**for previous chapters, see our Table of Contents**
Kylo
Ren's world was fire and blood. Gathering the Dark Side within
himself, creating a black hole of power that whipped and spun and
tore apart all around him, his burning saber cut down every one of
the primitive defenders that had been foolish enough to stand in his
way; stabbing one through the chest, separating another's head from
its shoulders with a flick of the wrist, even pulling some directly
towards him through the Force to cut them completely in half. He
dimly feel the other soldiers of his at the edge of his vision,
fighting their own paths forward, including three of his Knights, but
none of them dared to stray anywhere near him to risk being pulled
into his vortex of slaughter. As always, Kylo Ren stood alone.
It
had been only two days since one of his many contacts throughout the
galaxy head reached out to him. Always on the hunt for further
treasures of the ancient Sith, this time the rumors were of a Sith
temple on Mustafar, guarded by a local tribe. What was to be found
inside, if anything, was yet unknown, but Kylo Ren was not about to
pass up this chance. He couldn't afford to.
A week had passed since the partially-thwarted raid on Kuat, where
repairs were taking an aggravatingly long time. This latest annoying
hurdle was yet another of the thousand and one tiny problems that
kept cropping up all across the galaxy. None of them fatal to his
power, but collectively the pains they caused him and his commanders
could not be ignored. With the Republic's government gone and the
Rebellion truly on the run, the First Order had finally established
control over every major system. A new jamming technique designed by
their best engineers had allowed the First Order to effectively kill
all communications between systems other than their own; they had
first deployed this technique to great effect at Crait, where the
rebels must have wondered in agony why their calls for help in the
battle went unheeded when, in fact, just about no one ever heard it,
and for those few who did, it was too little, too late.
And
yet, even with no effective means to coordinate between systems, each
major world was still finding its own way to hinder and harm and
stifle First Order government in a myriad of ways. A local rebellion
here, an ancient, entrenched bureaucracy here, a barbaric religious
revival there. The First Order still possessed more firepower than
any individual system, but with their fleets stretched so thin to
maintain what peace they could, Kylo Ren knew more than almost anyone
outside High Command (and even, to an extent, within High Command)
that they were rapidly approaching their limit.
That
damned raid was the perfect example of this; it was nothing more than
a hunch that had led him to assign Knight Trudgen to the planet as an
added guardian, but while his presence had prevented a total
disaster, the fact that the raid was not only partially successful,
but that Rey managed to escape yet again proved there were clear
limits to using the Knights like this. Trudgen remained on Kuat for
the time being, and the remaining Knights not with him now were
stationed for similar purposes on Coruscant itself, but there were
simply not enough of them- nor were they as capably trained in the
non-violent uses of the Force- to cover all necessary planets in
either the Core or the Outer Rim.
Kylo
knew that, in the end, he could only rely on himself to find the
power necessary to create his own Empire. Part of what had allowed
Palpatine to hold such an ironclad grip for so long on an entire
galaxy had been his particularly potent ability to sense through the
Force any genuine threats to the Empire before they could fully form,
allowing him time and space to plan his countermoves. Obviously,
this foresight had failed him in the very end- like Vader, he never
fully overcame his own weaknesses- which made Kylo all the more
determined to not only discover such powers for himself, but to take
them to levels no other Force-user had yet achieved. He would
succeed, and the past would be left behind to die, finally. If he
was lucky, whatever was inside this temple could hold the next key
for his ascension.
After
a two full seconds passed without another danger presenting itself,
Kylo Ren began to feel himself slowly withdrawing from the dark
tunnel he'd surrounded himself with. He glanced about at the smoking
ruins stretched behind and beside him. All the defenders were dead,
with only himself, a dozen stormtroopers, and the Knights still
standing.
Satisfied,
he turned his gaze to the obsidian-black structure before him; a
ziggurated behemoth that began with a large, wide base, ending with a
pillar at the very top the same fireblood color of a Sith lightsaber.
Age-worn steps from the base led up to a doorframe that, though
clearly old, was untouched by vines or plants of any sort, nor were
there any indications of insects, birds, or other animals having
tried to make their homes there. Even abandoned, the Dark Side was
so strong in this place it turned back any creature that tried to
touch or tame it.
Any
creature, Kylo Ren though to himself, except those powerful enough to
earn entrance.
A curt nod sufficed as an order for the troopers and Knights to secure
the immediate area, should other locals in the area get any ideas
about trying to drive them off. Bracing himself, his now-unlit saber
at the ready, Kylo Ren walked through the doorframe into a well of
utter blackness.
