Chapter Text
“Cynder.”
The black dragoness groaned as she opened her eyes. It was dark in the room, but a soft golden lamp shone dimly above her as an ice dragon stood beside her bed, shaking her awake. She jumped in fright, her mind still not accustomed to her new companions and her new home. She fought to keep her yelp in, and took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.
“Oh, Second. It’s only you,” Cynder sighed.
“Don’t worry, it takes a while to get used to this place,” Second chuckled lightheartedly. “You’ll get used to it eventually.”
“I mean I sure hope so, considering I have the rest of eternity to get used to it. Anyway, why are you waking me up? I feel like I’ve barely slept.”
“First is expecting you in the Lookout. It’s already five past five; you’re late.”
“For?”
“You wanted to meet up with Cynder 10952403, did you not?”
That made Cynder jump up out of her bed, her eyes immediately filling with life and energy. “Oh, that’s right, I forgot we were doing that!” Cynder exclaimed, turning to run out of the door, only to pause a few pawsteps away from the door. “Uhhh, where’s the Lookout?”
“That’s part of the reason why I figured I’d come get you; we haven’t really taught you the layout of this place,” Second replied. “Basically, the Lookout is the place where you first woke up here in.”
“Oh, that room with the big massive window with the view of all the universes?”
“Precisely. Now let’s go before we keep First waiting any longer. I’ll take you there; follow me.”
With that, Second led Cynder out of her room, down the hallway, and into the Library. Cynder looked around, noticing the room was much darker than it had been when she had first been shown around. Small lamps emitting soft golden light also hung from the ceiling like in her room, just barely giving the room enough light so they could see where they were going.
“The lights in the Sanctum are dynamic with the time that First crafted inside here,” Second explained, noticing as Cynder stared at the lamps. “During the day the ceilings illuminate with a strong energy, allowing the entire Sanctum to be lit up as if it was day. During the evening hours, they dim slightly to darken the environment a bit but keep enough light that we can still do what we need to do, whether it be work, reading, or personal activities. During the night once we’re asleep, The lights turn off entirely and only the lamps remain illuminated.”
“First made all of that? That’s… very advanced. I don’t even think doing a thing like that is possible back at home; we just have big powerful lanterns that we have to manually light and put out,” Cynder murmured.
“First had a lot of freedom here when he made the Sanctum. I don’t know how he found out about it, but as you saw when he created your room, he has a type of void magic that allows him to create things out of thin air, like the Sanctum, and he has quite a lot of control over how the Sanctum works. Him being a lightning dragon helps with the lights thing too.”
“So… he can basically create whatever he wants?”
“As long as it’s part of the infrastructure, fittings, furniture, and inner workings of the Sanctum, he can. There are limitations. He can’t create living dragons, for example. He tried, multiple times, before I came here, and there was nothing he could do to give himself company.”
“That’s… so lonely. I know I had a lonely life, but… for however millions of years he’s been here? I can’t imagine that.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty awful. I know he seems pretty emotionless and uncaring, but I think he really does appreciate having us here. At least he’s got someone to talk to,” Second explained. “Anyway, we’re here now.”
Cynder suddenly realised that they had made their way all the way over to the door to the Lookout during their conversation. She hadn’t even been paying attention to how long they had been walking for.
Second then turned and opened the door for Cynder, letting her walk through, before entering himself. In the middle of the Lookout, one of the podiums was turned on, a bright burgundy light emanating from some of the etchings made in the bronze. On top of the podium was a ring of burgundy light that shone softly upwards, the beam of light being made visible through the mist particles that were coming out of the podium.
In front of the podium stood First, who was standing in front of the podium with his bronze gauntlets glowing a soft burgundy. His eyes glowed the same colour. A holographic panel hovered in front of him, almost looking like a spectral burgundy scroll with glowing writing on it. As Cynder got closer, she could see the things written on it: ‘Universe: 10952403, Target: Cynder, Visit Type: Voidscape, Warden: Third’
I guess I’m already known as Third in the system, Cynder thought. Ancestors, that’s going to take a while to get used to.
She’d never truly thought about the concept of taking another name before. It wasn’t a title or nickname, but an actual proper name. By the end of today, ‘Cynder’ would be no more, instead replaced by Third.
First beckoned her over beside him, to which she obeyed. Walking over to his side, she swallowed the nervous lump in her throat. “Good morning,” First said. “A little late, but luckily not by much. You ready to go meet Cynder 10952403?”
“I… I think so,” Cynder replied.
“You’re either ready or you’re not.”
“I… okay. I’m ready, then.”
