Khan awoke to the sound of water striking stone.
His eyes opened slowly.
A dim light entered through the mouth of the cave, revealing dark walls and an uneven floor. His thoughts remained clouded, and it took him several moments to remember where he was.
The forest.
Xavier.
The children.
The cultists.
The pit.
Khan tried to rise.
Pain ran through his body, forcing him to stop. It was not as severe as he expected. The wounds along his side and shoulder still ached, but the bleeding had stopped. Even the deepest injuries had partially closed.
His body felt exhausted rather than broken.
Khan looked down at himself.
"How…"
"I used the Force to hasten your body's natural healing."
The voice came from the other side of the cave.
Khan's hand immediately reached for his lightsaber.
Nothing.
His fingers passed over an empty place on his belt.
Khan turned toward the voice.
The ancient Sith warrior stood near the cave entrance. His broad frame was covered by the same damaged armor Khan remembered from the ruins.
A lightsaber rested in his hand.
The curved hilt belonged to Dooku.
The warrior slowly turned it over, studying every detail of its design.
"An interesting blade."
His fingers moved across the curved metal.
"One can tell its wielder considered himself sophisticated."
Khan forced himself onto his feet.
His legs nearly failed him, but he remained standing.
"Give that back."
The warrior's yellow eyes shifted toward him.
"It belonged to my master."
The warrior looked at the weapon once more.
Then he tossed it across the cave.
Khan caught it with both hands.
His fingers closed around the familiar hilt.
"If you carry your master's blade…"
The warrior studied Khan.
"Then I can only presume he is dead."
Khan tightened his grip.
The warrior noticed.
"He must have been weak."
Anger immediately rose within Khan.
"You know nothing about Master Dooku."
The warrior remained silent.
"He was a great Jedi."
"Good."
Khan's expression changed.
"What?"
"Channel that anger."
The warrior stepped away from the cave entrance.
"It will become the strength behind your power."
Khan recognized what he was attempting to do.
He closed his eyes and controlled his breathing.
Anger could cloud judgment.
It could lead him away from the Force.
He could hear Dooku's voice reminding him of that lesson.
Khan began to calm himself.
The warrior watched him.
"For such a weak Padawan to come from his teachings…"
Khan opened his eyes.
The warrior's contempt was clear.
"Perhaps your master was as pathetic as you are."
Dooku's lightsaber ignited.
Its blue blade filled the cave with light.
Khan charged.
The warrior's red lightsaber came alive moments before Khan reached him.
Their blades collided.
Khan attacked again.
The warrior turned the strike aside with little effort.
A second attack followed.
Then a third.
Khan aimed for his shoulder, turned his wrist, and redirected the blade toward the warrior's side.
The Sith blocked both movements.
"You allow your anger to control the blade."
Khan continued attacking.
The warrior remained where he stood.
"Give it direction."
Their lightsabers collided again.
Khan stepped to the side and aimed for an opening near the warrior's waist.
The red blade stopped him.
"Do not merely feel it."
The warrior forced Khan backward.
"Use it."
Khan tightened his grip.
His breathing steadied.
The anger remained, but his movements changed.
He stopped throwing every strike at the warrior.
He began watching.
Measuring.
Waiting for the smallest opening.
Khan stepped forward and attacked the warrior's right side.
Their blades met.
He withdrew before the warrior could force his weapon away and immediately thrust toward his chest.
The warrior moved aside.
Khan followed.
His blue blade turned and passed close to the warrior's neck.
For the first time, the Sith took a step back.
Khan saw it.
He pressed forward.
His attacks became faster.
More precise.
Dooku's teachings remained within every movement, but the calm that once guided them had disappeared.
Anger had taken its place.
The warrior blocked a strike aimed at his shoulder.
Khan rotated the curved hilt and changed the angle of his blade.
The movement nearly passed through the Sith's guard.
Nearly.
The warrior brought his weapon down.
The impact tore Dooku's lightsaber from Khan's hands.
The hilt flew across the cave and struck the floor behind him.
Its blade disappeared.
Khan fell onto both knees.
The red lightsaber stopped near his neck.
He stared at it.
The warrior could end his life with a single movement.
Instead, he deactivated the weapon.
"Good."
Khan looked up at him.
His breathing was uneven.
