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Ben Solo. Oh, how much he had hated that name. Hated, not disliked. It was a connection to everything he wanted to get over; most of his past and what he thought would be his future. He did not want his legacy under that name.
There, on the floor on Exegol, it was different. It was not Kylo Ren who stared down on the Jedi who he fought repeatedly, who followed him in his sleep. It was Ben who looked down on Ray’s lifeless body at his feet, and Ben was not willing to accept that fate. All the noise that had hammered down on his mind for years, fueling his anger and aggression, was silent. He just looked down on her and heard a familiar whisper he had not heard since he had left Luke’s Jedi Academy. The voice was calm and warm, like a gentle stroke of finger along his ear. ’This is your destiny, Ben Solo.’
Ray felt so cold when he touched her. His heart ached and bled at the sight. When the pain slowly eased under the constant whisper, he sighed quietly. His limbs grew heavy. His energy seemed to seep out of his fingertips. The heat of Exegol was far away all of the sudden. No matter how warm the planet was, he was freezing. The feeling in his fingertips slowly turned numb, all sensation under his palms were gone. Ben blinked. And blinked again. As heavy as his heart was before, it was the only part of his body that felt light.
When his body gave in under his weakened frame, the whispers kept coming. The Force sang him a lullaby, gently holding him while his body fell to the ground. If the ground was hot or cold where he landed, he could not tell anymore. When his mind dissolved and the Force greeted him with open arms, he allowed it and let his worry go. If anybody could win in the end, it would be Ray and despite everything that could go wrong, he trusted her enough to let it all go. He had found it again; hope and faith.
His heavy limbs gradually felt easier, almost floating, when Ben Solo closed his eyes and allowed himself to fall back into the comfortable arms of the Force. It was like he remembered it as a child; calm, flowing gently, and filled with a care some people never knew, and it had waited for him. For him. Despite everything he had done, it waited. Luke had been right when he said that the Force worked in mysterious ways.
Ben rested softly in a hovering state. The constant hum he was surrounded with began to slowly change. The light he was surrounded with changed colour constantly; from golden to silver. The glow of eternity that carried him shifted and rumbled gently. Despite his eyes being closed, he smelled grass and wind. The sweet scent of blooming flowers permeated the soft gush of air that brushed over his face. Finally, Ben opened his eyes.
In front of him, a gigantic mountain range opened and a valley flooded with light took form. His eyes widened the more he saw. An eternal horizon of light was painted with silver lines on the blue sky, where a few white clouds carelessly wandered with the wind. Down in the valley, beaming white spots speckled the luscious green moss and grass that grew between the rocks and boulders. The closer he looked, the more he realized that the spots moved oh so slightly in front of a gate so huge, he clearly saw it from a distance.
Almost instinctively, Ben closed his eyes and reached out with the Force and it had never been easier. The Force was everywhere, filled every fibre of his being, and without any resistance, he glided through the valley and all of a sudden, felt hundreds of eyes on him. When his eyes sprung open, he had left the place in the mountains behind and stood close to the gate he had seen before. The bright spots were silhouettes of light in all sizes and forms, some hidden under cloaks and tunics, but they were people. Though some of the figures were obviously humanoid, their expressions were blanked by the light that took over their forms long ago. It tingled in his temples, but no worry surfaced. It was more a feeling of wonder how everything had happened than fear or worry. He was not in danger. He was sure about that.
“It has been a while, Ben.”
The voice made a shiver run down his spine. One of the silhouettes moved towards him, each step clearing out his features until Luke stood in front of his nephew. The grey streaks on his hair and beard shimmered in the light, the firm blue gaze directly stared at Ben Solo’s eyes. The young man swallowed hard. Even with the Force freeing him of his former offences, his hands trembled under his uncle’s eyes. Ben decided to look away but a deep chuckle made both him and Luke turn around.
At a round table made of solid stone and speckled with moss, silhouettes sat peacefully and looked over at them. A large figure cocked their head while another covered his mouth with their hand. Ben frowned. Were the Jedi making fun of him?
“Ben Solo,” a figure spoke after they took their hands down. “Your worry is unfounded. What happened during your life is now in the past, no matter if it was filled with joy, anger or regret.”
“Obi-Wan is right, Ben,” the tall figure followed up seamlessly. “If the Force rejected you and your sacrifice, you would not be here. Therefore-”
The contours of each became distinctive and the smooth edges of his silhouette turned out to be long, brown hair. Despite his size, the Force hummed peacefully around him. The blue eyes were soft when they looked up at Ben. A slight, wry smile was on his lips. The figure next to him nudged him with his elbow. The short white hair and beard that became visible rang a bell in his head and it took him barely a second to remember.
“You’re Obi-Wan Kenobi, my uncle’s Master. But-”
His eyes wandered over to the tall man, who sat surprisingly close to the Jedi Master. Both Luke and Obi-Wan smiled slightly. The tall man himself closed his eyes for a moment, suppressing a chuckle. He then bowed his head slightly.
