Chapter 13 - Chapter 13: Going Past My Limits

"Naraiz…" I heard someone whisper into my mind as I cut down another one of the many Force Zombies that was trying to swarm us. It was happening more and more as Rathari indicated that we were getting closer to the ritual site. I wanted to end this, I needed to find answers. The truth about the Valyrians was interesting but a minor truth in the grand scheme of things. The Force was strong here on this world, it was at its very core. Something was extra special, it was a nexus of the Force and that was a truth that I needed to find more than anything else.

"I'm not leaving here without at least a clue." I grumbled as I ducked under the swing of a Valyrian Steel blade, it irritated me that such wonderfully crafted weapons were being used like this. With no real skill but wild abandon. I also wanted to see these swords being the extension of a Force User's soul. If this is going to be what I think it is… thank you god! Because that means this galaxy is going to be getting a level of fighting that has not been seen for eons.

"We are nearly there, my lord." Rathari shouted from further ahead than I was. He was cutting through just as many of the Force Zombies as I was. Unlike me he was a primary user of Shii-Cho and so was mowing through these numbers while I handled the few that ran past him and toward me. The man had explained that he spent much of his time corralling these Zombies through the many tunnels, using their attraction to Force Users as bait and keeping them running in circles. Had he not done so, they would have eventually filtered out into the surface over the years and wreaked havoc.

I doubted that but I had to remember that we were Sith and both very strong warriors in the Force. Tommen was a centuries experienced warrior and a talented knight… and he was having a difficult time with just one Force Zombie at a time. So the worry might be more than valid, if large numbers of these things were able to swarm a town then it would most certainly be destroyed. Against a charge of Dothraki riders which given the location of Valyria would be inevitable… not so much. Unsullied might also work if they were able to form a good shield wall. But right now I wasn't too concerned with that.

With a parry I knocked the sword out of another living dead's hand and with my second sword cleaved the head off. Always go for the head. The zombie fell back and I took a few breaths and noted that it seemed to be the last of the horde. Rathari was more out of it than I was, even if he had achieved Balance and had gotten much better since I last saw him he was still nowhere near my level. That was clear but something was nagging at my mind. Even if he had spent most of his time containing the threat of these things, he should have been able to pick them down to a small enough number where he could finish them off forever. He had the time… all the time actually. He was hiding something.

"How far are we from the Wound?" I walked toward him and there was another shudder of worry that leaked out. In his tired state he was having more trouble concealing his mind from reading. He wasn't hostile toward me. I could tell that much, only worried and fearful. That was normal, Rathari was always afraid of me. That was his fatal flaw… he was afraid. That was what drove him to the Dark Side. It was far less than in the past and I assumed he had to have gotten past his fear to achieve Balance but when it came to me it returned with a fury. No… it wasn't me.

"I'm afraid we are still quite far. These tunnels were created to expand all across Valyria and many have collapsed. I've had the Droids dig them out when I can afford it but…" He trailed off as he began to lead me and to a lesser extent Tommen again. I however stopped him and grabbed his shoulder.

"Rathari, tell me now why you are so unwilling to take me to the Wound." I said and when Rathari turned around his face paled even more than it normally was. I had dropped my Mask and was staring dead at him, the air around us shuddered in my power. If enough pressure was put into the surrounding air it actually could cause a minor static like effect. I was not happy that he was hiding something from me and that he was misleading me away from the Wound. I was not in the mood for games and wanted to figure shit out. This is a Dungeon and I want to go right to the Final Boss, not deal with extra mini-bosses for more loot and XP… I already have more than enough of both.

"I-I-I… I am my lord. I ha-" Rathari began choking as I stared at him. My eyes firmly locked with his as he floated into the air and began grasping for his throat. I stood there and held him at this position for a good deal of time, giving him just enough air not to die or pass out. Eventually I let him go and he dropped to the ground gasping for air.

"You will take me to the Wound Rathari or you shall find the extent of my patience will run quite thin." I growled and he stayed on the ground, on his knees and his hands flat on the floor. He did not look up to me and seemed to be frozen in place. "Are you waiting for me to take your head from your shoulders because I'm growing closer to doing so."

"The Wound… I have only seen it once. It was nothing like I had ever seen before. It is a gaping pit of darkness and a crack in the very space above it. There is something in it my Lord… it does not want to be disturbed." Once again there was this unyielding fear in Rathari that purmetated his being. Not even at his lowest when I had beaten him on Nar Shaddaa did he feel this much fear. But it did not matter what he felt, I only needed him to show me the way and there I would face whatever monster that was so frightening to him. I have faced down demons and so called gods, all of them I have vanquished. I fucking killed the Eternal Emperor, a man that was about as close to achieving divinity as anyone had in all of Star Wars lore.

"Take me to it and I shall judge its horror with my own eyes." At that I made him stand on his feet. I continued to burn into him and eventually he took a step when I began a small probe into his mind. Seeing that I would take the information forcefully if need be, he decided that it probably would be better if he was there with me… you know… with me alive and not a mind broken vegetable. Rathari finally began taking us closer and closer to the center of the static in the Force and after a few more mobs of Force Zombies we arrived at a tunnel where Rathari would go no further. He pointed to a hole in the wall large enough for a man to walk through and I strode past him.

"Naraiz…" The voice in the Force was getting stronger and more frequent with each step I took toward the Wound. And with it was growing my frustration. I was too pissed to be afraid of whatever was in front of me.

I stopped just in front of the hole in the wall, I could hear something akin to metal plates grinding against each other, a low growl of the Force was also in the air. A sharp howl screamed through the tunnels as I took another step to see just what was on the other side of the wall. Well it seemed Rathari's fears about something existing in the Wound was not unfounded. But I wasn't intimidated and finished my step and walked through the hole.

Rathari's description was on point, in the middle of a massive stone cavern was the ritual site. A triangle carved into the ground and at the edges of each point was a Sith Holocron floating in the air, pulsating with red and black waves of energy. Sith Runes painted in blood marked the outer side of the Ritual while on the inside of the carving was a solid blackness, I guess one could call it a pit but it honestly just looked like one sheet of black to me. But above it was a slit in the very space, white and black wisps of power ripped off it and it looked like the space around it was trying to force it shut only for the Wound to try and pull it apart. It was by far one of the strangest sights I had ever seen. Then once I took another step into the cavern, another shriek escaped from the crack in space. Nothing more seemed to happen and I took another step. This time no sound came from the jagged slit.

I walked to the center of the cavern, to the nearest Holocron and began examining it. The thing was pulling in massive amounts of the Force, or at least was trying to. No… it had a source of power. The lifeforce of all the Valyrians that died in the Doom. These things pulled in the souls of those that died and had stockpiled it to use as power for the time stasis ritual. My guess is that the Sith that had been trying to perform this ritual changed the intent of the ritual just as they finished powering the original ritual. But this new one needed a constant power source instead of an initial pool like the original one would have needed. And because the morons changed a ritual in the first place… the whole thing is screwed up. It would be impossible to say what is exactly going on here because this is a warped ritual, this isn't something done on purpose but a horrible mistake.

"There's still a good deal of power stored in here… maybe if I force it all into the Wound it might be enough to start the healing process." It was a long shot but here I had a stockpile of the exact thing whose loss created a Wound in the Force. So I centered myself in the Force, which was actually too muted by the Wound for me to get a real read on, and focused on the Holocron. Each of the three were connected in the Force so accessing one allowed me access to all of them. Annnnnnd… it was a bad idea. The second I tried to unlock the Sith artifact all three exploded, the one near me doing so sent me flying back. I groaned as I pulled myself off the floor and held my head as the loudest shriek yet blasted into my mind from the crack in space.

Whatever was in the Wound shot out of the pulsating crack in a sickeningly squeamish sound. It was just an arm at first, long and gaunt with a yellowish brown color. Covered in wide holes and valleys and ending in a gnarled taloned hand. It reached out and its limb seemingly extended out as far as it needed to until it reached the edge of the ritual site. The hand latched onto the edge of the triangle, one of its claws sinking into the blackness. I watched all of this as I stood back up.

"Come out… I'm itching for a fight." I pulled out Midwan and Saarai and began undoing several of the locks on my powers. As I was preparing myself for what was to be a grueling fight, something that I felt only excitement and glee for, the entity that I would be fighting was pulling itself out further. And what I saw shocked me but thankfully I was in a partial trance and kept at speaking the words I had used to mentally chain myself down.

The long arm that had burst through the crack soon pulled the rest out, a massive yet still very gaunt body, one covered in tattered rags and nothing else. Humanoid in shape but nearly a skeleton with how little actual body it had. A head with a wide maw of thin needle-like teeth opened at a very unnatural amount. Four beady glowing eyes in sunken eye sockets locked onto me as white silvery hair flowed around the rest of the head defying gravity. That… was a Starweird. There were some minor variations to the description that I knew but it was unmistakably a Starweird. It pulled the rest of its body out of the crack in space, sloshing out like it had been birthed and barely had much control over its limbs. It hovered over the empty blackness and slowly cracked itself upright. And that was the word I would use, with each movement the joints of the Starweird cracked into place until it stood completely upright still floating in the air.

