The Iron Doom stood firm in the large chamber, its lower body completely encased in Dark Matter. Stands of the black gel reached up and grabbed onto other areas, like a web that had become stuck to the machine. The Iron Doom looked the same as it always had, even down to the four blades that seemed to be still inserted into the device. The only thing that stood out was a massive crack that ran down most of the length of the large circular dial on the beast's front.
"How…" Lulloyd asked, "I… I don't get it. How is this thing here?"
"Because," Overlloyd's voice sounded from behind them, "It is mine."
Overlloyd appeared in the tunnel behind them. He was walking with his massive staff being used as a crutch as he did. Just looking at him, the others could tell he was in pain. Despite this, he forced himself to walk forward with an elegant stride, not letting on even in the slightest that his body wished to do anything else. The Emperor had finally made his way into the fight.
"What do you mean, that's yours?" Mage asked in shock, "How?"
"You asked to know how both Sun and I existed, yes?" Overlloyd's staff began to pulse with dark power, "There is your answer."
Overlloyd starred forward at the machine, the thing he'd been fighting to keep hidden. Hidden under his palace, where only he knew of its existence. A relic of a time that had never come to pass… and time that was still fighting to one day claim him as well. For a moment, all he could do was close his eyes, and remember.
The Time Vortex pulsed with its distorted glow from around the Iron Doom. Sitting at the controls of the Iron Doom was Lloyd Garmadon, wearing the helmet that he believed used to belong to Blunck. The machine swirled through the Time Vortex with him as its guide, a fierce look of determination on his face.
He remembered the look of his team. Kai and Nya had tried to go in his place, yet he'd refused them. His team had treated him like a child. They refused to take him as a Sensei seriously. The Twins had beat them at every turn. He'd taken their place and followed the Twins back in time. He'd defeated them both. He'd proven himself.
Part of him knew he should return the Iron Doom to its own time. He shouldn't mess with time. He shouldn't do something drastic. Yet now that he had the power in his hands, he had to try. There was one man that time had forsaken. One man that Ninjago had dealt the worst hand it could. That man was someone Lloyd held dear to his feart. And it was a man that he, with the Iron Doom, could save.
With a flash, the Iron Doom landed at the base of the Mountain of a Million steps. Lloyd shut the machine down and tossed the helmet into the cockpit. The Iron Doom had been able to connect his mind to the Hive Mind to read the date that this happened. The control panel had put in the date for him, and the lights blinked without him knowing what to do. He didn't know fully how it worked, but he had landed at the base of the mountain.
The sun was already up in the sky. Seeing that made Lloyd's eyes widen. He'd landed too close to the actual moment! If he'd already landed, he knew he only got one chance. He was already pushing time too much here. He shouldn't b e here. He knew he shouldn't. But just like with the Iron Doom itself, he couldn't stop now that he was here. His body moved forward, even if his mind would beg him not to.
When he rounded the top of the steps, his eyes widened. A boy was exiting the gates of the Monastery. He was a young boy with a bowl cut of brown hair. He was heading towards the bushes to look for a katana that had been thrown over the wall. Lloyd's panic rose as he saw the boy readying himself to reach down and take hold of it. If that boy touched that katana, it was all over.
"NO!" Lloyd shouted. He ran as fast as he could. He didn't have time to change course. He reached out with both hands, slamming them right into the boy and knocking him aside. There was a hiss from the bushes, then a snarl. Lloyd felt sharp pain in his left hand. He let off a burst of green power at the bushes and collapsed to the ground. A green serpent slithered away.
As the boy groaned out from the impact, Lloyd looked down at his hand. There were two small purple marks there. Two marks that flared angrily as he stared at it. It took his mind a moment to realize what this was. His head suddenly felt dizzy. He clutched his wrist, feeling something pulsing from it. Something painful. Something that burned through him like fire. A venom injected into the being of the one person that could never handle it.
"Mister…?" The boy slowly sat up, seeing Lloyd clutching his hand, "Did… did that snake bite you?"
"Y-Yeah…" Lloyd shook his hand, "..Don't worry about it. Are you hurt?"
"No… thank you for helping me, though," The boy smiled, "My name is Garmadon. What's yours?"
Lloyd felt his hand throbbing. He couldn't stay here. He had to get out of here, now. He turned back and gave Garmadon a warm smile.
"Don't worry about my name," Lloyd smiled to him, "You've been saved from your destiny. Go inside now, and watch for that snake again, okay?"
"Okay…" Garmadon stated in confusion. Unsure what to do, he began to make his way back into the Monastery to look for his father. As soon as he was out of sight, Lloyd ran. He ran, and ran, and he ran. He had to get back to the iron Doom. He'd messed up. He'd messed up horribly. As his hand throbbed with the venom of the Devourer inside him, he knew he could only do one thing. He had to go back. He had to get Wu for help. He had to save himself.
"...The Devourer," Harumi turned to Overlloyd, "You… You went back in time to save your father from the Devourer… and you were the one that it bit."
"And in doing so," Overlloyd darkened his gaze, "I turned my own existence into a paradox. The energies of the Iron Doom sustained my existence for as long as they could. By the time I had landed in Ninjago, the machine was so damaged I dared not try to remove the blades to try to fix myself. I held on for as long as I could… as the venom coursed through me."
"That's why you went to the Overlord," Lloyd's mind flashed with understanding, "You… you needed a body to sustain yourself, didn't you?"
"With him already having the venom inside of him," The Overlord replied with a grin, "It was easy to accept his proposal."
"But, what about Morro?" Lulloyd spoke up, "I thought, Morro was from the past."
"Once I was fused, I risked one more trip to save him," Overlloyd looked down at his hand, "Of all of those in Ninjago, I saved the one that then needed it most. The machine broke down when we returned, and it was here that I hid it away from the world." The crack across the Iron Doom's dial shone in the low light at his words.
"You created an alternate timeline," Harumi gasped, "And by fusing with the Overlord, you made yourself a part of it. That's how both you and Sun exist."
"All the more reason we need to stop the Time Twins," Monty drew a shotgun from his back, "We need to move in now, while they're distracted."
"It is likely they are figuring out how to remove the Dark Matter," Overlloyd mused, "They have not noticed you yet. I will attack them, and when I signal for you, finish them."
"And why should we take orders from you?" Monty asked.
"A surprise is only such," Overlloyd hefted his staff up, "If you distract them first."
With that, Overlloyd suddenly let out a snarl as his back began to pulse. Two large wings, much like that of the Overlord dragon's own, burst out from his body and moved up to flap and carry him into the chamber. He hovered above the Time Twins, staring at them with a harsh glare as he moved to heft his staff over his head and focus. Dark power filled his hands and blasted down towards the Twins, readying to incinerate them. At the last second, Krux turned and blasted the strike with the slow blade, causing it to substantially slow down and let both Twins and Vermillion scatter.
