The Merge

“One day, as the First Spinjitzu Master meditated, he foresaw an event when all the realms would crash together. He called this event "the Coalescence," and he knew its time would soon be upon them.”


The Merge (also called the Coalescence) is a cataclysmic event that resulted in the realms combining into one. It was caused by Master Wu under unknown circumstances. Although, the union of the merged realms are unstable due to the Merge's aftershocks, known as the MergeQuakes, which occur when the realms attempt to share the same area and can only be stopped temporarily by the energy from the Dragon Cores.[1][2]

To reverse the Merge, all seven Source Dragons would need to use their powers to separate the realms. The Merge itself also increased the amount of elemental energy in the realms, resulting in the formation of a new generation of Elemental Masters, who had either been given a new Elemental Power, or an original one without a host. The Merge is one event in the universe's cycle which is now threatened by the schism of the Council of Sources.

History

History[]

Prelude[]

Thousands of years ago, while the Sixteen Realms were still separated and Ninjago was just one realm, the First Spinjitzu Master foresaw the Coalescence in a vision, in which all realms will become one. Knowing that it would occur someday, he sought out the Source Dragons and begged them to freely give him some of their energy. Once this request was fulfilled, he used them to create three special orbs called Dragon Cores, which is powerful enough to keep all the realms in balance, thus preventing the Coalescence.[3]

Thousands of years later, the Source Dragon of Balance was killed and their corpse was buried underground in Imperium, which prevented it from disappearing.[4][5] With the Advanced Systems Lab inventing the glass core, Lord Ras managed to contain the Source Dragon of Energy underneath the Kingdom of Imperium, destabilizing the realms. Eventually, Wu somehow caused the Merge, although the exact circumstance and reason as to how and why are unknown.[6]

The Merge[]

Wu had his students collect scrolls containing information about "the Coalescence." When the Merge started, cracks in reality to the other realms appeared in the sky, and Wu and the ninja flew into Ninjago City with the Destiny's Bounty and a mech to save as many citizens as possible. When the Bounty went into the Merge, Wu mouthed to himself that he thought he could "pull it off," but that "it happened too soon," to which the ninja couldn't hear due to the raging loud storm. He then told the ninja that only unity can save them, and that they will have no chance if they're separated. When the Merge ended, the cracks closed, a massive shockwave was unleashed and the ninja disappeared without a trace across the Merged Realms.

Aftermath[]

Because of the Merge, all of the realms became one with Ninjago. Some lands were relocated throughout the Merged Realms.[7] The Merge's energy led to the creation of the portal gates and their monasteries,[8][9] and a new generation of Elemental Masters emerged, receiving either a new Elemental Power or an old one that didn't have a host.[10] However, the balance between them proved to be unstable, resulting in the MergeQuakes as realms tried to merge and share the same area. Many of the displaced inhabitants of the Realms found themselves with nowhere to go and formed the Crossroads.[11] As for the ninja, each of them became stranded in different separate locations; Lloyd found himself back at the Monastery of Spinjitzu, Kai ended up on the Land of Monsters for months,[12] Nya woke up somewhere far from the Land of Madness, Cole woke up in the Land of Lost Things, Zane ended up in a techno-cocoon in the Monastery of Imperium, P.I.X.A.L. ended up in another techno-cocoon in the First Land Monastery, and Jay lost his memory and ended up in the Administration in the Realm of Madness. Because they and Master Wu had disappeared and had not been seen nor heard from for a very long time, many believed that they were lost forever. However, a young teen named Arin maintained hope that the ninja would return.

This came true, when most of them would find each other and reunite, with the exception of Jay whose whereabouts were unknown after he lost his memories of being a ninja. As for Master Wu, he also survived the Merge, but took on a ghost-like form, leading the ninja to believe he had perished until Arin learned from Morro about the Spectral Lands, discovering that if Wu had died, he would be there.[13][14]

While the ninja have no knowledge of Jay's whereabouts, however, they were unaware that he has ended up in the Administration, which lies within the former Realm of Madness.[15] They were further unaware that he has lost his memories of his friends, his identity, and his adventures as a ninja. The ninja eventually reunited with Jay during the Tournament of the Sources, but were shocked to discover that he (as a result of his memory loss) has joined the Wolf Clan, an evil alliance formed by the Forbidden Five millennia ago and recently reorganized by Lord Ras, who seeks to help his master in controlling the Source Dragons to have power over the Merged Realms by undoing the Merge in the process.[6][8] After Jay was defeated by Nya during the tournament, he was expelled from the clan by Ras and left the City of Temples to parts unknown.[16]

With Jay's current whereabouts unknown again, Kai promised his sister that they'll make him come back to his senses once they find him. Earlier, during the final game of the Tournament, when Cole and Arin found Master Wu in the Monastery of Gates, they were shocked to learn that the latter was responsible for the Merge. Having learned of it earlier from Ras, Arin's faith in the ninja crumbled, as they had put their focus on saving the world over finding Arin's parents, Jenny and Barry, who had disappeared during the Merge. Arin would ultimately abandon the ninja to search for his parents with Ras' help.[17]

Arin eventually got Ras healed thanks to healing elixir from the Spectral Lands with the help of Morro who told him that both the Cursed Realm and Departed Realm fused together when The Merge happened, which allowed the Departed souls to move on but were vulnerable to Soul Suckers. Ras then showed Arin where his parents were but Arin saw their graves in the Land of Lee. The ninja manage to reunite with Arin and Jay, who became a bounty hunter and was hired by Zeatrix to capture Ras, after a battle with Thunderfang. Although Arin decide to stay with Ras, his best friend Sora left the Ninja to join him and follow Ras, who allowed her to accompany them with misgivings after Arin noted that Sora, who was the Elemental Master of Technology, could be an asset to their mission. An injured Jay informed the ninja that Arin's parents are actually alive and in the Land of Lee.