“Great. Take this.”
Cynder looked down as First reached out, handing her an item. She held out her paw and First dropped the item into her hold. She blinked when she saw what it was: a cyan crystal, similar to the one that First had spoken to Second through when she had first met them.
“A communication crystal?” Cynder asked.
“That way you can let us know when you’re done so we can bring you back,” First explained. “Normally I would get you to do it yourself, but we haven’t taught you the ins and outs of how the voidscape truly works and how to navigate your way through it, as well as knowing the void signature of the Sanctum, so we’ll have to pull you back.”
“Oh. Okay, sure thing.”
“Think of it like that necklace you wore every time you entered the voidscape on your own when you were still living in the mortal realm. It’s your way out. Just… don’t smash it.”
“It’s alright, I won’t.”
“Great. While you’re not using it, put it in this pouch similar to ours,” First said, before Second walked up to them and handed a waist pouch for Cynder.
Second helped her put it on, and then she put the crystal inside the pouch. Once she was sure there was nothing else that First or Second had to give her, she made her way to the podium. She hesitated as she stood in front of it, taking a deep breath before stepping up onto it.
“Alright, let us know when you’re done. And good luck,” Second said.
“I will. Thanks for doing this for me,” Cynder replied.
With that, First’s gauntlets flashed with a blinding light, and for a moment, all Cynder could see was white. Then her vision cleared, and she was in the voidscape. It was almost like her second home back when she was alive: the invisible floor, the black expanse of nothingness, the faint flashes of colour that she now realised were other universes, it was all second nature to her now.
It was strange being here again. It was familiar and comforting, knowing she spent so much time here, but it was also very haunting, knowing this was the place that killed her. She had no clue what to think about the voidscape anymore.
Suddenly, she saw a very familiar shape step out of the darkness and into her vision. It almost made her cry when she saw it: pristine grey scales, pale lilac horns and chest scales, and striking teal eyes. Cynder noticed that the pure Cynder was a bit older than the last time she had seen her, appearing to be in her early twenties. Strange, not much time has passed in her world, Cynder thought.
The other Cynder faltered when she saw her. “Oh ancestors, tell me this is a dream, please,” she murmured.
“It’s not. It’s… it’s nice to see you again,” Cynder replied.
“Again? Wait, were you one of the Cynders I met four years ago?”
“Yes. Yes, I am. Although… I guess time flows differently in our universes. When we saw each other… it would have been eighty years ago.”
“Eighty? That’s… a very long time. Which one were you?”
“I was the nine-year-old in chains who also went to the voidscape.”
“Oh wow. I… I’m sorry, I’m a bit… disoriented, being here again. I never thought I would come back here, and I especially never thought I’d see one of the Cynders I already met again.”
“It’s alright, I know it’s a lot to be in here again. I remember I struggled when you came to meet me in the voidscape all those years ago, with that being the second time I was ever here. And then the third time I entered, many years later, was also pretty rough, but… I got over it pretty quickly.”
The pure Cynder raised an eyebrow. “Third time? As in not this time?” she asked.
“Correct. I lost track of how many times I’ve been there; definitely well over ten, maybe twenty thousand,” Cynder explained, looking down at her paws awkwardly.
“Wait, did I just hear you right? You said thousand, right?”
“Yes I did.”
“I… what? How? Why?”
“I wanted to see you again,” Cynder explained. “After I saw you eighty years ago, I had very mixed feelings. I was angry that I went through so many alternate Cynders trying to find a pure one like you, only to get caught, chained up, and then I was contacted by you. For a while, I felt like the universe was mocking me. But at the same time, I felt hope.
“That pure Cynder that I was searching for did exist. It was only long after the fact, once Spyro freed me from being the Terror of the Skies, that I felt that hope. I was one step closer to true freedom. The war still raged on and Malefor was at large, but I was no longer his puppet. I could think for myself and do what I wanted. I knew I could have what you had, and it felt close. I held onto that throughout the rest of the war, and it’s what kept me going.
“I don’t know what I would have done had I not seen you that night. I don’t know what I would have felt like when I was freed from Malefor’s control, because those feelings were awful. The pain, the guilt, the shame… the hatred that I felt towards myself… it’s something I would never wish on anyone. But thinking back to you helped me come back out of that every time I felt that way. I thought of how you were so optimistic, so innocent, so… so free. I wanted that. It made me not want to put an end to myself some nights. It made me want to keep going so I could experience that.”
