This was the seventh year since Palpatine had become Emperor.
The longer he ruled the Galactic Empire, the gloomier and more terrifying his demeanor became. He no longer wore the splendid robes from his days as a senator or Chancellor. Instead, he wore a black cloak almost all the time.
Nor was that all. The half of his face exposed beneath the hood had become increasingly twisted, pale wrinkles covering every inch of it. His sinister smile and the yellowed, pointed teeth visible in his mouth made him seem less like a man and more like a monster...
Everyone present watched Palpatine nervously. Even powerful figures like Dunn Vesex and Wilhuff Tarkin did not dare show the slightest negligence.
Over the past few years, Palpatine had become increasingly cruel, suspicious, and volatile. No one could tell what he was thinking anymore. He might seem to be in a good mood one second, only to kill someone with his own hands the next.
His decisions had also become more extreme and brutal. More than once, he had ordered inhumane massacres on worlds that dared resist him, hanging captured Rebel Alliance leaders throughout reconquered cities and watching them slowly die in agony.
Darth Vader stood behind Palpatine. His towering body radiated endless oppression, while his heavy breathing pounded against every heart like a massive hammer.
Palpatine said nothing. He merely swept his terrifying golden eyes over the crowd again and again, waiting until they began trembling in fear before he slowly spoke. "The Grand Duke of Dawn, Darth Malthael... has disappeared."
His voice was twisted and cloying, and he had not referred to him as Tang Xiao, but by his Sith title. Those who knew Palpatine understood that whenever he did this, it meant his attention was on Darth Malthael himself, not