Serran

Chapter 12: Kill or Be Killed

Two weeks had passed since Serran had first started his training. He and Kleptos had reached the old Sith academy a week and a half before. When they had gotten there, almost everything of value had been taken: sith artifacts, books containing knowledge, vibroblades, and more. Not all of it was taken though. In the library, there were still hundreds of books containing knowledge of the sith and their history. It wasn't much but it would be of use to Serrran.

His training was brutal though. As soon as he woke up, he would sprint through the halls of the academy at full speed while drawing on the force to quicken himself. He would do a minimum of three laps before meditating in the library to rest.

When the two of them entered the library when they had first arrived at the academy, they found three rotting corpses of what seemed to be former students of the sith. The corpses had become mostly skeletons with bits of flesh still hanging on. Based on the way that the corpses were, Kleptos and Serran figured that they had escaped the devastating defeat of the Sith during the war and had come back to this place but had run into jedi who were gathering anything that anyone could use against the jedi order which resulted in their deaths.

After meditating, Serran would then focus on building his emotions and then letting them all out in a single attack with only the force. He would do this in one of the old arenas filled with rubble. He would also use the force to remove the rubble and debris from the area.

When he was on the brink of collapse, he would go back to the library to meditate. After meditating, he would spar with Kleptos until he couldn't anymore. After that, he would eat a small meal. Kleptos had instructed him to keep his meals to a minimum so he could focus on using the force for fuel. It was easy enough since he was used to skipping meals all the time when he left the jedi order. What made it a bit harder though was the fact that he had to use the force at all times.

Serran would usually read through one or two of the old books in the library for the remainder of the day.

Now, Serran was reading through an old book titled Sith Alchemy. It was an interesting book. He never knew how powerful and dangerous sith alchemy could be.

Kleptos approached him from the behind. "Reading about sith alchemy, huh?" He stated.

"Yeah." Serran answered. He put down the book and faced his master. "Do you think I could learn sith alchemy?" He asked.

"No." Kleptos laughed. His tone then changed to something more serious. "You're far too weak for something like that. Sith Lords who used sith alchemy were powerful, yes, but their power consumed them in the end. Go ahead and try doing sith alchemy. I'll watch you die right here."

Serran knew his own strength and backed off from the subject. "I don't feel like dying today." He responded.

Silence filled the room. Though, the only sound that remained was the flipping of old pages. Serran was hungry for power. He needed to become stronger. He needed to become powerful enough to defeat Meera and Kresonri and get rid of his past failures. He knew that he should have killed Meera all those years ago in the courtyard in front of the temple on Coruscant.

He then realized something. Why did he trust Kleptos so much when they had tried to kill each other the first time they met? He even crushed his lightsaber and destroyed it, forcing Serran to make another one and go on a pointless journey. Why wasn't he suspicious of Kleptos? He could easily kill him whenever he wanted. He could do it right now if he really wanted to.

Serran glanced at his master who was examining the library. This was his chance to kill him. It was kill or be killed in this world and he didn't want to become the prey by falsely trusting someone.

Serran closed the book and strolled to one of the many tall bookshelves in the room. He approached the one that was closest to Kleptos. His master was searching for a book. This was the perfect chance. He softly slid the book in the shelf and quietly unclipped his lightsaber from his belt. He quickly ignited it and aimed for his masters back by thrusting the scarlet blade at him.

Kleptos ignited his lightsaber and blocked the almost fatal blow. He looked down and saw that the very tip of his apprentice's blade had gone through his side, leaving a small scar.

"You finally hit me." He said in his deep menacing voice. He had a dash of bitterness and hate in his voice. Kleptos thrust out his hand and attempted to launch Serran back; Serran threw up a force barrier just in time and stayed in place.

Serran swung his lightsaber at Kleptos's head; he ducked and drew his lightsaber from his belt and ignited it. He thrust his lightsaber at Serran's torso; Serran ducked down low to the floor and jumped out of the way.

He landed beside one of the long tables and used the force to lift it into the air and throw it at his master. The table crashed into the bookshelves. Hundreds, if not thousands, of books rained onto the ground.

A few seconds passed before Kleptos emerged from the wreck and launched books and pieces of the table at his pupil.

Serran cut through the incoming books and table pieces with ease. "You've grown stronger." Kleptos stated with a grin that didn't have any sign of him being proud. He was simply smiling because the fight would be more interesting.

Serran chuckled in response. He had noticed his master's wound. Even though the flesh was burnt, it was still bleeding enough to be potentially fatal. He finally had a chance at beating Kleptos.