"It is not a wise idea to pry into the secrets of others," Overlloyd snarled down at them, "Especially to those that hold the power to crush you."
"Ah, if it isn't the Emperor!" Acronix, unfazed by the surprise, stood up and laughed up at him, "Did you take enough time to lick your wounds?"
"Longer than you should have allowed me to," Overlloyd held a wide eyed, rage filled glare at them, "You have taken it upon yourselves to hurt the members of my Hand and attempt to steal yourselves away from my world. You truly have no semblance of wisdom inside your heads."
"Perhaps you should save those sentiments until the battle is won!" Krux declared, "For we now have the power that you so foolishly cast aside!"
"That machine?" Overlloyd stared at it, "That broke years ago. If that is what you seek, you will have no such luck with it."
"It looks like an older model, but you know what they say," Acronix raised up the forward blade, "It just needs a little jump start!"
"Then let that machine be your graves," Overlloyd declared, hefting his staff at them, "Along with your last glimpse of hope."
"Morro!" Krux shouted, "Now!"
Both Twins slid the time blades into their belts, raising their hands up to form Rhotatae discs. At the same time, Morro's body was hefted up by the snakes and forced to expel green power from his hands. The power struck both the discs the Twins fired, right before the Twins feinted opposite directions to avoid Overlloyd's counter attack of dark blasts. Overlloyd managed to turn his staff to the side and knock the discs away, yet the Twins guided them to move in and attack him from behind. While Overlloyd dispatched one, the other hit his back and transferred a blast of green power into him to make his body burn in pain. His wings momentarily jerked in the air.
"Do not let them hit us with that power again," The Overlord hissed to his partner, "Our body can't take more of that."
"If you think I'm trying to," Overlloyd growled, "Then perhaps you should take over."
"Force them into the light," The Overlord hissed to him, "I can control their shadows from there."
Around the room, blue torches on the wall cast small semicircles of light. Overlloyd turned his body down and soared forward, his wings carrying him as he split his staff into the two smaller ones he'd display before. He traded blows with both Twins as he flew overhead, leading them both to roll backwards. Sensing the threat the younger one posed, Overlloyd did a massive roll in the air and slammed into the ground in front of Acronix, letting out a draconic growl before launching forward and sending both of his weapons into Acronix.
To counter this, Acronix tried to once more use the forward blade. Before he could, Overlloyd fused his staff back together into its full form and knocked the forward blade in Acronix's grasp. Acronix stumbled backwards, right towards where Overlloyd wanted him. As Krux tried to raise the slow blade at him, Overlloyd struck the ground under him with his staff. A crack traveled through the ground before Krux leapt away from a large blast of dark power that geysered up from the rocks.
"Alright, brother!" Acronix laughed, "Let's test our creativity!"
"I am getting to my limit with your speech!" Krux declared. Much to Overlloyd's shock, Acronix then leapt backwards willingly, right into his own shadow. Overlloyd raised his hand, ready to strangle Acronix with it.
Acronix, however, wasn't paying attention to that. Instead, he turned around and punched the pillar that was holding up the wall. The pillar turned blue, then it burst apart into bricks. Acronix watched as a variety of cylinders, plates and bricks came pouring down just for him, letting him then turn to Overlloyd with a wild grin on his face.
"Brick this!" Acronix kicked a 2x2 plate right into Overlloyd's face. Overlloyd, out of pure surprise, batted it away. That moment let Acronix turn and begin to rapidly throw bricks towards the middle of the room, along with his brother who had done the same to another pillar. Soon, the two had a large pile of bricks in the middle of the room, just begging to be built.
"We need to go in," Lulloyd spoke up seeing this, standing up to try to hurry after them. As he tried to, Lloyd reached out and gripped his shoulder.
"..We'd… we'd just get in Overlloyd's way," Lloyd muttered nervously, "We have to trust him right now. I… I mean, he is part Overlord." Harumi looked down sharply..
"You all can stay here," Monty hissed, "I'm going in." Before the group could stop him, the ghost had turned invisible and was already gone. Lloyd wanted to call out to stop him, but he couldn't.
"I can do that!" Mage began to summon his element to turn them invisible. Harumi, however, shook her head.
"We can't be reckless," Harumi gulped, "Wait for a better opening. We can't let them get away… this is our chance."
Overlloyd attempted to turn Acronix's shadow into a weapon, yet Acronix wasn't having it. Instead, he and his brother build up a massive stairwell up to the Iron Doom, complete with railing on either side and large arches to boot. The Vermillion began to run up the stairs towards the Iron Doom's viewport before it was even finished. Overlloyd scoffed at this, turning to blast power at the Twins' creation. Acronix hit the blast with the forward blade, causing it to blink past the stairs and appear on the other side, crashing into the wall of the chamber and sizzling on impact.
Undaunted, Overlloyd turned to keep pressing his attack. Krux took this chance to fire two small balls of slowed time energy into the air, then be given a boost from his brother so he landed with his feet in one. Overlloyd took the bait, flying for Krux and swinging his staff at him. Krux waited for the last minute to cancel the effect, causing him to fall down and avoid the strike and land in one underneath him to slow down again. Overlloyd snarled and cracked his wings to turn around, but Acronix leapt into the air, off his brother's hands, blinked forward in time with his time blade and struck Overlloyd. Overlloyd responded by nearly impaling Acronix, who leapt away and onto the ground. Krux landed with him, making Overlloyd hover in the air and stare at them.
"What is it you hope to accomplish with this?" Overlloyd asked, "This machine is long since defunct. It will serve you nothing."
"That's what you think!" Acronix declared, "Don't throw your arm out trying to beat us."
This time, Krux didn't make a move to correct his brother, which made Overlloyd turn in confusion. The left arm of the Iron Doom slowly began to pull, trying to free itself from the Dark Matter. Bits of Vermillion Armor were stacked up in the cockpit, with one slumped back into a chair. Overlloyd reached out with his hand, calling on the Dark Matter to hold the arm tighter. Before he could take control, Acronix was on him and slashing at him. Overlloyd's already weak concentration was snapped as he was forced to take them on.
Why aren't you using your allies? The Overlord asked in Overlloyd's head, They could help right about now.
I sense the presence of one already, Overlloyd responded, I think he will be of help.
Two massive bangs went off, followed by Acronix and Krux dodging as little holes appeared by them from the guns going on. Monty, remaining invisible, slid the shotguns onto his back and drew pistols. He let them loose at the Twins, who once more dodged around at the bullets they could see coming but couldn't track the location of.
