World War

Shiva walked towards the entrance of the massive tower in front of him. Lined up along the sides of the walkway Shiva strode down were countless soldiers dressed in white and silver ceremonial uniforms. The soldiers had benevolent auras and were similar in appearance to the endangered angels that once lived in Heaven, but they were of course a different mythological race. Multiple sets of eyes gazed at Shiva and his glorious exoskeleton-like armor, mystified by the divine plating that shined like polished gold. The soldiers nodded with warm smiles as the world's strongest god passed by.

Shiva was in the mysterious realm of ExE. Known to only a select few individuals from the other realms, ExE is a world divided into two halves: one benevolent and one malevolent. The benevolent territory is ruled by the god Resetoras; the place where Shiva is right now. The soldiers along the walkway are sentients known as the Spirits, divine creatures who answer to Resetoras and spread the teachings of peace and harmony. Ahead of Shiva is the huge Tranquility Tower: the administrative center of the territory and Resetoras's home.

The other half of ExE is the malevolent territory ruled by three evil gods. The first god is Melvazoa, the de facto leader of a hostile and aggressive race of machines called the "Mechanical Life Forms". His older brother, Regalzerva, is the supreme commander of the mechanoid military and acts as the faction's second-in-command when Melvazoa is not around. The third god is Melvazoa's younger sister Seraselbes, the minister of infrastructure and production who acts as Melvazoa's messenger and advisor. Together, the three siblings govern the malevolent territory half a realm away from where Shiva is standing right now.

The Hindu god entered the Tranquility Tower at the welcome center where more Spirits were there to greet him. The priest-like people escorted him to the nearest main elevator that will take him up to Resetoras's throne room. Shiva stood inside the elevator with ten Spirits, waiting patiently as they ascended higher and higher up the tower. A short time later, the elevator doors opened, revealing the throne room at the end of the wide hallway. The group walked down the hall until they reached the arching threshold that led to the room's main chamber. At this point, the ten Spirits turned around and walked back to the elevator, leaving Shiva to enter the chamber himself.

Sitting on the grand throne at the back of the central chamber was Resetoras. Dressed in a divine white gown with silver and gold symbols, Resetoras looked a lot like a high priest with a huge crown on his head. The god stood up and walked down the throne steps to meet with Shiva.

Shiva bowed and said, "It is an honor to meet with you again, mighty Resetoras."

"There's no need for formal pleasantries," said Resetoras. "In fact, I should be the one bowing to you. Since the last time we met, you have grown vastly in power, so much so that you have well surpassed my abilities. You and your Hindu brothers are quite the fascinating gods, I must say."

Shiva's over-the-top armor and trishula, the things that greatly amplified his natural power, also put Resetoras's outfit to shame.

"We have put a lot of work into our new equipment, and we plan on using them wisely," Shiva spoke. "Will Melvazoa and his siblings show up?"

"I can't say for certain," Resetoras mentioned. "This is the first time there has ever been a ceasefire between our two territories. Most people from their land think that the treaty is some sort of trap or scheme on our part, so I wouldn't be surprised if they refused to attend this meeting."

Shiva and Resetoras waited around for a little while before the elevator doors down the opposite hallway opened. Many people walked down the hall, and it took a moment for Shiva to spot the three malevolent gods among the crowd. Melvazoa and his two siblings were in the center of a large escort group of Spirits that closely monitored their every move. The Spirit guards were clearly uncomfortable being in the presence of the most powerful of their sworn enemies; their strong and alert stances showed their willingness to intervene any attack. The three malevolent gods, on the other hand, were as calm and arrogant as ever.

"You should give your guards a break, Resetoras," Regalzerva mocked. "Tense bodies make for poor quality meat."

"Shut your mouth," said Melvazoa. "We're not here to tease each other with useless banter."

Regalzerva stared at his younger brother with a frown, then reluctantly obeyed his order with a brief shake of his head.

Melvazoa looked over at Resetoras and said, "I apologize for my brother's childish behavior, I'll make sure my sister doesn't do the same."

Seraselbes crossed her arms in disapproval. Although Melvazoa and Resetoras have been enemies for a very long time, Melvazoa always had great respect for the benevolent god, unlike his siblings who would find every opportunity to insult him.

"Apology accepted," Resetoras acknowledged. "Please take a seat wherever you like."