Its jaw flowed open and shut, shifting ever so slightly like it was chewing on something until it just dropped itself on its hinges and screamed an ear and mind shattering scream. Now I understood why Rathari was so unwilling to come back here. This thing literally brought mental fear to anyone too weak enough with its shrieks. Its torso leaned forward and it began picking up speed. Heading right for me. While I would like to have more time to get to fifty percent, thirty would have to do it.

"This is not going to be like Harren… not at all." I took a step toward my right, the Starweird stopped in its movement. And then… I ran off. A cloud of dust was left behind in my wake and I was running as fast as I could, a glance back and I saw the Starweird flying as fast as I was and right on my tail. It clawed at me, one of its taloned hands jabbed forward and smashed into the ground behind me. I had flipped to the side and landed on the carven wall and continued to run. The Force monster continued the pursuit, flying in my trail, stabbing at the ground trying to hit me only to miss thanks to my speed and precognition. I ducked and jumped out of the way each time the Starweird stabbed at the ground, I didn't have much chance for a counter attack given that I was trying to just stay out of the monster's claws.

Launching off the cavern wall after the Starweird slammed the stone under my feet with both of its taloned fists. It blasted off into the air and with a twist turned myself to face the monster's neck midair. With a single trust I stabbed into the sickly stretched skin that clung to the Starweird's boney body. Midwan lodged itself deep into the dried out flesh of the creature, and with a strong pull I ripped it out. The Force-Blade corroded at everything it touched but the Starweird didn't seem to be affected by this. Its body just remained the same as it had been before Midwan had sliced into it. No blood leaked out of the wound and it looked as if the gash in its neck wasn't even there among the rest of the decayed looking flesh.

The Starweird's head slowly moved toward me as I shot past it and landed back on the ground. The whole being seemed to be moving in slow motion at times but when it wanted it could move nearly as fast as myself. I don't think I could ever understand just how it was thought, maybe it was some sort of psychological tactic, to freak the prey out as much as possible by being extra freaky. Its beady eyes locked back on me and in a span of one second it was just floating where I had left it and then in a gust of wind it was slashing down on me. My feet cracked the ground as I blocked the large black talons with Midwan and Saarai, their powers doing nothing to this Force Monster. It was really irritating me that their effects seemed to only work on grunts. As the Starweird continued to push down on me, causing me to break the ground below even further, I glared to where my swords met claws… and noticed they didn't. Ah… that's what was happening. The Starweird was creating a Force Field around its claws to prevent my swords from destroying it outright.

Feeling that this stalemate wasn't getting me anywhere, I focused some of my attention off of the Starweird and looked to the ceiling of the cavern. Echoes of cracks forming in the bases of the hanging stalactites reverberated through the cave. The Starweird didn't seem to notice or care and continued to press down in the effort of crushing me. Or so it appeared, as when I brought down several massive stalactites it turned back and with one of its arms smashed them to pieces. This was still to my advantage because I was finally able to shove the other hand off me and get free. Throwing the still remaining hand off I started another dash away from the Starweird. This time however it did not follow. Leaping to the side after getting a pulse of danger in the Force, I dodged out of the way of a barrage of Force Lightning. I continued to skip and jump out of the way of each arc of lightning, I knew full well how much they fucking hurt and was in no hurry to get hit by a single one.

Huh… this was why Naraiz never fought anything alone. Note to self, don't ever solo anything ever again. I lacked any fire support or anyone that had the heavy armor and shields needed to keep the Starweird distracted. But this was the fight I had on hand, and I could beat myself up after I finished it.

I turned and skidded in a half circle, changing direction and headed back toward the Starweird. It floated above the ground standing as tall as two houses on top of each other. It was massive, bigger than I had expected them to be. But as I dashed between the many bolts of Force Lightning I pulled along several chunks of rock that had been blasted free into the air. I sent them spinning in the air toward the creature, at speeds that seemed to be enough to get it to block the attack. The strikes of lightning were coming off the entire body but I still wanted to keep as many of its means of attack in check as I could. I kept up my barrage of rubble, occupying one of its arms while the other was swinging up into the air readying to come down on me as I approached it. The limb smashed down and missed me as I jumped up into the air. As I came back down, I cut deep into the attacking arm and used the momentum I had built up to hook into the dead looking flesh and swing down and around the arm shooting back into the sky. Damn did I love the Force and the crazy stunts it allowed me to pull off.

In the air I floated for a moment, the Starweird moved its head up a little just in time to see me hold out my hand. Sparks of my own Force Lightning formed between my fingers and with a deafening roar of power I fired a continuous stream of lightning into its face. A shriek of pain called out into my mind, and I assumed every sentient mind in Essos, as the Starweird lurched back and crashed into the wall of the cavern. I slowly began floating back down to the ground when suddenly out from the cloud of dust that had been kicked up came one of the Starweird's arms. It grabbed a hold of me and after some squeezing launched me hard into the other side of the cave. With a great thud I smashed into the wall and created my own little hole in which I groaned out in pain.

"I'm starting to get sick of being thrown." I grumbled as I carefully began pushing myself out of the hole I created upon my impact. I bared my fanged teeth in annoyance, a low growl escaped them as I landed back onto the ground. The Starweird however just floated out of its own hole and began slowly hovering toward me. Outstretching a hand I began picking up every loose stone that had been created on our battlefield, sending them flying toward the monster in another distortionary tactic. This time however, arcs of Force Lightning whipped off the Starweird's body and destroyed each of the rocks sent toward it. "Fine then… if you want to come, that's great. Just makes it easier to kick your ass."

I cut a circle in the ground with Saarai, dusting away a deep cut into the stony floor. With a rise and clench of my fist I pulled a disk of rock out from under me and floated in the air. I could hover in the air for a limited amount of time but sustained flight was impossible at the level of power I was currently using. I flew up and circled the Starweird, it of course tried to swat me out of the air with both its arms and its Force lightning but with the former I just was moving too fast and the latter was still focused on the onslaught of rocks I was pulling toward it. Though that was quickly running out of ammunition. Didn't matter though, I was now above the Starweird and quickly jumped off the disk I had been using as my transportation.

I soared down, using the Force to guide and maneuver my way around the incoming arm that tried to grab me out of the air. I kept it close while falling down however to avoid getting hit by the Starweird's lightning. As I fell I took a glance at the thing's skin and knew that I should avoid actually touching, the Force screamed danger at the mere thought of it and I was inclined to agree. Something about it seemed like a trap. Its surface disgusted me and given how dangerous the rest of the creature seemed to be I had to assume that its surface was just as dangerous. So with that in mind I barred my swords and aimed my decent right at the creepy ass face that was staring right at me. I was taking out at least two of those dead beady eyes.

"Naraiz!" The voice that was even clearer in my mind than the Starweird's shrieking yelled a little too late. I gargled up a bit of blood before looking up, toward my stomach to see the tip of a black talon impaled into it. My eyes followed the talon to a hand and them down the arm… to see a second Starweird beginning to crawl out of the crack in space. My eyes widened as the realization hit me… this was where Starweirds were born. They were created in Wounds of the Force. Shit… and I disrupted the Time stasis ritual that was keeping them at bay. Now they would be pouring out of this crack and slaughtering everything they came across.

"Naraiz!" Another voice… was it always two… I don't remember. My vision blurred as the new Starweird fully left the Wound. It floated upright and pulled me close to its face. Just in front of its swaying jaw. Was it going to eat me… what did Starweirds do to Force Users again? Thinking… thinking is hard. Am I going to die? But… I can't die.

Jaesa and Vette will kill each other if I am not there.

Revan's Will rests on my shoulders.

I haven't had enough fun yet!

The Balance needs to be made.

Quinn and Pierce can't get along without me there.

Jedi and Sith… neither can save the Galaxy.

This world… the Galaxy… IT'S MINE!

The Force needs someone to stop The Mother.

Lyarra and Joanna are waiting for me.

Duty… responsibility… pride…

I just need more strength!

I just need more time.

I just need more friends.

I need...

"Hey… you awake?"

"Whoever you are… stop… poking… my… head." I said before I slowly awoke from my nap. Hovering above me was the smiling face of a girl that I had never seen before. She was cute… too cute to be talking to a loser like me. Short black hair, a few piercings and neon red makeup. Overall the type of appearance that you would expect at a punk rock concert. And while I was currently laying back in my jeep in the grass parking space for an alternative rock band, I guess her look was close enough.

"You're gonna miss it if you just stay sleeping like this." She said as I pulled myself out of the back of my open top jeep. My head hurt a bit, and I swear I could feel like someone hit me with a train. "Didn't you come with any friends who could have woken you up?" I yawned as she asked and then I glanced around to my surroundings. All around me were other cars for people that had come to the concert, already there was a good deal of litter.

