Star Wars Episode 10: Return of Death - 1. The Figure in the Black Robe

27 ABY, Bogano, Outer Rim

“Beep Boop Bob, Woooo” whistled R2D2 as he struggled to climb over the vines in the narrow path which carved its way along the edge of a rift valley of Bogano. Luke Skywalker, seeming to be slightly more anxious today, sighed and looked back.

“Yes Artoo, I am waiting for you.”

The evening showers definitely did not help Artoo, as the path had become a lot slipperier than usual. Not to say that “usual” meant “a totally normal terrain which definitely wouldn’t throw you down the dark abyss”. The marshy terrain of Bogano was very......annoying. A single rotation was a lot longer than that of Coruscant, making the afternoons very humid. The long evenings were bombarded by heavy storms and lightening. It definitely didn’t help that Artoo was struck by lightening once and thus, had to be shut down for 17 rotations.

“Why oh why did Master Luke had to set up the new Jedi Order in such a dreadful place” thought R2D2. Yes, he could think. He wasn’t one of those dumb binary droids, was he?

Chattering and whistling, R2 caught up to Luke.

“Since when did you start complaining so much, little guy?” Luke said gently.

“Beep Woooooooooooop”

Shaking his head, Luke trod on.

“Bow Bow Woooooo” Luke heard coming from a distance.

Looking back, Artoo was lagging back again.

“You know........Why don’t you use your ion thruster here? We did build a new one for you, didn’t we?

“Bop bop bop woooop bop”

“No of course you wouldn’t run out of charge! This isn’t a long distance as such! You definitely can use it here. Just don’t crash into the walls here, alright?............You ARE pretty heavy, you know? I was so sore the last time I had to carry you all the way back”

“Bop bop bop”

Luke looked to his side and saw Artoo still treading along, his tracks whirring, which were befriended by the echoes of their own sound, originating from the valley. Luke rolled his eyes and chuckled. The Astromech could be a little stubborn sometimes. But he still loved him. After all, he was the only pers...... sentient being that Luke could actually open up to. The younglings were still........young. They could be a handful too. Could? No, they definitely were a handful! The Padawans were responsible enough, but still.......he couldn’t get himself to trust them much.

His dear nephew Ben Solo was very........to be mildly put.....different. He was very curious. A bit too curious for Luke’s liking. Not to deny that Luke wasn’t similar. However, Luke obeyed his Masters. Wait....did he? He did go against their word and try to turn his father to the light.

Luke couldn’t reach a conclusion as he thought about this. He tried to meditate, look for answers in the force. Despite Bogano’s strong connection to the force, he was always left with confusion.

Ben always wanted to know more about the dark side of the force. It didn’t help that he was strong in the force too! He was a Skywalker after all! The force had definitely smiled upon Luke’s family. However, the fears of a new Anakin Skywalker loomed everywhere. No one wanted the same guy to make a return suddenly, because of whom, thousands were slaughtered in cold blood.

Luke loved Ben! He was his family! He would even get glimpses of his father in him. But he surely would do anything for the innocent lives all across the galaxy. That’s what he had done....always!

Luke and Artoo finally arrived at the cave. Well, it wasn’t a cave really. Just a little dent in the wall, big enough to fit two or three humans. Luke wiped down his seat and finally settled in his usual stance, ready to see if the force had anything new to say about his problems. Ooof was the thing so damn cold!

Suddenly, Luke’s comm link beeped and a familiar voice came from the other end.

“Master Luke! Master Luke! The capital of Mandalore is Keldabe, right? Right?!!!”

Luke heard more of the usual indiscernible youngling banter in the background. Luke smiled and shook his head. Younglings.....free from all worries of life.

“No, my dear Kai, Keldabe was the old capital of Mandalore. However, it was destroyed in the Mandalorian Civil War, right? I told you about it, didn’t I?”

“Oooooooooh........I forgot..........”

“Hehehehehe told you not, I did? The new capital, Sundari is! Dumb, you are!” came a distant, muffled voice. More banter followed.

“Alright my little Jedi, your Master needs a little time for himself! Why not bother the Padawans? I think Tai stayed back with you guys, right?”

“He doesn’t listen!!!”

“Kai…..please…..”

“Yes master.......sorry master...” came a defeated voice.

Luke chuckled to himself and got to his stance again.

“Booop Booop?”

“Yes Artoo, you may power down. Don’t worry, it won’t be long......hopefully....”, Luke sighed.

