"Close your eyes, let yourself relax," Skar'ii instructed as she paced the arena.
Creed looked around, feeling a bit weird as he sat crosslegged on the floor of the arena, watching her pace. He obeyed, though, and closed his eyes, taking a few deep breath to relax himself and letting go of whatever tension was still in his muscles.
He heard her steps stop and heard shuffling, imagining that she was probably sitting opposite him. Her voice seemed to confirm that as she continued to speak.
"If possible, I would like to speak to whatever parts of yourself you hide," she said quietly.
Creed hesitated a moment, not sure how well that would go over, but he took a deep breath and waited a moment, searching his mind for that dark corner where he knew the demons would be waiting. He let them take over and relinquished control to them.
Then he opened his eyes.
"You wanted to talk?" a lower, deeper voice asked, cocking his head as he stared at her with black eyes.
Skar'ii looked back cooly and nodded. "Yes. I did."
He looked around, seeming disinterested and slightly bored. "Why? There's nothing here to kill," he spat.
"Because I've heard much about you, but never met you. There is nothing here to kill, I simply wanted to talk."
Narrowing his eyes some, he looked up at her with a scowl. "Fine. What about?"
"Do you have a name?"
"No."
"Then what do you call yourself?"
"Creed, or the demon," he answered lowly.
"I see," she said. Then paused and waited a moment before walking back. "I'm done here, go back to your corner of the mind," she ordered sharply.
Creed snarled at her, but after a moment the black faded from his eyes and he blinked, rubbing his head, looking back up at her. "What happened? You're not hurt are you?" he asked.
"Nothing happened, we simply spoke. He revealed little, though it seems there's little to reveal. He is obviously simply a more bloodthirsty half," she said.
Creed looked up at her slowly and frowned. "Trust me, they're much more than that," he said quietly. "But it's alright if they didn't talk much. I wouldn't want them to scare you all away from me," he admitted.
Skar'ii shrugged. "We are not easily frightened. Regardless, you appear to have good control until you are fighting. Even then, you exert control, but too much of it. You must learn how to fully reign in these demons so that you can access and harness their power, without being overcome by their desires."
Creed nodded. "So how do I do that?" he asked.
Skar'ii stepped back from him and reached to her belt, narrowing her eyes. "I'm going to try to kill you."
Waking up, Creed sat up slowly and stretched his aching body. He groaned softly, remembering the fight from the day before. He was glad he'd learned the lesson, but still a bit shaken. He'd never quite worked in sync with his demons before, and honestly, he'd been afraid that he would kill Skar'ii if he tried to work in sync with them.
Thankfully, she was a good fighter, and he was mentally strong. It was still a strange feeling, but he felt better now that he knew he didn't have to fear them as much. Yes, they had their bloodthirsty tendencies, and yes they were powerful, but he was more powerful. He was in control.
He got up and pulled on his usual attire before hearing a knock on the door, limping to the door he opened it before pulling his book on the rest of the way. Skar'ii entered quietly.
"Mother Talzin has sent me, she said that you are finally ready for your final trial," she said. "You will be given one final week of preparation in which you are free to train with any of us on any technique you wish to practice. The arena will be open for you to use as well."
Creed nodded and sat down on the edge of his bed. "What is this final trial?" he asked cautiously, wondering what they were going to throw at him now.
"A fight. Not against any of us. There is an immortal that we exiled many years ago on the planet Korriban. He is powerful in the dark side, and as I stated before, immortal--"
"--You want me to kill an immortal?" Creed asked dubiously, cutting her off. Skar'ii gave him a bit of an annoyed look before she continued.
"No. It is a fight. Should you survive and return to us within the allotted time your training will be considered finished. Should you die or fail to return before the end of the set time your training will have been for nothing. You will be given 24 hours to fight and return. You are allowed to take any of our weapons you desire to use, and it is suggested you fight in your own armor. How you fight is of no concern to us, so long as you succeed," she said and put down a comlink. "You will use this to signal when you arrive so we can begin the 24 hours and you will return it when you get back, should you return."
Creed picked up the comlink and nodded. "And I have a week to prepare?" he asked. Skar'ii nodded.
"Thank you," he said. She nodded again and left quietly. Creed returned to getting ready but paused at the end, thinking over how he would prepare, then he got up and set to work.
------
Bringing the ship into a careful landing through the haze of clouds surrounding the dark planet, Korriban, Creed shut down the engines then touched the comlink he'd been given. He tapped the button on the end to signal the Nightsisters before he got up.
