A faint satisfaction passed through the ancient warrior.
It disappeared before Khan could notice.
Malgus offered him no praise.
No chance to recover.
He turned and continued through the forest.
Beyond the pale trees, a mountain rose into the darkened sky.
Khan secured the ancient lightsaber components beneath his robes and followed.
Neither spoke.
His body still carried the strain of the creature he had killed, but the components in his possession gave that pain meaning.
He had entered the cavern without a weapon.
He had returned with the beginnings of one.
Khan watched Malgus as they moved through the forest.
The Sith continued to make no effort to avoid the planet's dangers.
There was never a need to.
Creatures retreated before he reached them. Those concealed among the trees remained silent. Even the branches appeared to bend away from his path.
His presence moved before him.
The world felt it.
And it yielded.
Khan focused upon the Force.
The darkness surrounding the planet no longer felt as distant as it once had. He could feel it within the trees and beneath the ground.
He could feel the creatures hiding from Malgus.
Their fear.
Their hunger.
Their desire to survive.
Khan allowed his presence to spread.
A creature moved within the brush beside him.
Khan reached toward its fear.
The creature froze.
For a moment, Khan felt its heart beating as if it were his own.
He pushed.
The creature fled deeper into the forest.
Khan continued walking.
He reached farther.
Small creatures scattered before him. Branches shifted before touching his robes. Roots trembled beneath the pressure of his steps.
The forest was beginning to react to him as it did to Malgus.
The feeling was intoxicating.
For the first time since arriving on this world, Khan did not feel weakened by the darkness.
He felt connected to it.
Every emotion surrounding him became something he could touch.
Something he could command.
Khan pushed farther.
The Force answered more easily with every step.
A branch cracked beside him.
Several creatures fled at once.
Their fear passed through the forest, feeding the power spreading from Khan.
He reached for more.
Then something closed around his presence.
Khan stopped.
The darkness he had gathered vanished from his control.
The fear of the creatures remained.
The power remained.
But neither belonged to him anymore.
Malgus stood ahead with his back still turned.
He had not raised a hand.
He had not spoken.
Yet Khan's presence had been crushed beneath his own.
Malgus turned.
They had arrived at the base of the mountain.
"Power without purpose is destruction."
His yellow eyes remained fixed upon Khan.
"Power without direction is as useless as ambition without strength."
Khan said nothing.
Malgus gestured toward the mountain.
"Above, you will find what shall become the source of your strength."
His gaze lowered toward the components hidden beneath Khan's robes.
"And that which you require to complete your blade."
Khan looked toward the peak.
Lightning moved through the clouds again.
He waited for Malgus to explain the trial.
No explanation came.
Khan began his ascent.
The lower portion of the mountain was covered in wet stone. Rainwater flowed through narrow cracks and gathered along the uneven path.
Khan climbed steadily.
His body still carried the pain of his previous injuries, but he did not allow it to slow him.
The path soon became steeper.
Khan used the Force to steady his footing. When the stone became too smooth to climb, he pulled himself upward and landed upon the next ledge.
The forest slowly disappeared below him.
The mountain continued into the clouds.
Khan stopped.
Something was waiting above.
He could feel it.
A faint pulse passed through the Force.
Then another.
It did not feel alive.
But it was calling to him.
Khan focused upon the presence and continued climbing.
Whenever the path divided, he followed the direction where the pull grew stronger.
The rain became heavier.
Wind struck the mountainside, threatening to tear him from the stone.
Khan lowered his body and pushed forward.
Thunder shook the sky.
A flash of purple appeared above him.
Khan moved.
Lightning struck the stone where he had been standing.
The surface exploded.
Fragments of rock flew past him.
Khan looked toward the clouds.
Another bolt formed.
He jumped aside.
Blue lightning tore through the mountain.
The force of the impact threw Khan against the stone.
He caught himself before falling.
The lightning stopped.
Khan pulled himself onto the next ledge.
He continued upward.
Another bolt descended.
Khan sensed it before it struck.
He raised one hand.
The Force met the lightning.
Its path changed.
The bolt struck the mountainside beside him.
Khan continued climbing.
The clouds grew darker as he approached the peak.
Lightning fell more frequently.
At first, Khan avoided it.
He sensed the energy gathering within the clouds and moved before it descended.
But the strikes began coming faster.
One fell ahead of him.
Another struck behind him.
A third forced Khan against the mountain.
He could no longer continue climbing while avoiding them.
A purple bolt descended.
