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Remnant Soul Series
33: The Trials of Sith II

33: The Trials of Sith II

One might be wondering why Erebus had not used his lightsaber or Force abilities in this scenario?

Well, the reason is because he did not want to out of necessity. He was not very keen on letting either Zash or Baras catch onto his existence and potentially derail the timeline of the Old Republic.

Thus he decided to make use of the spells he learned at Hogwarts to supplement the abilities he could have used. Erebus also did not care that Spindrall witnessed everything since—in the game—the old hermit knew things that the Player Character did not.

Besides, there was no mention of Spindrall ever leaving his favorite tomb. There would be no risk to him using his magic and having it exposed to anyone else as not even Ffon—who was still under the effects of the Cruciatus Curse—could be believed once he reported everything to Harkun.

When Erebus decided that Ffon had enough—which had been roughly two doses of the curse—he finally let up and let the Sith Pureblood collapse into unconsciousness. This marked his plan as successful while also making sure that Ffon's ultimate fate was left untouched.

As for the spectating old hermit, he had never heard such delicious sounds of pure torture that soothed his sadistic nature. It had even caught the attention of some lingering Force Ghosts that were nearby in the tomb, but that didn't bother Erebus as much as he had already completed his goal.

The system had announced that he had received two thousand experience points for the deed along with a slight increase in reputation with Spindrall.

"Peace is a lie," Erebus began to mutter in front of the unconscious Ffon. "There is only passion."

It was the first line of the Sith Code. Erebus—along with anyone familiar with Star Wars—knew these codes by heart since some resonate with each soul's alignment. Some resonated with the Jedi Code while others adored the Sith.

"Through passion, I gain strength," Erebus continued—his aura growing darker.

Evidence of this very code was obvious as there were famous canon and legends characters that embodied these very codes. Darth Baras, Vowrawn, Marr, Zash, and even Emperor Palpatine were such famous characters that relied on their passions and hatred to fuel their dark natures.

"Through strength, I gain power."

One of these famous Sith Lords even managed to bring the Galactic Republic to its very knees during the Clone Wars and establish the Empire in its place. He had even fooled the Jedi Order of the era—as they had long believed the Sith were extinct from the Galaxy for over a thousand years—by keeping his true identity secret until he took on Anakin Skywalker as his apprentice.

"Through power, I gain victory."

Erebus was no fool as he recited the Sith Code. Even unconscious, he was essentially warning Ffon that he was no true Sith and would never be one. Unbeknownst to Erebus, Spindrall himself could feel the very Dark Side began to both be attracted to and repelled by Erebus' true nature—making him both curious and scared.

"Through victory, my chains are broken."

Reverberating throughout the cave, Spindrall could hear the breaking of chains. Centering from Erebus himself, a gruesome sight appeared in the old hermit's eyes.

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As if from unseen wounds that were slowly healing, Spindrall saw Erebus bleeding silver blood and between the edge of existence and non-existence. It was like the body he saw before him was imperfect and barely held together by something indescribable. Even the dark aura around this imperfect vessel contained a mere fragment of something that could rival even the Dark Council themselves in power.

"The Force shall set me free," Erebus finished in his recital of the Sith Code.

As if all of it was an illusion, reality snapped back together for Spindrall—albeit the memory of what he saw remained fresh in his mind. Even the unconscious Ffon was dreaming a toxic nightmare of a shadowy monster ever bleeding silver reciting some dark code that—in his ears—felt like it was spoken in a tongue unknown to the Galaxy.

'What is this monster?' Spindrall mentally asked himself as he looked upon Erebus. 'What could make a mere acolyte hold such power of the dark side?'

"We will not meet again, Spindrall," Erebus said to the old hermit in a stern tone while his cold gaze remained on the still form of Ffon. "So I shall impart to you a truth."

Steeling himself for a moment and deciding to commune deeper on the issue of Erebus' power, Spindrall asked "What truth?"

"Fear and anger can only give you so much power for they are mortal fuel leaving the host barren. It is only when you truly understand what drives you forward that you can achieve greater heights," Erebus responded before making his way out of the chamber—leaving Spindrall both confused and strangely hopeful.

===+===

Meanwhile....

No one in either the empire or Republic knew it just yet, but on the red sandy world of Korriban, a ripple in the Force came to be. When Erebus had unintentionally revealed the state of his soul to Spindrall in his chamber, it created a shockwave through the Force that made everyone on the planet feel a subtle degree of danger.

Not even Darth Vowrawn—who was silently observing the very man himself through the Force—was exempt of this. He felt it and knew that time was slowly running out.

The Sith Pureblood knew that if anyone else got a hold of Erebus—including his rival Baras—there was going to be unprecedented danger across the galaxy that not even the Jedi Council could stop. Luckily, Vowrawn had a plan on how to capture Erebus to be his apprentice.

However—much like how Zash was plotting to transfer her consciousness into the Inquisitor character—a few key things for his plan to work were yet to fall into place.

===+===

》You have defeated Ffon. Awarded 2,000 EXP.《

》Ffon is an unimportant character in the [Sith Inquisitor] Class Storyline. His only role had been a minor antagonist to the Inquisitor in their beginning--eventually killed by Zash in front of Harkun in the final trial because of lying directly to her face. With your intervention, his ultimate fate had been left unchanged aside from having a increased vulnerability to Force Lightning.《

》With your interaction with Spindrall, you have unlocked the Trials of Sith.《

》Completing the Trials of Sith will enable you to rank up to [Sith Apprentice] with a maximum rank of [Darth]. With each higher rank in both the Jedi and Sith factions, you'll be able to command greater reputation gains with the relevant faction's territory during the time of the Old Republic.《

》To unlock the Trials of Jedi, you must first complete the Trials of Sith on Korriban and return to Dromund Kaas.《

》Be warned: Powerful Sith and Jedi have become aware of your presence in the Galaxy. It is recommended that the Host finds suitable allies in the days to come.《

Erebus had read through the system notifications as quickly as they came, but the one telling him that powerful Sith and Jedi had become aware of his presence gave him a migraine. He knew that he absolutely could not afford to let these powerhouses find out about him lest it creates divergent timelines with unknown consequences in the future.

After all, he still had to get back to the canon era to deal with the Invasion of Naboo and all of the shit Palpatine was plotting. There was also the fact that he couldn't start setting up precautions against Palpatine's plans until the time when Episode 1 was set to take place.

Thankfully, no one here could kill him instantly like how Sebastian did using the Killing Curse. The worst thing he'd suffer was getting his neck snapped through the Force.

'Fuck me,' Erebus thought to himself as he had returned to his Voidship away from the Academy through the use of Apparate. 'I've got enough shit on my plate in even that sneak attack on Ffon, but I guess I have to be even more careful now.'

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