“I… I really did all that for you?” the pure Cynder breathed, shaking her head with disbelief. “But… we argued for most of that interaction. I was a mess, having found out that all the other Cynders were awfully treated and traumatised by the dragon that is my loving grandfather in my universe. How did you see all of that in me that night?”
“Because you were pure. You knew who you were, and who your grandfather was. You were happy and lived an enjoyable, free life, where you could be who you wanted to be. I may have only been the third Cynder you met that night, but I know you had pieced together the pattern across every other Cynder’s life, and I could see it in your eyes that you wanted none of that. You wanted to carve your own path and not be weighed down by the destiny that each of us were forced to follow.”
“I… yeah, I guess that’s right. That next day was really hard for me, waking up after all that and realising that I still had to be around my grandfather. I wasn’t ready to face him yet, not after everything I had just learned. I isolated myself from him, both at home and school; I even spent the night at my… then-girlfriend’s house to stay away from him. I also had a nightmare about the Dark Master, and that made me truly realise the severity of the horrors that all of you were experiencing. Ember made me talk to my grandfather, which was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. He luckily wasn’t too harsh on me and was willing to give me space. It took a few weeks but eventually I found myself not terrified of him anymore. I was comfortable around him again.”
Cynder smiled. “That’s good to hear; for the last few years I was starting to think I had ruined your relationship with your grandfather by some of the things I said,” she said.
“It wouldn’t have just been you. Trust me, I saw much worse things after you,” pure Cynder explained. “I have never seen so much blood in my life; I saw a Cynder who was a slave and was so torn apart, her scales looked red with how much blood was pouring from her wounds. One of the other Cynder’s was still evil in the voidscape, and she tried to convince me to join her in darkness, and when I refused, she tried to kill me.
“I… also never saw another pure Cynder. I gave up after seven Cynders; it was all too much for me. I was just glad that the last Cynder I saw was… much nicer towards me. She still went through all of the awful things you did, but she was in her thirties, free from Malefor, married to Spyro, and with kids. She was having a brilliant life, despite the trauma that still followed her. She said some really nice things to me that helped me realise that even though the Cynders all have tragic childhoods, their adulthood is much nicer to them; she also had been to the voidscape before. Did that happen with you? You know, having a good life and getting married after the war finished?”
“Unfortunately… not really,” Cynder admitted sadly, looking away from pure Cynder briefly, shame washing over her as she thought about her past life. “I had some great times, don’t get me wrong; school was great, and I got into a wonderful relationship and marriage with Spyro, but… long story short, I grew overly obsessed with the voidscape. Not only was I coming here to find you, but I also wanted to extend hope to the other Cynders doing it rough. I gave up everything to do that. I became so obsessed with it that it got in the way of my marriage, of my entire life. Spyro left me, and… I pretty much lived the rest of my life alone and basically addicted to the voidscape.”
“Oh…” pure Cynder murmured, not expecting to hear another sad story come from her.
“This has nothing to do with ‘destiny’ or the key events that the multiverse has in store for us; this was entirely my decision. Please don’t feel disheartened by that. It was a dumb decision, but I made it,” Cynder assured her. “It was dumb enough that it killed me; spending so much time in the voidscape shortened my lifespan, and… well…”
“You’re dead now. Aren’t you?”
Cynder just nodded silently. She watched as the pure Cynder squirmed uncomfortably as she sat in front of her. Cynder didn’t blame her for being uncomfortable. It was one thing to meet another version of yourself, but another thing to meet a version of yourself that was deceased, particularly one who had passed so early in life.
“I… I don’t know what to say,” pure Cynder stammered.
“Don’t. There’s nothing to say,” Cynder replied. “What’s done is done, and I’m… slowly starting to come to terms of what I did to myself.”
“So… how are you here now, if you’re dead?”
“Have you heard of the Time Wardens? That is… if there’s any knowledge of them in your universe?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“So… think of them like the Chronicler, but for the multiverse.”
“Wait, the Chronicler’s real?”
“Yeah, he is. I forgot that the rest of your universe is so vastly different; you guys would have never come into contact with the Chronicler before,” Cynder murmured, scratching her head. “Anyway, the Time Wardens have a somewhat similar job as the Chronicler: they take records of all the major events in each universe, and also protect each universe if any harm comes to it. At least, that’s what I understand of their role so far. There’s two of them so far, and… well, due to my connection to the multiverse, I think I’m destined to be the third one.”
“Wait, really? That’s… that’s a big job. How did that happen?”
“Due to my time in the voidscape, interacting with over six million different universes, the Time Wardens believe that my soul became more connected with the multiverse than my own universe, so when I died, I woke up in the Sanctum, which is where the Time Wardens live, outside of any universe. After our meeting, I’m actually supposed to get properly initiated as a Time Warden today.”
