A few weeks later
The war had escalated beyond the Republic's worst projections. Entire Mid-Rim sectors had become battle zones as Sith fleets pressed deeper toward the Core. Republic counteroffensives had stabilized several fronts, but only barely, and much of that stability rested upon the sudden influx of Imperial volunteers and equipment now arriving in massive numbers.
On Corellia, millions of freshly equipped Republic troops marched beside towering Gen'Dai and other Imperial veterans carrying Imperial-pattern heavy rifles and wearing black composite armor unfamiliar to most Republic citizens. But what they did recognize was the Imperial flag and the Republic flag on the shoulders of the soldiers which officially showed them as volunteer soldiers.
This sight alone had become a symbol across the holonet as Republic and Imperial citizens bonded over the holonet. Imperial citizens expressed their own dislike of the Sith and their ways and supported the Republic, very openly in the fight.
Though, there were some who also supported the Sith, but those people were much smaller than the one who supported the Republic.
The Sith responded to this with the first deployment of a Ravager Platform that targeted Belsavis. Belsavis is a prison world that possesses several major Republic fleet depots hidden beneath its frozen surface, and the Sith had decided to make an example of it.
The Ravager Platform had emerged from hyperspace escorted by two Sith battle groups. Republic forces stationed in orbit attempted interception immediately, but the Platform's shielding proved vastly stronger than expected.
Not soon after the engagement, the Ravager Platform fired a crimson beam from orbit that struck the northern continent on the planet. Entire mountain ranges evaporated within seconds.
The planetary atmosphere destabilized almost immediately afterward, triggering continent-wide storms, seismic ruptures, and volcanic eruptions that consumed dozens of Republic installations beneath the surface.
Even now, casualty estimates were still climbing. Current projections sat at nearly two hundred million dead or missing. The footage spread across the galaxy within hours, causing mass panic.
Several outer Republic worlds opened negotiations with the Sith almost immediately afterward, hoping surrender would spare them the same fate.
Others began demanding increased military protection from Coruscant. And through all of it, the Sith advance continued.
———
Meanwhile, on the planet Yoggoy, the Son had already subjugated the Killik Hives and was beginning to use them to build fleets and orbital structures while expanding the Hives.
Yoggoy was located in the Unknown Regions of the galaxy, specifically, the parts that had yet to be explored by the Imperium or any other faction. But unlike the other parts of the Unknown Regions, Yoggoy was artificially isolated by the Father to keep the Killik's a secret from the rest of the galaxy.
This worked to the Son's favor as Yoggoy's location relative to the Imperium was actually really close. But thanks to this artificial isolation, he could expand relatively undetected while amassing the Killik's and any other subjugated races into his army.
He also planned to transform Yoggoy into a massive industrial fortress. Massive industrial structures were now rising alongside the old Killik nests, fused together through a grotesque combination of biotechnology and machinery.
The Killiks themselves moved in endless synchronized waves across the planet's surface, transporting resources, constructing warships, and excavating entire mountain ranges.
The Son himself stood atop one of the massive hive-spires overlooking the world below. From just his presence, black storms were raging overhead continuously as the force itself had become corrupted around him.
The Killiks had accepted him fully into their collective consciousness after only a few displays of power. To them, he was not merely a ruler. He was a god. And unlike mortals, the Killiks did not question divinity once it had been established.
Millions of voices echoed quietly within the Son's mind at all times now. Endless thoughts layered over one another in perfect synchronization.
From this he could see all the resources getting gathered, the shipyards that were constantly expanding, and the nearby systems that were getting consumed in the process. Hive growth was accelerating very efficiently.
And with each conquered world, the Son's industrial capacity expanded further and so did his power.
The ships that the Killik's were building resembled living creatures more than traditional warships. Dark organic armor covered their hulls while crimson energy pulsed beneath the surface like veins. Massive gravity manipulators filled their undersides, allowing them to tear apart enemy formations at close range.
The Son had become obsessed with seeing his vision of massive armadas emerging to take on the Galaxy after his defeat at Daimon's hands. The memory still burned with him.
He vowed to never experience that humiliation again. He also made himself a name instead of just being called the Son, he was now Aruun the Unbound.
————
Meanwhile, on Veldari, the Sister who had been sleeping few several weeks now had finally woken up. Daimon was called to the medical room where she was sleeping which brightened her mood.
"I am so happy that you heard me." was the first thing she said.
"Yeah, it was so faint that I almost missed it, but I could tell that it was you." responded Daimon.
"I probably would have ended up like Father if not for you." her expression changed from happy to sad as she remembered all the things that happened.
"I have somewhat of an understanding of what happened," Daimon said, "But I need you to tell me everything."
The Daughter looked away from him.
For a moment, the medical chamber was silent except for the low hum of the healing machines surrounding her bed. She could also feel the Force moving through the planet. It was steady, warm, and balanced. One side didn't over take the other, instead, they were living in harmony.
But despite this, she still did not feel whole, at least not yet.
She sat upright slowly, her form slightly dimmer than Daimon remembered. She was still radiant, still something far beyond mortal, but the light within her had been wounded.
"My brother killed him," she said quietly.
Daimon expected this answer. He had felt the absence when he entered Mortis. The Father's presence had always been impossible to miss. It had been old, patient, and impossibly vast. Like standing before the center of a storm and realizing the storm was choosing not to move.
But now, that presence was gone. And hearing it spoken by the Daughter, only made the truth heavier.
"Tell me how."
The Daughter breathed in slowly.
"He had been weakening for some time," she said. "My brother's power was growing. Not naturally. Not through discipline. But, through hunger and obsession. He fed on every fracture in Mortis, every dark impulse, every shadow that had been contained there since before the Republic ever existed."
"He was trying to break the balance from within." from Daimon's perspective, it all pointed to this one conclusion.
She nodded, agreeing with his statement. "He succeeded," she said. "Father tried to contain him. Every day, he poured more of himself into Mortis to keep the realm stable. He believed he could still reach my brother. He believed that if he endured long enough, the storm would pass."
"But my brother did not want balance. He wanted freedom."
"And when your father weakened enough," Daimon said, "the Son struck."
The Daughter nodded. "He attacked us in the temple. I tried to stop him, but he had changed. His power was different. Sharper. More focused. He was not fighting to prove himself anymore. He was fighting to escape."
Her hands tightened around the edge of the blanket. "He used the dagger."
Hearing the word dagger, Daimon knew what she was talking about. "The Mortis dagger?"
"Yes." she didn't know if Daimon was told by Father what the dagger was. But she also didn't care to ask.
Daimon understood the weight of that weapon. It was not merely a blade. It was one of the few things capable of harming beings on their level in a permanent way. If the Son had taken it, then he had planned the murder long before the attack.
"He fled immediately after?" Daimon asked.
"Yes. I was unconscious. By the time I woke, he was gone. Mortis was broken. Without Father, the realm began feeding on me to restore what had been lost. I called for you because there was no one else left."
Now that he had the full story, Daimon was a little bit surprised that things were changing this much. In cannon, the Father was supposed to live up until the clone wars. But now, he was dead several thousand years before it even happened.
Then there was the Son who was somewhere in the galaxy probably plotting to take it over.
But what Daimon didn't know was the fact that he was the Son's target. And it wasn't just Daimon, but anybody connected to him in anyway was also a target.
The only problem was reaching Daimon, which the Son or Aruun now was working on. Aruun knew that a direct frontal assault was suicide. But, if he starts to harm Daimon through others, then he could force a conflict that was in his favor.