“Ben, this is aggravating. You are going down a path that will bring your end one day. As tempting as the ways of Sith are, the Jedi will be there to fight against. Do not sign your own death sentence. Your parents trusted me with your life and it is my duty to protect you until the end. I will not let you fall in the hands of the Dark.” These were the words of Luke Skywalker that Rey heard while the darkness that surrounded her faded away like smoke. It was the same scene as in her vision, only they were now at what she assumed to be the Jedi Temple. She didn’t recognize the place, but somehow, she understood beyond what was in front of her eyes. Ben Solo looked at his master but didn’t say a word. Instead he bowed with respect and went inside what would now be the main entrance to the Temple. Luke let out a sight and chose to go down the stairs. He needed a moment alone with his thoughts.
Rey followed her Master, knowing that he would not be aware of her presence. He took firm steps and his heart was as heavy. The ignorance on the boy’s face when he confronted him was not going to be forgiven. It was enough. Luke blocked out the thought that he is the son of his sister, that his blood runs through Ben’s blood as well. He will not show mercy and in the name of a greater good, will put an end to all of this. Rey didn’t see him talking to himself, but she felt his intentions, heard his malicious thoughts. It was a shock for her, especially that Master Skywalker, when confronted with answers to her question, told her it was just an impulse of the moment, not a premeditated action. She knew what would follow, but she had to see it with her own eyes, she had to know the truth. Rey looked one last time at Luke then ran back at the Temple, at Ben.
She followed her heart and found him in a dim lit room which she thought would be his own. He was standing at the edge of the bed, looking down at the floor but his mind wandered somewhere else. She felt his emotions like they were her own. Oh, bless anybody not to feel the sadness he had in his heart. It shattered him in millions of pieces that his own uncle didn’t understand him, that he was too drawn in the old Jedi ways to see the necessity of a change. Ben Solo wanted to be that change. Rey, out of all people, understood him the most. She felt powerless, she wanted for him to see her so she can assure him that everything will be alright, that he is not wrong, that it was not him at fault but the lack of acceptance of the new ways for Luke. She couldn’t. He just stood there and at one point, he closed his eyes and fought back his tears but they escaped unwillingly. Rey kneeled down in front of him and at one point, she reached out for his face and touched him for mere seconds with her fingers, whipping a tear away. And he felt it. He suddenly opened his eyes and became alert. He looked around but saw nobody and felt nobody’s presence in the room. She felt him confused but he dismissed it quickly as an act of his own imagination.
He got up and went to what she thought would be a drawer. He opened it and there were two pieces of parchment which seemed to be as old as time. He carefully got them out and went back to sit at the edge the bed, opening up both of them and reading them out loud. The first one said:
-The Code of the Jedi-
“There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
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There is no death, there is the Force.”
And then he read the other parchment:
-The Code of the Sith-
“Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me."
He stole both of the parchments from the temple while his Master left him to wander alone. He did it with no ill intentions but if he wanted to be the creator of a new philosophy, he had to be the one to have knowledge of both of ways. Ben was a dreamer by heart and once he would become himself the Master of the Light and Dark, he knew that Master Luke would finally understand him and would help him build a new Galaxy, a spiritually balanced one.
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Luke Skywalker was a man with an unchangeable will. He knew that being a Legend meant sacrifices and this time he had to do the greatest sacrifice of them all, take his nephew’s life in order to prevent Evil from spreading. The boy had much potential, but his raw power, left on as legacy from his grandfather, Darth Vader, sacrificed his humanity and drove him on the Path towards the Dark Side of the Force. It was the middle of the night and the time to put an end to all of this. Dying this way, before his journey would be complete, would save Ben’s soul and this is what he cared the most about. He sworn to Leia that he will protect her son and this is what he was going to do this time. She would understand. She had to.
There is no emotion, there is peace…
He was ready.
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Ben was asleep in his room and Rey was his guardian. As she expected, with swift movements, Luke entered the room and for a few moments, all he did was stand by the bed of his nephew. She felt how he was slowly losing his control as his will of carrying on his task. He did not want to do it anymore. He would have no excuse for such gruesome act, he didn’t want him dead, he wanted him saved. There are other ways that I can help him with. Rey heard his thought and felt relieved but immediately heard another man’s voice as well, communicating with Luke through telepathy: There is no emotion, there is peace. You are the Grand Jedi Master, a Legend. Kill him and the Glory will be all yours, fail to do so and you will suffer the consequences of your own weakness – the end of the Jedi reign. Luke was fighting it. His hand trembled on his lightsabre and tried to block out the other voice in his head. No, this is not right! He is my blood! Luke was being tortured mentally by an unknown force and he tried fighting back, but the power was far too great. There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no emotion, there is peace. The stranger’s voice was repeating these words over and over again. Rey felt Luke slowly losing his touch with his own feelings and reached out for his sabre. He was going to do it and there was nobody to stop him anymore. The Jedi code was above all, it was the rule of the Universe and it had to be followed. One last look at Ben Solo, a mistake of the Force, brought out to light his passion for the one true Law of the nature that he gave his soul to in exchange for power. Ben was not aware of any of it. He was sleeping so peacefully and Rey knew that she didn’t have any right to interfere, but the moment Luke prepared to strike down his nephew, she yelled at Ben “WAKE UP!”. And he did, managing to block out his uncle’s attack. He didn’t believe his eyes at first, too much in shock to comprehend the betrayal of his own Master.
The Grand Master, Luke Skywalker, might have failed that night to kill his own apprentice in the name of the Jedi code, but he managed to destroy the most precious gift that Ben had. Hope. That night, Ben Solo, the apprentice with power of will to change the future and bring an end to the philosophy of war, died at the hands of his own uncle and Master. Instead, a vicious killer with no remorse and under the vow to have no peace until the very last Jedi fell at his feet, struck down by his own lightsabre, Kylo Ren, was born.