Several Hours after the destruction of the Republic fleet
"My Lord, we have completed the cleanup of the area." Reported a Commander. "The reinforcements are continuously being brought through the gate alongside the relevant supplies and equipment."
Daimon nodded hearing the report. Since Tython was exposed now, there was no need to hide their presence. So, he ordered the immediate deployment of 10 million soldiers to Tython, the construction of a planetary shield, and several ground to space weapons.
Having a fleet come so deep into Republic territory would be stupid considering how fast they could reinforce compared to the Imperium. Instead, they will focus on defending the ground and protecting the planet from the surface.
The moons of Tython, both Ashla and Bogan had unfortunately fallen to the Republic. But that wasn't much of a concern as Daimon never had much of an interest in the moons and having too many forces in the system would have revealed their presence.
So, the only thing they had on the two moons were a few thousand war droids and some outposts which if lost wouldn't have any effect on them at all. But just the fact that the Republic took control of them was not something that Daimon was fond of.
"Have the planetary shield set up first. Then have the engineers come and strip down the hundreds of Republic ships and use those parts to construct ground-to-orbit defense platforms. I want this planet turned into a fortress over the next year."
"Yes, My Lord," the commander acknowledged before departing to relay the orders.
Walking past him, Guardian Kael approached, his armor still scorched from the battle. "Most of the Republic forces around the planet have surrendered after seeing their own ships fall from the sky. Some were even killed by them in the process."
"As they should" replied Daimon. "Since they surrendered, I'll be lenient and just imprison them. But those that try to fight back from this moment on will be executed on the spot." he turned and glared at Guardian Kael to make sure that he got the message.
Guardian Kael was a little shocked at first as he had never seen the emperor be this serious before. He had heard that the emperor was angry with the Republic for starting the war, but he didn't know just how angry he was until several hours ago.
"It will be done, My Lord," Guardian Kael replied.
"Good, now I will take my leave. I have to pay an important visit to the Jedi High Council" was all Daimon said as he vanished right in front of Guardian Kael who looked around in confusion.
An Empyrean Guard approached seeing the confused Guardian Kael. "Don't worry Guardian. The emperor will return after he finishes his business with the Jedi." Guardian Kael nodded and returned to finish carrying out his duties.
On Ossus, within the Jedi Temple's High Council chamber, Grandmaster Turrick sat in meditation alongside the other Council members. They had received Admiral Korvin's distress signal hours ago, followed by complete communications blackout from the Tython system. The silence was what terrified them the most as it could possibly reveal that the Imperium could reach anywhere within the Republic within hours.
"I felt a powerful presence within the Force during the distress signal. This might have been caused by several powerful Balance Keepers or Daimon himself." said Grandmaster Turrick to the other Council members.
"It would be more realistic to believe that several powerful Balance Keepers banded together to pull of whatever it is that they did." voiced a Master.
"Hopefully they get back into contact with us. We have 10,000 Jedi Knights and Master on the ground to take back Tython which is historically important to us. I don't know we abandoned it so long ago, but this time I hope to rebuild it into a great temple." explained Grandmaster Turrick.
The other Jedi Masters agreed that they were also eager to see Tython and what it would become in the near future. But as they were talking, they felt a powerful force in the presence so overwhelming that several of the younger Council members couldn't believe what they felt.
Standing in front of the temple, Daimon took in the view of the sky and Temple. "It's been a long time since I was here" said Daimon to himself.
As he was reminiscing about the past, the Jedi who were always made aware of his appearance began to surround him. The temple guards took the lead and formed a circle around him while the other Jedi Knights and Masters positioned themselves behind the temple guards.
Daimon allowed them to form up around him for a few seconds before he turned his attention back to the gathered Jedi. "Is this everyone," he taunted looking at the dozens of Jedi around him.
"Surrender now and face Justice while you still can." Voiced a random Jedi, believing that the Republic or Jedi High Council would give him an ounce of justice.
