Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or Tales of Demons and Gods. I write for fun, not for profit.

Chapter 1: The Planet of the Twin Suns.

Far away, in a world so far removed from a galaxy far, far away that the inhabitants had never even heard of the Galactic Republic, there was a beautiful city nestled within a valley that was surrounded by what was known as the St. Ancestral Mountain Range. Glory City was its name, and it was home to numerous families and clans who had banded together for survival against the various demon beasts that routinely attacked its inhabitants. For millennia, it had been the greatest bastion of hope for the majority of humanity who were born within the realm known as the 'Tiny World', more commonly referred to as the Divine Continent.

For generations, the citizens of Glory City lived in fear and worry of the next horde of demon beasts that would descend upon their homes. A great many of them spent the majority of their time training their bodies and spirits to combat the beasts. Others specialized in the art of alchemy, doing their best to create pills and elixirs that could be used to increase the efficacy of training and healing. Others still focused on more scholarly endeavors, either to unveil secrets of previous empires that might benefit their families or to practice the art of inscriptions.

Several decades ago, however, everything changed. A young man sparked a revolution in how the residents of Glory City saw their world. Through his efforts, the various techniques taught in the Holy Orchid Institute, where the younger generations were taught the basics of cultivation and worked toward becoming Demon Spiritualists or Fighters, had much greater results. His work with the Alchemy Association gave birth to numerous pill recipes that increased everyone's cultivation by unfathomable amounts, and his insights into inscription allowed blacksmiths and armorers to craft the highest quality arms and armors that had been seen in recent history.

His legend was well-known, and the respect he'd earned due to his hard work and teachings made him the most beloved man since Glory City's establishment.

"Stupid old man," a young voice muttered softly. The young man who'd uttered it was lying down on a stone bench next to a small koi pond within his family's large manor. "All he does is yell and scold me for not reaching Silver rank, let alone Gold rank like my brothers and sisters." He scoffed. "What's the rush, anyway? I only just turned 13, and it's not like he was any better at my age."

"Maybe not when he'd just turned 13," an amused voice said from behind him, causing him to freeze in fright, "but he reached beyond Legend rank before he turned 14. And while you certainly have the potential to do the same, until you start putting in the effort it won't matter how talented you are, my son."

"Mother!", the young man cried out as he shot to his feet. He was just shy of 5' tall with his mother's black hair falling just over ear length that he kept in a topknot, leaving only a few locks free to frame his face. His eyes were light blue, like his father's, and he was dressed in simple training clothes in a faded black. "When did you get back?!", he asked somewhat nervously.

"Oh, just a short while ago," Xiao Ning'er said with a bemused smile as she reached down to cup her son's cheek before pulling him in for a gentle embrace. "Long enough to hear your comments regarding your father, though."

"Hehehe." He was even more nervous now. One of the few things that could get his mother to scold him without fail was his complaining about his father. "I was just venting?" He started to relax a bit when he heard her soft laughter and leaned into her embrace once more. "I've missed you."

"And I've missed you too, my Shen'er," she replied a little wistfully. He knew how much she hated having to travel to the Draconic Ruins Realm to visit the Heavenly Note Sect where she'd once been a student. While the portal no longer took five years to open, it did take several months. Not to mention, only Shen's oldest sister, Miu, had reached the appropriate level of cultivation to accompany their parents, which necessitated leaving the younger children behind. "How far has your cultivation come, hmm?"

Shen did his best to not pout as he looked away. "I'm still at 5-star Bronze rank," he muttered softly.

"And have you been having difficulty with your cultivation technique?", she asked. It was a very pertinent question, as he was the only member of his family to not inherit their mothers' soul realm, form, or attribute. Instead, he'd inherited his father's colorless soul realm, neutral soul attribute, and disordered soul form, which meant he was also the only member of his family to practice his father's cultivation technique. He shook his head in response.

