Private The Sins of Sycophants

[Darth Empyrean]

Seki had given maliphant a report weeks ago about the meeting that tok place on Bastion - of the arguments, the words they offered, and any number of poorly gauged insults at this ‘Vaulkhar’ over everything from being sexually attracted to Jedi, to speaking solely out of hatred for his father. Even the recording the cybernetic bodyguard took was less than stellar, but Maliphant had found a few points of interest.​

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Notably, that of Darth Voracitos - Ex-Emperor of the Sith, and once the temporary handler of Darth Malipant during his tenor in the Sith Empire. Were it not for the Darkstaff, Maliphant imagined they would have still been in that situations; perhaps that Voracitos would have been seen as more of a Master than those within the Telos Holocron.​

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It inspired Maliphant to make contact with the man once again - his carefully placed words that implied his lack of ‘care’ for the Emperor’s throne. There weren’t many Sith who would deny Carnifex his power; but whenever one began to show signs of such endeavors, Maliphant had to take advantage - subversing that power with his own.​

​

His steps slowly took him up the stairs of the ‘Shadow Emperor’s Palace’, to the resting place of the obese Sith. This cult he kept around reminded him once of his own - though it was far less official. His was those interested in lust and hedonism, while Voracitos was far more gluttony and sycophants; but it was all the same pleasure in the end.​

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A man walked up to the cloaked figure, as though to stop him - but as he came within range, a hand reached out to grab his emaciated skull. Maliphant’s glowing eyes came from beneath the dark shroud of the hood, and he spoke quick, the force imparting his will unto the man’s mind;​

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“Bring your Lord. I must speak with him.”​

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Darth Voracitos​

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​

 

[Darth Voracitos]

"Lord Voracitos, it would seem you have a visitor."

Despite his position in the Empire, his status, and opulence, it was not often that Voracitos received visitors in general. Few people had need of the Pillar of Knowledge desperately enough to actually visit him in all of his putrid flesh. Missives and holograms were often all the contact they could bear before the Lord of Gluttony. Anything more became often overwhelmingly uncomfortable. This was not even to mention the rarity of a visitor on Lorrd to his own personal sanctuary. Or at least, what once served this purpose.

The flesh the servant was speaking too, appeared vacant, as if empty and hollow. It was clear that the master the servant spoke to was not here, even as it was fed fruit and fanned by servants. Some would say that the flesh here had been residing here for some time, doing just this. Then, all of a sudden, its mouth moved to speak.

"Who?" It spoke, the voice animated, but the body it came from lacking it as if working by some clockwork motion... if lounging and eating could be called "motion".

Darth Empyrean

 

[Darth Empyrean]

The odd puppet of the creature moved with a disturbing slowness - unnatural and lumbersome; but for Maliphant, he couldn’t tell if it was from poor design, or it was in itself a subtle move to disturb those that approached. It didn’t matter to Maliphant, but he could see its effectiveness against those less familiar with Dark Side posturing. Slowly, his hand moved to let the hood down - and before Voracitos was a familiar face.​

​

Maliphant had left years ago now, studying the Telos Holocron underneath the surface of Hoth until he felt strong enough to come back; to never be put into the position he was before. Yet he had returned to the Sith for a very specific reason, and it seemed to be to visit the Lord of Gluttony himself - someone who once served as a temporary, but trusted confidant and teacher in the Dark Side, and the first of such when Maliphant became ‘Maliphant’.​

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The Sith offered a quiet grin as he glanced up to the massive abomination of a flesh puppet -​

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“A shame, I was hoping you were here personally.”, Maliphant beamed.​

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“You remember me, no need to play coy, Voracitos.”, the sith jested as he took a few steps into the hall to close the distance between them.​

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Darth Voracitos​

 

[Darth Voracitos]

Just as the voice was alive, the organic eye became alive in hearing the voice of his visitor, as if to see what the ears heard; trusting, but verifying. From the eye, liveliness seemed to take hold over the flesh in a wave, like a disease spreading into the body from bulbous chin to protruding stomach. At once the imperfect Flesh Golem seemed to take a mirror image of the Sith Lord Darth Empyrean had known in a past life. The only sign of disturbance being the signs of alchemical decay on what surely must be an older sack of flesh. The smile that beset his face seemed to be mirrored in his stomach briefly as well before returning to normalcy.