The three gods circled around the base of the massive throne and approached the long guest table stocked with expensive leather chairs. Just as they took their seats, they were finally able to see Shiva standing at the far end of the throne.

"The leader of the Hindus," Seraselbes pointed out. She had been studying Shiva for some time, and she recently heard the newest gossip about his magic enhancements. "Much of your power is fake, but respectable nonetheless."

"I would have preferred to have developed it naturally, but that would have been an impossible task," said Shiva while looking down at his own armor. "This artificial method was the best option available."

Shiva studied the three gods surrounded by numerous guards behind the chairs. From his current knowledge and understanding, Resetoras, Melvazoa, Regalzerva and Seraselbes have equal amounts of magical power, not one of them superior or inferior to the other. That being said, each one has fighting strength that surpasses those of Ophis and Great Red, making all four of them very dangerous opponents. Shiva would be noticeably weaker than them naturally, but with his armor and upgraded trident, he is in fact twice as powerful as any of them individually. If a fight broke out right now, Shiva can fight any two of them by himself to a stalemate.

Shiva also noticed why Melvazoa is the leader of the malevolent ExE faction despite being the middle sibling. Unlike his brother and sister who appear to be arrogant and impulsive, Melvazoa is rational, perceptive and collected to such an extent that he seems robotic and calculative. As the leader of the Mechanical Life Forms, Melvazoa is part machine himself, with nearly fifty percent of his body covered in mechanical parts. Shiva speculated that this might be the reason for his cold and heartless demeanor, but Melvazoa might have always been that way.

Resetoras introduced the purpose of the meeting. "At the request of Shiva, we have gathered here today to discuss the crucial series of events happening in the other realms of the world. There is a great danger that could affect our realm if we do not take the necessary precautions. Shiva will explain the situation in further detail."

Shiva walked forward and stood in the center of the circular floor between the leaders of each ExE faction.

"This series of events is similar to a major conflict that happened five years ago mainly in the Underworld," Shiva recalled, looking at the malevolent gods. "Have any of you ever heard of the Sith?"

"Yes," Regalzerva replied with a smirk. "I remember the rumors about Darth Bane and his apprentice. Very powerful and deadly; they would have made such good allies."

"I have heard about the current Sith Lords as well, though I don't know their names," Seraselbes said soon after. "Intel suggests that they turned the Underworld into a frozen and destructive wasteland. How fitting of a fate for the pathetic devils."

Shiva elaborated, "Darth Tenebrous and Darth Plagueis have done unprecedented amounts of damage to the global environment of the Underworld. Countless people have perished and many more are isolated and afraid."

"Those are interesting details, but we do not care about the Underworld and its inhabitants," Melvazoa said bluntly. "By the tone and choice of your words, you seem to be suggesting that we do something about these Sith Lords."

Shiva nodded. "Tenebrous and Plagueis are severe threats to every mythology and realm in existence. I fear they may be after an artifact that could destroy us all and change the course of history forever."

Resetoras interrupted before Shiva can continue explaining. "What is this artifact?"

"The power of Great Red," Shiva revealed.

Regalzerva and Seraselbes began to laugh almost uncontrollably. Even Melvazoa, who is usually emotionless, expressed an amused grin.

"The power of that foolish old dragon is the main threat?" Seraselbes giggled. "You do know that each one of us is more powerful than Great Red."

"I do," Shiva replied. "It's not the sheer destructive force of his power that I'm worried about, it's the nature and function of its capabilities. Great Red's power can turn a person's dreams into reality, and Darths Bane and Zannah had developed a way to use that power to create anything at will. One thing they created was a portal to another galaxy, which may or may not have been in another universe."

The malevolent gods lost their humorous moods and adopted serious demeanors.

Shiva continued, "Although they needed external sources of power to assist them, Bane and Zannah created something completely unprecedented. These new Sith Lords are vastly more powerful than their predecessors; I have felt their auras in my visions. If they get their hands on Great Red's power, god knows what they can create."

Resetoras gulped at the sound of those details. "Could their use of Great Red's power affect our realm?"

"It certainly could," Shiva confirmed. "In fact, every realm could be at great risk if they chose to use its power to that extent. I believe they can even create something that could affect the whole universe."

"That's ludicrous!" Regalzerva shouted. "Nothing in this world can affect the entire universe! If that was the case, somebody would have already done the deed by now."

