DYAD.

« don't be afraid, i feel it too. »

Ben Solo didn't die on Exegol. When Rey awoke, his arms cradling her, she felt nothing but bliss, nothing but an overwhelming sense of freedom, victory, family...

She kisses him. He smiles, chuckles. Then his face begins to drain of color, his smile fades and his strength depletes. He falls back, Rey's arm supporting him, careful to set him gently. She stares as if she can see through him. Her eyes well with tears. Nothing has ever been taken from her this quickly, besides her family.

Her family was disappearing again.

Rey's happiness was stolen. Gone in the blink of an eye.

She sits on the cold ground of the destroyed cave in Exegol, trembling, Ben's body next to her. He does not fade, he does not dissipate; he simply lies there, his brown eyes fallen shut.

She panics. Her arm is still beneath him. She slides it over his rough, torn garment, feeling for his heartbeat, frantic with every second that he may have just been taken from her, that her happiness could be stolen.

The Force tells her there is a pulse that she cannot feel. Now, she is desperate. She calls to the Jedi before her, the Force users of centuries. She begs them, please, for they helped her destroy her lineage and all that stood in her way. But now, her last hope has depleted before her.

She needs them now. And she does not know what to do next.