FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 18

HOW DARE YOU GET IN MY WAY! his own otherworldly rumbling voice roared deliriously inside his head

The one legged golem was totally indifferent to his mental conflict, just like all the other constructs were. The Keepers kept roaring almost indignantly as they forced their way through one another, the noise of stone scratching against stone was almost unbearable. The golems didn't care about such discomforts, their only goal was to get their massive hands on the what seemed dizzied black dragon. In any other situation the golems could already cherish their victory, in their own special kind of way.

But not today.

If the constructs would have any dose of intelligence or any perception talent they would see that the fallen black dragon's eyes weren't betraying any sort of panic or nudge of defeat. Quite the contrary, if the golems possessed any sense of logical thinking they would surely notice that the drake's white eyes were far from showing any kind of defeat. Truthfully it was difficult to discern any emotion from those eyes, yet if one would look hard enough he might eventually notice what the dragon callous soul was speaking.

I may be down, but I'll be coming up a winner.

Many rocky arms were risen in the air, the same amount of them was sent flying down. The black drake melted into the ground, leaving behind himself only a splotch of darkness which the golems relentlessly attacked. Their massive arms were moving up and down several times, their huge fists enlarging the already big hole in the ground with each slam.

The golems acted like they were bent up on shape, so desperately trying to accomplish the sole task they were created for, especially when the last group of enemies fled. In their befuddlement the constructs completely ignored the fact that the blob of shadow was constantly widening below their feet. First reaching the size of a puddle to eventually stretch to the dimensions of a small pool, a pool which caught in its shadow the feet of every striking golem.

Seconds later the extending darkness wasn't just a shadow but transformed into a magical, earthly collapsar. The golems let out their own rumbling roars as their bodies were sucked by the black hole, their arms extended vertically started to shake violently when their bodies were swallowed by the earth. They kept sinking and sinking until eventually they stopped almost in the middle of their chests, then the magical hole sealed itself shut.

All of the golems roared at the same time, fire shooting from their eyes and opened mouths as rocks, remnants of their bodies were hurled into the air when the collapsar closed itself with a sharp sound and flash of purple, like some kind of round guillotine, severing the golems bodies in half.

Dark Spyro appeared just in front of them.

His white eyes traveled past the stuck golems, behind the frozen heads and flailing rocky arms the drake spotted several more golems coming his way, those weren't so stupid to fall in his trap, or simply they were just lucky.

Unimportant.

The golems charged.

Seeing this the dark dragon used his levitate powers, every rock that once formed the bodies of the now stuck golems was lifted in the air just to be hurled at the incoming Keepers. The running constructs bodies were being shook to every side as the stones began to collide with them, not really hurting them but effectively slowing down their sprint.

He jumped onto the head of one of the trapped golems, the trapped construct roared furiously and extended its arms just to send them down with their palms opened, just like it tried to squash a mosquito. Before the hands reached him the drake jumped onto the head of another trapped golems, some tiny bits of rocks scraped his dark scales when they were launched from the golem as he forcefully slapped its head.

The Keeper on which he was standing on currently acted exactly the same, the dragon once more jumped out of the way of the incoming hands by landing on the head of another trapped golem. This time however the construct's own hands weren't the only thing that smashed into its idiotic globe. One of the sprinting constructs reached its destination and was ready to pound the dragon into the ground, not realizing or caring that he is standing on its companion head.

The heavy clenched fists connected with the protruding head, pushing the Keeper slightly deeper into the earth and muffling the trapped golem's roaring. The blow was so powerful that even the ground shook when stones shot from the struck head, creating quite a visible crack in it, the fiery essence was slipping through the tiny hole.

More golems joined the fray, their arms were already risen in the air, prepared to strike the dragon. Yet the dark drake was too fast for them, he was already on another head before the strikes reached him. This time the trapped golem didn't even have the time to unglue its own palms from its head when four more big fists struck. The powerful blows not only cracked the golem's head but also smashed to bits one of the fingers on its hand.

More golems joined the group.

There were so many of them that they completely surrounded their trapped companions and the dragon hopping around each protruding head. Currently the fists were falling down one after the other, he didn't have the time to stop even for a while, the drake constantly kept jumping from one head to the other. Fists and rocks were flying all around him.

Dark Spyro kept going in circles, making rounds on the golems heads, there was no sign of panic, nervousness or any other similar emotion that would wake up in every other living creature if surrounded by enemies who want to literally crush the life out of you. His moves were full of that specific coldness and indifference, not even a hint of joy was wrinkling his snout, even now when he was playing.

Because he was playing, he had the power to extinguish their artificial life with only one puff of his Convexity potential, but a nameless force was directing his moves. Nameless for him at least.

Chaos is known for being moody. Anger or hate, it was the same, just a simple notion to make things interesting. Just like sadism, it is just as essential part of the mix like anything else and the golems will have a taste of one of the pieces of this destructive mixture.

The seemingly unending roars flowing from the Keepers maws deafened practically every other sound, including the noises of rocky fists slamming onto stone and cracking pates. Dark Spyro didn't care, he kept on jumping, faster and faster, occasionally landing on the ground to confuse the golems and avoid the risk of being crushed. Such brakes didn't last long, he was hopping around again in a blink of an eye, making sure that the attacking statues won't miss.

Eventually even the Keeper's natural thick, solid stony armor gave up, especially when being hit repeatedly by the fists that were formed by the same sort of magic. The heads of the stuck golems cracked like eggs, yet no yolk came from the fissure. The magical fire that kept the golem intact gushed through the ruptures like lava from an erupting volcano.

The wizardly fire didn't bother the dark drake in the slightest, in fact it was a cue for him to end this sadistic charade. The moment he jumped onto one of the cracked heads he sank one of his paws into the hole, the boiling temperature didn't even make him flinch. For a tiny second he looked straight at the roaring flames, at his leg protruding from the fire, the lower part of his paw completely obscured by the dancing flames.

Pain.