Closing his eyes, Luke started to procedurally clean out the thoughts running around in his head to find the connection to the force, a small white dot, in a web of multicolored rings.

38 ABY, Cantonica, Outer Rim

“And.....and....Luke Skywalker stood up and said.... “you cannot match my power”!!! Then.....then he raised his laser sword and fought bravely against the evil Kalo Ren!!!” a seven year old Oniho narrated as he stood atop three stacks of hay, with the other farm helpers surrounding him.

The so called “farm helpers” were nothing but slaves picked up in the outer rim and sold off to the syndicates there. The farm helpers were usually urchins, abandoned in ship docks, or simply orphaned due to the flash cartel fights, which would end up killing many. The “providers” as they would call them would simply pick up these kids and sell them off to do menial labor. Why kids? Well, they would never rebel, and it was a lot easier to brainwash them and convince them that they were “rescued”. Kids would never complain about the extremely bad living conditions, as they simply didn’t know any better life! Also, the tourists in the grand casinos of Cantonica, especially the city of Canto Bight would “feel sorry” for them, and give them lavish gifts, in the form of credits, or objects, or whatever. Selling this stuff off, as you might have guessed, would earn even more credits! Good for business!

“Their swords banged on each other so hardly, that people in the three surrounding planets heard the bang!”

“Sound cannot travel through space, Oni” Arashell said, in visible disbelief.

“No.....I don’t know!! But it did!!! I heard the tentacle lady at the table say this! Uhhhh you can.....you can ask Temmy!!!! Right Temmyy? You also heard her, right?”

Temiri sighed.

“Right???”, Oniho said looking at Temiri with his puppy eyes.

“Yes, yes.....she did say that”, he gave in.

Arashell, being a year older than eleven year old Temiri looked at him with a raised eyebrow. She knew all too well that Tem was covering up for Oni. Arashell couldn’t understand how he even put up with Oni. The little crink was sooooooo annnoyingggggg! “Temmy? Can we play catch-the-stone? Temmy? Can we play hide-n-seek?” Well.....Tem loved everyone. He never even got mildly annoyed!!! Is he like a secret droid or something?? Programmed by Oni to be his bodyguard everywhere?

Temiri was enjoying Oniho’s story, but knew that it was nothing but a made up mess from Oni’s mind. He....knew that it was all fake. Right.....? Of course it was! Right? The brief contact with these two outsiders had confused him. Were there really people outside who didn’t obey their masters? Was Larry Sky Walker a real person? He did get this cool ring though.....

Turns out, the force had smiled upon Temiri as well! He started to notice his powers when he played catch-the-stone with Oni. He could somehow slow the stone down just by.....wishing it to slow down. It was very weird. It felt like his fingers had extended. Not in a creepy Quarren beardy-tentacley way. Ewwww. It felt as if he was talking to the stone using his fingers. The stone would comply as much as it could.

Oni had started to become a problem though. “Like not for myself”, Tem thought. “For himself! He shouldn’t lie so much. Perhaps I need to talk to him a little.”

“And....and then.....”, Oni continued.

“He disappeared!!!! Luke just disappeared! Kylo Ben was soooo angry, he started crying, pulled his hair out and threw it on the ground!!!”

“Okay, I’m out! You guys continue to listen to how Oni can poop and make people in the entire Contonican system smell its aroma!”

“Ewwwwwwwwww!!!”, Oniho shouted as Ara left, taking the remaining kids with her.

“Why does she have to be so mean???”Oni frowned, looking at Tem.

“Hehe she’s not mean....she’s…... right, isn’t she? Your stories are a little…...ummmm imaginitive, eh?”

“Well.......I guess........”

“You know.....we could play hide-n-seek today if you do your chores before evening! I’ll also give you double the time to hide today! Deal?”

Oni’s frown started to disappear. A little smile started to take its place. He quickly hugged Tem, and Tem hugged him back.

“Last to the barn is a poopyface!!!”, Oni whispered in Tem’s ear, and took off.

“You little fart!!!!!”, Tem shouted out, as he followed him in a hot pursuit while simultaneously giggling like a maniac.

28 ABY, Bogano, Outer Rim

“TALK TO ME!!! FATHER PLEASE!!! MASTER YODA!!! MASTER KENOBI!!!! I NEED YOU!!! WHERE ARE YOU!!”, Luke cried out, leaning against the same old, wet and cold wall of his usual place of meditation. He had tried to find answers….he was trying his best. But something….just felt off. Way off.

