Private The Crucible at Dusk

[Iandre Athlea]

The transition from life to the void happened within the infinitesimal span of a heartbeat, a staggering shift that fundamentally altered the fabric of her reality.

One moment, the Force had been gathered around her with the sharp, lethal focus of a drawn blade, ready to carve through the darkness. The very next, she felt the terrifying realization that her body would no longer obey the commands of her soul.

The desperate signals she tried to send to her muscles withered and died long before they reached their destination, leaving her utterly incapacitated. Fingers that had been poised to strike or manipulate the rising stone hung uselessly at her sides, feeling as though they were no longer a part of her being. Even the air in her lungs remained trapped, caught halfway through a breath as an invisible, crushing grip closed over her entire frame.

The sudden, heavy silence that descended around them made the cacophony of the chaos beyond their bubble feel impossibly distant and surreal. Iandre felt the presence of her captor moving through the Force before her eyes could even register his physical form. Then, with a chilling mechanical efficiency, a cold arm seized her wrist and shattered any hope of escape.

Her shoulder was wrenched backward with a sickening sharpness as he forced the joint up behind her spine, the sudden torque sending a blinding flash of white-hot pain radiating down her arm. A second hand closed around her throat an instant later, the metallic claws digging into her skin with a slow and deliberate precision.

Her breathing stuttered and failed as the pressure tightened, cutting off the very lifeblood of her resistance. She felt the sickening warmth of her own blood sliding down the side of her neck where the claws had finally pierced the surface of her skin.

He was there, pressing against her. Far too close for anything other than a nightmare to inhabit. She was forced to endure the metallic tang of blood in the air, the sensation of his cold breath ghosting against her skin, and the venomous whisper vibrating directly into her ear. Her eyes darted frantically within their sockets, for they were the only part of her physical self that she still possessed.

Beyond the shimmering, translucent boundary of that silence, her squad continued to hold their firing lines, oblivious to the tragedy unfolding inches away. Moose's heavy LO-20D platform roared somewhere in the distance, a mechanical beast unaware of its master's plight. Both Childs and Night moved in practiced, lethal arcs, scanning the plaza for a target that had already claimed its prize.

They had not even noticed she was gone, and that realization was a deeper wound than any claw could inflict.

His words pressed against the inner sanctum of her mind, filled with a venom designed to carve much deeper than the physical puncture in her throat. For a brief, agonizing moment, the old fear surged within her like a drowning tide. The same vast void he had shown her once before. It was the same terrible, suffocating certainty that everyone she ever cared for would eventually drift beyond her reach into the dark.

Then, the fangs finally pierced her skin.

A wave of white-hot agony shot through her neck as the bite broke the surface, followed immediately by a creeping, crystalline cold that began to spread through her veins. Though her body remained a frozen statue and her lungs burned with the desperate need for oxygen, her mind remained a defiant fortress.

Through the searing pain and the numbness encroaching upon her limbs, Iandre gathered the fragments of her will and forced her awareness outward. The Force trembled around her like the surface of a great lake disturbed by a heavy stone, vibrating with her unspoken plea.

She did not reach toward the soldiers or the heat of the battle raging nearby; she reached toward something much older and infinitely more vast. She reached toward the presence that had once stood as a bulwark between her and death when she was nothing more than a frightened, trembling apprentice.

The connection between them stretched across the distance, thin and frayed, yet remarkably unbroken. Her voice never left her lips, for it did not need to traverse the air to be heard.

Master…

The call rippled through the Force like a single, persistent wave traveling across a dark and infinite ocean.

I need you.

Laphisto Allan Alhune

 

[Laphisto]

Laphisto had made the journey between Aurora Station and Ravalin City so many times that the route had long since become routine. Administrative obligations, military briefings, and diplomatic matters constantly required his presence between the two locations, and the Lilaste Order shuttle that carried him today was merely one of countless transports that had ferried him across the skies before. Normally the trips passed quietly, giving him time to review reports or approve operational requests while the shuttle descended through the planet's upper atmosphere.

The interior of the transport was calm and orderly, illuminated by the soft glow of console lights and the faint reflection of the clouds drifting past the viewport. Laphisto sat in the rear of the cabin, a datapad in his hand, his eyes scanning the steady stream of information displayed across the screen. Training reports from the academy scrolled past first, followed by supply updates from Tarain's Sword and several pending communications that would require his signature once he reached Ravalin City. The work was routine, necessary, and largely uneventful exactly the sort of responsibilities that filled the quiet spaces between battles.

For several minutes nothing disturbed the calm rhythm of the flight. The shuttle's engines produced a steady hum beneath the floor plating while the repulsorlifts adjusted to subtle atmospheric shifts outside. The pilot maintained a smooth descent along the shuttle's pre-programmed flight path, guiding the craft toward the distant skyline of Ravalin City. Laphisto continued reading without interruption, occasionally shifting the datapad in his hand as he reviewed each document with practiced efficiency.