"Ha! You guys are so stupid. I think I will do the galaxy justice by killing a few." he said as the Jedi tried to put up their sabers to block whatever attack he was about to do.
Daimon put both of his hands together and created a sphere of force lightning which he combined with his lightsaber. The force lightning combined with the saber and swung at the Jedi in front of him.
Following the saber was a wave of force lightning that spread outward in an arc, catching the temple guards in its attack. Their lightsabers and armor offered no protection against the power of force lightning.
The guards screamed for a few moments as the electricity coursed through their bodies. Their screams echoed across the temple courtyard before they collapsed, smoke rising from their charred bodies.
The Jedi Knights behind them barely had time to react before Daimon was already moving. He appeared in their midst through Force-enhanced speed that made him seem to teleport. He cut down three Jedi in a single swing, their bodies falling before their minds could register what had happened.
"Protect the Council!" a Jedi Master shouted, rallying the survivors. "Form defensive positions!"
But defensive positions meant nothing against Daimon. He moved through their formations so fast that Jedi who had trained for decades found their techniques to be useless against someone who had mastered the Force at a level they couldn't comprehend.
One brave Master attempted to engage him directly, calling upon the Force to enhance his speed and strength. Daimon caught the Jedi's lightsaber with his bare hand, the blade dissipating against his Force-infused skin. The Master's eyes widened in shock before Daimon crushed the lightsaber hilt and drove his own blade through the Jedi's chest.
More Jedi poured out from the temple's entrance, but they were running toward their deaths. Daimon raised his free hand and unleashed a Force wave that sent dozens flying backward into the temple walls with bone-crushing force. The stone had cracked from the impacts and shook the building itself.
Inside the Council chamber, Grandmaster Turrick stood up abruptly. "The temple is under attack. All Masters, with me!"
The Council members rushed from their chamber, but when they reached the courtyard, they found nothing but death. Bodies of Jedi lay scattered across the grounds, and at the center stood Daimon, his eyes glowing white with golden rims.
"Daimon!" Grandmaster Turrick called out, igniting his lightsaber. "This ends now!"
"Does it?" Daimon replied as he raised his hand in the air and created a Force Storm which enveloped the entirety of the planet. The destruction that had begun because of the storm would prevent other temples from making to the main temple.
(Force Storm Image)
The Masters looked up in shock at what they were seeing.
"You started a war based on lies, sent your Knights to attack our sacred world, and now you're surprised when I respond?"
"You have corrupted the Force itself!" another Council member shouted. "Your heretical teachings poison everything they touch!"
Daimon laughed, then reached towards the person who spoke and consumed his life force, leaving him falling to the lifelessly to the ground.
"Since you have painted be as a demonic tyrant, I have no choice but to show you how much mercy I have shown the Jedi Order." Daimon launched a Force wave attack at them, but the Masters managed to block it.
Grandmaster Turrick and the remaining Council members spread out, attempting to flank Daimon from multiple angles. Their coordination was impressive, the result of decades of mastery in the Force, but it was meaningless when they practiced such a basic understanding of the Force.
Master Yarael Poof attempted to use illusion techniques to confuse Daimon's senses, creating multiple false images of himself. Daimon didn't even look in his direction before extending his consciousness and crushing his brain from the inside. The Master collapsed instantly, his neck folding awkwardly as his body hit the ground.
"He's reading our thoughts before we act!" Master Kuro Saal realized too late, attempting to empty his mind of intention. Daimon appeared behind him, his lightsaber emerging through his chest before he could even turn around.
Grandmaster Turrick watched as his Council fell one by one. The power difference wasn't just significant, it was absolute. Every technique they employed, every strategy they attempted, Daimon countered as if he'd written the manual on their fighting styles himself.
"You claim to be a god," Turrick said, "But gods don't murder those who oppose them."
"Don't they?" Daimon replied, deflecting a strike from Master Vrook Lamar and responding with a Force push that sent the elderly Master crashing through a stone pillar. "Your own Jedi texts are filled with tales of Force wielders who shaped civilizations and destroyed those who threatened balance. The difference is that I don't hide behind false humility."