For many seasons had Luke meditated. Why? Well…..it was Ben. His eyes…..There was just something dark hiding behind them. Well that’s what Luke thought. Something about him...just didn’t feel right. But that wasn’t all. There was something else. Something...a lot more sinister.

Many a times, Luke suddenly found himself in a sweaty mess, with that larger than life feeling of doom, casting a shadow on everything, like Bogano’s thunderous clouds. Except unlike Bogano’s clouds, these clouds in Luke’s mind just….persisted. They didn’t break into thunder. They didn’t break into that terrible rain. They just…..stayed. Teasing their presence, looking down at Luke with that evil smile.

Luke’s connection to the force also seemed to slowly….weaken. Just a few seasons back, he could feel the liveliness in the beings around him. The freshness of the flowers humming in their calm, monotonic melody in the force. The vault….a deeper, yet wonderful sound, marking its territory over the green landscape. But now, he simply couldn’t get to that white dot, no matter how hard he tried to clear out the rings. It’s not that he couldn’t feel the force. It’s just that there was a much more dominant noise.

As soon as Luke would start to press further, he would get the old shivers, break into this cold sweat, and would be forced to abort his concentration.

Luke curled up against himself, and kept sobbing quietly. What was going on? What was he going to do? Could he even teach the younglings? Would he fail in rebuilding the Jedi Order? But he had promised his Master to further the ways of the Jedi to the new force-sensitives. Was he failing?

It was raining softly outside for once. Luke’s sobbing didn’t change the sound that the rain made as it crashed against the bottom of the valley. Luke looked up from his hands. His hands were wet with his tears, along with the sleeves of his dirty robe. He smiled and laughed at the absurdity of the entire situation. “Here lies GrandMaster Luke, destroyer of the Death Stars, bringer of Galactic Peace…….in a sobbing mess!”

“Did Master Yoda do this shit too?”Luke chuckled.

“Your feelings, you must understand! Talk to them, you must! Their presence, acknowledge, and to rest, put them. Their message, you must understand. If to abide by that message, with your brain you must decide…..not with your mind. However, ignore your feelings, you must not! For then, a slave to the dark side, you become!”, Luke tried to recall Yoda’s teachings. Master Yoda had taught him the above in his very first training session.

“Alright Master Yoda…..let’s use your teachings. So what was step one again? Understand my feelings. Talk to them. Okay, my feelings! What do you say? Hmmm you say that I can fail to rebuild the Jedi Order. You talk about my failure. Alright! I noted your message, and have acknowledged you now. You can go take a nice, long nap now!”

Luke took a deep breath in.

“Tweeeet tooo woooo”

“Shhhh Artoooo! I’m doing something!”

“Okay, where was I? Yes...my feelings talk about failure. Is their message correct? Maybe….maybe not. But can abiding by this message do me any good? Not really….I won’t know now if I’m bound to fail, or to succeed. I’m doing my best. I’ve chosen the best route possible for the future of the galaxy, after putting in a lot of thought. Maybe I shouldn’t care if I’m going to succeed or fail. Maybe I should just do what I’m doing! Hmmm….so why was I feeling sad? Yessss!!! Because I feared the validity of the message of my feelings. Fear! Fear leads to the dark side! That’s why I couldn’t…….Right….I’m dumb as a clanker!”

“Alright...let’s do this again….”

Luke to a deep breath, exhaled slowly and tried to concentrate on that white dot. However, this time, there was something...weird. Not exactly the bad kind of weird….just…..weird. There were no multicolored rings, there was no noise. But there was no white dot either! It was just the darkness of his eyes, and the chatter of the rain, along with the occasional cold gusts of the moistened wind.

Confused, Luke opened his eyes. Before he could scratch his head in confusion, he heard the familiar voice of his master.

“You’ve grown fatter!”

Luke turned his head sharply to his right.

“Ben?! Ben!!! Why didn’t you visit me! I needed you so much! It’s been so many years! I… I have…”

“I understand, my child….But there is something very important that I’ve come to tell you”, Obi-Wan interrupted Luke.

(Note: For those who don’t follow Star Wars much, Luke is talking to the force ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi, his dead Master, whom he referred to as ‘Ben’. He IS NOT talking to Ben Solo, his nephew. Luke named Ben Solo after his Master)

Obi Wan walked to the edge of the path, and looked up at the clouds.

“I made a grave mistake once, Luke……”

“What? Ben?”

“It was a dark day. The darkest in my life. I was entrusted with my duty of protecting the galaxy. Of doing the right thing.”