“You nervous?”
“Yeah, quite a lot, actually. It’s a big responsibility, and it… it also requires me to put aside my old identity. Once I become a Time Warden, I will forgo my identity as Cynder, and become Third—the other Time Wardens are named First and Second.”
The pure Cynder just blinked. “That’s… a lot to take in,” she said.
“Yeah, tell me about it,” Cynder chuckled nervously.
“Well… I wish you the best for it… Third.”
“Hey, I’m not initiated yet! I’m still technically Cynder.”
“Well, see it as a way to get used to the name. Besides, it’s still weird calling you me. Even though… I guess you are me. I don’t know, even after all the research I’ve done on the multiverse with Volteer, it’s still a strange concept to think about, let alone have it all right in front of you.”
“I guess so.”
An awkward silence overtook them. Pure Cynder still seemed very uncomfortable and out of her element, even though she had already had a decent enough experience with the voidscape. However, when Cynder thought about it more, it made sense that pure Cynder was still apprehensive of the voidscape, considering this was only her second time here.
On the other hand, Cynder had made over twenty thousand trips here, visiting around three hundred or so universes each trip, which had sent her visiting six million different universes, each with a different Cynder. She had spent most of her life interacting with other versions of Cynder; she had gotten very familiar with the concept of other versions of herself, as well as the environment of the voidscape.
Cynder was starting to realise that this experience, while a much better one than the last, was still an overwhelming one for pure Cynder. She watched as pure Cynder looked around her surroundings, swallowing nervously as she wrapped her tail around herself.
“So,” Cynder started, breaking through the silence and making the pure Cynder jump slightly, “would you be able to tell me a bit about yourself? What’s going on for you at the moment? I… realised I never really knew much about you, mainly since I spent so much time telling you about my awful childhood and the ‘destiny of Malefor and Cynder’ the last time we met.”
“Are you sure? It’s… nothing too interesting,” the pure Cynder said nervously.
“Absolutely. I never truly got to hear how good your universe is. I’d love to hear how life is for you, and what you’re getting up to. It’s only fair since I gave you most of my life story as well.”
“I… sure. Well, I turned twenty-one last week, and I’m currently working as a waitress at a cafe,” the pure Cynder explained. “I also occasionally help Volteer with research, particularly involving the multiverse, which is something I do enjoy quite a bit. I know I seem awkward and uncomfortable right now, but it’s just… a lot to be in here again. The multiverse concept really does interest me, but until now I forgot just how real the ‘concept’ really was. I’m also married to my wonderful wife, Ember. She’s, uhhh…”
“Let me guess, beautiful pink scales, striking blue eyes?” Cynder asked.
“Yes. Y-y-yes, absolutely. How did you know?”
“In my universe, Spyro married her a few years after he and I split. He described her to me the exact same way.”
“Spyro’s with her?” pure Cynder coughed, before blinking and shaking her head. “Anyway, yeah. Ember’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life. She’s incredible in every way, and I would trade anything for her. Proposing to her was the scariest thing I’ve ever done, mind you, but ancestors it was worth it.”
“How long have you two been married for?”
“About eight months now. We’re still pretty fresh to our marriage but we’re absolutely loving it. I’ve never wanted anything more than this. Everything about her is incredible. Uh…”
Cynder watched as the pure Cynder’s pale cheeks started to flush with a bright blush. She let out a small giggle, having a pretty good idea what was happening in her mind. At the sound of Cynder’s giggle, the younger, freshly married Cynder turned away awkwardly.
“Sorry, I… my thoughts went… elsewhere,” pure Cynder stammered.
“She must be great in every way going off that reaction,” Cynder teased her alternate self.
“Y-y-yeah…”
“It’s alright. I remember I was the same with Spyro. Took a few days to come to the realisation that all that had just happened. So, yeah I understand where you’re at.”
“Anyway,” pure Cynder said quickly, wanting to move on from the awkward subject she had brought up, “all that aside, the marriage is going well, and we’re both happy. Her parents and my grandfather have also been very supportive of us, which has been great as well.”
“Well, that’s really good to hear things are going well for you. It’s good to see a world completely untouched by the darkness that plagued mine and ruined countless lives,” Cynder said with a sad smile. “I’m really happy for you. I have been for many decades now. For the longest time I was worried you had the lasting impression that I hated you or was jealous of you, and that’s not the impression I wanted to leave you with. I guess that’s one of the other reasons I wanted to see you again.
