Chapter 62 – Confrontation

The throne room was spacious, in front of them, locate near the end wall, was a big throne up a flight of stairs, and above the throne, suspended on the wall were depictions of Siths. By the two sides of the huge ominous throne were two stone columns. Before the stairs were bonfires illuminating the room and statues were disposed all over the throne room.

Waiting for them. Standing in the middle of the throne room was a ghostly man emitting a red, malevolent light.

Before they could get a good grasp of the man features, the large door closed behind them with a loud sound.

"It was really predictable."

The flickering lights of the candlelights were illuminating his features; shadowed skin, high cheekbones, haughty eyes, a thin, angry mouth. Long black hair swept across his shoulder, gathered in a ponytail. Padded armor covered his body, and the tattoo of a black sun emblazoned on his skin.

"So here are the intruders who came to kill me. I have to say, I'm surprised to see you well and alive Ood, but the Neti's physiology always had been a topic of wonder."

"Kun, even after your death you persist to live to propagate your darkness over the galaxy."

While the two were engaged in a conversation, the other three were estimating their opponent's strength.

"Well, is she your apprentice? You always took pride in the pureness of your apprentices. As for this one, Nomi's descendant?! I will take great pleasure in ending your bloodline here and now."

Exar Kun was looking at them one by one, interested by master Fay and Vima presence, but his interest grew when he saw Layan.

"What kind of being are you, young man? Even with Freedon Nadd's knowledge and my own experience, I can be certain of what you are."

"I can give you the answer. I am your doom."

Layan wasn't like the others and wanted to start the fight and prevent Kun to prepare himself for the fight.

"Good temper, kid. Do you want to join me? I see that you started to learn the strength of the dark side. With me as your master, you will become unmatchable."

"Shove your double-bladed lightsaber deep into your spectral ass."

Seeing the ugly expression of the dark man made him smile.

"You talk big Kun, but you are weakened so much that a group of force students could kill you."

"Jedi and their arrogance. Don't underestimate my power, Ood."

After telling this, Kun raised his hand and soon, the atmosphere in the room became dark and all of them were separated from the others.

In fact, none of them moved, but only Ood was able to understand it as the other three were unprepared to such a level of illusions.

"I will make them join me, Ood and they will kill you."

Exar Kun launched an onslaught of lightnings at the old Neti. Ood had no problems to block it, but the situation entered a stalemate as he was mostly protecting himself of Exar Kun's offensive as his offensive skills were limited against the ghost.

"If the Jedi skills amount only to this, then I have to say that their ancestors may die once again from shame. Not even able to counter illusions, although they succeed to defend against the sundering of their spirits and body due to their awareness of my presence."

Ood knew perfectly what Kun was talking about, the group was submerged under Kun's illusions weren't able to put up a good fight. This was because of the Siths absence over the last millennia and the lack of worthy opponents made them lacking when confronting a strong force-user.

He taught Vima during his free-time and Layan overwhelming strength in the force was helping him compensate his lack of skills most of the time but Kun is a formidable opponent few could match, even weakened.

"I admit I was taken aback, Sith, but don't laugh the Jedis. We may have lost our knowledge but not our goals and ideals."

The first to snap out of Exar Kun's illusions was Master Fay. Kun's illusion primary goal was to make them fall to the dark side in influencing their judgment and will, but Fay was almost like the embodiment of the light side and soon found a way to counter it.

"Master Ood, I excuse myself for such a shameful display."

Master Fay soon joined the fray and used a skill known as force light made to weaken dark side user, she used the same skill to destroy Kun's illusion affecting her.

From her extended hand emerged a bright and blinding light directed at the spectral form of Exar Kun. The arrival of Fay in the game hindered more the dark lord.

She tried to get Vima out as she was near her, but something was preventing her to get her out. Not Kun, but Vima herself was resisting and protecting the illusion.

Ood focused on defending Fay against Kun's assault while she was weakening him with her skill.

"Devour them."

Kun entered a stalemate with Ood, projecting lightings while Ood was parrying it using Tutaminis. He chuckled when he saw the two jedis and the other two still frozen in his illusions.

At his words, the statues all around the room started to move. They were not just statues, but alchemic creatures. The last protectors of the throne room and fabricated to kill Jedis.

"Alchemic creatures. We need to free them from the illusions or they will be killed."

"Don't worry about me, old man. Took me some time to find the trick, but I'm alright. The problem is Vima, you feel her sorrow like me, she wants to stay in the illusion."

Fay raised a creature who tried to bite her in the air before throwing it at another, heading for Vima while Layan finally got out of the illusion.

Layan had a few problems understanding it as he never confronted someone using illusions in his skill set. It was new for him, Vader and the dogs obeying the Emperor were more lightsaber skills oriented. Inside the illusion, he confronted his fears shown by Exar Kun, but while he may have regrets, he was strong willed and wouldn't fall to a simple illusion.