Khan raised both hands.
The lightning struck the barrier surrounding him.
The impact drove him onto one knee.
Pain ran through his arms.
The bolt disappeared.
Smoke rose from Khan's robes.
He forced himself back onto his feet.
Another bolt fell.
Khan blocked it.
His arms trembled.
The lightning pressed against him until he redirected it toward the mountain.
Khan climbed again.
He made it only several steps before the sky flashed.
The next strike forced him back.
His hands burned.
His breathing grew heavier.
Every bolt took more from him.
Khan looked toward the summit.
The presence continued calling to him.
It was close.
But the storm had surrounded him.
He could not evade it.
He could not continue blocking it.
Another bolt formed within the clouds.
Khan watched the purple light gather.
He had treated the storm as an enemy.
Something to be avoided.
Something to be forced away.
The lightning descended.
Khan opened himself to it.
The energy struck his hands.
Pain tore through his arms and spread across his body.
Khan screamed.
His legs failed him.
He fell onto one knee.
The lightning moved through him.
Every muscle tightened.
His vision disappeared behind purple light.
Khan reached into the Force.
He felt the darkness carried within the lightning.
Wild.
Violent.
Without direction.
Khan remembered Malgus's words.
Power without purpose was destruction.
Khan gave it purpose.
He pulled the energy deeper.
The pain remained.
But the lightning did not destroy him.
It remained within his body.
Khan could feel it moving beneath his skin.
Blue sparks passed over his arms.
His exhaustion began to fade beneath the energy.
Khan stood.
Another bolt descended.
He raised one hand.
This time, he did not reject it.
The lightning passed into him.
Part of it escaped into the stone beneath his feet.
The rest remained.
Khan continued upward.
Another strike found him.
Then another.
Each one filled his body with pain.
Each one gave him more power.
Khan learned to direct the energy before it overwhelmed him. He allowed part of it to pass through his body and into the mountain while keeping what he could control.
The storm no longer stopped his ascent.
It became part of it.
Lightning struck Khan as he climbed.
Blue energy moved across his skin.
His robes darkened beneath the burns. His hands shook from the strain.
Still, he continued.
The final ledge appeared above him.
Khan pulled himself over it.
He reached the summit.
Dark clouds surrounded the peak.
Purple and blue lightning moved across the sky, illuminating the black stone beneath his feet.
At the center of the summit stood a jagged formation.
A golden light shone from within it.
Khan approached.
Lightning moved around the stone.
Some bolts struck near it and traveled across the ground before disappearing into the golden glow.
The presence Khan had felt throughout the climb was stronger here.
Khan reached toward it.
A golden crystal rested within the stone.
Small arcs of blue energy moved around its surface.
Khan extended his hand.
The moment his fingers touched the crystal, something pressed against him.
His arm lowered beneath its weight.
The crystal was small enough to fit within his palm, yet it felt heavier than stone.
The crystal he had found as a Padawan had not resisted him.
It had answered.
This one demanded something from him.
Energy passed from the crystal into his hand.
Khan's fingers began to open.
He tightened them.
Blue lightning moved across his arm.
The energy he had absorbed during the ascent responded.
Khan pulled against the crystal.
It remained embedded within the stone.
He remembered the creature beneath the waterfall.
He remembered Dooku's broken lightsaber.
He remembered every moment in which his weakness had decided the outcome.
Khan refused to release it.
The Force gathered around his hand.
The stone cracked.
The crystal came free.
Khan stumbled backward.
The pressure disappeared.
He looked down at his hand.
Golden light shone between his fingers.
Blue sparks moved across the crystal before fading into his skin.
The storm continued around him.
But the lightning no longer fell.
Khan closed his hand around the crystal.
Then he began his descent.
The mountain remained steep.
Rain continued falling across the stone.
Khan moved differently.
The storm no longer forced him to wait.
When lightning struck near him, he reached toward it. The energy moved through his body and disappeared into the Force.
His arms burned.
His body ached.
But the power remained.
Khan descended through the clouds.
Malgus stood where Khan had left him.
He looked toward the mountain before Khan appeared.
Khan stepped through the mist.
His robes were burned and torn. Rainwater ran across his face. Faint blue energy moved around his hands.
The golden crystal rested within his palm.
Thunder shook the mountain.
A final bolt descended behind Khan.
He felt it too late.
Malgus raised one hand.
The lightning changed direction.
It crossed the distance between them and entered his palm.
Purple energy moved across his armor.