"Why?"
The warrior said nothing.
"Why won't you kill me?"
Contempt entered the Sith's expression.
Khan suddenly rose from the floor.
An invisible grip wrapped around his body and threw him across the cave.
His back struck the wall.
Before he could fall, the Force pinned him against the stone.
"Is this truly all that remains of the Jedi legacy?"
Pressure tightened around Khan's chest.
"The Jedi I knew were warriors."
Khan tried to move.
His body refused to respond.
"They were strong."
The pressure increased.
"They did not wait for death."
The warrior approached him.
"You…"
His yellow eyes stared into Khan's amber ones.
"You are nothing."
Khan struggled to breathe.
The warrior continued forward until only a short distance separated them.
"But I will turn you into something."
The pressure lifted Khan farther from the ground.
"A weapon."
Khan's hands closed into fists.
"A warrior."
The Sith's voice grew lower.
"An instrument of your own revenge."
The pressure vanished.
Khan fell to the ground.
His arms caught him before his face struck the stone. Pain spread across his wounded body.
For several moments, he could do nothing but breathe.
The warrior turned away from him.
"Who are you?" Khan asked.
The Sith continued walking.
"I am Malgus."
Malgus approached Dooku's lightsaber and lifted it from the ground.
Khan pushed himself onto one knee.
Malgus inspected the weapon once more.
"This blade does not belong to you."
Khan forced himself to stand.
"Give it back."
"You carry it because you are afraid to stand without him."
Khan froze.
Malgus turned toward him.
"As long as you wield your master's weapon, you will remain beneath his shadow."
His hand closed around the curved hilt.
"You will never discover your own strength."
Khan understood what he intended.
"No."
Metal bent within Malgus's hand.
A sharp crack passed through the cave.
"No!"
Khan stepped forward.
Another crack followed.
The lightsaber's outer casing collapsed beneath the pressure of the Force. Its emitter broke apart. Small components fell between Malgus's fingers and struck the stone.
Within seconds, the weapon was destroyed.
Khan stopped.
Malgus opened his hand.
The remains of Dooku's lightsaber fell to the floor.
"Let this be a reminder of your weakness."
Khan stared at the broken weapon.
Malgus stepped over it and walked toward the cave entrance.
"When you have collected yourself, come outside."
He disappeared into the dim light.
"There is much for us to do."
Khan remained still.
Dooku's lightsaber lay in pieces before him.
The weapon had been with his master for as long as Khan could remember. He had seen it resting against Dooku's side during meetings with the Council. He had watched its blue blade move through countless training sessions.
It was the weapon Dooku carried on every mission they shared.
After Naboo, it was all Khan had left of him.
Khan lowered himself to the floor.
He picked up the curved frame.
The metal had been crushed inward. Several components had broken completely, while others had been forced together beyond repair.
Khan found the damaged emitter and tried to return it to its place.
It would not fit.
He already knew it would not.
Still, he tried again.
The broken piece slipped from his fingers.
Khan stared down at his hands.
He had been trusted with Dooku's legacy.
He had lost his own lightsaber.
Now, he had failed to protect his master's.
Everything he carried had been taken from him.
His master.
Grand Master Yoda.
His weapon.
His confidence in the Force.
Khan had possessed training.
He had possessed conviction.
He had become a Jedi Knight.
None of it had saved them.
None of it had stopped the Sith on Naboo.
Belief had changed nothing.
Good intentions had changed nothing.
Without strength, he could accomplish nothing.
Khan gathered the remains of Dooku's lightsaber.
He placed each piece within a small compartment beneath his robes.
The weapon was broken.
Its meaning was not.
Khan rose.
He walked toward the cave entrance.
A light drizzle fell over the forest.
Water ran from the pale leaves and gathered upon the dark ground. A soft mist moved between the trees.
Malgus stood beneath the rain with his back toward the cave.
He did not turn when Khan approached.
"Are you ready?"
Khan looked down at the place where he had stored the broken weapon.
His hand closed into a fist.
"Yes."
Malgus began walking.
Khan followed.
He would no longer allow himself to be weak.
The two moved through the forest.
Unlike Xavier, Malgus made no effort to disappear within it.
He did not step around branches.
They broke against his armor.
He did not search for the safest path.
