The Stars Sweep Chill Currents That Make Men Shiver In The Dark [Sochi]

[Darth Carnifex]

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The Black Pyramid​

Coruscant​

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It was several weeks after the Battle of Contruum, one of the most hard-hitting victories for the Empire since the Battle of Coruscant at the beginning of the Long War. The interim between battles had begun, and so Darth Vornskr thought it prudent to return to the Imperial capital to continue his experimentation on the immortal soul. His experiments had born fruit in his most recent trials, including his own return to the world of living in the aftermath of Akala's attack, but now he wanted to try something even more audacious. He had encountered a spirit while meditating in the void, a beacon of light that floated listlessly through the darkness long after it's physical body had perished at the hands of the Sith. It was a soul that he had not expected to encounter ever again, but the Force worked in mysterious ways sometimes.

So with great care he anchored the Jedi's soul to a metaphyical point deep within the bowels of his pyramid lair on Coruscant, right in the heart of his laboratories where he had experimented on countless Jedi before and thus the Dark Side was nearly overpowering down in those dim halls. For days he had busied himself with work, great troughs of boiling blood lined up about the ritual chamber as he called upon the Dark Side of the Force to create flesh and bone from nothing until the general shape of a body began to form under his toiling hands. Add on several more hours of intense ritual and crafting and soon enough a fully formed body lay still under a stark white sheet upon a metal slap. Four obelisks were now placed at the cardinal directions within the room, and the runes carved upon them hummed with latent energy.

With a blood-stained hand he yanked the sheet off of the body, revealing the nude form of a fully formed adult female Togruta laying picturesquely as if seduced into a deep sleep. The Sith Lord's mouth curled into a mischievous smirk as his fingers glided across the smooth flesh of his latest creation.

"Soon, my beauty... Soon I will give you life."

[member="Sochi Ru"]

 

[Cortana Jade]

She hung in the void, constantly reliving the moment she perished...

She reached for the door, it sensed her presence and it flew open for her. Then she tried to pull herself out, with darkness impending behind her she saw the light on the other side; her student...Connor. Before she could ask for his help, before he truly could understand the situation the was a whole in her chest. The skin surrounding her wound turned to ash and cauterized as she hit the floor. Then her flesh disappeared, leaving nothing but her honest robes behind.

Any Jedi would hope to be able to transcend into a much higher plane after their death, but it seems chaos left the Force scarred and in a weakened state, or perhaps it was the fact that Ru was slowly going insane in her final days...whatever the reason she didn't attain the ability to live after death, instead her soul had become trapped in world somewhere between.

She began to realize that this plane she existed on wasn't the Netherworld of the Force, it couldn't be and for that she questioned her life...for all she did was serve the galaxy and in return she was left to live after death, but remain stuck in the worlds between; the void. This caused her mind to slip further from her grasp...she felt betrayed by the very thing she gave her life to.

An echo of silence soon rose from her spiritual flesh and traveled outward from her body into the great expanse. For whatever it was, she felt her soul being slightly pulled down further into the abyss below.

She was truly broken.

[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RQypSl1Usg​

Oh, the time had come.

He could feel it in his bones, and the Dark Side coursed through his flesh like innumerable volts of electricity as he fully attuned himself to the dark ley lines that converged upon his pyramid. The air grew heavy and stale, the sickly smell of rotting flesh permeating the air as the barriers between the realm of the living and the realm of dead momentarily weakened as the Sith Lord weaved together arcane Sith magicks with intricate hand gestures and a dull muttering in a long lost language.