"No, I only came because my roommate had a ticket and couldn't come." My head was still fuzzy. Something felt wrong, I could recall I had a roommate but the actual moment of him giving me a ticket to anything wasn't there. I just said these words because it sounded right to me?

"That didn't answer my question, don't you have any friends?" The girl asked as I climbed out of my car and I just frowned and grumbled out a response. To my utter shock she actually giggled at this and didn't leave me behind. "Well that that makes two of us, I don't have many friends either. Just a prude of a sister and nagging lazy older brother." It was then that she actually grabbed my arm. "Why don't we enjoy the concert together?"

"Hey, you can clearly see that I am in fact…" I began but then noticed something odd, this wasn't my body. Rather than the bordering out of shape and very unimpressive body I thought I had, I was standing tall and fit. My head hurt even more as with each blink of my eyes I changed from one body to the next. One moment I was as you would think a nerd that led an inactive lifestyle would look like and then the next it was something out of comic book with how built I was. "Uh… something is very wrong."

"What's wrong with a bit wrong?" The words echoed in my head beyond just her saying them. Rebelling, doing what you wanted despite what others wanted for you… freeing yourself. But before I could think more on that this woman that I had never met before was dragging me toward the small camp of stalls that surrounded the stage that had been set up for the bands that were playing. In my state of confusion to everything that was happening to me I just followed her in a daze, weirded out by the events that had just occurred and only had been able to get my wits back to me by the time we had shown our tickets and were in the concert.

"Okay hold up, we've never met before and don't even know each other's names…" I trailed off at the blank half but the very smug looking smile she was giving me.

"The only thing separating strangers and lovers is time, so… give it time." I once again just blinked in confusion at this strange and oddly phrased answer to my very valid concerns. I opened my mouth to voice this but I was quickly silenced by this girl who I never met before today grabbing a hold of my head and kissing me right on the lips. Pulling me in deeper and nearly sucking the life out of me. My brain was so fried from all of this that it just went on auto-pilot and I began kissing back. She moaned into the kiss as I suddenly took all the control away from her tongue and grabbed ahold of her arms to pull her in closer. By the time we were done my brain had rebooted and was playing catch up to my body.

"Okay listen… as much as that was a fucking great kiss, I still don't know your name and I'm not interested in cheap hook ups." A sudden flash of many nights and quick trysts flared across my mind. Women that I had never seen before now sudden invaded my memories as I could vividly picture myself fucking them. "Ow… not the time brain." I grumbled as I held my head as it pounded hard against my skull.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing with my girl?" I heard and turned to see a redheaded man with a group of huge brutes backing him. I have no idea how but I recognized him. I knew this man even if I have never seen him before in my life. "Just because you got all big and mighty Naraiz doesn't mean you can take what isn't yours." That wasn't my name… wait… was it? What was my name again? Now wasn't the time to question things like that.

"She was the one that kissed me Vemrin, clearly she doesn't want to do it to you so she found someone better." I said this and it was strange, It was both smooth and awkward. Like there were two sides of me trying to make a comeback. One failing and one succeeding. But again… this didn't matter. As what did was the fact I was up against three huge bodybuilders and I didn't know how to fight to save my life… literally.

Some time later I was in the dirt after having gotten the shit beaten out of me. I put up something of a fight… I swung at one of the giants that Vemrin brought with him and that just irritated them more than anything. After taking turns using me as a punching bag they tossed me into a group of trash cans and here I lay. Defeated.

"Doesn't it make you mad, how little power you have?" I heard the voice of the girl that had started all this. I half expected all of this to be something she does to get her boyfriend all worked up or something stupid like that. What would I know about this sort of thing anyway?

"Just go away… let me wallow in self-pity." I mumbled through the dirt. This was why I never went out or did anything beyond the safety of what I knew was in fact safe. It's like she said… I don't have any power. And it does make me mad. Madder than anything else in the world but what could I do?

"You could take it. Take it all. Everyone you want. You just need a little more power." I read and heard the words off the page in front of me so clearly. Even staring down at the book, I could hear the voice of the woman whose face I could barely recall saying these things to me.

Wait… wasn't I at some concert not in the campus library. Oh no… why is math homework in front of me? No. Send me back to the concert with the hot chick kissing me. Good dream why must you turn into hard reality? Though as I look at the various problems and equations they all looked simple. Didn't I fail algebra three times, why did all of this look so easy now?

"So how was your nap, ready to actually get work done now?" There was no one here before, just me in an empty library. Now there was another woman I didn't know setting across the table with her own pile of books and worksheets. This one dressed far more conservatively with a large white sweater covering her entire body and set of simple glasses on her face instead of any makeup. But like in my dream, she was far too attractive to be hanging around me. Probably just assigned a group and didn't have a choice. Hold on, why was I being so self deprecating?

"Yeah… yeah… I'm just a bit out of it today." Was it work? Or maybe something going on with friends? I had this nagging feeling that something serious was happening. Something really bad. Like enough that I feel like I'm in the middle of a panic attack.

"I knew this would be too much." She sighed before closing the book that had been her focus prior. Moving her bright blue eyes up at me, there was a look of genuine concern on her face. I could feel relaxed as I sipped my tea. Hold up, when did we have tea? When did I ever drink tea? I mean we were in a coffee shop so it was either that or black bean water.

"No it's fine. Finals are coming and I'd rather think about anything but what's going on." What was I talking about? I don't know, wasn't any clues but whatever it was made me sad… I could feel that at least. No. More like devastated. I clutched my chest and I had this phantom feeling there should be a hole in it. Heartbreak?

"But is that really what you need? You don't want to talk about it? You got cheated on, that's a big deal." Okay so it was relationship stuff. Funny, for a second there I thought I died or something stupid like that. The worried woman across from me once again sighed at my non-reaction to what she was saying. "You deserve better than Satele, especially after she ran off with that jarhead."

Wait… Satele? That's not a normal name. That sounds made up but I could perfectly remember her. We hated each other's guts for some reason. But over the course of… war? No. I've never been to war. Some sort of rivalry probably. Whatever, we ended up together and I felt real. I felt complete and like I didn't have to hide or try so hard to put up this front. I could just be. And then lies. Lies. More Lies. Blink, the woman in front of me was gone and I felt two arms wrap around my neck and a comfy soft feeling press against the back of my head.

"Isn't it just easier, to just let go?" She whispered in my ear and it did sound so tempting.

"It's not that simple." Anger gets shit done. I can't just let myself sit around and let things stay lying down. I'm not some doormat that can be stepped on.

"You don't need to deal with lies anymore. You only need the truth." Dumb fortune cookie, that's not wisdom. Whoever wrote this one was getting lazy. Though considering the slip was stuck to the side of beer glass maybe it was me that was the idiot for thinking wisdom could be found there.

Lifting my head back up, I was getting tired of this migraine. This mental vertigo was exactly why I never drank. Which confused me as to why I was at a bar? Just some who knows how old dive bar that couldn't be bigger than a basic apartment shoved into the basement in some city. The walls covered in the photos of regulars long gone and the Christmas lights still hanging from the backbar type of place. I couldn't make out the photos, all of them must have been made with the world's broken but working camera.

"Don't worry buddy, it's almost closing time. We're coming to the end." A deep baritone voice spoke and out of thin air in a blink was the bartender. An absolute unit of a man with some of the broadest shoulders and largest arms that I had ever seen. I couldn't make out another other features other than he wore the stereotype bartenders' uniform, every time I tried to focus on his face it just got more blurry… maybe he had a beard?

"I don't drink… hold on why am I here?" Ironically this was the first time in a moment that my head felt clear. It didn't feel like something was yanking it around for attention. Pulling my thoughts one way or the other.

"Just take it easy brother, find your balance." Balance. Power. Truth. Hold on.

Before I could finish connecting a few dots, the door to the bar flung open after someone kicked it down. We were all alone in the place so it was only our shocked faces that saw who did. And it was the punk chick from the concert. Fuck I remember now.

"Fuck you! I had him this close and you and the bitch had to pull him away from-" I grabbed ahold of Midwan's neck as she approached the bar, I have had enough of these mind games. If that was all just some fucking test to see if even in my old life I would take the Dark Side then she would be very mistaken. I had plenty of chances to take a darker path than I did in my life on earth. I could have been that kid in high school, it wouldn't be very hard for me to get the things I needed. I could have slipped something into a certain man's drink and saved myself and my family a lot of trouble. I could have done a lot of things and had all the knowledge and the planning to get away with it. But I never did.

Yellow glowing eyes stared at me in glee as I continued to hold her, lifting her body above the ground. My body returned completely back to my Sith glory even as I was sitting at the slowly crumbling facade of a bar. The manifestation of my Dark Side slowly began to laugh and grab a hold of my hand on her neck, then swung her body up and wrapped her legs around my arm. Her laughter turned into a fit of mad giggles as she clung to my limb.

"Well shit, wanted to ease him in but I guess this works." The unknown man sighed but I was too focused on the entity I had already identified.

