Chapter 2: Past Has Returned 

By the time Po, Lian, and the Furious Five reached the ravaged village, the devastation lay bare before them. Smoke curled into the darkening sky from smoldering ruins. Survivors wandered aimlessly, their faces pale and hollow, their eyes haunted.

Lian knelt beside an elderly goose trembling under the weight of his grief, his feathers matted with dirt and soot. “What happened here?” she asked, her voice gentle but firm.

The goose’s beak quivered as he spoke, his voice barely a whisper. “A black wolf... he came without warning. He was looking for the Dragon Warrior.”

Lian’s stomach tightened. “Me?” she breathed, her words heavy with disbelief. “Did he say why?”

The goose shook his head weakly. “No… but his rage... it was unlike anything I’ve seen. He tore through everything... everyone. He left nothing.”

As the group moved through the ruins, speaking with survivors, Lian’s mind spiraled into memories she’d buried long ago. A familiar face emerged—shadowy, cold, and unrelenting.

Po noticed her silence and walked to her side, his paw resting lightly on her shoulder. “Lian, are you okay?”

She hesitated, then nodded, though her eyes betrayed her turmoil. “The wolf...” she began, her voice unsteady. “I know him. His name is Shadow.”

Tigress, standing nearby, furrowed her brow. “What do you mean, you know him?”

Lian hesitated, the words catching in her throat. “Before I became the Dragon Warrior, I worked under the Chameleon—the one Po defeated. Shadow was his right hand. Ruthless, powerful. He tried to recruit me… to betray the Chameleon. But I refused. I betrayed him instead.”

Her voice dropped. “He was thrown from a cliff during the fight that followed. I thought he was dead. But now…” She looked toward the ruins, her heart heavy. “Now I see I was wrong.”

Po’s expression darkened. “So he survived—and now he’s coming for you?”

Lian nodded slowly. “Yes. And he won’t stop until he gets what he wants.”

The group exchanged uneasy glances. Even Tigress, always the pillar of strength, seemed troubled.

The journey back to the Jade Palace was steeped in silence, the weight of Lian’s revelation pressing down on them like the storm clouds gathering overhead. Thunder rumbled in the distance, an ominous prelude to the battle ahead

To Be continued......