It felt slightly strange to be back in his armor after almost a month, but he was comfortable in it. He felt confident in his training, but made sure to keep himself from growing cocky.
Picking up his weapons, he stepped to the ramp and headed down onto the planet. He knew the immortal wouldn't be far as his coordinates were tracked by the nightsisters, and Creed warily exited the ship. He closed the ramp and looked around at the barren empty land before starting off. He headed in the direction of what looked like a small ridge which seemed most likely to house any abode the immortal might have.
As Creed approached everything seemed oddly still, peaceful almost. He noted several features of the land, what looked to be a cavern off to his left, the ridge before him, and flat plains to the right. He had more than enough space to move. He still needed to be strategic, though.
Growing nearer the ridge, Creed thought he saw a shadow of movement and paused, drawing his sword. He looked around warily a moment before something like a cold breeze brushed behind him.
"They have sent me another..." a cruel voice murmured behind him.
Creed turned quickly, not lashing out but holding his blade ready as he face the dark figure. It looked like a man, but the skin was just short of rotted, yellow eyes peering from beneath a heavy cloak. He was tall, a few inches taller than Creed, and shrouded in ornate robes. He seemed to have no weapon, but he reeked of darkness. It seemed to surround him, like a haze that followed his every move. Creed made no response.
In the brief silence, the immortal made the first move, throwing a force shove at Creed. He stumbled and tripped back but quickly rolled to his feet and got up, dodging the next force blow. He quickly lunged after that, swinging the blade hard at the immortal. It scored at hit across the man's arm and the immortal hissed through black teeth, but was otherwise unaffected. There wasn't a drop of blood, he simply smiled and reached into his robes, drawing out a lightsaber as he swung hard at Creed.
Creed started and dropped, rolling to the left out of the path of the glowing blade before he came up and met the lightsaber with his sword. He half expected the saber to cut straight through his blade, but instead it met it full on and held. Sparks were thrown to either side and for a second, the two glared at each other from opposing sides, then the lightsaber's blade flickered out.
Without a second thought, Creed used that to his advantage as he lunged. He drove his blade down, straight through the place where the man's heart should've been. The blade went straight through, slicing bone, organ, tissue, without any issue. Only the immortal didn't freeze or drop down dead. He staggered, then threw Creed back with a powerful force shove, and ripped the sword from his chest, dropping it to the side.
"Pathetic. Just like the last few. You seem to all forget the meaning of immortal," the man hissed, advancing slowly.
Creed took a second to recover, looking up at his opponent. "Not all of us," he threatened darkly, starting as he felt a familiar coldness rushing into his veins. Darkness tried to tint his vision, and he allowed it, but only so much. He resisted the voices whispering, but let them add their power to his as he got up. Their adrenaline coursed through his veins, but he was in control. They existed, but he was their master.
The immortal advanced another step, sneering at him as he twisted his hands around each other, seeming to be collecting some sort of energy. Creed noted this before he started forward. He reached down and drew one of the daggers he'd purchased all those years ago, and as he ran forward, spun one around his finger and hurtled it at the immortal. The man sidestepped it, but as he did so, Creed threw the second and it caught the immortal in the shoulder, distracting him just long enough for Creed to lunge forward with a powerful punch.
The immortal recoiled, dropping the ball of energy as Creed hit him full force. He yelled in anger and vanished a moment, appearing behind Creed to deliver a blow to the head. Creed staggered but didn't let it faze him as he turned with surprising speed. He brought his knee up into the man's gut before dropping into a kick, knocking the immortal back. Creed straightened up some, his eyes black even though he retained control.
"They talk about you like something to be feared. As if your uncanny ability to survive has made you more powerful. They're all wrong about you. You taunt your opponents, you call us pathetic. You are pathetic. You're nothing, just another monster to rid the universe of," Creed sneered, a tinge of darkness in his voice.
The immortal snarled at him. "You talk as if you're something to be feared, but you're simply another messed up warrior they sent to die here. Don't you know?" He got up slowly. He wiped a bit of blood from his broken lip, stepping forward to glare down at Creed. "No one has ever survived this trial."
Creed glared back up at him, unfazed by the threat as he took a step closer. "You should be afraid. I'm not just another messed up warrior. I am here to kill you, and I don't intend to leave until that goal is accomplished," he snapped.