“I may have been jealous of you when we first met eighty years ago, but as time went on, I grew to realise that it was just better to be happy for you, especially once I was seeing just how many Cynders out there were more like me than you. It became increasingly more apparent to me how rare your situation is the more Cynders I visited, and I’ve only just recently been given the exact numbers of how little of you there are.”
“How many?” the pure Cynder asked, raising a curious eyebrow.
“Out of around twelve million universes that contain Cynder, only approximately two thousand have a world untouched by the Dark Master and the Terror of the Skies.”
“Wow. Ancestors, that’s… that’s not a lot at all. It’s no surprise that you didn’t find a pure Cynder after one and a half thousand universes, let alone the total six million that you visited in your lifetime. And to think I wanted to find a Cynder like me as well. There was next to no chance of that happening,” pure Cynder said with a sad chuckle. “Gives me all the more reason to be glad I gave up after seven.”
“You could have ended up like me if you really did try. Of course, I don’t know which ones you would have seen, so you might have potentially seen one if you saw the other six million Cynders that I didn’t see. But the problem is, if you had done that, you would have lost yourself in that addiction like I did, and you’d probably also be dead before you turned one hundred.”
“Yeah, you’re right about that. I don’t know, I can’t even imagine what that feels like, passing away so soon in your life, to something that all came down to your own decision to keep going. I’m… really sorry.”
“Don’t be. Again, it was my choice to keep visiting the voidscape. It’s sad knowing I threw away my entire life like that, but… y’know now that I think about it, maybe it is a blessing that I get to be a Time Warden. It feels like… a second chance at purpose. I have an actual role, a reason to be here. Maybe I can make up for all those years lost with this new role.”
“Well, I wish you luck with all that, Third,” the pure Cynder said, her smile now a lot warmer and brighter. “I’m rooting for you.”
Cynder smiled back at the pale grey dragoness before her, knowing that the conversation was nearing its end and that it would be time to return to the Sanctum very shortly. She took in the site before her of the young, pure version of herself sitting in front of her. As it had been eighty years ago, it was weird to stare at a version of herself that was far from being like her… a version of herself completely untouched by Malefor’s darkness, particularly after seeing over six million Cynders affected by the same darkness that she had.
Her smile back to the pure Cynder was still sad, but at the same time, filled with hope and gratitude. The pure Cynder nodded at her, as if to say ‘go back, you’ll be okay’.
With a sigh, Cynder reached into the pouch hanging from her waist, and pulled out the glowing cyan communication crystal. She raised it to her mouth, hesitating, before she spoke into it. “Alright, First. I’m done here,” she said.
“Great. Severing the connection. See you soon,” First responded from the other side of the crystal.
Cynder gave one last look at her alternate self, before the world around her went white. When her vision returned to normal, she was back in the Sanctum, standing in front of First and Second. The burgundy glow in First’s eyes and gauntlets had faded, the magic in them dissipating to a dormant state once more.
As Cynder looked around, she noticed the Lookout was still just as dimly lit as it had been earlier, still signifying how early it was. She looked at the clock hanging above the door to the room, and noticed it was still only half past five. Today was going to be a long day.
“Alright, follow me,” First then said, before whirling around and making his way towards the door.
Cynder blinked. She knew her initiation was today, but it seemed like First wanted to do it right now. It felt way too early to do this, but Cynder also thought that the earlier they got it done, the better. It also meant the less time she spent getting attached to her former name and life in the Sanctum.
Actually, that’s probably why First’s rushing this, Cynder thought to himself. I mean, it seemed like he wanted to do this yesterday; it was Second’s suggestion to wait until today.
Realising she’d gotten lost in her surprise, she broke into a small jog to catch back up to First. Her and Second both followed behind First as he led them down through the Library, going past the small room with the couches and their bedroom hallway.
As they walked, Cynder started to wonder what the initiation would be like, what it would require her to do beyond throwing away her old life, what it would feel like getting the Time Wardens’ magic. As her mind went to her past life, she suddenly began to grow nervous. She wasn’t ready to forget. While she had a lot of bad memories, she had a decent amount of good as well. She wanted to remember those.
“Nervous?” Second asked from beside her.
Cynder looked towards him with wide eyes, not expecting him to start a conversation with her. She cleared her throat, trying to figure out what to say. “Um… a little bit,” Cynder murmured.
“It’s alright. I was too. To be fair, with me, it was the first time that First had actually done this, with passing on his magic and all that. He spent centuries discovering it and unlocking it. With this process, he just passes it onto us so we can help him. There are some things he doesn’t pass on, leaving some things and things only he can do, kind of like a boss at a job.”