"No, Mother, it's not that. I still have Father's notes, along with all of the pills and elixirs in my rings that you and Father gave me on my last birthday." Left unsaid was that all of his father's children received the same gift when they turned 13. Enough resources, along with a personalized cultivation technique and at least two matching demon spirits to go with it, to help them reach as far as the Heavenly Fate Realm. "It's just…what's the point?" He could feel her gaze down at him. "Father already ensured the safety of the Divine Continent, so why do we need to focus so much of our time gaining strength?"

She remained silent for a moment, absently running her hand through his hair and ensuring he'd have to put it back up in a topknot later. "Something that you won't fully understand until you have children of your own is the depths a parent will go to protect their family," she finally answered softly. "Your father has a…troubled past." Shen looked up at her in confusion. "Something he'll have to tell you himself once he feels you're ready to understand. But it's what's molded him into who and what he is today, it's what drives him, even now, to improve himself." Her soft brown eyes met his light blue. "His greatest fear is losing those closest to him, and he knows that the best way to protect each of you is to ensure you have everything you need to grow strong on your own. Strong enough that you'll always be able to overcome your own challenges, or escape with your life intact, at least."

Bowing his head down again, Shen thought about what his mother was trying to tell him. It wasn't long before she patted his shoulder and turned to leave the small garden he'd been relaxing in.

"Come along, Shen'er. We're going to have a family meal tonight before your eldest siblings take you out to some of the nearby ruins in the morning," Xiao Ning'er called out over her shoulder. She chuckled softly at his excited exclamation as he rushed past her, most likely heading to his room to wash up and get changed before dinner.

-=Break=-

The next morning was filled with excitement in the Nie household. Shen, along with his brothers and sisters, was preparing everything for their expedition to the Ancient Orchid City Ruins. It was a place they'd all visited before, but this was the first time that their parents wouldn't be coming along with them. Instead, Nie Miu and Nie Fei, Nie Shen's eldest siblings, would be in charge. Considering that Miu and Fei were each at the Heavenly Star rank in their cultivations ensured that they'd all be safe. Especially since the greatest threat that they should be dealing with would be Silver ranked demon beasts, primarily Fox Bears and Giant Blue Armed Apes.

It shouldn't have taken them long to prepare things, considering they all had interspatial rings that had been gifted by their parents filled with their cultivation resources. Interspatial rings that were large enough to fit all of their possessions and then some. No, what was taking so long was the fact that they'd each been given permission to borrow something from the family armory for the trip, and the youngest among them (like Shen) were having trouble deciding what they wanted.

"Have you even started training with a sword?", Nie Lu asked. He was Shen's older half-brother and, like Nie Fei, sported his mother's signature purple hair. It was a Ye family trait, it seemed.

Nie Shen shrugged. "Father's given me a few lessons on the basics and said I was good enough to not hurt myself at least," he responded as he looked over the various swords that their family had accumulated over the years. "I'm nowhere near ready to start studying the Doa of the Sword, but using it for basic protection should be fine."

Nie Lu snorted but didn't comment further as he reached out to grab one of the Dark Gold ranked spears. He'd proved to be a natural with polearms and had routinely shown that he could fight Legend ranked Demon Spiritualists, despite his cultivation being 4-Star Gold rank, if he was permitted his chosen weapon. "Just remember, don't take a weapon that's too much higher ranked than you are," he reminded his half-sibling.

Nie Shen just nodded along before selecting a Silver ranked jian. Or, rather, the hilt of a Silver ranked jian. As soon as he picked it up, his eyes lit up in excitement. "A spirit weapon?", he whispered. He injected some of his soul force into the handle and grinned when an ethereal blue blade appeared. "This is perfect!", he exclaimed softly as he placed the weapon in his ring. He quickly ran over to look at some of the armor available and grabbed some basic vambraces and greaves, Silver ranked, that he slipped over his hands and strapped to his shins and calves. Glancing in the mirror, he grinned at his reflection.

Black hair pulled back into a topknot? Check. Light gray travel clothes? Check. Matt gray armor? Check. Looking like a badass on his first real adventure? Double-check!

