Chapter Twenty
When Maul recovered from the fall off the tower, he looked around and saw nothing but sheer darkness around him. It lied in front of him, beside him, behind him, and beneath him thus making him vulnerable to anything in it along with him. Using his lightsaber, he tried to see if he could somehow illuminate the shadows around him but a voice called to him, too mutely for him to initially understand but loud enough for him to notice. "Who's there?" he shouted in the darkness surrounding him.
Maul… Maul… I call to you… you will save us all… Arras Käsi it whispered just barely enough for him to hear. "Arras Käsi… I've heard of that phrase. And I am by no means a Chosen One prophesied to save the galaxy," he said, trying to encourage who or whatever it was to come closer to him and become more visible to his eyes. But what makes you… that is true it asked tauntingly.
"What makes me so certain it's true? Because the Arras Käsi, Chosen One, or whatever you want to call it is a myth," he replied immediately. Is this… a myth? And I… the tower… myth too the voice retorted with some frustration.
"Whoever or whatever you are, show yourself now! I demanded to know what you're doing here and why you proclaim me the Arras Käsi," Maul shouted. Because it… your… according to… prophecy it said back at him. "It's my destiny according to an ancient prophecy of Dathomir's salvation or its destruction, is that it?" Maul asked.
Yes, it is it answered. "Finally, a whole sentence that isn't fragmented. Maybe you're closer to my position than I thought you were," he said to the voice. I am here, I am there, I am everywhere and nowhere at once.
I am the past, I am the present, and I am the future and I am oblivion at once it said. "I'm guessing you're a woman from the sound of your voice, is that safe to assume?" Maul asked. How shortsighted you are, mortal man. I am man and woman, I am mortal and immortal, I am everything and nothing at once and soon, you will know and become everything and nothing too the voice told him.
Maul was driven to one final question, hoping to gain some clarity over what it was he was facing before it tried anything that would provoke him to attack it. "Then why are you here if you are here, there, and everywhere at once?" he asked. I am here because you are here, Maul the voice answered calmly. Then the source stepped into the glow of his lightsaber and revealed itself to be Ophelia or at least an illusion of her.
"No, not you! There's no way you can be here on Dathomir and in this dark place," Maul exclaimed in shock. The Force has a way of making the impossible possible and death but an eternal awakening from the dream that is life she replied. "But how would you know of the Dathomiri prophecy of the Arras Käsi if all you know of Dathomir came from me when you were alive and I never told you about the prophecy?" he inquired.
The Force gives me all the knowledge I need for in one way or another, all species, all cultures, all dimensions connect back with the Force. You should remember that from when we went to fight my brother on Heraklion Prime shortly before my untimely demise she explained. "I delved so deeply into the Dark Side just to avenge your death when I saw it happen. It was then that I knew I had failed you and lost myself to the Dark Side of the Force," he stated, tears approaching the front of his eyes.
Deactivate your lightsaber and I will guide you through this darkness for I know it better than you could possibly imagine she said. "What is this darkness?" he asked. It is the darkness of your fears Maul, your insecurity about yourself and your anxieties spread far and wide enough to consume you if you let it she answered in that same kind tone. He deactivated his lightsaber and watched as her form began to glow with a bright white light that illuminated much of the darkness immediately around them to reveal a stone floor in a building that was undoubtedly part of the city itself.
The path I will take you on leads to a gate that cannot be opened by your lightsaber or by any Force power you can conjure. Instead, it can only be opened if you embrace your fears, let them go, and watch as they fall and die behind you forever unless you wish to test the depths of the Dark Side she stated when they got going. "I think I understand what you mean for me to do and I will guarantee only that I'll try," he said. Yoda once told me do or do not, there is no try and I think you would find it useful to understand that soon she said before beginning their trek.
Savage landed on his feet in darkness that engulfed everything he could see to his left, right, front, back, underneath, and top. Though he could sense his brother's presence and his mother's, both were very faint and far from each other. But he also sensed he wasn't alone in this darkness that surrounded every angle. Something was approaching but there was no way of telling if it was dangerous or not.
Luckily, both sides of his lightsaber were ignited in case it was but still, he couldn't tell just from sensing it if it was a threat to him or not. He decided to walk toward it and see if getting closer to it would help his senses detect what it was better. It was the least he could do besides stand in the darkness and merely hope it would come to him. But whatever it was did not respond and actually grew stronger as he walked towards where he felt it coming from.
Unfortunately, the source of the disturbance in the Force moved far enough away from him to where it was as faint as it was before. "What or whoever you are, stop these games at once! Or else I will kill you when I find you, that I promise you!" he demanded. How can you kill what is already dead, Savage Opress? it asked.