"I don't find any of this amusing Midwan." I said and her giggle fit stopped abruptly. Then I got a foot in my face while she still hung from my arm. She then swung around and flipped up into the air and as she spun in the air, her form burned away in a miasma of red and black. When she finally took a step back onto the now tiled floor she was a completely different woman. She was no longer the punk rocker girl that had been playing with me before, but now a grown woman.

She maintained her short hair but now it had several loops of braided hair falling down to her shoulders, small crystal beads lined the braid loops and glowed with a faint red. Her skin was dusk pale and her yellow eyes had dimmed and changed to two orbs of pure silver with pitch black rings in the very core. A strip neon red of that same color as the crystals in her hair extended from the tip of her nose down to the end of her chin while that same color flared off the edges of her eyes. She wore a flowing gown that hugged her shapely and seductive body, red and white lace embroidered into the black dress that spilled out onto the ballroom floor that we now both inhabited.

I glanced around and the bar was completely gone. But I did recognize it, a place that once belonged to Naraiz's family. It had a very traditional Sith style of architecture and was utterly massive. The floor sheened, an intricate geometric mosaic shined under us and I could recall Naraiz's mother hating it given that it made it nearly impossible to plan parties. Her husband didn't want so much as a scratch on the piece of art and would only allow the most vital of balls to be done in this room because of it.

"If at all possible master I would like it if you could just refer to me as Mi. Midwan just doesn't suit me in a casual setting, too masculine." Midwan spoke and her voice was also radically different, now it was as smooth and silky as my own but in a womanly way. She was everything I saw the Dark Side as, a seductress that promised you your dreams but only gave nightmares if you let your guard down.

"Why are you even a woman to begin with? If you are my Dark Side then you should be a dude. I don't secretly see myself as a woman." I crossed my arms as I stared at the very womanly being in front of me. She just responded to this with a sultry smile and putting an arm under her large bust and pushing them up a bit.

"You don't like my form master? Do I not please you?" I snorted and my dismissal was very apparent on my face, this seemed to only get her even more hot and bothered though. "Oh I do love it when you play hard to get." Midwan licked her lips and looked ready to pounce me.

"Now-now Mi-chan, this is far from the time to be thinking of such lewd things." My ears perked up at that and I looked over to what I was going to assume was the second entity that had tried to seduce me to their side. But what I saw actually made my jaw drop. There, as graceful as Midwan was seductive, was what I assumed was Saarai. And damn was she not what I was expecting, that my Light Side manifested as a beautiful Geisha… I both hate and love it.

The skin color was an exact match for Midwan. However Saarai carried herself far differently than her sister, Saarai lacked much of the emotion that Midwan bore with her facial expression and body language. Instead there was a calm refined air of nobility that flowed around the woman. She also wore the same makeup style that Midwan had only a neon blue instead of red, Saarai's eyes were a surprising pitch black but for a silver ring in the middle. Her hair was long and white as snow, which was partially tied up in the back in a long bun and fell behind her shoulders. A deep blue kimono with generous sleeves and a long hem covered her body, a stark white obi wrapped around her waist which is attached to a large, black bow on her back.

"Why… why… her I understand a little bit." I said pointing to Midwan. "But this… I always pictured the Light Side in my head as an ambient healing aura. I never once did I picture a weeb fantasy for the Light Side." I expected my words to somehow annoy the stern looking woman who looked like she never smiled once in her entire life… which wouldn't be too long but that was semantics. Instead she just raised her sleeve to hide her lower face and looked off to the side.

"I truly am a fantasy? Thank you Naraiz-sama, I hope to be everything you ever dream of and more." Saarai said bashfully and almost like a schoolgirl being embarrassed that their crush called them cute.

"That's not funny!" I shouted and just wanted this to end. This made no fucking sense and with each passing second my brain was cooking under the stupid of all of this. "Why are the manifestations of my Dark and Light sides women? Why is it you were able to create a recreation of Earth and why are you themed after a culture from there? And who the fuck are you!?" I said glancing back and forth from the two women before finally pointing a figure to where the bartender had been standing. Only to find that there now stood an eight foot tall figure covered in heavy stylized armor that wouldn't look out of place in Dark Souls. In his hands however was a massive great sword, it having one of the simplest designs i had ever seen for one too. Unfortunately the giant stayed silent while the women both looked at each other and I could tell that they made an agreement to hold off on bickering and play with me for the time being.

"Because we are not part of your soul." Saarai said and I wanted to call bullshit but held my tongue for the moment.

"More like a soul adjacent." Midwan said with a small so-so hand gesture.

"We are not part of your soul but instead a construct of your connection to the Force made into a sentient entity that exists within your foci. Namely the Force Swords that you use." That… was too damn close to being a Zanpakutō. The only reason why it wasn't was the idea that it wasn't my soul but instead my connection with the Force which was in fact a separate thing.

A person's soul was their soul but the Connection to the Force required all three pieces of a person, mind, body and soul. The Mind provided the knowledge and self to use the Force. The Body had the Midi-chlorians that allowed a connection to the Force in the first place. And the Soul acted as a beacon so that the Force can find the person trying to use its power.

And secondly, Midwan had said foci. That meant that any Force object that was powerful enough, and I'm assuming Balance achieved, Force User could create a manifestation like these two. It didn't need to be a sword.

"That makes sense… I guess." I sighed and remembered that I had recently discovered that the Force was a lot more inclusive than what I thought it was. Just because it seemed impossible for a Jedi or Sith didn't mean it was for any Force users.

"I must also point out, that several steps had been skipped to get this point thanks to the fact the blades had been created by the Ones." The giant finally spoke and from that I could work on a greater overall theory. A Force Foci or Force Weapon was just as if not more so receptive to a connection with its user than a Kyber Crystal was. Plus, the Kyber Crystal was already somewhat sentient. If one were to infuse their power into a Foci then perhaps with the correct circumstances this result could be attained. I was however pulled from these thoughts as I felt my left arm being pulled away. I looked to my side and saw Midwan there, nearly climbing me as she held my arm between her breasts and her leg riding mine.

"It does and it also means that you can't pull any having sex with myself arguments." She smirked and pulled me in even deeper to her chest and draped herself all over me. I opened my mouth to say something but stopped when I jerked slightly away.

"You can be such a disgraceful woman, you know that, you need to have more respect for the master." Saarai said as she pulled me away, I don't know if it was intentional or not but she also pulled my arm quite close to her chest as well. Midwan didn't seem to want to give up and returned herself back to her earlier position.

"Oh please, he needs power. Only power. And I have far more power than you could ever give him." She said with a smug and superior smirk as she lifted her chest up as if trying to show it off. That's when I realized that it seemed that while the two looked to be equally powerful… they did not have equal bust size. Saarai sputtered out in an embarrassed and angry tirade and the two quickly devolved into a shouting match. This led to a fight in which I watched them roll around on the ground pulling and clawing at each other… I had gotten much of this when they were in their sword forms, so it was nothing new to me. "Frigid flat bitch!"

"Putrid shameless slut!" I continued to maintain a blank passive frown as my two sword spirits had their little cat fight. I normally find this awesome as fuck to watch but one… this was technically in my mindscape. Two, this really wasn't productive to the conversation we had been having. And three, I just remembered that I was about to die. And four, there was still the giant armored dude.

"Okay, can I just get an answer on you please." While the two sisters fought I looked back up to the last entity that existed here in my mind.

"The two in front of you are Midwan Fi Dumits and Saarai Fi Dumits, Power of Duality and Truth of Duality. Where as I am Duality of One, Wo Fi Dumits. At the fundamental core, I am the primary entity of your connection to the Force, that which represents the Balance between the Dark and Light." Well that made me a little more satisfied. But with the picture of me about to be eaten by a Starweird firmly in my head I walked over and picked up both of the fighting women before dropping them away from each other.

"Okay… enough of that for now." I said and Midwan just huffed while Saarai returned to her mask of perfect calm. "Exactly what do you three know about this power?"

"Essentially a manifestation like us occurs when a Force User creates a secondary vessel for their power. This helps them store their power and use it far more potently in battle." Midwan explained and I was thankful that she returned back to business. And what she said was in line with what I already knew. It was similar to the technique I used to lock away my power. But instead of creating mental blocks and putting myself in a trance to unlock them, this method used an external object to carry the burden of holding onto stored power. Seal it away until it was needed, same principle but different method.

"If the vessel becomes as we are, a full manifestation of a person's connection to the Force. They will be able to alter space and reality to a certain extent. However this requires the Vessel to have a connection to the Force. It is as that servant told you Naraiz-sama, the Valyrian Steel is the perfect example of this." Saarai continued on and that completed one mystery of Valyria. The Force Users of Valyria created Force Foci in their swords and used them to manifest greater power into the world. The Force already had the power to change reality, energy to matter was completely possible with the Force, the very laws of physics were suspect to be suspended when the Force got involved. "We however do not know much as to the requirements to gain a manifestation."

