The "nightmare" in nightmare lands didn't seem to materialize all at once, but instead crept slowly around the traveling party, echoes and whispers of horrendous atrocities intermingling with pleas for help and relief that were both soft and piercingly loud at the same time. It was difficult to classify the sensations in his mind, which was disorienting to the Champion as they traversed through the land of waking horrors(a new title which he would bestow upon the place...sounded more poetic). What made their environment even more disconcerting was that the land itself seemed to entrap them with forest choked trails that hardly allowed for one to see past the first or second row of trees that lined the paths they took. Now and then there would be a clearing, but those clearings featured branching paths that wound in every direction, forcing Yerbol more than once to ask aloud if Voldon knew where he was going. Voldon had ignored the first couple of interrogatives, but upon the third, the Master whipped his head around and glared silently.
That in and of itself was a nightmare.
Thankfully Cheriss was a bit more on the talkative side, breaking he and Aria's shared dread with a brief recounting of what she had endured by coming to these lands herself. Her story sounded like one that needed to be told in a quiet, stress free environment without the potential of demonic spirits(?) derailing them from finding Manus, although he did comment to his spouse that her personality traits made a bit more sense when considering the new piece of information shared. The party lapsed back into silence after the brief interlude from the spirits, which had suddenly become much quieter, so much so that Yerbol could hear their steps crunching on the pebbly earth and fallen leaves.
"That seems...odd." He mumbled, looking to Aria with concern as they reached a square shaped clearing, although this one was different; instead of several circular branching paths, there were three distinct paths, one extending north, east and west. At the beginning of each were stone columns arranged to look like a massive doorway, although one could easily step around the makeshift portal. Maybe there was some kind of symbolic significance behind them? An initiation maybe? Or-
A flicker out of the corner of his right eye. Another.
"Faceless!" He called out, Voldon agreeing by snapping his saber to life just in time to deflect a cloaked blow from an attacker, who suddenly found themselves thrown against the nearest tree, spine cracked in multiple places by the sheer force of Voldon's burst of energy. Yerbol charged to Voldon's side, blocking two blows from a dual wielding Faceless whose eyes glimmered menacingly in the luminescence of their locked sabers. Bending his knees, Yerbol then sprung forward, pushing the attacker backwards before the Champion slashed across and down the torso. As the body hit the ground, he thrust the other end of his saber backwards, the silvery blue blade finding it's once charging target. The brash tactic of running up to a powerful Force user reminded Yerbol once more that Manus had essentially trained an army of suicide squadrons, bodies to throw against his opponents as he played at his own angles to get what he needed.
He needed to be stopped.
But a more immediate concern was a flash of panic darting across his mind, Yerbol surveying the clearing as quickly as he could before finding his wife on her back, attacker viciously attempting to finish her life. He sprinted towards the Faceless, free hand thrusting outward to push the attacker backwards before Aria finishing her off. Helping her back up, he asked:
"Are you hurt?" Her assurances didn't help, especially the last one. He would have to ask her about that when they weren't in a land filled with apparent demonic entities.
Not but a few moments later was there an order barked out to follow Soto, Voldon and Cheriss heading down the path leading directly north of the clearing. With no other option that would lead to a productive outcome, the duo hurried after the Masters as fast as they could despite the increasingly difficult nature of the path. It wound sharply almost every several feet, the decline growing steeper every step forward with seemingly no end in sight to the descent. Whatever natural light they had to guide them previously was diminishing rapidly, replaced by torches glowing dimly that were mounted on the sides of trees that flanked the path. Finally, the duo found themselves on a level path that led straight for a few feet before revealing a massive cave opening that extended at least seventy feet into the air.
"Ari, hold on." His breath coming in labored gasps, he looked forward to find nothing but pitch darkness and absolute, certain quiet.
"Does this..." After taking a deep breath, he finished:
"Does this remind you of the tomb Renso hid out in? Or basically every other place we've had to go t-" When he looked over to Aria, there was something...different. Her eyes. They were...darker? They were almost tainted with a shade of crimson, which was never there before.
"You ok?" He stepped a bit closer to find that her arms were laced with inky black patterns that traced up her arms to her exposed shoulders, running across her chest and torso.
"What..." Her battle gear was different from the norm. Black chestpiece, black pants, crimson colored sabers lit and gripped tightly in each hand. Her gaze bored into him, a sneer crossing her features. That facial expression, one of disdain, arrogance...he hadn't seen that in a long time.
"What are you doing?" He whispered quietly, hands trembling as his saber hilt vibrated. She took a step forward, her normally calming voice taking on a menacing tone:
"I should have ended this a long time ago." Another step.
"One of you died in that tomb and I almost let you drag me down with her. Balance? Harmony?" She titled her head back and cackled, sabers twirling in her readied hands before she continued:
"All this time I let you lead me down a path that my father warned me about. You made me weak, just like you, just like that pathetic excuse of a sister that I so happily destroyed on Korriban."
"This isn't you, Ari, this can't be you."
"Oh but it is! Don't you see this? For the first time in a LONG time I finally realize my potential. Fighting here, in this place has just..." She took a deep breath, imbibing the malevolence around her as she continued:
"Reinvigorated me. Made me see how pathetic the Qyaari, the Masters, YOU are." A sardonic giggle.
"It's time that I end you, to move on from this sham of a life and continue what the Sith Lords had planned for me: absolute and unlimited control of my own destiny!" Her sabers were extended forward as she slowly made her way towards Yerbol.
"No...Ari, please, don't make me fight you!"
"You don't have to fight! Things will be much easier if you don't." Yerbol gripped his saber tightly in hand, blades coming to life. He had to incapacitate her somehow, get her back to normal. If he could.
______
The cavern that Voldon and Cheriss entered was all too familiar to the former, the Master cautioning his colleague in arms:
"Don't know if you came here during your travels, but these caverns are wrought with traps. Not a surprise that Soto brought us down here." They had made their way past the first hundred feet or so of darkness unscathed, Voldon assuring that Cheriss light would be plentiful, his promise coming to fruition when they emerged into a rectangular shaped stone chamber with brightly burning torches and coal baskets lining the walls. More paths stretched in varying direction, but at least they could see what was in front of them.
"The path ahead was the easiest to traverse."
"Don't think you'll make it that far, my dear." Soto's lithe form emerged from the entranceway to their left, a coy smirk crossing her features.
"I've been looking forward to this, you know. Ever since Manus freed me from that hole you buried me in, I've been waiting, watching for the perfect moment to strike you down. A bonus that you brought the old maid with you. Two of you dead will make our job that much easier."
"Get out of our way, Jean. For your own health." A gleeful laugh, Soto pointing to the opposite entranceway where another Soto appeared, the doppleganger retorting:
"This is where your lives end, Qyaari. For good." A third Soto made herself visible ahead of them. A low growl came from the Master's throat, asking Cheriss:
"Which one do you want to kill first?"
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