The drake cocked his head, such a familiar sensation but also a trivial and unimportant one. He could feel his scales cracking under the pressure of this boiling heat. Why feel pain when you can avoid it completely? And if you really want to feel it you can reach for it deliberately, like putting your paw into roaring magical flames for example. However there is no need for that, pain is unimportant, it can be avoided and ended whenever he wants.

Dark Spyro opened his mouth, a stream of Convexity energy shot from his mouth straight into the blazing hole in the golem's head. The construct's muffled roaring ended momentarily, it's risen arms dropped numbly at both sides of its trapped body, the magical fire died instantly, like a flame on a candle when you blow on it. The pain was gone, only that stinging discomfort remained.

I can't believe in you any longer, I am stronger, stronger than you.

The dragon jumped from the now cold and still head, just in time to dodge another set of fists coming his way. This time the blows went straight to the ground, shattering the lifeless cracked statue that was once one of the powerful golems to pieces.

In a display of flying cold, black rocks Dark Spyro landed on another head. From this moment forth everything went quickly, the moment his paws touched the rocky pate a beam of purple energy was instantly sent into the gaping, fiery hole. The stuck Keeper went cold in seconds, when the heavy arms of its companions turned it to shards he was already on another stony head.

Once more the drake began making circles around the protruding statues, every touch of draconic paws with magical rock ended with a purple flash. The gleam announced the shift in magical properties, or roughly theft of it to be precise, and the black rock was the target.

Golem after golem was being robbed of its fiery essence and one by one and every victim of this plunder was turned into pieces by the ones who followed the same orders, were designed to do the same thing, and most importantly weren't your enemies.

Without cruelty there is no festival.

Eventually nothing then rocky shards remained of the once trapped golems, as he jumped from the last head the drake landed directly in the middle of the circle. Keepers surrounded him from every side and in front of their massive feet laid the remains of their companions.

A job well done.

All at once the golems roared, roars that would inspire fear or nervousness even in the most fearsome of warriors. Yet the drake remained completely calm, in fact he answer the golems by lifting himself vertically up in the air and embracing his body with his wings.

And then he forcefully pushed them open. A surge of dark energy discharged from his body.

The roars ended abruptly.

The golems froze in the position they currently adopted. Some were standing completely still, some had their legs risen, preparing to make a stride while other were already after a step or two, yet all of them had their mouths opened. Fire was crackling from the slits on their rocky armor, a fire which light was slowly becoming more dimmer and dimmer until at last it extinguished completely. If somebody would look at the Keepers now for the very first time nobody would ever believe that this creatures walked once and were a threat. Now they looked like ordinary lifeless statues, their eye sockets empty and filled up with cold, empty stone.

Then came another gust of dark energy.

With it came the blatant end of the golems, their ashy remains were scattered like dust on the wind. Dark Spyro landed silently on the ground, his wings opened fully, displaying an intimidating shimmer of darkness before he neatly folded them on his back. He observed the twisting spirals of ash being carried by the wind, when they finally disappeared from his sight he took a good look around. He was surrounded by complete emptiness.

Silence.

What now?

What is my purpose?

The drake just stood there, completely still like one of the statues he just turned to dust. His white eyes were staring ahead, at one invisible point like it was some sort of a keyhole behind which unimaginable secrets were hidden.

Silence.

Something at the back of his mind kept thrashing around, bouncing like a ball held in an empty, closed glass jar. Every now and then touching that single nerve, triggering some flashes of recognition. Yet these glints were so brief, almost unnoticeable that it was hard to concentrate on them.

The drake raked his claws along the grass, parts of his muscles wanted to move...

Go where?

...however many more of them weren't reacting to his confusing thoughts and impulses.

Where's my drive?

The ball kept on bouncing off the walls of his brain. His white eyes constantly focused on that sole invisible keyhole. As he stared ahead flickering shadowy movements invaded his sight, they were hardly noticeable, blurry and smudgy like a mirage. The additional vision was like a background for the real world, wherever his eyes were stuck they could still see the trees, sky, everything that belonged to the real world, yet they were entirely focused on the moving shapes.

The smudges were forming shapes, rough and mostly deformed, yet there was no denying the fact that those smudges were forming draconic shapes.

The ball kept on bouncing.

He couldn't figure out what those images mean, every now and then he saw some silvery, sharp streaks piercing the blurred, colorful shapes. Whenever they cut through them the muzzy pictures dispersed...like...like dust in the wind.

The ball kept on bouncing.

Familiar. Why does it feel familiar?

The shapes began to shift chaotically, each flicker of new images...

Or constantly the same?

...was announced by a sharp stream of gleaming crimson. They blurry shapes kept on flashing, and the longer the drake observed them he was with each passing second more and more uninterested in them. They felt familiar, those silvery streaks felt familiar but they were unimportant. The keyhole showed him everything it could, he needs to find the door it belongs to.

The ball kept on bouncing.

The images kept shifting and shifting across his unmoving white eyes, they were appearing and fading faster with each passing moment. One didn't disappear fully and another took its place, eventually there was hard to see anything besides the streams of many different colors sprayed shambolically like paint from a thrown bucket. However there was something else among that colorful mess, a barely noticeable pulse of a black stain appeared whenever the images dispersed.

The drake thrust his claws into the earth.

Is this my drive?

The ball began to vibrate.

Something about that black dot was interesting, he didn't know what exactly, but it was definitely important. The longer he concentrated on that black spot the more it became clear for him that it's responsible for this emptiness.

Don't forget about me.

He couldn't gather his thoughts, they were swirling inside his head just as chaotically as the images were flashing before his eyes. Among all this mess was that black spot, it was twisting, twirling, extending in places and shrinking in others as if trying to form a shape, a silhouette that stood out from all the rest.

No matter what you do.

The most familiar of all of them, given time he will find the meaning behind this, he HAS to.

NEEDS to.

" Bro!" from the side came a wavering, scared and throttled shout

The black dragon's claws withdrew from the earth with one quick jerk.

