Prologue

The ground and the walls around them shook and began to splinter as the two dragons landed in the center of the earth. The purple one looked around at the cracks spreading throughout the walls and bowed his head. The black one stepped forward.

"Spyro… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for everything I did." Spyro looked up to her.

"Don't be, Cynder. It wasn't your fault. It doesn't matter anymore." Cynder looked up as a harsh light began to shine through the cracks; the world was beginning to break apart.

"So this is it? This is the end?" she asked. Spyro hung his head.

"I- I don't know… I just don't know anymore." He stopped speaking as he felt a presence behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see the transparent image of Ignitus standing behind him.

"Spyro," the husky voice began. "When a dragon dies, he does not truly leave this world. He remains to give his power to nature, and provide hope for the future." With that, Ignitus spread his wings and disappeared in a flash of red light. Spyro turned to look at Cynder, but she was still staring at the crumbling chamber around them as if she hadn't seen Ignitus. Spyro lowered his head; he knew what Ignitus had meant.

"Cynder, I know what I have to do." He said, looking at her.

"Spyro, no. You don't have to do anything! Let's just go." She said, looking at him in concern.

"Go where, Cynder?" he replied. "The world is falling apart, but I think I can stop it." He hesitated. "I think I'm meant to." Cynder stared at him, then said,

"Then I'm with you." Spyro looked up in surprise.

"Cynder-."

"We've been through so much all ready, I'm not just going to leave you now." She said defiantly. Spyro closed his mouth, and nodded. He took a step forward and rose into the air. His body began to glow purple, brighter and brighter until Cynder had to turn away. Energy began to flow from his body into the shuddering ground beneath them. Winds began to whip through the chamber they were in, and Cynder had to shield herself with her wings. She looked out from behind one wing to see Spyro had turned into simply a purple mass of energy glowing violently in the center of the room.

"Spyro!" she yelled above the winds whipping her. There was a flash of light, and then she could see Spyro again, glowing within the mass of energy he was giving off.

"Cynder…" he said, and his voice rang as if hundreds of other voices were speaking beneath his. "This wasn't how things were supposed to be…" he said. He began to glow again.

"Spyro! I love you!" Cynder yelled, tears welling up in her eyes as the purple dragon began to become obscured from view again.

"I love you too… but this is how it must be." The whisper came from the glowing mass of energy. "Now go, go Cynder. Leave, now!" Spyro's voice was his own now as a high pitched keening filled the chamber and the winds intensified. The purple energy began glowing brighter until it burned white. "Go, and never forget me…" he yelled before a shock wave flew out from his body. As it hit Cynder, she felt herself begin to disappear. "I love you!" she yelled one last time, before she vanished. There was a jolt, and then she felt herself land on ground. Groaning, she stood up. Her eyes flashed open as she realized she wasn't with Spyro in the center of the world anymore. She looked around her to see that she was in a stone room. She realized that she was in the Dragon Temple, where their whole journey had begun.

"No, Spyro, hang on!" she whispered as she ran through the temple to the entrance. She ran through the archways out into the city outside. She looked up to see that the sky was glowing purple. Fiery chunks of the planet were hovering in the sky, but they were slowly being pulled back in by the purple energy. Then, a shockwave of white energy pulsed outward through the sky, and the sky returned to its normal tint. "Spyro…" she whispered, searching the sky for any hint of the purple dragon. Her neck began to glow then, and she looked down to see the snake pendant that had bound her to Spyro become visible. Cracks appeared in the shining green metal. Then, it crumbled, chunks of it falling to land at her feet; symbolizing the destruction of its partner. Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared at the broken snake. "Spyro… no…." she whispered before she fell to the ground, crying over the death of a hero.

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Ten Generations Later

Terrador looked up at the sound of scrabbling claws. Volteer, the Guardian of Electricity, was sliding to a stop at the entrance of his home.

"Terrador, come quickly! The eggs are hatching." He spouted. Terrador leaped forward. The new brood of dragon eggs was hatching, and it was his duty as a Guardian, the Guardian of Earth, to oversee it. He leaped out of the entrance of his home and took flight, with Volteer flying behind him. He flew over the buildings of Warfang, zeroing in on the Dragon Temple, where the eggs were being kept. He landed hard and skidded to a stop on his claws. He leaped into the temple to see the clump of eggs shaking and cracking. Volteer came in behind him and stepped forward to stand beside him. Terrador took his eyes off of the eggs to see who else was there. Cyril sat across the room from him, the third Guardian of Ice. And standing beside him was Cynder, the newest of the Four Guardians. She had risen recently to become a new Guardian, the Guardian of Wind. She had replaced Ignitus, the deceased Guardian of Fire. The tall black dragon took a step forward as the first egg broke apart. A blue baby dragon fell out of the shards of eggshell. He looked up with big eyes to stare at all the assembled. Cynder laughed at the child's gaze.

"He looks just like you, Cyril." She laughed. Cyril rolled his eyes.

"Of course. Just like me." He said dryly. The rest of the eggs began to splinter and the next few minutes were taken up by watching the new dragons be born. Until finally, only one egg was left unbroken. A purple one, spotted with lighter purple flecks, sat among the egg shards lying on the floor. The cracks running through it began to deepen as the dragon inside struggled to get out. Finally, the egg exploded and a purple dragon lay on the ground.

"A purple dragon? Why, we haven't had a purple dragon since-." Volteer started.

"Since Spyro died." Cynder finished, staring at the little chick. Silence prevailed upon the chamber as everyone stared at the little purple dragon lying on the ground. Terrador stared at his horns. Those horns seemed familiar. The curved yellow stumps…

"He… he has Malefor's horns…" he said slowly. He walked around to look at the dragon's side. Sure enough, there were the tell-tale stubs of spikes growing in on his forelegs. He looked up.

"A purple dragon bearing markings like Malefor's…? What does this mean?" he asked. Cynder hadn't taken her eyes off of the little dragon.

"It means that trouble is ahead." She said.