"How do you know my name?" Savage asked. I know everything and nothing at once, I am here and am there and I am nowhere. And soon shall you, warrior it answered. "Do not speak in riddles fool or I will make you suffer when I find you," Savage warned.
Oh but I think you already did make me suffer when you ravaged me, Savage Opress. Look now on your creation and tremble before its beautiful ugliness the voice said. Then a woman Savage remembered from his past stepped into the light of his blades and showed a bundle containing a baby within it. He is your son Savage Opress, do you see what you have done to me, you filthy monster! she said.
"I only made you a whore with a kid, nothing more than that. Go crawling back to that whorehouse from whence you came," he told her. You dare leave your son behind without even knowing what I named him, beast? she asked him. He grabbed the baby with the Force and snapped its neck with ease before using the Force to cast it away.
"Make do without your son if you're not so proud of what I did to you, whore," Savage replied. You killed Little Jonny, why did you kill him? she asked him. "For the same reason I'm going to kill you: you're an extreme annoyance to me," he answered. Deactivating one end of his lightsaber but keeping another on, Savage raised his blade in a striking stance and diagonally bisected the unarmed woman.
"Let that be a lesson to you, whore. When you cross paths with Savage Opress, don't expect him to be merciful," he vowed with a growl. Interestingly enough, her death sparked an explosion of light that illuminated the darkness permanently and revealed a hallway in possibly one of the city's fortified pantheons. Now he knew where to go in order to get out if nothing opposed him like that although now he knew to be careful of this city's powers.
Kycina looked around her and saw nothing but darkness. She did not nor could not sense the presence of her sons anywhere so she guessed they were probably dead or beyond her reach. Luckily though, she had a solution to the darkness that consumed her surroundings in all directions. Reciting a relatively small spell, she watched as a ball of green fire formed from the emerald on her staff and was sent ahead of her to find possible emitters of light.
She immediately found the shafts used for torches and used the Force to levitate the fireball toward them, lighting them up in the process. As she did so, the darkness around her began to fade and be replaced by blue-grey stone in a straight hallway. Once she had the front covered as far as her keen eyes could see, she made it return to her and cover the behind as well in case there was an alternate path to walk. Instead, she found a dead end, making her glad that she had turned the light on it before walking right into the cold wall.
Finally, she recalled the green ball back and extinguished it but made sure she had some magic power left over to restore it in the event there was more darkness. But from what she could see, she guessed she was in one of the hallways associated with a pantheon near the temple. She knew this was a good sign since she knew that if she was near the temple, she stood a chance of reaching Talzin before she fulfilled her vow to use the Goddess' power to destroy the galaxy. Even if she had to do it alone, she knew she had to kill the bitch that birthed her in order to save the lives of at least one of her sons though she hoped that one was Maul instead of Savage.
Talzin smiled, knowing now that her path to power was now unchallenged. While traversing the space bridge, she saw as the atmosphere of Dathomir began to blacken and give way to the void of the immortal vacuum. She enjoyed the sensation of traveling across the bridge and seeing space without the disadvantage of a cruiser or some starfighter with limited view in its cockpit. Now that KaiSu Lak'Ton had been fully restored, the Goddess would be expecting her arrival on its surface as would her people.
For countless millennia, I wasted my time on a charade meant to bring about the return of the Goddess to this forsaken galaxy. No longer will I play the part of Talzin the Nightsister, now I will play the part of Talzin the Voice and Wrath of the Goddess she vowed silently. "Mother, let your power entomb your enemies in the oblivion awaiting them and let them reel as they watch us in the paradise you and I will create together!" she shouted. Since space had no ability to transmit sound by itself, Talzin knew her vow was secured and that no one heard her say it unless they did so through the Force.
When Ventress made her reluctant pact with Dooku, she had no idea for what was going to happen all around her when Talzin activated the space bridge and fully revived KaiSu Lak'Ton. "Do you believe me without the duel, now?" Ventress asked when it happened. He shrugged and gave the point to her then asked how he would be able to get past the curse on the gate. "You can't, you have to be either of Talzin's blood or permitted by her otherwise you can't cross," she said.
As if to prove her point, she tried it herself and managed to cross through the gate then urged Dooku to try. When he attempted to follow, the barrier prevented him from doing so. "Go back to Serenno and continue the war. If all goes well, you won't have to deal with me again but the galaxy will be safe for you to continue your ambitions," she said.
"I think I'll take your advice. I've had enough experiences with Dathomir witchcraft to last me a lifetime," he said. Then he turned around and headed out of the temple and back to his ship. But not before telling Ventress to destroy Mother Talzin for him; something she agreed to.