Chapter Text
The darkness pressed in like a suffocating fog, thick and silent—too silent.
Lloyd ran.
He wasn’t sure what he was running from—only that the darkness twisted with purpose, shadows peeling back to reveal faces he could never forget.
Harumi stepped out first, her silhouette flickering like a dying flame. Her eyes were hollow, glowing faintly violet.
“You failed me, Lloyd.” she whispered, voice sharp and brittle like shattered glass.
Then came the Overlord, or something shaped like him—a void wrapped in armor, radiating heatless light. His voice echoed across the void, deep and distorted.
“Balance is a lie. Evil and good will break again, as they always do. And you…” The thing leaned in. “You, Lloyd, will be the one to tip the scales.”
Lloyd staggered back, chest tightening. His breath came in short, panicked bursts. The ground beneath him cracked with every step, glass spidering under his feet.
He turned and tried seeking escape, anything but them. However, that's when he saw Kai.
The Kai he was afraid to confront.
This version of Kai stood tall and rigid, his eyes burning with the same dangerous hunger Lloyd had seen only once before—back on Chen’s Island, when ambition had clouded judgment. When power had made Kai forget who he was, even just for a heartbeat.
“Kai?” Lloyd breathed.
But the figure only smiled—a cold, foreign thing stretched across a familiar face.
“Power,” Kai said, stepping forward. “It’s not meant to be wasted on you.”
The words cut deeper than any blade. This was the brother who had always fought to protect him. Seeing him like this—twisted by greed, eclipsed by something darker—froze Lloyd in place.
For a moment, he wasn’t the Green Ninja. He was just a scared kid staring at someone he cared for, wondering if he could ever truly trust him again.
He turned to flee again—and then he saw it.
A single yellow eye.
It blinked slowly from the shadows, not part of the nightmare, but… observing it. Cold. Detached. Alien. Unlike the chaos around it, this eye didn’t speak. It didn’t move. It watched.
“Who—” Lloyd tried to speak, but his voice drowned in the rising howl of wind and whispers.
The eye twitched—just once—as if reacting. And then, it was gone. The nightmare shattered like a pane of glass hit by a stone.
---
Lloyd bolted upright, drenched in sweat. His chest heaved as he clutched at the sheets tangled around his legs. He could still feel the weight of that gaze, the surreal clarity of it, sharper than anything else in the dream. He glanced at the window—the moon was high, casting pale light across the room.
“Just a dream,” he muttered, rubbing his eyes. “Just another one.”
But it didn’t feel like “just another one.” It had started the same—past enemies, guilt, ghosts—but that eye… that was new. That was wrong.
He shook his head. No time to dwell. He had a day to face.
---
By mid-morning, the monastery kitchen was alive with the clatter of dishes and casual chatter. Kai was grumbling about burnt toast, Nya was elbow-deep in a toolbox at the table, and Zane was calibrating his optic sensors with the help of Pixal.
Lloyd walked in quietly, yawning as he poured himself some tea. Cole glanced up from his seat on the counter. “Rough night?”
Lloyd forced a smile. “You could say that.”
“Another dream?” Zane asked, voice gentle.
He shrugged. “Yeah. Just… weird stuff. Old enemies. Nothing new.” He didn’t mention the eye. He didn’t know why, but something about it made him instinctively keep it to himself.
“Well, nothing like some morning training to shake off dream gunk,” Jay said, spinning a fork between his fingers before dropping it. “Oops.”
“Good idea,” Lloyd muttered, sipping his tea and pretending everything was fine.
---
Their training session was light—by ninja standards. A few sparring matches, some balance drills, and a couple rounds of friendly trash talk. Lloyd let himself fall into the rhythm, fists moving on instinct. It was comforting. Real. Solid.
“You’re slow today, Golden Boy,” Kai teased, ducking under a kick.
“Still fast enough to beat you,” Lloyd shot back, landing a clean hit to Kai’s shoulder. The others laughed, and for a moment, the weight in his chest lightened.
Eventually, Master Wu stepped in. “Alright, enough bruises for the morning. I need some errands done.”
The team scattered after being assigned their tasks. Lloyd, of course, got groceries. He didn’t mind. A walk through Ninjago City sounded nice. Busy enough to keep his mind off things.
---
The city buzzed with life. Flyers fluttered in the breeze, music poured out from alley cafes, and people bustled by with bags and chatter. Lloyd walked with his hood up, enjoying the anonymity. Occasionally someone would recognize him—“Hey, it’s the Green Ninja!”—but most just let him pass.
That was when he saw them.
Three figures in white cloaks edged in gold were standing near a fountain. They weren’t doing anything particularly strange—just handing out flyers—but something about them unsettled him.
Their robes reminded him of Shintaro’s formal wear. But this wasn’t the same. There was something ceremonial in the way they moved, their faces hidden behind soft veils. One of them turned as Lloyd passed and extended a hand.
“May peace find you,” the figure said, voice smooth and quiet. “Would you like one?”
Lloyd hesitated. The flyer was plain, off-white with gold cloud detailing along the edges.
“Sure,” he said, accepting it with a nod. The figure bowed slightly and said nothing more.
He tucked it into his hoodie pocket without reading it and continued on his way, shrugging off the lingering feeling of unease.
---
The day rolled on. Groceries were gathered, dinners were planned, and the monastery settled back into its peaceful rhythm. No attacks. No emergencies. No world-ending threats.
The unease hadn’t left him—it clung to his chest like fog. He turned in early, retreating to quiet instead of company. Kai watched him go, concern flashing across his face, but stayed silent. For now.
By the time he curled up under the covers, he had nearly forgotten the flyer entirely. That is, until he shifted slightly and felt a crinkle in his hoodie pocket.
He blinked, then reached in and pulled out the paper. Unfolding it, he read the message:
The Dreamer’s Veil
A community of care, rest, and reconnection.
We meet under the moonlight—once a month or as often as needed.
Share burdens. Find peace.
Through shared dreams, we find healing.
Sleep is the first step to closure.
-Yumi
Location: Beyond the tree line on the eastern edge of Ninjago City. Follow the path until you reach an open field in the southeast. You’ll find us there.
Conveniently a small map was attached, with the location neatly circled in red ink.
---
Lloyd stared at the paper for a long moment, unsure of what unsettled him more: the vagueness of it all… or the oddly compelling warmth it seemed to promise.
Support through sleep? That was definitely strange.
He tossed the flyer onto his bedside table and turned off the light, trying not to think about it.
But as he drifted into unconsciousness, he felt that eye again. Not in his dreams this time—but in his memory. Watching. Always watching.