V̠̲̙̫̗͙w̰̣̰͈̽̃̀͆ͦ̅͠ȳ̼͓̘̼͡q̡͈̪̱̫̻̲͗́̒̆̚ͅ ͉̌ͯͦ̂ͧa̠̱̲̬̫͆ͭ̇̚͝ģ̮̪͖̂̓͐̓t͓̺͓̍̓̄̋ͩ̚hͤ̃͂̇̚ ͖̃͜ṡ̸̠̹̙͓ͯ̑s̷̪̳͓̳̠̳ͣͯ̿ḧ̨ó̙̫̱̯̜ͥ̎̍̍ͅq̝̘̣͎̖̙̪̄̃̂'̠̅̓̆͜m̡ĕͤ̈́̐̕g̠̮̫̣͙̟ͦ͂͆ͮ͒ͪ ͕̯̳̣͎̲ͮ̚͞ͅṾ̝̗́̿̊̐ͭ̚͠ȯ̷̖͍͕͍͕ͥ̓͗̀ͥ͐ͅr̼̺͍͈̋ͩ̃͝m̰̘̝̰̥ͯ̾̄ͩͪ̃ͅŏ̧̮̰̬̹̬s̹̋ͩ̆̈́̉̔̈ ̴̯̺̜̋͌̍̆̿̉v̺̠̘̩͓̟ͨ͝r̗̲͔̼̉̋͌̈́ą̼̠̦̘̣̏ͮ̿ͥͥ͊ ͎̞z̹̬͖̪̩̯̝ͮͤͥ̈́̌ͭͮz̎̈́̎ ̞͖̔̊̍s̐̐̉̇͊͝h̼͑ͣ̿́ḟ̸͓k̴̇ ͕̻͕̠̼̜͒͋ͣͯ̈́̉q̲̫̠̥̞̖̣͋ͬw͓̗ͫ͘o͍̞̭̳̰̝͓̿̚r̀̚ ͎̗̝̫ͫ̏̑̾g̼̺̰̻̙̈̋́ͬͪá̯͕͍͉̭͔'̷͒ͪͦh̗͗ͧͨ̾̽̃a͎̳̞ͬ̈̏ͧͥ̈́͌͞ļ̲̊́͑a͑̑ͤͧĥ͆ͨ̃͜sͧ͌ͩ̄ ̈́̈̄̐ͩ͛ͮâ̤̩͇̲̿ͮ͛g̰̜̮̰̳̳̭͋̆̿͊ͭͦ͢t͕͂͞h̷̳͇̟u̘̳͇̔͗ͯ͟.̵͓͕͖̗͍̹ͨ͆̽ͅ ͙͓̞̹ͩ̊̓͑̔ͤ͒​

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ͣ͋̆̽́̉Uͣͦ̆̍̅ủ͚̥̝̙̘̬̥͊̃ͩ͜l̞͙̣̒͂̍ǵ̘͇̞̝͉͂̊̓͢'̟̯̟́̊ṁ̱̀̋ͦ̃ͬͅâ̱͔͓̑̂ͦ̓,̝̲ͧͯ ͚̘̜̠͔̂ͩ̃̄̿̄͡á̼͓̅́̓̌̏͘g̳̣͙̊ ̟̫̱̯̹̝̘q̰̄a̖m͖̟͈̥͔̘ͧ͛.ͪ ̖̝̖̤͈͛̐̇͗A͓̹̅ͬ́ͪ̍̅ͮk̀̀ͨ'͚̟͚̗̖͚̪̊̏͗̾͡a͍̣g̬͙̖̳̼̫͙̓͛ͪͤ̋ͪͭț̤ͫ̿͒h̙̜̯̦̣̱͓ͫ̍͗s͉̖͕͔̆h̳̟̗̠ͧͦ͟i͊̂̐́ ͓͎̦̘̈̽ͧ͌͜m̓͐͒̂ͩ͑ȧ͎͓̣͚͎̽͐ ̥̺̳͞ͅǔ̮̔̿̀h͚͚̦̖̮̻̏ͣ̍͛̌̚n̶̼̩̟͕̬̺͒ͫ̓ͅi̷͓̝̠ͨͤ͑ͦ̓s̮͉̝̮̥̭̣̀̇h͔͓̜̟͚̟̍̍̃͐̋̂,̓ͧ̋̊ͮ̏ ͔͉̰̬͈̅ã̯̩̰͙̈ͭ̽͗̒͝k̸͔̦̲̦̬̅̏̀͒̌'̤̹̳̩̻͓͉ͧ͛̆̽̔ͬ̌͡ũ̸̮̣̹̩̥̔̂ͅͅq̜̳͍̰̑̆̿ͨ͂͡ͅ ̸͙͚͎̍ͩͫͣ̊s̞͖̝̔̾ͭhgͥ̌ͫ̉̊͂̚͘'͛́ͤ̾͂͐͏̙̠̣c̷̒͗͂̓ͫ͛ͪû͌ͤͫͪ҉̦l̷͇͍͙ͪ ̦̞̤̻̥ͨv̺̟ͭͤͅw̦͙͖̳̤â̢̹͓̺ḣ̤͎̦͓̋͗ú͖̹͌̽ͅh͇ͥͧ͌͊̐̆̚n̄ͧ͊̾̐͏̺̗!̻̠̔ͦ̽͑͂ͣ̀ͅ ̛̙̯͍̱̹͆ͧ͋ͥͨ​