An ominous glimmer ran across Dark Spyro's white eyes as he turned his head in the direction of the noise. A yellowish, glowing dragonfly was huddled to one of the crumbled walls of the ruins.

" HOW DARE YOU GET IN MY WAY!" a blood freezing, otherworldly and chaotically cruel blare came out from the dragon's throat

Then a purple ball of Convexity energy formed itself inside his maw.

*

" SHIT!" Sparx let out a squeaky, girly yelp as he pushed sharply towards the ground

Above him his hiding spot that was once a protruding part of some small wall vaporized completely when the purple laser passed through it.

The dragonfly gasped and clenched one of his hands on his chest as if wanting to clutch his heart in it " Hope nobody heard this"

He swallowed and instantly pressed his back to the debris that was scattered all around the earth, some pieces were bigger, some smaller but all of them were big enough to hide his little form. With one of his hands covering his mouth he began to slowly raise along the surface of his stony hiding place, making sure to keep his wings as close to his body as to avoid betraying his position by the natural sparkling and glow of a dragonfly.

As he moved upwards he also began to lean to his right side, eventually stopping just at the edge of the rough rock, one more delicate jerk and his shinning blue eye will be free to take a peek. With his lips muttering a silent cuss he pushed his eye free from the obstacle.

His blue eye sparkled as it widened in surprise. The drake was nowhere to be seen.

" Shit" Sparx muttered through clenched teeth, his voice barely resembling a whisper, he slid back along the surface the way he came.

The dragonfly pressed his back to the stone and made some quick shallow breaths, his heart was racing and beads of sweat started to cover his forehead. It became way too hot for him.

He swallowed " You can do this, you are fast and that's only your brother with weight issues. Nothing to worry about" he swallowed again, his saliva had a bitter taste " Nothing to worry about, nothing to worry about..."

He tried to move, but at first every part of his body didn't listen, his body only jerked slightly just to return to the same position. As if his limbs were clutching to some pole like in cartoons with all the strength in their non- existing hands. With a shake of his head he imagined those hands being stretched as he pulled to finally unglue his body from the pole, they stretched and stretched. Seconds passed and only the upper side of the palms were holding the pole, then only fingers, then only two and eventually, with one final pop the hands were defeated.

He got to the other edge of his hiding place very roughly and uncoordinated like a ship rocked at sea. His eyes shot wide open, his hands grabbed the sharp edge of the stone with all their might, he didn't care about the stinging pain as long as he can keep his body mostly obscured.

He couldn't.

Sparx squeaked through clenched teeth when his body shot past the hiding place, with the eye of his imagination he saw someone placing his hand on his forehead with a loud slap in disbelief. The dragonfly also cursed his stupidity and cowardice, idiots die in an idiotic way. Sooner or later it had to happen. In this final moments it's better to look straight into your nemesis eyes, have some pride and that's what's his going to do.

But his nemesis wasn't there.

With a pulse of relief and complete terror shooting through his whole body Sparx immediately darted towards the nearby rubble and buried himself within it, like a child hides under the safety of his own bed's sheets.

The dragonfly bit his forefinger nervously " Where the hell is he?" he muttered under his breath

He began to move along the debris, keeping his body well hidden behind the stones and all kind of other mess. As he moved along the walls with his back practically pressed to the rough surfaces like a trained assassin he couldn't shake off the feeling that it's just too good to be true. How could Dark Spyro loose him? There was absolutely no chance he didn't see him covering here.

Maybe he was lucky?

That spot from where he was observing his brother, preparing the perfect plan on how to lure him vaporized completely, leaving nothing but dust, streams of Convexity energy and falling rocks behind. Simple mess.

That's right.

He's safe, the dragon obviously lost him. With the havoc that purple beam created and his body being so small he looked like one of the glowing stones shooting all around the place as they were heated by the devastating energy. So simple.

Then why he's feeling more nervous by the minute?

As Sparx moved along the debris he convinced himself, or tried to, that this is only fright speaking through him. No matter what he thought about, forcefully trying to calm his racing heart he couldn't stop his eyes from darting from side to side. They were seeking something, they were looking for a pair of white eyes, eyes that were currently watching him.

The dragonfly shook his head " Nothing to worry about. You're hidden, you're hidden Sparx" he kept on whispering but no matter what he said it only made things worse, the tone in his voice made him extremely jumpy

" You're scared...normal thing in this situation....calm down and everything will be fine...."

Calm down.

Calm down.

" I can smell your fear"

At the sound of that voice which seemed to be coming from the Dark Realms themselves Sparx screamed at the top of his lungs, a scream that didn't sound like the shout of a larded with testosterone male but more like a bleat of a castrated ram.

Driven by impulse the dragonfly shot from the wall like a hurled rock from a sling, just in time in fact to avoid sets of silvery claws thrusting into the stone, a stone to which his pierced head would be impaled if he didn't move when he did.

When he turned this head towards the direction of the shooting rocks the squeaky bleat coming out from his throat only intensified when he laid his eyes on the dark dragon who was withdrawing his claws from the rock. The black drake momentarily hunkered down by pressing his paws on the edges of the sharp, devastated wall and leapt forward, towards the dragonfly, his maw widely opened, brandishing sets of hungry dagger like teeth.

The squealing cry reached such a high tone that it would put soprano singers to shame. Sparx swiftly dashed to the side, the sound of clamping draconic teeth vibrated inside his skull as he pushed forward, his glowing wings throwing tiny colorful sparks chaotically into the air.

He quickly looked behind his shoulder, expecting the dragon's breath on his nose or at least see him preparing another Convexity breath. Yet the drake did no such thing, when the dragonfly aimed his terrified eyes at him the dragon was already hovering above the ground, his body straightened in a perfect vertical pose.

Sparx whined when he realized what is about to happen, his head momentarily turned to the front and when it did his heart skipped a beat. The overwhelming panic that overcame him when the drake wanted to make a snack out of him pushed his body in the wrong direction. At this side there were no ruins, no debris or anything similar he could use as cover, just an open space at the end of which a forest awaited.