"You ready, Shen?", his oldest sister asked, her black hair pulled back into a loose ponytail, much like their mother did when traveling. Like him, she was also wearing simple travel clothes, though hers were dark blue and she had a black cloak wrapped around her shoulders.

"You bet, Miu!", he replied excitedly. He'd been looking forward to the day their parents would let them explore on their own for a while now.

Nie Miu laughed as she pulled him into a one-armed hug. "Then let's get going, alright?" She turned him around so they could follow the other five siblings going on this trip. As soon as they'd left the gates of the family manor, all seven of them waved goodbye to their parents before sprinting out into the city, heading toward the southern gate of Glory City at a speed that all of them could maintain for hours without difficulty. Shen grumbled at the fact that everyone was babying him, but it was his own fault for not taking his training seriously enough to reach 1-Star Silver rank yet so he could integrate one of the demon spirits and increase his physical abilities severalfold.

Going at his pace meant that the journey to the Ancient Orchid City Ruins ended up taking four days. Four days away from Glory City, and four days away from his usual routine. Shen loved every minute of it! He loved it even more when Nie Miu and Nie Fei both called out to the rest of the siblings to let them know about a nest of Giant Blue Armed Apes nearby and asked if anyone would like to test out their abilities against them.

Nie Shen double-checked his armor before calling out his spirit weapon from his ring and injecting his soul force into it. When Nie Miu nodded at him, he felt pride at her acceptance before focusing on the beasts before them.

None of them looked to have spiritually awakened, which was fine, as fighting against three of them would be challenging enough. Closing his eyes momentarily, he took several deep breaths as he planned how to do this. As young and inexperienced as he was in actual combat, he was the son of Nie Li and Xiao Ning'er, two of the strongest Demon Spiritualists to have ever lived along with Ye Ziyun, his other parent. As much as he'd slacked off on his cultivation training, he'd not done the same when it came to the physical side of things.

His eyes flashed open as he surged forward, his soul force imbuing his entire body with power to increase his strength, speed, reflexes, and awareness. His first slash took the three beasts by surprise, cutting the tendons in the nearest one's legs before he continued to the farthest one in the clearing. He ducked under the enraged ape's fist as it slammed down on the ground, sliding between its legs as he slashed twice more in succession, once more cutting the tendons in the legs, followed by cutting off the beast's tail. More enraged roars quickly followed.

In a space of less than five minutes, Nie Shen systematically debilitated his foes before committing himself to lethal attacks. He knew that any of the Demon Beasts in front of him were strong enough to kill him if he wasn't careful, which is why he'd taken a more cautious approach to ensure his survival. By the time he'd slashed the final beast's throat, he was breathing heavily. Not from the exertion, he still had plenty of strength and energy, but from the mental strain of keeping his focus on each and every action he took. He almost forgot his siblings were there when he heard the cheers of excitement and approval from them as they entered the clearing.

"Well done, brother!" Nie Lu cried out as he threw his arm around Nie Shen's shoulder and grinned. "Not only did you handle them so well that they never touched you, you didn't even get a speck of blood on you either!"

Nie Fei was the next to approach, his own smile just as cheerful as Lu's. "Indeed. Well done, Shen. It would seem that you've inherited Father's knack with a sword." There was no jealousy or hidden meaning in his words, just pride for a family member.

Nie Miu was the next to join them, pulling him away from Lu's grasp as she looked him over to verify that he hadn't come to any harm. Once she'd confirmed that, she pulled him into a tight embrace. "I'm proud of you," she whispered in his ear.

More than anything else his other siblings said before or after, that comment made him smile.

-=Break=-

The ruins were everything Nie Shen expected them to be, considering it wasn't his first time seeing them. He was just excited to explore without his parents looking over his shoulder the entire time.

They'd all heard stories about the excursion their father and mother (one of them) had gone on with their 'uncle', Chen Linjian as children and how they'd been separated from the main group, only to discover a hidden entrance to the treasure vault that the expedition had been seeking to begin with. Father had always laughed about how it had been the start of his relationship with Ye Ziyun, though Mother always disagreed and reminded him that her first true interaction had been at the institute library, where he'd taught her a new cultivation technique and showed off his knowledge of inscriptions.

