Ninjago:Rising

CHAPTER TWO

Days drifted by after the explosion, and the world seemed to continue on as if nothing had happened. Lloyd and his friends were alive—a miracle in itself—yet the memory of that day lingered in his mind like a ghost. His body ached from the blast, and his mind buzzed with confusion, but the days were mostly uneventful. The only reminder of that fateful day was the occasional twinge of discomfort in his side and the nagging thoughts that refused to leave him alone. He tried to push it out of his mind, focusing on the mundane routine of life—school, chores, and spending time with Lyra.

Lyra. His older sister. She was two years older than him and had always been his rock. They shared a grief that was almost too heavy to bear, with their dad gone and their mom doing her best to hold them together. But even Lyra seemed to be struggling to find her footing in this new reality. Lloyd noticed her distant glances and strained smiles, but they never spoke about it. Not directly.

On the third day, however, everything changed.

Lloyd was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, trying to see through the fog of exhaustion and unease that seemed to have settled over him. His room was cluttered with old comic books and action figures, remnants of a childhood he felt had been stolen from him. He tried to distract himself by going through some old photos on his desk. His eyes landed on a picture of their family from years ago—a snapshot of happier times before everything went wrong. Their dad had his arm around their mom, a wide grin on his face, while Lloyd and Lyra stood beside them, their faces lit with innocent joy. He picked up the photo, feeling the edges beneath his fingers as a wave of grief washed over him.

Then he felt it—the first flicker of something strange. It began as a faint tingling in his fingertips, a sensation he initially brushed off as nerves from the explosion. But the feeling didn't go away. It grew stronger, spreading up his arms and into his chest, a warmth that was unfamiliar yet oddly soothing. He frowned, trying to ignore it, but the tingling intensified, becoming almost painful.

"What is this?" he muttered to himself, trying to shake off the discomfort. He stood up, pacing his room, but the sensation only seemed to grow more insistent. He glanced around, seeking some distraction, but his room suddenly felt too small, too confining.

Instinctively, he reached out for the photo again, but as he did, the tingling reached a crescendo. He lifted his hand, intending to rub his eyes, and that's when it happened.

A burst of green light exploded from his palm, engulfing his entire hand in a swirling vortex of energy. He froze, his eyes widening in disbelief as the light crackled and pulsed, almost as if it had a life of its own. It wasn't just light; it was something tangible, something that seemed to resonate with his very being. The green energy was intense, bright enough to illuminate his entire room, casting strange, shifting shadows on the walls.

"What the hell-?" he gasped, stumbling backward and nearly dropping the photo. The energy swirled around his hand, climbing up his arm and radiating a heat that was neither hot nor cold but strangely soothing. Panic surged through him as he tried to understand what was happening. This wasn't normal—this couldn't be happening.

He tried to shake the energy off, but it only flared brighter in response to his panic. The green light reflected off the walls, creating a chaotic dance of light and shadow that seemed to mimic the turmoil inside him. His heart raced as he fought to control whatever this was, but it felt like trying to hold back a tidal wave with his bare hands.

"Calm down, calm down!" he muttered, clenching his fists, but the energy only intensified, swirling around his fingers with increasing ferocity. His breathing became erratic as he struggled to keep his composure, but the light continued to flare and pulse, reacting to his fear and confusion.