"You are one of the most powerful Force Users in the galaxy so you're not exactly the best bar to use." Midwan purred out as she basked in my power. I knew that the Valyrians were able to attain a form of this power to a degree so I knew that Midwan was right and my level of power wasn't needed. But I doubted that all of the Valyrians truly found Balance but I didn't know who exactly had this sword power so the requirements were still pretty vague.

"I apologize for the inconvenience Naraiz-sama, we are limited to knowledge of our nature and what you know. It pains my heart for this lack of help, I only hope that what we do know can be of some use to you." She said with a bow of her head and honestly I just found her adorable, everything I saw pointed to a very serious personality to everything that did not involve me. Then she became shy and bashful.

"We do have one last thing to tell you." Midwan said as she skulked closer to me. A bigger grin than normal was on her face and I could feel the excitement in the air. Saarai didn't seem to be as excited but was notably interested in this last bit of information they had for me. "We told you that we are a stockpile of power, an external source of stored power that can be called upon in battle to manifest powers unique to a Force User's personal connection to the Force."

"You, master, have three representations of the Force, Midwan represents power and I represent Death." Saarai began explaining and I raised my eyebrow at that last part.

"Not Truth?" I asked and Saarai shook her head.

"The Daughter gave me my name but you hold the aspect of Death close to you." Further explanation came as finally Wo spoke up.

"The former Naraiz held power as the most sacred aspect of the Dark Side while the you from Earth sees his Death as the most significant part of his life. Thus these two sides of you create Duality as your True Manifestation of the Force and take these two aspects as your own." If I wasn't both a nerd and a super smart Sith I probably wouldn't have been able to follow that trail of nonsense and mystic babbling. But it did make sense after a bit of deconstructing. Naraiz was the Dark and my former self was the Light, together we balanced each other out. Our flaws and weaknesses were taken away and replaced with the other's strengths. Duality for the pursuit of Whole was my credo.

"But these are minor details to the whole truth." Midwan snickered as she made her pun. Saarai glared at her sister and I motioned for them to keep going. Midwan rolled her eyes and continued to speak. "These aspects of your connection to the Force are merely the framework by which our powers are enforced upon reality. My power to rot and decay and Saarai's power to erase and dust is Power and Death combined and each given the Dark and Light Side spins respectively."

"Right, others will have different powers based on what their connection to the Force manifests as."

"But the best part about this is when you use all that stored power all at once in one giant explosion of power!" Midwan cheered, throwing her arms in the air in rapture at the very concept of this show of her namesake. I knew where this was going. Even if it was different it still had to follow the trend. "If you let all that power out in one go you can summon forth our avatars of power, huge constructs of-"

"I get it." I lightly snapped and Midwan just looked very pleased with herself. However Saarai stepped forward with a restrained look of concern on her lovely face.

"There is a drawback to this measure, if used it will reduce the stored power in the foci to near zero. We would be forced to return to a sealed state, one without the normal abilities that you have been using thus far." Saarai explained and while it was irritating to know that my swords would be less overpowered if I used what was essentially a Bankai they would be forced to become just normal swords. But that was a decent trade off to the power that they were describing. As for how I was going to go about it… might as well do the full meme rather than half ass it.

My eyes snapped open as I suddenly felt a surge of piss and vinegar hit my veins and remind me that I still was alive. In my face was the opening maw of the second Starweird, damn did it have terrible breath. I scowled and tossed both of my swords up and above the head of the hungry Starweird. Out of thin air, two clouds of miasma, one black and red and the other white and blue, came Midwan and Saarai. Both women grabbed ahold of their respective swords and came back down, stabbing the Starweird in the eyes much like I had wanted to do before I was gutted. The Force Monster let out a pained shriek and this gave me the chance to shove myself off its talon and begin falling to the ground. Thankfully I was caught by both of my sword spirits… shit still sounded too stupid. I'll have to come up with a better name than that. But that was for later.

"Fuck this hurts… and now this armor is ruined." I grunted in pain as I looked down to the massive hole in my Sith armor. I could maybe repair it with my Sith Alchemy and whatever materials that might be lying around Valyria but just seeing it busted up like this pissed me off.

"The damage done to your body will be healed once you let the rest of our power out." Midwan said as she helped me with her sister over and away from the two Starweirds who seemed to be having a small panic attack over the one losing two eyes.

"You two ain't going to turn into kids when this is all done right?" I joked but the feeling of many of my internal organs feeling very wrong did not agree with my joking mood. Both of them turned back into swords in my hands and I dropped down on my knees, plunging them into the ground to my sides. I was breathing heavily and it hurt to do so with every breath. I could feel most of my guts only barely staying in my chest, the hole in my body gave them a good way out and they were inching to taking it. I looked up to both of the Starweirds who now were back to focusing on me and were slowly starting their float back to me.

"Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force." Next to me as I began reciting the Jedi Code Saarai began to glow a bright shining white. A fountain of the Light Side began pouring out of her and a stream of white light began flowing up and into the air above me. A showing of white particles began falling down and dusting my true form, healing me. I could feel the Light Side of the Force enter my presence and blanket me in tranquil harmony.

"Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me." Midwan began screaming out in rapture as I recited the Sith Code, flares of black flew off of her and began twisting their way into the dome of white energy that had formed from before. The Dark Side slithered its way under the Light Side and coiled itself around my body. It felt warm and comforting yet prickly at the same time.

I felt the Force around me, flowing into my body and pulsating with every breath I took. In the span of a second I could feel every single dust partial move past me. I could feel every speck of dust upon the ground. I was perfectly attuned to both sides of the Force and above me the energy of both was swirling together into a whirlpool of black and white. Never fully mixing together but undeniably one.

Dark and Light, both sides of the same coin. One and two and three, numbers that each have holy meanings to the Force. There is one Force, there are two sides to it, and by the three aspects of a person it can be harnessed. Mind, Body, and Soul. I could feel a sort of out of mind moment exist as in one place of thought I began to keep rambling on like this and on another I knew I was spouting off philosophical nonsense. But somewhere in the middle of diving into the deep end of the Force and complete self-awareness I was able to find what I had been looking for. The words that needed to be spoken.

"Will is the steel that controls our Minds. Strength is the resolve that embraces our Bodies. Passion is the fire that fuels our Soul. Clarity is the true path to Victory. Upon this path of Dark and Light we find the dawn of the Force." I spoke these words and I felt it. A shudder in the Force and soon enough there was a tidal wave of power that exploded out, likely rippling out into the entire galaxy. The Force had been appeased, a new path had been found and forever the Balance would have its creed. I smirked as the two byproducts of a Wound in the Force were pushed back a bit by the wave in the Force. The two seemed confused and I decided that I would take advantage of that. Oh… I have to do it… it was too fun not to. "Be reborn… Wo Fi Dumits." A second blast of power came from me only this time it was much more physical than the last. A massive cloud of dust was kicked up and covered me from the view of the Starweirds.

They just floated there until they looked up and saw two new cracks in space formed high above me to my sides. These were not Wounds in the Force but they soon opened wide and out of each an arm came out. On the right was a red skinned with spiky black armored arm, clawed and covered in black tribal tattoos. The one on the left was completely covered in armor, shining silver and as it came out everything past the elbow was covered in a fine white robe with glowing blue runes inscribed on it. With symmetrical movement both of these arms widened their respective cracks in space.

The dust cleared and my body was indeed fully healed. However my armor seemed to be nearly completely missing. Only my lower robes remained, even my boots seemed to be taken away in the transformation. But it seemed that my current lack of clothing was not the only change, so was the amplifying of my Dark Side features. My skin which had been ivory white now had a circling style of tattoos that eventually led to a center on my chest which was a stylized yin-yang symbol. My right hand was quite strange, as it looked like a second much larger one was growing out at my wrist, this one came with a set of long serrated blade-like claws with winding black tendrils that entered and exited my arm seemingly with a mind of their own. At my left hand, it was now nearly skeletal with how gaunt it was. This traveled up to my left shoulder with my arm getting slightly fuller as you got closer to the rest of my body. However I didn't feel the least but loss of strength in that arm. And then there was my face, I could feel a second set of sharp teeth behind the original first set and I certainly felt that second set of eyes set back and above my normal set. Lastly, my quill-like hair that had brought so much ridicule from my fellow Dark council members seemed to take a cue from Goku and grow out to a stupid degree down to my lower back.

"Great… if this wasn't already funny enough." I chuckled and my normal dark echo in my true voice was certainly enhanced to a scary degree. I glanced up to where I could feel the rest of the power lie. There out of the two cracks came the avatars that Midwan had been speaking about. And they reminded of Diablo and Malthael from the Diablo 3 game. Midwan was a giant red skinned devil wearing baroque grim armor wielding a massive curved blade meanwhile Saarai was a hooded angel of death in silver armor holding a giant scythe. Both had a pair of wings made of their respective colors and the wing closest to me fettered down and connected to me to form a corresponding wing of my own. Neither of them had legs and seemed to just hover in the air with their lower halves just being a long trail of energy in their respective colors. I rolled my left shoulder and as if taking the command I wanted, Saarai leaned her scythe down so I could see myself in its reflection. "Not bad… now that I see it." I said as I held my jaw and looked myself over. I then glanced over to the Starweirds who seemed very confused as to what was happening before them. I knew that they were somewhat intelligent and had self-awareness. So they were perfectly capable of being spooked.

