Yakunan sighed, taking out a small locket. Inside was a picture of him and Xenudah as a child. He gave a soft smile, letting his tears fall. He missed his little boy so much. He let out another shuddering sigh, closing the locket, holding it close to his heart.
He gazed back up at the sky and sighed again. He wouldn't lose hope. He would never give up. Yakunan had to save his child.
He didn't have a choice.
Yakunan knew Xenu was a child he didn't want to lose. He knew he would keep trying. He was confident that he would succeed. After all, it was Yakunan's hope that kept hope alive, and it had grown into a tree.
Yakunan Akurai would fight for the future of his child, for he missed his son too much to let anything happen to him again.
"You okay there?" Lloyd asked, placing a hand on Yakunan's shoulder, gently squeezing it. He glanced over to the former Overlord.
Yakunan let out a soft sigh, letting the weight of the situation take him over. He knew he would not be able to stand a chance against Xenudah alone. "Yes, and no."
"It's Xenudah, isn't it?"
Yakunan nodded.
"I know you still miss him. We'll fix this together." Lloyd's voice was soft, barely a breath as he replied to the former Overlord.
Yakunan gave a short nod as he turned to Lloyd. "Thank you."
Lloyd smiled. "I'm here for you."
"I'm sorry," Yakunan said, turning to gaze out at the cityscape. "It still hasn't really sunk in."
Lloyd nodded. "It's all right."
Yakunan turned and looked back at Lloyd, nodding. He knew that Lloyd was just trying to help him. He held back his tears. "Thank you, Lloyd." Although all he wanted to do was see his child again. He was desperate. Xenudah was his entire world. Yakunan wouldn't let him slip away again.
"Shall we return to the others?" Lloyd asked.
"Yes… They must be worried about me."
Yakunan took Lloyd's hand in his, the latter gently squeezing in reassurance as they returned to the group once more.
Xenudah shrieked at the mere thought of his so-called father. He kept his eyes closed tight, pushing out a deep breath as he did.
Just think of what you're going to do, Xenudah. Think of how they will be suffering…
It filled him with rage.
Yes, think of how they will suffer, Xenudah…
He thought it was the best feeling he had ever felt in his life. He felt as though he were going to become completely invincible. He felt amazing. His anger was surging and he could do nothing about it.
He couldn't tell what was inside of him anymore. All he could feel now was the intense satisfaction of revenge.
The scenery around him was beautiful. Everything in the land had a high level of detail. The sunlight shone down on everything, casting beams of light forward.
Xenudah could see everything in detail, even from where he stood.
It wasn't that he was particularly tall. He was short, actually. But the environment was restful, so he could see it all. He could see the mountains in the distance and the way the sky curved away from him. He could see the clouds in the sky and the vegetation growing down below. The grass was a deep, vivid green, and the forest was a dark shade of green, with the occasional brown or black speckled throughout. The land seemed virtually perfect.
One of the trees there in the forest had been touched by the sun. It had a spot of light seem to glow brightly on the trunk. The light reached all the way down to the ground. It was very beautiful. Xenudah smiled.
He looked ahead of him. A rock was embedded in the ground with light shining on it. He felt as though he could see everything shining and glowing like that. It was so beautiful it was like staring into the deep recesses of a dream.
It would be even better if his family were right there in front of him, he thought. Then he could really appreciate all this.
But for as long as his family stood against him, he could never truly be happy. He could never truly have everything he wanted. They wouldn't allow him to. They stood in his way. And they would never allow him to have revenge.
And it wasn't just them against him. There were also other things, pure power, and even more anger, which were standing in his way as well. For every evil he would take from the world, he would be immediately confronted by another evil; something even worse and stronger.
It was cruel, that everything seemed to be leading up to something that would keep the world in crushing darkness for eternity. It was hard to imagine it that way. It was hard to imagine anything right then, to be honest. He felt like the world was supposed to be better than that, that such things shouldn't be possible.
He laughed bitterly. He was proud of himself. It might be funny in a tragic way, but he didn't feel frustrated right now. He didn't feel hurt at all. He wasn't scared. He wasn't nervous. He was stronger than all of that. He couldn't be opposed by fear.
When the world tried to work against him, he wasn't just going to smile. He would laugh in the face of such things. That was how strong he was.
But the humanity within refused to cower before him, and he felt a deep conflict in his fragile heart.
Xenudah opened his eyes, and the world disappeared. He frowned. He didn't like the feeling of being taken out of that reality. He turned around.
He closed his eyes again.
