ADAS KALLIG
"Wow, the tomb looks just like I remembered!" I exclaimed, running inside the dark temple and looking at the main chamber. Everything was the same: crumbling pillars, corpses of the unlucky intruders and sweet scent of the corruption permeating the entire location.
It was like coming back to the hometown after leaving it for a while. You would think everything would change in your absence, but when you came back, you saw that it was the same as before.
That was what I was feeling at the moment. The wall I hid behind to escape the monster that was hunting me, the pillar I used to crush possessed cultists who attacked me at the behest of the spirit controlling them, even the extremely long staircase leading to the altar where my master tried to take over my body, they were all still there, the same as during my last visit.
I was honestly moved to tears. It was so great to see that everything looked just as I remembered. Well, not everything was the same. I could see some new additions to the chamber.
"Grandpa Aloysius, is that your work?" I asked, pointing at the giant ritual circle made from blood, which was located in the middle of the chamber. It was surrounded by uncountable corpses of these robed junkies, almost identical to the ones I scared off earlier, spread across the entire chamber. Looking at this scene brought back some pleasant memories from my youth. It looked quite familiar so I instantly knew who was the prankster responsible for this.
"Hmm, ah, yes. Good eye, lad." replied my grandpa after following my finger, looking quite proud of his work "You see, these hoodlums started to appear near the tomb around six centuries ago, give or take. They would often enter the tomb, trying to "feel the dark side" or "taste the dark power". I became quite alarmed after hearing such statements, you see. I didn't want some fetishistic deviants to fool around in my home."
He then deflated a little, as if he was about to say something embarrassing.
"Unfortunately I couldn't fight against them directly in my state. Being a spirit has its flaws after all. So I decided to make best out of bad situation"
He walked to the circle and crouched, looking at these corpses, old and new, scattered around the room.
"I sometimes possess the weaker ones. It doesn't really scare off others, but it makes them more hesitant to enter. They are also quite useful. I mostly use them to clean this place a bit, maybe dance a little when I am bored. They quickly die from exhaustion and hunger though, so renovation will take some time" He said, visibly sad that he wasn't able to repair his tomb.
He had nothing to be ashamed of though, as even in this state, it still looked magnitudes better than my own tomb. I decided to tell him that, that should cheer him up.
"What are you saying, grandpa Aloysius? This tomb still looks great! Now even better than before with all these cultist corpses! They give this place a nice "forbidden tomb" vibe!" I said with a cheerful voice. I wasn't able to continue though.
"It would look better if he didn't just let these cultists collapse in random places!" I heard someone shouting. Looking at the source of the sound, I saw another ghost. He was an old human, clothed in the robe, standing on the other side of the room. I vaguely remembered him. He was one of the other sith lords entombed there.
"Give it a rest Nil!" Grandpa replied without pause, indicating that it wasn't a new argument " chaotic placement of the corpses and random positions they are lying in give this place an aura of authenticity!" He said indignantly. I knew I shouldn't interrupt. It would be in poor taste to tell others how to decorate their house.
" you could gather them in one place! It would instantly show intruders the how dangerous this place is! Or maybe make them commit a ritual sacrifice around the blood circle! That would really sell the image! But no, it's better to let them die whenever they please, because it's so "natural" right? " said the spirit mockingly, not pleased with grandpa's aesthetic preferences. It appeared it was quite a serious argument. Well, I guess after so many years there wasn't much else to argue about.
" That would make it look like I was trying too hard! I would become a laughing stock!" Grandpa fumed for a while, enraged by the very suggestion, before speaking to me "Come, Lad. We shouldn't waste time listening to that nincompoop. Even Tulak Hord wasn't so insufferable and that man actually killed me!"
"You know I am right!" Shouted Nil's spirit from the distance as we left the chamber. Grandpa looked displeased, though I knew that in some way he enjoyed these arguments. He was always quite competetive. I was glad Grandpa Aloysius had someone to talk to. I knew how boring it was to be alone for thousands of years.
We were walking towards grandpa's ritual chamber, the one where I met him for the first time and the one where my master tried to bring our relationship to the next level (bodyjacking). While travelling there, I heard Satine whispering to herself.
"This is ridiculous" she said quietly to no one in particular "there is no way ghosts are real!"
"Where is this arbitrary scepticism coming from?" Replied Leila, apparently quite surprised by that statement "you already fought against the undead. Why would you think that talking with spirits is impossible?"
"That's not the same!" Hissed Satine, clearly not happy with the unwanted response given by Leila.
"The spirit is there" interrupted Maul, speaking for the first time since Landing on the planet. "I can feel his dark presence in the air, slightly bending the reality around it. Echo of the great evil from the past is walking beside us. The stench of corruption follows him " that was... Just wow.
No one really knew how to respond to that statement, making us walk in silence. Why did you make it so awkward Maul?! Shit, grandpa was fidgeting! He probably thought it was his fault! He even started to sniff his ghost armpits to see if he really stinked. It wasn't your fault Grandpa Aloysius! Maul was just edgy for no reason!
After few agonizing minutes of silence, Grandpa intentionally coughed into his fist and spoke, trying to forcibly change the subject.
"So, Adas. What brings you there? I know I am your favourite ancient ancestor in the family, but you were always a very busy youngster, with almost no free time. What made you visit Dormund Kaas again?" He said. I was happy he wanted to continue the conversation despite previous awkwardness, so I answered readily.
"Well, I recently learned that the veil of the dark side would be lifted soon, so I needed a cozy dark side nexus to use the released power for my own ends. Typical sith business" It was nothing crazy, so I hoped I didn't disappoint grandpa. It wasn't anything special, just a redirection of power. Even a toddler could do that. Well, even Tenebrae in the body of the toddler could do that.
"How marvelous!" Grandpa replied, probably trying to be supportive. "To be young again. Dark rituals, wars and betrayals. These were the times. Now I spend my days possessing cultists and worrying about the right wing of the temple collapsing" his own words made him depressed for a second, but he gathered himself, shaking his head. "But enough about me. What is your dastardly plan? How will you use all this power?"
He actually looked quite interested. Well, I was happy to answer that question.
"Nothing fancy, Grandpa. I just need to tear the very Force itself open" Everyone was looking at me. Most of the group didn't understand what that really meant, but Maul was looking at me with open panic, while grandpa became oddly silent after hearing my statement . I repeated this sentence again in my mind. Yeah, it sounded quite bad, didn't it? I decided to reassure them, so they wouldn't fret over it. "Don't worry, I will tear it just a little...and I will close it up after I'm done!"