Malgus closed his hand.
The lightning disappeared.
He looked at the crystal.
Then his yellow eyes shifted toward Khan.
No pain crossed his face.
No strain entered his body.
He turned and began walking.
Khan followed without being told.
His anger toward Malgus remained.
Malgus had destroyed the last thing Khan possessed of his master. He had called Dooku weak and treated Khan as something to be shaped into a weapon.
Khan did not trust him.
But he could not deny what had happened.
He had defeated the creature beneath the waterfall.
He had crossed the storm.
He carried the components and crystal needed to create a new lightsaber.
In only a short time, he had become more powerful than he had ever been.
That power could help him find Kit and Aayla.
It could help him rescue Xavier and the children.
It could get them all off this planet.
Once that was done, Khan would decide what came next.
Malgus continued leading him through the forest.
Khan followed.
The trees eventually began to thin.
Broken stone appeared beneath the roots.
At first, Khan believed they were natural formations.
Then he saw the markings carved into them.
The remains of an old road passed through the forest.
Collapsed structures appeared on both sides of it. Vines covered their dark walls. Trees had grown through broken floors and shattered windows.
The ruins became larger as they continued.
Towers rose above the forest, their upper sections lost within the mist. Massive statues lay broken among the trees. One stone head rested on its side, half-buried beneath the ground.
Khan looked toward the city ahead.
Even in ruin, its presence pressed against him.
The dark side remained within the stone.
Malgus stopped at the edge of a broken overlook.
"Kaas City."
Khan studied the ruins below.
"Or what remains of it."
Malgus looked across the dead city.
"This was once the center of a great Empire."
His voice carried no pride.
Only certainty.
"Now it shall become the forge of your weapon."
Malgus descended into the ruins.
Khan followed.
The deeper they traveled, the heavier the air became.
Khan felt the remains of countless emotions around him.
Fear.
Hatred.
Ambition.
The desire for power.
They had not disappeared with the people who once lived there.
They remained within the city.
Malgus walked through the ruins as though he remembered every path.
He never stopped to search for a direction. When collapsed buildings blocked the road, he already knew another way forward.
Khan watched him carefully.
Malgus had spoken of the city as the center of a great Empire.
He moved through it as though it had once belonged to him.
They approached the largest structure remaining.
Much of its outer wall had collapsed, but the entrance still towered over them. Damaged statues stood on both sides, their faces hidden beneath stone hoods.
Malgus passed between them.
Khan followed him into the Imperial Citadel.
Their footsteps echoed through the empty halls.
Broken pillars lined the walls. Sections of the ceiling had fallen, leaving stone scattered across the floor.
Malgus continued deeper.
They passed empty chambers and descended several levels beneath the city.
The darkness grew stronger.
Khan felt it pressing against his senses.
Before climbing the mountain, the presence might have forced him back.
Now, he allowed it to surround him.
The energy within his body answered.
Blue sparks moved across his fingers.
They arrived before another set of doors.
Symbols covered their surface.
Malgus raised one hand.
The doors opened.
A large chamber waited beyond them.
The walls remained mostly intact. Ancient banners hung in pieces from above. Statues stood within alcoves on either side of the room, their stone faces watching the center.
Khan stepped inside.
The Force moved differently here.
The emotions spread throughout the city gathered within this chamber.
Power had once been exercised here.
Lives had been judged.
Fates had been decided.
Malgus continued forward.
"This was the Sith Sanctum."
Khan looked toward the statues.
"The most powerful Sith Lords of the Empire once walked these halls."
Malgus approached an ancient station near the center of the chamber.
Dust covered its surface.
He placed one hand against the stone beside it.
A low sound passed through the room.
Red lights slowly activated along the station. Several parts of its surface opened, revealing tools and mechanisms Khan did not recognize.
Malgus stepped aside.
"Place the components upon the table."
Khan approached.
He removed the ancient pieces from beneath his robes and arranged them across the surface.
The dark hilt frame rested at the center.
Gold bearings surrounded it.
Khan opened his hand.
The crystal illuminated his palm.
Faint blue sparks moved across its golden surface.
He placed it beside the components.
Malgus watched him.
"Channel your strength into the weapon."
Khan lowered himself before the station.
"Command it."
The chamber grew silent.
"Make it obey."
Khan looked at the pieces that would become his new lightsaber.
The weapon would not belong to his master.
Whatever emerged from this chamber would belong to him.
Khan closed his eyes.
The components began to rise.