Slowly he walked along a path cut by snow in the forest, beside him, his two agents flanked and escorted him, both wore great white cloaks that camouflaged them on the snow and hid their appearances completely while being followed by Thorax.
"My Lord, i understand the reason for you to leave the village on the festival day... But where are we going?"
He stayed walking quietly for some moments, before replying without looking back.
"We are marching to the cave were all begun, i-....."
There was a quick hesitation on his part before continuing
"I need time to think."
The Agent nodded his head while accompanying him in silence.
They kept walking in hurried steps as they climbed the small hill.
Their insectoid Companion was huddled, hugging himself with his hands squeezing and rubbing his arms to keep warm.
Vader could see how useful that insect was. He first when he saved it from his pursuers, he was hoping he could use it as a political item or a way to gain the trust of some of his species' tribes.
However, after he saved him and noticed the conversations they had. He immediately noticed that he was wrong, even so he intervened. Mostly because he was already there, and the Dark Lord had little tolerance for abuse of any kind, so it was more personal than he showed.
And after the newly named 'Thorax' recovered, he noticed how sensitive the insectoid alien really was, timid, nervous and worst of all, he was extremely unprepared for absolutely everything.
Combat? Didn't he have an ounce of experience, Politics? He was very ignorant of his surroundings, the only thing that really impressed him was his ability to imitate exceptionally anyone he came in contact with.
Dagger 7, one of Vader's most skilled and experienced agents, managed to be completely fooled when Thorax took the form of the Sith, making him very ashamed and giving Dagger 5 good laughs.
But that caught the attention of Darth Vader, for the simple fact of the most improbable possibilities that opened up because of that. A spy who could infiltrate with anyone's appearance, imitate anyone's voice, imitate an accent, was an impressive power in his hands.
And it was right there in front of him, but he could see that he had no high confidence, professionalism or experience, he would have to change that.
That is one of the reasons he was bringing them to the mountain.
He would make Dagger 5 and 7 teach Thorax the art of espionage, self-defense, and of course, total loyalty to him.
Loyalty would build over time, and if he proved to be just a burden for him, he would be dismissed as any other military man who dared to challenge or disappoint the Dark Lord.
However, with his abilities, that was unacceptable.
They walked for a few hours up the mountain, Vader retook his steps on the path he took to found 'Liberty', which he finally reached at the entrance to the cave. The same cave he had used as a refuge with the newly freed slaves, and the same cave in which he taught those slaves the Sith code.
Vader, felt a strange presence, she was powerful and abundant.
He did not expect this, he had already spent weeks in the same cave, meditated, and trained in it, he would have already felt that presence.
The Presence should be very powerful to be able to suppress itself like this in the Force.
He then looked at his companions, who were confused as to why their leader's sudden pause at the cave entrance.
"Dagger 5 and 7, stay here and make camp, Thorax, help them with anything they need."
Dagger 5 and 7 looked at each other confused while Thorax nodded immediately moving to help them unpack their things.
"My lord.... Forgive me for my insolence.... But why are we not going to take shelter in the cave..? I mean... It would be eas-"
"No"
Dagger 5 was taken back by Vader's firm voice, who interrupted without taking his eyes off the cave entrance.
"There is something i must do.... Alone."
He said as he slowly looked at his subordinate, who just bowed in confirmation, and immediately went towards his companions taking off their backpacks and getting ready for the makeshift camp.
Vader kept looking at the cave entrance, the force was present at a level that he could only remember when he was present at the Jedi temple which was abundant with beings who had mastered the force.
This was escalating a conflict within himself, how was it possible? One hour the cave was empty where nothing existed inside and nothing came out, and now as if it had arisen from the air, a strong presence had been awakened, as if calling to him, as if asking him to seek it....
Just how he felt before he arrived on this planet....
"You are feeling too....?"
Vader looked to the side, seeing Thorax also watching the entrance to the cave, which would then bring his gaze to the Sith, and immediately look to the side with nervousness.
"Yes...."
He slowly looked back at the cave, seeing his companion's reaction.
"How do you feel it?"
The changeling was surprised by his master's question, and rubbing his hands together in nervousness he would answer.
"Changelings can feel emotions.... Especially love..... But that does not mean that we cannot feel other feelings...."
Vader slowly nodded in confirmation, that insect increasingly surprised him with his abilities. But what truly peaked his interest was the fact that someone, or something was inside of the cave to manage to have sentiments and the power of the force.
"What do you feel?"
The Insect remained silent, while it seemed to concentrate, trembling and hugging itself.
"I Fell.... Despair..... Fear....Anger...."
