Welcome back to Ashes of Midnight. Last time, the entire team converged upon the Temple of Chthon to stop Malefor. Upon entering, he revealed his plan was apparently to kill Chthon, and that was Lilith's plan too. That seems weirdly... philanthropic... for Malefor. There's got to be something more to this. But it seems to do that, he needed to give Chthon a host. Ideally this would've been The Hunter, but since he's possessing Cynder, it ended up being her. Chthon then bound four of the team to altars, while Lilith, who had been stabbed with the Gottmorder dagger, managed to bring back Spyro, Blade, Ghost Rider, Nico Minoru, and Magik to try and save Cynder. But will they be successful? Read on to hopefully discover...
(The scene is set in a moment of crisis. Cynder has been possessed by Chthon and is about to strike at Spyro and the original four Midnight Sons. But in that moment, Spyro tries to plead with Cynder, who may or may not still be in there)
Spyro: Cynder, stop! You've got to fight this off!
Cynder: (In Chthon's voice) She can't hear you, Purple Dragon. She is mine now.
Spyro: (Just plain pissed off now) Cynder's already been through so much, I REFUSE to let her suffer any further, at your hands, OR ANYONE ELSE'S!
Nico Minoru: (Drawing her staff) Same goes for all of us!
Spyro: Midnight Sons, to battle!
(And now, the fight is on. And despite Chthon being an eldritch deity of unspeakable horrors, even he's no match for the Purple Dragon and his allies. Soon the beast is almost bested)
Cynder: (In Chthon's voice) Specks. Motes. You are no match for the last true god! Such hubris...
Spyro: Who said we needed to defeat you? (Summons Aether to his maw) I just needed to stall you.
(And with that, Spyro unleashes his signature Element, purifying Cynder once again, drawing her back out as she retakes control through various visions)
Magik: (In a vision) You're our leader.
Blade: (In a vision) We've got your back.
Nico Minoru: (In a vision) We're family.
Ghost Rider: (In a vision) And family means family.
Nico Minoru: (In a vision) You're a Midnight Son now. One of us.
(All of this, combined with Spyro's Aether is seemingly not enough to pull Cynder out of Chthon completely. But then, a strange series of events takes place. Malefor, who's been watching all of this unfold, grabs the Gottmorder dagger from Lilith's side, and as Cynder and Chthon start to separate, Malefor uses the dagger to stab Chthon.)
Malefor: BEGONE!
(It seems the Gottmorder dagger was enough to finish the separation, as Cynder falls separate from Chthon, seemingly destroying the eldritch monstrosity. And when everybody looks at this scene, everybody is stunned)
Nico Minoru: Wait, did that just happen? Did Malefor just help us?
(At this point, Cynder regains her mind and looks up, to see Malefor holding the Gottmorder dagger, with the rest of Chthon in it)
Cynder: Did... did you... save me?
Malefor: What father wouldn't?
Spyro: (Suspicious) I still don't believe this.
Lilith: And you're right to, Purple Dragon. It's a trick!
Malefor: Way to spoil everything, Lilith! But unfortunately for you, she's right! I just needed a little bit more time.
Spyro: (Looking behind him) And I see what he was waiting for! The Midnight Sun is here!
(And sure enough, the Midnight Sun arrives behind Malefor, now holding the Gottmorder dagger, containing the rest of Chthon.)
Cynder: (Getting back to her feet, and realizing it) I see what's going on now. You were trying to destroy Chthon alright, so you could take his place!
Malefor: About time you caught on.
(And now the altar is surrounded by a vortex of dark wind while Malefor laughs maniacally)
Malefor: And now, I take my place as the new god of this world!
(As the alignment of planets is completed, Malefor stabs himself with the Gottmorder dagger, absorbing all of Chthon's power into himself, throwing Cynder out of the vortex as he assumes Chthon's full power.)
Malefor: Now, I am truly everywhere! MALEFOR IS ALL!
(At this point, Cynder and Malefor are alone. Father and Daughter about to face each other down, as our tale ends for today)
And that looks like a good place to end for now. So, Cynder's free from Chthon, and now we know Malefor's true plan. He did want to kill Chthon, in order to take his place in godhood. And right now, he's successful, leaving Cynder alone to face him as he tastes omnipotence. Cynder's on her own this time. No Spyro, no Midnight Sons, no Avengers, nobody. It's just her and Malefor. The former puppet and the puppet master. Does she have any chance? Tune in next time to hopefully find out! Same time... same channel!