Departed

Chapter 21: Time's Overlord

Overlord's POV

     I am whole.

     It felt almost unreal, after thousands of years of waiting. Sure, I had taken different forms when trying to conquer Ninjago, but those had never been the same as my true form. I flexed my wings, feeling their familiar weight. I felt drained by the combination, almost too weak to fight. I had been weak before, but that time I did not have the darkness around me. The darkness fueled me because it was me. Every wisp of shadow, every evil thought or word, I was in all of it. While I wanted to be whole, I knew I could never truly be combined into one form. Wherever there was darkness, I would always be. 

     The time for weakness was over. I stepped out into the light, showing my face to the eight little figures beneath me. Their faces lit up in horror; their victory stopped mid-cheer. I snarled at the Ninja's terrified facade, with the fancy colored cloths brightly showing through the rain. They thought they had won. They embodied the First Spinjitzu Master's purpose and spirit. I hated that man so much and I hated his little ninja even more. I would give so much to mount their bodies on spikes to warn anyone who dared challenge my power.

     There were two that didn't belong. One, an elemental master of wind, the other, a princess. Outcasts because of their evil past. Yet even though they had wronged the Ninja, the Ninja still let them in. How pathetic.

     It was better to kill traitors than to seek their conversion. You don't know when they would stab you in the back again. It was like the idiotic Oni. Malevolence should have killed them the minute they stepped out of line.

     "We stopped the combination." The blue ninja protested weakly, his gaze flitting to the body in front of my feet.

     I leaned down to survey the carnage. Malevolence had been stripped down to her original weakened form. She lay in the gravel, twisted and lifeless.

     I snorted. "You stopped Malevolence."

     The Ninja's faces twisted with disgust as I completely skipped over the part where my 'wife' was dead. I ignored them, pulling my soul's amulet out of the wet sand. It glowed just as brightly as it did the day I made it. I draped the long chain over my neck. Without Malevolence to protect it, the duty of keeping it safe was up to me.

     If my soul was destroyed, I would forever be trapped in the darkness I inhabited. And without a soul, that darkness would slowly fade out of existence. I had to keep some sort of form, because it was the only way to sustain the balance. Without my form, I would never be able to control and conquer. Darkness without evil was torturous to endure.

     Lloyd's hands lit up with green light, illuminating the darkness of the storm raging around us. He had always been a light, the First Spinjitzu Master's golden grandson. He had always been a symbol of hope. He inspired others with courage. My lip curled upward with disgust. Weak, pathetic good. Evil was much stronger.

     "We've defeated you before," Zane called out, "we'll defeat you again."

     "Is. That. So?" I pronounced each word menacingly, stepping forward. They all took a step back, even the Vermillion army behind the Ninja. Beside me, the moronic twins of time shrank away. I didn't have time to waste on them. Their cowardice would be dealt with later.

     "Last time, there was a prophecy of my rise and fall. This time, there is no such thing."

     "You're wrong," Lloyd's voice was steady, even in the midst of his own fear.

     I snorted. "Enlighten me. The Cloud Kingdom is done with their ridiculous prophecies. They'd rather see your realm fall to its own destruction."