He swiftly jerked his body to the opposite side, once more directing himself towards the ruins. He blinked hoping that what he is seeing is only a delusion of his frightened mind, but no, he wasn't imagining things. The ruins were just far away.

Too far away.

Time seemed to slow down for him, his head impulsively started to turn itself, slowly, each turn accompanied by the audible crack of bones like a knock of a clock's hand moving around the dial. Eventually his head stopped moving, his saucer like eyes focused on the black dragon, black dragon who had his ominous dark wings opened fully, a black dragon who pushed his wings down.

Yet something had changed.

The drake's wings stopped just a moment before they embraced his body fully, a murderous snarl appeared on Dark Spyro's snout. His wings began to shake, waver from one side to the other, opening and closing just like someone would be pushing them open while someone else at the same time fought to close them. The struggle lasted for maybe five seconds, then the wings opened fully once more.

The roar that came out from the dragon's throat was nothing like any other blare Sparx heard before. It was a roar full of hate, joy, pain, desperation and who knows what else, the blare vibrated with two tones, just like two completely different dragons would be roaring at the same time, from the same throat. Sparx' heart almost jumped out from his chest at the sound of it, he wasn't so scared in his whole life.

Then the wings went down sharply, covering the drake's body, ring of dark energy shot from the hovering dragon.

The struggle Dark Spyro was going through bought Sparx enough time to reach one of the crumbled walls of the ruined building. He quickly dashed behind it and pressed his body to the cold surface, as if trying to make his body even smaller than it already is. The wall shook slightly, parts of the now collapsed ring passed at the both sides of his hiding place, Sparx observed the flying energy for a while.

" Too close" he mumbled to himself, his lips were dry and his throat was sore

He pressed his palms to the wall and pushed away from it, he rose above the wall's whole length and aimed his sapphire eyes at the black drake. Dark Spyro didn't seem to remember, or simply care about him, his head was directed at the ground, as if he was praying silently.

The dragonfly scanned the surroundings, a glimmer of hope flared up his heart when he spotted that the entrance to the room where all this crap started wasn't that much far away, thanks to whoever made that big ass hole in the wall.

Well of course in any other circumstances this wouldn't be much of a problem, you would barely notice the distance. However a bloodthirsty, overweight dragon that wants to tear you a new one changes perspective drastically.

Sparx sighed, now or never like they say, hopefully Cynder knows what she is doing. Chances are high after all, she just slurred deliriously before she fainted.

The dragonfly threw his arms up as far as they would go.

" BRO!"

Dark Spyro's white eyes narrowed on the glowing, yellowish shape immediately.

*

A purple beam cut through the air, heading towards the sky as if wanting to vaporize the clouds.

" HOW DARE YOU GET IN MY WAY!" the black drake roared into the ground. Dust, rocks and bits of grass shot in every direction as if escaping from his breath.

The black drake fueled another powerful blare, his claws began to slash at the ground fiercely, brownish dark earth was hurled in the air in streams like blood from a gutted pig. The dragon kept on hitting the ground as if it was his mortal enemy and to make sure it won't ever get up again, he will rip it to pieces.

BRO!

That single shout quavered inside his mind, he found his purpose and suddenly everything became clear. He knew what to do, why he is here and who truly is getting in his way. The drake raised his white eyes and aimed them at the hovering dragonfly.

He froze for a while.

Something didn't add up, the dragonfly started to flash before his eyes, as if he was like some sort of ghost. When his form was solid the drake knew that this is his obstacle, rubbish that needs to be removed for him to accomplish what he was meant to do.

What is that exactly?

Unimportant. Obstacle is an obstacle.

Dark Spyro roared furiously and threw himself after the dragonfly, his mouth parted, a purple shimmer started to glow from inside his throat. It's time for some cleaning.

The yellow figure blinked, faded like darkness in the morning.

The purple laser once more shot in completely different direction, the drake began to roar almost painfully, deafening the rumbling sounds of crumbling walls as the misguided Convexity energy cut through whatever wall or stone it found on its way. Then he forcefully jerked his body to the side, colliding powerfully with a wall as a result, the impact was so powerful that visible cracks appeared on the rough, stony surface.

The dragon never stopped roaring, even when he pushed away from the wall and hurled himself at the other. He acted like a bull in a rodeo with a nuisance sitting on its back that it wants to throw off at all costs. Yet this one just didn't want to give up.

BRO!

Brother, my brother, my dear, dear brother.

Not my enemy, my enemy, not an obstacle, not an obstacle.

My brother.

The dragonfly was no longer indifferent for the drake, only thinking about him, filled him with...with...he couldn't find a name for it. It was powerful, like a magical barrier that shocked him whenever he tried to cross it. Impassable, and he was glad for it.

" HOW DARE YOU GET IN MY WAY!" Dark Spyro let out another blare, the shadows shook chaotically, just like they were alive, out of reach but at the same time as a part of a world that is just past the invisible thin veil to another realm.

He dashed after the blinking image of the dragonfly, it kept slipping from his vision, every such fade caused his wings to slow down their movements. Hesitating, they were hesitating. The drake growled, forcing his way through the power that was trying to hold him back.

I won't hurt my brother.

The dragon roared, tongues of shadow shot from his claws as if they were their dark extensions. He began to swipe with his paws chaotically, the shadowy flames on his left paw touched a wall, their magical heat cut right through the middle of the thick stone, severing the wall in half. The upper part of the rocky structure slammed into the lower piece, rocks and dust was hurled in every direction as the stones connected with each other with a loud rumbling, grinding noise.

The force of the impact shook the upper part of the wall, yanking it forward as if was shoved by an invisible hand. The structure toppled down and exploded into pieces when it hit the ground, rocks and some bigger parts of the wall shot in every direction.

The dragonfly flew into that hole in the wall. He'll catch him soon enough.

A piece of the wall hit the drake's rump, making him waver in the air.