His own mother would then speak fondly of how their father had saved her life in the academy by teaching her how to deal with a disease she had suffered through due to her training efforts, and how he'd then proceeded to give her a cultivation technique as well.

What all of the boys learned from those stories was that to pick up girls, all they needed to do was teach them awesome cultivation techniques to win them over. All the girls, on the other hand, just thought how romantic their parents' stories were.

It wasn't until the final day before they planned to head back that it happened. They'd just finished breaking down their tents and putting most of their supplies away. Nie Fei had found a spot nearby on one of the roofs to cultivate with some of the spiritual stones he'd collected from the Draconic Ruins Realm, leaving Nie Miu to mind everyone else. Nie Lu had pulled out his spear and was going through various katas, and Nie Shen had stepped away to find a quiet corner to finally sit down and see if he could break through and become a Silver ranked Demon Spiritualist. He didn't want to hold everyone back on the trip home.

He'd been cultivating for almost an hour when it occurred. At first, he thought that he'd done it, that he'd finally broken through as he felt the tremors begin. When the expected euphoria he associated with an increase of his soul force didn't follow, he opened his eyes and frowned, only for his eyes to immediately widen in alarm as the entire ruins were trembling from some sort of earthquake.

"What's going on!", he cried out as he sprinted as fast as his trembling legs could carry him back to where his siblings were, cursing himself for going so far away before he started cultivating. He'd just broken through into the clearing when the earth beneath him shuddered and gave way.

For a moment, everything seemed to freeze. His siblings all looked over to where he stood, eyes wide in alarm and fright. Miu had already jumped into the air toward him, Fei had pulled everyone else up into the sky in his transformed Ice Dragon state, and Lu was calling out to him, holding his other siblings back so they didn't fall. Then, time moved tragically slow as he descended into the darkness as it seemed to swallow him whole, just a hair faster than Miu could move to grab him and pull him up to safety. The last thing he saw was horror and guilt on his eldest sister's face as the darkness engulfed him.

-=Break=-

It was a distraught and guilt-ridden group that returned to the Nie family manor in Glory City the next day. The eldest children had carried the rest in their transformed states as quickly as they could to reach home in the hopes that their parents could do something for their brother. Xiao Ning'er collapsed at the news, her sister-wife doing what she could to comfort and console her as Nie Li vanished in an instant to investigate what had occurred. He didn't come back for three days, and his grim expression was enough to confirm their fears.

"He's still alive," he told his family, which gave them some level of comfort. "The connection I have with each of my children tells me that he's still alive and well." He pulled his eldest daughter into a gentle embrace. She'd been near inconsolable since her return, blaming herself for not reaching her brother in time to save him. "I'll be heading to the Skysoul Institue in the morning to confer with some of the elders there. We'll find him, Miu. We'll find him and bring him home safely."

"It's all my fault…", she cried softly into his chest, tears running down her cheeks and soaking his shirt. He just tightened his embrace.

"It's nobody's fault, Miu'er. You couldn't have known something like this would happen, and from everything you've said you did your best to reach him in time." He pulled back enough to place a hand under her chin to lift her face up enough so he could look her in the eyes. "You did your best, and that's all a parent could ever ask or expect of their child."

If anything, his words made her cry harder, but this time it was without the wracking guilt she'd been carrying for the past several days. He looked up at his wives, speaking without words like parents so often do, before pulling his daughter in for one final embrace. Her mother stepped forward, her own tears trailing down her cheek, tears that Nie Li gently wiped away before kissing her forehead and turning to go to his office. He needed to start gathering up as many books as he could on spatial phenomena to take with him. The more information they had available, the faster they could get his son home.

-=Break=-

Nie Shen sat up with a groan. He ached all over, though a quick check confirmed that he didn't have any visible injuries. Once he was done with that, he began to look at his surroundings.