"My how time turns, the student stands before an old master, as a master of his own. You've grown powerful Maliphant, I doubt you've come to renew your subscription to my tutelage?" Voracitos said, raising a hand to dismiss with the slaves which had no doubt tended to this sack of flesh laboriously for days, they flee from him in graciousness and fear, but not too quickly also out of fear, and likely exhaustion as well.

"What occupies your mind, my old pupil?" The Sith Lord seemed to lean forward in anticipation, it wasn't every day that a student of Voracitos lived long enough to meet him again, as a peer. Even now as detached from reality as he was, he could recognize this was an event that required his full attention and presence, even if his true form stayed hidden away enjoying the pleasures of one's own personal reality.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Watching as the flesh-puppet seemed to come alive, Maliphant couldn’t help but smile ever so slightly. It seemed at the very least he had garnered the attention of the Triumvir of Knowledge; which, for the moment, would be a gracious compromise for their otherwise distant situation. He crossed his arms as he spoke to the titan of an abomination -​

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“No, Voracitos, I can’t say I have.”, he said plainly.​

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“No, I’ve come to you as a peer - someone who wishes to speak of the present.”, he offered as his smile turned ever so slightly upwards in a cruel display.​

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“The Sith - they show fracture. I know you’ve seen it, but I’m curious what you think of what is to come; of what is to become of your pleasant comfort in Sith Space. Do you intend to support the Emperor, or abandon him, Voracitos?”​

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Darth Voracitos​

 

[Darth Voracitos]

Laughter filled the room, and when it came to rest Voracitos spoke.

"Oh, I assure you, come what may, my pleasant comforts shall remain. I have attended to that matter, and even if those contingencies fail, what happens in this material universe can never remove my wealth again." The incredibly accurate facsimile of Voracitos steepled its fingers across the girth of his stomach.

"Still, what you speak of is indeed so. The Emperor's declaration of a singular Kaggath across the Empire is indicative of a fracture. What you ask is across what line do I draw myself towards? Well, my friend, I have the unique privilege and freedom to be across any line I so desire, at any time... at any place. I am limited only by my own choices, and to be frank Darth Empyrean ... the game has only just begun." Voracitos threw his fingers to the air.

"Which brings me, to you: on which side of the fracture are you on?" Voracitos said frowning, and his hands then began to rest by his sides. "And which side would you like to hear?" A sly smile grew slowly across his face.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Again.​

​

Maliphant heard that, but chose not to pry. It never did well to pry at Sith’s insecurities or failing; they were all too often sensitive to such things - and since Maliphant didn’t intend to antagonize Voracitos, he’d have to behave himself.​

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“My own - which I imagine is the answer you’ve already settled on yourself.”, Maliphant offered with a glance before walking past Voracitos to the massive seat the Lord of Gluttony’s puppet once sat on. Besides it, on the a golden platter, sat a goblet of wine - and Maliphant lifted it to smell what it contained.​

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Sweet, red, and ever potent. He hummed as he picked up a glass and poured himself some, turning around only after;​

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“The side I want to hear is mine - in time. You see, Voracitos, I still have a… chip on my shoulder for what the Sith did to me. My ship gone, the cybernetic and force imbued enslavement to get the Darkstaff.”, he said with a furrow of his brow, and a downturn of his smile into a frown as he cradled his fingers around the goblet he held.​

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“I want to see the Empire fall, or I want to see it beneath my boot heel. It’s as simple as that.”​

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Darth Voracitos​

 

[Darth Voracitos]

"It is wise to never commit loyalty to anyone but oneself, you've learned your lessons well." Voracitos smiled as Darth Empyrean astutely pointed out his position amidst this mess.

"Still, simple desires are often clouded in complexity when we move to commit to them and execute. You would wish to see the Empire destroyed, but to what end? If not to destroy it, then you seek to rule it, but how so? As with many Sith you know well your desires, but to be truly committed to them, your desires must have desires. Do not let your history or emotions dictate singular paths, for down those paths lead destruction. You are a man unshackled in the wake of long and arduous slavery, do not allow your mind to betray you." Voracitos spoke and followed suit with Darth Maliphant's choice of drink, effortlessly floating a glass to his hand.