However a new sound got all of our attention. And that was the sound of a third Starweird making its exit from the Wound in the Force. Both of the Starweirds already out turned back to their new fellow and then back to me. With a third Starweird they seemed ready to take me on despite my new form and my new allies. The new Starweird let out another mental shriek but unlike those from the other two, this one was interrupted by a roar from Midwan.

The Devil gave a fiery roar in response to the Starweird and I felt the demonic avatar lurch forward, swinging down on at the nearest Starweird. Midwan's barbed greatsword lodged itself deep in the shoulder of the Force monster and Midwan did not leave it there. It continued to move forward and shoulder slammed the Starweird into the ground, pinning it in place with its blade still in its shoulder. Midwan gave a brutal scream of rage as it began to pummel the Starweird under its weight.

Saarai didn't waste any time in getting into the fight either. When the other Starweirds moved to attack Midwan, the Angel in the battle hooked them both with her scythe. Pulling them by the necks she launched them across the cavern. If we were lucky that would have been the end of them and they would have died then and there. I however snorted dismissively at the idea that it would be that easy. I had remained in place, not even moving my head to follow the Starweirds as they flew across the cavern.

The sounds of Midwan roaring in brutal glee at further beating her enemy into the ground stopped as the Starweird grabbed a hold of her clawed fist. The Force monster's talons sunk into her red flesh and held her in place. Arcs of Force Lightning began building up and soon enough fired a colossal blast knocking the Devil off the Starweird. The two other Starweirds dislodged themselves and also powered up their Force Lightning, holding up their hands as they directed it toward both the Devil and Angel. The avatars of my power held up their arms and blocked the incoming assault and this was where I entered the fight. I raised my right hand and grabbed ahold of the energy that connected me to Midwan. I gripped it tight and the Devil was pulled into the wing that led back to me. Once the avatar was completely sucked in it was reshaped into a massive black battle axe. A long pole rested in my hands ending in a curved blade that hooked back over the pole and extended down to my hand on the other end.

I lifted off the ground effortlessly, it felt like I was climbing up to the elevation that Saarai hovered at. Once I had reached the needed altitude I blasted forward with even faster speeds than I had been at in the first half of the fight. Within less than a second I was in front of the face of the second Starweird that had been birthed. I locked onto the two eyes that had been destroyed earlier and swung down cutting deep into the monster's skull, splitting it in half. I ripped my battle axe out and with a swing back I cut the taloned hand that was reaching to grab me. Midwan dug deep into the Starweird, all the way to the base of its hand. With a small glance back I saw Saarai and the other Starweird fighting, each delivering blows to the other trying to land a critical hit. My attention was focused back onto the Starweird attacking me as it tried to shut its claws around me despite the fact I was slicing its hand in two.

"Smile you son of bitch." I said as I raised my withered hand and a concentrated beam of tightly packed arcs of Force Lightning shot forward and vaporized half of the Starweird. The monster stopped its moving and was nothing more than a smoking wreak crumbling away into nothing. I glanced down at my left hand and narrowed my eyes. Whatever it was that I just used was not a normal Force Lightning attack. And more importantly it decreased the amount of time I had in this form. In the back of my head I simply knew what to do in this form. I knew how to fly using Midwan and Saarai as anchors, essentially just having them lift me using our connected wings. I knew how to turn them into weapons like I had done with Midwan. I knew about their powers while in this state and what I could do. My mental blocks were still there so I knew this wasn't the full extent of the might we could unleash but this was a major power boost to my overall stats. That attack that I just pulled off wasn't something I could hope to do even when I unlocked all my power. It was just too advanced.

Another Force shriek caught my attention and I saw another fucking Starweird begin to emerge form the crack in space. I couldn't do this forever. I looked to Saarai who was finishing off the other Starweird with a blow to its head, we all seemed to be focusing there. Without a word I commanded her to head to the crack and I tossed Midwan and mid flight the battle axe turned back into the Devil form she had prior. Both of them pulled me back to the middle of the cave by their wings and both of them grabbed a hold of the Starweird trying to leave. They began shoving it back in and it did not like that at all. But I needed the time. This Wound in the Force was being contained by the Time Stasis. Time needed to flow naturally in order for the Starwierds to enter into the physical plane. A unintended victory to the Sith that had foolishly attempted to fuck up most royally. Now Sith rituals were not my forte, but I knew Sith Runes. And I studied the ones at the border of the ritual and could see the flaws and the rushed changes that the Sith doing the ritual tried to make. As Saarai and Midwan attempted to stem the tide of Starweirds, yes now more were trying to barge their way in through the crack, I changed the Sith Runes and began feeding in the last of these stores of power I was using. The Runes were now complete and refocused to a smaller area of effect. Namely the Ritual Site itself.

With everything in place I ordered Midwan and Saarai back and just as they did so no less than fifteen grasping arms attempted to claw their way to freedom. With my two avatars out of the way I started up the ritual once again. Both Saarai and Midwan dissolved away and fell to the ground in their weapon form, Saarai's being of course a katana. A pillar of light shot from the edges of the ritual border, stopping the Starweirds that were trying to escape to freedom. The second that they hit the Light Wall, a Light Side ability that I was pretty damn sure normally needed several Jedi to use, their limbs dusted away. They were Force based beings and this power nullified the Force to an extent.

I felt my energy drain away as I continued to power the ritual. I knew why these things were always done in groups. The strain being put on my body was horrible. It simultaneously felt like all of my guts and blood was being siphoned out of my body while all of my bones were being crushed to pieces. But this needed to be done here and now. If it wasn't then all of this world would be consumed in a flood of Starweirds. The possibility of this becoming a new Malachor V was firmly lodged in my mind as I thought about all the people in this world that would die in the slaughter. Anger and love both fueled my already stubborn nature and with one final push of power into the Ritual everything snapped. The limbs of the Starweirds that had not been dusted faded into nothing and the shrieks that had been pounding my head silenced. The crack in space was still there behind the sheen of the Wall of Light but it was as closed as it was going to get. In the small space where the crack did open I could see a myriad of moving bright dots, that was the last thing I saw before I passed out. The eyes of the Starweirds looking in but unable to travel to the physical plane.

"Naraiz-sama, you need to awaken." I heard Saarai's voice as I opened my eyes. Glancing around and I seemed to have been moved to a small living quarters, it looked somewhat maintained but the familiar style of Imperial furnishings soothed my soul. Ah nostalgia. I then looked to my side and found Saarai standing dutifully at the side of the bed where I had been put. "Welcome back, I apologize for the lack of food but I was only able to manifest exactly five minutes and thirty two seconds before you awoke. Not enough time to prepare a proper meal… if such a feat could be done in this squalor." She said with a wrinkle to her nose and a deep frown as she looked around.

"It's fine Saarai, just being alive and not having to suffer the indignity of you being turned into a child form because I used up all the power is enough for me." That would be taking the trope too damn far. But I did feel a distinct lack of kickass in my body. I haven't felt this close to being normal since before I was reincarnated. That thought also reminded me of just the difference between the real Naraiz and myself. Even at thirty percent of his total power unlocked I nearly died. True, I was offed by a surprise hit by a unforeseen enemy but I know in my bones that the real Naraiz would have accounted for that or had some sort of super reflex or something! The fact I was saved by some sort of Deus Ex Machina infuriated me to now end. I raked my hand over my face and maybe it was the fact Saarai was so close to my soul but guard was down and I let my thoughts out. "I really am hopeless. Can't do anything without dumb plot armor… where the real Naraiz-"

She slapped me.

What the fuck?!

"Don't ever say that again." It took me a minute to understand that I had just been slapped and even then my brain still had a hard time coming to terms with that. I just blankly turned my eyes back to the disapproving glare of Saarai. "Stop referring to it as the real Naraiz. You are the real Naraiz now. It doesn't matter what you were before, either of your lives. Right now you are greater than the sum of your parts. If the old Naraiz had landed here, he would have slaughtered the Starks and began an immediate campaign of conquest. Could he have won it, yes. But in doing so he would have destroyed millions of lives. As much as it was for him to achieve Balance in the Force, he was a destroyer at his core. You are different, you are unique as everyone is. Stop acting like you need to be anything but you, the real Naraiz."

"I'd ask how long you've been waiting to give that speech but you've only been fully conscious for like a day." I chuckled and took some relief in my smartass nature. Somewhere in my memory I recall reading that one way to stop a panic attack in a person was just to slap them. Like a reset button. I don't think I'm having a panic attack but I Definitely needed that reset. "Okay, I'll try being me. Don't know how that's going to end up though."

"I have faith, and I know I'm not the only one." I don't know about that. Right now they are the only people that know the true me. And I'm not keen only letting that change any time soon.

