(In the realm of darkness…)

Malefor was gaining more strength every second.

"I knew that Blagden's business would go to ruin…" Malefor thought, not giving much thought to his fallen minion, "It doesn't matter, he fulfilled his job as a receptacle and obtained a considerable amount of earth's mana. Only two more to go and we will be able to enter the next phase…"

A deranged laugh, like that of a mad-man, spoke to him:

"When will it be my turn, Malefor?" one of his generals laughed, "You don't know how impatient I am to play to death..."

"Okay, if you want to do a murder, I'll give you a mission: in Dante's freezer, some dragons are trying to increase their powers. Go there and kill them all… take the specters of the apes with you"

"Those useless are useless…"

"How much do you want to kill?"

The laughter of that dark dragon became clearer.

"Quite a lot" he replied, "I spent years in that asylum and I wanted to get out again..."

"Then, use that anger in your whips" Malefor told him, "With that your army will gain strength and you will weaken your enemies…"

"That's great…" he said as he disappeared into the darkness.

"If you fail, you will be the fourth receptacle of darkness…" Malefor thought, "Each of you are a pillar that brings me darkness and you have enough…"

(Back, in Dante's freezer…)

The attack had already begun: specters of apes, mounted on gargoyles, fiercely attacked the place. Fortunately, the ice dragons supported the early reconstruction of the towers or the ice walls that fell, making them more solid. To counterattack, the ice dragons threw ice spikes while the moles used the catapults with huge snowballs. For the moment, he resisted.

On the walls several dragon guards continued the fierce fight. In a moment of respite, one of them said to another:

"Frost. We have held off the dark army at the outer barrier, I think we can brook them a little longer. But, we don't know how much more it will be possible. Eh… where is Master Cyril?"

"At the door of the Cave of Reflection," he explained, "The young dragons who have entered there have not yet passed their test, and he wants to greet them when they leave. He has put me in charge until then."

"Not yet? Damn, it's already been four hours since they arrived…"

But they finished speaking because, at the edge of the outer barrier, spectral apes mounted on gargoyles had appeared. Although that was not what was worrying, but who was leading them: it was a dark dragon with several scars on its body and face, it wore traces of some type of white clothing (for those who do not know straitjackets) and its face reflected that of a lunatic (not to say 'crazy' head-on).

"Come on my slaves," he laughed as he lashed out at the wraiths, "It's time to cause some carnage."

Whipping his minions was more than giving them motivation: each lash seemed to give him more and more dark power, which meant that this Dark One was something of a fount for armies. And that was not the worst.

"Photon Discharge!"

(Inside the cave…)

(Nina's PoV)

Nina was exhausted: every attack she used was reflected back by… well, her reflection. It was like fighting a mirror, only it had its own mind and knew all of her abilities and weaknesses. And even if she can use that against her opponent...

"Don't think you can win that way" her reflection told her, "I know how you think too"

That sank Nina's hopes and, without her noticing her, her enemy pushed her and put a paw on her neck.

"The only way you can win is to use your darkness" she told her, "Oh, but forget it: you've been afraid to use that darkness ever since you attacked Drago..."

"I promised that I would never fall into darkness again..."

"And why do you have to be afraid of it? It feels good… you don't need anyone, not Drago, not your friends…"

Nina disagreed. But she wasn't listening to her either: every second that passed she felt that darkness was her only alternative, even so, she feared that if she exceeded herself, she would return to being that dark creature that Malefor created.

"You are always Nina"

That voice came out of her memories. Then she, making use of her mind, she began to remember where she came from:

(Flashback)

Nina was with Spyro on a day out.

"Dad, I still don't feel good about what happened that day…" she told him, "What if I can't control my darkness again? What if I become a creature of darkness? Only the light would defeat me…"

Nina lowered her head, rather sad about it. Then, she felt her father's paw on her head.

"You are Nina and you always will be," Spyro told her, "You must not run from the light, and do not fear the dark..."

(On another day…)

Nina was in the temple's crystal chamber, talking to the guardian of fire.

"How can I not fear the dark, teacher?" she asked.

"We all feel afraid of our darkness from time to time," he replied, "To face it, it is important to first recognize it. No one is free to have darkness, but we can choose to face it or let it take us. You must be brave: you must be able to look it in the face and stand firm before it and thus, you will not be afraid again..."

(End of Flashback)

"You seem to give up…" said the reflection.

But before she knew it, Nina was up and using a claw imbued with her shadow power, she pierced through her reflection before she even noticed it.

"But how…?" she asked.

"It's true, I still have that darkness," she replied, "But I'm not going to be afraid of it. I'm going to face it and I'm going to pass this test."