He opened his eyes, and a wave of relief washed over him.
He didn't want the world to disappear. It was so beautiful. He wanted to look at it again, and again, and again. He wanted to see its perfection. He wanted to see it even more than he had before. He wanted to see how everything seemed to glow. He didn't want it to leave him.
But it had to. It was necessary. He had to leave his family behind.
Just like that. Just like that, the world would vanish. It would disappear forever. Things that truly belonged in the world would be taken away, and that was all there was to it. Nothing would be stuck on him.
There would be nothing he couldn't have, and there would be no other power stronger than him. He would be the only unstoppable force in the world, and the world would, in turn, stand helpless.
He would be reunited with his family, and he would make them all pay for what they had done. Heck, even the other celestial beings would have to pay for what they had done. He would have so much to focus on that he wouldn't have time to be anxious.
He would be so intent on destroying everything that he wouldn't be worried about anything else. No one would stand in his way anymore. They'd all be dead if they tried.
Staring up into the distance, Xenudah's eyes began to sting. He pursed his lips and closed his eyes, banishing any thoughts of redemption to the corners of his mind. He wouldn't let anything distract him now. Xenudah clenched his fists and grit his teeth so hard they started to shake. He let out a long sigh. He took a deep breath and shut his eyes again.
He was determined to prove his worth as the descendant of the darkness. All he wanted was to be in power again. To not let anyone tell him what to or not to do in his life. Everyone would fear him. Everyone would know of the immense power he possessed. All he would do is reign in an era of pure destruction in cataclysmic proportions. Ninjago would be his for the taking and no one would be able to stop him.
Yakunan felt his child's fury. He looked around, his expression filled with disbelief and dread.
"What is it now, Yakunan?" Garmadon asked in concern.
"Xenudah… He's...I feel his presence. He's getting stronger…"
He buried his head in his hands.
"Great…" Lloyd muttered. "Don't let his presence affect you, Yakunan. We can handle him."
"I'm not worried about him!" Yakunan said, raising his head. "I'm worried about all of you! All of Ninjago is at stake here..." His voice cracked with panic.
"Hey…" Lloyd said softly. "It's not like we won't be able to fight him."
"It won't matter," Yakunan said, shaking his head, his hollow voice cracking. "My son will be far too strong for any of us…"
"Why do you say that?" Cole asked, frowning. "He's still developing."
Yakunan stared at the ground, gazing down at his hands, balling them into tight fists. "I'm afraid that he's already far stronger than he was before."
Lloyd thought he was crazy.
"What do you mean, 'he's stronger'? You're not supposed to know what he is like yet!"
"I…I can sense him…" Yakunan said, looking into the distance. "I can see his thoughts... Just like I could in the past… I see all that he wants. I see all that he wants from…from us…"
"What is it," Garmadon said, "that he wants from us?"
Yakunan took a deep breath. "Revenge…"
Xenudah stared off into the distance. He knew that his goal right now was to be stronger than anything else. He knew that he was supposed to focus on power. That was the best way to ensure his family's salvation. That was the best way to make the other celestial beings pay.
He retracted his attention and looked around. He had to train a lot of power now. He had to grow into his anger. He had to project his feelings onto everything around him. He had to have everything reflect his negativity. He had to make things succumb to his power.
Xenudah closed his eyes, and every thought from his brain was replaced by darkness. It was a deep void, one that held nothing else but itself. Xenudah was the only thing in the universe at this moment. He was the only thing in the universe, at least for his purpose. No one else existed but him. There was no one else he could depend on but himself.
He became surrounded by a black void, without any sense of up or down. He thought about the past. And then he let the past slip away from him, leaving him only a blank nothingness. He was free of all ties to the past because it had no meaning for his future. He understood the dark void now. It was like his own heart.
Everything around him was darkness. It was the only thing in the world that didn't have a reflection of himself. Xenudah breathed in deeply and let it out slowly. He was so sure of himself. He closed his eyes and felt that same feeling wash over him again, only now he was sure he could use that power to greatness. He could be strong. He was strong. And he wanted to be stronger. He wanted to conquer that power. He wanted to have that power. It was so beautiful.
It was time for him to prove himself. He opened his eyes, and he heard a murmur. It sounded like a thousand voices, all speaking at the same time. And all of them were speaking his name. That was all that he could hear. That was all that he could pull himself from his mind. There was nothing else he could call attention to. There was no other word to describe what he had become. He was now the child of darkness. He was now the man of nothingness. He had no fears now. He was just as alone as the world was.
Xenudah was what he had always wanted to be.