"Another one of your powers, Emperor?" Krux spat, "As if you did not have enough already!"
"My power is one that grows with defeat," Overlloyd lied, "You will suffer for it."
Monty stopped firing and drew the SoS, readying to go in and slice at the Twins. Overlloyd hid this by calling upon the Twins' shadows, rising up to follow where he heard Monty's sword to be swinging. With this guise, the Twins dodged their own shadows, unaware of someone being there to attack them. Monty worked to attack the Twins while Overlloyd hid it with shadows.
With a loud screech, the arm of the Iron Doom freed itself. Overlloyd let out a 'tssk' as he saw the arm reach back and grab a sword. With so few snakes, the machine could only manage to move one limb, and slowly at that. The action, however, was one that Overlloyd couldn't ignore.
The Twins seemed like they couldn't either. They both nodded and moved to their staircase, running up it and using the last charge in the forward blade to blink up it faster. Monty raced forward and smashed a wind-fueled strike into the structure, causing it to rumble and then begin to break.
The Twins, however, managed to get into the cockpit just in time. They both dove inside the cockpit and landed hard, scattering the bits of Vermillion armor their discarded snakes had left behind. Without hesitation, they both stood up and nodded to each other as they took the controls.
"Now then," Acornix looked down to the cracked time dial, "Let's see what this baby can do!"
Both Twins moved and blasted the large dial with a combination of their powers. The dial didn't respond, but the time blades lodged weakly inside did with a faint, tickling glow. Seeing they still had power inside of them, the two nodded and wrenched out the dull forward and slow blades inside, replacing them with their own. As soon as they did, the other two blades began to glow.
"Broken or not!" Acronix smirked, "The glory of the time blades is they just need to recharge! It looks like you depleted them pretty good with whatever you were pulling!"
Overlloyd turned, ready to try to fly up and attack the two. As he tried to do so, the arm that had grabbed the sword came swinging down. When Overlloyd went to dodge, Krux yanked the slow blade out of the time dial and blasted Overlloyd with it. In his haste, his world was slowed down. Krux set the blade back in the Iron Doom and hit a button, causing the Time Matrix to start to spark up. The crack in it began to glow as the sword arm came down.
Without a choice as the slow effect wore off, Overlloyd gripped his staff with all four arms and held it up. With his full strength as both Overlloyd and Overlord, he caught the blade. The hidden group looked on with slight awe as Overlloyd managed to take the full force of the Iron Doom's arm being pressed into him. He huffed hard as he did, yet he managed to stand firm and strain back against it. For a few moments, it appeared that he was struggling. That was before he suddenly opened his eyes and looked back to the entrance.
"Now!" Overlloyd spat, "I have them where you can strike!"
Without another word, Mage shot forward using the element of speed, appearing under Overlloyd and focusing. With a blast of fire, he shot straight up in the air, turning his arm metal and swinging it as he did. The force of impact knocked the massive sword of the Iron Doom back, causing the machine to screech for a moment. Mage did a backflip, falling back to the ground. With a swift application of gravity, his body came to rest on the chamber floor.
Together, Lloyd and Harumi charged up balls of green and unleashed them in a beam. Overlloyd, freed of his blade lock, held his staff forward and joined his power with theirs. The combined mixture of green and dark blasted the viewport of the Iron Doom, throwing the Twins out of their seats. Harumi charged up dual Rhotatae discs and sent them flying forward, striking the Twins again before they could get up. Lulloyd drew his sword and brick, ready to deploy. Monty and the SoS appeared floating in the air beside Overlloyd, not turning to even look at him as they did.
By reflex, the Iron Doom swung its blade down at them again. Overlloyd and Monty dodged out of the way. Before either of them could do anything, though, Mage had jumped into the air with gravity and then slammed down on the Iron Doom's wrist. With a fierce snarl, Mage went running straight up the Iron Doom's arm, applying metal to magnetize himself to it even as the arm reared back. When Mage reached the torso, he rubbed his hands together and charged up a spark, pressing his palms down and frying the shoulder of the Iron Doom. The snakes inside let out a massive roaring hiss of pain. Just before Mage could go further, one of the panels opened up on the armor, letting a few snakes reach up and bite Mage's foot. Mage turned to blast them with concentrated electricity, rearing his head back to spit acid at them. Before he could, though, the Iron Doom cracked its arm, jolting Mage's focus and sending him back down to the ground. Mage looked up just in time to see the Iron Doom's arm about to slice him. Overlloyd, however, reached out for the shadow the arm cast. A massive piston of shadow struck up and knocked into the arm, slowing it down enough for Mage to leap backwards and out of the way. Overlloyd let out a small hiss of exertion as he did.
"Hold that arm still," Overlloyd snarled. Monty turned to look at him, then nodded. Lulloyd raced forward and struck the floor, churning up bricks that he rapidly built into what looked like a massive cane. Looping it around the Iron Doom's arm, he slammed the other end into the floor to attach it. Monty reached out with wind to create a vortex around the upper arm of the Iron Doom, As he did, Overlloyd reached out.
The room rumbled. Overlloyd's body shook as the ground cracked and split open. Then, massive pillars of Dark Matter shot up. The pillars reached up and wrapped around the arm like tentacles, grabbing it and yanking it towards the ground. The Iron Doom fought back, the Vermillion inside unwilling to give. Over raised one hand and opened his palm, thrusting his arm forward. More Dark Matter erupted from the floor and grabbed on, then yanked the arm back towards the rest of the Dark Matter encasing the Iron Doom. Like dragging an insect back to its web, the Dark Matter ensnared the arm again.
"This city… this place, is my Empire," Overlloyd's purple, pupiless eyes flared up as he spat, "The ground you walk upon is my essence. If you thought I would ever let you leave… you are mistaken."
"Krux! Acronix!" Lloyd shouted up at the Iron Doom, "We've come to take you down! You have to answer to us now!" Lloyd drew a katana and pointed it up towards them, "This game you're playing ends now!"
Both Twins slowly grasped the control console, pulling themselves up and slowly, gently, looking over the lip. As they saw what was there, their hazy vision coming together, Acronix was the first one to frown. Yet it was his brother whose face was not one of anger, but of pure, livid, fury. Krux planted his palms against the console and gripped hte controls tightly as he forced himself up, his breath failing him for a few moments.
"No…" Krux spat, "No… no, they are not here. Surely, my vision plays tricks on me? After all we have done, they wouldn't be after us. Not… now!"
"I'm never letting you leave!" Mage shouted, his voice suddenly filled with livid anger himself, "I haven't paid back my promise to you yet! I'll pay you back for every ounce of pain you caused my friends!"
