The following contains spoilers from Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #20, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
So much in Star Wars is about the pursuit of eternal life. The Jedi adamantly rejected the prospects of immortality. Clinging to life, in their opinion, would have been against the natural will of the Force. The Sith, on the other hand, tried everything in their power to make sure that they lived as long as possible. For untold centuries, they searched for various ways to prevent death, and there were a few ways that they succeeded.
Darth Sidious cloned himself in Legends continuity, and he did the same thing in the recent Disney canon with a little less success. In short, he tried to manipulate midi-chlorians to prevent his death. Likewise, many ancient Sith practiced essence transfer or trapped their spirits within an object or a temple. By those various techniques, many Sith succeeded in extending their lives for countless centuries. Yet, none of those Sith -- or any Jedi -- ever found a way to bring someone back from the dead.
With the exception of Ben resurrecting Rey in the sequel trilogy, that's how it's been for decades worth of Star Wars: no one could raise the dead. However, Doctor Aphra #20 (by Alyssa Wong, Minkyu Jung, Rachelle Rosenberg, and VC's Joe Caramagna) gave fans a massive disclosure. The story within the comic proved that someone else had the power to resurrect the dead. But in an ironic twist, it wasn't a Jedi or a Sith who had discovered the game-changing ability. It was the Ascendant -- a group of non-Force sensitive cultists, who used technology to replicate the Force.
Over the past few issues, Aphra and Sana Starrros have been looking for Ascendant technology, but Kho Phon Farrus has also been on the hunt. Farrus tried to kill Aphra a few times, and in issue #19, Farrus found a new ally. Sava Iglan'tine Nos was the Chair of Occult Archaeological Studies at the University of Bar'leth, and she had been waiting decades for this moment. So, she led Farrus into a secret catacomb that housed the Ascendant's most sacred place -- the Undying Heart.
As issue #20 opened, Aphra and Starros were trying to stop Nos and Farrus from activating a piece of Sith-making technology called the Spark Eternal. Aphra and Farrus fought each other, but during their fight, they both started to bleed from the nose. The drops of blood landed in sacrificial basins, which played right into Sava Nos' plan. She cut her own hand, and that was the third and final blood sacrifice that the Ascendant ritual called for.
Out of nowhere, the alter began to glow and a massive beam of energy shot through Aphra, killing her. Farrus was appalled because the Spark Eternal was supposed to "lay death to rest," but it had killed Aphra. Yet, Sava Nos knew that things were about to get interesting. As Aphra lay dead, a small bit of light began to glow above the Ascendant and went inside of Aphra's chest -- not unlike Iron Man's arc reactor. Somehow, it brought her back to life, but something wasn't right. She wasn't Aphra. She was "Eternity." That's where the issue ended, so it will be interesting see what exactly happned to Aphra when the next issue comes out. Either way, it's clear that the Ascendant's technology is not to be messed with.