Final chapter to Book I, please feel free to leave comments!
Malefor swung his blades in a large crescent-shaped slice, sending waves of Bifrost travelling across the ground towards Spyro and Cynder. They promptly took to the air to avoid the lethal blades of ice that struck the wall behind them, erupting into a massive razor-sharp glacier that destroyed the entire wall. Spyro and Cynder looked back, amazed at Malefor's strength but, they were still confident about defeating him, no matter how strong he was.
Cynder dived towards the ground and sunk into the shadows, shooting through the ground at a blazing pace towards Malefor. She leapt out, claws slashing furiously, underneath Malefor who dodged it easily with a large leap. He dived back down, the blades circling around his body in a lethal drill, the blades on his arms outstretched. Cynder dived back into the shadows just in time to avoid the blades. She resurfaced a short distance away and shouted mockingly at Malefor.
"Is that all you've got?" She leapt out of the shadows and grabbed Spyro's paw who flung her higher into the air before he darted towards Malefor, his entire body covered in a flaming vortex as he shot through the air towards Malefor. Malefor swung his blade to counter but Spyro stopped just out of his range, the flames dispersing in a wide corona around Spyro, blinding Malefor temporarily. He staggered back, shielding his eyes from the light. Even though he was nothing more than a figment of darkness, he could still feel his eyes burning from the intense light.
He opened his eyes just in time to see Cynder spinning through the air towards him, her tail coated in poison. He raised his swords in a defensive stance but Spyro was right behind him and fired a barrage of icicles at Malefor. He dropped his guard for a moment and was hit full on by Cynder. He staggered further back, surprised by their sudden strength. Malefor spun the swords around himself, causing a twister of Hellfire to form around him. Spyro and Cynder leapt back, narrowly dodging the swirling flames as they swirled around Malefor.
"We can do this, Spyro!" Cynder said as they regrouped nearby.
"When couldn't we?" Spyro replied half-jokingly, taking to the air and spreading his wings wide open. Cynder instinctively copied his actions on the ground, spreading her wings wide as well. After she met Lazarus, she found a renewed sense of hope, like they could somehow defeat Malefor and she was sure Spyro felt the same way as well.
Spyro began absorbing light from the surroundings as Cynder did the same but with darkness. He felt the same warmth as when he first fired off Flare only this time; it felt stronger, fueling itself from his determination to defeat Malefor. Cynder, who had never experienced this before, felt exhilarated as the Darkness spread throughout her body, filling her with comforting warmth.
Malefor stopped the twister, causing massive glaciers of Bifrost to erupt around him as the flames dissipated. He looked around for Spyro and Cynder and saw them charging up. He tried to shield himself with his sword as well as massive walls of Bifrost but to no avail. Spyro and Cynder released their respective Flares at the same time, Spyro's spears merging with Cynder's orb of darkness, tearing through the Bifrost walls easily and striking Malefor at speed impossible to comprehend. Cynder's orb detonated first, as Spyro's light spears burst outwards. Cynder's orb grew to a massive size, crushing Malefor who was within it. The spears of light warped out of existence through portals of light and boomeranged back at an even higher velocity, impaling the orb of darkness. The orb was then covered in multiple runic circles before it imploded.
Malefor roars of pure rage reverberated throughout the room, shaking the room to its very core. The vines shriveled up and disappeared into wisps of darkness, restoring the room to its former beauty. The dark crystals also shattered, freeing the 4 hearts imprisoned within. They seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as they vanished, safe once more in their rightful places. Spyro touched down near Cynder and turned to her.
"We did it…" Cynder panted.
Spyro nodded and looked down at the flame timer. 4 flames still shone brightly, plenty of time left. Suddenly, a portal opened nearby them, looking ominously dark, yet inviting.
"That's our way out of here. Come on, let's go!" Spyro said and they started walking towards the portal, glad that life would be normal once again.
Behind them, fragments of Malefor's now shattered heart hovered around and formed themselves into a pair of blades, pointing straight at Spyro and Cynder. A runic circle formed behind them, bearing sigils of control. Malefor's ghostly projection appeared behind them, grinning evilly. This was his last resort. He wanted to impale Spyro and Cynder's hearts with the blades, fusing his heart with theirs permanently. The ghost shimmered out of existence and the blades launched themselves towards an unsuspecting Spyro and Cynder at a breakneck pace.
As Spyro and Cynder were about to enter the portal, they heard a voice shout from the portal.
"Get down!"
Something tackled them from the portal, knocking them onto their backs. They opened their eyes to see Bolzan standing there, 2 blades sticking out of his chest, blood dripping from the wounds they made.