For a moment, Krux snarled. He looked ready to snap, to scream and shout with an emotion unlike any other. Acronix got up beside him. He looked over to Krux. The older twin had his eyes fixated on not Mage, not Over, but Lloyd. Lloyd, Harumi and Lulloyd. As he saw them, his teeth ground together, his eyebrows twitched and spasmed. And then, with a small cackle, he threw his head back and howled in laughter.
"Fate truly hates us!" Krux laughed, almost uncontrollably, "HAHA! HAHA! They made it out! The heroes always make it out! We have to fight and scarpe by for all we want, but they always find a way! Isn't that right, brother?!" Krux's eyes were wild with a crazed tremble, "Isn't that right?1 Each of you! There was no way for you to get out! We figured out how you traveled! We figured it out! THERE'S NO WAY! NO WAY! NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO, NO! WAY!"
Monty landed in front of the group, tossing his shotguns to Lloyd to reload. Lulloyd stood in a readied pose, his face filled with confusion at Krux's reaction. Harumi fired several of her discs up at the Twins, who ducked under the cockpit again. Lloyd continued to hold his katana up at the Twins, but his face became unsure. The only one that seemed unfazed by it was Mage. his left hand sparking with various elements.
"After all this time…" Krux hissed, his eyes hidden in shadow, "After all of our work. After all of the planning and effort, they still remain. We felt this place's time. We knew that he had done something to it. We planned this for weeks. Longer than anything we should have had to! And now, we fight our way to what should be ours, our right, and you show up?! AND NOW YOU SHOW UP?!"
"Easy there, brother…" Acronix had lost his characteristic smile, "We may not know how they escaped… but we can prevent them from coming after us simply in another way."
Overlloyd hovered in the wair, weighing his option. The Twins were close enough to their plugged-in Time Blades to draw them and fight. It would be too much to fight them again. Not in his weakened state. Even now, he could barely move his wings. So, instead, he reached out and controlled the Dark Matter the Iron Doom was encased in.
Slowly, the substance began to contract. Like what he'd done to the group that now stood around him in the cells, he began to crush the Iron Doom. With his control over the powers of the Overlord and the will of Lloyd fueling him, Overlloyd closed all four of his fists. His staff melted back into his body as the Dark Matter caused the Iron Doom to creak. Vermillion began to slither around the Iron Doom in shock, attempting to find a safe haven. Even as the cockpit creaked around them, neither of the Twins were paying attention.
"I am finished…" Krux hissed, "I am finished with them! I'm finished! I'M FINISHED I'M FINISHED I! AM! FINISHED! IF THEY WANT TO FOLLOW US, WE'LL GO FARTHER THAN ANY OF THEM CAN EVER GO!"
Krux slammed his hand down on the console in front of him. Until now, the group hadn't been keeping track of Morro. That was when the floor of the Iron Doom opened, spitting up Morro, still strung up with snakes. The Vermillion armor he wore fell away, revealing him in the deepstone green armor that the group had seen him in Monty's world in. Krux thrust one hand back, causing the Vermilion to rise up and bite his body wherever they could. Morro opened his mouth in a wordless scream. His body convulsed as green power was made to, once more, leak violently from his body.
As Overlloyd focused on crushing them where they stood, Lloyd knew he had to make his move. They couldn't leave Morro behind! With a massive spin of Airjitzu, Lloyd shot up the air and towards an exposed part of the Iron Doom. Monty and Mage both came up with him, Mage going straight for the cockpit. Just as all three were about to reach it, however, Acronix turned his head forward and pointed his hand at them. Green power from Morro went sent coursing straight down into the trapped arm of the Iron Doom, burning at the Dark Matter that held it. Monty had just enough time to grab Mage and blast away as the arm came swinging towards him, the air rushing around the sword with its. Lloyd was thrown off, caught by Harumi throwing a Rhotate disc his way. Mage and Monty landed back on the ground, with Mage looking up at the Iron Doom in shocked surprise.
The cockpit of the Iron Doom was glowing. Glowing so bright green was spilling out. Overlloyd spat and tried to force the Dark Matter to crush faster. Yet Krux seemed to keep pushing him. Soon, that silent scream became a loud one that echoed through the entire chamber, making each of them wince as they heard the sound of their kin in pain. The entire Iron Doom began to glow with green power, melting away the Dark Matter. Overlloyd, enraged, reached out and tried to hold the Iron Doom down more.
"We have to hold him!" Lloyd shouted, leaping into the air and spinning into Spinjitzu. As he did, Acronix raised his hand up and sent a slice at him. The Iron Doom responded by using its other arm to pull up the other sword from it's back, slicing it right towards Lloyd. Mage reached up with metal, catching it and giving Monty time to blast into the air and shove Lloyd back down. The sword sliced down into the ground, cleaving a massive gash into it in the process.
"More!" Krux shouted, "MORE! Drain every last drop of power from him! Leave him with nothing! Give this machine everything you possibly can!"
With a loud shout, Overlloyd gave one last attempt to crush the Iron Doom. Instead, the Dark Matter burned apart, collapsing around it to fully free the beast. Overlloyd, exhausted, dropped to the ground, landing on all fours, wings retreating into his body. He wasn't done yet, however.. He called upon his Shadow Control power, moving to will the beast's shadow to become his to command. As it did, the shadow began to turn into spears that would undoubtedly destroy what little chance the Twins had of victory. Krux turned from the viewport to see this, but stayed the course. The shadow began to rise up as Overlloyd pushed his body to its limits, ready to fully take down the beast before it charged up.
With a blast of light, the Iron Doom's time dial began to spin again. The machine lurched forward, ripping free of the remaining Dark Matter netting as it did. The massive tail, its metal glowing with green power, went to swipe across the floor straight towards Overlloyd. In the moment, Overlloyd saw the tail coming at him, knowing what it would mean if it connected. His perception enhanced as he tried to turn and ready his staff.
Instead, with a flash of speed and a body turned to metal, Mage appeared right in front of Overlloyd, taking a wide stance. When the tail struck him, Mage shouted in sheer exertion as he dug in and used both metal and earth to enhance his strength and stop the blow. Overlloyd remained stunned for a few moments at the display, yet said nothing. He reached out, using the shadow that that tail cast to ensnare it and pull it away from Mage. Mage let go as the shadows moved to whip the tail back into place. Once more, Overlloyd slid forward on all fours in exhaustion.