Vader dismissed Thorax, what he felt, seemed to be overwhelming him, he silently and slowly came out of his trance and walk into the cave, seeking that power and source of abundant feelings that were found in that cave.
He walked slowly, his steps dispersed the puddles of water that were in that deep cave, the only sounds he could hear were the drops of water droplets that dripped in that humid environment. As he expected, something was very different, the closer he got, the more he was overwhelmed by the feelings and the pressure of the force, if he hadn’t been a master at it, he could have gone crazy.
The more he went deeper into the cave, the more he was surprised, it seemed to have changed, since there was a path more than the straight line that took him to the end of that rocky hole.
This caught the attention of the dark lord, who followed the newfound path, not noticing a hooded presence watching him from a distance, slowly returning to the darkness. Vader, the more he got deeper into this new path, he realized how the scene changed, from the rocks of completely random pattern, it changed to a straight path, a straight stone road.
This was obviously not natural, it was done artificially, someone built it.
Slowly he walked this path, noticing many torches appearing and illuminating his path, which led him to a door, a very ancient door, in it, many writings and drawings completely strange to Vader, but what most caught his attention were the two statues that flanked the door, almost as if they were guardians.
Vader recognized this species, Rakatans, from the Infinite Empire, ancient creatures from a long forgotten era of galaxy, older than the republic itself, older than the Sith's and the Jedi.
This intrigued the dark lord, even more, ruins of a forgotten species could hold enormous riches, powerful holocrons or armaments still completely unknown until recent years.
He slowly ran his hand through the door and with a push, tried to open it, it didn't even flinched.
He tried again, and again, the same result, this gate was not meant to be opened in a common way. Slowly, he moved away from the door, taking a few steps back and gaining space between them.
Putting his hands together, as if he was holding a ball, he slowly combined his power with the force and began to prepare a powerful force push.
Extending his hands backwards, still holding them together, a huge transparent ball began to emerge, his traces coming from all corners of the cave, he started to shine and sparkle.
Vader was gathering so much power that it could be seen with the naked eye for even non-force sensitives.
Then, throwing his hands forward, that big sphere of force was thrown at full power at the gate, leaving a huge transparent trail where he passed, making the whole cave tremble with his pressure alone.
Upon contact with the gate, it was completely shattered. Its doors fell to the floor, and the middle between them could be noticed a huge dent.
Vader slowly walked across the now open passage.
The scene he found himself in was completely surprising to Vader.
He was in a huge hall that was falling apart, two huge pillars with ancient writings flanked a huge statue with a huge banner behind it, it was surrounded by even older and rusty weapons, probably impossible to be rebuilt.
However, it was not this incredible discovery that completely shocked Vader, but who was on that statue.
He was a cloaked and hooded figure looking down, and his iconic mask was a symbol of fear and respect in every corner of the galaxy.
It was Darth Revan's mask.
He could just look in shock at the statue, his head spinning as he tried to find answers and just being answered with more questions. How was that possible? How was the statue of the legendary Lord Sith Revan on that planet? How were the Rakatans present too?
Both were from two completely different historical periods!
And how had he not discovered this before??
"You didn't discover this before Chosen One, because it was not yet the right time to be discovered. "
That deep, thick, muffled voice completely surprised Vader, who looked around for the source of the voice, until his gaze stopped on the statue again.
His eyes shone with a purple light, sparkling suddenly from the pillars, lightning began to be summoned overhead, falling around Vader, who in response used the force to gain space between him and the statue, which was releasing a lot of power.
The Cave trembled while that light show was being performed in front of Vader, who did everything he could to avoid being hit.
Then suddenly, after a few seconds, the lightning stopped.
But the shaking continued, and both pillars began to shine again, with a completely different fervor, sparks and rays circling them.
And then, with a much more powerful lightning than before, they shot straight at Revan's statue, which with a giant shine, forced Vader to put his arm in front of his visors to not be blinded.
Slowly, then, the brightness faded, along with all the shaking in the cave.
Vader slowly lowered his arm from his face, and his eyes widened even further under the mask when he saw a hooded figure kneeling in front of the statue facing Vader.
There was a light smoking steam coming out of him and he was on top of a black crater.
Slowly he stood up and faced Vader, revealing a legendary figure that shocked Lord Sith even more.
"Revan??"
He couldn't believe it, almost stammering when he said those words, but still managed to maintain his posture.
"Finally, our millennial prophesied meeting came at last, Darth Vader."
Vader couldn't believe what he saw, standing head to head, he could see Revan in person, with his powerful armor and feared mask.