ANOTHER OBSTACLE!

Dark Spyro spread his wings widely and roared at the top of his lungs into the sky. Clouds seemed to scatter in panic while the shadows cast by the sun shrunk considerably, as if preparing to jump. As his wings went down and his roar ended the shadows extended themselves, growing way beyond the size the sun's rays could provide. They covered the ground below the drake and every surrounding part of the ruins, stealing colors and where they could even life.

Then walls of darkness shot from the shadows, raising above the ruins and began to intertwine with each other. Their shadowy surfaces kept on sliding, like some sort of an unending rolling, dark carpet, the constantly moving shadows joined with each other, forming a sphere of what seemed slippery surface. The perfect, dark ball went sharply down and once more turned into the unnaturally long shadows, which seconds later shrunk to their normal size.

Everything lasted for like five seconds.

However when everything returned to normal the dark dragon was nowhere to be seen, the grass was also gone, only barren land remained. The shadows around the place, now in their perfect size wavered slightly, if there would be anyone who could see this he would swear that the shadows acted strange, there were no trees around which would explain their movements. Not only they acted strange but also looked strange, on closer inspection that observatory would swear that the shadows looked like they were...munching.

Another invisible wave of dark, magical energy wafted throughout the ruins.

A dark ball of fast sliding shadows like the body of a boa wrapping itself around its unfortunate victim appeared near the opening the dragonfly flew into. The shadowy vines kept on getting bigger and bigger until they eventually reached the size of a young drake. Then the dark tendrils vanished, and with their last slide they formed the body of Dark Spyro.

The dragon touched the ground and without even listening to the rumbling inside his chaotic mind he quickly stepped into the opening. His eyes momentarily located the dragonfly hovering above the debris in the corner where the stones were covered with quite a big amount of recently dried blood. The dragon heard the dragonfly's shallow breathing, noticed the uncontrollable shaking of his body, smelled his terror.

With a cold glare aimed at the irritating obstacle that backed away slightly with each step he made forward. There is no escaping now.

Then a sudden familiar scent invaded his nostrils. The dragon froze in place.

Blood.

No ordinary blood.

Don't forget about me.

His gaze traveled towards the blood covered rubble. He took another sniff, a deep one. The dragon wanted to roar when the disgustingly familiar scent burned strongly every nerve inside his nose but just couldn't do it.

Pain.

Not that of flesh, stronger, more vile. The dragon's paw went towards his dark chest, his claws sinking inside his scales as he clutched this part of his body fiercely. The rest of the claws making sharp, screeching noises as they slid across the marble floor, not even the blood dripping from the wounds on his chest could deafen the sound.

Heartbreaking.

" Bro" a gentle wavering voice called him from what seemed to be very far away.

He raised his eyes at the dragonfly, a snarl wrinkled his dark snout but no growl rumbled inside his throat.

That pain!

Overwhelming.

He heard the dragonfly gulping.

" I'm...going to show you something ok?" Sparx muttered

The dragonfly didn't respond, he just watched him quietly, yet there was something strongly piercing within his gaze that made the dragonfly shiver.

Good.

You're my brother, you don't have to be afraid of me Sparx.

Bad!

" Ok" the dragonfly sighed with a slump of his shoulders, this wasn't helping at all.

My brother's name is Sparx.

The dragonfly moved slowly towards the bloody rubble, his blue eyes fixed on the black drake constantly.

No!

Dark Spyro jerked his body as if preparing to pounce, Sparx yelped in horror and clutched his chest as if trying to keep his heart from shooting through his ribcage.

The drake remained in place.

The dragonfly exhaled deeply " Someone tell me why I'm doing this again?" he mumbled under his breath and once more began to move slowly towards the place where he covered Cynder

" I'm not going to do anything rash alright?" to get his point through he raised his arms defensively in the air, his eyes never leaving the dark dragon

Sparx could feel the weight of his white eyes on him and it was quite a burden to bare. His eyes darted towards the covered for a split second just to return to the more dangerous point of interest.

" So close" he muttered inwardly.

" You really need to see this" Sparx said once again, he was surprised to hear the rough tone in his voice, it felt like his throat shriveled completely

KILL IT!

No!

Protect him!

NO!

The dragonfly touched the first small branch, his whole arm tensed when he grabbed the wooden twig with his hand as if bolt of electricity paralyzed his every muscle. He stared at the dragon, judging if his white eyes are allowing him to proceed. He had absolutely no idea what his eyes are betraying, if they are betraying anything in the first place, however the drake didn't throw himself at him yet so it's a good sign.

It has to be a good sign, he doesn't have much options.

Sparx bit his lip and gently raised the branch, revealing a part of feminine black scales and then moved his arm towards his body, clutching the twig so strongly just like his whole life depended on it. Ironically it just may be the truth.

Dark Spyro lost interest in the dragonfly, his whole attention was focused on the revealed spot. His white eyes widened, showing the first sign of any emotion for a very long time.

Black dot.

He wanted to run, but the claws on his paws, even on the bloody one which was now on the ground thrust deeply into the cracks of the marble floor, holding him in place like some sort of anchors.

Wavering courage filled Sparx heart as he noticed the drake's reaction, for the very first time he could sense his brother in that dark husk. He was fighting and the only way to help him win this battle is to show him the one who he most cares about, the one that clueless idiot loves the most.

Love can move mountains as they say so it has to be strong enough to overcome the thirst for vengeance or whatever other creepy thing that sits inside that skull.

He dropped the branch and without wasting any more time began to work on the rest of the illusionary cover.

" It's about Cynder..." Sparx said as he threw away another rock

Cynder.

CYNDER.

"...she's hurt and needs your help bro" the dragonfly put away another piece of this pitiful cover. As he observed the dragon while he was working there was no denying the fact that this was working. Is it for better or for worse? That needs to be seen.