"You did not come here, however, for me to lecture you on what you must surely already know if you ever were truly a student of mine. If you seek your vengeance against the Empire, then surely you must know that hearing from your own sycophants will garner nothing to you. I will not speak for you, but would it not be more prudent to know the thoughts of your enemy?" Voracitos said coyly while indulging his lips across the crystal glass of his wine, a mischievous look in his eye.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Maliphant idled as he drank the wine - slow and carefully to appreciate its notes and flavors. He only appeared to pay half attention to Voracitos, but beneath that apathetic demeanor he did listen; carefully as he ever did. The Sith still had wisdom in them - a few, at least, could be trusted to give something over amidst all the babble of power and self aggrandization. Voracitos was just one of those.​

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“You’re astute as ever.”, Maliphant mused as he glanced his own electrum gaze up to the Chaos-God.​

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“As of right now, you are not on my side. That makes you my enemy, Triumvir of Knowledge.”, he said with a slight twist of his lips.​

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“So, what are your thoughts, and the thoughts of the rest of my enemies?”​

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Darth Voracitos​

 

[Darth Voracitos]

"Keep your enemies closer," Voracitos winked smugly. His finger hovered over a button on his Throne as he paused a moment to mull over the details of his exposition.

"My thoughts belong to the Netherworld," The Sith Lord said finally, and pressed the button. The Throne lifted from its resting place on the ground and began to move as if of its own volition.

"The Emperor's thoughts are obfuscated in his skull, but spoken loudly in his actions and the company he now keeps." The hovering Throne carrying its master brought it before a door, which would open and reveal stairs which descended deeper into the Palace.

"The Shadow Hand's thoughts are equally obfuscated, but like a dog, he merely mimes whatever tricks his nephew demands of him, and yet from what I know of his strength it is likely out of service to a higher power than even his precious Kaine Zambrano. I often think on the day he must betray one of them for the other," Voracitos guffawed briefly, "What a terribly comedic 'drama' that shall be one day when that whimpering pup must destroy himself in order to exist. Follow me, this dull form must be replaced, and you might as well get a true audience anyway." Voracitos waved a hand as he passed through the door, assuming the Sith Lord was following. The Lord of Gluttony would lead him deeper through various passages until surely they must have reached the bottom of such a sprawling complex, and all the while Voracitos continued to speak.

"Also among the trusted of the Emperor, as it should come as no surprise to you, is my fellow Triumvir of Power. Now that one has aspirations of greatness, but is so far unprepared and, at present, too weak to challenge the might of the Emperor. She is an intelligent one and suspects disloyalty in me, but out of curiosity has not yet dared to expose me until she has seen all of my cards... for which there are many, of course." Again the Sith Lord would smile.

"There is another, an Assassin, who to me remains largely unreadable: Darth Ophidia. Her loyalty to the Emperor, however, I would not dare question given the service she provides and orchestrates." Voracitos said with neutrally with a bit of dismissal.

"Lastly, of those who are of any importance to the likes of us within the inner circle of the Emperor, is Darth Isolda. Surely you must be familiar with her reputation? If not, you would be forgiven, Oracles are not often figures of infamy. Nonetheless, her powers of foresight are impressive and not to be underestimated. I would have no doubts that her visions may even fall upon this very moment, which is why I have taken precautions to prevent such things. Still, further precautions are required to be taken before we can speak further, old friend." Then finally, they were before a set of one of the largest most ornate doors that an ostentatious Sith Lord like Voracitos could afford.

They stood before the First Gate of his Vaults of Gluttony...