"I'm not fully certain if they can alter the universe with the power container, but I wouldn't risk thinking otherwise," said Shiva.

Melvazoa looked around the room with calculating eyes, his mind pondering and reaching conclusions.

"As powerful as the Sith successors are, I wouldn't question if they could amplify Great Red's power to destroy everything this reality has to hold…or worse…recreate the universe in their own image," Shiva predicted.

Melvazoa stood up and said, "I have come to an agreement with Shiva's statements. Darth Tenebrous and Darth Plagueis cannot be allowed to obtain the power of Great Red."

Regalzerva was floored. With his arrogance clouding his judgement, Regalzerva immediately questioned his brother.

"You can't be serious!" Regalzerva shouted. "Let the other realms die, why should they matter to us? Besides, how do you know if this man isn't lying?"

"Bane and Zannah had to have gotten home somehow," Melvazoa replied. "Their powers were proof enough that they were from somewhere else in the universe, nothing in this world can replicate their abilities. The creation of a portal linked to another universal fabric is highly probable, and if these new Sith are as powerful as they are said to be, the creation of something far greater is quite likely."

"You have a point," said Seraselbes, "but you seem to be trusting Shiva's words too much. How do we even know if the Sith are that powerful in the first place?"

"Because I fought Bane once," Melvazoa admitted. "I lost…badly."

Each god in the room was shocked. Even Shiva was surprised to hear this confession.

"When did you fight Bane?" Resetoras asked from the top of his throne.

Melvazoa explained, "Five years ago, I secretly scouted the Underworld out of my own self-interest and curiosity. I made sure that no one knew I was in that realm, not even my siblings. When exploring a forest in the Underworld's northern hemisphere, I spotted Bane and immediately noticed that there was something different about him. I could tell that he held great power like no other. I revealed myself and challenged him to a fight."

Melvazoa paused, then continued, "That was a decision that I regret making. I was able to push him back a few times, but he was too fast and ferocious for me to keep up." Melvazoa opened his uniform to reveal the many scars across his torso and arms. "I was injured from several superheated lacerations and lightning strikes, and I was able to escape before Bane could damage me anymore."

After that fight, Bane had chosen to forget about the confrontation and instead focus on his goals at the time. It is not known if Bane wrote about the fight in one of his journals or if he told someone about it, and that question will likely never be answered. The only other person who might have known about the fight is his long-dead apprentice Zannah.

Regalzerva and Seraselbes stared at Melvazoa's battle scars for several seconds. They couldn't imagine anyone being able to damage one of them so much, given how utterly powerful they are. The two gods then looked at each other with uncertain eyes. Their pride wanted them to cling to their arrogance, but deep down they knew they had to put their egos aside.

"What would you like for us to do, Shiva?" Seraselbes asked in an agreeable tone.

Lilith, Underworld

Falbium Asmodeus approached Lord Bael from behind and tapped him on the shoulder.

Lord Bael jolted and quickly turned around. "I would appreciate if you could refrain from sneaking up on me, milord."

"I apologize," said Asmodeus. "Is the poison ready?"

"It sure is," replied Lord Bael. "It matches the looks and taste of the wine perfectly. To my knowledge, he shouldn't be able to detect it."

The lord that Asmodeus is talking to is the younger brother of the original Lord Bael and the uncle of Sairaorg Bael. After the original Lord Bael died at the hands of Darth Bane in the Agreas Stadium, his brother ascended to the rank of clan leader and married the widowed Lady Bael. For the past five years, the current Lord Bael spent most of his time trying to expand his clan's influence while dealing with the rebels in the civil war.

"Perfect," said Asmodeus. "Let's get in our positions. Tenebrous will be here any moment."

Falbium Asmodeus and Lord Bael walked to their seats of the grand hall's humongous dining table. The table was T-shaped and decorated with the most fabulous ornaments, and on top it held the best quality snacks the Underworld had to offer. At the left end of the "T" stood Asmodeus, while Serafall Leviathan stood at the table's right apex. Lord Bael and several other lords/ladies were positioned at the chairs that sketched the table's perimeter all around. After waiting a few minutes, the doors leading to the main hallway opened, revealing Darth Tenebrous.

The Bith calmly walked into the room while four devil guards escorted him from behind. Each person was taken aback by his alien features, this time being able to see his foreign face for real rather than looking at a drawing of him. Tenebrous's lidless eyes scanned the entire room top to bottom, observing the intricate designs and details of the remarkable dining room of Lilith's grand gathering hall. His gaze returned to the people standing at their seats in front of him.