Then something brushed against his mind. It was not a sound or a physical sensation, but a faint flicker of awareness that cut through his focus like a ripple across still water. The moment was brief, subtle enough that most beings would have dismissed it entirely, yet it carried a familiar weight that Laphisto had learned never to ignore. The disturbance lingered for only a heartbeat, but it was enough to snap his attention away from the datapad. His gaze lifted sharply.

The High Commander slowly scanned the shuttle's interior, his eyes moving across the empty seats and the narrow aisle that separated them. Everything appeared normal. The transport's systems continued humming steadily, and the cockpit ahead showed no signs of alarm or concern from the pilot. Yet the sensation in the Force had been unmistakable an irregular pulse that did not belong to the quiet routine of the journey.

Laphisto lowered the datapad slightly, his expression tightening as he focused inward, listening to the subtle currents that flowed through the Force around him. For a moment the disturbance faded, leaving only the distant background presence of the world below. He might have returned to his work then, dismissing it as nothing more than a passing echo. But the flicker returned. This time it lingered just long enough to confirm what his instincts already suspected.

Without another glance at the screen, Laphisto tossed the datapad onto the seat beside him. The device slid across the cushion and struck the armrest with a dull clatter as he leaned forward slightly, his attention no longer on the reports that had occupied him moments earlier. A low rumble formed in the back of his throat as he considered the direction of the disturbance and the one place nearby that might explain it. iandre.

Laphisto rose slightly from his seat and called toward the cockpit. "Take me to the academy. That's an order." The reaction was immediate. The pilot did not question the command or ask for clarification, because within the Lilaste Order the High Commander's orders were executed without hesitation. A brief confirmation signal chirped through the shuttle's systems as the transport disengaged from its preset flight path. The craft banked sharply to the side, its engines adjusting power as the shuttle redirected itself toward the academy grounds.

Laphisto did not wait for the shuttle to complete its landing cycle. The moment the academy grounds came into view beneath the transport's descending trajectory, he rose from his seat with decisive intent. Before the pilot could even begin announcing final approach procedures, Laphisto slammed his fist against the side control panel beside the rear compartment. The impact triggered the emergency release mechanism, and the shuttle's rear bay door split open with a sharp mechanical hiss as pressurized air rushed past the frame.

Without hesitation, Laphisto hurled himself out of the craft. For several seconds his body spiraled through open air, the academy complex rushing upward beneath him as gravity seized hold of his descent. Wind roared violently around his armor as he dropped, the sudden transition from the shuttle's calm interior to the screaming rush of atmosphere hitting like a physical blow. His body rotated once, then twice, before instinct and training took over.

The suit responded first. His LO-ADS system activated automatically, repulsor stabilizers flaring to life as micro-thrusters adjusted his trajectory. At the same moment, Laphisto's biological wings unfurled from his back, cutting through the rushing air with practiced precision. The twin systems worked in unison, correcting the chaotic spiral and transforming the fall into a controlled dive that sent him streaking toward the academy grounds like a descending missile.

As the wind tore past him, Laphisto's eyes ignited with a brief flash of golden crimson. The Force surged through his senses. His unique vision shifted as the energy field surrounding all living things unfolded before him, washing across his awareness in layered currents of presence and motion. Buildings, corridors, and training yards appeared not just as structures of stone and metal but as hollow spaces filled with shifting signatures of life and energy. Through this heightened perception, he swept his gaze across the academy grounds, searching for the disturbance that had called him here.

Most of the signatures were calm and familiar students moving between training areas, instructors overseeing drills, the quiet background presence of the academy's daily routine. Yet within seconds two far more volatile signals caught his attention.

They were tangled together. One of them was instantly recognizable. Iandre. The other was unknown. Both signatures flared violently as they collided in what was unmistakably a physical struggle. The clash of their energies burned brightly against the quieter background of the academy, their movements concentrated within the upper levels of one of the main training structures. A low growl rolled from Laphisto's throat as the realization settled in. Mid-dive, he reached inward toward the Force.

The energy gathered around him with explosive intensity as he focused it through a single decisive motion. Laphisto thrust his will forward, unleashing a massive concussive blast of Force energy ahead of his descending form. The invisible shockwave tore outward with devastating speed, compressing the air before it into a violent pressure front. The attack ripped through the atmosphere faster than the surrounding air could move.

A thunderous crack split the sky as the blastwave shattered the sound barrier, racing ahead of Laphisto like an unseen hammer. Seconds later it struck the academy building. The roof erupted outward in a violent explosion of debris as the concussive force punched a massive hole through the structure's upper levels.

Fragments of durasteel plating and shattered masonry blasted skyward while dust and shattered supports collapsed inward beneath the sudden impact. Through the growing cloud of debris, Laphisto continued his controlled descent. His wings adjusted once more, guiding him straight toward the opening his power had carved into the building below, toward the violent clash unfolding inside.

