They stood at the mouth of the cave, both master and apprentice, one calmly watching, the other trying to see inside the pitch black darkness, his palms sweaty.

Initial inspection of the documents bought from Brehan Silc revealed their usefulness, just as the merchant had suspected. But it also revealed the most important part of the information, namely the location of the weapon, was likely in the missing part of the ancient inscriptions. Xeran was tasked with translating them, but his other duties took priority at the moment. And in the meantime, Maul had chosen to reward the success of his first mission with a sort of training he wondered if he was truly ready for.

He breathed, focusing his senses. There was no doubt of what his master had already told him, this place was powerful in the Dark Side of the Force. What sort of power it held, he expected he would discover very soon. That was his mission, after all.

"What can I expect to find inside?"

"I do not know. This is your test."

"Then perhaps some advice?"

Maul sighed. "The truth is, the exact nature of your task is hidden from me as well. There is a powerful dark aura inside the cave, an indication of an artifact or holocron of some sort, and I desire to study it. But I thought it is more proper that you recover it. There are many such items scattered across the galaxy, and each one can be a source of great power, therefore you must learn more about them. I do not expect to be your only source of knowledge forever, nor should I be, if you are to one day become more powerful than me." He paused, feeling his apprentice's excitement mixing with doubt. "Do not allow your fear to become an obstacle. If you give it power over you, you will stay in the mouth of that cave forever, pondering the unknown. Master it, and you will be capable to accomplish anything you desire. Now stop wasting my time and go!"

Xeran's excitement won, and he nodded at the older man. He moved closer to the entrance, then hesitantly took one step inside the cave, and before he knew it, the darkness had swallowed him.

For a while, he walked in silence, his heightened senses and his Force capabilities equally unable to discern anything. He must have been deep inside the cave when he finally felt something in the Force, something dark and powerful, but strangely out of reach, as if it both was there and wasn't. He turned swiftly when he heard movement behind him, but he saw nothing but darkness. As he was considering all the kinds of creatures that he knew lived in the planet to try and figure out what might be stalking him, orange light blinded him and the Force around him exploded, and he fell to the ground out of sheer shock.

"What have we here? Who are you to enter this place and disturb me? Just a boy…and clearly lost."

The voice was booming, filling the entire empty space, and Xeran raised his hands as if to protect himself, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the blinding light.

"I am not lost. I came here seeking…"

"Ah, but you are, young one, you are. You just can't see it."

His eyes now open, he finally managed to see the one who was talking. White eyes were staring at him from their sockets on a long, black face. The man, if it was a man, was dressed in black and purple garments, floating in the air, wreathed in flames. A Force Ghost of some sort. He knew his blade would not hurt it, and his powers were also next to useless. Xeran felt his knees weak as he tried to stand up, but he did so nevertheless.

"Who are you?"

"My name is not important, I suppose. Not anymore. Now, I am just a shadow of a ghost, left in this place to waste away. And if you stay on the path you are on, you shall share my fate."

"What do you mean?"

Instead of answering, the apparition raised its hand, and Xeran flew backwards and collided with the wall. Groaning, he got up and gathered the Force around him, feeding it with his growing passions. The apparition rushed towards him and struck his face, and he felt the power in the blow as he found himself on the ground once more, his opponent rushing to attack again. He raised his hands, his desperation fueling his power, and he closed his eyes.

When he opened, he stepped back, the immaterial barrier he had instinctively conjured baffling him and the apparition equally. He decided to improvise. He used all his rage at being at that creature's mercy, and targeted it, not doing anything in particular, but simply wishing it harm. To his surprise, the creature groaned and floated backwards, then turned to look at him with a smile, the fire around his body being reduced to a red glow.

"Hm, yes, powerful, very powerful, just as I suspected. Alright, you might be worth my time. Heed my lessons, boy, for I was a Dark Lord of the Sith, and I can guide you to great power…or end your existence."

The young Zabrak was not convinced, but he didn't seem to have much of a choice. After all, it couldn't hurt to listen to what the old Sith had to say.

"I…shall hear you."

"And I hope you listen well. You have been given a great privilege in being chosen for training in the Dark Side of the Force, boy, but at the same time, your master has deceived you."

"Deceived me? How?"

The apparition closed its eyes and breathed deeply. "Your mind is open to me, your thoughts plain to see. I see your passions, and they do not disappoint. I see your lust for power and revenge, your desire to prove yourself…you have the makings of a Sith, young warrior. But only if you let go of your one fatal flaw."

"And what would that be?"

"Loyalty." He paused, giving Xeran a moment to process the meaning of his words. "Every Sith is supposed to be subservient to their master, to serve and protect them, for they are an important stepping stone to power. But they are a means to an end, nothing more. Once your master can no longer be useful, they should be discarded, to make room for your ascension. But I see you have developed a different kind of bond with him. I could even go as far as to say you…care about him? Cast aside such thoughts, boy. That is not our way, and for good reason."

Xeran felt his face hot, his anger rising. "I will never betray my master, and you be damned, ghost, for even suggesting that!"

"If you do not do so first, then your master will betray and kill you when you cease to be useful to him. It is the nature of the Sith to betray each other. It is unavoidable."

"Then I suppose it is fortunate that neither me nor him are anything like the Sith you know. And if I decide to follow the Order's teachings, I would still become the kind of Sith I chose to be, and not like those who have repeatedly failed the galaxy out of sheer cruelty and short-sightedness."

The ghost observed him for a moment, frowning.

"You are not going to listen, are you? I can see them inside you, the bonds you have forged, and not just to him. I suppose they are the real source of your weakness. It's a pity…you could have been so strong. But maybe it is your destiny to be nothing more than the lapdog of a washout, until even he casts you aside."

He had had enough. He raised his hands, roaring, and cast his rage toward the ghost, making it scream and wince. But that was all he could do against such an enemy, and the apparition's flames turned bright and orange once again as its power exploded, sending Xeran flying towards the darkness of the cave.

"Very well, then, maybe you do have a little value…as a source of entertainment." He attacked the Zabrak, who felt sharp claws dig into his skin, and then he disappeared before he had a chance to make an effort to counterattack, only to reappear a moment later, laughing, and slash at him again.

Xeran was hopelessly outmatched, and finally, after a few more painful slashes, his desire to survive outweighed his pride. And so he ran the way he had come, hoping to reach the exit before the ghost of the mad Sith trapped him in there forever.

He ran in the dark for a long time, timing his dodges as well as he could to avoid the ghost's razor sharp claws. He fell once, twice, but he forced himself to keep getting up. He could not be close to the exit when he saw a light in the distance, coming towards him. A red light?

Then the ghost hit him again, hurling him towards the wall, and his consciousness faltered as his head collided with a rock. He felt hot liquid running in the back of his neck, heard someone scream his name, then he felt the Force around him shudder, as if two powerful parts of it were colliding. And then he sank in a darkness deeper and more hopeless even than the one of the cave, where he found relief in the absence of both thought and pain.