As he removed another rock Sparx' eyes darted towards the lying dragoness " Please be alive" he heard his own pleading voice inside his head. As he reached for another rock he watched her closely, watching for any sign of movement, he just couldn't see anything. Was her chest moving? Or maybe because of all this fear his mind imagines that she's nothing more than a corpse now.

If she was breathing he didn't see this, if there wasn't a bloodthirsty dragon standing on the other side of the room he would check. He wanted and needed to check her vital signs, his racing heart and cold sweat running down his whole body demanded it. Yet he didn't do it, the drake is allowing him to uncover her, he had no idea how he would react if he tried anything else.

The black drake observed the slowly uncovered feminine body sprawled on the rocks, he knew it was...

Cynder

...some part of him wanted to be as close to her as possible. To support her.

MY DRIVE!

Another rock dropped on the ground. There was so much blood, they have spilled it, they have spilled it. Dragons, they have to die, all of them.

They ran away.

GIVE CHASE!

This time a branch fell down revealing one of her silver horns, small droplets of clotted blood dotted it.

The dragon's claws still bearing the stains of his blood dug into his chest once more, fitting perfectly into the previously made puncture wounds but going deeper than before.

Pain.

It was both irritating and unwanted, yet also partially desirable. The dragon, the dark part of his didn't know how to deal with it, it wanted to attack, punish the ones who caused all of this. However the dark part also had to acknowledge the presence of another, it could no longer deny or simply keep away the one who naturally inhabits this husk. What really made the dark part angry was that it could no longer fight it with the usual strength, and the power it was putting into the struggle now was receding very quickly.

The light side of the drake had no intentions in pursuing the ones responsible, because the one dragon responsible for all of this things is currently watching her. For this part of the dragon nothing else mattered now but her, whatever occurred in the last hours was of no value.

Spyro.

He understood suddenly, that he is her support, just like she is his, he realized that her suffering has an impact on him, a strong one at that, her well-being in general has an impact on him. He was pulled towards her, one single sentence ringing inside his head, shackling him like a slave. Resounding with the mixed voices of him and her, like they would be speaking at the same time.

I'm always here for you.

" Cynder" Spyro muttered with a voice wavering with pain and hardly contained agitation.

He darted towards her momentarily, ignoring the stinging ache running through his gold scales on his chest while also paying no mind to Sparx terrified yell as his brother shot towards the wall like he was flicked by an invisible finger.

Spyro reached her in seconds, he instantly began to shake off every bit of rock and branch of her, revealing her head sprawled on the cold rocks with her left paw stuck below her jaw. She would look cute if not for the grime glued to her head, a combination of dust and blood.

It didn't prevent Spyro from nuzzling her affectionately.

" Cynder" her name came as a whisper, a chant spoken with such a reverence that it would put even the most ardent priests to shame.

With his forehead gently pressed to her head he felt her shallow breaths coming from her nose on his snout. At that time nothing else felt so divine. He could swear that he sensed honey sweetening the painful beats of his heart.

" Bro!" Sparx exclaimed while spreading his arms wide open indignantly " About time you got rid of that creepy stare!"

Spyro didn't answer, he just looked at his brother with the corners of his eyes without even moving his forehead from Cynder's head. No words were needed for the dragonfly, he understood the hint and the shimmering tears of apology welling up in the drake's orbs perfectly.

The dragon closed his eyes, giving himself away freely to the warmth of her body and choking on her shallow breaths.

" Cynder" Spyro whispered her name again, as if he was muttering some kind of prayer

He licked her nose fondly and threw himself into the shackling whirl again as he silently prayed for her well-being with his forehead still tightly pressed to hers.

" Do it again"

Spyro's head jerked back at the sound of the barely hearable, familiar, coarse mutter. His wide eyed stare was aimed at her snout. He noticed her smiling weakly and squinting her right eye, the lively and beautiful shine of her emerald eye was leaking through her barely opened eyelid like a sharp glow from that crystal cave in the dark tunnels of Munitions Forge.

" Oh no" Sparx whined " She's awake" he sighed " There goes some quiet time"

Cynder giggled weakly and began to shift her body with hardly quenched groans.

" Don't move" Spyro said sternly

The dragoness stubbornly continued to shift.

Spyro leaned closer and her nose once more received the blissful touch of his tongue followed by an even gentler kiss to the forehead.

" Ok" Cynder purred

Sparx winced " Bro seriously give it a break, this day sucks already, don't make it even more disgusting"

The dragon nuzzled his friend again " Forgive me" he whispered and withdrew his head, seeing a pair of shimmering green eyes watching him with affection. He turned towards his brother.

" Both of you"

The dragonfly waved his hand dismissively " If I had a nickel for every time you tried to kill me"

" There's nothing to forgive" Cynder commented " This wasn't you"

Spyro lowered his head, however not before he threw her a quick unconvinced glance " Don't-"

" This wasn't you" she repeated more austere this time

He shook his head " You shouldn't have lured me here Sparx"

Sparx pointed an incriminating finger at the lying dragoness " That was her idea!"

Cynder rolled her eyes " It doesn't take much for you to sell me out"

The purple dragon's focus shifted towards his friend, his amethyst eyes glowed with pain and blinking images of a disastrous outcome " What were you thinking?"

" Why the long face? It worked, didn't it?"

" I couldn't control myself, I don't know how I would live with myself if I hurt you"

She reached for him with her left paw, she wouldn't be able to hold it in the air for long, but Spyro caught her leg into his. When that happened Cynder grabbed his paw as tightly as she could, using all of her pitiful strength.

" I knew you wouldn't do it"

" It always took some convincing to help me shake him off, you took a risk. If something like this happens again I don't want you to put your life on the line"

She shook her head slightly " I wasn't risking anything. You are stronger than him and I just knew you would win the struggle"

" How?"

Cynder shrugged with a smile " You only lose when you stop believing"

" Look on the bright side Dude" Sparx chimed in " You whacked all the golems"

Spyro didn't seem to feel even a bit happier about this.