Laphisto struck the floor feet first with a thunderous impact that sent a dull shock through the shattered chamber beneath him. Fragments of debris scattered outward across the broken tiles as the momentum of his descent bled away through the reinforced plating of his armor. Dust and shattered pieces of the roof still rained down from above, drifting through the air in slow spirals as the echoes of the earlier blast rolled through the academy structure.

He rose from the landing immediately. There was no pause to assess the damage around him, no hesitation as he shifted from descent to engagement. His head turned sharply, golden-crimson eyes sweeping across the torn interior of the training hall while the Force continued to flow through his senses. The chaotic signatures he had seen during his dive were now directly before him, their violent struggle no longer obscured by walls or distance.

Laphisto's gaze locked onto them. Iandre Athlea stood locked in a brutal struggle with a man whose presence he did not immediately recognize. The stranger Allan Alhune had closed the distance entirely, his body pressed against hers in a savage grapple. Worse still, his teeth were buried deep into the side of her throat, his posture twisted with a feral desperation that left little doubt about the nature of the attack.

The sight drew an immediate reaction. Without hesitation, Laphisto's hand dropped to his sidearm. The LO-22S cleared its holster in a single fluid motion as the High Commander brought the weapon up and fired. Three sharp cracks echoed through the ruined hall as the pistol discharged in rapid succession. However, the shots did not immediately travel toward the pair. Instead, Laphisto deliberately aimed far to the right, sending the rounds screaming past the combatants and toward the far side of the chamber.

For a split second, it appeared as though the shots had missed entirely. Then the Force moved. The moment the bullets cleared Iandre's position, Laphisto reached out with his will and seized them mid-flight. Invisible pressure wrapped around the projectiles, catching them before they could bury themselves into the wall beyond. With a sharp pull of telekinetic control, he yanked their trajectories violently backward.

The rounds curved through the air. Under the guidance of the Force, the three bullets bent into a tight arc, whipping around Iandre's position with precise control. Their paths twisted sharply as Laphisto redirected them toward the man locked against her, guiding the projectiles in a lethal curve meant to strike Allan Alhune without risking a direct line of fire through Iandre herself.

The redirected rounds tore back across the chamber, screaming toward their new target as Laphisto steadied his stance amid the settling debris, his weapon still raised and ready to fire again if necessary. The first thing the man before him might detect is the fact that raw force energy was flowing off of laphisto in troves. like heavy fog falling from dry ice. The tendrils were not light-side or dark-side oriented but instead both, twisted together tightly in a form of balance.

 

[Allan Alhune]

Allan had felt the presence before the impact. His gaze flicked to the roof just before it had exploded beyond recognition. A winged man landing before him, the force blanketing and rolling off his body like that of a harsh current within a vastly flowing river system.

Violent, controlled and precise.

Allan’s violet gaze flared as the man raised his blaster and…

Missed?

All three shots screaming past him. Then…

THUD THUD THUD

Allan’s body recoiled forward three times from the heavy impacts, not even a grunt of pain from him. His mouth released Iandre’s throat, blood, her blood flowing down his chest, staining the brown and tan robes he had kept so neatly cleaned. He let her body drop by his feet, still alive, still breathing but with massive blood loss.

His hand came up, fingers brushing slowly over his lips to wipe the blood away in swaths of dark crimson that dripped to the floor. A slow exhale left his lips as the slugs from the three shots dropped from his back, the wounds stitching themselves together.

“Quite an entrance…”

He spoke softly, a slight smile coming to his lips.

“I must ask that you wait your turn though.”

A coldness reverberated from his body, a sickening aura of force energy rolling of his body in kind with the new stranger. Power radiating from his very bones and flesh…and something else.

Hunger, controlled

“Can’t say I have ever tried the blood of your kind before. Must be exquisite.”

He stepped forward, his robe shifting to the side as he retrieved the dark metal hilt of his lightsaber.

The slits of his eyes sharpened further like blades, enhancing and sharpening his sight further as he looked through the fault lines of his body.

Truly unique

“Impressive.”

His saber ignited with a bright white glow, but the power that emanated from it was not purity of a white blade, but the husk of something that had been drained of color and will. A broken crystal that obeyed a new master, cold and devoid of any feeling or emotion from within.

Iandre Athlea | Laphisto​

 

[Laphisto]

Laphisto's attention never left the attacker. The moment the first exchange of fire concluded, his right hand moved without hesitation toward the weapon secured at his hip. His fingers wrapped around the hilt of his Broad Saber, and with a sharp motion he drew it free. The magnetic retention lock released with a faint metallic snap, and an instant later the weapon ignited in his grip. A brilliant blue blade surged outward with its familiar, violent hiss, bathing the fractured chamber in a cold glow that reflected off drifting dust and shattered stone.

He said nothing. Instead, Laphisto raised the pistol still gripped in his other hand and opened fire again.