"Bolzan!" Spyro and Cynder shouted in unison. He turned towards them, a pained smile forming on his face as he registered their shocked expressions.
"T-Told you I would risk everything… get out of here, I'll be fine…" Bolzan said softly, blood coming out from his muzzle as well as he stood there, the blades still stuck in his chest.
"But…" Spyro began.
"Just go! I'll be fine, I promise…" Bolzan grimaced as he sank to his knees, not making any move to extricate the blades.
Spyro and Cynder reluctantly entered the portal, looking back at Bolzan one last time before they left, their eyes wishing they could help him. The last they saw of him was Bolzan fading away amidst tendrils of darkness as they themselves fell through the oblivion once again.
Spyro and Cynder awoke in the room, Bolzan panting and groaning painfully on the ground. Cynder, all too familiar with the pain, leapt from the bed and knelt beside Bolzan along with Spyro. Suddenly, Bolzan grabbed them by their necks, his eyes glowing crimson like Malefor's, a mad grin forming on his face.
"Finally, I've got you." Bolzan said menacingly, his voice a mix of his own and Malefor's. Abruptly, he dropped Spyro and Cynder, clutching his head as he staggered backwards, a pained expression forming on his face. His eyes, even though they remained crimson, still carried traces of his original heart.
"G-Get out of the city, guys, go!" He then warped away in a burst of darkness.
Shortly after he warped away, the entire foundation of the spire began to shake violently as if an earthquake had struck the city. Baero, Ignitus and Solaris rushed into the room and picked them up before they flew out of the collapsed wall into the dimming light.
"What's happening, Ignitus?" Cynder asked as they flew over the city as she was carried by Solaris, now in the process of collapse as the crystal buildings crumbled, large chunks falling to the ground with a mighty crash.
"Lazarus himself is using his strength for something else, he can no longer support the city." Baero explained.
"We weren't around to protect Cynder as we were busy evacuating the city. We expected something like this. Sorry, Spyro." Solaris said.
"It's alright. What happened to Eratos?" Spyro replied.
"He left suddenly in the middle of our battle, presumably to escape." Ignitus replied as they touched down at the outskirts of the city, its walls crumbling to pieces.
"What about Bolzan?" Spyro asked, still concerned for him. They may have been almost strangers but, he'd done so much for him and Cynder that he couldn't help but feel concerned for his wellbeing.
"I have no idea what happened to him, Spyro. But, my instincts tell me he's still somewhere in Lazarus." Ignitus told Spyro.
"We have to go look for him!" Cynder exclaimed but a sudden pain caused her to wince and almost double over.
"We can't, Cynder, the entire city's in ruins, it would take a long time to find him even if we had all the help in the world. You're also going into labor, Cynder." Solaris gently explained to Cynder. She turned to Spyro, her eyes pleading with him. Spyro nodded and turned towards the Guardians.
"We'll go look for him, it's the least we can do for him."
Baero wanted to stop them but he was held back by Ignitus. He reluctantly stepped back and nodded towards Spyro.
"I'll help, Ignitus. Solaris and I are going to stay behind and help. You still have to be the Chronicler, we'll be alright."
Ignitus nodded and his body began to shimmer and fade as he returned to the Chronicler's world.
Although the contractions caused fairly significant pain to Cynder, she still soldiered on and entered the city, determined to find Bolzan. As soon as they stepped into the city, Spyro and Cynder heard Lazarus call out to them. Evidently, Baero and Solaris heard it as well and they took flight towards the ruined spire.
The entire spire was split in half, the top half completely shearing off the foundation, leaving a gaping hole surrounded by fragmented crystals that glimmered faintly in the dying light. They landed on a large crystal that had once been one of the large pillars holding up the spire. Now that it had sheared off, it served fairly well as a platform and the 4 dragons looked down into the large cavern that had formed.
In the middle of the cavern, Lazarus crystal still stood there, shining majestically in the fading sunlight. Nearby, another crystal had formed, connected with Lazarus'. It was covered in intricate ridges and partly resembled a chrysalis that was carrying a butterfly within its shell and it stood suspended on a large pedestal that carried the same intricate patterns.
Intrigued by this, they glided down, Cynder cradled by Spyro, and they touched down next to the crystal. They approached it and upon closer inspection, saw Bolzan encased within it, his scales unnaturally black and red sigils adorned his forearms, body and tail. He looked as if he was smiling, the tips of his mouth raised slightly in a ghost of his final grin. His eyes were closed but Spyro wagered they were still crimson. They lowered their heads in a silent prayer for him, wishing his soul safe passage to the heavens and promptly took off, tears hanging on the sides of Cynder and Spyro's eyes.
