We were out of immediate danger, though the battlefield still haunted my senses—the smell of scorched earth and burning magic lingering in my mind. The Overlord hovered nearby, silent, watching his domain reorganize. My army had dispersed into patrols and wards, preparing for the next strike.
And yet… I was annoyed.
The First Spinjitzu Master had been stronger than I anticipated. Far stronger. I had expected someone on par with Merlok—maybe a little beyond, gifted in battle, cunning with elemental power—but this… this was something else entirely. A being capable of creation and destruction intertwined, with centuries of experience, now wielding a dragon of near-mythic proportions. He had overpowered us in bursts, held off our combined might, and nearly fractured our forces.
No. That would not happen again.
I called Stone Clay to my side. The construct knelt obediently, as always, magical energy thrumming faintly beneath his form.
He was strong, yes—powerful enough that Merlok himself had noted his potential exceeded most of Ninjago's known mages. But the potential was still raw. He hadn't mastered control. He hadn't learned to focus his own energy with precision yet. That made him… useful.
I raised my staff and spoke the incantation. Dark magic, forbidden even in my own spells, flared outward. I drew power from him—careful, controlled, precise—draining roughly half of his raw potential and binding it to my own essence.
Stone Clay's eyes flickered. He didn't falter, but the change was unmistakable. I could feel the transfer—the slow, deliberate expansion of my magical reserves. The surge of power was intoxicating, immediate, and absolute.
It wasn't just energy. It was strength. Speed. Precision. Awareness. The raw, latent magical skill that Clay hadn't yet refined became mine, folded into centuries of Monstrox knowledge, forbidden spells, and my own dark arcane mastery.
My power… exploded outward.
I felt it coil in my limbs, in my mind, in the very air around me. Even the Overlord raised an eyebrow at the intensity—though he didn't speak.
Now, finally, I was on par with him.
Not just comparable. Not just enough to survive a direct confrontation. Dominant enough that together, he and I could crush the First Spinjitzu Master.
And Clay? The drain had reduced his potential significantly—but not fatally. He was raw still, unmastered. His own magic had been a blunt instrument, feeding attacks without finesse. Losing half of it wasn't catastrophic. He remained capable. Useful. And obedient.
I tested the flow of my new power. Lightning spiraled from my fingertips without effort. Flames bent to my will. Illusions wove themselves into reality as easily as breathing. Forbidden spells that once drained me now flowed without hesitation.
I nodded slowly.
"Yes," I said quietly, more to myself than anyone else. "This… this changes everything."
The Overlord inclined his shadowed head slightly. No words were needed. Together, now, we were unstoppable.
And the First Spinjitzu Master—no matter how powerful, no matter how clever—would learn that lesson soon enough.