The action, however, was one that gave the Twins inside the cockpit the chance to direct all snakes from the arms into the head. The head slowly rotated upwards, the red eye charging up using Morro as a battery. The eye fired in rapid succession. A hole was blasted straight up into the ceiling, blasting apart a hole in it. Each time it fired only made the hole larger and larger, raining down chunks of rock on them. Mage raced over to the others just as Lloyd and Harumi threw their hands up and created a large shield over them. Mage used his power to divert the rocks above them in turn. Overlloyd, seeing them coming down, shut his eyes tightly and focused. His shadow reached up and grabbed him, yanking him backwards to throw him to the opposite wall.
When the rubble finally cleared, there was a hole that led all the way to the surface. A faint gray light from the clouded skies shone down into the chamber, right onto the Iron Doom. Lloyd and Harumi dropped the shield, leaving Mage to slump forward as his body took the toll of the attacks on him.
"Is… is everyone okay?" Lulloyd asked nervously. Slowly, each of them responded. Monty was the only one who didn't, who was standing looking at his shotguns that had been crushed to bits by the falling rocks. When he turned to look at Lloyd, Lloyd muttered an apology for not catching them in time.
"Where's Overlloyd?" Monty asked as he stared up at the Iron Doom.
From across the chamber, a few rocks stirred. Overlloyd blasted the rocks apart with dark power, heaving his body up from the rubble and coughing as he did. He clung his way to the rocks as he snarled.
"They should know their place," Overlloyd spat.
"Now then," Acronix rubbed his hands together, "Let's bring in the cavalry, shall we?"
From the hole above, a figure emerged. Then another. Then another still. The figures were twisted, cobbled together from items one would find off the street. Signs, trash cans, car parts, and other things that looked rusted and worn from use. Yet it wasn't that which made the onlookers terrified. It was the fact that what was inside of those figures, were Vermillion. The Iron Doom moved to sheath one sword at a time, then raise its hands up with palms opened wide.
"Have I ever mentioned before that I love breeding?" Acronix patted the Iron Doom, "Especially when you can forward to the good part!" Krux just groaned at his brother's horrible pun.
"To us, Vermillion!" Krux shouted, "To your Iron Doom!" At once, the figures moved to fall straight down the hole. They fell and fell, then smashed into the open palms and sent what they were using for a body into pieces. The snakes that hit the palm, however, slithered into the Iron Doom through the wrists to fill the machine.
"This… this is directly under my palace grounds…" Overlloyd spat, "How did they… get them into my palace?"
"The Vermillion are… adaptable!" Acronix laughed, "I thank you for sending your general to defeat us, though. Defeating aimless Stone Warriors is easier when they have no orders," Acronix rubbed his neck, "Who knew being able to connect to that Hive Mind was useful after all?"
"I've… never seen it rain snakes," Lulloyd muttered, "And, I don't think I want to ever again."
Monty, who was still carrying his gun bag, reached inside for a weapon. Mage went flying past Monty in a flash, and a weight suddenly ws gone from the bag. Mage went flying into the air using gravity, brandishing the previously stored Aevum and swinging it around his body as he prepared to cleave through the Iron Doom's arms. Lloyd quickly spun into Airjitzu and took the chance to follow him, pushing his cyclondo to the absolute limit until he was just out of reach of the arms. Mage turned and formed a whip out of the moisture in the air to grab Lloyd and throw him up so they could both land on the arms of the Iron Doom. The two went back to back, Lloyd facing the viewport and Mage the Vermillion.
Rather than waste time with words, Lloyd held out his two swords and ran towards the Twins, while Mage readied to slice apart the wrists of the Iron Doom. The Twins responded by growling and making the Iron Doom bend its arms downwards, sending both of them sliding and gripping onto the jagged metal for support. Mage tried to get up, yet snakes from the machine moved up to try to bite at him. He swiped Aevum at them, yet no matter what he did they kept coming. Lloyd saw the grip he had begin to fill up with snakes clamoring to attack him. A bite from them caused him to drop his swords, sending them clattering to the floor below.
Overlloyd, pushing himself once more, opened now tattered wings and soared up beside the Iron Doom, forming his staff to send down against the Iron Doom's head. The machine bellowed as the snakes it had in it began to react in pain once more. The Twins, however, were more concerned with Lloyd and Mage. The snakes responded to them by changing tactics, instead slamming their bodies on the metal that they were holding onto. The metal that Lloyd held onto was pried off and separated, sending Lloyd falling down towards the ground. Harumi fired several Rhotatae discs, angling them to hit Lloyd and held slow his fall. Monty reached up with his wind to then guide Lloyd back down to the ground. Mage let go of the Iron Doom in turn, moving to hover in the air like Overlloyd and try to attack that way.
The last of the snakes stopped falling from above. Mage moving to bring Aevum down on the Iron Doom's wrist, slicing through most of it and causing it to start to fall off. Snakes, however, had accumulated enough to rapidly move and restitch the wrist back on, much to his anger. He turned towards the Twins, holding Aevum in both hands and looking them in the eye.
"You…" Krux spat as he saw the boy, "Of all of them… you're the one that deserves to die the most painful death."
"This sword belongs to someone that you hurt," Mage growled, "And I need to repay you for all that you've done. I already took down one of your generals. I'll take you down too."
Overlloyd moved to hover beside Mage, saying nothing but letting his eyes instead carry the sentiment. Krux and Acronix looked to them both for a few moments, deciding on the best course of action. Lloyd, Monty, Harumi and Lloyd all stood at the base of the Iron Doom, planning their path to get them up inside of the machine again.
Just then, the machine's time dial started to spin. A sickening crackle sounded from the machine, a sound that wasn't like anything it'd made before. The Time Matrix spun at uneven cycles, causing the crack to blur and marr the normally pristine machine. Krux and Acronix, however, were grinning like madmen as they heard the machine they loved so much reacting to them. The Time Blades had finally recharged.
"Now, brother!" Acronix smirked. Krux nodded his head to his brother, then pressed a button. All at once, the screeching the machine emanated became near unbearable. Energy began to spill out from cracks like bloo from a wound. Around the Iron Doom, blue lines appeared that were unmistakable for anything other than them attempting to flee.
"Not again!" Mage shouted, flying forward to try to strike the Time Matrix. When his sword connected with it, however, the reaction was a blast that sent him flying backwards hard enough to leave a massive gash into the ground. While the others moved to check on him, Overlloyd heard something from both sides. The Iron Doom crushed him between its fists before his tired body could react. Slowly, the fists of the Iron Doom were pushed apart as Overlloyd pushed his arms out, spitting in rage and calling upon everything he could to hold them open. He let out a shout of nothing more than pure hatred as he forced the fists apart.