The remaining nine rounds in the magazine erupted from the LO-22S in rapid succession, the sharp cracks of each discharge echoing through the broken hall. Unlike the earlier shots, these rounds were not redirected or curved through the Force. They came straight and fast as Laphisto surged forward into a full sprint, his taloned feet scratching into the floor below him. pounding against the cracked floor while he advanced on the man with relentless momentum.

Each shot was timed with his movement, the muzzle flashing again and again as he closed the distance. Then the weapon ran dry. The pistol clicked empty. Without slowing his advance, Laphisto simply hurled the sidearm forward with all the force of his forward momentum, sending the weapon spinning through the air toward the man's head like a blunt projectile meant to disrupt, distract, or break his concentration.

At the same moment his free hand extended outward. Laphisto seized hold of Iandre's body and pulled, dragging her across the fractured floor in a controlled slide. Debris scraped loudly beneath her as she was hauled away from the man and sent skidding toward the far side of the chamber, placing immediate distance between her and the man who had been clamped onto her throat.

Only once she was clear did Laphisto shift his focus fully back to the threat. He reached inward again, drawing deeply upon the turbulent currents of the Force that still churned through the shattered hall. The earlier blast had already torn open the building, and the violent disruption had left residual energy hanging thick in the air. Laphisto gathered that leaking power into his palm, compressing it into a dense, unstable mass that crackled invisibly around his hand.

Then he thrust it forward. The resulting blast detonated outward in a violent ripple energy .The shockwave slammed through the chamber with overwhelming power, the pressure splitting cracked stone tiles and ripping apart weakened structural seams. Chunks of flooring and fragments of shattered masonry tore free from the ground as the blast surged outward, the debris lifting violently into the air before being flung forward in a lethal storm.

Stone fragments became shrapnel. Razor-edged shards of fractured rock screamed through the space between them, propelled by the force of the blast like a swarm of jagged blades meant to tear into anything caught in their path.

Yet Laphisto did not stop advancing. His sprint carried him forward through the chaos, blue blade held ready as he closed the remaining distance. If the attack failed to halt the man outright and the gap between them collapsed fully, Laphisto shifted seamlessly into close combat. His broadsaber swept outward in a brutal horizontal strike aimed to cut across the man's centerline, the glowing blade carving a lethal arc through the dust-filled air.

At the exact same moment, his other arm snapped forward. His fist drove toward the man's head with crushing force, Laphisto throwing the full weight of his armored body and the gathered momentum of his sprint behind the punch. The combination of blade and blow came together as a single overwhelming assault steel, muscle, and Force-driven fury crashing down at once in an attempt to end the fight before it could escalate any further.


Allan Alhune

 

[Allan Alhune]

The draconic stranger wasted no time advancing, firing simultaneous shots in Allan’s direction. His body became like that of a blur teeming to just phase through the bullets. In reality, his body was evading quick enough to sidestep the bullets in fluid motion. Iandre was pulled from him, but his eyes stayed on the attacker. The pistol came next, which he deftly caught and eyed. Then he tossed it aside.

“Very well.”

His sight tracked the swirling tendrils of the left over force energy from the initial blast, watched it coalesce into his hand. Still, the attacker advanced without skipping a beat. It was not often Allan would see someone rush head first to their death. It was amusing to say the least.

Then an eruption rocked the inside of the building, stripping away structural integrity and equipment without discrimination. The maelstrom of debris and force energy rocketed towards him. Allan reacted, his hand like a blur held up blasted a highly concentrated line of force energy into the midsection of the incoming attack, bisecting it from the middle canceling his blast but separating the most dangerous point that rocketed his direction.

When Laphisto, closed the distance Allan’s blade flashed parrying the initial strike as the fist came in, Allan’s body twisted with its momentum gliding with it as he whirled his body around, kicking his leg back towards his midsection.

He would respond with momentum and speed as his blade carried further momentum with him to full circle aimed for his neck.

He concentrated another blast of force energy over his knuckles, a delayed explosion waiting to detonate on his order as he swung his fist towards the man’s horned head.

Laphisto | Iandre Athlea​

 

[Laphisto]

The speed of the man before him was undeniable. Even in the chaos of the collapsing chamber and the violent exchange that had already unfolded, Laphisto could not ignore the fluid precision with which the stranger moved. His body slipped between attacks with startling agility, his reactions sharp and deliberate. For a man who appeared aged, the reflexes were exceptional. Laphisto found himself briefly acknowledging the possibility that the stranger might be one of the many Sanguine scattered throughout the galaxy beings whose unnatural vitality allowed them to carry centuries of experience behind deceptively aged faces. The thought lingered only for a moment. Whether the man was Sanguine or simply well-trained made little difference in the present moment, and Laphisto had neither the patience nor the interest to ask.

The kick came quickly, snapping backward toward Laphisto's midsection as the stranger twisted his body with the momentum of the earlier parry. Rather than attempt to absorb the strike, Laphisto shifted his stance with practiced economy. His armored form leaned slightly away while one foot slid back along the fractured floor, allowing the kick to sweep through empty air where his torso had been only a heartbeat earlier. The motion was small and efficient, a defensive adjustment rather than a retreat. The instant the leg passed him, Laphisto stepped forward again, reclaiming the distance between them before the stranger could fully reset his footing.