He walked forward, and everything in his path yielded.
Even the creatures hidden among the trees remained silent as he passed.
Khan watched him.
Xavier had learned how to survive this world.
Malgus moved as though the world belonged to him.
They continued until the sound of rushing water grew louder.
The trees opened around them.
A wide waterfall descended from a dark cliff and crashed into the pool below. Mist rose from the water, mixing with the light rain.
Malgus stopped near the edge of the pool.
"You desire strength."
Khan stood beside him.
"I need it."
"Strength is not given."
Malgus looked toward the waterfall.
"It must be proven."
Khan followed his gaze.
"Behind that water are the materials from which you will forge a weapon worthy of your power."
Khan studied the waterfall.
"What will I find inside?"
"What has killed those who came before you."
Malgus offered nothing more.
Khan waited.
The Sith continued watching the water.
"That is all?"
"If you require my guidance to claim the weapon, then you are not worthy of wielding it."
Khan looked toward the waterfall again.
His body had not completely healed.
He had no lightsaber.
His connection to the Force remained weak.
Malgus already knew all of that.
Khan secured his robes around his body.
Then he stepped into the pool.
The water rose past his knees as he approached the waterfall. Its force struck the surface hard enough to send waves against him.
Khan continued forward.
He bent his legs and jumped.
Cold water crashed over him.
For a moment, he could see nothing.
Then he passed through.
His boots struck wet stone.
A narrow passage waited behind the waterfall.
Little light reached beyond its entrance.
Khan wiped the water from his face and walked forward.
Bones appeared along the ground.
Some belonged to animals.
Others did not.
A humanoid skull rested near the wall, half-buried beneath loose stone. Deep marks ran across its surface. Several broken weapons lay nearby, their metal rusted and their edges shattered.
Khan continued.
The passage descended farther beneath the cliff.
The sound of the waterfall faded behind him.
Darkness surrounded him.
Khan's hand moved toward his belt.
There was no weapon waiting there.
He lowered it.
His eyes slowly adjusted.
The passage opened into a large cavern.
A raised piece of stone stood at its center.
Several lightsaber components rested upon it.
The hilt frame was dark, almost black. Thin gold bearings ran along its sides and around the emitter. Despite its age, the metal showed little sign of damage.
Khan approached.
The components were unlike the ones used to construct his first lightsaber. Their shape belonged to an older time.
He reached toward them.
Something moved behind him.
Khan turned.
Two yellow eyes opened within the darkness.
A creature stepped into the faint light.
It towered over Khan.
Thick muscle covered its hunched body. Its hide had hardened into uneven plates across its chest, shoulders, and back. Long claws extended from its hands, each one large enough to tear through his body.
Two curved tusks rose from its lower jaw.
Dark energy moved across its skin like smoke.
The creature's presence pressed against Khan's connection to the Force.
It released a roar.
The cavern shook.
Then it charged.
Khan threw himself aside.
A massive claw passed over him.
The creature struck the raised stone and shattered its edge. The lightsaber components scattered across the ground.
Khan rolled and returned to his feet.
The creature turned faster than its size suggested.
Its arm swept toward him.
Khan ducked.
The claws passed close enough for him to feel the air move above his head.
He extended one hand.
The Force struck the creature.
It barely moved.
The beast lowered its head and charged again.
Khan jumped toward the side of the cavern.
A tusk caught the edge of his robes and tore through the material.
Khan struck the ground hard.
Pain returned to his wounded shoulder.
The creature turned.
Khan reached into the Force again.
Its presence remained distant.
The darkness surrounding the beast interfered with every attempt to grasp it. Khan could feel the creature, but its body seemed anchored within the cavern.
He pushed harder.
The creature slowed.
Only for a moment.
It continued forward.
Khan moved behind a stone formation.
The beast's claws tore through it.
Fragments of rock struck Khan's back as he ran.
He looked around the cavern.
There was no clear exit beyond the passage behind him.
The creature stood between him and the lightsaber components.
He had no weapon capable of piercing its hide.
The beast charged.
Khan ran toward another stone formation and turned at the final moment.
The creature followed.
Its shoulder struck the stone.
The formation cracked.
The creature staggered but did not fall.
Khan moved farther away.
He needed something larger.
The far wall of the cavern rose behind him.
