Chapter 1: Overlord
That familiar sound, the his of seared flesh as a saber cut through it. The head of Skywalker's phantom fell to the floor and shattered to smoke and embers. I panted as I gripped my weapon, it's yellow blade appearing to bleed red in my crimson vision of hatred.
"It seems you truly are fit for the role, Warrior of Darkness." The guiding presence said in a mournful tone. I just couldn't understand anymore the logic in that perspective.
"What? You think I actually should have shown him mercy? He didn't show Master any mercy! If mercy meant anything then I wouldn't be here! Everyone I know is dead, all because they dedicated themselves to that ideal!"
"Mercy is not a weakness. It is as much a reward for you as for those you show it too, and they will acknowledge you as the stronger one for it." The presence spoke softly, and I could feel myself yearning so strongly to follow his advice.
Severing that part of myself I plunged my saber into the orb and watched as the illusory world around me went up in smoke. The orb exploded in a shockwave of red that ripped through space and time. Through that rift I saw many things, one of which showed me a white-haired boy with glowing blue eyes. He looked a few years older than me, and he wielded a saber of white that morphed into a fantastical axe at the end. He seemed to notice me too, and he was just as confused.
The stranger reached out to me, it was like some kind of dream, one last chance to take hold of a better future. He was offering me that, I know it! Again I felt pulled to it, this time knowing that it was the will of the Force driving me to make what was deemed 'the right choice.' I wanted so badly to take his hand... I raised my hand too... but I had a thought. Why should I accept mercy and become like him? Covered in scars from hardships that were fought for the sake of others.
As my hand lowered the rift turned bloody and the stranger looked on heartbroken as I glared down at him.
"Good choice, boy! Keheheheh!"
This time the rift showed me a world of ancient ruins, stained in blood and dark from millenia ago. "My name is Lith d'Kos, and you have made for yourself... a choice. One I am so pleased to see! I will be watching you, boy! Till we meet again! Keheheheh!"
"Minions! All hail your new Overlord!" Gnarl declared as the Minions cheered at my emergence.
I looked down at my hands from under a black hood, finding them covered by dark gauntlets of twisted metal. The rest of my body was hidden under a ragged black cloak, but I could feel that I wore a full suit of such armor below it.
There were no words from me as I followed the procession of Minions through the halls all while Gnarl recounted the magnificent history of my predecessors. Finally I took my place on the throne and closed my eyes, giving my bloodstained sight a rest. Yet now I felt more in tune with the Force than ever before. I could feel that this was a world utterly seeping with the Dark Side, and I could tap into it!
The very thing the people of this world called Mana was actually a wellspring of the Force so abundant that it took physical form, just like the ichor of which the Dathomirian cult made use of, something that could be taken into one's body to warp and empower the wielder!
"I know you're there." I said to the other two beings that were equally tapped into this world as me.
"A most unexpected development. Are you a disciple of Lord d'Kos as well? No you are just a mere child, a human no less!"
"I don't know who you are, but it is my destiny to conquer this world!"
"You are ambitious for a human, even if it is just your species' infantile desires. It was from such a place that the Overlord was born ages before, and I see you've taken up his legacy. Know this though, once I rise from this crumbling prison I will show you who shapes destiny!"
I pushed away from this fool, this other idiot who claimed to be Dark Lord. There was one more. "Show yourself, monster hiding in the shadows!"
My blood ran cold, my hands trembled as I gripped the throne, unable to wake from this nightmarish vision. I felt small and helpless as I watched two enormous red eyes glare down at me like a mere flea that had managed to bite just hard enough to get its attention. As an enormous maw opened up to spill magma out into the void I did all I could to escape.
It was excruciating, but when I opened my eyes I found my own fingers half-buried in my chest. It hurt like Hell, but I didn't make a sound even as the Minions scrambled to bring me a potion to repair the wound. I had looked too far down into the abyss, and it did have eyes. But without their direct sight I no longer felt afraid. I knew what path I'd taken, and I'd revel in the thought of one day becoming a being like that.