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̹̻͍̪͍̻̦ͪĢ͇̬͓̘͌͂ͯ̐ͬͤ̔u͙̐̐ͦͮ̉́̆l̴̯̝͙̪͉͍̦'͍̯̯̹̖̘̺ͮ͋ͯ̑͌ͣ͟k̜̈́̃ͬ͂̇a̡̙̥͕̜̟̽ͨ̏̚̚f̘̱̻̈́̾͌̑̆̔ͥͅh̦̲͇͍̚ ͖̼̠͓͍͗̓͝a͚͖̝̥̬͒̑͒͑̅̀̀n̸̼̟̲ͭ̋̀ͤͣͥ̈'͇͓̯̮̐s̰̔ͥͥ̓h̬̠e̻̭̻̺̥͘l͕̼̙̥̻̳͈ͧͯ͂̆.̧̞̜̼̽͗ ̝͙̼̣̻̯̈ͫ̆́Y̧ơ͔ͦ̇̊͐q̸͕̰͖̪̪̓̄̄̋͋͋'̳̤̼ͬ̓ͥ̅̒ͤ͂â͏̝l̖̯ͬ̋̋̌͟ ̊ͦ͒̓ṣ̉ͮ̍͡ͅh̷̯̙̅n̺͉̫͕̖̘ͦ̅͒̆͗ͩͤͅ ̷̻͎ͣ͒̆̅̂k͈̩̱͆̽̍̀ȳ͂͂͑͒ͥ͝ ̼ͅy̝͠w͕̲̞͉̙͇a͚̠̱̼̺͙̒̽̊͛͑͞q͈̰͖̏ ̦͈̯ͣ͠ṋ̺͢ṵ̳̪͖͖̘̈́͛̓ͥͅu͕̜͓ͯ͛̇͗̍̈l̤̥̹̗̜̹̦ͭ.̼͎ͬͫ̾̄ ̤͔͖̘̱̰̹̀​