Khan stopped before it.
The creature lowered itself.
Dark energy gathered around its body.
It charged.
Khan waited.
The distance between them disappeared.
Ten steps.
Five.
Two.
Khan threw himself aside.
The creature crashed headfirst into the cavern wall.
Stone broke beneath the impact.
The beast stumbled backward.
Its legs weakened.
Khan raised both hands and reached into the Force.
He attempted to hold it against the wall.
The creature roared and pulled away.
Khan's boots slid across the ground.
His concentration broke.
The beast turned toward him.
Blood ran from a wound near one of its tusks.
The injury had only made it angrier.
Khan backed away.
His breath had become heavy.
Every movement reopened wounds. His side burned. His shoulder shook
The creature regained its balance.
Khan looked toward the scattered weapon components.
One piece rested near the beast's feet.
Another lay close to the raised stone.
He could not reach them.
He could not defeat the creature through skill alone.
He was too weak.
The words entered his mind before he could stop them.
Khan remembered the sound of metal breaking inside the cave.
Dooku's lightsaber collapsing within Malgus's hand.
The shattered pieces striking the floor.
Let this be a reminder of your weakness.
Khan's jaw tightened.
He remembered Naboo.
He remembered Dooku falling.
He remembered Yoda's lifeless body.
He remembered the cultists surrounding him at the edge of the pit.
Every loss.
Every failure.
Every moment in which someone else possessed the power to decide what happened.
Khan had always attempted to release those emotions.
To quiet them.
To return to peace.
Peace had not saved anyone.
The creature roared.
Khan felt anger rising within him.
This time, he did not push it away.
He remembered his master's broken weapon.
His failures.
The anger grew.
Then came grief.
Fear.
The hatred Khan felt toward his own weakness.
The creature charged.
Khan did not move.
The darkness of the cavern pressed against him.
He reached into it.
The Force answered.
Not with the calm presence Khan remembered from the Temple.
It came violently.
Power rushed through him.
The creature moved closer.
Khan raised one hand.
The Force struck it from above.
Its body crashed into the ground.
The impact shook the cavern.
Cracks spread across the stone beneath it.
The creature roared and tried to rise.
Khan pushed harder.
Its arms trembled.
Its claws scraped against the ground.
The creature lifted its head.
For a moment, Khan saw pain in its yellow eyes.
He could release it.
He could collect the weapon components and escape while it recovered.
The creature had nearly killed him.
If he released it, it could rise again.
It could follow him.
It could become another threat waiting beyond his control.
Khan closed his fingers.
The pressure increased.
The creature's body slammed against the floor again.
Its roar became a strained cry.
Khan felt its bones resisting him.
He tightened his hand.
Something broke.
The creature thrashed beneath the weight of the Force.
Khan did not hesitate.
He remembered every life he had failed to protect.
Every enemy he had allowed to remain beyond his reach.
He would not repeat those mistakes.
His hand closed into a fist.
The creature's armored body collapsed beneath the pressure.
Its roar stopped.
Silence filled the cavern.
Khan continued holding it against the ground.
The body did not move.
Slowly, he lowered his hand.
The darkness remained around him.
For once, it did not feel distant.
Khan breathed heavily.
He waited for regret.
None came.
The creature would never threaten him again.
That was all that mattered.
Khan walked toward the raised stone.
He collected the scattered components one at a time.
The dark hilt frame rested near the creature's broken claws.
Khan lifted it.
Gold lines crossed its surface.
The frame held no memory of Dooku.
It carried no history Khan understood.
It belonged to no master.
Whatever it became would be his.
Khan gathered the remaining pieces and held them against his chest.
He looked back at the creature.
Then he entered the passage.
The sound of the waterfall gradually returned.
Khan walked through the falling water.
The cold struck him first.
Then the light.
He landed in the pool and stepped toward the shore.
Malgus had not moved.
The Sith's attention fell upon the components in Khan's hands.
Then his yellow eyes shifted toward Khan.
Khan could feel the warrior studying him.
Not his injuries.
Not the weapon.
Him.
"You found what you sought," Malgus said.
Khan looked down at the dark hilt.
"I earned it."
Malgus turned toward the forest.
Khan followed without being told.
A faint satisfaction passed through the ancient warrior.