After
a moment, though, his eyes adjusted. Red stones carved into various
shapes and runes along the wall, probably from the same stone as the
spire above, glowed with a gentle light that, after a short wait,
gave his eyes enough light to make out the broad, cavernous chamber
that filled the center of the temple. A series of doorways around
the edges clearly led to side rooms and antechambers, but he could
already sense that there was nothing to be found there. That which
he sought was a dias at the very center of the room, right beneath
the bottom of the spire above, that radiated an evil power.
As
he got closer, the outlines of a box, as black as the stone of the
dias, began to appear. Wary of a possible trap set long ago for
trespassers, he carefully probed the box with the Force, and with a
nudge, actived the mechanisms that opened it. With an outward burst
of stale air and dust, the top flew back and a small plate within the
box was raised up to viewing level. Upon on it sat a hand-sized,
crystalline pyramid, filled with innumerable shards of glass within
itself, appearing endlessly fragile.
This
fragility, though, was an illusion. Kylo recognized instantly what
he was looking at- a Sith Holocron. Technology that had been lost
for eons after the ancient Sith-Jedi wars, Holocrons allowed a Force
user to leave behind an imprint of themselves, like a Force version
of a computer program, that could preserve and carry on the secrets
they had unearthed long after their deaths. To possess just a few
Holocrons was to possess several lifetimes of knowledge that could be
harnessed for one's own ends, and gathering the lost Holocrons of the
Sith had been the obsession of many of the Sith Lords, but after the
Clone Wars and the many wars between the Galactic Empire and the
Rebellion, nearly every known or rumored Holocron was considered
lost.
Now,
though, with the Force guiding him, Kylo Ren had found one of these
lost treasures. All that was left was to discover from which Sith
Lord this one was, and whether or not they were capable of giving him
the power he needed to secure his Empire.
Kylo
reached out with the Dark Side of the Force, contemplating the shape
and presence of this device, before sending out a single thought;
open.
With
barely a sound, tiny pinpricks of light began to appear and run along
the edges of the many crystal shards inside the pyramid. Slowly at
first, then picking up speed, more and more lights appeared and
rushed up to the very apex, which began to glow a deep blue. After a
moment, it cast its light upward, and a holographic image appeared
above the Holocron; a bent figure, with clawed hands, wearing a black
robe and a hood pulled so far forward, all that was visible of the
face was a wrinkled, ancient mouth set in a permanent grimace.
Complete
silence fell inside the temple, and then, the figure spoke:
I
am Darth Sidious, Empreror of the Galaxy and Lord of the Sith
The
voice, though clearly old, had depth and a malicious strength to it.
The
cowl lifted slightly, revealing the glowing yellow eyes in its depths
before Sidious spoke again:
Darth
Vader was instructued to recover me after the fall of Skywalker. I
feel the Dark Side within you. But are not Vader.
There
was nothing accusatory in the voice's tone, simply a
matter-of-factness.
Who
are you, and where is my apprentice?
Kylo
Ren was in so much shock, he almost forgot to respond. He could not
believe his luck. Not only had he found his way to a genuine Sith
Holocron; he'd found one, not from some half-forgotten, wayward Sith
from five millenia ago, but from Emperor Palpatine himself.
It figured, he supposed, that Palpatine, who had pushed the bounds of
the Dark Side further than any Sith before him, would have also
managed to rediscover the lost art of the Holocron.
He
only waiting a moment, though, before responding; "Darth Vader
is dead. As are you. Or rather, your original self. Vader betrayed
you; he and Skywalker laid waste to your Empire."
The
figure before him turned his head slightly, and Kylo Ren, to his
astonishment, felt it reaching out; the Holocron itself was,
apparently, Force-sensitive. He wondered at this for a moment. I
suppose it figures, he thought. A Holocron required fine and
arcane Force skills to craft, and was a tool for powerful Force
users, so it stood to reason that the echoes within a Holocron would
retain a connection to the Force; clearly, they were more than just
memories.
After
a few moments of probing, the image spoke again; It is as you say.
Ah, Vader. How supremely disappointing.
Then
he turned back towards Kylo. Now answer my first question.
Who are you?
Kylo
focused, using every trick he'd ever learned from Skywalker and,
later, Snoke, to shield himself in the Force. No way to tell yet if
his true heritage would help or hinder in convincing Sidious to teach
him.
