---

Visions of Padmé abound in &34;Star Wars: Master of Evil&34; passage. Darth Vader ignites red lightsaber for first time in exclusive Star Wars excerpt

Visions of Padmé abound in "Star Wars: Master of Evil" passage.

Darth Vader ignites red lightsaber for first time in exclusive Star Wars excerpt

Visions of Padmé abound in "Star Wars: Master of Evil" passage.

By Dalton Ross

Dalton Ross is a writer and editor with over 25 years experience covering TV and the entertainment industry. *Survivor* is kind of his thing.

EW's editorial guidelines

October 22, 2025 11:15 a.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader in 'Obi-Wan Kenobi'. Credit:

Let's face it: Emperor Palpatine totally suckered Anakin Skywalker into joining the dark side. He used a simple *Star Wars* side convo at a goofy space opera to tell the tale of Darth Plagueis, thereby tricking Anakin into thinking he could keep Padmé alive. Sneaky!

But even after losing three of his limbs and all of his glorious flowing hair on Mustafar, the newly crowned Darth Vader is still searching for the secrets of life and death. And that post-*Revenge of the Sith* search is chronicled in the new *Star Wars: Master of Evil* novel from Adam Christopher coming out from Random House Worlds on Nov. 11.

But before the recent Dark Side convert can start subjugating the galaxy under his lightsaber blade, he needs… well, a new lightsaber blade! A green or blue hue simply won't do for a Dark Lord of the Sith, and in an exclusive excerpt from the book, we see what happens when the former Anakin attempts to change a kyber crystal color to the ominous red of the Sith. It's not as simple a process as one might think — which Vader soon discovers.

Check out the excerpt for yourself below. But first, here's the official description of *Star Wars: Master of Evil.*

Darth Vader in 'Rogue One'.

**After *Revenge of the Sith,* a newly forged Darth Vader hunts for the secrets of life and death under the watchful eye of Emperor Palpatine.*******"In the wake of Emperor Palpatine's rise to power, the true nature of his most sinister enforcer remains a mystery. Darth Vader is a dominant yet illusive figure: the shadow cast by a malignant Imperial regime, unknowable to even its top officials. But even as his humanity gives way to myth, Vader remains haunted by the promises of the dark side, seeking the ultimate power that his master has hinted at but withheld—the power to conquer death itself.****"On the volcanic world of Mustafar, Vader undertakes a dark ritual, bleeding a kyber crystal to forge his lightsaber. This act unleashes a power far greater than he anticipated, giving him a glimpse into the limitless potential of the Force.****"Vader is determined to follow this vision, even if it means defying his master's orders. Yet he finds the Emperor suspiciously supportive of his mission, even sending Vader to the Diso system to investigate rumors of a Force-wielding shaman able to raise the dead. At his side are a cadre of the Emperor's scarlet-robed Royal Guard, led by Colonel Halland Goth—a decorated soldier with a very personal interest in Vader's mission.****"Even as the Emperor's true motivations reveal themselves, Vader falls deeper into obsession. His journey takes him far across the galaxy, chasing rumors and phantoms. But no matter how far he travels, he cannot escape the shadows within his own soul. Haunted by the echoes of his past, Vader circles the true resolution to his quest: only once all weakness is purged can he become a master of evil.*

'Star Wars: Master of Evil' by Adam Christopher.

Random House Worlds

Excerpt from Star Wars: Master of Evil by Adam Christopher

*On the surface of Mustafar, Vader pours his hatred into a kyber crystal, bleeding the gem to create his signature red blade.*

The dark side is strong here, a current that sweeps around the ap­prentice, urging him, propelling him. Guiding him, a light that shines on the true path. In front of him, the altar stone is dark, but the shadow it casts behind it is too long, is too deep, is darker still, a voidlike ab­sence, a darkness that seems to move, the power stirring, the power waiting, but not watching.

Yes, this is the place.

The lightsaber of Kirak Infil'a is a simple thing, almost childishly so as all lightsabers are, nothing but a mess of electronics inside a hilt. Yet it is not the mechanism that matters but what that mechanism holds. The true heart of the weapon, the thing that gives it life.

The kyber crystal.

The apprentice dismantles the hilt almost by instinct and slips the crystal from within. The shard is pale green and small enough to hold between his finger and thumb, which the apprentice does, gazing at it until a green light flares in his red-tinged optics.

Almost like the crystal *knows.*

Then he sets it down on the black altar stone, keeping his distance, guiding the crystal home with the Force.

But the crystal will not stay. Even as he reaches out in concentration, the crystal rises to hover over the altar, almost like it is fighting back.

