Lingchi

My Creed ; Your Creed

She slowed to a stop once the darkness has completely surrounded her, fog gathering at her feet, making her look down and then look up again, then she squinted into the darkness, there was a tiny bead of light in the distance. She sucked in a deep breath before taking off quickly, carrying herself with ease, the... robes she wore... they weren't Kylo's - she was wearing her Jedi clothing. The ones she had when she was with Luke. Hope didn't stop to wonder why she was wearing this, she would be stuck in the darkness longer. She didn't want to.

Which is why she picked up the pace and ran as fast as her legs could carry her, she didn't know how she got into this dark void with the bad voices, she didn't want to stop and ask because she didn't like the darkness, she didn't like it. She hated how looming it was, it just-

Hope came to a stop once she ended up in the light, her chest heaving as she tried to regain her breath, bending over slightly and groaning - she didn't feel overwhelmed with the heaviness of the darkness, she felt a present warmth from the light, as if it was lifting the burden of her past off of her shoulders so she could breathe easier.

And once she had caught her breath, she squinted her eyes and looked around, standing in the light from above, looking around at the ever surrounding darkness... she had to find a way out of here into the everlasting last, but if she went into the darkness, she might get lost without a light to guide her.

Hope didn't want to be stuck in the darkness, but she didn't want to be in the light with the darkness all around her.

"Hope." The voice whispered, it sounded like it moved through the trees that weren't there, drifted along the breeze that didn't come with it. She wasn't afraid, wary though as she turned around in the light to locate the voice, who it belonged to and where it was coming from.

"Hope....why do you run to the light?" The voice asked, sounding as if it was coming from all around her at the same time, the darkness was the voice. She frowned to herself and then peered into the darkness, trying to figure out an answer, because it made her feel safe and secure. She liked those feelings, the embrace was kind and gentle, it was forgiving.

Because her mom was the perfect example of the light, and she loved her mother very much.

Instead of telling the voice why she fell to the light's embrace, she answered it with a question of her own, "Why do you hide in the darkness?" Hope turned around and continued to look in the darkness, but not moving anywhere near it as she waited for the voice to respond.

"To feel the power curl inside of me and strengthen me, to watch my enemies fall to my feet..." it responded, growing stronger with every word it spoke, yet she didn't shrink away from it, there was no reason for her to respond to it, so silence was her answer until the voice decided to speak up once more.

"Are you afraid of the darkness?" Almost sounding like a grin was pulling at the voice, as if that was even possible because it was disembodied, or so it seemed.

"No, I'm not afraid of the darkness... I'm afraid of what it can do, I'm afraid of what it makes you see, who is in it and who it will take next." She replied, the darkness wasn't scary; what it could do, who hid in it... that was scary.

"Is that why you seek comfort in the light? The promise of healing and happiness for others?" It asked, curling into an even darker tone, as if that was even possible. Hope swallowed her fear, trying to remain strong and answer whatever this thing was without sounding like she was weak.

"You walk in the light, you help everyone else gain ahead, yet you cannot please yourself with a partner, with gaining something! Is that the world you truly want to live in?" It asked before she could answer, power radiating from it and making her want to shrink up and hide away from it. But she couldn't run anymore, she had to stand and fight, she had to spread the light.

"Yes, because we are selfless, because we care. We want those to live a fortunate life, to stay away from the darkness. To make sure they are free from pain." She said, her voice not shaking despite how afraid she felt on the inside, her blue eyes were strong as she glared at nothing, hoping that it could feel how strong she was - firm in what she believed in.

"Which is what makes you weak!" The voice shouted as a face briefly showed in the light, right in front of her... but way taller, towering over her, frightening her and making her trip over her own feet, nearly falling into the darkness once the voice revealed his face.

An ashen grey skin, wrinkled with time, no hair and deep, black, sunken eyes.

Half falling in the darkness made her quick to pull away from it and return to the safety of the light, looking warily right where the face had appeared, there was a faint outline of it, very faint, but again, it looked like it wasn't even there.

"You're weak because you're selfless. That's not what we were made to be... we were made to conquer everything for ourselves." He said, his voice rumbling around her, making her curl her lips in disdain.

Then Hope decided to challenge him, "But if everyone tried to conquer everything, you would have to fight. There would be death and chaos, and if you won, slaughtering everyone who dare stood in your way, what would there be left to rule?! The animals? Even then they wouldn't listen, what if you encountered someone stronger than you? What then?" Hope demanded anger flowing through her and that wasn't a good sign, she just had to keep it under control, "We are the keepers of peace while you encourage chaos. We protect the balance of life while you seek to destroy it."

And of course, the giant didn't reply to her, he just stared at her with his sunken eyes, she didn't have to see him to know that, she could feel his eyes on her, it was unnerving, but Hope refused to back down, she just wanted to see what his reply to her would be. If he decided to.

He didn't even have a response for her. He just seemed dumb-struck, and yeah, that was a win for her, "So, you firmly believe that you are the shepherds of peace?"

Hope only gave a slight nod to him, her chin held high with a challenge glinting in her eyes.

"Well, as you said, there is always an opposite trying to win..." a malicious smile crossed his face as he leaned forward to look at her, "We'll just see which one wins with you." And before she could demand what he meant, the light disappeared just like someone blew it out and the darkness swallowed her whole.

~»~»~

Hope cried out as her eyes snapped open and she shot up straight in bed, her eyes wide, her breaths loud and heavy as she observed the room she was in. And for a second, she didn't recognize where she was.

Not until a cold hand clamped on her shoulder and pulled her back, "Its alright..." it hummed, and she turned her head to look into the eye's of Kylo Ren, her breath still slightly labored.

"You're here now... there's nothing to worry about."