Just then, the Iron Doom fired another blast from its eye, sending Overlloyd into the ground just as it had Mage. The screeching from the Time Matrix finally hit its peak and then leveled off, turning into a harsh and unsettling humming. The telltale blue streaks up into the sky formed as the Iron Doom began to lift up into the air to escape from the world.
Thinking fast, Lulloyd moved and threw his mechdragon brick out onto the ground. The dragon unfolded, letting Lloyd and Harumi carry Mage over and up onto the thing. Monty shot up into the air using wind after the Iron Doom, while the mechdragon roared and followed up after the Twins. The hole the Twins had blasted open was just wide enough for them to fit through, and more importantly for them to rise up from and towards a hole in the sky.
In the dark skies of the Emperor's Ninjago City, the clouds were split open by a strange, swirling blue hole that led to a blackened void. The travelers had seen this hole many times before. This time, however, the hole the Twins were rising into was different. Normally, the hole was a rather elegant circle, like washed pushed away by a container. This, however, was a jagged scar that looked to be ripped into the sky itself. Just like Monty's portal, it was one that didn't look to be on the clouds themselves, but rather gashed into the space around them instead. The hole was letting out a hum the same as that of the Iron Doom, and one that looked far worse than before.
The mechdragon went after the Iron Doom, exiting the hole in the palace grounds just after the Iron Doom. The dark tower of the Palace loomed over them all, but even it was no longer threatening as the idea of the Twins leaving again was. Lulloyd turned the controls and began to fire off his weapons, sending missiles and lasers right into the Iron Doom's chest. The machine creaked, yet remained firm. In turn, the Twins fired back their own fire from the eye, firing fast enough to blast the side of the Mechdragon.
The hole grew in size. The scar across the sky, the gateway to the void itself, was trembling and pulsing. Slowly, a wind began to creep through the city. A wind that was colder and more chilling than even the Emperor's Darkness. The wind swirled around in all directions, racing through every street, every single area that it could. And the wind all was being gathered around the palace, sucked into the hole the Iron Doom was raised in. As the Iron Doom rose, the massive crack in its chest glowed even harder, energy spilling out of it.
"W-What's with this wind?!" Lulloyd shouted, "I can't… keep us steady!" A massive gust of wind struck the Mechdragon, throwing it around in the air and sending them hurtling towards the palace grounds. To save himself the trouble of losing pieces, Lulloyd waited until they had nearly hit the ground, then turned the dragon back into a brick. Lulloyd grabbed the brick and readied for impact. Harumi fired several Rhotatae discs at them, narrowly catching Lloyd and Lulloyd to help guide them down to the ground. She herself grabbed Mage and did the same, landing with her disc exploding and sending her painfully into the rocks.
Monty was still flying straight for the Iron Doom as it went up into the sky. The air around the portal, however, was a violent storm. The winds buffeted the Iron Doom, which stopped in the air roughly fifty feet above the palace grounds. Monty tried to push his powers to keep himself going, yet the winds overcame him and forced him to retreat back. He drew pistols and fired off shots at the Iron Doom, yet nothing connected meaningfully.
"Brother!" Acronix shouted, "We've stopped!"
"Curse this broken machine!" Krux turned to Morro, "Give us every ounce of power in his body!"
The snakes connected to Morro complied, draining even more of his power from him. Morro had not the power to scream at this point, and instead was forced to endure as the machine continued to pour more power into the Time Matrix. The violent humming only grew inside of the rift above them, causing the massive gash in the sky to only grow larger and stretch even further across the sky. The air around it seemed to tremble and shake in a way none had seen before.
Around the city, the citizens hid. Something felt wrong. They had seen the evil and darkness of the Emperor, but this did not feel like him. As the crack in the sky grew, and a storm seemed to encompass the city with no rain to wash away their fear, those that could hide, hid. Only the dimensional travelers, on the grounds of the palace as they were, could hold on enough to look up towards the sky.
"What… what is that…?" Lulloyd asked, looking up at it, "That… that looks like the void!"
"I don't know…" Harumi gulped, "But… but I think you're right."
A loud noise tore through the air, even above the winds. From the hole that led to the former hiding place of the Iron Doom, Overlloyd, wings beating powerfully, emerged. His wings were all but seared apart, yet he pushed his body to the limit. He landed on the other side of the large hole the group stood by. Monty lowered down to join his friends. Once he touched down, Overlloyd fell down to one knee and gripped the floor.
"Something is wrong," The Overlord growled, "Don't you feel that? That wind. That wind isn't like anything we've felt before. That damaged Iron Doom is doing something!"
Overlloyd looked up. The Iron Doom seemed to be at the center of the storm. The crack was spinning faster, light spilling out in all directions like a gushing hose. The more the crack glowed, the more the wind blew. Even he could barely stay upright.
"I refuse…" Overlloyd spat as he forced a gasping gaze towards the Iron Doom, "I refuse to let you take away all of the work I've put into my world, Twins!"
Overlloyd focused, focused on his own body. He felt hazy. Dizzy. His mind was swimming. Even now, looking at the Iron Doom, he couldn't help it. Help but feel the memories bubbling up to the surface. Memories that consumed him as he readied himself to fire his darkness at the Iron Doom and bring the machine down with all he had left.
"For what reason have you come to me?" The Overlord's ball pulsed angrily in the air, "Why did you seek me out?"
Lloyd huffed. His body felt sick. Sick and wrong. The Iron Doom was perched on the beach behind him. This world was wrong. Everything had gone wrong. The world was twisted and so, so wrong. He was twisted, and the world was right.
"I need… I need a body to remain… in Ninjago…" Lloyd gripped his chest, a pain flaring through him, "I don't… belong in this world. It's trying to erase me. The Iron Doom protected me but… but I don't have long left."
"And why?" The Overlord asked, "Would I do that with the one that holds the power meant to one day be my equal?"
Lloyd stared at the ball of power in the air. The Overlord could possess people and transform their bodies. If he allowed the Overlord to fully envelop his body, then he could gain a presence in this world. If he didn't, time would catch up to him and erase him. He was a paradox. He needed something to stop that paradox from being erased.
"Because I need to live," Lloyd groaned out in pain, "And I already carry something you need to help the process along."
Lloyd raised his recently snake-bitten hand. The two marks were angry, and had begun to web out around his hand and down his arm with angry black veins. The Overlord's ball stared at it, or at least Lloyd assumed he did. Lloyd held it up for as long as he could before he was forced to lower it out of the pain it gave him.
"We… we were both left behind by destiny," Lloyd informed him, "We were both meant to be erased."
The Overlord remained silent for a few minutes. Then, he began to laugh. His laugh was piercing, dark and howling. Lloyd stared him down, not taking his gaze off of him. The Overlord kept laughing, laughing and laughing until his voice went hoarse.
