Welcome back to Ashes of Midnight. Last time, Cynder, Spyro, Scarlet Witch and the Midnight Sons arrived at Lilith's Tomb to stop her and Malefor from reassembling the Darkhold. But just as the dread book was nearly finished, Malefor decided to play his trump card, stealing Lilith's magic and swapping their places in their little merger, so now Malefor has the physical body and Lilith is the power up. But just as the heroes were bringing the house down on him, literally, Malefor revealed one secret he'd been holding all this time, he's Cynder's father. And Caretaker seemed to know about that as she told Cynder to get out of there. But back to the present. How's this little bombshell going to impact the story going forward? Read on to discover...

(Our scene resumes in The Abbey, as the sun shines brightly upon everyone as Spyro, Cynder, Scarlet Witch and the Midnight Sons arrive through a Limbo portal. But while the mood is overall celebratory, a dark cloud hangs over it, as Cynder is still grappling with all the information she just gathered at Lilith's Tomb, and that's when Caretaker enters the scene)

Caretaker: I'll admit, that was one unorthodox solution.

Ghost Rider: You can't say we didn't go out with a bang, though.

(This line seems to garner at least a chuckle from the team, but that's when Ghost Rider notices Cynder is still reeling)

Ghost Rider: Cynder? You okay?

Cynder: All this time... I've been battling my own father?

Blade: We have no way of knowing if that's true.

Scarlet Witch: Blade makes a valid point. Malefor could just have been saying that to get in your head.

Cynder: I have to be sure, Wanda.

Ghost Rider: Well, what're you going to do? It's not like there's a sample of Malefor's DNA anywhere that we can compare yours to.

Spyro: Eh... sorry to say Robbie, but there is.

Nico Minoru: What? Where?

Spyro: Every Dark Gem that exists.

Magik: How is that possible?

Cynder: The first of the Dark Gems was a normal Spirit Gem corrupted by a ritual using Malefor's blood. Every single one that's ever spawned is a cutting from that original. And the only fragment of the original left is housed at the Temple back home.

Caretaker: I can save you the trip. It's true.

Scarlet Witch: What?

Blade: You knew?

Caretaker: As much as I hate to admit it, yes. I knew.

Nico Minoru: So that's why you were hesitant to trust these two. You weren't worried that Spyro would turn out like Malefor, you were worried that Cynder would!

Caretaker: A fear I have not shed quite yet.

Cynder: And when exactly were you planning on telling me?

Caretaker: I had hoped I'd never have to.

Cynder: And here I thought there were no more secrets between us.

(And as Caretaker is about to reply our scene transitions back to Lilith's Tomb, where under the rubble, something is shifting. And soon enough, Fallen Hulk emerges from the rubble, as does Malefor, holding a finished Darkhold, which Malefor opens before Mount Wundagore, reciting his spell, and soon everybody back at the Abbey starts hearing it, and the mere sound of it almost gives both Spyro and Scarlet Witch a panic attack)

Malefor: REDITUS!

(Finishing the spell prompts a beam of green light to shoot out of Mount Wundagore, with several smaller portals opening up in the sky around it as armies of super powerful Lilin, now glowing in Malefor's signature violet descent from the beam, released from whatever hellscape they were trapped in, ready to do Malefor's bidding.)

Fallen Hulk: Beautiful...

(Back at the Abbey, Cynder is taking the brunt of the mystic whispers, almost falling from her feet)

Spyro: (Trying to prop her back up) What's wrong?

Cynder: Everything...

(And on that ominous note, as the screams of released Lilin fill the space on Mount Wundagore, our tale ends for today)

And that looks like a good place to end for today. And what a note to end on. The Darkhold is finished, and Malefor has just about finished what Lillith began, summoning Chthon. But why does he want this? And more notably, can things get any worse? Most likely, yes. But we'll talk about that later. So, what's going to happen now that Malefor is in his endgame? Tune in next time to start finding out! Same time... same channel!