Obi Wan turned to look at Luke. There was grief in his eyes.

“It was a day I had to fight my brother, my former Padawan. I was given the task of killing your father, Luke. A great fight ensued on the molten planet of Mustafar. It ended with your father burning alive, having fully given himself to the dark side, and me, standing there like a fool, trying to muster up the will to end his life. I chose to be a coward Luke. My choice led him and the entire galaxy to suffer under the hands of the Emperor and Darth Vader. Only I am to blame for that”

“What? No Ben! What you did…..”

“What I’m trying to tell you Luke”, Obi Wan interrupted Luke again;

“What I’m trying to tell you, is that I don’t want you to be like me.”

Luke shocked, stammered out, “W-w-What? What do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean to say……”

“No! What?! No! Are you crazy??? Ben’s just a kid! I came here to look for answers, not for you to tell me to harm my own Padawan!”

“My boy…...I am doing what you asked me to do. I’m giving you answers! And my answers won’t change depending upon what you want me to say. Something sinister is coming…..you have felt it Luke. Have you not?”

“Yes…...But Ben is innocent. He hasn’t done anything!”

“So are you willing to wait for him to bring destruction? And then you would attempt to stop him?”

“Why are even talking as if Ben is sure to go down that path? The future is dynamic, is it not? I brought my father to the light! I brought Anakin Skywalker back from the clutches of Darth Vader! And you say I cannot prevent my own nephew from falling to the dark? Are you serious Ben?”

“Since when did you start becoming arrogant about your past?”

“I’m not arrogant, Ben! I’m merely narrating the past! Was anything that I said factually incorrect? You even told me to kill my father! You said that the Emperor had already won when I refused to do what you said. You were wrong once, you can be wrong again!”

“Luke….there are things you do not understand. This is something a lot bigger than anyone of us.”

“Then…...tell….me!!! TELL ME WHAT IT IS THAT I SHOULD END A LIFE OVER!!”

ObiWan stood there silently, facing the valley, while giving the customary thoughtful scratch to his beard. He then sighed and shook his head.

Suddenly, another familiar projection appeared beside Luke.

“My Son….I understand the crushing weight of the choice that you are confronted with.”

“Father!!!!”Luke teared up.

Luke just stared at Anakin, simply happy to see a face he hadn’t had the privilege of being in the presence of since a very long time. However, this moment couldn’t last forever.

“My Son….ObiWan is right…..This is the only way”

Luke stood up suddenly. Something definitely wrong was going on here. His hand quickly found his lightsaber, igniting it, illuminating the dark path with a green glow.

“Who are you? And whom do you serve? This trickery shall not fool me!”

Anakin disappointed, looked at ObiWan.

“Luke….you are mistaken. We are here simply to avoid calamity. Unfortunately, the situation is forcing our hand to do this. We know this a tough choice. But the fate of the entire galaxy is on the line.”

Luke tried to feel for the dark side. The dark side was known to mask itself. What it couldn’t do however, was mimic the presence of the light side. Luke felt an overwhelming presence of the two great force wielders of the light side.

Luke even more confused, lifted his lightsaber in the offensive stance. Defeated, he lowered it, and looked at the two force projections with sad eyes.

Anakin smiled sympathetically at his son.

“Luke...you know very well know the power of good decisions. Your decisions saved me. They saved the galaxy. But sometimes, some decisions also have to be ruthless. They are after all…..decisions. They do not care about anyone’s feelings.”

“I understand, Father. But…..what IS it that Ben would do, that I would have to kill him in cold blood? He’s a kid! How is the galaxy’s fate on the line here? And what right do I have to do harm to an innocent being, on the basis of some absurd fears?”

ObiWan and Anakin looked at each other. Sorrowfully, they nodded together.

Suddenly, the world around Luke turned black. He was falling…...it was dark…..so dark that he didn’t know in which direction he was falling. Suddenly, he landed with a huge thump….he rolled around, disoriented, breathing heavily…..After a few seconds, he came to a stop. It was still dark. Suddenly, he found himself to be shivering. And then he felt it. That cold gripping him like anything. It had been a very long time since he had felt that. The last time he did, was when he was being fried alive by the Emperor.

But this was different. Very different. It was a lot colder….firmer…..more menacing. Luke was never afraid when he was in the presence of the Emperor, or Darth Vader for that matter. But now, he was trembling. He couldn’t even breathe out. It was as if his entire body had been frozen by fear. Trembling, he reached for his saber. On igniting it, he jumped back violently, which caused him to roll down the steep slope again. On coming to a halt, he looked up in horror, not believing what he had just seen.