"I
am Kylo Ren. Leader of the Knights of Ren, and Supreme Leader of the
First Order, the successor to your Empire, and your mantle as Lord of
the Sith. My forces and I have destroyed the New Republic, ended
Luke Skywalker and his new Jedi order. All I need to cement our rule
is to ascend to the next level of power."
He
took a step forward, closer to the dias, "I need the power of
Palpatine. Of the Emperor. And I can then complete what you and
Vader started."
To
complete the picture of subservience, one he'd perfected over years
under Snoke until that blessed day he threw it off, he kneeled,
"Vader failed you. But I will not. Train me, that I may prove
worthy of your mantle."
Maybe
a bit much, he thought, Then again, Palpatine was vain to a
fault.
A
moment of silence passed. Then, Sidious laughed. A sickly, creeping
sound, one more felt than heard, crawling up his spine and igniting a
fire of indignant rage within him.
After
a second (or an eternity?), the laughter faded; when the voice spoke
next, there was no mirth to be found in it.
Pretty
words, boy. Do you take me for a fool? I may be but a memory, but I
can still see all of you. All you would wish to hide from me. I
know exactly who you are. You are not Kylo Ren. You are no Sith.
You are no Solo. You are a Skywalker.
That
name, Kylo thought, clenching his fist, that damned name.
Sidious
continued; Your so-called First Order playacts at recreating my
Empire, but I have seen its failings. Its weakness. You are as
children, grasping at a toy still too big for your own fingers. Why
should I bestow my blessing upon you? Why, having been betrayed and
destroyed by both your grandfather and uncle, should I grant my
secrets and my powers to another Skywalker?
For
a moment, Kylo Ren was not sure how, exactly, he would respond to
this. His body screamed at him to lash out, to wreck the tiny
crystal structure before him, to send this last remnant of a dead and
failed old man screaming into the void. He held himself back only
with every ounce of willpower he possessed. However he did it-
whatever he had to say or do- he needed every secret this device
could provide him with. No matter the cost.
Finally,
he looked back up at the figure; "Then test me. Name any trial
you wish, and I will overcome it. I have worked too hard and too
long to kill off the chains of my past, of my heritage. I won't stop
now. I can't."
The
figure stretched out its hand, and an immense wave of power gripped
Kylo Ren and lifted him completely off the ground, holding him
suspended in mid-air. The strength surrounded him was choking. He
had never guessed a Holocron could command power like this. It truly
felt like the Emperor himself stood before him, a presence that far
outstripped Snoke's.
The
voice filled with fury; And if I refuse? You'll get angry? Lash
out? Destroy my last inheritance to this galaxy? FOOL! I told you
I can see all of you!
The
grip strengthened.
You
are the last of your line. So it is only befitting for me to take my
revenge thus; by wiping the Skywalkers from the universe, once and
for all.
Farewell,
Kylo Ren.
Blackness
began to spread from his neck throughout his body. Kylo fled further
and further within himself, seeking refuge from the power surging in
to crush his being. This couldn't be it. This can't be his
end. His mind flashed through everything; the pain and betrayal he
felt when Luke attacked him, his rage at his parents for laying their
legacy on him, the murder and death he had caused to ascend to lead
the Knights, to cement the power of the First Order, killing Snoke,
killing his own father-
-and
the return of that image, of the burning blade in his hands tearing
apart his own father's life, reignited the hot core within him, and
he lashed outwards.
"NO!"
In an instance, the pressure holding him up snapped away, and he fell
floor, trembling only an instanst before regaining his footing.
Breathing
like he'd just traversed all of Coruscant at a sprint's pace, he
focused his gaze back on the figure before him. The fury he'd felt
was gone, and in its place, a sense of genuine curiosity.
Aaaaaah,
the voice purred, there. That...that was the fury of Vader.
Perhaps
you do have potential after all. And if you have already sacrified
that, you are farther along the path of the Sith than I'd
assumed.
Sidious
appeared to contemplate something for a bit. Kylo waited, hoping
against hope that he'd found his opening.
I
think a trial may well be in order, young Kylo Ren. Very well.
Listen carefully. You are to take this Holocron and return to your
ship. Arrange what affairs you must to ensure your absence, then
follow careful instructions that will appear on your navigation
systems to a certain planet. There, your trial will begin.
With
this, the figure faded, slipping downard back into the tip of the
Holocron, which soon grew dark, as did the glowing runes along the
walls, throwing the interior of the chamber back into total darkness.
The
only sound was the weight and exhaustion of Kylo Ren's breathing.
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