Star Wars: Beginnings Of War

Ch: 20

I felt dizzy as I looked around the white void. The first thing I thought was...am I dead...? However, my words seemed to echo throughout the void as if I'd said them aloud.

"No, not nearly." I heard a voice from behind me say, it was familiar but my foggy mind couldn't pinpoint who's it was. Even if I only had a 50-50 chance of being right. I slowly turned around and saw Ashlyn standing there. "But you've looked better."

I took a shaky step towards her before I seemed to fall, luckily, she rushed over and caught me.

"It looks like your physical injuries are affecting your astral body." She stated as she helped me stand up.

"How is that even possible...?" I questioned her. That's never happened before. "I thought they were separate from each other."

"It isn't...unless...." Ashlyn stated before she looked down at my hand. "Where's your wedding ring...? It normally appears on your finger in here."

"Huh...?" I asked her before I looked at my hand...it wasn't on it. I then felt a familiar weight around my neck. With my hand Ashlyn wasn't holding onto, I grabbed at my necklace around my neck. I pulled it off...and there it was...my wedding ring.

"Your astral and physical bodies are as one." She told me, which thoroughly confused me. At the confused look on my face, she explained. "Remember how I'd came to the physical world a couple of years ago...?" I nodded my head in answer.

"You said it was because you haven't physically died yet." I told her, remembering what she'd once told me.

"But I could still go into the Force both body and soul, it's a Grey Jedi trait." She informed me. "It takes years to master but the first time is always subconscious, mostly due to your body taking so many injuries and pain that it seeks shelter from the world around it."

"So I came here to hide...?" I asked her.

"Essentially." She told me.

I had mixed feelings about that. I didn't want to hide...I wanted to go out and protect Padmé. That meant capturing Nute Gunray...again. "How do I leave...?" I asked her, only for her to look confused.

"Your body's healing from grave injuries and you want to go back out there...?" She questioned me.

"I haft to help my sister." I told her.

"Even if that means...?" She questioned me, her voice dropping off at the end.

"How do you know if I'm about to die...?" I questioned her, filling in the missing gaps with my mind.

"How do you know you won't...?" She asked me.

"We all die," I told her. "The only question worth asking is 'when'. And I won't let Padmé die...not if I can help her."

"You won't go back to the place you were. You might...but not the exact spot." She informed me. "There's a reason why you came here...even if you don't quite know how. You'll go to the safest spot that you feel safest at."

"How will I know the safest spot...?" I questioned her.

"You won't...not unless you've mastered this ability." She told me. "You'll rely on the Force to show you the way...completely. Are you ready...?"

"I am," I stated without any hesitation.

"See you later." She told me before she placed her hand over my head and my vision started to spin.

~~~

I came crashing down from the void onto something soft, the room was dark. The instant I made a soft groaning sound from the impact, the lights in the room came on.