Thanks to Master Wu, Cole, Frak, and Kai unearth the Source Dragon of Balance's skeleton, with the corpse from rising out of the ground and disappearing soon after. Meanwhile, Arin and Sora travelled with Ras to locate the Pontifex Magicus in Abracalabria, since the trio required his assistance in finding the Underworld, which contained the location of the Forge of the Forgotten, enabling them to create a second addition to the Source Dragon Icons needed to reverse the Merge. Upon arriving, they found their travels coincided with the invasion that Thunderfang - now departed - had launched from the Spectral Lands to gather souls, enabling him to force himself onto the Council of Sources, which was in debate about withdrawing from mortal affairs. Though the Pontifex was amongst those who lost their souls, another opportunity arose when the sorceress Gandalaria - a friend of Arin and Sora - admitted to having a map that detailed the location of the Underworld. Gandalaria was hollowed soon afterwards, but Ras and his followers were able to locate the aforementioned map at her residence at the Monastery of Mysterium and departed to continue their mission.

Meanwhile, the escalating discourse amidst the Source Dragons worsened to the split the Council between two separate blocs that debated their response to the threat of Thunderfang. Whereas Energy and Flow supported Motion when she argued that their undead foe was more dangerous that her peers believed, the Source Dragons who embodied Focus, Life and Strength opposed further interactions with mortals or otherwise expressed regret over having become involved with such affairs to begin with, leaving them at a stalemate.

The Merge reversal[]

According to Ras, there is a way to reverse the Merge to all the realms that existed before. This cataclysmic process would be so powerful that altering reality could be possible in the wake of it, but its consequences would extend far beyond merely separating inhabitants into different realms.[18] Driven by his desire to restore the lives of his people and fulfill his master's ambitions, Ras is determined to reverse the Merge. However, to access the Merge reversal, there are several steps that need to be done. First, it is necessary to create Source Dragon Icons for all seven Source Dragons, summon all of them at once into the mortal world, and force them to undo the Merge, but given how the Source Dragon of Balance is dead and how the corpse disappeared after Kai, Frak and Cole freed it from the earth, it's unknown how this will work.

Official description

Official description[]

Tales from the Merged Realms[]

This was a mysterious and violent event that resulted in the Ninjago world uniting with the legendary outside realms. Now the formerly inaccessible realms, such as the Underworld, the Cursed Realm, the Realm of Madness, and many more, are islands or continents all over the world.[19]

Appearances

Appearances[]

Ninjago: Dragons Rising[]

Season 1[]

Season 2[]

Season 3[]

Ninjago Magazine[]

Gallery

Gallery[]

In Ninjago: Dragons Rising[]

Season 1[]

Season 3[]

See also

See also[]

Translations

Translations[]

The Merge[]

Language Name
Chinese (Simplified) 大融合
Czech Sloučení
Dutch De Versmelting
Finnish Yhdistyminen
French La Fusion
German Verschmelzung/Schmelze
Greek Η Ένωση
Hungarian Az Egyesülés
Italian La fusione
Japanese マージ
Polish Fuzja
Portuguese A Fusão
Russian Слияние
Spanish (Latin America) La Fusión
Spanish (Spain) La Fusión
Swedish Sammanfogningen
Ukrainian Злиття
Turkish Birleşme

MergeQuakes[]

Language Name
Chinese (Simplified) 融合之震
Czech Sloutřesení
Dutch Smeltbevingen
French Tremblement de fusion
German Verschmelzungsbeben/Schmelzbeben
Hungarian Repedések
Italian Fusioscosse
Japanese マージクエイク
Polish Fuzjowstrząsy
Portuguese (Brazil) Fusão-motos
Portuguese (Portugal) Sismos-fusão
Russian Миротрясения
Spanish (Latin America) Fusi-Sismos
Spanish (Spain) Fusi-Rremotos
Swedish Fogbävningar
Ukrainian Злиттєтруси
Turkish Birleşme Sarsıntıları

The Coalescence[]

Language Name
Chinese (Simplified) 凝集
Czech Srůstání
Dutch Coalescentie
Finnish Sulautuminen
French Coalescence
German Koaleszenz
Hungarian Egybeforrás
Italian Coalescenza
Japanese 融合
Polish Koalescencja
Portuguese Coalescência
Spanish (Latin America) Coalescencia
Spanish (Spain) Coalescencia
References

References[]

  1. ↑ "The Merge: Part 2"
  2. ↑ https://x.com/otherland71/status/1807196193052852675
  3. ↑ "The Temple of the Dragon Cores"
  4. ↑ "The Shape of Motion"
  5. ↑ "The Screaming Earth"
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Truth and Lies"
  7. ↑ https://x.com/otherland71/status/1690375510327455745
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Their Draconic Majesty's Request"
  9. ↑ "The Spell at the Waterfall"
  10. ↑ "Land of Lost Things"
  11. ↑ "The Merge: Part 1"
  12. ↑ https://bsky.app/profile/docwyattbeyond.bsky.social/post/3lz5ut4gozc2n
  13. ↑ "The Spectral Lands"
  14. ↑ "Under the Light of a Mechanical Moon"
  15. ↑ "The Administration"
  16. ↑ "United We Fall"
  17. ↑ "Elements of Betrayal"
  18. ↑ https://bsky.app/profile/docwyattbeyond.bsky.social/post/3lpnv6sw7kc2r
  19. ↑ Tales from the Merged Realms