Darth Empyrean

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Maliphant watched the chair lift and move - the corpulent puppet moving with it, though ever stiff in its barely cared for movements. The Sith Lord moved on, and Maliphant followed ever deeper into his fortress; one well-founded in the sin of hunger - though for a moment, Maliphant considered what ‘gluttony’ truly meant to Voracitos; for as laden as his puppets were with meat and fat, he seemed to hunger for so much more than food an drink.​

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“I’ve no doubt Prazutis will not betray Carnifex. For all that he is, he seems a loyal attack dog.”, Maliphant mused as they moved forward.​

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“Though I must ask, what use is a ‘Triumvir of Power’ if they only aspire for power?”, he said with a furrow of his brow.​

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“Are they simply a political appointment rather than a true embodiment of ‘Power’?”​

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As Voracitos continued, through Ophidia and Isolda, he scoffed - but only for a moment.​

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“I’ve heard of both - but as much fear they once put in the hearts of Jedi and Sith alike; I’m not aware of anything they’ve done recently. I recall Ophidia once helped guide my former ego, albeit in a very short capacity before I broke free from slavery.”, he said with a slight downturn of his tone.​

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“Of the Sith in the Empire - do you think these truly pose a threat?”, Maliphant continued as they moved to stop at the gate, his gaze watching over it as they waited.​

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“Impressive.”, he mused to himself.​

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Darth Voracitos​

 

[Darth Voracitos]

The flesh of Voracitos merely nodded to Darth Empyrean 's comments.

"Do not be so quick to dismiss the idea of betrayal, even a loyal dog that loves its master must answer to the higher powers of hunger or rabid disease, and if either demand it rends the flesh of its former caretaker then it shall obey, for it has no other mind." Voracitos could not help but chide the comment. Then Voracitos laughed.

"Of course it is a political appointment! The only true embodiment of power would traditionally be the Dark Lord of the Sith, and ideally, they would also embody strength as well as knowledge. We exist in this empire for the sake of the bureaucracy, without it the Emperor could no more rule his homeworld of Thule let alone the full breadth of the Empire. It gives Sith Lord's false attainment, which is required to eliminate rivals to the throne, believing it is in their best interest to embody the position they keep rather than pursuing further and less obtainable positions." Voracitos smiled knowing full well that his observant guest may notice the irony of a former Emperor being 'neutralized' as a threat to the throne by a political appointment of lesser power and authority.

"Not all Sith Lords are fully dissuaded of course, but perhaps have other, even greater, aspirations than some ephemeral nations throne. As I mentioned before, my thoughts belong to the Netherworld alone, this life you live is merely a stage of entertainment for me." Voracitos continued on with his conversation until his guest offered him a question often most important to a would-be Emperor.

"The fact that you have not heard of their accomplishments recently may be an indication to be worried, at the very least in Ophidia's case. It may be nothing, but failing to hear rumors of a Master Assassin may speak more to their success than their apparent lack of involvement. You must be wary of such assumptions. As for whether or not these individuals I have so far listed in support of the Emperor are of any threat to you, I must always say emphatically yes." The massive ornate door began to open, a brief gust of air coming from the glimmering golden darkness within.

"In so far as that any individual, no matter how meager or irrelevant they seem, if left unaccounted for will have their importance fester and grow until what was once no risk shall become the very linchpin to your downfall. I have suffered from such hubris before, and I did not easily recover. If not for a cosmic upheaval of life and death, you and I would not be speaking after making that mistake." The riches of two lifetimes in aurodium, gold, and precious gems filled the First Vault floor to ceiling in a resplendent display as the Sith Lord lead Maliphant, even deeper into this cavernous network of seemingly endless Vaults.

"If you do take each of them seriously, and consider their individual weaknesses, loyalties, and points of leverage, and appropriately decide of who to subvert, destroy, or convert, then no, they are not a threat." Voracitos paused a moment. "My official answer to you though, of course, is yes; they are the 'most powerful' Sith you need to worry about if you seek the Throne. We shall speak more of this once I have arrived home." The eye of Voracitos closed a moment, and a finger waved without his hand moving from its point of rest. Suddenly, the octagonal central chamber that had arrived in beyond the first Vault began to shift as it slowly descended ever deeper into the belly of Gluttony itself...