As they flew off, large rents formed on the crystal with a loud crack. This caught their attention and they turned around. The bright scarlet light emanating from the cracks almost blinded them but they managed to keep their eyes open. The crystal shattered, their shards hovering around in midair. Bolzan was also floating amidst the crystal frost, his eyes still closed and his scales still jet-black. Abruptly, Bolzan fell to the floor and lay there, breathing heavily. They flew back and kept a wide berth, in case it wasn't really him and it turned out to be Malefor because of the color of his scales.
Their fears were allayed when he lifted his head slightly and opened his eyes. They were still crimson but, somehow, they didn't seem like Malefor's. The playful grin that formed on his face confirmed this fact. They ran towards him and he stood up shakily, the red sigils on his body glowing faintly.
"Hey, guys…" Bolzan said as they approached, clutching his sigils which had ceased glowing.
"Bolzan! You're alright!" Spyro exclaimed as they approached.
"What happened just now?" Cynder asked, relieved that Bolzan was fine but the contractions were getting worse, causing her to double over as Solaris held her. Spyro panicked a little, being a first time father, and ran over to Cynder's side, looking extremely concerned. Baero laughed and placed a paw on Spyro's shoulder.
"Don't worry, Spyro, she'll be fine." Bolzan smiled slightly; glad to see that they were on their way to being a family.
"Seriously, Bolzan, what happened? You just left suddenly after you, or rather, Malefor tried to strangle us." Spyro asked, still by Cynder's side.
"I heard Lazarus telling me to come to him. Malefor was already fighting me in my heart and he won, temporarily. I regained control and headed to Lazarus. There, he told me to place my paw on the crystal. I obliged and he suddenly froze me in a massive crystal. The last thing I remembered was the walls around the cavern collapsing before I blacked out. I was glad it would be over soon." Bolzan explained.
"Inside my heart, Malefor was pretty angry and tried to kill me but Lazarus intervened, trapping a harmless fragment of his heart within me. The rest of Malefor managed to escape, I'm afraid."
"Never mind, we're just glad you're alright. Hey, are you crying?" Spyro said when he saw a small tear run down Bolzan's cheek. Bolzan hurriedly wiped it away as his scales slowly reverted to their usual color, the red sigils fading along with them.
"Huh, don't know what got into me. Maybe it's because I've never really been shown this much care. Maybe it's because I've never really had a "family". I'm not sure…"
"Hey, why don't you come and stay with us? The kids need another godfather, Hunter's already agreed, and you fit the bill!" Cynder suggested, wincing slightly at each contraction.
"Are you sure? We're still effectively strangers, you know…" Bolzan said, unsure of himself.
"Don't worry, you've done more for us than we could ever repay, it's the least we could do." Spyro said warmly.
"You risked your life for my daughter, which was exceptionally selfless of a dragon your age. We'd be honored if you would be godfather to our grandchildren, Bolzan." Solaris said, smiling gently.
"I agree. Besides, we need someone who's capable of rational thought in this family!" Baero guffawed, Spyro and Cynder looked at him indignantly but they couldn't help smiling as well.
"So, what do you say, Bolzan?" Cynder asked.
Bolzan nodded, tears of joy welling up in his eyes.
"I've never had a family before, guess I should get practicing!"
They took off, leaving the ruins of Lazarus to the passage of time, closing this chapter of their lives. Ignitus looked through his hourglass, smiling at the trust formed between them. He closed the book, opening a fresh book and began chronicling the next chapter of their story.
Malefor's fragmented heart was hovering high above the city, watching the 5 dragons fly off towards the valley of Avalar. No matter, he would find another way to carry out the Great Cleansing. He searched around for another host when he spotted Eratos, standing on the edge of a cliff, looking angrily at Spyro and Cynder.
He warped in front of Eratos in a burst of darkness who, even though he was shocked, knelt down before Malefor.
"Master…"
"You are the one who has worshipped me, I shall not let that go to waste, let me into your heart and we shall crush them. Join me, and I will make you more powerful than you will ever be." Malefor said regally.
Without hesitation, Eratos agreed, partly out of respect for Malefor, partly out of a deep hatred towards Spyro and Cynder.
Malefor entered his heart and he felt a surge of strength course through his body. His right eye glowed bright crimson, an evil grin spreading across his face. He spoke, his voice mixed with Malefor's into an evil, dissonant voice.
"I will have my revenge…"