"Welcome, Darth Tenebrous," Lord Bael greeted. "It is a great honor to finally meet an all-powerful Sith Lord."

"As it should," Tenebrous replied. "The dark side is quite the marvel."

"There is no question about that," Lord Bael acknowledged uncomfortably. "Our servants will show you to your seat. There is much to discuss."

Two devil servants showed Tenebrous to his seat while the four guards behind him walked off to join the rest of the soldiers in the room.

[…]

"So you're willing to show me the location of Great Red's power and give me the blueprints to your latest technology?" Tenebrous inquired.

"That's right," said Serafall. "We know you're dying to return home, and we want to make the search as easy as possible for you."

"Splendid," Tenebrous smiled under his respirator. "Your generosity and perception please me."

At the ring of a bell, dinner was finally ready. Multiple chefs and waiters entered the room with loads of turkey, beef, breads, vegetables and pastries: enough to feed everyone two times over. While servants served the food on the guests' plates, other waiters filled every dinner class with the highest quality red wine. As soon as the wine hit his glass, Tenebrous knew right away there was something up with his drink.

He could sense some sort of toxic agent mixed in with the red wine, and he knew before he even entered the building that they were going to try to harm him in some way. Tenebrous wasn't surprised at all, for he was there to sabotage them as well when the right moment arrives. The Bith planned on massacring most of the people in the room, most notably the devil lords and ladies, while leaving some witnesses alive to spread the rumors of the horrible act. But before he starts to kill, he wanted to draw as much information out of their minds as possible with the hopes of narrowing down the location of Great Red's power.

Reading everyone's mind throughout the negotiation, Tenebrous discovered that nobody in the room actually knew where Great Red's power container was located. Frustrated, he played along with their phony promises and planned his next course of action.

Asmodeus tapped his wine glass with a spoon to get everyone's attention as he prepared to give a toast. At this moment, Tenebrous could have disclosed to everyone that he knew that there's poison in his drink, but he wanted to do something more brazen instead. With the Force, Tenebrous can cleanse poisons and toxins from his body, and with this power, he wanted to show everyone that poison has no effect on him. This is a way to demoralize them even more by showing how pathetic their schemes and hopes are. The survivors of his attack will carry on the message of his invincibility, shattering the wills of everyone in the Underworld to the point where they might utterly submit to him and Plagueis.

Half-way through Asmodeus's speech, Tenebrous removed the outer mask of his respirator to reveal his mouth underneath. Most guests couldn't help but stare uncomfortably at the oxygen tubes entering the sides of Tenebrous's alien mouth despite their attempts to focus on Asmodeus's dinner toast. After the Satan's final words, everyone raised their glasses and took a sip of wine. Tenebrous swished the wine around in his mouth once then swallowed it without any concern.

The Sith Lord proceeded to take his first mouthful of delicious food. Recalling all the information he knows on poisons, Tenebrous knew that practically every poison takes a little while to kick in, so he used this time peer his awareness into his own body and sense the propagation of the substance. He had complete confidence in his ability to ward off the poison while enjoying his scrumptious meal.

But something awful happened…

Tenebrous had just began to study the poison in his body while taking his third mouthful of food when an overwhelming pain shot through his torso. He hunched forward and knocked over his wine glass.

"Lord Tenebrous, are you alright?" Lord Bael faked his concern.

Tenebrous fell to the floor in enormous pain. His mind raced in a frenzied panic; one part of his consciousness tried to rapidly study the invasive poison while the other tried to detoxify his body using the Force.

"Impossible! How can this be happening?!" Tenebrous's thoughts screamed in his head.

The Bith realized that this poison is spreading at an astronomical rate, immensely faster than any other poison Tenebrous knows about. In fact, the sheer potency of this poison is dozens of times stronger than any other toxic agent from his home galaxy. He knows this because years ago during his Sith apprenticeship, Tenebrous had to detoxify his body from the galaxy's deadliest poison as a test for his Master. Tenebrous began to crawl away from the dining table in agony while trying to save himself from the terrifying toxin.

The poison killing Tenebrous is Samael's curse.