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͉̹̖̠̜͎̤̕Y̪͈͔͎͛ͧ̒w̞̠̬̼͎͇ͤ̄a͂ͥq͓̯̟̬̪̺̖͒ͩ̀ͬ̄̐̚ ̹͆ͬ̎ͮ̒mͪa̐ͣ̑q̙̻̠͉̍ ̥̠̱̜̞̎̈́͊̏̓͡o͓̫͗ͥͦǫ̥̭̭̖̗̟͍͛̒ű̼͚͔̫̩̦̙;̳͉̼̗͖̤̈́̏̌͞ ͚̘̱͈̳̟̐ͮ̾ŷ̿̇ͦ̈́̂͒҉̭̩̘wͨͬ̓à̷͔͔̟́ͨͮq̚ ̡̙̘͚̝ͥ̀̾̇̓̄̄ͅm̲̥̗̏ͮ̅ͦͬͨͩa̶̱̩͚̯̣̱̒ͩ̈̍̿ͬq̵̹͈̫̬̼͕͓ ̨̜̰͈̎ͪ̒̀̊͗s͓̻̬̪̔̇̈̊ͪ̀̏s̷̳͑͌̊ͨ͛a͈̩͍̒g͈̹̻̙̟̹ͤ̀͋͂ğ̥̬̲̑ͩ̏̚̚ḫ̶̮͛̽.̧̠̹͔͖̝̣̥̑ͤ̀̂̒ ̷͓̮͇̞̰̪̭͋ͧ̎͆ͮ͗Y̦̝̥͎̥̼̤w̭̞̼̒̂ͮ͆ͩͤa͖̫̔̑̋͗̾ͣ̿͞q̤͔̜̳̤̫ ̝͍̗̫̫̎̒̄ͪ͊m̹̰̙̙͓̯̑̋́͌̽ͮ͗̕ä͇̫͍̤ͫ̉ ̓͊̈́͑̆̽ͮs͍͚͂h̩̹͉̲̯̓͛̍̍g̖̳̹̹͈̮̬'̲̙̤̯̹̹͉̉ͨf̣͎͙̥̦͋ͫͤ̏h̟̹͆͠n̹̝̲͕̞̗ͤ́̍̍̍̐ͅ.́̌̿̍̚͏͙̣̭̲̪​

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First came the silence as the last syllable echoed throughout the chamber, and then came the great groaning as if the dimensions of the room were contorting and warping profoundly as if touched upon by a dark and withering force. Then there came the ringing of bells, loud yet distant that caused one to strain to hear them but they seemed to pick up in intensity as the runes on the four obelisks began to glow brighter and brighter with each rung bell. Then the whispers began, each a warped and twisted echo of the words Vornskr had uttered only moments before, a reflection of the dark incantation that had begun the ritual to bring back the spirit of Sochi Ru from the chaotic turbulence of the nether world. But there was still so much to do to finish the ritual, and at his behest several servants emerged from the darkened corners of the room bringing with them many bound slaves.

Roughly they were shoved towards the center of the room despite their incessant squirming to try and weasel away from the darkness that now began to coalesce at the center of the room; ancient and hungry. One by one they were forcefully bent over the still body of the Togruta, and one by one their throats were violently slit by ornate daggers crafted from obsidian glass. Waterfalls of pure scarlet cascaded down to splatter her nubile form, the life energy draining from their bodies only to be caught in the invisible web that Vornskr was weaved and transferred to the still body. As more and more slaves were sacrificed in a similar manner, Vornskr stepped forward to lord over the body and began to bathe it in Sith lightning that arced from his gnarled fingertips. The lightning flashboiled the blood that slicked her skin to leave behind intricate ruins where the blood had once been spilled.

He reached out with his metaphysical will, latching onto the wayward spirit of Sochi Ru and dragging it into the awaiting body that had been baptized in both blood and lightning.

[member="Sochi Ru"]

 

[Cortana Jade]

Then there was turbulence.

Everything around shook with a force that vibrated right to her very core. There was no gravity here...so why was she constantly being pulled down. She thought maybe she was descending into another fraction of the void where time was non-existent and all you could do was relive your life up until you perished, feeling that pain a thousand times over.

But, there was a malevolent force acting on her, it had an invisible grip, latching itself to the being she was. There was nothing she could do to stop it, her trust in all things, one of them being herself eroded away.

Betrayal. betrayal. Betrayal.

Those were the only words she had enough energy to whisper in her head,but they seemed to echo outwards. Then was she engulfed in darkness, tendrils wrapping around her body and extending until she was no more; The Abyss.
----------------

She felt her soul anchored, and she couldn't move. Though there was a tingling feeling that she thought was familiar but warped. Her eyes twitched, as if her conscious was transferred and had taken root in her new form. Her eyes shot open, and she gasped for air. The last thing she saw was a growing darkness that nearly possessed her.

