Revival- A Star Wars Story

Chapter 19- The Twin Kyber Crystals

Kylo sits alone in his chambers, shuts his eyes in meditation, and tries to reach for that world again. But he can't reach it. Though he has already tried many times, he does not give up. Then, one day, the unexpected happens- he opens his eyes, and he is back on the red-violet beach, sitting on the sand.

He doesn't turn around, but senses someone behind him. He says, "You've come back."

Rey bites her lip, trying her hardest to not show any expression in her face. "I sensed that there was something you still wanted to show me."

Ben stands up, turns around and faces her. "Will you come with me further into the darkness? Can I get you to trust it?"

Rey replies, "You may try."

Ben walks her through the beach, and they walk up its cliffs, entering a darker place. One not enveloped in total blackness, but casting a melancholic shade across the grey rocks. Everything is silent now. At first, Rey shivers, slightly afraid, but she soon begins to accept the stillness for what it is: her own sense of peace. The calmness finds its way through her, and she takes a deep breath.

"Do you know what that is?" Ben asks her.

"Solitude. An old friend."

They reach the top of the mountainous cliffs, and beneath them roars the mighty clash of the sea. And then, as Rey looks down, she sees there is more- she sees all the disgusting, vile people on Jakku she had told Ben about. They were beneath them, sitting on top of rocks, unable to leave, lest they be drowned by the clashing waves around them.

Ben continues, looking down from the cliffs, "Not just solitude. But when we are here, there is no one better than us. No one to tell us what to do, no one who is capable of challenging us. A fair universe would reward those who worked the hardest. The Force would ensure that would happen. We both have such strong ambition; we deserve this."

He turns to Rey, and says, "Now you understand."

Rey peers down from the mountain, and inside, she is filled by a deep, blooming of pride. No longer was she the girl who was helpless, a runt who was kicked around by nasty traders and merchants. No one would ever tell her she had no value in this universe ever again. She grasped an absolute power that those who had hurt her could never have. And then, as soon as she looks down again, she sees the rocks that her tormentors were sitting on top of come crashing down. They cry out in fear, and struggle to stay afloat, but the waves drag them away.

Startled, she looks at Ben, and sees his hand clenching down towards the rocks. "Ben!" she cries out, "What are you doing?"

Ben stops. Perplexed, he asks her, "What do you mean?"

"This... this is what you wanted me to trust in? This is what you wish for?" Disgusted, Rey walks away from the cliffs, and down towards the mountain.

Ben looks hurt and regretful. He follows Rey down, and notices she has not gone down any further, but is leaning on a rocky wall, waiting for him.

"I'm sorry," he tells her, "I'll never show you such a thing ever again."

Rey shakes her head, "You thought I would understand, didn't you? That's why, in Snoke's chamber, you told me I was nobody? You were trying to manipulate me, to use my own desires against me?"

Ben refutes her, saying, "And I was wrong! I wish I could take it all back."

Rey finally looks back at him. "But deep down, do you truly mean it?"

He does not reply. After a moment of silence, Rey speaks up again, "Can things really go back to the way they were?"

Ben tells her, "There is only one way. One of us will have to change for the other."