“It’s… not really that I’m worried about. I just… I’m scared to forget. I know you said it’s a gradual process, but… how attached is too attached?”
“Any attachment is too attached,” First grumbled ahead of them, overhearing their conversation.
“Ignore him,” Second snapped. “Like I’ve said, it’s taken me millennia to get to the point I’m at. Even though I think letting go of the tethers to your past life is helpful and necessary to be able to do this job well, I think having some memory helps keep you sane and… compassionate. Holding onto the memories of my wife and my youngest twins… it makes me want to look out for others, like you. I feel compassion for those in other worlds.”
“Compassion just gets in the way,” First interrupted again.
“Only if you let it. I’ve been fine with it, haven’t I?”
“Hmph, perhaps,” First huffed.
“Anyway, as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, having some sort of memory of my past life and the dragons closest to me helped me keep my sanity and compassion, and it also keeps it strong in my mind that I’m not just some otherworldly spirit or deity now that I’ve become detached from my world and am now looking over millions of other universes. I know that I used to live in one of those many million universes. It helps my drive to protect them.”
Second wrapped a comforting wing around Cynder as they walked. Cynder stiffened under his gentle wing, but appreciated the action nonetheless. He looked over towards him, giving him a small smile back as she saw him smiling at her.
“Yes, most of your memories will fade in due time. But what you do with your memories is up to you, particularly the ones you keep,” Second suggested. “Be wise with them, and only keep the very important ones that will help keep you going. If you want to be like First and forget everything, be my guest. Contrary to what First thinks, there’s no right or wrong way to go about the memories of your past life.”
“Why are you talking about me like I’m not here?” First growled.
“First, you need to hear this,” Second deadpanned.
“You’ve told me a million times before. I still think you’re wrong about that.”
“And you’re entitled to have that opinion. I’m entitled to have mine. Cynder’s entitled to have hers. Please try not to push yours onto her; we’re not you. All of us being different will be what makes us a better team. Now, I’m not disagreeing with you that forgetting things is good, it’s definitely been beneficial for me to forget most of my life, but those few small important things are things that I also feel is beneficial for me to keep . I just ask that whatever Cynder decides to do with her memories in the next hundred, thousand, ten-thousand years, plus… that you respect her decision.”
First turned behind him to look at Cynder. He gazed at her with narrowed eyes for a few moments, before he huffed again and turned his head back around to watch where he was going.
Nothing more was said, and Cynder wasn’t sure if First was agreeing to Second’s request or not. She swallowed nervously as she thought on the dynamic of what working here was going to be like. It was still a bit soon to make any proper judgements, but she was liking Second a lot more than First. First might have the knowledge and power and magic needed to properly run all this, and even to start it all, but he lacked the empathy and compassion that Second had.
Cynder had no idea what the future would look like, but she just hoped that if she ever found herself in an emotional moment that she was in Second’s company, and not First’s. She didn’t trust First with anything to do with emotions.
After another minute or two of walking, they finally made it to the other end of the Library, where there was a door similar to the Lookout’s door in the wall. When First opened it, Cynder had to squeeze her eyes shut as light suddenly burst through from the room on the other side. She followed First into the room, and her eyes slowly began to adjust.
The room was large and circular, decorated with the same bronze and gold tiling that the rest of the Sanctum had. They entered the room on a wide balcony that stretched around the entire circumference of the room, another door on the opposite end of the room. In front of the doors on each end of the circular balcony was a staircase that descended onto the lower level of the room, where there was a large gold ring sitting in the middle of it.
Inside the ring was a thick layer of glass, allowing her to see a large orb of pulsating burgundy energy underneath it. Some extra golden shapes were embedded into the thick layer of glass; they looked like runes of some sort, but she was unfamiliar with these strange wispy shapes.
Cynder looked up at the roof and saw more gears and clockwork mechanics than she had ever seen in one place. Like the Lookout, a large clock covered the ceiling’s area, however this time, the hands on the clock were also pulsating with the burgundy energy that was below the glass floor.
“Welcome to the Core,” First boomed. “This is where the large majority of the Sanctum’s magic source resides, and by extent, my magic too. This is also where our local artificial timekeeping system is stored, and it helps run the clocks throughout the entire Sanctum. This is where you will become one with the Sanctum, and take on the mantle of the Third Time Warden, or Third for short. Now, go down and step in the ring.”
