last breaths escaped her.

Sonic began shedding tears as his friend died in his arms. Seconds later, the ring on his finger, the bond between the two, shattered into pieces.

In the background, Erazor Djinn scoffed. "In the end, such is the weak power of a Genie of the Ring."

The speedster laid the deceased young woman on the ground. Scooping up the fragments of her ring in one hand, he clenched his fists tightly as he heard the evil djinn speak, consumed with sadness and grief over Shahra's death along with hatred for her murderer.

The red, green, and purple World Rings began to glow even brighter.

Yanking his mask back on, Sonic slowly turned around. His voice quivered, filled with rage. "You…! You—!"

Before he could finish his sentence, the seven rings infused with Erazor.

The djinn yelled in pain as the rings began to cause him to undergo a radical transformation, absorbing the text of the Arabian Nights at an alarming rate.

The ground shook as the world of the book dissipated into an infinite black sky. Grey streaks like schools of fish undulated in the background. A single distant sun was the only source of light in this realm. It had little effect, however due to the void being full of darkness.

Sonic glanced at his feet.

Shahra's body had disappeared.

Looking back up, he noticed Erazor had been twisted into a massive, horribly grotesque pink demon with a single eye that shot white fire from its pupil, no nose, and an enormous mouth with shark-like teeth. Six arms, each with a large, corresponding, inscribed muscle in his chest, protruded from an enormous, bulging torso. From the knees down, his legs were long, thin, and segmented, like those of an insect. The blade of Erazor's sword was on the end of a long, flat, golden tail attached to his back.

A hideous, demonic, echoing voice came from the being formerly known as Erazor Djinn. "I am Alf Layla wa-Layla! I am the Arabian Nights! I will be its new creator! I will remake this world and its reality in my own image!"

Sonic realized now what Erazor tried to do. The genie had to sacrifice his life and absorb his body in order to have total control over the World Rings and gain the powers of the book's creator. But when Shahra foiled his plans, he only gained partial control over the rings causing their power to become unstable and twist his appearance, leaving his metamorphosis unfinished.

Sonic stared angrily at his enemy's hideous form, filled with anguish, fury, and bitterness. "This is awful! You're just some… incomplete monster!" As the negative emotions inside continued to intensify, Alf Layla wa-Layla's torso began to shake.

Explosions of steam and white fire appeared from his sides. After a few more spasms, the green, purple, and red World Rings burst out of his body.

Attracted to the corresponding emotions felt by the speedster, the rings of Sadness, Rage, and Hatred infused with Sonic, now causing him to undergo a transformation of his own. Sonic screamed in pain as light burst from his skin.

Sonic's suit turned an indigo purple as the cyan and red coloration disappeared along with the soles of his shoes. Only a white vertical strip looping each foot was left. The eyes in the mask morphed from gold to white in addition to being shaped to look even angrier. Two white stripes extended from the top of the lenses and over the middle set of 'quills'. The rest of his 'spines' pointed lower than usual, and a glowing yellow ring formed on each wrist and ankle. An aura of fire constantly surrounded him, fueled by his rage.

Sonic struggled to get up, still grunting from the agony. He opened his hand, staring at the fragments of Shahra's ring in pain. A menacing voice, much darker than his normal one, escaped his mouth. "We've got to… stop him! Shahra… please! Lend me your… power!"

A ghostly female voice echoed in his head. You already have my power. The form you've taken is called 'Darkspine'. While in this state, your powers over wind are gone, but you have complete mastery over fire. Use it to your advantage and restore the realm of the Arabian Nights before it's too late.

Hearing the deceased Shahra's voice, Darkspine Sonic clenched his fists, engulfing his body in flames as he intensified the aura surrounding him. Using his newfound pyrokinetic abilities to fly, the super-powered speedster lifted off the ground and sailed into the air, ready for a final showdown in the skies with his enemy.

Sonic glared ahead at his enemy. Your apocalyptic realm, the reality you've stolen, your reign of terror… It all ends now!