Darth Vader. Lucasfilm

With a final effort, the apprentice focuses his will on the thing, but the crystal merely takes that power and pushes it back at him. With a sizzle of unknown energy, the apprentice finds himself thrown across the cave, smashing into the rune-etched wall. His mask is damaged in the fall, one red-tinged eyepiece popped from the frame. With one wide, naked eye, he stares at the crystal.

"What . . . what have I done?"

He reassembles the lightsaber. He leaves, but . . . time moves in a blur, his actions guided not by the dark but by something else . . .

He sees his master. He sees a flash of green, the blade of lies, the blade of a Jedi.

*Ah, so you have made your decision?*

He sees a flash of red, the blade of truth, the blade of the Sith.

*So be it, my friend. You have chosen weakness.*

He sees his master fall.

'Star Wars' author had panic attack before writing 'Revenge of the Sith' novelization (exclusive)

The 10 best 'Star Wars' books ever

Then he sees a planet, not the lava fields of Mustafar, not the cityscape of Coruscant, but fields of green, moons of blue dancing in the sky.

He sees a man sitting. A man he knew, once, a long time ago, but when he approaches, the Jedi's blue blade is already alive and ready to strike.

In the cave on Mustafar, the apprentice reaches out.

His fist closes around the crystal as it hangs in the air.

"This is all there is?"

Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) in 'Obi-Wan Kenobi'. Lucasfilm Ltd.

The visions are not real. They are tricks. The light side lies, the light side is deceit and deception, and in its final moments the kyber crystal of Kirak Infil'a has betrayed its intent, revealing its dishonesty as it tries to corrupt and entangle.

The power of the light side is strong.

He is stronger.

The apprentice slams his gauntleted hand down on the crystal, pin­ning it against the ancient stone. Around the cave, the carved runes light in red and orange as the apprentice focuses now, not with his will but with things far more powerful.

The crystal fights but cannot win. The falsehood of the Jedi, the lies of the light side: They are stripped away until all that is left is the truth.

The lava fields.

Obi-Wan, the craven victor, revealing his true self.

Shmi, who died for nothing, the cowardly Jedi refusing to free her, refusing to interfere.

He sees Palpatine.

He sees Padmé. He sees Padmé. He sees Padmé.

He always, *always *sees Padmé.

Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen in 'Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith'.

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation/Courtesy Everett Collection

And then it happens. His new visions are shattered by an explosion of light and color as, beneath his fist, the green light blazes, the kyber crystal of the Jedi screaming in corruption and cowardice, in fear and loathing—the lies of the Jedi revealed at last.

And then it screams in something pure.

Something . . . true.

And from that hate comes . . .

And from that strength comes . . .

It is done. It is done.

Darth Vader pulls himself from the cave floor. How long has passed is uncertain. The hot, scarred night of Mustafar is never-changing, the cave lit by the eternal glow of the ancient runes.

It is done. It is done.

Hayden Christensen in 'Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith'. Lucasfilm Ltd.

The crystal sits on the altar stone. It is red, the red of the Sith, the red of Vader's vision, the red of the scars that sear his body beneath the armor, the red of the blood that boils in his veins. It is the red of his hate and the red of his anger.

It is the red of the Sith. The red of the truth.

He reassembles the lightsaber, rebuilding the sacred weapon around its new bleeding heart. The task is, once again, simple, yet Vader's work is slow, as he replaces and reconnects every component with immacu­late precision, until at last the weapon is whole.

He ignites it. The blade flares into existence, its scarlet glow illumi­nating the cave, brighter than the lava, brighter than the runes. It lights the altar, revealing the scar now burned onto its surface from where the crystal had lain.

But it does not light the shadow behind the altar. Vader moves the blade, raises it, but the shadow seems to only deepen, the pull of the dark side suddenly stronger, a riptide that threatens to drag him under. He shifts on his feet, his boots sliding in the dust as he regains control.

Yes, there *is *power here. Power undreamed of.

His master, Darth Sidious, had spoken of the power of the dark side and had told him of its potential and his own potential, making prom­ises of guidance, of understanding. There was no question of any decep­tion; lies were the province of the Jedi, and the apprentice knew that one day the knowledge he sought would be his.

Here, in the cave, there is . . . something else. His master had called it a locus for the dark side of the Force. But standing here, it feels like so much more, the shadow moving behind the altar, showing him just a glimpse of an infinite potential, the start, perhaps, of a pathway to many abilities some consider to be . . .

Vader leaves the cave and leaves the planet. Perhaps he will return. Perhaps his master will fulfill the promises made.

Or perhaps Vader will find the path himself.

**Reprinted from *Star Wars: Master of Evil *by Adam Christopher. © 2025 by Lucasfilm Ltd. Published by Random House Worlds, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.**

Original Article on Source

Source: "AOL Books"

Read More

---

Source: GETTY MAG

Read More >> Full Article on Source: GETTY MAG

#LALifestyle #USCelebrities