Cynder turned to look towards Second, who gave her a brief nod, as he turned and followed First further down the balcony, where they came to a stop halfway between the doors. The black dragoness swallowed nervously, before starting to step cautiously down the bronze stairs and onto the lower floor of the Core. As she stepped closer towards the glass ring, she realised how big it was; it would have been about twice the size of her old bedroom when she was married to Spyro, which was already a pretty massive one.
She came to a stop directly in the middle of the glass panel, before looking below her paws at the pulsating energy below her. She took a deep breath, before turning her gaze towards First and Second. First was muttering instructions quietly to Second, and shortly afterwards, Second placed one of his paws onto First’s left shoulder. They then both turned to Cynder, before their eyes began to glow burgundy, as did their gauntlets.
“Cynder of Universe 6152109, daughter of darkness and devoted walker of the voidscape, you have been invited by the Great Distance Between Worlds to join us in our quest to protect and care for the multiverse, and have therefore accepted the call to take on the mantle of the Time Wardens,” First boomed, his deep voice echoing throughout the Core.
Cynder looked down and watched as the pulsating energy below her began to move to First’s call. The energy began to seep through the glass, before rising up around Cynder in soft, translucent tendrils that waved ominously from side-to-side. It moved with elegance, and Cynder was almost encapsulated in it.
“In doing so, you must take up the Warden’s Oath, and promise to abide by it until the end of days,” First continued, his voice pulling Cynder away from the energy rising up around her. “Do you solemnly swear to protect each universe floating in the Between from all harm, caused by Convergences or otherwise?”
“I do,” Cynder responded.
“Do you solemnly swear to take on no biases towards universes, including your birth universe?”
“I do.”
“Do you solemnly swear to forgo all attachments to a universe, allowing yourself to be unbiased, and to remain fully focused on the rest of the multiverse as a whole?”
Cynder hesitated. If she swore by it, would she be allowed to hold onto memories like Second was, even if it was just to keep herself empathetic and compassionate, and to give herself an outlook on where she had come from? Second had snuck a lot by First recently, even bending some of what he wanted just to make her feel comfortable. Was First adding this to get around Second’s suggestion in the earlier conversation? Was this a new addition to the ‘initiation’?
She looked up through the energy tendrils at Second, who seemed very calm and collected. He gave her a soft smile, before nodding.
Maybe it just means all the personal attachments that would keep me biased towards my home universe. Maybe I can still keep these memories, Cynder thought, feeling a little bit less concerned about this third statement of the oath.
“I… I do,” Cynder said.
“Do you solemnly swear to keep a professional relationship with your fellow Time Wardens, and keep a distanced, non-personal relationship with anyone you may meet inside other universes?”
“I do.”
“Do you solemnly swear to wield the magic of the Sanctum with your utmost respect and responsibility, as well as the title and role that you will proceed to inherit as a result of this initiation?”
“I do.”
“Upon taking this oath, you shall inherit the power of the Time Wardens and the Sanctum, bestowed by I, the First Time Warden. Furthermore, you shall now be known as the Third Time Warden.”
A large tendril of burgundy energy burst from directly below her lifting her into the air as the energy impaled her. It didn’t feel the way that she would imagine being impaled felt like, but it did sting. At the same time, it wasn’t lethal, and it was also… warm and gentle. It was the strangest feeling; she didn’t know how to describe it. She looked around her as the other energy tendrils lifted high above her also turned and drove themselves into her body as well.
The black dragoness looked over at First and Second, before energy burst out of their eyes and outstretched gauntlets towards her. Once more, she was enveloped in energy, and she saw white. As the world around her turned into a blinding white nothingness, she felt the warm heat of the new magic spreading throughout every single inch of her body.
Suddenly, the world darkened, and she felt herself being lowered gently back to the ground, laying on her stomach. She blinked frantically, her eyes slowly adjusting to the much darker room, even though it was still very bright inside the Core.
As her vision returned, she suddenly noticed some extra markings covering her wrists and forelegs as she saw them stretched out in front of her. They were similar runes to the golden ones on the glass panel she lay on. She bent around to look at her shoulders and hips, and noticed that the markings that were there had changed to match these new ones as well.
Gone were the markings of darkness, the triangular runes that bound her to Malefor even decades after his death.
It almost made her cry seeing those dark markings completely removed from existence.
“Rise. Welcome to the Sanctum, Third,” First boomed.
And that cemented it. Cynder was gone.
She was Third now. She had a new role, new responsibilities, a new life. It was now finally starting.
Third stood to her paws, looking up to the balcony at First and Second. “Come. We’re off to the Foundry. There you will be fitted with your gauntlets and robes, much like ours,” First said, before he turned and made his way to the other door on the other side of the Core’s balcony.