The dragoness squeezed his paw more fiercely " Sparx' right. The way to the portal is clear"

The purple dragon gulped and aimed his gaze on the ground " First we're going to find you some gems" he muttered half-heartedly

" No, there's no time. The worst is over, the sight of you, the normal you, is invigorating, I couldn't ask for a better medicine. Go, I'll be alright"

Spyro's eyes darted towards the rubble at his left side, he acknowledged in horror that there is no way to stall this moment " I can't go in there" he mumbled, if his voice could bleed it would be dead by now

Cynder's eyes shimmered with worry, she knew, from experience, that no matter what she says he would still blame himself for this " Think about all those people you can save"

A worthless advice and he knew it.

He stared at the debris like into an unending, dark pit, knowing that his goal lies behind it, but first he will have to face the horrors which live within its black maw. And unfortunately there is no turning back from this.

He sighed and placed her paw gently on the rocks " Get better" he patted her foreleg lovingly and moved towards the rubble, slowly like a loving child who is moving out of his parent's home to push through life on his own.

Cynder observed her friend with tears of pity filling her eyes, if there was a way she could make this journey easier for him...her eyes shifted towards the dragonfly meaningfully.

Sparx jerked back and cleared his throat as if struck by bolt of enlightenment " Bro wait up!" he dashed to his brother's side " You thought you'll take all the fame for yourself, huh?"

Spyro nodded gratefully.

When the dragon proceeded with his eyes aimed on the floor he felt like the rubble ended and the moment he wanted to pass through it his body was forcefully pushed back as if the last rock was like a point of focus for an invisible force field.

However there was no outer, magical or any other force holding him back but his own fear which contracted his every muscle. His conscience boiled within him, sending warning signals that when he will make that one small step, which felt more like a stride, he won't be the same ever again.

The stench of blood and decomposing flesh was heavy in the air.

He couldn't raise his gaze.

Sparx appeared in front of his eyes, his sudden arrival didn't even make the drake flinch.

" Listen Dude, keep your nose to the ground and follow my glow. I'll lead you where you need to go, just like in the old times yeah?"

Spyro nodded quickly several times.

The natural sparks of a dragonfly bounced at the edge of his vision, the drake's eyes traveled across the floor until they caught a glimpse of the rock that acted like the edge of the invisible barrier. He swallowed and raised his paw, observing it moving slowly beyond the border inch by inch, it then hovered above the floor.

He wanted to place it on the floor, tried to act like this is only just a simple step, one of many he already made and will make in the future but it just wouldn't want to budge. His paw kept trembling in the air, just like the floor was magnetized and his paw was charged with the same electric charge as the cracked marble tiles. The force kept pushing his leg away but Spyro, sweating like a pig pressed it down, just like before it didn't want to move, or moved slightly just to be pushed back up again.

The dragon closed his eyes, took a deep breath, tensed his muscles and pushed his leg down with all his might. When his claws clicked on the floor and his scaly paw made a soft slap a cold shiver ran through his whole body, making his tail tense in the air like a board.

A horrendous stench of blood and rot invaded his nostrils, the smell was so strong, empowered by the images and taste of ripped flesh, it was nauseating. His legs began to wobble, his eyes automatically opened themselves not able to comprehend what was happening. The floor underneath was a blurry, whirling mess, he couldn't get his eyes off of it, but at the same time the longer he stared at it the worse he felt.

He felt sick and It didn't take long for him to reach his limit.

Spyro quickly spun to the side, exactly in the direction of the magical rock and threw up.

Sparx covered his mouth, quenching the gag that ravaged his stomach at the sight of the barf " Oh boy" he mumbled through his fingers " That SERIOUSLY didn't belong in you"

" Spyro?"

" I'm alright!" the purple dragon exclaimed raspingly after hearing Cynder's worried shout " Rest!" he spat on the ground and urged his brother to continue with some febrile waves of his paw before he aimed his gaze on the floor and quickly followed the yellowish sparks.

" I don't know man" Sparx whined from ahead " You sure you're up for this?"

" It was your idea to put me on a leash"

" This is not-"

" I know" Spyro cut his brother off and spat on the ground once more " Sorry. I just want this to be over as fast as possible"

" Don't have to tell me twice"

After this they sped up considerably, yet it didn't mean that they reached their goal faster. Spyro recalled, or more likely sensed, that the portal was some distance in front of them. They would reach it in a matter of seconds if they moved in a straight line.

But they didn't.

Sparx was leading him in a very circular fashion, practically through every part of the room. Trying as best as he could to spare him the sight of the gore.

Yet this tactic wasn't always so helpful.

Sometimes there was no other choice but to move close to the bodies. Whenever that happened Spyro squinted his eyes, yet even then he could see blood and sometimes bits of flesh at the edge of his vision.

To make things worse, he could SMELL it. The stench was overpowering, Spyro as best as he could held back another puke, with success, but each struggle always ended with him coughing and gagging abhorrently. Truthfully it wasn't the stench and the sight of blood that made him sick, but the overwhelming feelings of shame and guilt.

And he had a lot to answer for.

There were only two dragons here that fell by his paw, he remembered every detail of those massacres perfectly, in fact he could still feel their blood on his claws. However they were far back by now, as long as he doesn't turn around their cold eyes can't curse and accuse him.

What have I done?

It wasn't so simple with all the rest of the corpses.

He didn't kill them, the golems made sure that they won't get up ever again. However the things he did with their remains could easily compete with horrendous murder in cold blood.

After the ceiling went down Keepers poured into the room, there was just so many of them so to even the odds, or more precisely make the battle more interesting since the constructs were nothing more than rubble the moment their massive feet touched the floor, he abused the sprawled corpses.

The whole dead village was piled in this room on top of each other like trash. And for him they were just that- trash. The Keepers didn't rely only on their shockwaves, the closer ones, which couldn't catch him decided to crush him by hurling some rocks, both small and big.

This is where his levitate powers got into action.

He used the corpses as literal meat shields against the smaller rocks, now when he remembers the disgusting wet sounds as the stones pierced the flesh his stomach turns around and he can hear the agonizing and hateful wails of the deceased.