The immortal's eyes darkened, narrowing before he chuckled darkly. "You all talk too much. Words won't kill me," he snapped, this his eyes rose slightly to the horizon. "Plus, you're running out of time."
Creed took the opportunity that the immortal wasn't looking at him to draw the dagger Skar'ii had gifted him. "I won't need much more time," he said quietly, then lunged up and drove the dagger through the immortal's chest. It caught the man off guard and he was shoved back, buying Creed enough time to knock him down, grabbing the dagger back, holding it to his throat.
A flash of surprise crossed the immortals face, then he laughed and vanished. Creed whirled around, seeing the man reappear several meter's away, near the edge of the canyon. It was a risk, but Creed didn't hesitate as he sprinted towards the man, eyes narrowing. He met the immortal with a kick that the man deflected and used to throw Creed back. Creed hit the ground hard and grunted softly as he started to get up. He'd barley gotten to his feet, though, when the immortal hit him with a powerful force shove. Creed was thrown back, dangerously close to the edge of the canyon. He scrambled up, though, but glanced back. What he'd thought was a ravine of canyon now appeared to simply be the edge of a pit. A long dark pit. He shuddered, thinking about it, but thought that if the immortal could use it as an advantage, he could too.
Looking back, he saw the immortal preparing to attack, and his sword not far away. He waited just a moment until the immortal threw another force attack, then Creed lunged for his sword, avoiding the attack and grabbing the hilt of his weapon, sheathing the dagger and readying the sword.
"Really? You intend to use that flimsy piece of metal on me?" the immortal taunted and drew his lightsaber once more.
Creed didn't respond, simply adjusted so that he was further from the edge of the pit. He kept back a few feet, watching closely. His arms were shaking with adrenaline and the voices were trying to crop up but he kept them contained.
The immortal walked to the side some and Creed inched forward, moving carefully. He could see an annoyed look growing over the other man's face and kept moving slowly, watching the annoyance increase. That was exactly what he wanted.
"This is taking too long, you're too pathetic to waste my time on," the immortal finally spat. He narrowed his eyes and with aid of the force made a lunge at Creed. Creed had prepared for it, though, and he met the lunge head on, blocking with his sword before turning fast as the immortal was still landing. He drove the sword through the man's back to throw him off guard, then let go of his sword and deftly kicked the lightsaber from the immortal's hand towards the edge of the pit.
The immortal lunged after the saber, stumbling some but Creed got there first and grabbed up the weapon. He looked down at it momentarily, seeing something like runes written across the handle. He recognized it as some sort of force incantation. He'd learned that they used to be used way back when to bind the force to objects, or bind someone's life force to an object.
Most powerful or enchanted beings posses at least one weakness. If you can find the object that is bound to their life force, kill them with it, and they will be finished.
Skar'ii had told him that in one of their less violent and more informational lessons.
Creed looked up as the immortal was getting to his feet, having managed to get the sword blade out and tossing it aside. His face was etched with rage, his eyes burning red. "Give that back!" he practically screamed, lunging.
Creed ignited the blade, his eyes flashing red a moment as he drove the pulsing blade through the immortal's chest. A horrifying scream split the air as the immortal was met with his own blade and it was as if the life had suddenly been ripped from his body. He arched, then dropped limp as Creed drew the blade back. He turned off the lightsaber and dropped it beside the immortal's dying form.
Walking over, he retrieved his own sword, then walked back, standing over the man as they both stood at the edge of the pit. There was an odd sense of deja vu, only this time Creed knew he was in control. The monsters were there, but so was he, and they had no power over him unless he gave it to them.
Kneeling down, he looked at the immortal, though, narrowing his eyes. "You call yourself an immortal, but there's no such thing in this realm of existence. You're mortal, just like any other man. And just like anyone else, you die."
He spoke the last sentence quietly, not happily, not grinning murderously, just solemnly and darkly. Then he stood slowly and put his foot to the man's shoulder before shoving his body off the edge, into the dark pit. He picked up the lightsaber and clipped it to his belt, standing there over the darkness of the pit for a long moment. He could feel the tinge of darkness on his vision, could hear the whisper of voices, could feel the rush of adrenaline. Only now, he commanded it to go away, and this time it did.
As that feeling faded, he turned slightly and looked up, seeing the sky darkening. His 24 hours were nearly up, and he somehow doubted that he would make it back in time, but he had to try.
