Author's Notes:

It's a writer's challenge. Word count: 1000 words more or less.

Prompt: There has been a noticeable lack of Malefor centered fanfics, and his backstory is barely touched upon by Sierra. Is he a merely an immortal lunatic or a tragic figure? Write a oneshot about an alternative ending to Malefor in DOTD. We saw him get consumed by the world itself, but it wasn't 100% clear whether he died or not. His body wasn't destroyed either unlike Gaul's or Ignitus's which means he may not be out of the game yet. Will he redeem himself in this new peaceful world or continue his rampage?

Discovery

"No matter how good you are at something, there's always about a million people better than you."

- Homer, The Simpsons

"You cannot defeat me. I am ETERNAL!"

Malefor roared to the two insignificant whelps before him. He gathered mana in his mouth and shot forth a stream of Convexity at the children who dared to bare their fangs at the Dark Master, the rightful ruler of this next world.

Children! He still couldn't believe it. One, the Purple Dragon of this generation, siding with the scum of this world. The other, his former general, free from his influence.

The two were quick to respond with two smaller streams of Convexity of their own. Malefor regretted ever giving Cynder her arsenal. He should've just amplified her native element when he twisted her soul into obedience. That would've been enough.

To his shock, the stalemate of world-shattering power broke apart in his opponents' favor. The blast struck him on the muzzle. With the clash weakening its power, it did not so much kill him as it sent him flying to the crystal platform beneath them.

Malefor glared upwards at the two children. He snarled. He had no words for this turn of events. He simply had to outmaneuver and kill them, then he could return to destroying this miserable planet, as per the Purple Dragon's original purpose. Then he'd have all the time in the world figuring out what happened with Skylands, how the entire continent vanished in thin air -

"Enough."

The words - the voice suddenly spoke through his mind. Malefor looked around, his yellow eyes seeing silhouettes of dragons surrounding him. More materialized, rising up from the surface of the crystal.

His jaw dropped.

The crystal below him thrummed with power. A power he found... strangely familiar, yet more terrifying than everything he'd ever faced.

"We need to talk."

The silhouttes sprang into action at those words. Malefor flexed his wings and leapt to the air. But the phantom dragons were too fast for even him. Not even a second passed before they piled down on him. A look of horror appeared on his muzzle when a forepaw materialized from the crystal and clutched his leg, and his own body followed.

"N-no!" Malefor screamed. He struggled, tried to call forth his mana as he's always done and obliterate this strange magic - only to realize it wouldn't move. He couldn't channel his mana anymore. "NO!"

"Come HERE!"

Malefor was pulled under the surface, with Spyro and Cynder as his witnesses. They believed the Ancestors came to their aid and thought nothing more of this as they proceeded with undoing the destruction Malefor and his plans left in their wake. For the next few years, the Realms as a whole would be at peace.

In truth...

Malefor found himself in another cave, having seemingly escaped his fate. It was empty, save for the energy that he could feel swirling around his space. The power was tremendous! Even the Destroyer couldn't compare to this! If he could absorb even a tiny bit of it -

"You will destroy yourself, simply because you don't know any better."

It was the voice again.

Malefor swung his head back, growling. "Who's there? Show yourself!" He would make this interloper pay for dragging him into this place. The thought dwelled in his mind, moments before he realized he still couldn't channel his magic.

The voice mocked him. "Bearing your fangs at me? Laughable!" Malefor stepped back when a dragon materialized in front of him. A gigantic dragon, the likes of which he had never seen, let alone conceived the existence of.

Malefor kept shuffling back, retreating as fear struck his heart. His chest tightened and, hearing the beating of his own heart, backed away until he felt something solid on his hindlegs. He whipped his head around to see the wall, and saw nothing.

A terrifying, suffocating aura permeated the air. Suddenly he couldn't breathe. Suddenly he felt the urge to cease resistance and kneel down. Suddenly he felt like offering his neck at his own initiative.

.

.

.

And kneel down he did. Presented the back of his neck to the dragon in front of him. "M-mercy!" Malefor yelled, frightened for his life, soiling the floor beneath him with his own urine. "By Azeroth, please! Have mercy!"

Malefor looked up. It was a massive dragon. Multiples his own size. Each scale as purple as Malefor's own, but hundreds of times tougher. The giant body vibrated with so much power within. He could sense it in his soul.

The giant chuckled, its laughter booming in his ears, threatening to tear the drum. "Begging for mercy as you invoke my name? Who do you think you are?"

Malefor had only begun to process what the giant just said when mana coalesced around him into ethereal chains of light. They wrapped themselves around him and lifted him high, raising the Dark Master higher and higher until he was finally level with twin pools of light and incomprehensible power.

The eyes of Azeroth the Infinite himself.

"Foolish child," said the god. "Did you think you would win simply by destroying those two whelps? Had you succeeded in killing them, or even converting young Spyro to your side, I would've conjured a vessel with my soul seed and take action myself."

"My, m-m-my... my Lord Dragon God," Malefor stuttered. Learning that the mythical Ancestors were real astonished him, but knowing that the progenitor himself would've directly intervened if he managed to kill the children was sobering. "I, I didn't know -

"The Purple Dragon exists to defend this world from external threats while I busy myself on my Path of Truth," the god stated. "I had hoped for you to subjugate the entire continent into unity and eventually turn them on the two outsiders coveting EVERYTHING that belongs to me.

"Instead you suffered under stupid delusions. Your Destroyer would've revealed my lair and put this entire realm at risk!"

Malefor had nothing to say to him. He was powerless to fight back, even defend himself. Looking back at his life, he realized it was all just hubris.

"...What will you do with me?" he asked.

"Good question," spoke the god. "Alona tells me the world now thinks the Dark Master is dead. I believe it's best if it stays that way." He raised a forepaw and reached for Malefor.

He shuddered. Ten of him could fit in the gigantic paw. Fright overwhelmed him. Malefor struggled against his bindings. He roared and fought to free himself, even when he was literally powerless before the God of Dragonkind.

Malefor knew it was futile, yet even he refused to die like an ant. He resisted the best he could, his useless struggles intensifying when everything started going dark.

"Don't worry. I have plans for you..."

Author's Notes

Soooo... still alive, technically? XDDDD