 

[Darth Empyrean]

For the while that Voracitos spoke, Maliphant was idle and quiet. He was right - Maliphant was quick to dismiss this ‘old guard’ for little more than fossils; but if he hadn’t heard of a Sith Assassin in some time, it could mean they were getting much better at their craft just as much as it could mean they were becoming terrible at it. He let that thought roll over his tongue in contemplation as the husk began to cease, and Maliphant idled.​

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He was sure Voracitos could still hear him; there were his halls, after all, there was likely not a blind spot in the entire facility. He spoke as he entered the chamber, and let it lower himself into the depths of ‘Gluttony’.​

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“You’ve a point, Voracitos, I won’t deny that.”, he mused as he finished the rest of his wine and tossed it - though it never hit the ground, simply failing to exist at all as it passed through the air.​

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When it ceased its movement, he spoke once more;​

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“And of these ‘powerful Sith’ - what would you hope to be the cure for such ailments? Surely you don’t expect me to systematically eliminate them one by one - though, I would enjoy such an endeavor, it doesn’t seem practical.”, he offered as he took a few steps forward.​

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Darth Voracitos​

 

[Darth Voracitos]

Deeper the platform descended, and the movements of the husk seemed to idle longer and longer, as perhaps the attention of the Sith Lord was elsewhere in space and time. Nonetheless, the flesh heard his quarry, and with nothing preprogrammed to say, it waited idly for a response from its proper mind. It was a complicated question, one that Voracitos had long mulled over and fantasized about for the sheer simplicity of entertaining the drama of Imperial Royalty. Stability was fruitful, but so was war. The stability and wars of the Empire had made it plump with both riches and fools who profit from it.

"Practical, no. More efficient, though, perhaps." The flesh lips mused idly, not answering the question in the cavernous darkness. "If fun is efficient, why not pursue? No path to the throne shall be easy, regardless." The puppet smiled twistedly.

Eventually, in the relative silence, the giant octagonal chamber would halt, and were once many tunnel entrances surrounded them, now only one lay before them.

"This body has said all that it can here, follow it into my Final Vault, and soon you shall be welcomed into Voracitos." The voice parroted out of the meat's mouth. Further, it floated, and the nexus of force energy that had permeated the whole surface of Lorrd City and his Palace grew more palpable. The deepest inclinations within Darth Empyrean became all the stronger as they had been since he arrived, and those desires only grew with each step.

As the final Vault opened before its master, Maliphant would witness the very source of gluttony that had been weighing on his mind ever since he arrived, the swirling vortex that tore open reality in the familiar way that a Netherworld Rift does. The body approached the portal, and already the sweating flesh seemed to become more and more unreal. The clothing became flesh and the ceramic cracked into dust, as the sack of meat catapulted from its Throne and through the tear into the space beyond.

Once Maliphant stepped through the threshold, he would find his eyes in the surreal domain of Voracitos. Thoughts would form within his mind.

W̫͔̦͙e̷ḷ̀c̷̪͈͎̬o̢m̢̱̖̦̘e͔͓̼ t̯̦̼̣̤̣̪́o̠͜ ̴̞͎̜̻ͅm͈̮͟e͉̥.͇͔ ​

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Another trip into the Nether, he thought to himself as he passed unto its dimensional wall. Even worse - it was based on the hungerous aesthetic that Voracitos himself embodied; much to Maliphant’s dismay, as every step he took seemed to be on flesh, teeth, and bone. A squish seemed to greet every step as he wandered forward.​

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His mind however, considered the last time he had been here. A Force Storm had sent him here as a living entity; and he had hoped to find the Throne of Judgement - to sit within the Dark City and claim the mantle of ‘God’ in the Force; but the entities there had stopped him. Jedi Souls that protected it for eternity from the Sith not cast into Chaos - but in his defeat to them, he had nearly lost himself, and for months had been unable to touch the Force.​

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It wasn’t a pleasant experience, but it had at least forced him to rely on more physical means of protection - namely mastering some forms of Lightsaber Combat with the help of Revan, Sidious, and Bane. A sigh left his lips as giant mouth opened - and he was walked into what he imagined must be the ‘throne room’ of the once-Emperor.​

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“None shall, but I would make small doubts about my ability to do so. I am skilled in the Force, and in Combat; but I may not be able to take on someone like Ophidia - especially if they were aware of my coming. Perhaps I could kill one or two; but I imagine I would be shortly hunted down and ended rightly.”, he mused at the thought.​

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“No, survival sounds more fun than that. I would hope to take one of the Oversectors for myself, claim the Mantle of Emperor, and ensure the Sith flock to me for what I have to offer.”, he mused.​

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“What that is, however, I have yet to determine.”​

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Darth Voracitos​

 

[Darth Voracitos]

In an unseen distance, the lump of flesh that had flown through the portal into Voracitos arrived in the Grove with the Fruits of Gluttony, and Voracitos Prime hovered above it with two smiles. As Darth Empyrean entered, the single eye of Voracitos Prime saw through the grove to where the Sith Lord expected him to be.