Nina her mana flowing through her body, she felt that her lost energy was returning, even stronger than ever. Perhaps the same magnitude she felt when she destroyed Malefor's body. A dark purple aura began to surround her, but it wasn't like the Dark Ones or Malefor, rather ironically brighter. A kind of positive dark mana. Nina got ready to attack:

"Shadow-Dragon!"

As with Cynder, a huge dragon-shaped shadow rushed directly into Nina's reflection. After a great explosion of power, no traces of the impostor were left.

"Finally... I won..." she sighed.

Just then, the crystal walls moved and gave way to a secret tunnel. Possibly it led to the exit.

(In the meantime…)

"Tell me, is that all?"

Rayla was unbalanced from the electric shock and was having trouble orienting herself. However, she did her best to focus her gaze on her enemy. However, her exhaustion made her lower his head.

"So you give up," the reflection sneered, "Well, a weakling like you can never beat anyone…"

She tried to touch her, but as soon as she put a paw on her, an electric shock prevented her and made her back.

"Okay, you're right," Rayla said, getting up again, "I won't deny that I'm afraid of dying deep down. But now I see that I'd rather die for a just cause than resign myself and live like a coward for the rest of my life. And for that, I'm going to fight."

The dragon's body discharged electricity throughout her body, so much so that she began to discharge on the ground, making sparks fly.

"Lightning Fang!" Rayla yelled, going all in.

Once airborne, Rayla began to spin at lightning speeds and dashed through the impostor, who cracked to pieces.

Panting, Rayla watched her body irradiated with powerful electricity. However, before she contemplated it any longer, the walls moved, giving her access to the exit.

(Ash's VP)

Ash fell beaten and slightly burned after an attack of his own reflection of him. He tried to get up, but his enemy put a paw on top of him to prevent that.

"You're pathetic, your father would be disappointed…" he sneered.

Ash couldn't move because his body was sore. But…

(Flashback)

Ash and his father Flame were returning from the dragon temple.

"So... you lost again?" Flame laughed.

"Not for long," his son replied, "I'm not going to give up until I beat him."

"I admire your bravery. But, what do you want to demonstrate once victory is achieved?

"It is a code that we have both made. It cannot be reused"

"Well, someone told me that Drago didn't want to accept it at first..."

Ash fell silent. He knew who had said it: Nina.

"Ash, don't you think you're exaggerating?" Flame asked, "Why do you want to beat Drago?"

"Well…for you" Ash answered, feeling a little embarrassed, "It's just…you didn't get the position of guardian and I just want to honor our family. And Drago… well, he is the son of a guardian, I have to get over him first, do you understand?"

Flame began to laugh again. Once finished and looking at Ash's surprised face, he told him:

"You always give honor to the family. No matter who you are or not, your being alive is the greatest honor…"

"But…"

"As for being a Guardian, it's really good that you have such a clear goal. But you see it as a symbol of strength. I didn't lose to Jhonny, I just... let him win"

"Did you let him win? why?"

"For the same reason as with your mother, Ash. I loved Ember and with so many responsibilities as a guardian, I couldn't be as close to her or to you as I would have liked. On the contrary, Jhonny had Edel and they would both be guardians... I think it would have turned out better the way I left it. Furthermore, he uses not only strength, but also his brain."

Ash listened carefully to the words.

"But then... I don't need to be a guardian for you to be proud of me?" he finally asked.

"Of course not. You are what you decide yourself. And you have no rivals, but your friends and colleagues "

(End of flashback)

Ash felt his fire burn strong again. The reflection of him felt it burn and she quickly backed away from him.

"It's true," Ash said, getting up, "Deep down, I felt a bit jealous of Drago and that's why I always challenged him. I almost never won. But finally I understand that I shouldn't see him as a rival, but as a friend. Still, I'm going to get out of this place before him."

The young dragon's body was beginning to burn without consuming it. It seemed that the strength within him was emanating. Then he got into a lunge position.

"I'm going to break through," he yelled, "Dragon Blast!"

Ash caught fire and shot out at high speed. His reflection did nothing: he didn't move or say anything about it. Once Ash collided with it, it fell apart. When he finished, the young dragon almost fell exhausted.

Suddenly, a wall in front moved and disappeared, giving way to the exit.

(Flint's PoV)

"There's always someone better than me…" Flint said, getting back up, "But I don't need to be a leader or someone special… I just have to be myself. And that is something that I am very clear about…"

Once up, he tried to make the mana flow from him again. However, being focused on the fight and not on what was happening to him, he was not noticing the sudden glow that emanated and surrounded him.

"I'm going to use all my strength," Flint warned him, "and I'm going out to join my mates... Ground Impact!"