As for my more immediate concerns after setting aside my identity crisis, I would definitely need to spend some time recovering from going full power. Me saying I'm keeping back a percent of my power was just an easy version of it. The real way the Power Scaling method worked was so much more dangerous than just simply holding back. It's more like I was tricking the Midi-chlorians in me to think I was at an earlier stage of my development. It was more like a reset and undo system. When I unlock more of my power, the Midi-chlorians freak out now they remembered how many of them there are actually supposed to be in my blood and cause a compound interest type of effect. It's very dangerous if not handled properly. This doesn't mean I have control over the microscopic aspect of the Force, just that I'm tricking them a bit. It took a long time for Naraiz to correctly gauge the process and thankfully the release was far easier than the clamp. But now the Midi-chlorians in me were way too much, if i was tested right now for a count any Jedi would have a panic attack at seeing the number. And as biological beings, the little fucks needed to eat. My immune system was slowly trying to whittle them down to an acceptable number so they would stop eating from the inside.

Good thing I took care of the Valyrian plot within a few days. I could use the two weeks I had set aside for this part of my trip to fully devote to healing and fixing my blood. Plus I would need further mediation on the Balance to figure shit out. "Now where is your sister?"

"Mi-chan went to find your underling, he and the Lannister King were the ones to bring you here and answers still need to be given. Now if you will excuse me master, I will see what I can do about preparing some refreshments." Saarai said with a graceful bow and walked out of the room. Leaving to my thoughts. If everything went to plan, then the Wound in the Force should be contained behind the Wall of Light and sealed in a Time Stasis. The ritual should be powered for about a year but I wasn't going to risk it failing. I would need to gather up a true anchor like those Holocrons and reapply the ritual with the anchor incorporated into it. That would be a much better long-term solution.

So tabling the apocalyptic Wound in the Force for right now. I now had the Code of the Balanced. That was a major success, and something that I had been worrying about for a great deal of time. I had attempted to meditate on the matter but the Force never gave it up to me, the words never flowed out and revealed themselves to me. Figures it would only come at the moment like that. Whatever, I had it and I could commune with the Force further on it. Just knowing the words would do wonders for me. Both the Sith and Jedi Codes were so intertwined with their respective sides that they seemed to be imprinted onto the Force itself. And now with this new creed the Balance has its own mantra.

On a more practical note, I now had all of Valyria to play around with. Any Force Zombies can be swept up easy enough, the Stone men even more so. The reputation of Valyria being cursed can be maintained and so that will keep other treasure hunters away. I could gather up as many artifacts and goodies as I wanted and sell them for a high price to anyone willing to pay that price. Also there was a good deal of tech here that could be salvaged. The droids most of all but I think I'll keep them on guard duty. The gunship was far from a terrific state so it was also a hollow asset for the moment. I would rather have it spend all its time being repaired than continue its patrols. In the two weeks I'll lift whatever it is that I will need and use the gunship to deliver it to a secure site near Harrenhal.

"Master!" I looked up from my hands to see Midwan dragging Rathari into the room. He looked confused as to who this woman was and that told me that no one in Valyria had been able to fully manifest like I was able to. Or at least they couldn't do so with human forms, likely an ability only achieved with enough power. "I found him, now he can tell us why he didn't slaughter all those weak ass walkers." Midwan giggled as she tossed Rathari to the floor just in front of what I assumed was his bed.

"Well… that is a question that I do want an answer to. You had centuries to kill all the Force Zombies. I doubt that Valyria had such a high population of Force Sensitives that even after all this time there would still be so many of them." I for the lives of me could not understand why he could possibly spend all these years not taking down each and every single Force Zombie. Once that was done he could leave this place behind. The threat of them spilling out into the world would be no more.

"It was my penance." He said solemnly and I raised an eyebrow at that. "I lied, it was my idea to perform the Time Ritual." The silence that crept into the air after he said that lasted for what seemed like forever. Midwan stared down at the Sith kneeling before me and I could feel all she wanted to do was make my master proud with the torment she had in mind. I however never gave her the go ahead, so she stayed still. "I and others were in the middle of the ritual to turn back our reality one day, it was to be a localized event and we believed because of that no harm would be caused on a macro scale." It was possible. That if they contained it to just Valyria that they could get away with it. But the ripples would be created. And messing about with time was the exact way for the worst in the galaxy to get free.

"It was still a terrible idea." I bluntly put and Rathari didn't argue with me on that.

"But once we learned of what the Valyrians had done… we panicked. Everything that we had built up was going to be ruined. It was a momentary madness, one that made us want to preserve everything we had created." Rathari explained and began babbling on with similar rhetoric. I ignored much of it and more or less returned to my thinking about my plans for Valyria. For the time it would just need to be a salvage yard. A place I could pull useful shit out from. With only Rathari left, even if he was one of the primary Sith Lords of Valyria, I doubt that I could find all the secrets of the Valyrians. The two biggest ones that I was focused on however was the Dragons and the Valyrian Steel. One was a boon while the other was essential. "… to show my penance or my mistake. To jail myself to this place of my most horrible failure…"

"Enough." I said as I grew tired of his rambling. "That was then and this is now." I said as I rotated myself and placed a foot to the ground. I glanced down finally realizing that my prosthetic leg was now missing. I looked to Midwan and turned to where it was now on a nearby table. I breathed a sigh of relief, that was one thing that I could not replace… also because I had Master Baras' and Arcann's lightsabers hidden in it as a backup weapon. Midwan moved to help me stand as my body still felt quite weak and I was unable to use the Force to mimic a limb. "Rathari, you have been one of my most loyal followers. One of the first I called after I had defeated my master to form the True Followers of Revan. The fact that you live to this day is good fortune for me as I have another Force User to help shape the new order of Sith."

"I am unworthy of these words my lord, I have committed failures too high for your praise." I snorted a bit at that, I was discussing facts not compliments. But let him think what he wills.

"Stand up, I have need for you. In two weeks we will be leaving for Volantis with treasures in tow. There I will conclude my business here in Essos and shall return to my base in Westeros." I explained as Midwan helped me walk over to the table where my prosthetic leg lay. I sat down on a nearby chair and began the task of reconnecting the thing back to my body. "In that time I want not a single Force Zombie to remain, once you are done with that you shall assist me in gathering up whatever resources that we can find in the city."

"Yes my lord, it shall be done." With that Rathari stood up and walked out of the room to go perform my orders. I do so love a guilty man, they are so easy to control. Even when I'm trying to tell them I don't care about the mistakes they made. Honestly I would be more upset if it wasn't for the fact that his mistake ended up benefiting the larger cause of the Balance.

"That was interesting to watch." Midwan mused as she paced around the bedroom, purposefully doing so in a way that would put her rear in my field of vision as much as possible. "I understand that he will be useful but to just let him off with a slap on the wrist?" I could hear the displeasure coming from her, I had made a Light Side choice and she knew it. Letting Rathari go without punishment and forgiving what he had done was not what she wanted but I am not here to appease either her or Saarai. I did as I felt.

"Explain how it is that you and Saarai are able to manifest in the world when I drained your stores of power to nearly zero." I said and she gave a small huff and crossed her arms but it was clear that she wasn't going to give any more energy to the Rathari issue.

"We are tapping into the wellspring of power in you for the time being. If we use you as a direct source of power then we can manifest as long as we want and the range by which we can exist in this plane of existence is roughly a kilometer in diameter. We can do this from our own stores of energy with our swords being the center point for range without drawing too much power but don't expect us to be able to stay out for weeks at a time just on our own." Midwan explained and this was when Saarai had returned with a small tray of tea and herbs to help me get better. I doubted that she got here as fast as she could and likely was waiting for the Rathari matter to be settled before coming in. Saarai was clearly not too fond of the man and I wonder how that extended to other people in general.

"Where are your swords?" I asked before taking one of the cups of tea Saarai had brought. I wasn't a tea drinker but it seems like she had put in a lot of effort to do her best with what limited stores that Rathari must have on hand. Plus it reminded me of the little test she had done. Ironically I couldn't sense how she felt about this, I couldn't sense anything out of them period. These two women in front of me weren't living beings but solid Force projections and so it made sense for me not being able to detect their emotions.

"They are here master." Midwan said as she pulled out two blades I had never seen before from under the bed. Both were Kilij style swords with a limited arcing curve back ending in a triangular weighted tip. A back hook rested on the guard pointing out from the holder and one hilt was bound in a short red sash while the other in a long blue.

"Ah… and the trope continues." I sighed before using my mental pain to hide my physical pain as I reconnected my leg back to my nervous system. A grunt later and I was able to stand back on two feet again. My mask spread down and quickly covered the black metal of the leg in what appeared and felt to be flesh. I held out my hand and Midwan gave me both my swords and much to my irritation they were in fact my swords. They were lifeless though, I guess that was the case due to both the minds inside them out and about and that they were totally drained of power. I placed them carefully back on the table where my leg had been and turned to leave the room only to find myself beginning to be pulled back by the Force. I was pulled off my feet and thrown back into the bed.