She sat upwards, but her vision was blurry initially. All she could do was sit there and weep, for she truly felt fear. As things slowly came to be she noticed the room wasn't one she was familiar with. The presence was dark, similar to what she felt gripping her in the void between worlds. She turned and saw blood, her body covered in it. Her eyes grew and their veins became visible.

[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

He watched with unmatched glee as the body shuddered once, twice, and then bolted upright, it's movements jerky and awkward as the spirit settled into it's mortal coil. The tears came unabated, rolling down her cheeks as her senses came flooding back to her all at once, no doubt causing a bout of overstimulation. He felt the very same thing when he had been brought back from the realm of the dead. The dead do not feel in the same manner as those that are living, and having all of those senses come flooding back to you all at once was a terrifying experience. So, he stayed his hand as he observed her, watched the awareness creep back into her expression as she looked around the dark blood-stained room, the only occupants being her, the Sith Lord, and a gaggle of diminutive hooded servitors that waddled away from the altar of her rebirth with something akin to fear and awe plastered on their mangled features.

Then he spoke: "Welcome back to the world of the living, Sochi Ru." He reached out a hand to grip her shoulder, something akin to a reassuring gesture, while he slipped her hand into his and squeezed it softly. "You've been dead for quite some time, but I was able to bring you back from the void... Can you speak?" A servant handed him a flashlight, and he released his grip on her shoulder to shine the light in Sochi's face, mostly checking for a Pupillary response. Everything seemed to be working so far, but there was also side effects and risks that came with bringing a soul back from the dark abyss, although they would not fully manifest for some time. Typically it mostly involved the subject's psyche, but there could be physical complications as well; but Vornskr was extremely confident in the longevity of his constructs.

This one he found particularly beautiful, and not because it was a physically fit adult female.

He found this particular weaving of flesh, bone, sinew, and soul profound.

[member="Sochi Ru"]

 

[Cortana Jade]

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Sochi Ru"

While she couldn't get over the fact that she was covered in blood that wasn't hers, what she heard after that was what really frightened her to her very core. From the shivering, her body suddenly became still...

"I know that voice...no..noo." her own voice echoed inside her head. She turned her head slowly once she felt her hand gripped in the clutches of another, one who seemed so familiar. She was slowly becoming an emotional wreck...but she couldn't shed any tears. Then she saw his face...

"You've been dead for quite some time, but I was able to bring you back from the void...can you speak?"

She was horrified, it showed on her face. "No! What did you do?! What did you do?!" she had lost her grip on what was real and what wasn't anymore. For now she couldn't find the trust within herself to call upon the very thing she use to for understanding. She snatched her hand away, and tried to move her body off of the table but she hit the ground, her body was too weak.

She remained there exhausted, until she was able to scurry her way upward slowly and withdraw towards the table that stood so high up over her. There she sat...her eyes wide, and the madness growing...

[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

His smile only widened at the sight of her discomfort and abstract horror as she realized the predicament she was in; such emotions he found particularly sweet. He watched her tumble from the table, landing hard on the blood slick ceramic with the wet thud of flesh on floor. He made no move to help her and instead loomed above her menacingly, wholly content on watching her squirm and thrash around weakly. Then she slowly clamored back up onto the table from which she fell, and simply sat there with a bewildered look on her face as the madness of reality began to gnaw at her mind. He brought his hand around to let it rest on her shoulder, the tips of his fingers digging into her flesh as he turned her around to face him. "I brought you back. I've found that the barrier between life and death is not so insurmountable as many would like to think, and I have become very proficient in manipulating both sides of the spectrum."