His compatriot, as all residents of Voracitos and the city surrounding the Rift on Lorrd, would unconsciously feel their basest inclinations amplified. The hungry becoming hungrier, the greedy ever greedier, the pompous all the more proud, and all the residents upon realizing this truth had many different reactions to it. Some resist their temptations, and suddenly find the realm against them and unnavigable, but to those who gave in... would find themselves rewarded by an opening into Voractios' Grove.

However, Maliphant was not brought here to be tested... necessarily but to be spoken to in full confidence that only Maliphant would be able to know what Voracitos revealed. Thus, with absolute authority in his own realm, the monster waved a hand, and where ever his fellow Sith Lord found himself in, an opening would form, and the true form of Voracitos would be found standing above the melting corpse of his old visage, seemingly fertilizing the groves of bushes made from bone and flesh. Curiously enticing fruit seemed to grow from them.

"Come, Darth Maliphant." His hand waved towards himself, beckoning the distance between them to become nothing, and so it was. The decay of the old body seemed to accelerate as if time was racing past it without ever touching Voracitos Prime or Darth Maliphant. A bush of blood and bone began to manifest in its place.

"What you shall provide to your followers is indeed a question you must answer, which I may be able to assist you with, in time. First, though, as this body danced around before, I now have the liberty to discuss with you the true threat of what you shall face. It is significant, but only because it is secret. Once the knowledge is revealed, it shall lose its potency and pose a weakness to the one you are challenging." Voracitos said with a neutral face, even as his stomach smiled, seemingly watching the bush grow as if it had its own eyes. The bush began to grow fruit, as the others had, and the corpse of Voracitos' old visage was now completely unrecognizable from the rest of the Grove.

"However, as with all of my dealings, such privileged information shall come at a price... one I am uncertain if you are prepared to accept." Now the face of Voracitos smiled, as a hand plucked a fruit from the newly grown bush.

"Before you ask what the price is, I implore you to eat of my fruit. It shall grant you a vision of your deepest desire, so viscerally real you shall not be able to distinguish it from reality. Once you have clarity, you shall know what must be done..." The glistening fruit extended to Darth Maliphant for his acceptance.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Maliphant watched the self-gratifying display of Voracitos power in the Nether before him with ever so slight sense of disgust - though he hid this from every sense Voracitos would be able to feel, even within his own pocket realm. The Darkstaff had taught Maliphant that much; how to hide his thoughts from even the most ingrained, powerful forces in the galaxy. His gaze moved from the corpse before him, to the more monstrous form.​

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With a pale hand, he lifted the fruit - fleshy and muted, glistening from juices falling from wounds in it; at least to Maliphant. Things in the nether rarely looked the same to observers, and where as Voracitos may have seen something beautiful and delicious - Maliphant didn’t carry the sins of gluttony as he did, and only saw disgust. Puss riddled, festering - a fruit that held nothing for him, but something he would partake in regardless.​

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He had done worse.​

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So he ate - and Voracitos’s warning came true. For Maliphant, his greatest desire festered before him - its edges torn and aflame. It was something simple - a world without the Force, and he was nothing more than a farmer on Dantooine. His gaze moved up from the table he sat at to see Srina Talon cooking something - and her soft smile glanced back to him as though expectingly waiting for him to say something. Yet, before he could - a child, whose face didn’t exist, walked through the room and sat with them. It brought warmth, quiet and gentle to Maliphant as he glanced at what he had built.​

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A family, and a home.​

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The vision fell aside just as quick, and Maliphant’s face was no different than it was a second ago. No doubt Voracitos would have seen some of what he had envisioned - much to Maliphant’s disgust. He squeezed the fruit to dust in his hand, gave the ever so slightest of snarl, and let its husk fall to the ground as he looked back to the ‘Chaos God of Gluttony’. He resisted the urge to spit on the ground.​