A huge earth missile spawned from the ejected mana and fractured into several more, impacting fiercely against the reflection of it. Each impact made the earth tremble, as if bombarded relentlessly. When he finished, his dark self was gone.

Panting, Flint briefly noted the shimmer on his scales until it disappeared.

"What was that?" he thought he still tired.

When he was about to continue on the path, something happened: the opposite wall cracked and a path opened up in the center.

(Aurora's PoV)

Aurora was tired and she was breathing hard as she tried to get up again.

"You are weak" the reflection of her told her, "The team needs warriors, not smug fools who boast of knowing everything..."

Aurora fainted as her vision clouded over and she slowly fell into a faint.

(Flashback)

"Is it wrong to be the brainiac?" Aurora asked her mother as she helped her assemble some shaped wooden boards.

"No, but it's bad to show off your intelligence to others who don't have as much intelligence as you" Edel replied.

Aurora thought about it for a moment until Edel asked her:

"What are you thinking Aurora?"

"Dad taught me that we are both important, like the two rods of one coin," she replied, "But shouldn't I bring more action than intelligence to the team?"

Edel gave a small laugh and then began to arrange the boards in a strange way: six of them were holding together a larger square board.

"This is the team" said her mother, "The pieces hold a whole: a goal. What if one of them is missing?

Saying so, she quickly removed one of the pieces with her tail, the board fell down and the other pieces fell down.

"The team falls apart: the goal falls" explained her mother, "In a team each member is important. You, my dear girl, are the brain of the team, the part that gives wisdom to others. Don't feel bad, but you shouldn't brag about it either, got it?"

Aurora felt better as she said, "Yes, Mom. I understand"

(End of Flashback)

Aurora woke up feeling a soft but cold breeze go through her interior: it was not like the sense of touch in her scales, it was beyond... as if it was born of her own will. It was time to see how badass she could prove to be. Making the most of her strength, she stood up as she said:

"It's true, I'm a bit conceited with others. But I'm also important to the group: each one of us is. And now I'm going to try it."

Compared to others, the mana aura she radiated was light blue-white and there was an incalculable coldness around her. She was ready to expel the maximum wind chill from her.

"Storm-Aurora!"

A large storm of ice and freezing wind emanated from her mana released from her, causing a huge explosion that left a rather chilly breeze in the air. When she finished, in the place where her reflection was now was a huge glacier of hard ice.

(Drago PoV)

Drago coughed: all his efforts to throw more fire to defeat his reflection were useless because it attacked him just the same and he didn't have much energy left.

"I told you," the reflection of him repeated, "you can't beat me if you have that human part inside you. It makes you weak and one day you will succumb to its darkness…"

Drago didn't want to keep listening, but those words echoed in his mind.

(Flashback)

Drago was looking at the stars of the dragon constellation.

"Aren't you sleeping yet, Drago?" asked his father approaching him.

"No, I can't sleep dad..."

"Heh, the same thing happened to me when I saw this night sky my first times…"

There was a minute of silence until Drago said:

"Dad, I still don't understand. If Aurora and I are your children, we will have a…"

"Portion of human inside? Yes, it is very possible"

"And how will I know if some of the human darkness takes hold of me?"

"As with humans, it is within each one to choose between good and evil, that is, between light and darkness. In your case and that of your sister, I know that they will never succumb to the darkness, since their dragon part would never allow it"

"How are you so sure of that?"

Jhonny put a paw on his son's head.

"Being a parent means trusting your children," he said, "Aurora gets her name from the northern lights, which shine different colors on the coldest nights. And yours, from the dragon constellation that illuminates the darkest night. You are a fire dragon, and that fire can illuminate like a torch that guides your companions back to the light…"

(End of flashback)

Drago felt his blood running rapidly, it warmed every sore muscle in his body and made him recover movement. Making use of his new strength, he stood up without realizing that around him, a small circle of fire was forming and growing every time he breathed.

"I will no longer fear the human part in me" Drago said raising his voice, "I know I have it, but if humans decide between darkness and light, I choose the light because my dragon part is fire, an element of the light"

Drago hit the ground, causing the fire that was created to spread and turn the place into an oven. His reflection was still unfazed.

"This is for my family," he said, "Blazing-Dragon!"

The expelled fire created the huge dragon that roared and pounced on the impostor, burning everything in its path. Then came the great explosion of heat that was felt throughout the entire network of caves. When it finished, the heat produced had left a thick layer of steam that cleared up after a minute.

Drago almost didn't believe it... it was the first time he used that technique. In the past, he had tried, but even if he never got away with it, the exhaustion was extreme. None of his senses seemed exhausted and neither did his mind.

"Could it be...?" he wondered himself.

But just when he wanted to know if that was the supposed mind spread or mana essence, the steam cleared out of an exit that had opened up in front of him.