"Tell me your story then, boy," The Overlord pulsed, "Let us see how destiny has abandoned you as well."
From behind Overlloyd, the doors to the palace opened.
Overlloyd turned his head at the sight, looking to see someone standing there. Sun. The boy that had disappeared had finally arrived, his body heaving and his sword fully ignited. He looked exhausted, having dragged his body all the way down from the prison floor. The knight of Ninjago City had finally arrived.
Sun took the chance to look around the area. He saw the ones he'd come to save, staring up at a massive machine suspended in the air over a tear in the sky that unnerved him to the core. He saw the air around the massive gash whirling around like a hurricane, kicking up dust and bits of trash from the city into it. He looked to see the Emperor, laying on the ground in a weakened state. As he laid eyes on his Emperor, his sword glowed even brighter.
"Sun…" Overlloyd put power into his voice to speak to him, "I would never ask you this otherwise. Those men seek to destroy the home that you claim to protect. Go, Sun! Take them down, your new ability should-"
Sun raised his head with a grin. He raced forward right towards the Emperor, sprinting across the palace grounds as ribbons of light emerged from under his cloak, aimed right at Overlloyd. Overlloyd, in this state, had no way of putting up a defense in time, meaning his body that was pushed to the breaking point was then struck with the explosions of light right onto him. When the light cleared, he was laying on his back, with Sun having his foot planted firmly on Overlloyd's torso, hefting his blade to point at Overlloyd's throat.
"I… I have won…" Sun declared, "I have taken this chance to stop your plan and bring your reign to an end. I have bested you, Emperor. You will no longer be a power that can stand over me!" Sun raised his sword high, "I have won!"
"You… You fool!" The Overlord spat at Sun, "Your idiotic pride will not serve you here! Those Twins have wronged us, now is not the time to-" Sun sent a punch into Overlloyd's face, causing the Overlord to stop talking.
"Silence," Sun growled, "I have won. Your reign is over!"
From up above. Another blast of light from the crack caused the Iron Doom to shine. Sun shielded his eyes as he saw the rift in the sky fully tear cracks across the city's darkened clouds. The Iron Doom's crack glow was blinding as the Twins both gave each other a look of victory.
"Finally! This machine works!" Acronix laughed, "Goodbye, ninja!"
Lloyd stood up in full, trying to ready something… anything at the Iron Doom. Yet the rift in the sky pulsed hard and caused the winds around them to stir up and churn the group with their might. It took all they had not to be wrenched up from the ground. Monty drew the SoS, trying to look into it to see what would happen next. As he saw only his own face, he cursed and sheathed the thing again.
The Iron Doom began to rise up. Yet right now, that was not what Lloyd could focus on. The crack in the sky had grown to nearly the size of the city itself. It was shining its pure darkness, its nothingness, right down into them. The wind was encompassing all of the city and spreading beyond. It was unlike anything they'd felt before. Anything they knew of. Somehow, he knew that this jump was unlike any other.
In the confusion, Overlloyd gave the last of his strength to thrust Sun off of his body. Sun went falling straight down into the hole into the chamber underground, landing in a head near the now split open Dark Matter seal. Overlloyd slumped to the ground as his eyes trained on the sight of the Iron Doom rising up.
"NOOOOO!" Lloyd shouted, but not even Harumi could hear him now. The Iron Doom gave one more pulse. One more laugh came from Krux and Acronix, who shot up into the sky. And just like that, just like every other time, the Iron Doom was gone. With one last pulse, the Iron Doom had left this world yet again. Mage looked up towards the sight, his eyes shining with a pain in them to rival Lloyd's own.
Lloyd's regret only was able to swallow him for a few seconds. Whenever this happened, the hole the Iron Doom ascended into would vanish. This time, however, the crack in the sky didn't go away. Instead, the winds around it stilled for a moment. A second of calm. Then the winds churned up harder, as though the crack had somehow exhaled more power into the winds. The crack that had grown to encompass the city only continued to grow and shroud the world is darkness.
"Why isn't it going away?!" Lulloyd shouted, "Doesn't, doesn't it normally do that!?"
"Something's wrong!" Lloyd shouted back, turning to Mage, "Mage, are you okay?!"
Mage was fully standing now, his eyes transfixed on the mark in the sky. As they all watched, the cracks only grew. They grew further and further, with the winds getting worse and worse. Buildings in the distance had their glass ripped apart. Cars in the streets started to lift from the ground. People fled in terror as they saw their normally darkened skies begin ripped open in a way none of them had ever seen.
Lloyd's eye watched as something was drawn up into the sky. A piece of billboard or something similar. It raised up towards the crack in the sky, right for all to see. The second that it touched the void, it vanished. More pieces began to fly up, each of them vanishing the moment they touched the crack. Vanishing… like they had suddenly stopped existing.
"W-What the?!" Lulloyd shouted in terror, "Where'd they go?! What is that?!"
"If that's… if that's the void…" Harumi shook her head, "Then… then that means…" Slowly, the words that Fennwick had spoken to them came to her mind. Words spoken long ago, but filling her mind in that moment:
Imagine that the outside is the void. If you came to this world, you must have come through it. the more pressure you place upon the world. And if you place too much pressure, then the very fabric of that world would be undone, permanently.
"The Twins ripped a hole in the barrier…" Harumi turned to the group, "This universe is coming apart!"
"What?!" Lloyd shouted. A violent gust of wind in the distance caused a building to begin to topple. That building, however, didn't fall. Instead, the winds began to pull it up into the sky. They all watched as it touched the crack in the sky, and vanished.
"Dareth's!" Harumi pointed across the palace grounds, "We need to get to Dareth's!"
The group had no way of arguing. Even Monty was left speechless as they watched the winds pull things up into the crack and then fade away. The world itself seemed to warp and bend around the void that was drawing objects into it. The five turned and ran towards Dareth's home, the building left standing in the palace grounds they had first emerged from. Mage weakly called on speed to hurry them closer.
The group threw the doors open to the warehouse. The second they did, the roof itself creaked and then, with a massive wrench, was ripped away. Lloyd looked up with pure horror in his eyes as the roof, along with chunks of buildings, were drawn into the void above them. Just like everything else, they vanished the moment they touched them. Swallowed into nothingness.
"GO! GO!" Lloyd shouted to them. The distance through the warehouse had never looked so long before. More buildings were being ripped away. People in the streets screamed for their lives as they ran, hiding under whatever remained on the ground. Lloyd's eyes fixed on a certain ship in the distance had its invisibility ripped away, then was sucked straight up until it touched the void. Like everything else, it vanished. Pure dread filled Lloyd as his body thrummed with pure adrenaline. The world itself was well and truly, ending.
