User blog:SleepyDragonSushi/Darth Maul's Return

Slashed in two. That was the final fate given to Darth Maul, eveer after all of the battles he's fought through. He should've died eariler. given the nature of his alliance with the Dark Side of The Force. He should've died when he fought against the many squads of Naboo's royal guard. He should've died when he fought an electric rodent in a luchadore mask.

No... Instead, he died fighting against a one-eyed man with two glowing, steel swords, which, to the Sith Lord's astonishment, were able to contend and match his dual lightsabers. Darth Maul has long since passed away; the last memory he could recall was watching the same man who killed him lose to some white-haired female with a rapier that could conjure various elements. His physical body died, but his conscious didn't. The Sith Lord found himself in a black, endless void where all he could do was wander around aimlessly.

It was at his thousandth step, yes he did count how many steps he was taking due to boredom, that he felt a presence behind him. Even as a dead spirit, Darth Maul still held his signature dual-lightsaber staff, which he brought out as he turned around. The only detail he could make out were two glaring, red eyes that appeared to be angry. "Who are you?" The Sith Lord barked, holding his weapon out in front of him defensively. "Such steep words coming from a dead man." A voice emitted, seemingly from the direction of the floating eyes. "Excuse me?" An outraged Maul spoke, activating the energy blades of his sleek staff. "You're dead. Plain and simple."

Darth Maul calmed himself after these words, although he still kept his weapon out. "If I'm dead, then who are you?" He asked, maintaining his stoic and scary posture. "I'm the persona who's gonna give you a second chance." The presence spoke. Darth Maul raised an eyebrow, his interest invoked. "A second chance?" He echoed, swtichng stances and now gripping his saber-staff with both hands. "Yes, you dimwit. I'm gonna bring you back to life." Was the presence's reply. Normally, Maul would've been offended, but he hesitated. If this being really can revive him, why provoke it into a fight?

"If I agree, what are your terms?" The Sith Lord requested and the air around him grew less intense. "An intelligent one, I see. The terms are that you must fight in my upcoming event." The presence told him.

Now, Darth Maul was offended. "You want to make me your personal battle slave?" He said as if he couldn't believe his ears. "You won't be alone. You'll have a partner." It said, cold and straight to the point. "A partner? You're mad to think I'll cooperate with some random fool." Darth Maul spat back, now more than ready for a fight. "Those are the terms. You want to live again? To feel the ephemeral environments that surrounds you, and experience emotion and physicality? Or just wander around in endless purgatory?" Chilled to the core, Darth Maul wighed out his options: Comply, live and fight, or mindlessly drift around in the Void. "When you've come to a decision, simply say it aloud." And with that, the presence seemingly vanished, leaving the Sith Lord for himself.

For what felt like hours, Darth Maul stood still, deep in thought and the isolation gradually increasing within him. Eventually he sighed, having made up his mind about the ordeal. "Fine. I shall fight."

"Good." The presence suddenly reappeared. "And here I thought you Siths were uncooperative."

"You know of my Order?" Darth Maul questioned. "And how it is a bastardization of the Jedi Knights?" The presence countered back, off-putting the Sith's next response. "But enough talk. I shall now send you off." The presence's words echoed a second later, making Maul uneasy. Soon afterwards, a grey portal appeared to existence out of thin-air before the red-skinned Sith. It was staticky and the appropriate noise accompanied it. "What is this?"

"I call it the Midnight Rift. Peer into it and you will attain a glimpse of your co-worker." The presence replied as if the answer was obivous. Which it wasn't; Maul stepped closer to the portal and the static parted to reveal the faint image of a masked persona glowing with an icy aura. The image disappeared a moment later, static coming together once again; Darth Maul was ratehr confused by the image, unable to process who and what kind of face that belonged to. However, before he could, something shoved him forward, and he fell into the portal.

"All according to plan." The presence spoke, then faded into the darkness.

And Darth Maul would be just one of many soon forced to fight for their lives.