The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

2829. The Death of Yoda (Part 2)
“Luke Skywalker, you did know,” Master Yoda said. “You’re right, ‘Father.’ The greatest variable of the Force, you are.”

“You too, Yoda.” Darth Masair grinned maliciously as he slowly approached, searching for a weakness in his opponent. “Since you disappeared, there have been too many mysteries surrounding you. Once I capture you, everything will be solved!”

The next second, the crimson lightning struck instantly, locking onto Master Yoda with the Force, leaving him no way to escape. Yoda's eyes were slightly closed, and his lightsaber trembled violently as he actually met the crimson lightning that was tearing through the void. He guided the crimson lightning with his lightsaber, his face contorted in pain, but he still managed to guide the lightning bit by bit toward the ground.

With a deafening roar, crimson lightning exploded on the ground. Master Yoda once again swung his lightsaber, cleaving through the dust and smoke. The green blade flashed like a gust of wind across Darth Masair's left shoulder! However, he was immediately enveloped by endless Force lightning.

Darth Masair laughed maniacally, and countless lightning bolts poured down like a torrential rain, completely engulfing the entire cave. Even the cave walls and the ground were covered with countless water snake-like currents.

"You're old! And stupid! Who gave you the confidence to think you could defeat me in this dark environment!" Darth Masair roared, and another crimson lightning bolt condensed in his hand.

“In Mortis… I saw you…” Master Yoda said.

In an instant, the crimson lightning pierced through his body, and his old, exhausted body flew out like a falling leaf, crashing heavily against the cave wall, sending pebbles tumbling down.

Darth Masai lunged at him, lifting him up in a tug-of-war, roaring, "What did you see! What did you talk to 'Father' about! Where is Luke Skywalker?!"

“…You have seen death, your future…” Master Yoda said weakly, “Only death…is your… liberation…and mine…”

Master Yoda coughed up a mouthful of blood, his life force rapidly fading, yet a serene smile appeared in his eyes—as if death was not the end, but the inevitable echo of the Force returning.

"No! You bastard! Answer my question! Answer me!!!" Darth Masaier roared.

“You shouldn’t covet the future…you should look back and see the past…your…” Master Yoda said the last words and then draped his hands over his head.

"Get back here! Don't think you can die so easily!!" Darth Masair's Death Force immediately began to revive Yoda, preparing to turn him into my puppet.

However, something unexpected happened. The Force of Death erupted instantly, and Master Yoda's body quickly turned to ashes. Before the ashes dispersed, a faint blue light quietly rose from the ruins and gradually disappeared.

Darth Malthael flew into a rage, roaring at the void, "Was it you! 'Father'! Was it you! One day I will tear you Mortis, and you old bones, to shreds! Tear them to shreds!!"

However, there was no reply; deep within the cave, only the buzzing sound of the Dark Harvester in motion could be heard.

The hallucinations and auditory hallucinations around him reappeared, mocking Darth Masair and plunging him into boundless rage, yet he was powerless to stop them.

In his rage, Darth Masair furiously attacked the surrounding cave walls, causing the ground to shake violently and sending countless rocks raining down, some of which he pulverized with his terrifying Death Force. Then, he knelt down, utterly dejected. Killing Master Yoda had brought him no satisfaction; instead, it had only deepened his sense of mystery.

Through the Force of Death, he had already sensed during their exchange that Master Yoda's life force was long gone. The reason he was able to fight himself while his body was on the verge of death was not because of his flesh and blood, but because of the unextinguished beacon of will deep within the Force—sharper than any lightsaber, more enduring than any lightning bolt.

That's right, Master Yoda was deliberately seeking death. And Darth Masair had no idea what his purpose was.

There are too many mysteries surrounding Master Yoda. After his failed assassination attempt on Darth Sidious, how did he suddenly disappear and go to Mortis? What did he talk about with the Trinity in Mortis? Where did he take Luke Skywalker? And how did he teach him?

And now, why is he willing to die?

Was it because Luke Skywalker had completed his education? Or because he knew he was about to die? Or for some other reason?

What did he just say? Don't look to the future, look to the past? Look to what past? Darth Masaier's brain, corrupted by the dark side, was on the verge of collapse.

“Hehehehe... Hahahahaha... It doesn’t matter... This doesn’t matter…” Darth Malthael let out a chilling laugh, which abruptly stopped. He stood before the Dark Harvest and muttered to himself, “I am invincible... No one in the entire galaxy can stop me... Whoever dares to stop me, I will kill him... kill him... kill him... Hahahahaha! Hahahahaha!”

Darth Malthael opened the Dark Harvest's control panel and then tossed the run mode to Absorption Mode.

The sound of the Dark Harvester running suddenly became very loud, and the high-frequency vibrations even spread continuously. Countless ripples could be seen jumping on the swamp puddles dozens of kilometers away.

Like a vast ocean, the dark side of the Force surged into Darth Malthael's body, causing his power to surge wildly. Above the cave, countless crimson lightning bolts continuously struck down, completely destroying the surrounding environment.

"Hahahaha! Ahahahahahaha!!" The maniacal laughter could be clearly heard even amidst the endless lightning.

At that moment, Darth Masair did not see that in the void, there were two faint, indistinct figures watching this world-destroying scene from afar.

It was none other than the Jedi Spirit, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Master Yoda, who had just been killed by Darth Malthael.

Qui-Gon's shadow flickered slightly, his voice like a candle in the wind: "The Angel of Death... he finally lost control. What he swallowed was not the Force, but the end of the entire galaxy. I don't know who can stop him now, not even Darth Sidious... the moment he kills Darth Sidious, the entire galaxy will come to an end."

“Destruction isn’t everything, Qui-Gon. In Mortis, I saw the past, and I saw the future. The Angels of Death are the end of the entire galaxy; this is just one part of the future. But I believe that someone who can use the Dark Reaper to absorb his own dark side Force wouldn’t do that,” Master Yoda said. (End of Chapter)