Jogging back to his ship, he started it up quickly and pulled it up off the surface of the planet. He punched in the hyperspace codes and hit the hyperdrive as soon as he was clear. The stars faded into lines, and he sat back, glancing at the time. He had just under two hours. Not enough time, but he'd have to try.
He landed the ship on Dathomir thirty minutes after the time limit expired. He landed the ship anyway and picked up the comlink and the lightsaber, then practically ran off the ship. He slowed as he reached the bottom of the ramp, though, seeing Skar'ii and Mother Talzin waiting for him. Mother Talzin frowned deeply upon seeing him. Skar'ii simply looked dejected and disappointed.
Mother Talzin moved forward the moment he stepped forward, beginning to speak. "You have exceeded the time we gave you. Your training will be counted a f--"
"--He's dead," Creed cut her off quickly, his face hardening. He came to a halt in front of both of them, seeing Skar'ii's eyes widen and Mother Talzin paused.
"Explain..." she said after a moment.
Creed held out the lightsaber, looking up at them both. "I said, he's dead."
Mother Talzin moved forward slowly and silently, taking the lightsaber and inspecting it. Her eyes flicked over the runes and writing before slowly her gaze returned to Creed, no longer harsh, but awed and a bit proud.
"No one has ever managed to kill the immortal. You...you posses a greater power than I fear I saw in you. You are the first man I have met and trained that I dare praise. You have exceeded my expectations, you have exceeded what anyone would expect. You posses an ability, a power, a control that I have seen in no other," she paused, her eyes narrowing as her gaze became questioning. "What are you?"
Creed looked up at her with a cold formality. "I'm nothing but a man with demons," he said plainly.
Mother Talzin nodded slowly and Creed handed over the comlink to Skar'ii. "You were saying about my training?" he asked.
Mother Talzin composed herself and nodded quietly. "Yes, well, considering this development, I will consider your training a success. You have passed, and have our recommendation," she said.
"Thank you," Creed said, nodding quietly.
Skar'ii stepped forward towards him, offering her silent congratulations before she spoke. "It is our custom to give each of those who pass a parting rite. It is not so much an item you can take with you as it is a warning to those who dare oppose you, but if you would accept, we would like to extend that custom to you," she said. "You deserve to take part in the final rite."
Creed considered it a moment, then nodded quietly. "I'll do it," he said, simply hoping it wasn't a final fight.
Skar'ii looked at Mother Talzin and she nodded, so the younger nightsister beckoned for creed to follow her. Creed did so and followed her back to one of the small huts that was on the interior of town. Skar'ii knocked quietly before recieving a quiet response and heading inside. As they entered, Creed noticed the place was dim and a much older woman sat in the corner, her face decorated in many different tattoos and her ears heavy with piercings. She looked up at Skar'ii and the two spoke a few quiet words in their native language before Skar'ii motioned Creed to sit in front of the older woman.
"She has agreed to give you the final rite. It might take a few hours, but it is the least we can do to commend you," Skar'ii informed him. "I have informed her of your achievements and skills and she told me that she would like to give you the mark of the ryshkk. She would also like to give you the traditional three piercings on the left ear to signify that you completed your training," she added.
Creed took a moment to think it over before he nodded. It wouldn't hurt to get a bit of a makeover, plus, he knew a few people back on Kamino who would absolutely hate it, and he was more than happy to tick them off.
"I'll allow it," he said.
With a curt nod, Skar'ii stepped aside and Creed sat down in front of the older woman.
"I will be here when you are done," Skar'ii said.
Creed nodded and faced the older woman. She had him close his eyes and he obeyed, sitting still as she added the tattoo and the piercings. He sat there for what felt like hours before the woman finally tapped his shoulder and he opened his eyes. He looked over at her and she smiled, nodding approvingly. Creed gave her a formal nod in response since he knew little of the language and he got up, looking over at Skar'ii who waited by the door. She stepped aside and let him pass outside before she followed.
He looked back at her and she led him towards the temple where Mother Talzin waited one final time. They met her inside of a more ornate room, looking like some sort of outer chamber to the temple itself. Skar'ii took her place beside Mother Talzin, then the older Nightsister stepped forward, looking down at Creed.
"You have successfully completed your training. You are equipped to fight whatever force user you may encounter and you have the highest praise of this clan. From now on, among the ranks of the Nightsisters you shall be shown respect," she said, then stepped back beside Skar'ii with a look of pride before adding one final line. "You shall, from this moment forward be known among us as Ryshkk. The demon hunter."