Gamigin Castle, Underworld

Darth Plagueis walked with several hooded figures through the streets of the town surrounding the Gamigin Castle. Plagueis had a black cloak on over his regular outfit with the large hood raised over his long head, making him blend in with the gray- and navy-cloaked soldiers from the Order of Bane. He could hear the sound of battle not too far away; scouts reported that devil separatists are attacking the central castle and have gained a slight advantage over the loyalists in the area. Plagueis and his hooded escorts are making their way to the battlefield right now.

Plagueis, like his Master in Lilith, is here to kill important figureheads in order crush the morale of anyone who stands against him and Tenebrous. The executions of these leaders are of high importance now because a global war has already started. At the order of Sirzechs Lucifer, Falbium Asmodeus had convinced many mythologies to unite and attack the newly revealed Order of Bane with the hopes of finding the Sith Lords and ending their reign of terror.

The war had just started the day before, so whatever battles took place so far are relatively minor in scale. Tenebrous and Plagueis tried to use this to their advantage by sabotaging the mythological leadership before the battles become too large and time-consuming and while the locations of the leaders are still known. Plagueis was also here to sway the devil separatists to their side since he plans on using them to reinforce the battalions of the Order of Bane. The rebels are inspired by the Sith, but they are currently acting as an independent faction that's less fanatical about the Sith than Cao Cao and his members. Plagueis isn't too worried though because he believes that a single, up-close act of dominance will encourage the rebels to join and support his cause.

Plagueis and his soldiers turned left onto one of the main roads that led directly to the Gamigin Castle. This pathway has been sealed off at all other intersections and is occupied by the loyalists protecting the Gamigin property. The men around Plagueis changed formation: several of them took stealth positions along the building walls and rooftops while some remained at the Muun's sides as he boldly walked towards the back end of the loyalist blockade. Several hooded figures shot and stabbed at devil loyalists from their hidden positions, assassinating them with great efficiency. Others began leaping down from the rooftops to land on their devil enemies with deadly strikes of their bladed weapons. With several loyalist squads at the back dead, it was only now that the rest of the blockade realized the presence of the mysterious figures behind them.

The west Gamigin blockade forces divided their attention into two: the front half focusing on the rebels ahead and the new back half turning around to face the unknown hostiles behind them. Energy bolts flew everywhere as the blockade desperately tried to hold off enemies from both sides. Plagueis walked with his hands clasped together at his waist completely unfazed, even when some stray energy bolts came within a few feet from striking him. He kept his focused gaze forward while his soldiers did all the dirty work for him.

By now, the right section of the loyalist blockade had fallen. The few surviving soldiers ran to the left section to avoid being cut down by the cloaked assassins closing in on them. Some of the devil separatists were finally able to get a clear view on the mysterious people that flanked the blockade, and a couple of soldiers expressed deep concern, not knowing whether the newcomers will attack them as well. A squad of rebels raised their weapons and prepared to shoot at the assassins.

"Hold your fire!" exclaimed the squad leader. "I think they're friendly."

The rebels lowered their weapons as two cloaked figures separated from the main attack group to check the bodies for survivors. One man slayed two badly injured soldiers while the other walked by the rebel squad with a magic sword in his right hand. The hood of the assassin's navy cloak obscured most of his face with a shadow, and with a soft motion of his arm he brought his index finger to his mouth, telling the rebels to be quiet. He then motioned for the rebels to follow him and the rest of the cult members.

Further up ahead, Plagueis watched the loyalist survivors retreat to regroup with the east Gamigin blockade not too far down the next intersection. He lowered the hood of his black cloak and revealed his alien identity to everyone in sight. The rebels who saw Plagueis were initially shocked and frightened by his appearance, but they felt a little more at ease when they saw his fiery Sith eyes. It was something relatable to the appearances of Darth Bane and Darth Zannah, so they figured that Plagueis is a dark sider. But some of them were still unsure. One rebel was brave enough to approach the Muun and start a conversation with him.

"Excuse me, sir. Are you a Sith Lord?" the soldier asked.

"Yes," the Muun replied. "I am Darth Plagueis."

The man's eyes widened from the confirmation of his prediction. "What is your bidding, Lord Plagueis?"

"Tell the other rebels to follow my soldiers towards the east blockade. I have my own plan of action," Plagueis ordered.

"Yes sir," said the rebel.

