“Cynder... Cynder... Wake up...”

 She felt a contact on her shoulder so she opened her eyes, tired. Then she saw in front of her a friendly face : the Gaul's one. He was slowly shaking her to wake her up. And it apparently suceed. She lift her head and, with her tiny voice, she asked:

 “Dad?”

 “Ah, finally. Wake up, Cyndy, we need to go.”

 “Why?”

  “It's a surprise...”

 “Hmmmm... Five minutes...”

 He sighed. And, a minute after, Cynder was still sleeping but she was confortably beared by her dad like a baby. His fur was warm so it didn't help her to properly waking up.

 Then, she felt something cold. She moaned and she heard clicking noises. She fully opened her eyes, finally, to see Gaul in front of her, a serious face and his hands... placing something around her neck. And, after that, he stepped back and took some kind of crystal...

 She stood up and tried to go closer to her dad when... the chains paralysed her and when she felt that she had a metal necklace, which was engravec the Æther's symbol on it.

 “Dad?” she asked. “What happen? I can't move...”

 “Don't worry, Cynder, don't worry.”

 His hands went on a lever. He took a big inspiration and, finally, pulled it.

 The ground where the dragoness was suddenly disapeared and a strange light was coming from under. She felt like falling... but she was floating a bit in the air with this light.

 “Dad! I'm scared!”

 He then went closer to his daughter, in front of her.

 “Don't be. It'll be over very soon.”

 He put the crystal right at his feet and closed his eyes. A light suddenly came from the object and it penetrated the Gaul's body. He felt more powerful, capable to move moutains with his only magic. He rose his arms, trembling. And he opened his eyes to see Cynder, terrified. But not only her: behind the Dragoness were the two terrifying yellow eyes.

 His mind was full of doubts, his breath was jerky and tears began to appear into his eyes.

 “Do it”, said the grave Malefor's voice.

 “Cynder... I love you.”

 “Dad?”

 And, right when she said that, Gaul summoned dark purple beams with his hands. And the small dragoness was hit with them.

 She began to sob and to cry before yelling in terrible pain. Floating in the air, she moved all of her members in every sens, trying to get out, but she was stucked. Stucked to feel all her inside's destruction. She even made some moves when you could think she was dislocated. The entire dark room resonated with her screams.

 Gaul felt his heart being pressed like if it was a simple grape's grain: seeing her adoptive daughter suffering like that because of him filled him with hate. But he had to do it. He had to continue. So he upgraded the power of the beams, which made Cynder screaming even more. And he yelled too because this magic made him suffer thousands of scorching fires too.

 And Malefor... The Dark Master was watching and even appreciating the sight, silencious. The plan was executed perfectly, for the moment. And if he could show that to the world, a smile would be appearing into this immaterial hole.

 So he watched the two suffer, serious. So he watched Gaul becoming more powerful than ever and he watched Cynder suddenly growing up, the marks of the Darkness appearing on her forehead, beside her eyes, on her shoulders and, finaly, on the back of her body, right before the tail, just as all her scales became as black as all the darkness combined into the world. And he felt his energy slowly penetrating inside of his two minions, inside of Cynder and of the Ape King Gaul.

 Finally, when all was over, he disappeared, letting his two victims inconscious.

 Gaul woke up before Cynder. He felt... strange. But, oddly, it was an good strange. And he felt like he could win the war on his own, just by throwing himself into battle, just by making rivers and rivers of blood flowing and nourrishing the sweet humus. He took a big inspiration and, took by a sudden madness, he began to laugh maniacly.

 And Cynder woke up, different, every of her movements controled. And when she saw Gaul laughing in front of her, she did the same. And her voice was so different... It was graver and, most of all, stratched and terrifyingly mad.

 So the two finally went to the throne's room right after. All the apes, in front of them, ran away, scared for life, not recognizing their own King and her adoptive daughter.

 Once arrived, he sat on his throne and Cynder, like a dark Queen, went right next to him, an impressive aura floating around them. Gaul looked straight forward and a smile appeared on his face, determinate to end this millenary war, as he said with a powerful voice:

 “There... will...be... blood.”