A mountain of bodies, with no peak in sight, everywhere where his eyes could see….death….from corner to corner. Fully grown beings, children, with their lifeless eyes, staring into the blank nothingness.

What was he seeing? What was this? What’s happening?? Luke found himself unable to stand up, his knees weak from fright. And then he felt it again. A strong wind began to blow, carrying with it the screams of billions of people. Old, young, children…..all crying painfully in the last moments of their lives. The screams would get more distinct, but then get muffled out by the wind. In complete shock, Luke’s eyes wandered around helplessly. A sudden and loud lightening illuminated everything momentarily. And there, he saw it.

A large figure, floating in the distance, in a tattered and dirty black robe. The robe fluttered violently in the wind. Another flash of lightening, and Luke saw a half cracked mask decorating the robe, looking in his direction. Luke didn’t know what to do. His lightsaber fell out of his hands. All that he could do, was watch the horrifying scene, helplessly.

And then he felt it at his chest, spreading all over his body…...an unbearable, sharp pain taking over. All the screams now became very distant, as his ears were overcome by a painful ringing. He couldn’t hear it, but Luke’s deafening screams of pain joined the other screams like a choir, singing the song of death.

As he felt his muscles being torn apart, the last thing Luke saw was the masked figure, looking at him, patiently, silently, with its robe fluttering violently in the wind.

Luke fell down his usual resting place, drenched with sweat.

“Tweet tweet clack calck clok booooooo”

Luke found Artoo rolled up beside him. In front of him, lied the other side of the rift valley. He now saw a crack in the clouds, letting in the evening starlight, which gave the sky an orangish-pinkish color, different from the usual gray tone.

“Bap bap bop bop bop”

Breathing heavily, Luke hugged Artoo.

“Artoo……”

He just stayed like that for a few minutes. He then stood up and looked around. The dent in the wall was still there, the valley was still there and his water container was still there- sitting atop the floor beside the dent.

Luke still shook, immediately left the place, not bothering to take with him his belongings, and left straight for the Jedi temple, that he had built with his accomplices near the Zeffo Vault. On his way, he established comms with the Temple.

“Master!!!”

Luke heard younglings shouting and laughing in the background along with the Padawans. They must be playing hide-n-seek or something of that sort, he thought.

“My dear……”. Luke then choked up, trying to control his tears of happiness.

“Master? You it is, right? So sorry I am!! Mean to break the tank, I did not! Told you Kai, didn’t he?”

Luke chuckled.

“What? No….What did you break now?”

“No…...umm…...well…...fighting, Kai and me were. Like no…….not fighting fighting. Just…...play-fighting. See the cleaning tank in the landing bay, I did not. Fall on it, I did. Uhhhhhh……….fall and crack,it did.”

Luke found himself smiling and shaking his head.

“Did you tell the Padawans?”

“Tell Voe, I did. Allowed to play with everyone for five rotations, I am not. Make it three rotations, can you? Please please please please?……..”

“Let me get home first, Grogu…..”

“Okay Master Luke…...”Grogu said, slightly disappointed.

Luke disconnected the comm link.

“Now to what I saw……” Luke sighed and said to himself.

“Am I being influenced by the dark side here? No….it isn’t possible. The dark side cannot mimic the presence of the light side! I could feel Master Kenobi and Father! I could feel their presence! Right??? Yes!!! I could! Of course I could! And…..that thing at the end” Luke shook his head to remove these thoughts.

“Perhaps I shall take a little rest now. I will get up early tomorrow and refer to the Jedi texts. Maybe I will find something more there. But I do not have time…...Oh no…..I’ll consult Leia too! Yes!! She needs to be here! I’ll call her tomorrow at first light!” Luke thought as he started climbing the steps leading towards the Temple.

On entering the Temple, he called everyone for an announcement.

“Alright little Jedi! Aunty Leia is coming to visit us tomorrow early in the morning! Who wants to be the first to greet her?”

“Me! Me!! No meeeee!!!” came in the shouts of the younglings.

From the corner of his eye, Luke saw Ben, standing there, his arms in a cross, smiling like a proud, elder brother.

“How could this innocent seventeen year old kid be so dangerous? Oh Leia…..I need you so much right now…..” Luke thought.

Ben noticed Luke looking at him, and gave him a confused smile, and waved.

Luke waved back, teary eyed.