His broadsaber thrust forward in a direct attack, the hilt driving out ahead of him as though aiming for a clean impalement through the man's centerline. The move, however, was never meant to finish the exchange. The moment the stranger's blade rose to intercept, Laphisto redirected the strike upward with a sharp parrying motion that forced the opposing weapon off its intended line. The clash of energy and steel spat brief sparks into the dust-filled air as the weapons slid past one another.

At that same instant, Laphisto's left hand shot forward.

The Force surged through him in a controlled flow as tutaminis carried the energy along his arm and into the reinforced plating of his gauntlet. The armor itself had been forged with materials capable of resisting the searing contact of a lightsaber blade, and when combined with the energy absorption flowing through him, it allowed Laphisto to perform a maneuver few combatants would willingly attempt. His hand closed around the man's weapon just below the emitter, the blade hissing violently as it scraped against the resistant alloy of his gauntlet. Sparks burst outward where the energy field met the armored surface, but the grip held firm.

In the same motion, Laphisto deactivated his own saber.

The brilliant blue blade vanished with a sharp hiss as the weapon's energy collapsed back into the hilt. Reversing his grip instantly, Laphisto drove the metal crown surrounding the emitter upward in a vicious stabbing motion. The sharpened edge of the hilt shot toward the man's arm, intended either to knock aside the fist that had begun its swing toward Laphisto's head or to drive the jagged metal edge directly into the attacker's forearm before the delayed blast of force energy could detonate.

He did not pause after the strike. As the movement completed, Laphisto surged forward again, closing what little space remained between them. His body leaned into the advance, horns dipping slightly as his armored shoulders rolled forward. For a fraction of a second his neck muscles tightened as he drew his head back. Then he slammed forward.

The headbutt came with brutal force, Laphisto driving his horned skull toward the bridge of the man's nose with the full weight of his forward momentum behind it. The blow was not elegant, nor was it meant to be. It was a raw, violent strike designed to shatter bone, disrupt the opponent's balance, and break the rhythm of the duel before the stranger could unleash the force-charged punch waiting to explode.

Allan Alhune

 

[Iandre Athlea]

Iandre did not feel the precise moment Laphisto tore her away from the attacker, the world having already dissolved into a chaotic blur of motion and pain. The violent slide across the fractured floor barely registered through the thick, suffocating haze swallowing her senses, and the sensation of stone scraping beneath her robes as her body skidded across debris and shattered tile felt distant and abstract. When she finally came to rest against a broken section of wall far from the center of the chamber, the impact was nothing more than a dull vibration in a body that was rapidly losing its connection to the physical plane.

For a few long, agonizing seconds, there was absolutely nothing, no sound to anchor her, no motion to guide her, only a heavy and relentless darkness pressing in from the very edges of her awareness.

Blood pooled beneath her where Allan had left the savage wound at her throat, the warmth of it soaking deep into the porous stone and the collar of her robes as life spilled out in a steady, silent tide. Each shallow breath came significantly slower than the last, her lungs laboring to maintain even the most basic rhythm of life after the catastrophic loss of blood had left her system hollow and cold.

The clash of battle continued to echo somewhere in the distance, a symphony of metal striking energy and sudden explosions of Force power that rippled through the air. Shattered stone rained down, and the floor trembled under the weight of the combatants, but to Iandre, all of it felt as though it were happening in another lifetime or a different world entirely. Her vision flickered and failed, and through half-closed eyes, she could see only disjointed fragments of movement across the ruined chamber: dust falling like gray snow through the hole torn into the roof, and brief, blinding flashes of blue and white light where sabers clashed in a desperate dance.

Laphisto.

Her mind struggled with a singular, agonizing effort to hold onto the thought of him, her anchor in the rising tide of oblivion. The bond between them pulsed faintly through the Force, thin, frayed, and stretched to the breaking point, but it remained present, a golden thread in the dark. Even through the suffocating fog creeping across her mind, she could feel the violent, turbulent currents of power surging around him as he engaged the attacker with a ferocity that shook the very foundations of the room.

She tried to move, her spirit demanding action, but her body refused to acknowledge the command. Her fingers twitched weakly against the cold stone, a pathetic gesture of defiance against the darkness that continued to press closer, whispering for her to finally let go.

But instinct was older than the pain racking her frame, and it was far more resilient than the fear trying to take root in her heart. Somewhere beneath the failing strength of her physical form, the discipline that had been drilled into her since her earliest days in the Temple stirred once again. It was the same iron training that had carried her through the horrors of war, through the devastating fall of her Order, and through the thousand years of silence that had existed between her breaths.

With a quiet, unshakable purpose, her mind reached out for the Force, seeking the current not with violence or desperation, but with the steady grace of a master. The energy answered her slowly, like water struggling to flow through parched and cracked earth, but it came nonetheless. Iandre's eyes opened a fraction more as she focused her entire being inward, choosing to ignore the icy cold spreading through her limbs and the terrifying, pounding weakness in her chest.