He let out a little chuckle, as if he had just said a little joke meant to be whispered between two old friends. Then his left hand shot up with such frightening speed it looked near instantaneous, and his latched it firmly on Sochi's forehead, his fingers digging into her flesh as the Dark Side thrummed within both of them. In the realms of the metaphysical enchantments would be placed upon Sochi's mind in a manner similar to layers of locks wrapped around her brain; binding it to his diabolical will in her moment of supreme vulnerability.

"And now you are mine, [member="Sochi Ru"]. From death I have taken you, and in life you shall serve me forever."

 

[Cortana Jade]

She found herself not being able to resist. Never would she have thought she would die and become a pawn in the games of Sith Lords. Its almost as if Kaine manipulated this entire thing just to control her in the end. She couldn't do much but snatch her head away nearing the end of his words. There was a small trail of blood they flowed from above and down the center of her face, wounds left over from the Dark Lord himself.

She never felt so hopeless, after removing her face from his grasp she shoved his hand away. She lowered her head in shame yet kept her gaze on him, a psychotic fury building in her eyes. They foretold of actions wanting to be made, but their was a barrier there...she wasn't allowed to even if she so desired. Then she began to fathom the thought of Kaine and all the power he possessed, only her thoughts were just as twisted. Perhaps she could use him as he intends to use her.

It was time she gave in, "Your sick...but I will do your bidding Kaine. My life for yours." she said, she was as persuasive as she would have ever been before. But she wanted his trust.

[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"More than your life is mine, little Togruta. Your soul belongs to me as well, as does your mind and your body... Now... Kneel."

He made a downward gesture, the enchantments placed on Sochi's minding flaring with a painful throbbing that would send Sochi's nervous system into a bout of shocking agony. The darkness seeded within her demanded for her to drop down to her knees in submission to the Sith Lord who know held her in his sway. He forced her to stay kneeling only for a couple moments longer as he enjoyed the sight of once a respected and wise Jedi Master being forced to kneel before her sworn enemy, but even after he stopped exerting his control over her the echoes of the pain inflicted could be felt on her mind. "But now we must clothe you, and arm you... You will be my newest sword, perhaps even my greatest champion..." He let off a crude chuckle; "Perhaps even more than that, but we shall see..."

A servant waddled up carrying a bundle of clothes on which sat a rather standard lightsaber hilt, one built by Vornskr himself some time ago and imbued with a synthetic red crystal traditionally used by the Sith and their cohorts.

[member="Sochi Ru"]

 

[Cortana Jade]

She shut her eyes, only because she was anticipating what was to come. Her being who she was and him being who he was, she of course tried her hardest to resist. Though that was a complete failure, her thoughts as erratic as they were, didn't coincide with the movements of her body. She slowly began to kneel, as an overwhelming force pushed down on her shoulders and tugged at her legs. The strain on her face was relevant to the backlash she got for trying to disobey.

Though, she wasn't her righteous self anymore, as much as she disagreed; he was right. She no longer existed in his presence as an individual, she was but his pawn. She kneeled before a man she fought against for much of her life, she kneeled before a man who murdered one of her good friends. She was broken.

However, she began to embrace what she no longer could control. Her thinking was just that quick. While she didn't worship Kaine as many have, she didn't feel animosity, that was all but a memory she had from way back then. She embraced her new role as his hand. That was when the pain seemed to subside.

She would stand, if he permitted, to put her clothes on and grip her new blade. The cool touch of the steel brought on nostalgia..."Its...been a long time." she smirked slowly, and then gazed at him with a subtle, yet twisted look in her eye.

[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Your instincts will return in time." he assured, his eyes scanning her own. Despite his immense hold on her he could still see the faintest glimmer of resistance in her eyes, but that was to be expected. Jedi were notoriously harder to break in than the average individual, years of conditioning their bodies, minds, and spirits to conform to a single ideology had made them resilient to the machinations of Sith influence, especially for those who were masters of their beliefs like [member="Sochi Ru"] was.

Had been, was more appropriate now.