"Oh no, if you think you're getting out of this room for the next few hours you are sadly mistaken." Midwan smirked as she crawled into the bed and straddled my waist, somehow completely naked whereas before she was in a gown that would at minimum take five minutes to get out of. "Saarai, go get us food, the master will be needing the energy."

"Hold up." I stopped Saarai from leaving with that stare directly to Midwan eyes, ignoring the bouncy chest that seemed to defy gravity. Which in of itself gave me an idea of how she was able to remove the dress so fast. I'm pretty sure that they had total control of how they appeared in the physical world, or at least they did to some degree. Maybe they were stuck with a specific shape and face, but they certainly were able to affect the form they had. "Do not presume to order your sister around like you're me." With that I gave her a hard slap to her rear, eliciting a loud moan of deep pleasure from her. "You both belong to me, you are as much my property as Lyarra and Joanna are. And I won't have you think that you're above your station." I growled as I ran my fingers across Midwan's skin, my left hand trailing up her stomach and soon cupped under one of her large breasts. She continued to moan at my touches, the feeling of talking down to getting her wetter with each word. I knew because my other hand reached down and slowly began to trace the edges of her moistening pussy lips. "Aw Mi… you're just a little whore aren't you? Already so wet after so little."

"Yes master… spank me again… punish your property for her impudence." Midwan begged as she rocked her hips against my hand and stuck her chest out to push my hand deeper into the globe of flesh still in my hand. Among the sounds of pants from the woman on top of me I also heard small gasps of pleasure coming from nearby. I glanced over and saw Saarai still standing dutifully though she was biting her lip and I could see a small amount of movement under her kimono, evidence of her rubbing her thighs together.

With another smirk I pulled my hand away from Midwan's breasts but before she could beg for me to return it, I pushed a finger inside her drenched cunt and began exploring around her inner walls. Midwan instead began to loudly whine at my touches, moving her hips faster in an attempt to generate as much friction as possible. And so with my hand free I gave a push with the force and disrobed Saarai in an instant, garnering a yelp of shock and embarrassment. She quickly tried to cover herself in a small attempt to preserve some modesty that I saw no need for.

"No Naraiz-sama… you shouldn't look at me like this." Saarai whimpered as she covered her chest and womanhood but I could already see a trail of glistening juices travel down her leg. Her face was completely flushed and despite her words she made no attempt to leave the room which would have been a much better method of keeping me from seeing her naked.

"Just ignore her master, I'm here… I'm all you'll ever need." Midwan purred as she leaned down and took my face in her hands and pressed her lips to my own. And while I did enjoy the kiss, I broke it off and pushed Midwan back up with a frown on my face. Again, before she could pout about this I shut her up and gave her another smack to her ass and she once again gave a very pleased moan at the pain she felt. Feeling that my point was made again I returned to winding Midwan up with teasing and a single finger circling inside her pussy. I made sure to keep her just on the edge of a climax to get my point further across.

"Saarai, let me see you." I said as I turned my head back to Saarai and she slowly moved her hands and arms away, letting me see her completely in all her glory. Her skin was a pearl white but under her kimono were winding vine like tattoos in the same neon blue as the marking on her face. I glanced over to Midwan who had her own red Sith tattoos similar to the ones Darth Talon had in Legends. Saarai was tall with sensually long legs with a pussy bare of any hair, just like her sister she had a slim waist but unlike Midwan she had small breasts, barely getting to B-cup whereas Midwan was a solid double D.

"You do not need to see me like this master, I do not wish to dis- iy!" I interrupted Saarai as I levitated her in the air and floated her to the bed. Placing her sitting above my head and before she could say another word she was only able to moan out in lustful bliss as my tongue entered her folds. "Naraiz-sama~" Saarai cried as she felt me delve deep into her pussy, aping at the sweet juices that were now started to gush out of her. It seemed that my attention to Saarai had gotten her sister a bit jealous and so I felt someone pull off the bed robes that had been put in. Midwan of course being this person began grinding her slit along my hardened cock, her pussy now free from my hand as held Saarai's hips close to my face.

"Master… I need it, I want to feel your cock split me in two." Midwan begged as she continued to run her lips across my manhood trying to bring as much pleasure as she knew she was allowed. I pulled myself away from the delicious treat that I had occupied myself with and looked up to Midwan who had the most fucked starve look of begging she could muster. I decided to let her have what she wanted but only after she swallowed her pride.

"Compliment Saarai first and then you may after." I said and that broke Midwan's mood for a moment. Saarai however looked victorious but I would let this go to her head. "You too Saarai, give your sister a compliment or this will be the extent of what I do to you." That froze the light Side sister in her place as she wasn't willing to let this be the end of the pleasure I could give her. Saarai looked too puzzled to begin to speak but it seems that her sister was perfectly willing to go forward in this, by leaning forward and giving Saarai a full kiss. I rolled my eyes at Midwan's creative way to get the ball rolling and returned to eating out of Saarai's pussy.

The two sisters continued to kiss, deepening it as the seconds passed by. Midwan reached out and began to palm Saarai's small breasts and furthermore moans out of her sister. Not wanting to be outdone, Saarai also reached out and began kneading Midwan's large chest, this proved more effective than Midwan's efforts as the Dark Side sister's chest was more sensitive than her counterpart but Saarai was getting just as close to coming as her sister due to my tongue fucking. I could feel both their muscles lock up as they grew closer and closer to orgasm and deciding to finish them off myself I sent a small spark of Force Lightning from each point of contact I had to their clits and both pulled away from each other and seized up, coming immediately.

Midwan screamed loudly as her whole body flushed with pleasure from the climax meanwhile Saarai stayed quiet but gripped the bedsheets that she had taken into her hands to prevent from falling back so tight that she tore them. Midwan fell back onto the front of the bed and curled up at my feet mumbling her thanks and praise over and over again. Saarai on the other hand I had to pull out from under her and lay her back as her entire body had locked up over the pleasure. I crawled over her and broke her out of the pleasure coma with a kiss, one she returned as soon as her wits returned to her.

"Don't ever let someone say you are not a beautiful angel and anything but that." I whispered and she blushed deeply and tried to hide by turning into the pillow. She mumbled a thanks for everything and it was so adorable I couldn't help but smile brighter. But then I felt arms wrap around me and a pair of breasts press into my back.

"A beautiful angel with a wicked tongue, you really are a great kisser Saarai." Midwan said and I could tell it was an honest compliment even if after the second she said it she looked at me with pleading eyes for her reward. And she did as I told her so in one fluid move I tossed her on her back and lined my cock against her awaiting pussy. "Yes! Make me yours master, dominate and use me only as a true Sith can!" Midwan gripped the bedsheets as I thrusted into her, impaling her insides in one rough push. She screamed like banshee and began rolling her hips to each of my thrusts. To say that it was warm within her was a massive understatement, the feeling of my manhood inside of her was like a inferno.

"Your so fucking hot, I feel like I'm going to melt." I grunted as she kept up with the rapid pace I was setting. She loved it rough and I gave it to her, not giving a second of respite. Her body rippled with every thrust, her huge tits heaved and bounced as I slammed into her, Midwan's face was contorted into a state of utter carnal bliss. Her inner walls gripped my cock tight as I pulled in and out, trying to keep me firmly inside her. The burning heat and slickness of her post orgasm cunt felt so incredible that it took all my willpower to not come on the spot. This seemed to be what was turning her on the most.

"Yes! Only you master… only you can tame me! Only you can bathe in the Dark and still come to dominate me as your own tool!" She shouted as she wrapped her legs around my waist and began pulling me further inside of her. The full length of my cock was buried deep inside of her and I felt her clench even tighter. I gripped her hips and forced myself out again and again only to be pulled deep back inside. It was a battle between us, as it always was. The Dark Side always had a hold on me, trying to drag me into its clutches but I fought with everything I had. "Fuck me master, fuck your dirty whore of a tool!" And with that I pumped into her with ever more speed, slamming into her cunt and filling the room with sounds of moans and flesh hitting flesh. Midwan began writhing in uncontrolled ecstasy as her body fought to hold off the impending climax that she could feel coming. "In me master, I want to feel you fill me up with your cum." She begged with the most needy eyes I had seen in her.

"Very well, you have always been a good tool so you deserve a reward." And with one final thrust I pushed myself as deep as I could, cumming and spilling my seed directly into her waiting womb causing Midwan to give the loudest scream yet as she came. Time to the both of us passed on by, we were unable to notice but eventually she let go of me and I slid out of her slick cunt. Falling back into Saarai's waiting lap. I looked up and there was the other sister smiling warmly down at me as she ran a hand through my hair. "I assume you would like our first time to be later?" I asked and Saarai nodded with a faint blush on her cheeks. I sighed and looked back down to where Midwan was currently passed out due to her own time with me, her face broken into a fucked stupid grin while she weakly closed her legs as a bit of my cum began to spill out of her. I just closed my eyes and remained where I was, enjoying the soft touches of the gentle woman that held me.