The devil left to relay the information to his comrades. Taking one last look around the environment, Plagueis sprung forward and ran in the direction of the Gamigin Castle. He became a ghostly apparition that weaved around soldiers and obstacles and dodged magic attacks as he made his way through the area of the east blockade. He broke through the blockade unscathed and ran through the castle's courtyard, then he made his way up the front steps to smash through the front doors. Plagueis then quickly searched the castle for his target.

Only moments had gone by when the Muun ran back outside with a person in his grasp. He ended his use of Force speed in the middle of the east blockade battlefield where he can be clearly seen by everyone. The battle action quickly grinded to a halt when people on both sides saw the horrified face of Lord Gamigin in Plagueis's grip. The Sith Lord held the clan leader by the throat with a Force-augmented clutch that acted like a steel claw that turned the devil's face bright red. When the whole area had grown silent, Plagueis ignited his lightsaber and put the tip of his blade into the devil's chest, cutting through his thorax in a circular pattern. The Muun then plunged his fist into the man's chest cavity and ripped out his heart. The organ continued to beat in his hand as he tossed the body to the ground.

Plagueis raised the heart above his head to show off his victory. The rebels and cult members cheered in a sudden roar that obliterated the remainder of the loyalists' fighting spirit. Having lost the will to continue fighting, the Gamigin soldiers laid down their weapons in surrender since they utterly failed to protect Lord Gamigin.

Moments after ordering his troops to arrest the loyalists, Plagueis felt a disturbance in the Force that racked his head with pain. He held his head in his hand as his senses warned him of something horrible that happened.

"Milord, are you alright?" one of his cult members asked.

"Something is wrong," said Plagueis. "I need a teleportation field to Lilith. Now!"

Lilith, Underworld

A powerful wind swirled around the huge dining room with Tenebrous at its epicenter. Dinner plates, chairs and decorations flew around to damage the walls and smash into people as whirling debris. Lord Bael tried his hardest to approach the dying Sith Lord, but the churning cyclone threatened to lift him off his feet and sweep up everyone else. It wasn't too long until the hurricane-force winds died down and dissipated, Tenebrous having grown too weak to sustain his telekinetic cyclone.

Lord Bael and a few other lords carefully approached the poisoned Bith, wary that he will unleash his powers once more. They closely watched him with alert eyes; Tenebrous laid in a supine position and he breathed with a raspy voice that made him seem beyond ill. Tenebrous was able to remove half of Samael's poison from his blood with the Force, but his body had become so exhausted that he stopped crawling himself away from his enemies, too weak to move a muscle. The remainder of the poison continued to infect his organs and degrade his blood, giving him incredible pain.

Tenebrous was about to expel his maxi-chlorians and consciousness into the nearest person to save his essence, but before committing the irreversible act, he saw with his blurry vision someone moving across the ceiling. He recognized the person as Plagueis, who crawled along the ceiling of the room like an insect latched onto a flat surface. Rejoiced to see his apprentice here to help him, Tenebrous focused his efforts on purging the poison from his body while he fell in and out of consciousness.

"We finally brought the Sith to their knees," said Lord Bael. "No more will they be a threat to our world."

"You forgot about the apprentice," a voice called out from above.

Plagueis dropped to the floor and landed between Lord Bael and his Master with his hood down over his shoulders. The Muun immediately sped forward and grabbed Lord Bael by the face while putting himself down on one knee. He blinded his opponent by shoving his thumb into the lord's eye, then he raised his right hand to shoot Force lightning at three devil lords off to the side. The storm of blue lightning turned them to charred corpses and launched them back with such momentum that their bodies cracked the wall behind them. Plagueis's right hand then seemingly turned to stone as he used his Force-augmented strength to slash at Lord Bael's throat with his extended fingers. The ends of his fingers slit through the lord's durable flesh with an awful ripping sound, creating a deep gash that broke blood vessels and severed the devil's trachea.

Plagueis then charged towards an approaching guard with a clenched fist that drove through the soldier's armored torso, leaving his sleeve drenched in blood. The Muun then turned to crush the skull of another guard nearby while setting his eyes on the stunned lords close to the dinner table. Some of the male and female clan leaders had magic circles ready for use while the rest were too startled to react to what had happened.

Plagueis conjured a Force wave that he confined to the center of the dining room so he wouldn't harm Tenebrous further off to the side. He made the wave as potent with the Force as possible and swept it towards the closest six devil lords. The mass of telekinetic energy ripped through the dining table and magic shields to atomize the six devils. Plagueis then turned and redirected the wave to atomize six more devil lords off to his right. The dining table, magic circles and twelve lords had all been reduced to molecular particles.