Since he was a Padawan he had studied this fearsome figure, the Jedi Master who became a Lord of the Sith and then one with the force, the man who became a complete mystery, who defeated complete armies and had a military campaign with an unbeatable record for generations.
The Chosen One of the old republic, was face to face with him.
"From Jedi to Sith, from Hero to conqueror, and from pacifist to warlord, all for peace, or for selfish reasons?
They circled each other, Revan ended up with a chuckle under his mask.
"Incredibly, you remind me of myself, abandoned by my allies, consumed by darkness, used by the Sith Emperor as a tool."
They then stopped in the center of the room, each on one side of Revan's huge statue.
Vader remained silent and attentive while Revan continued.
"But I feel that you are not a being of pure darkness.... No.... You are not a true Sith...."
He gave a light chuckle.
"You are something more, Every action you take has a touch of light, in every attack there is part Jedi art, in every fight... Regret..."
He paused while he seemed to be in deep thought before continuing.
"However, you are no Jedi.... No.... You are something more, something different...."
He then took a few more steps forward, standing side by side with Vader, shoulder to shoulder, each on one side, while he continued.
"You are just like me."
Both were silent, Vader slowly sated Revan's words, trying to understand the meaning of this, and why the legendary Lord Sith would be saying these things to him.
"Still, you are not truly TESTED!"
In a quick move, using force to pull out his legendary purple lightsaber, he gave a quick slash to his side, directing a powerful blow to Vader, who did the same move and intercepted his lightsaber.
Both lightsabers collided, and both masters of the dark side faced each other, their grips on their firm sabers.
"You are neither a Jedi nor a Sith, you are neither light nor darkness, in the end Vader you are NOTHING!"
Revan then broke the stalemate with a powerful kick, knocking Vader back, and then they both started exchanging slashes, both forcing on the offensive, attacking in retaliation and deflecting attacks.
Vader used his brute strength to try to find an opening in Revan's defenses, but even if he attacked with a powerful cut to another, Revan could easily deflect or deflect the attack and initiate a counterattack with the same level of brutality.
Neither managed to win an upper hand, both warriors had years of experience in combat, both had battled countless wars, and both had extreme knowledge in the arts of lightsaber wielding, a battle in which the winner could be decided just by luck or in the error of either.
Vader broke the stalemate, then using force and knocking several stalactites from the ceiling at Revan, who in response jumped up and B-twisted the air, completely dodging all the sharp objects that fell.
Upon falling to his knees on the floor, Revan would then throw a powerful wave of lightning through his fingers at Vader, who would defend himself by directing the entire lightning to the side with his lightsaber.
Both then charged at each other and would clash again with their lightsabers.
Both then returned to their synchronized dance with their lightsabers, both hitting and deflecting from side to side with their weapons, each trying to gain the advantage on the other, each testing the senses of the other.
And none gaining an advantage.
Then, with his free hand, Vader would launch a powerful wave with force at Revan, throwing him away.
Revan then being thrown away, would fall to his feet, dragging a few meters, being caught completely off guard.
Having no time to think, he managed to feel at the last second, Vader jumping and using the force to gain an impulse, falling towards him, preparing to deliver a powerful blow from above with his lightsaber.
Revan then managed to intercept Vader at the last second, but now Vader went on the offensive, leaving no room for Revan to recover, making quick and accurate strikes.
Revan was impressively being pushed back by the ferocity of Vader's attacks, losing ground with each attack, he had to deflect, not gaining much room for retaliation.
"Congratulations Darth Vader, you surprised me, how is the feeling of striking an ancient lord of the Sith?"
Vader then, already stressed from all the games that Revan was playing with him, shouted at the statue.
"That's enough Revan!! What do you want with me??"
A silence reigned after that, then Revan's ghostly voice answered.
"I wanted to test you chosen one, test you to see if you were truly capable, to see your fighting style, and as i could see, you passed."
Vader was surprised for a moment, but he recovered quickly.
"Test?? Test me for what??"
"Test if you are worthy of being reborn."
He was silent for a while, what did he mean by that? Reborn?
"Reborn...? Why would i-?"
He had been interrupted by a huge electric blast hitting him hard, he would then groan loudly in pain, as he received the huge blast of lightning coming out of the pillars on the sides of Revan's statue.
He slowly fell to his knees, while the rejects did not cease, completely circling his body.
One of his biggest weaknesses was that, lightning, one of the weaknesses designed by Sidious to make him completely vulnerable to his own master, as a way of getting ready to have him in his hands.
He grunted more and more in pain, while the blast of power continued to be thrown at him, when suddenly, with a glow in the eyes of the statue, a final blast of power flew towards Vader, consuming him completely, making him fall on the floor completely unconscious.