Master Vrook struggled to rise from the rubble, his ribs clearly broken. "The Order... will endure... beyond you..."
"Will it?" Daimon waved his hand, and the temple itself began to shake. Cracks started to spread across the structure as he channeled the Force through the foundations. "This temple has stood for thousands of years. Watch as I erase it in mere moments."
"Stop!" Grandmaster Turrick shouted, abandoning his attack stance. "Destroying the temple serves no purpose!"
"It serves the same purpose as your attack on Tython. You wanted to erase what we built there, to claim it as your own. Consider this my mercy."
The remaining Council members formed a protective circle around Turrick, their lightsabers raised in a final defensive position. There were only five of them left now, and they all bore injuries from their brief engagement.
"We can negotiate," Turrick offered, desperation creeping into his voice. "End this assault, and we'll discuss terms."
Daimon lowered his lightsaber for a moment in disbelief. "Terms? Ha! You fabricated evidence to justify a war, sent armies to destroy my people, and now you want terms?" He paused giving them a false sense of hope. "Very well. Here are my terms: YOUR IMMEDIATE ERADICATION!" he yelled and launched a powerful force lightning attack at the remaining Masters.
They had no chance to dodge and was struck by the force lightning killing them almost instantly. However, before he was hit, Grandmaster Turrick denied the will of the Force and turned himself into a Force ghost.
He looked around him and saw that he was standing in the place he had died. He then looked up at Daimon who stood still with his eyes closed. "How can so much power exist within a single person." he said out loud thinking that nobody could hear him.
So, he was surprised when Daimon responded. "Because I willed it." replied Daimon as he opened his eyes and looked directly at the ghost of Grandmaster Turrick.
"I told you I was going to eradicate you. It doesn't matter what form you take. So long as you continue to exist, I can see you." Daimon raised his hand reaching out with the Force.
Grandmaster Turrick didn't think anything of it as he didn't believe that Daimon could touch him as a ghost. But he was wrong.
His body froze in place, and he felt a pain that kept increasing. "What are you doing!" he screamed.
"I told you. I will eradicate you which includes your entire existence." replied Daimon as he began to use his understanding of the Cosmic and Living Force to erase Grandmaster Turrick's soul.
The Force ghost of Grandmaster Turrick began to fade, not peacefully as one would expect from a Jedi's passing into the Cosmic Force, but violently. His spectral form flickered and distorted as if reality itself was rejecting his existence.
The pain he felt transcended physical sensation, touching something fundamental to his very being.
"Please..." Turrick's voice echoed weakly. "This power... it's unnatural..."
"Natural. Unnatural. These are concepts created by limited minds trying to understand forces beyond their comprehension." Daimon's hand clenched tighter, and Turrick's form began fragmenting. "The Force is neither good nor evil, light nor dark. It simply is. And I have learned to manipulate it in ways your Order never dared to explore because you were too afraid of what you might find."
With a final gesture, Daimon severed Turrick's connection to the Cosmic Force entirely. The Grandmaster's spirit didn't disperse or join with the Force as Jedi believed happened after death. Instead, it simply ceased to exist, erased from the fabric of reality as though he had never been born.
The temple courtyard fell silent. Bodies of Jedi Masters and Knights lay scattered across the ground, and the temple itself continued to break apart from the damage Daimon had inflicted. In the distance, the Force Storm he had summoned raged across Ossus, preventing any reinforcements from arriving and causing destruction to the planet.
Just as he had arrived on Ossus, he left it the same way, fully in control of his emotions. He had done what he needed to disrupt things within the Jedi Order. Now all he needed to do was win the war.
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A/N: I know we don't get to see much of Daimon's abilities besides a few scenes here and there, so I can tell you that you can expect to see a few throughout the war.
Also thanks for the recent support I will try to maintain this daily upload schedule or at least once every two days for the near future.