Still, he would have to keep a close watch on her. Nonetheless he cast a sickly forced smile, his scars bleeding with the exaggerated effort. "And it would be best to hone them. Like an old sword you must be sharpened by a whetstone, and what better whetstone than battle." He turned and motioned for her to follow him out of the chamber and down the dimly lit hall, their destination only known to him. Distant sounds could be heard echoing throughout the labyrinthine corridors, but whether they were screams of anguish or the monstrous baying of ghastly amalgamations of flesh, science, and magic was impossible to discern. The Dark was utterly suffocating in this place, as if all Light had been devoured by the hungering dark that swirled around Darth Vornskr like a black hole.

Eventually they reached their destination, an impossibly massive chamber part natural cave formation and part man-made. Stalactites hung from the far away ceiling, water rhythmically dripping from their pointed tips to create a cacophony of barely audible music that gnawed at one's mind. Farther back were pools of clear water that glowed a bright blue as the algae that covered the submerged walls gave off a vibrant bioluminescence. However; even farther in creatures hissed and moaned and the pinpricks of their crimson eyes could be seen even from here, watching and waiting...

"I call it the Pit. A cavern that my servants found while excavating the lower halls of my keep, wholly untouched by living creatures... That was, until, I explored it's hidden depths and transformed it into a habitat for some of my more larger creations. They stay in the darkness waiting patiently for their next meal, which will either be you or one of their own..." Suddenly Vornskr was no longer beside Sochi, the darkness now becoming total as the door from which they entered closed abruptly. Whether the Sith Lord was still there with here could not be seen, his presence was hidden in the darkness.

But now the hissing grew louder...

Something slithered towards Sochi...

And from the darkness arose a massive Reel, mutated into a horrific monstrosity by Sith Alchemy with rowed spikes that secreted an acidic venom. In the darkness it regarded Sochi with cool, hungering eyes; and then in a moment it lunged out at her with a mouth overflowing with sharpened fangs, most of them jutting out at painful angles.

 

[Cortana Jade]

When Kaine spoke of battle, her eyes twitched slightly. A man such as him only revealed so much from what he said. She figured he was hinting at so much more. She looked off into another direction, followed by a sudden stream of blinks; only showed that she was contemplating what he was saying and trying to really imagine what he really meant. She followed behind him however, closely. If she felt the previous room was dark or even dim she was wrong, the urgency and omnious air only thickened as they got closer. She however was awaiting the sudden plot reveal.

She stood beside him, the space of the room shifted, with every step she could feel the room growing and growing to enormous sizes. He didn't need to explain, she knew they were in some sort of cavern undergound. The echo spoke for him, and the rhythmic drop of water in the background. So this was some sort of proving ground, hmm. She looked left and right off into the dark where eyes faded in and out. There were too many moving figures for her to precisely count, but she knew they were around. Before she knew it Kaine had stopped talking. She turned to her left to look at him and all she heard was the door being slammed shut. She sighed silently to herself, before a solid mass became tangible and began to move right in front of her. She looked up a few feet following the body of this creature and then she saw the head of the monstrocity.

Her face showed no panic, it was more of a surprise. Never had she seen a creature such as this...then everything fell silent; the anxiety was building up leading to a moment where one or the other would strike. Ru tightened her grip around the lightsaber hilt and squinted her eyes very slowly. Then with astonishing speed this creature lunged at her, she jumped to her right performing a tuck and roll and landing on her feet. She turned back around and raised her left hand, with an open palm, towards the creature as a means of distraction. She was leading further into the cavern, and they ended up in a area that had two very thin pillars in the center and just stone walls on either side of them. She ignited her lightsaber, and the crimson blade sprung to life at her side.

Her next move would serve only to entice the beast into attacking her, with her mind she reached out and began to manipulate the pillar to her left. She didn't move her body because she knew that would trigger the beast, instead she went for a more cunning, and subtle approach. The pillar broke apart near its thin center and the debris was flung towards the creature with intentions of causing very little damage.