Her lips parted just enough for a faint, ghostly breath to escape into the stagnant air.

"Master…"

The word was barely audible even to her own ears, a mere vibration of air, but the Force carried what her failing voice could not. She gathered every remaining spark of her essence and pushed it outward, a golden ripple sent toward the center of the frantic battle and toward Laphisto's presence.

The energy that left her grasp was not aggressive or destructive; it carried no physical strike and sought no blast to dominate the battlefield. Instead, it flowed like a sudden wave of warmth through the Force itself, an infusion of Valor, the quiet and ancient strength of courage that offered resolve against the rising tide of fear. It was the steady, internal fire that allowed a warrior to stand firm even when their body screamed for them to fall.

Golden light rippled faintly across the broken chamber as the ability took hold, the power threading itself intricately through Laphisto's presence to reinforce his focus and sharpen his will while the battle raged on. The effort cost her dearly, for the moment, the energy left her, and the precarious strength holding her consciousness together finally faltered. Her head fell back against the fractured wall, and her breath became a shallow, ragged thing as the world dimmed once more, but the power had reached its mark.

And for Iandre, that was enough.

Laphisto Allan Alhune

 

[Allan Alhune]

This opponent seemed to have far more experience than the previous force user who tried to stop him.

His kick missed its intended target then his opponent stepped in close once again to deliver a thrusting strike, only to notice Allan's saber sail towards him in a fluid motion, his opponent had to change direction of his strike, knocking the blade off center, Allan then witnessed this individual do something absolutely incredible, he had only seen it a few times.

But it always left some form of impression.

The draconic being gripped the blade of his saber. Allan's facial expression never changed as sparks erupted from the man's armor and the blade’s contact. He was truly a powerful opponent, he could not deny.

His opponent opted to drive his disengaged saber's bladedown emitter towards Allan's striking arm, his gaze flicked to the incoming attack and he quickly redirected the blast towards his forearm, the coalescing force energy at the point of impact was strong enough to stop the blade as it it had hit a small patch of armor, the delayed blast altered into something else to take the brunt of the blow.

His victory of blocking that attack was short lived when…

THWACK

The beings horned head made a hard impact to Allan's face causing him to stumble back a step, a sneer leaving his mouth as his hand covered his face.

He quickly looked back up in time to see a golden light surrounding the being, a sense of bolstering possibly his strength or his resolve.

Allan's hand slowly pulled off his bleeding face, his violet eye now white as if a cataract had started growing over his iris. His shattered cheek bone protruding from his face.

He let out a snarl, then after a few hurried breaths he took a deep inhale, his jaws unhinged as larger fangs started developing from his jaw, pushing his regular teeth out of his mouth to the floor. Blackened ichor pooled from his mouth and cheek, before the bone settled back in place with a resounding pop.

After his lungs fully expanded and a more bestie presence started forming over his body, he let out a mighty scream that shook the foundation of the shattered building. The blast wave erupting towards the draconic being, shattering stone, tile, furniture and erupting nearby glass panes outward from the building.

Laphisto | Iandre Athlea​

 

[Laphisto]

Laphisto half snarled as the man tore free from the grapple. The sound was low and guttural, more animal than voice, rumbling up from deep within his chest as the tension of the exchange snapped between them. His ears were instinctively pinned back against his skull, the draconic gesture carrying the unmistakable weight of irritation and predatory focus. For a brief moment, the shattered chamber fell into a strange stillness, broken only by the fading echoes of their movements and the distant groan of the damaged structure settling around them.


If the man standing across from him was observant enough, he might notice the small mark that had appeared on Laphisto's brow. A thin cut traced across the scaled ridge above his eye, the result of the earlier collision when bone had met horned skull during the headbutt. The sharp edge of the stranger's cheekbone had split the skin just enough to leave a narrow wound. It was minor, barely more than a scratch by the standards of a battlefield injury. Yet something about it was immediately wrong. There was no blood. Instead, the wound bled something far stranger.

From the shallow cut along his brow, luminous strands of raw Force energy seeped outward in slow, drifting tendrils. The colors shimmered and shifted as they emerged vibrant greens, deep teals, and faint streaks of violet radiating from the split skin like light escaping through a crack in reality. The energy did not drip or flow like ordinary fluid. It unfurled in soft currents that hovered briefly in the air before dissolving into the surrounding space.

The effect resembled an aurora bleeding from living flesh. It flickered across Laphisto's face in faint, shifting glows that danced along the edges of his scales before dissipating. The energy pulsed subtly with each breath he took, as though the wound itself had opened a tiny fracture through which the Force leaked freely into the world around him. Despite the unnatural display, Laphisto did not appear concerned.