He was in the desert, which was surprising. His parents had told him of the Endless Desert outside the St. Ancestral Mountain Range, and what had happened the last time they'd gone there. With a sigh, he stood up and stretched out to loosen his aching muscles a bit before pulling out a canteen from his ring and taking several sips. He had plenty of rations to last him for a while, and more than enough water to satisfy his needs, but he had no desire to stay in the desert any longer than absolutely necessary. He tried to recall what direction Glory City would be in as he looked up at the sun to confirm the time and cardinal directions to help him along his way only to freeze at the sight in front of him.

He'd found the sun. In fact, he'd found two of them. He blinked several times before rubbing his eyes to make sure he didn't have anything in them. Looking up again, he was met with the same sight as before. Two suns sitting in the sky.

"What the…"

He fainted moments later.

The second time he came to, it was to the sound of footsteps approaching through the desert sand. It took him a few moments to recall where he was, which led to him bolting upright as he sat on the sandy ground just as the people who'd been approaching him got close enough to speak.

"Hello, friend. Are you alright?", the oldest member of the group asked in a calm tone. One he instinctively knew he could trust for some reason. Then he looked at the man's companions, causing him to shoot to his feet and stare at one of them in shock.

"Demon!", he cried out as he pointed at the long-eared individual with red skin and a large, elongated mouth.

"How rude!", the 'demon' replied as he took a step back. "Meesa no 'deemon'! Meesa Jar Jar Binks!"

Nie Shen stared at the creature, his hand still outstretched accusingly at 'Jar Jar' for a moment before he turned his head to the gentleman who'd spoken to him originally. "Not a demon?"

If anything, the man seemed amused. "Certainly not, young man. Jar Jar is a Gungan, one of the indigenous sentients of the planet Naboo."

Shen decided the man meant 'realm' by that and nodded once, relaxing slightly before looking over the rest of the party. Ignoring the Gungan (whatever that was), he took note of the pretty girl, about his age, who seemed both amused and annoyed at his antics, and the golem that was following behind. He wondered which of them had created the golem, and why it looked so strange.

"Back to my original question. Are you alright?", the man asked again, causing Shen to refocus on him once more. He seemed to be middle-aged, maybe slightly older than that, with graying brown hair that fell to his shoulders and a full beard that was well-groomed. He wore simple traveling clothes and a small cloak to protect himself from the wind and sand, unlike his companions.

"...I'm not sure," Shen admitted after a moment. He looked around the desert. "I don't suppose you know where we are?"

The man frowned at the question. "We're outside the settlement of Mos Espa," he stated, as if that explained anything. "My companions and I were heading in that direction if you'd care to join us."

Not having any better options, Shen nodded in acceptance. "I'd appreciate that. I'm Nie Shen, by the way."

The man smiled at him. "I am Qui-Gon Jinn. You've met Jar Jar already, and this is Padmé, along with our droid, R2-D2."

Shen filed away the term droid, assuming the man was referring to the type of golem accompanying them. "It's a pleasure to meet you all," he replied with a polite bow, clasping his hands together as he did so.

It didn't take long to walk to the settlement Qui-Gon said was their destination. The entire trip the man asked questions about him, where he was from, and what he was doing out in the desert. It quickly became clear that the man was not all that happy with the answers. Or, rather, the lack of them.

"I'm sorry, sir, I don't know how I got here. I was camping with my siblings one moment, and the next thing I knew I woke up where you found me." Left unsaid was anything to do with the strange darkness that he recalled swallowing him whole.

"And you come from a planet called the Tiny World?", Qui-Gon asked in confusion. Shen nodded.

"Yes, also referred to as the Divine Continent," he confirmed. "I've spent my entire life there."

"What's it like there?", Padmé asked. It was the first time she'd spoken to him since he'd joined the group. He took a moment before replying.

"My home was within Glory City, the last bastion of humanity within the Divine Continent until just a few decades ago. For centuries, millennia even, people lived in fear of the Demon Beasts that routinely laid siege against the walls," he answered. "They trained to fight against the beasts and protect their homes and families. Generation after generation, the city grew, the people increased their strength, and the Demon Beasts did their best to annihilate them."

