Chapter 1

"Father, this isn't going to make your sickness any better," Garmadon crossed his arms as he watched his father meditate beneath the Weeping Willow near their temple. "It's so cold that even the trees have shed their leaves. What is the point of this?"

Wu remained sitting beside their father, silent, observing.

The First Spinjitsu Master tilted his head back and breathed deeply. When he opened his eyes, the starlight reflected off their surface. "My time draws short. I wish to meet my fate surrounded by the stars I have created. Please, son. Sit with me."

Garmadon's eyebrows creased together. He never liked it when his father acted stubborn like this. Yet, he knew the day would come when he would laugh at all the moments his father acted ridiculous, and then proved his son wrong moments later. He wouldn't get another chance.

A lump in his throat, he sat cross-legged across from his father, his gaze traveling between him and Wu. Aside from his anger, his emotions were not very decipherable on the surface. But the shattered tone in his next words revealed just how he was falling apart from within. "Please don't go, father."

The First Spinjitsu Master gave his sons a deep smile of unspoken emotion. "You are both coming of age. It is time you continue your life journeys on your own. But remember-my guidance will always await you in the stars. I will be there, even when you can't see me."

His face scrunched, and a hand flew to his chest where he gripped his robes, breathing deeply.

Panic rushed through Wu before their father's breathing leveled out again. He grimaced, his eyes cast downwards. His fingers tightened around his bamboo staff as he placed it in his lap. "My sons. Before I leave, there is something I must tell you."

Wu and Garmadon scooted closer.

"A great darkness is coming. I have seen it. It will not arrive soon, but it will arrive."

Garmadon's eyes narrowed. "A darkness?"

"Much like you, my son, I have seen it in visions. If this darkness is allowed to manifest, the world I have created will be consumed in everlasting nothingness."

"We will not let that happen," Wu glanced at his brother and nodded. "We will do everything in our power to stop it."

The First Spinjitsu Master shook his head solemnly. "I merely deliver this message to you as a warning, for it is not your destiny to stop the darkness." He bowed his head, his straw hat masking his face. "A chosen one will rise to destroy the coming threat. A Green Ninja."

Garmadon's eyes widened. The flashes of green light in his visions stormed through his memories. "A Green Ninja... Father, do you think this is related to my visions?"

Wu awaited for an answer.

Garmadon frowned. "Father?"

With a dull clank , the First Spinjitsu Master's staff rolled out of his limp grip.

Wu scrambled to his feet and stared.

A cold wind rushed past them.

One Year Later

"Lloyd." Misako's gaze held the eyes of the child in her arms. The child with green eyes, illuminated yellow by the candlelight of their temple's wooden bedroom. Garmadon held the child as well, his head resting on Misako's shoulder.

"Yes," He agreed, his voice adopting a low undertone. "His name will be Lloyd."

The baby gave a silent yawn, still shaking away the layers of sleep.

Garmadon loved his child. He loved him before he came into the world of Ninjago. But his eyes.

His green eyes.

His father didn't have them, and neither did Wu or Garmadon. His dreams and visions haunted him like a plague whenever he was alone.

Ever since his run-in with the serpent that would never stop growing, all that remained in Garmadon's mind was the green light. That green light. It filled his dreams, his mind, blinding his eyes whenever he was pulled from deep slumber.

Perhaps it had nothing to do with his son.

Perhaps it did.

But even after his son was born, his visions never faded away.

What did this all mean...

"Garmadon?" Misako looked up from the eyes of their son to gaze at her husband with concern, half her face obscured in shadow, the other illuminated in the soft glow of the candle lighting up the room.

Garmadon blinked, returning to the moment. He'd never told Misako about the visions he had as a boy growing up. Perhaps he thought they were meaningless, just a cruel overused trick his mind would play on him. Perhaps he didn't want his wife to carry the burden of a lifetime of bad omens.

It had been a year since his father died, and Ninjago was left in the hands of his two sons. There were moments when Garmadon wished his father could've met his son. Wished he could've heard his words of wisdom whenever his mind grew heavy with questions about his visions. But his only answer remained the same. I cannot help you understand your visions. That is a journey for your soul alone.

Garmadon gave his wife a smile. "It's been a week. The others are waiting outside. Is it time they finally met him?"

Misako gave a nod of approval, and Garmadon slipped his arms around his son, holding him against his chest as Misako tugged at the sliding wooden doors leading outside their room.

Against the influx of the rising sun, Wu and his ninja awaited.

"His name is Lloyd Garmadon," Garmadon announced, but not loud enough to startle his son. "And he will be your brother."