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If this was a ploy to see a weakness in Maliphant, it had worked - and Maliphant would see this realm torn asunder if Voracitos tried to leverage it against him.​

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“It’s done.”, he said, monotonous with tinges of anger hidden within.​

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Darth Voracitos​

 

[Darth Voracitos]

The face Darth Empyrean would find looking down upon him would not be the grinning caricature the Sith Lord would likely have expected from the conniving monster. It was not wholly disapproving, but it did seem perplexed. The Fruits of the Grove of Gluttony were the rewards for all those found triumphant in succumbing to their own personal desires, but perhaps for the first time, the god of this pocket of the Netherworld considered that perhaps his nectar and ambrosia could spoil and thus bring revulsion and disgust to the one consuming it. Except his fruit did not expire with time, but rather, it spoiled if eaten before its consumer was bent to his way. Such was the case of Darth Maliphant, and it was clear from his reaction that his gift was not as he intended.

"Hmm." At last, the master of this realm uttered, as if pondering this development. The nostrils of the corpulent one flared and his eye shuttered as he wafted in the scent of the crushed fruit Maliphant had eaten from, and the vision he had received. He did have some sense of an understanding of what his denizen's received as their reward, it was an awareness that lacked acuity, and the unique circumstances of this fruit as well seemed to muddy the scent a bit much to his chagrin.

"So it is," Again he would speak, eyeing his fellow Sith Lord with suspicion, "Perhaps that was a mistake, normally the potency is much stronger amongst my denizens." Voracitos raised a clawed hand to one of his chins in an expression of thinking.

"Nonetheless, you have done as I asked, and now the price must be... negotiated for my cooperation and information." The conniving grins returned to each of the maws of Voractios, as he brought his hands together.

"As collateral, I require a soul. Either your own or from one you care about. It will not be harmed, and it will be returned to you if you should succeed in your endeavors as a result of my cooperation. Should you fail or die, well, it will find happiness here... eventually. Simply ask my dear Lady Envy," The Sith Lord gestured and the mutilated Zabrak with her alchemical mask sat behind him, hands clutching the arcane artifact known as The Soul Star. The woman seemed to be completely unresponsive.

"She has been living the life she has always wanted ever since her failure on Rhen Var. The same could be true of whatever soul you grant me if you failed while it is in my custody... through me, you may find everlasting happiness for yourself or another," Voracitos smiled peculiarly,

"Or you may find victory." He growled with satisfaction.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

“And what, praytell, do you use these souls for, Voracitos?”, Maliphant said with a glance to this Envy persona.​

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“I doubt you give them ‘unending happiness’ out of the kindness of your heart.”​

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More so, Maliphant held that quiet disdain - hypocritical as it was, to enslave these souls. Likely because Voracitos asked for something personal, but the thought remained that this was slavery in extra steps; something Maliphant couldn’t abide by, albeit in any other circumstance he created.​

​

“I’ll forewarn you, Voracitos, if you take my soul in a deal for something like this - You’ll only have a pain in your realm until the end of time. The Darkstaff learned much the same - my soul is not so pliable.”​

​

Darth Voracitos​

 

[Darth Voracitos]

Voracitos smiled at Darth Empyrean 's challenge.

"There is room enough in this realm for pain," The Sith Lord spoke with a sense of anticipation, "Worry not for my well being here, I've spent more time in the depths of Chaos than you may guess; more than any natural span of time in the material world. As for why I want a soul," Voracitos looked away for a moment, his smile vanishing. His hand reached down and touched the carefully crafted alchemical mask adorning the Lady Envy's face.

"Material worth has lost its luster on me, I care no longer for the simple pleasantries I possessed when I first lived. The only thing left which captures my interest is the spark of a living person, their essence of personality, the drama of their struggle with mortality. Here, and with the fruits I provide, I can suspend that essence and their struggle, for eternity. I shall never grow weary of a soul that never loses what makes it valuable." The smile was returning to Voracitos as he looked back to Maliphant.

"I broker souls because they are the last things that will ever hold value to me, and their happiness is merely a side effect of their inevitable obedience to my point of view." Feeling satisfied with his explanation, Voracitos outstretched a thick, meaty, grotesquely colored, clawed hand to Maliphant.

"Do we have a deal, or not?"