He tried everything at his disposal before trying Battle Meditation and use it as a way to find Ood, Fay and Vima's mind to get out of the illusion.

Immediately, Layan raised his two yellow lightsaber and started to cut down the statues while Ood was defending them against the ghost. Meanwhile, Fay was protecting Vima against the others.

Ood was hard pressed as the ghost was flying everywhere, disappearing in the wall before reappearing and attacking again his old foe.

"Master Fay, could you use your ability to get Vima out of the illusion?"

"I already tried; she is resisting."

The fight continued for a dozen of minutes where the spirit was using his intangibility to play hide and seek, avoiding the blows before attacking the trio from a blind spot. The alchemic creatures were crafty and make to kill Jedis, so getting rid of them wasn't as easy as killing savage beats.

After cutting and destroying all the alchemical creatures, Fay and Layan were looking at Kun while focusing on their attacks and discussing using telepathy to prevent Kun from hearing their plan.

"Something is strange. If I was in his place, I would have manipulated Vima to stab us in the back. Instead, he tried to kill her, just as he tried to kill us."

"What do you mean?"

"I think he lost control of the illusion and Vima took over, unconsciously making it continue and preventing us to get her out."

Fay and Layan weren't lazing around, they were the strike force while the old master was protecting them. Slowly, the spirit was losing strength under their use of force light, although it was slow.

"Why would she do that?"

"You never heard of Vima's backstory?

He was a bit surprised as he thought that such a story involving the last heir of the Sunrider's bloodline would be famous among jedis.

"I'm not really often between the walls of the temple. Most of the time I'm in the Outer Rim and have better things to do than listening to rumors."

"There is only one reason why Vima would block us and keep herself inside a dream; her daughter. We have only one way to get her out; kill Kun."

"If you have an idea, then share it. At this rhythm we will still be fighting him at nightfall."

At Fay's statement, Layan smiled and knew his answer wouldn't be the best one.

"A wall of light made with three persons."

"The temple may fall on our heads and we will be exhausted. If he survives it, we are dead, and he is free to possess one of us."

"You never asked for a good idea; only an idea."

Ood was starting to tire out in front of the ghost which seem to never tire, and even though he was weakened, his astral form made him even more complicated to beat than when he was alive.

It wasn't that the old dark lord didn't tire; he was at his wit's end and his reserves of energy were almost depleted and he will soon disappear at this rhythm. The difference was that he was giving everything he had as he knows he would most likely die and wanted to take down his old foes with him.

"Let's try it. I can't continue like this all day and Vima will become a weight even more as the fight goes on."

Seeing them channel the force in a way he knew too well, Exar Kun spirit raged and his onslaught of lighting exploded just as was the consumption of the few forces he had.

Ood had to erect a force shield to block it but was now unable to join to create the wall of light as he couldn't let the shield go down.

"We will not be enough to take him down!"

"Don't bother with it, I got this!"

Layan and Fay channeled the force inside them to create the wall of light while Layan was at the same time using force drain to draw the power, they were lacking to bring down Exar Kun for good from Vima and Ood.

The two raised their hand toward Exar Kun's spirit floating in the middle of the room and throwing lightning at Ood.

A shimmering blue light appeared in the air around Kun before transforming into a bright blue halo of energy encompassing the Sith and made him cry in pain and even destroyed the ceiling of the throne room.

The room was shaking, and the ceiling was showing signs of collapse.

The wall of light side energy was a Jedi's most devastating offensive ability. The technique required the collective effort of several participants to form a prison of which the dark side can't escape and those inside were destroyed in flames.

Exar Kun was howling with pain, a pain he never thought he would suffer ever again as his astral body was disappearing, being sterilized by the crushing white side energy encompassing him.

The effects of such an ability were proportional to the number of casters. In the past, the Jedi army used it against Kun and destroyed the surface of Yavin IV, even with the energy of only three peoples, they could easily destroy the temple.

As the ghost and the wall of light disappeared, they all felt the ripple in the force created in the force by the death of such a dreadful man. Not only them, all the galaxy felt it, Jedis or Siths.

Ood was on his knee, tired from the fight and even further by Layan drawing his energy to power the Wall of Light. Vima fell unconscious and laid on the floor. Those in best shape were Fay and Layan, even though powering the Wall of Light did took a toll on them.

"We killed a century year old Sith. We have to drink to celebrate it."

"After a good rest."

Ood said with heavy breathing while looking at the youngster and Fay checking Vima pulse, assuring themselves she was okay.

Meanwhile, on Coruscant, Yoda and all the members of the council were surprised by the ripple they felt in the force as it was extremely strong and disturbed their meditation.

In the Supreme Chancellor's office, Sheev Palpatine, or Dark Sidious for his friend was surprised while discussing with his closest advisors about the Separatist Crisis.