The war did not pause.
Worlds burned, alliances shifted, and in the endless conflict between Republic and Separatists, there was no time to breathe.
Years of Fire and Becoming
The battles on Velth were only the beginning. Over the course of a year, the galaxy grew darker.
Nox, under Darth Vrakus' ruthless instruction, carved a path through the Mid Rim. He was no longer the boy who had struggled in the alleys of Coruscant. With every duel, every conquest, he learned to wield fear like a blade. Systems fell. Governors bent the knee. Jedi who opposed him rarely returned.
On the other side of the galaxy, Zen and Tif bore witness to this spreading shadow. Jedi deployments became more frantic, the calls for help more desperate. Zen, always calm, always unwilling to lose hope, carried his Padawan through skirmishes that tested both her skill and her spirit.
With each mission, she saw in him a steadiness unlike anything she had known. And she found herself looking at her Master with eyes that went beyond duty.
Ghosts We Carry
One evening, in the dim light of a Republic outpost after a narrow victory, Tif sat beside Zen as he tended a wound across his shoulder. She hesitated, then spoke softly.
"Master… I never told you much about my first teacher. Jedi Knight Drayen."
Zen glanced up. The name stirred faint recognition.
"Your combat instructor, before the Council placed you with me."
She nodded.
"He was… more than that. Drayen was like an older brother to me. He pushed me hard, but he always believed in me. When he fell on a mission", her voice faltered, "…I thought I'd failed him. I thought I'd never be strong enough."
Zen set aside the cloth in his hands and placed them gently over hers.
"You carry him with you in every choice you make. His sacrifice wasn't your failure. It was his gift, to give you the chance to keep walking forward."
Tif met his gaze, her chest tightening. In that moment, she saw not only her teacher, but a man who understood grief and bore it with quiet grace. And for the first time, she realized how deeply she respected and cared for him.
She was no longer the restless Padawan. Battle had sharpened her, and time had deepened her heart.
The Shape of Power
Far away, in the dark halls of a conquered palace, Nox knelt before Darth Vrakus. The ancient Sith Lord's voice echoed through the chamber, sharp and commanding.
"You hesitate too often, my apprentice. Strength is not in the strike, but in the will behind it. A Sith does not conquer worlds merely to rule them, we reshape them in our image."
Nox, his crimson blade still humming from battle, lowered his head.
"I brought them to their knees. Their fleets burn. What more do you ask?"
Vrakus circled him like a predator.
"You ask the wrong question. You should ask: how can their suffering serve you? Fear is not the end, it is the beginning. Rule through terror, and none will dare rise against you."
Though Nox obeyed, part of him recoiled at the coldness in his master's tone. He had seen enough suffering as a child. Yet each time he questioned, Vrakus pressed harder, until doubt was buried beneath fresh victory.
And victory came often. Entire sectors whispered the name of the new Sith apprentice. Some in fear, others in admiration. To the galaxy, Darth Vrakus had found his weapon. To Nox, the chains of loyalty tightened, even as unease festered in silence.
Beneath the Stars
Back on the Republic front, the bond between Zen and Tif deepened through countless trials. She grew sharper with a lightsaber, more attuned to the Force. He grew more protective, not from doubt in her skill, but from a quiet affection he dared not name.
There were nights after missions when they sat beneath the stars, saying nothing, simply sharing silence. For Tif, those moments became more precious than any victory. She longed to tell him what stirred in her heart, but each time the words rose, she swallowed them back.
Zen, ever devoted to the Code, remained unaware. To him, she was his Padawan, the one he was sworn to protect, to teach, to prepare for a galaxy that was crumbling. Yet without realizing it, he began to depend on her presence as much as she depended on his.