"That sounds horrible!", Padmé exclaimed in horror. Shen noted Qui-Gon nodding in agreement, though Jar Jar seemed to be ignoring the conversation completely.

He shrugged. "It is what it is," he replied. "My parents ended that threat. Sure, the Demon Beasts are still there, but they're no longer a major concern to us."

"Oh?", the older man stated curiously. Shen nodded his head.

"My parents are the strongest warriors among our people, my father especially, and he taught many people how to increase their strength to the point that the majority of our guards could almost single-handedly protect our people," he answered the unspoken question.

Qui-Gon looked at him for a moment. "He sounds like a good man," he finally said.

Nie Shen frowned as he nodded. "He is," he admitted, leaving it at that.

They'd arrived at Mos Espa by that point, and Padmé explained that they'd come here in the hopes of finding a way to repair their ship. For a moment, Shen wondered why they were trying to sail a ship in the middle of the desert. Then he heard something above them and looked up, his eyes going wide at the sight of vessels flying in the air. He watched in wonder as some of them flew around the city, while others rose higher and higher into the sky before vanishing from sight.

That's when it hit him that he was farther from home than he'd originally thought, a sentiment that filled him with equal amounts of trepidation and excitement. For the first time in his life, he was on a true adventure, like the ones his parents had told him over the years. An adventure all his own.

He couldn't wait to see where it took him!

-=Break=-

End Chapter 1.

AN: Hello everyone, and welcome to the beginnings of a new story from the strangeness that is my mind. This time it's a crossover between Star Wars, beginning with the prequels, and Tales of Demons and Gods, a Chinese light novel and manhua written by Mad Snail. For those of you who've never heard of it, check it out. It's an amazing story!

That being said, a lot of what's talked about in this chapter (with cultivation and ranks) will not make much sense unless you have read TDG or fanfictions based on it. So, to sum it up as succinctly as possible without spoiling things, I'll focus on the basics.

The protagonist is Nie Li who wakes up in his 13-year-old body after centuries of training and preparation to fight against a being known as the Sage Emporer ended in his (Nie Li's) death. He had an artifact called the Temporal Demon Spirit Book that he attributes his miraculous reincarnation to, though he has since lost said artifact. His goals focus on gaining strength through any means necessary (though he avoids anything he finds morally repugnant) and protecting his friends and family by giving them the necessary means to gain their own strength.

Cultivation is the method used to train the spiritual side of things, while physical training tempers the body. Unlike chakra from Naruto, they are completely separate, though having a stronger spirit does aid in training the body (and vice-versa). Cultivators are further separated between Demon Spiritualists and Fighters. Fighters are those who either failed to strengthen their spirits sufficiently to become Demon Spiritualists or those who opted to focus completely on just the physical aspects (consider Lee vs. Neji from Naruto). For the most part, it's an accepted rule that a Fighter needs to be a full tier higher than a Demon Spiritualist if they want any chance of beating them. As for ranks, they go as follows:

Bronze (ranging from 1-5 'stars')

Silver

Gold

Dark Gold

Legend/Demigod (will be explained if/when it comes up in the story)

These are considered the 'Earthly' tiers. Next, come the 'Heavenly' tiers:

Heavenly Fate (ranging from 1-9 'fate souls')

Heavenly Star

Heavenly Axis

Dao of Dragon

Martial Ancestor

Deity

Emperor

Supreme

The difference between Demon Spiritualists and Fighters starts to come into play at Silver rank, as that's when a cultivator's soul is strong enough to 'integrate' a Demon Beast's spirit within themselves, allowing them to draw upon that spirit's power and boost their strength while also giving them a physical form reflecting they type of Demon Beast they'd integrated.

If you have any questions, read the light novel (or the manhua) or look up the wiki.

Anyway, that ends the long AN. Sorry for the info dump! As always, comments and reviews are welcome!

-Phail