Falbium Asmodeus and Serafall Leviathan had already run up the back stairs towards the overhanging balcony when Plagueis spawned his Force wave, the devil guards having urged them to evacuate. The two Satans exited the room through the balcony door when many soldiers rushed in from the same threshold to open fire on Plagueis. The Muun levitated hundreds of pieces of debris and broken objects off the floor and sent them hurtling toward the devil guards as deadly projectiles. The objects struck multiple guards like rapid machine gun fire, tearing their bodies apart in a bloody mess. The remaining soldiers began shooting energy bolts from their spear-like weapons.

Plagueis used the Force to slow and redirect the bolts back at the guards, moving his hands around as though he was trying to cast a spell. Bolts shot from one soldier would change direction and hit a different soldier somewhere else along the balcony or on the stairs. The Muun continued to alter the courses of energy bolts until every soldier in the room was dead.

With no more enemies left for him to face, Plagueis immediately turned his attention toward Tenebrous. He certainly wanted to chase down the two Satans, but he must attend to his dying Master first. Plagueis rushed over to the motionless Bith and got down on his knees next to Tenebrous's side. He immediately sensed the Bith's body for any signs of injury, and he was alarmed at the amount of internal damage Tenebrous's body had sustained. Plagueis began purging the rest of the poison from his Master's body with the hopes of revitalizing the Bith from the brink of death. Once Samael's curse was gone from Tenebrous's body, the Sith Master regained consciousness and began coughing up blood.

"Master, can you hear me?" Plagueis asked.

"P...Pla…Plagueis…" Tenebrous mumbled.

Tenebrous is too weak to speak. Plagueis was relieved to see his Master regain some level of consciousness, but he knew that Tenebrous is still in critical condition from the extensive internal damage caused by the poison. If Tenebrous doesn't get any medical attention soon, he will die.

"Hang in there, Tenebrous," said Plagueis. "I'm getting you back to the Mundane."

Starship 'Mundane', Underworld

Herman watched Plagueis carry his Master to the ship's medical bay with utmost urgency. Behind the Muun, Leonardo hustled with a small rectangular case in his hands and entered the medbay. Concerned, Herman walked quickly down the aisle and passed through the medbay's automatic sliding doors. He gazed at the motionless and very pale Bith on the medical table.

"Is he…dead?" Herman asked anxiously.

"No," Plagueis answered, "but he will be if we don't heal him in time."

Leonardo opened the case to reveal eight bottles of Phoenix Tears packaged inside.

"Do you want to use these?" Leonardo asked.

"Yes," said Plagueis. "Bacta injections won't heal him in time."

Leonardo took a syringe off the tool tray and stuck the needle into a potion bottle to suck up a batch of healing liquid.

"Inject it into his carotid artery," Plagueis ordered.

Leonardo carefully inserted the needle into Tenebrous's neck and pushed the fluid into his bloodstream. A moment later, the Bith's skin turned to a healthier skin tone as the Phoenix Tears rapidly healed his limbs and superficial flesh layers. The injection healed Tenebrous's skin and muscles, but it couldn't account for the horrific damage to his organs deeper down.

"His organs and blood vessels are still severely damaged," Plagueis notified as he scanned Tenebrous's body with his senses. "Inject another load of Phoenix Tears."

"Milord, Phoenix Tears can't heal damaged organs," Leonardo said sadly.

"I know," Plagueis spoke. "I'm going to try to alter its properties so it can accomplish that."

Leonardo injected another batch of Phoenix Tears into the Bith's neck. Plagueis peered the entirety of his awareness into Tenebrous's body and studied the healing potion at an atomic level.

Samael's curse-like poison did immense damage to Tenebrous's insides; his liver and lungs were on the brink of shutting down completely, his heart spasmed with an irregular beat and his digestive organs began to fail. The organ that took the least amount of damage was his brain—which Tenebrous likely focused most of his efforts on saving when he was at the dinner party. Samael's curse is so powerful that it can greatly weaken the most durable beings like Ophis and Great Red and permanently absorb a vast amount of their magical power. If Tenebrous hadn't done anything right away to reduce the effects of the poison, he would have died on the spot.