The bigger stones received a different kind of treatment.

Whenever he spotted one of those boulders flying he slammed a body into it. Huge bodies of the adult dragons empowered by the levitate power had no troubles breaking through the rock, yet the sounds that bounced off the walls after such each strike were just... indescribable. However every bone and flesh has its limits, after some time practically nothing remained from the bones and muscles but skin like a torn sheet of paper.

The bodies of the adult dragons weren't the only former inhabitants of Boven. As the barrage of stones continued he used every corpse his power could get their invisible hands on, children including. Their frail figures weren't capable of withstanding such an impact. The noise, it was even more horrible than the sight of exploding flesh, gushing blood and flying pieces of bones. There are no words that can truly describe this noise, it was like rotten meat splaying on the street after being thrown from a window.

And he heard in that moment many such disgusting smacks. Whenever he thought about it an image of a cheetah's child appeared before his eyes, half of his head was missing when the body accidently bumped into some flying stone. He especially remembered the bloody, meaty, cracked brain hanging from the hole in the child's head.

I'm going to throw up again.

The smacking sounds, the crushing of bodies went on and on until no more corpses were present at the previously huge pile. There was just no end to his cruelty.

Currently they were scattered all around the room like old toys and just like old toys many of their limbs were missing.

The worst thing was that Spyro remembered every single face and snout, their dead glares flashing before his eyes like a flickering light in a dying candle. Only a glimpse of a claw here or a finger there was enough for him to tell to whom it belonged to. He just couldn't shake off the images from his head.

" Here we are"

Sparx voice pushed the tormenting horrific flashes into the background.

" You've got any idea what to do with this?"

Spyro raised his eyes, for a moment he forgot about everything that happened, his attention was fully drawn by the portal. The Veil was different than the one in Munitions Forge, the first difference that really stood out was the lack of any itch or paralyzing tremors that were constantly ravaging his body when he got close enough to the portal in the Manwersmall's domain.

He could barely feel the thing in fact, instead of an irritating crawling sensation just like a bug would be running down and up your body. What he felt now had nothing to do with that, he would compare this sensation to a soft breeze in the field, obstructed constantly by someone walking back and forth in front of his nose.

Not only the Veil felt different, it also looked different. The portal in Munitions Forge resembled a hovering gas, if you got close enough to it you could see the swirling images of another world, like through a closed window which's glass was constantly flushed by water. This portal was nothing more than a bluish big slit in the air, looking almost like a zipper. Not very intimidating.

Spyro extended his paw towards the Veil " Only one way to find out"

He bit his lip anxiously, back in Munitions Forge he was under pressure, but here this portal was barely opened, probably, nothing from the other side will see him tinkering with it. If he concentrates long enough perhaps he will be able to expand the hole slightly to take a peek and then shut it for good. A perfect plan if not for this one little detail, he had no idea how to do this.

His paw was almost there.

Time to improvise.

The dragon thrust his paw into the slit...

...and it went straight through like there was nothing there.

Spyro's eyes widened as he watched his leg extended past the portal, it didn't disappear or anything, it was whole, normal, not even the bluish delicate light could be seen on his scales.

Sparx swallowed " Dude?"

The dragon moved his leg up and down, back and forth, withdrew and thrust it again several times.

" Dude?"

Spyro dropped his paw on the ground with a half-hearted sigh " Something's wrong"

" You lost your mojo?"

He tried to pierce the Veil again, but this time didn't let his paw go through, he focused with his leg stuck in the middle of the portal, the bluish light slightly illuminating his purple scales.

An itch!

Or perhaps he wanted something to happen that his mind just projected the feeling?

" I don't know" the drake sighed once more

Sparx pressed his palms together in front of his mouth " Ok, let's get some facts straight" he narrowed his eyes on the portal with his arms folded across his chest " We can already say that some holes are bigger than the others, right?"

Spyro shrugged " I guess"

The dragonfly nodded " You had no troubles sensing the smaller ones, like the one in the forest, even without any clue what was happening"

" Yeah"

" The Rat's hole in the ground. That thing which threw all those bugs was small too, and you sensed it too like all the rest"

" it wasn't exactly the same, but yeah I could feel it"

" And now what? We're standing in front of the biggest portal ever, just look at the size of this thing, if it opened it could...well it already spat like hundreds of those statues. And you don't feel a thing! Dick Spyro stole your powers or something?"

Spyro scratched the back of his head " I don't think so, he never did before. This is a portal from which Flare came through, maybe that gem of his is the only thing that can power it"

" Aren't you forgetting about something man? Those things somehow got through and Flare wasn't around"

The dragon winced, silently cursing his stupidity " Right. So either something triggered it accidently and it sucked every creature that was close to it on our side, or there is someone on the other side who knows how to manipulate those things"

Sparx' eyes widened in horror " So if those things can be controlled we got another problem..."

" Iris has the same crystal" Spyro added and narrowed his eyes on the portal " If those things can be controlled there has to be a reason why I can feel them. I could manipulate the smaller one, this one is big, I just might not be strong enough to do it"

" So what now?" the dragonfly whined

" I need practice, until I won't figure out how to close those things we might have more than the remnants of Dark Army on our hands. Warfang's gonna need its army"

Sparx' shoulders slumped down " We're so screwed"

Spyro nodded in silent agreement,

Given enough time maybe he will eventually learn how to affect those things. Given enough time Warfang will mobilize soldiers that would defend the Realms against incoming threats. Given enough time he will perhaps forget about the horrors he has wrought that still bang at the back of his mind no matter how he tries to focus on something else. Given enough time people will forget Cynder and realize that they all are fighting on the same side. Given enough time Brill and any other guy similar to him will put his grudges aside and focus on what's truly important. Given enough time...

Spyro looked at the bluish thin line, its delicate light creating gentle slits on his amethyst orbs " Hey Time, you're no friend of mine"

End of Book III