[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

The monster hissed in agitation, apparently it had not anticipated this latest meal to be such a challenge as she was proving herself to be. Normally beings who were thrown down into the Pit were weak little cretins, easily overpowered and consumed by those that dwelt within the darkness. Still, the creature was created with a low cunning and considered its next move with more thought as its unblinking eyes trailed after [member="Sochi Ru"]. The Togruta let loose a telekinetic pulse at the beast, hitting it in its center mass and propelling it backwards with a hiss of frustration and anger. But the creature was quickly to recover and slithered towards Sochi Ru in randomized sequences as it chased her further into the cavern's depths. Normally it wouldn't be baited into such a straightforward chase, but its mind was plagued by nagging hunger and that dulled its cunning, and thus it predictably followed behind her into the pillared chamber.

And so it was easy to see that it would fall victim to the Dark Jedi's application of the Force to the pillar's center, which caused it to collapse on top of the monstrous Reel as it lunged for another attack. It thrashed violently as the pillar pinned it to the ground, a move of surprise and impulsive anger. However; it quickly reigned itself in and managed to free itself from under the pillar, quickly coiling around the next pillar and lunging off of it like a missile, mouth wide open with hunger as it sought to dig its rows upon rows of fangs into her soft flesh.

 

[Cortana Jade]

Her eyes squinted while her bait was successful, though the recovery of the creature was quicker than she expected. She took a couple of steps backwards as the rocks were thrown across the room, some towards her, when the abomination thrashed about flinging debris everywhere. She regained her footing and stood firm. She was awaiting for its next attack to enact the final point in her strategy but it moved far faster than her recovering body could. When it lunged, she was able to jumped to her right and roll out of the direction of the attack, but the mouth of the beast came too close to the left side of her body.

Her shoulder and upper thigh were deeply grazed by the fangs of the Reel. Blood began to slowly accumulate at the wounds but she pushed through it. The adrenaline numbed the pain and she reverted back to her natural hunter instincts. Keeping with her knowledge of Ataru she pushed off the back of her feet and began a sprint that would lead into her propelling herself into the air, this first initial jump was to evade the second attack of the Reel who had likely enjoyed the taste of her blood. She landed and then jumped again, this time towards the stone wall on the left and closest to the giant beast.

What she could do was grip on for however many seconds she could until the beast propelled itself towards her again. Once this happened, she used the wall to jump again to perform a somersault, brought to a higher level over the the head of the Reel. Her red lightsaber served its purpose as she slashed at its eyes while maneuvering overhead. She landed in a crouched position just to the right of Kaines pet.

[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

A blinding pain coursed through the Reel's body as its eyes were slit open by [member="Sochi Ru"]'s lightsaber, and it thrashed violently against the ground and walls of the cavern all the while screaming in agony. However; it was not done for just yet and after a moment of thrashing the beast calmed itself and began to draw on its other senses to seek out its prey within the darkened chasm. its first strikes were quite literally shots in the dark, the beast still unfamiliar to using its other senses without its sight.

Meanwhile Vornskr closely monitored the skirmish from beyond the steel walls bordering the lowest reaches of his complex, a throng of technicians and scientists huddled around glowing data-screens as they too monitored the fight in their own way. Vornskr, however; viewed this battle through the all-seeing eye of the Force, his mind comprehending every movement from the two combatants before they even happened in real-time. The scientists chirped to each other with satisfaction, content that this subject's body had so far held up under the duress of battle, along with her skills from the previous life being retained even after death and rebirth.

"A snake is one thing." the Sith Lord muttered absently, "But a warrior is another, let us be done with this paltry test and move on to more harrowing challenges."

Still, even though her skill had been tested in this little bout and was found to be satisfactory to the Sith Lord and his cronies, Sochi still needed to slay the beast whom now struck out with renewed vigor and surprising accuracy at her, his mouth once again gaping to engulf her.