His gheterochromatic eyes remained fixed on the man before him, the faint aurora of energy continuing to seep from his brow as his posture lowered slightly, shoulders squared and ready for the next exchange. The glow only made his presence more unsettling, the raw currents of the Force bleeding from his body like the visible manifestation of something far deeper stirring beneath the surface.

The scream struck with enough force to throw Laphisto off his footing. The sudden shock of it broke the rhythm of the engagement, sending him staggering backward as his feet lost traction against the fractured stone beneath him. His body rolled with the fall rather than fighting it, his armored frame tumbling across the debris-strewn floor as dust and fragments of broken tile scattered outward in his wake. Instead of allowing the stumble to become a moment of vulnerability, he used the motion deliberately, letting the momentum carry him further back to open distance between himself and the man.

He completed the roll in one fluid motion, planting a hand against the ground and driving himself upright. The movement brought him smoothly back onto his feet several meters away, the brief separation between them giving him the space he needed to shift tactics. The lingering glow of Force energy still flickered faintly across the cut along his brow as he rose, the aurora-like strands dissolving slowly into the air around him.

Another low growl rolled from deep within his throat. This time there was no attempt to close the distance immediately. Instead, Laphisto reached over his shoulder and seized the weapon secured across his back. The magnetic retention clamps released with a sharp metallic click as he pulled the LO-20D rifle free, bringing the long weapon down into his hands in a practiced motion. The stock slammed firmly against his shoulder as he leveled the barrel toward the man across the shattered hall.

There was no hesitation . Laphisto opened fire. The rifle barked violently the instant his finger tightened on the trigger, the thunderous report of the weapon echoing through the damaged structure. .30-06 rounds tore from the barrel in rapid succession, each shot accompanied by a violent recoil that hammered against his shoulder as he held the weapon steady. The rounds screamed through the dust-choked air between them, ripping through drifting debris and shattered stone as they surged toward their target.

The LO-20D's report filled the chamber with a relentless series of explosive cracks, the weapon's roar reverberating through the broken building as Laphisto continued to fire, driving a storm of high-caliber rounds across the distance that now separated them.

Allan Alhune

 

[Allan Alhune]

It was like slow motion to him in this hybrid form. The muscles in his body twisted, joints popped, flesh bulged around his chest and shoulders forming muscle mass. As soon as the rifle was ready and on his shoulder, Allan's eyes snapped back to him.

A rain of metal rocketed towards his body and he charged through. Like a blur stepping between the bullets, from his fleshy fingers claws ripped through the flesh pushing his regular nails out and onto the floor. Black ichor dripped from the left over wounds from the transformation, then his body began to stitch itself back.

In but a flash of a moment he was in front of Laphisto once again, a deep growl rumbling from his chest before he snarled and whipped his head forward. His jaws unhinged and snapped out of place before they clamped over toward the side of his barrel.

With a rush of speed and strength his hands shoved forward towards Laphisto's shoulders as if to shove him back.

Purple lightning began to surge between Allan's fingers as he generated force energy to his hands. The smell of burnt ozone clung to the air.

Laphisto | Iandre Athlea​

 

[Laphisto]

when the man, now fully something else, lunged forward and clamped his jaws down onto the barrel of the rifle, Laphisto did not flinch. A low, irritated growl rolled from his throat, the sound sharp with frustration rather than surprise. The grinding pressure of teeth against metal confirmed what had already begun to settle in his mind. This was no longer a standard opponent, and treating it as one would be a mistake.

He did not waste time trying to pull the weapon free. instead he released the rifle immediately, letting it go the instant it became a hindrance. In the same motion, his left hand drove upward in a tight and violent arc, forming a heavy uppercut aimed directly beneath the creature's jaw.

At the same time, his right hand grabbed his broadsaber, which came up from his side and ignited mid-motion, rising in a slash aimed at one of its forelimbs. intended to carve through muscle and bone and separate a limb from its host.

Feeling the shove, however, Laphisto reacted instantly. The fist he had been driving forward opened mid-motion, his hand spreading wide as he reached to seize anything within grasp. Whether it was skin, hair, or what remained of the man's clothing no longer mattered. if the beast wanted distance, then he would not give it.

He reached into the Force. The energy threaded itself through every muscle and fiber of his body, weaving between sinew and bone like a second circulatory system. His breathing steadied as the power settled into place, his posture lowering slightly as the enhancement took hold.

Force Valor surged first, reinforcing his strength and sharpening his speed, pushing his physical limits beyond their natural threshold. At the same time, he layered tutaminis into the flow, not as a separate defense but as an integrated current within the enhancement itself. The two intertwined, feeding into one another in a controlled loop that allowed him to absorb and redirect incoming energy while sustaining the amplification coursing through his body. The hope was that whatever energy-based attack was about to come would be absorbed by the tutaminus and then fueled into the force valor to power him instead.

At the same time, Laphisto's head tilted forward slightly as his jaw opened, a deep rumble building in his chest before it erupted outward. A concentrated jet of flame burst from his throat, surging forward in a violent stream aimed directly at the creature's face. If the first two attacks failed, he hoped that what ever he beast was planning would at the very least be interrupted by the flames. And if he did manage to get hold of them? well point blank fire to the face ought to hurt.