Monty summoned his chi and flung it at the nearest wall, opening the portal, Lloyd turned to look at the carnage outside, just as the walls to the warehouse began to creak. He leapt inside, unwilling to watch what was happening. Harumi helped to pull Mage inside.
Lulloyd was about to go inside, but stopped as he saw Monty standing at the edge of hte portal. Monty's gaze was being drawn back across the palace grounds. To where he'd seen Sun fall, and Overlloyd lay limp.
"Monty," Lulloyd froze, "What is it? We have to go, NOW!"
"..." Monty shook his head, "I'm going back for him."
"What?!" Lulloyd looked up at the terror above them, "You can't!"
"Go," Monty drew the SoS, "I'll be right behind you."
Lulloyd gave Monty one more look, then nervously nodded his head in a sign of trust. He leapt into the portal, leaving the collapsing world. Monty gave a sigh, then summoned his wind and blasted away from the portal as fast as he could off towards the hole.
On the ground by the hole, staring up at the rift consuming his world, was Overlloyd. He couldn't move his body. He could only look up. Look up and watch as his city was ripped apart. Pieces of his empire, sucked away and banished from this world. He could only watch as all he'd made was ripped away. He slowly closed his eyes, unable to watch more. He could feel nothing, only a crushing guilt at his own failure. He inhaled for a moment, then gripped the ground with his hand.
"Forgive me, Overlord," Overlloyd whispered, "I wasn't able to rewrite our destiny after all." The winds were starting to make him feel weightless. Soon, he too would be drawn there. Soon, it would be his end. As he lay there, his mind began to drift, and a memory surfaced once more.
"Once we begin," The Overlord informed him, "You will no longer be Lloyd. You've already been infected with my darkness. We will become something new. Something powerful."
Lloyd felt the evil thoughts flare in his mind, "I don't care. I'm willing to give up my power if it means that I have a place to live. This world abandoned me. Let us make it burn… together."
"Very well," The Overlord laughed, "Let us rewrite destiny, together."
The Overlord's form struck Lloyd's body, then disappeared. Suddenly, the pain he felt from the bite flared. It flared and flared and flared even more. Lloyd let out a scream as the pain overwhelmed his body. Green power gathered in his hands, then blasted out from his palms. He continued to scream as his body snapped and cracked. His mind felt as though it was expanding, pressing in new ways he never thought possible. He fell to his knees and then to his hands as well, gripping the sand of the Dark Island's beach. He writhed in it as his body continued to blast out his power, blasting away the sand around them.
His skin turned black. The image of what his father had become was in the forefront of his mind. His torso shaped and grew until two growths on its sides became new arms. His head twisted back and forth as his skin was transformed into a carapace. His ninja robes burned up as more green power burst out from his hands. With another scream, Lloyd threw his head back, his hands sparking for a few moments before the green power turned pink, then purple. Two columns of dark power erupted towards the sky as the fusion came to its head.
Then, darkness. Lloyd fell to the ground. His body felt tired. Yet it also felt alive. The pain that he'd felt since arriving back in his time was gone. All the pain was gone. He looked around. His normal sight was now overlayed with thermal colors. He blinked his eyes, causing it to go back to his normal sight. He looked down at the ground. He was in a crater nearly ten feet into the ground. Water from the ocean was steadily trickling in from one side. From that water, a pool had formed. He looked down to see the face that he now had. To see the glowing purple eyes of the Overlord where his had once been.
"We are now one," The Overlord spoke through his lips, "I… we are now free to return to Ninjago. What say you, Lloyd?"
Lloyd raised his hand to his face. He stared at himself for a long time, taking in the sight. Then, a sound. He laughed. He got to his feet, looking at his full body. He laughed. He laughed just like the Overlord did hearing his story. He laughed, and he laughed, and he laughed again. His laughter as he looked to the skies of the Dark Island. His laughter seemed to carry all the way to Ninjago, the land that had once housed him and soon, would be his.
Overlloyd's eyes opened as he heard something beside him. Monty stood there, looking down the hole to the chamber where Sun lay. He could see the knight there, laying limp, completely motionless far out of reach. Monty held up his hand and blasted away a violent gust of wind that was coming his way. He looked up at the sky, seeing the void crack growing still. Overlloyd could only weakly stare at Monty as the ghost looked down to no doubt rescue the trapped knight below.
Monty looked into the gaze of the SoS. He willed for the sword to show him the future. There was nothing there. Monty's face filled with anger. The sword refused him visions. It refused him to see his fate in trying to save Sunt.
Overlloyd sighed, closing his eyes in full. He couldn't bring himself to listen to what the Overlord was saying. For now, he simply shut his eyes, ready for when the winds dragged him up to his fate…
A hand grabbed Overlloyd's arm. He looked up to see Monty there, looking back towards Dareth's warehouse. He had sheathed the SoS, and was looking forward towards the warehouse with his portal active. Monty turned and forced a strange blue crystal into Overlloyd's hand. The walls began to rip up into the sky. Monty looked down to the dark figure, his words firm.
"Sorry to interupt your dying," Monty growled, "But we need you."
With a burst of wind, Monty accelerated the two straight for Monty's portal. Monty pushed them faster than he normally ever would, hurtling them across the grounds and into the warehouse at record speed. The two figures shot into the portal, the crystal shard glowing to let Overlloyd into it. The portal shut just as the wall it was on went up into the sky, only to disappear along with it. Overlloyd was dragged away from his own world, disappearing into the void that was consuming all he had ever known.
Slowly, a boy rose up from the ground. Sun rubbed his head as he pushed himself upright. As he did, he turned his head up towards the sky, framed through the hole in the ground. He had seen Monty appear and consider saving him, only to drag away his rival instead. He should have felt anger. Rage. Sorrow. There was no feeling that Sun could spare, however. Instead, he looked up as he watched the void grow larger in the sky. He watched as his world was erased. Somehow, he knew what was happening. His eyes showed nothing in them, just the reflection of destruction that was consuming all it touched.
Slowly, Sun let go of his broken sword handle. The two halves clattered to the ground, the light in them fading out. Sun gave one last look up to the sky above him, then he kneeled. He placed his hands on his thighs, then he took a single breath. On his lips was not the smile of regret, or an expression of rage. Instead, it was a resignation to the fate he had brought upon himself. Slowly, he closed his eyes.
The crack in the sky grew one last time. The barrier fully broke. The winds stopped. The void rushed in. Sun let go of his last breath.
In an instant to last eternity, Sun was no more.
In an instant to last eternity, his universe ceased to exist.