“Alright then! But to say hello to her, you need to wake up early! For that, you need to go to bed early! Have your dinner now, and go to bed! NO PLAYING AT NIGHT!!! Understood?”

“Awwwww…..nooo……” “Master!!!!” “Awwww man!!!”

“Okay kiddos!!! Come on!!! Shooo shooo!!! I think Hennix has made Rasiken cake!!!”

Luke sighed and climbed up the flight of stairs to his chambers. He wasn’t hungry. He was just tired. Very tired. He quickly established comms with Leia Organa. A holographic projection of her popped up on the comms disc.

“Hello Luke!!! How are you?”

“Leia…..I need you to come visit me in nine ticks.”

“Understood. Anything I need to know before I arrive?”

“Nothing that can be discussed on the line.”

“Alright…..take care brother…...love you!”

“You too! See you tomorrow!”

Leia disappeared from the disc.

Luke now tired, crawled in his bed, closed his eyes, and immediately went to sleep.

His dreamless sleep was interrupted suddenly by a jolt of lightening. Breathing heavily, he looked out of the window. It was still dark. It wasn’t raining, though the smell of the wet soil indicated that it had rained a little, or that it was raining in the distance. Still in his outdoor robe, he stood up in the darkness. He found himself to be thirsty. So, he started walking towards the kitchen located downstairs. On the way, he passed by the chambers of the Padawans, listening to their quiet snores.

He couldn’t help himself from stopping by Ben’s door. He looked at the boy’s face. So innocent…..so pure….. But then, he felt it. The essence of the darkness surrounding Ben. Luke immediately put his hand forward, trying to probe his Padawan’s mind for his dreams.

He saw what he had never wanted to see. Fire…..the sightless eyes of the dead….screams of pain…...the howl of lightsabers accompanied with the roar of explosions. Chilled to the spine, Luke instinctively ignited his lightsaber, filling the chamber with green. He then looked at his right hand, mechanical in nature, a metal structure that replaced his biological hand, lost in a fight with his father. Suddenly, he was overcome with shame. He was about to kill the son of the sister he loved so much…..his own nephew…… He looked at Ben. Ben was wide awake. It was now too late. Luke tried to strike Ben then and there, but Ben used the force to grab his lightsaber, blocking Luke’s strike.

The chamber was filled with the clash of the two sabers. Luke looked at Ben again. The last thing he saw was a scared boy, whose Master had failed him. Ben pulled at the roof, making it come crashing down on Luke, thus making him lose consciousness.

Luke opened his eyes to dark surroundings. A flash of lightening illuminated the entire place. Fear gripped Luke again. He was there…….again…...a mountain of dead bodies on one side……...with the figure floating in the sky. It was different this time though. There were no screams. Luke waited for the pain to arrive, but it never did. He stood up with difficulty. It was extremely windy. The rain got heavier.

It looked at him, in its silent gaze, its robe fluttering violently in the wind. Luke felt cold grip him again. A sudden flash of lightening lit up the figure again. Luke got a glimpse of a glowing eye in the cracked part of the mask. A strong gust of moistened wind made Luke lose his balance and fall in the pile of dead bodies. Looking down, his hand was stuck between a rotting arm, and the lifeless head of a human-like creature; its eyes rotten half way. Scared, he quickly withdrew his arm from the mess. His throat ran dry again. This time however, he was extremely grief stricken. He knew that any amount of pain wouldn’t be enough to punish him for what he had done.

He looked up at the figure. It watched him silently. It didn’t do anything. It just watched him.

“What are you waiting for?!!! Kill me!!! I deserve it!!! ” Luke shouted at it.

Thunder rumbled, echoing several times.

“Hey!!!!! Kill me!!!! Please!!!” Luke shouted, breaking down in tears.

It just looked at him, its visible eye glowing a dark, ugly yellow.

Luke looked up at it again, teary eyed, pleading for the end.

Another thunder rumbled, followed by a bright flash of lightening. A strong gust of wind ripped the mask off the figure. The figure looked at him, devoid of expression, both of its eyes gleaming with a yellow shade. What Luke saw, left him speechless. He felt light headed, and everything turned back to black.

Luke hadn’t seen the face of Ben Solo in the black robe. Nor did the face belong to anyone he had fought in the past.

Luke saw himself in the black robe.

Luke woke up to find himself being buried under the debris of the Temple. He quickly pushed it aside using the force, and emerged out of the ruins. He then saw what left of the Temple, burning in full glory, just like the future of the galaxy.