Allan Alhune

 

[Allan Alhune]

He jerked the rifle out of his now loose grasp, his jaws unclamping in time to sling it across the room with a violent clatter against the ruined wall. The flash of a saver was next which Allan just barely pulled his arm back only for it to be grabbed by the assailant.

A bestie snarl reverberated from his chest and throat towards Laphisto. His other hand unfurling to blast him with a torrent of a lightning storm contained within the building.

But the attack was shortly lived as whatever did escape him seemed to be absorbed. Then the inferno followed.

Allan let out a monstrous shrill of a scream as his body jerked just in time to miss the brunt of the flame, singing the tips of his hair and his clothes. He jerked back with a violence that ripped his prosthetic arm out of his body.

Like a blur he jumped back, his remaining arm digging its claws into the wall as his legs planted just after. Like a shuttling creature he began to speedily crawl backwards up the wall. The screeching and screams of a thousand suffering animals leaving his chest.

The shoulder that was left of his missing arm, pulsed and undulated like it was a living thing itself.

Bone pierced through the flesh, the sound echoing through the corridors as flesh tore and bone snapped. His other violet eyes slowly whitened as another screech left his body.

Dark violet iridescent fur slowly coated him as his one good arm twisted and mangled. A cry of pain erupting from his throat once more as his jaws deformed further, protruding outwards like a bestie maw filled with needle-like teeth. His ears elongated into sharp points, twitching in several directions.

His legs grew in muscle mass, arching and popping, reversing his knees as talons exploded from his boots and dug into the stonework.

The undulating shoulder exploded forth with a tendril of muscle, bladed with bone.

Slowly the noises stopped as the now warformed creature that once was Allan looked towards Laphisto. A short in the air as he took in his scent. He could hear his heartbeat.

In a speedy blur he dove towards him, slinging the muscle fiber-like whip his direction with a bellowing roar.

Laphisto | Iandre Athlea​

 

[Laphisto]

Laphisto took a measured step back and settled into a braced stance, his boots grinding slightly against the fractured ground beneath him. His saber angled forward toward the beast, its glow steady and unwavering as a low snarl escaped him. Thin strands of smoke curled from the edges of his mouth, carried off by the faint disturbance in the air.

"Sanguine. Haven't met one of you before, And I have to say… one of the ugliest things I've ever had the displeasure of looking at. And that's coming from someone half blind." A faint, humorless snicker followed, brief and sharp, before it vanished beneath the shift in his posture. Then he moved.

Laphisto surged forward, the Force drawing inward around him in a tightening current. The scattered debris of the makeshift battlefield responded instantly, shards of stone, twisted metal, and broken remnants lifting from the ground as if pulled by an unseen gravity. Lightning began to arc between each fragment, thin at first, then intensifying into violent strands of energy that snapped and crackled as they bound the orbiting mass together.

The fragments whirled around him in a tightening spiral, faster and faster, the electrical discharge growing more aggressive with each rotation. The air itself seemed to distort under its own pressure, humming with barely contained force.

Mid-stride, he halted. Both hands shot outward, fingers splayed as he seized control of the maelstrom. The orbit collapsed inward, debris grinding together under immense pressure. The lightning flared, erupting into a chaotic storm of sparks and jagged arcs as the mass compressed into a dense, volatile cluster. Then, with a sharp thrust of his arms, Laphisto released it. The condensed storm exploded forward in a violent surge, debris and lightning tearing through the space between them in a modified Force maelstrom, aimed directly at the beast with devastating intent.

Allan Alhune

 

[Allan Alhune]

His comment was met with a vile shriek as foam and droll poured from his maw. His ears twitched faintly as the presence and surge of power circled the both of them. He heard his footsteps, felt the surge of power, and the whipping maelstrom of ruin that followed with it.

The debris shot forth with a violent blast towards Allan.

Allan took a deep breath as he let loose yet another devastating burst of sound from his mouth, the force of this one greater than it was before. Amplified by his berserk animalistic state, an attempt to add to the chaos that reached for him in all angles.

Enough to cause his enemy to blink.

It would be just enough.

Within the chaos that surged forth towards him, within the debris and the lightning channeled between it, a bright white light flared like a massive flash.

Bright enough to cause a white out in vision.

The maelstrom of debris and lightning met no resistance when they found purchase into the empty space of building where once the Highblood had stood.

A small trail of violet dark smoke was left in his place and scorch marks.

He had vanished. Left without the very thing he had originally came for. But not without planting a seed. One that could soon fester and grow into something more.

The thought brought a smile to his face as his body found purchase in a dark stone like area. Cold wind embraced him as his body contorted. Popping and tearing back into place as he stood once more in his den.

His voice came out softly as he spoke to himself.

“Such lovely people.”

Laphisto | Iandre Athlea​