Zirra's Return

***(CONTAINS SPOILERS)***

Her whole life, Cynder has been used against her will by the Dark Armies and Malefor to perform their biddings against her own race, but everything changes for her when she discovers that she was possessed by an Adalisk the entire time. Now with Malefor defeated, the two work together as a new evil starts to show itself to the Dragon race.

## Chapters

### Chapter One - The Return

The story starts out with one of the main characters, Cynder, running through a dense, dark forest with a voice taunting her. Against her will, her corrupted self takes over mentally and physically. The mind behind it who later reveals her name to be Zirra, finds Spyro and attempts to kill him - however, Cynder, still present as a soul, stops her. Aggravated, Zirra leaves the fight, determined to get rid of Cynder. They arrive at the remains of the Well of Souls, where Zirra seeks out a certain crystal. When she finds it, she turns into her true form.

### Chapter Two - Her Story

Zirra returns from the Well of Souls, where she again encounters Spyro. Spyro recognizes her as what he calls an 'Adalisk', a being that can create elements. Zirra does not know what an Adalisk is, but she doesn't make mention of it. Zirra explains to Spyro how she was behind Cynder's misdeeds under the dark master's influence. At the same time, she reveals the story of her life. She was found as an egg by a couple who were seemingly infertile. They started out as a loving family, until her foster parents had a child of their own. A purple egg. Her parents started to neglect her, other members of the tribe started to resent and avoid her and suddenly she was all alone. She finally snapped when her foster father, Mesphito, struck her across the face for losing the egg in a river. She killed him with an intense power that manifested itself from her fear. Her foster mother and the mother of the purple egg, Phonorius, escaped with it. She gave the egg to the Guardians living in the temple, hoping they would protect it. Then she left.

Zirra, instead of destroying the purple dragon she blamed for her broken life, she observed him. She was too curious what this rare dragon would bring. The child was named Malefor, and he mastered all the elements. Though he was humble at first, he soon turned cruel, and was Exiled. He built an army of apes to fight the dragons. Meanwhile, Zirra was preparing herself for the fight. She started creating more Elements. First she mastered the element of poison, then wind. She finally had to face Malefor when he attempted to summon the destroyer. Their battle was bloody, and it resulted in Malefor being trapped in the realm of Convexity, while Zirra's body was destroyed and cased in a crystal.

The crystal was found by Gaul, the Ape king and Malefor's most loyal servant. Instead of destroying it however, he took care of it. This perplexed Zirra. After all, she just destroyed his master. Gaul promised to find her a new body, which eventually led him to Cynder's egg. When Cynder hatched, they raised her to a certain age before they arranged the ritual that allowed Zirra to take control over her body. In return for her new body, Gaul requested that Zirra worked towards freeing Malefor from Convexity. Zirra agreed, with the secret intention of killing Malefor when he was free.

She further explains that her final battle with Spyro reverted the ritual and turned Cynder back to her old form, locking Zirra out of control. However, she could still talk to Cynder. Which she did. She tormented Cynder until she left the Temple , however Cynder grew paranoid to the voice in her head, which led her to be captured by Skavengers. When she was captured in the arena by Gaul's forces and brought to the Well of Souls, Gaul accused Zirra of being a traitor. Zirra again tried to make Cynder find the crystal she had been trapped in, which would allow Zirra to take control again - however, Cynder got distracted by Spyro, and no longer heard Zirra's voice. She explains that Cynder's strong emotions of love for Spyro kept her from taking over.

After being frozen in the time crystal for three years, Zirra swore to fight Malefor through Cynder, and let her her powers of Fear, Poison and Wind. When they came face to face with Malefor, he - inadvertedly - allowed Zirra to take back mental control of Cynder's body. Then, Cynder could finally see, in her mind, the creature that had controlled her. Zirra explains who she is, all the meanwhile beating around Spyro. Cynder pleads for her to stop, and instead, help them defeat Malefor. Eventually, Zirra is convinced.

Spyro is aggravated that Zirra has done so much bad to Cynder, and even more so when Zirra claims he will turn out the same as Malefor. Before a fight breaks out, Ember and Flame make an appearance. Zirra, not wanting to kill innocents to achieve her goal, leaves.

### Chapter Three - Friend or Foe?

The chapter starts with Spyro reflecting on the things Zirra said, but eventually breaks into tears due to his worry for Cynder. Ember and Flame soon take Spyro back to Warfang, where he is greeted by a flood of Dragons wanting to meet him. He eventually has to run away from the masses with Ember, and soon reunites with Sparx. Spyro tells Sparx about Zirra, but is interrupted before he can finish his explanation. After meeting with the guardians, Flame tells him about Frillisean, a dragon soldier who destroyed Malefor's immortality, which allowed Spyro and Cynder to defeat him.

The scene turns to Zirra and Cynder, who are traveling to a certain place. Zirra tells Cynder she will erase her soul, thus giving herself complete ownership of the body they share. They arrive hours later at a mountain that holds a *Soulreaper Gem*, a gem that can kill a soul. Zirra activates the gem by touching it with the crystal her soul was trapped in, then turns to Cynder to destroy her soul. However, when Cynder breaks into tears, Zirra is reminded of herself when her father turned on her. She drops the crystal and falls silent.

Cynder attempts to sneak away while Zirra is seemingly distracted, but a Dragon Hunter finds her and tries to attack her. Zirra suddenly jumps in and defends Cynder. Cynder is confused about Zirra's sudden change of heart, but Zirra isn't given a chance to explain herself when more dragon hunters arrive. They attempt to escape, but Zirra is overwhelmed. The pack of hunters are halted by their leader, who explains they were searching for Cynder. They plan to kill her for betraying Gaul, as they were allied with the ape army. Zirra defends Cynder and reveals she was the one behind Cynder's corrupted self. The battle soon continues, and Zirra performs a fear fury that wipes out every single of the hunters.

Zirra finally has the chance to explain her actions to Cynder, exposing immense regret for her actions. Cynder forgives her, and asks to be friends. Suddenly, a spirit gem appears - a message from the Chronicler. The Chronicler - who does not show his face - explains what Zirra is, and that she is destined to save the world. Cynder promises to help Zirra, and the chapter ends.