Taking a deep breath, Third took her first step forward, and made her way up the stairs to meet with First and Second. First opened the door and walked through, with both Second and Third following.
After many thousands and thousands of years, the team of two became a team of three.
Meanwhile, Cynder 10952403 woke from her slumber. The pale grey dragoness sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes, before looking out the window. The faintest bit of sunlight was shining through it, filling the room with a singular ray of deep orange sunrise. Getting off her bed, she stood and made her way to the bedroom balcony, stepping out onto it and taking in the fresh early morning breeze.
Her thoughts went back to her dream in the voidscape. It had been four years since she had last been in that place. When she was seventeen, she avoided talking about it; the things she had seen in there were terrifying and scared her quite a lot, and it was only until she was nineteen where she had managed to move past that fear and actually be able to talk about it, and to want to continue researching it. She did it without the need to return there, however, mainly going through old tests and going through many theories with Volteer about it, as they worked together to try and uncover more things about the multiverse.
She never thought she would be back there, but here she was, just having woken up from another night in the voidscape. And it was a much more pleasant experience than it had been four years ago.
Her talk with the other Cynder… with Third… it had been actually quite enjoyable. It was sad to see that Third didn’t have the greatest life even after being rescued from Malefor’s clutches, but it was good to hear the good parts of her life, and to talk a bit about her own life.
She stifled a chuckle as she thought about that. This was what seventeen-year-old Cynder was hoping to do: have a nice, lighthearted conversation with another Cynder about their lives, who they were with, what they were doing. Third hadn’t had as many good moments to talk about, with her, but the small amounts of good things she got from her were really enjoyable to learn.
Are you happy now, younger me? You finally got to do what you set out to do four years ago, Cynder thought, unable to stop the wide smile pulling at her lips.
It was weird to see another Cynder, a version of her so different to her, both physically, mentally, and in her life events. She imagined that feeling would never change, if on the off chance she was to end up in the voidscape again talking to another Cynder. But she decided that unless it was absolutely necessary , she wouldn’t seek it out. Third’s life had proved to be a good warning of the effects of the voidscape. Just going a few more times probably wouldn’t do too much damage, as Third had spent almost her entire adult life in the voidscape, but Cynder didn’t feel like risking it.
Hearing Third’s story also made Cynder appreciate her own life a lot more. She knew she had it good compared to all the other Cynders, alongside two thousand other Cynders, but even after she had come back from the voidscape the first time, she had taken it all for granted. As she thought about it, she thought about how truly lucky she was, that fate had decided to put her in this universe, in such a safe, peaceful world, where Malefor was never evil and never corrupted her. She was truly thankful of all that.
Cynder heard the bedsheets rustling behind her, and turned around to see Ember getting up, moaning groggily. The pink dragoness looked up, seeing Cynder standing in the doorway of the balcony, watching as the sunrise beamed down over Warfang. “Cynder, what are you doing up so early?” Ember mumbled.
“I had… I had a dream. A very strange dream, but it was a good one,” Cynder explained, turning and walking back inside the room to lay down next to Ember. “I was visited in the voidscape.”
“Wait, the voidscape? As in, where you saw all those other Cynders?”
“Yes, that very place. Instead, someone visited me . That someone was actually one of the Cynders I visited in the voidscape. It was… actually really good to see her again, and we had a really good conversation. Some parts of it were a bit sombre, but… overall it was really good. Much better than last time.”
“That’s really good to hear.”
Ember snuggled up closer to Cynder. The pale grey dragoness noticed her motion, before she reached forward and pulled Ember into her hold. Ember let out a satisfied hum as she leaned into Cynder’s scales. They lay there for a while, just holding onto each other as the sun rose, the light illuminating the room even more.
“I guess we’re not getting back to sleep,” Cynder murmured with a giggle. “Sorry if I woke you up by getting out of bed.”
“It’s fine; you know I’m usually the first one up. You being up so early was the strange part; usually you sleep in like another hour or two longer than me,” Ember said.
“Yeah, that’s true,” Cynder giggled, before sighing. “I love being like this, though. I don’t want to get up.”
“To my knowledge, we don’t have anything on in the morning, so we can lie here as long as we want.”
“That’s… that’s good.”
Cynder didn’t know how long they laid there before they finally got out of bed, but one thing was for sure, Cynder loved every moment of it. Internally, she was craving for even more, but the snuggling was more than enough to keep her content for now. Now it was time to take on yet another day, as a Cynder that was free from the chains of darkness… as one of the luckiest Cynders ever known to exist.