Darkness...
Silence...
Then awareness.
"Where... where am I?"
"What is this power? This energy?"
"It's everywhere. I... I have never felt such raw potential before!"
Within the relic vault of Kamar-Taj, the ancient Muur Amulet began to stir. More precisely, the malevolent entity that dwelled within the Sith artifact.
He had slumbered for an eternity. The Force only knew how long it had been since Karness Muur's consciousness had been truly aware of his surroundings.
When bonded to a host, Muur could sense the world around him in his dormant state. He only achieved full awareness when possessing the wearer of the amulet, bending them to his will.
His last host had been Celeste Morn, a Jedi Shadow during the Mandalorian Wars. But he had been forcibly "sedated" since she entered that accursed cryogenic chamber.
Even in that state, he had tormented the Jedi with nightmares for years upon years.
He had remained trapped in that living death until something had stirred him to wakefulness.
Someone had finally freed her from that frozen tomb that had kept him dormant for so long.
Yet something was different. The Force... it was as if he had been struck deaf and mute. He could not hear its whispers.
He could still sense that Celeste lived, but he had no means of compelling her obedience, or even of speaking to her directly.
This world they now inhabited... the Force did not exist here. Or so he had believed at first.
He remained bound to Celeste's neck as she traveled with the broken soldier who had freed her, the man she had inexplicably fallen in love with.
The ancient Sith Lord seethed with barely contained rage.
His vessel had never shown affection for another living creature, and now she dared to love some mentally shattered relic from a primitive war?
He demanded release. Freedom!
But then his imprisonment had been magnified tenfold by some elderly being whose power defied comprehension.
To add further insult, Karness Muur had been "sedated" once again by this mysterious entity. When consciousness returned, he found himself restrained and confined in some sort of mystical prison, no longer resting against Celeste's throat.
How had this happened?!
How could he have been separated from her without his knowledge?!
He was Karness Muur, ancient Dark Lord of the Sith!
To treat him with such disrespect was an affront to a being of his stature.
He would not be ignored. He refused to be forgotten!
Therefore, the Sith spirit gathered what power remained to him and unleashed it with maximum force.
Even in death, the effort left Muur exhausted and nearly unconscious once more.
But it had served its purpose. He sensed movement, no, he sensed presence.
Several beings, in fact, and they all wielded this strange new power he could not quite comprehend.
Was it Sith sorcery? Perhaps some form of Jedi mysticism, if such a thing existed.
"Master, what is this?" a voice asked.
Yes! They had noticed him!
Finally, they were acknowledging his presence!
"I'm not certain," came the reply.
"It appears ancient."
"Indeed. Clearly something that was discovered recently."
"But from where? I cannot determine its origin."
"Does it matter? It's here now, calling out like the other relics do."
"Yet it's contained within a vault with numerous protective enchantments."
The most powerful presence in the group spoke again.
"Indeed," his voice carried a contemplative tone. "Too many protective measures for a simple artifact."
Muur felt this potent being drawing closer, and suddenly many of the restraints and bindings around him began to dissolve.
For what felt like the first time in millennia, the Sith spirit experienced something approaching freedom.
"Yes... release me..."
Slowly, the mystical chains binding him were removed, and he began to feel his ancient powers flowing through his essence once more.
The moment the final restraint was lifted, he immediately attempted to launch his metallic container toward the nearest potential host.
However, a beam of golden-orange energy tethered him in midair, his amulet's appendages grasping futilely at the mystical bonds.
"Foolish!"
For a moment, Muur found himself completely immobilized, his spirit suddenly pulled from the amulet and forced to manifest before a man with graying hair at his temples.
"Come now, did you truly believe I would be foolish enough to release you completely?" the apparent leader of the group asked mockingly. "Much as I sometimes disagree with her methods, my Master placed those constraints upon you for good reason. For my own protection, I shall leave most of them intact."
The Sith spirit merely snarled as he struggled with increasing desperation to reach anyone he could possess. Even more urgently, he wanted to strike down the one currently restraining him.
Muur felt agony course through his essence, and this time his bonds tightened considerably.
"Attempt that again and you'll be sealed away permanently," the man threatened, and Muur reluctantly ceased his struggles.
Very reluctantly, the Dark Lord relaxed, though his expression remained murderous.
"What... or who might you be?" asked the man who had freed him.
"I?" the spirit replied with grandiose arrogance. "I am the mighty Dark Lord of the Sith, Karness Muur."
"Never heard of you."
"I suspect history has attempted to erase my legacy."
The man regarded the spirit with obvious suspicion. "Perhaps it has. Or perhaps you find yourself in a realm where your story was never told."
"What galaxy have I been exiled to now?" Muur demanded, his voice approaching a roar.
The group of beings before him exchanged surprised glances.
"What do you mean by 'galaxy'?" their leader asked.
The Sith spirit could only smile with malevolent satisfaction in response.