Falbium Asmodeus and Lord Bael had traveled to the depths of Cocytus to find the sealed fallen angel/dragon hybrid Samael. When they found the imprisoned man, they extracted some of his blood (which contains his curse-like poison) and masked it in the red wine they would give to Tenebrous at the dinner meeting. Plagueis wondered who and what poisoned his Master, but those questions need to be set aside for now.

Plagueis continued studying the makeup of the Phoenix Tears while making slight changes to certain subatomic particles. He had only studied his own crate of Phoenix Tears for a short time before he went off on his mission to the Gamigin territory, so Plagueis had to do a lot of learning on the spot. The Muun was glad that he didn't have to use up any of his own Phoenix Tears (which he hid in Cao Cao's base), allowing him to reduce any suspicions with Tenebrous if the Bith woke up at any point.

Feeling confident enough to make larger changes to the potion's chemical makeup, Plagueis altered more subatomic and atomic matter within the healing fluid to repurpose it to heal Tenebrous's organs and blood vessels. Plagueis sensed that, bit by bit, Tenebrous's internal injuries slowly started to heal.

[…]

Hours had gone by before Plagueis was able to fully heal his Master. It was a grueling process for the Muun; every bit of his focus and awareness was spent on altering the atomic makeup of the Phoenix Tears. Plagueis had to be very precise with every part of the potion within Tenebrous's body, for if he made a slight alteration mistake with the potion's atoms, he could have quickly turned the healing fluid into a malignant toxin. Plagueis also went through five full bottles of Leonardo's stash of Phoenix Tears, showing how much work and potion was needed to properly heal the Bith's organs and blood vessels.

Herman had fallen asleep in his seat halfway through the medical procedure. When he awoke, Tenebrous had just regained consciousness and Plagueis was scanning his Master's body one last time to make sure he didn't miss any damaged tissue. Leonardo nudged Herman's shoulder and told him that it was time to leave the room. The human and devil walked out of the room just as Tenebrous spoke for the first time since the incident.

"I was a fool," Tenebrous told his apprentice. "I never knew their poisons were so powerful."

"I didn't know either," Plagueis commented. "Despite their vastly inferior technology, a handful of their equipment seem to be superior to those found in our home galaxy."

Despite the large amount of time Plagueis spent reading the mythological texts, he never once came across any section explaining a poison potent enough to bring down an alert Sith Lord with such speed and aggression. All the knowledge around Samael is forbidden to the general population, only the Satans and highest-ranked devil lords know about the creature's existence.

"Yes, I realize that now," Tenebrous acknowledged.

The Bith pulled himself up with the hopes that his body will feel okay, but his muscles trembled in weakness and exhaustion. He also felt light-headed and nauseous when he moved his head around. Plagueis placed his hands on Tenebrous's shoulders and gently guided his body back down to a supine position on the medical table.

"Take it easy. Your body has gone through a lost of stress," Plagueis reminded. "It may take days before you return to full strength."

Plagueis got up and began walking towards the door.

"Thank you, apprentice," said Tenebrous.

Plagueis halted and turned towards the Bith.

"I always had my doubts about you, that you would let me die when an unfortunate event arises. But I guess I was wrong," expressed Tenebrous.

Plagueis was somewhat stunned. This is the first time Tenebrous genuinely thanked him for his actions.

"Rest easy, Master," Plagueis responded.

Plagueis watched as the Bith rested his head and quickly fell asleep. Tenebrous must have felt extremely tired, seeing that it's abnormal for a Bith to fall into deep, unconscious sleep during resting periods. Plagueis walked toward the door with slow strides, and once he arrived at the threshold, something in him felt different. He stopped as he heard ghostly whispers in his head, feeling the dark side grow in him. Plagueis figured it was his own thoughts, but he realized it was as though the universe itself was speaking to him. In fact, it was the dark side of the Force itself whispering to him.

He is asleep…..unsuspecting…..

Plagueis turned his head back toward his Master with a cruel and menacing expression on his face. His yellow eyes seemed to glow twice as bright as the raw, animalistic energy of the dark side urged him to lash out against his sleeping Master. Despite his instincts urging him to act, Plagueis followed his logic and reasoning instead.

"No, that wouldn't be a good idea," Plagueis thought as he calmed down. "Not yet…"

The sliding doors sealed close behind Plagueis as he walked to the ship's cockpit.