“Do not worry, young one. There is no reason for you to know of me anymore. My importance has faded long ago.”
“That is not true, Qui-Gon,” Obi-Wan said, almost insulted. “Your importance in all of this weighs greatly. Do not undermine your own effort.”
Qui-Gon huffed amused and placed a hand on Obi-Wan’s shoulder. The white haired man leaned into the short embrace before they turned back to a staring Ben with raised brows. Ben admitted that he did not know many Jedi besides Luke and the others at the academy, but he could have sworn that closeness like that was uncommon back in the days of the old Jedi Order.
Luke shrugged in the corner of Ben’s eye and slowly strolled back to his place on the big table. Many of the other figures of light disappeared at their will or strolled away as well. Ben watched the peaceful scene and only then realized how much knowledge and wisdom was concentrated right in front of him.
“We are still not complete,” Luke said as he made himself comfortable, to which Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon nodded. It was his uncle who showed Ben his place at the table that the young man took. Everything felt surprisingly warm, even the stone under his fingers when Ben’s fingers slid over the uneven but smooth surface. With a frown, he looked around as nobody came closer from any direction.
“All the time of the galaxy, we have,” a raspy voice laughed behind Ben, who quickly turned around to find no one. Only when he sat back properly, he saw a small green creature with long ears sitting to his right. The young man startled which made his uncle chuckle to Ben’s left side. The creature had an eternally serene look in his eyes, the clawed fingers holding onto a simply designed terracotta tea pot. When he kindly smiled, his ears also rose a bit. Ben looked from the creature into the round, where all the other Jedi held teacups in their hands already. Qui-Gon leaned forward.
“Please, Master Yoda, if you’d allow me,” he said and got the pot from the creature.
Yoda. That rang a bell. After a quick glance towards his uncle, Ben turned to the small creature. “Yoda. Master Yoda. The Master of Masters. Luke told me about you.”
Yoda blinked and gave the round another high chuckle before he held a cup towards Qui-Gon, who filled the cups of everybody who attended. Ben looked at the pot and cups in the other's hands, but did not say anything. He had never been much of a tea friend anyway, just like Luke who drank it out of habit. At least that was what his uncle used to say.
“Nobody after Obi-Wan liked tea a lot, because he never learned to prepare it properly himself and therefore, nobody inherited the art,” Qui-Gon uttered calmly while he filled the cup in front of him and gently pushed it over the table towards Ben. Despite the dents and uneven parts of the table, the cup moved smoothly and came to a hold without any spill.
“Could you not?” Obi-Wan growled and gave his master a slight nudge, only after the pot was carefully put down. “I never managed to prepare it like you, and during the war I barely had time. I didn’t like it as much.”
“To be refined, the art has to be,” Yoda stated between sips. “Time it takes, or bitter the tea will be.”
“It is a dying art,” Qui-Gon added. “It is quite bitter that the line of tea artists has ended with me.” He and Yoda exchanged amused glances. Obi-Wan’s ears grew a tint darker while he side-eyed his old masters, quite to Ben’s surprise. The banter between the elders was the very opposite of what he expected.
“You seem to be the only one bitter about my knowledge of tea,” Obi-Wan mumbled with slightly flaring nostrils but the corners of his mouth still curled upwards after he obviously fought the smile. Qui-Gon sat back down to fill his own cup, bigger than the others but perfectly fitting into his palm. The tall master leaned over and gently nudged Obi-Wan’s arm. Some amused rumbling, the rustling of clothes, and the white haired Master Kenobi leaned against Master Jinn, who carefully laid an arm around him. The Force hummed in content, gently swirling as gushes of silver light around them. Yoda and Luke both gratefully sipped their tea while Ben did not know what to say.
The stories of old times were told to him so differently from what he saw. Well, after everything he had done, he was still there. With the elders of the Jedi Order who existed ever since intelligent life came into being and grasp the reality of the Force. In some sort of ever peaceful paradise where the Force permeated everybody and everything, surreal in its serenity compared to the wild, unbound and brutal galaxy of the living. Ben took a sip of his tea and sighed; it was mellow, soft and calming. Delicious.
“How can any of this be? How can all this be?” Ben looked around and frowned. “The peace, it’s almost suspicious.” His muttering did not cause any amusement or pity. The masters looked at him in union, all warm and calm. Luke looked into his cup, almost mesmerized by the gentle green liquid.
“Everybody who arrives here wonders that, boy,” he finally said with a content voice. “You are not alone with that. I remember when I arrived; I was awe struck. Frozen in place on the cliffside and overrun by the power of the Force.”
Master Yoda grew a surprisingly snuck smile. “Welcomed you, I did. Confused, you were, but not frightened. Brought you here to stay, the Force did for a reason. A great sacrifice you gave fighting the First Order.”
Ben’s face began to grow in heat but Luke shook his head. “Ben, listen. As vivid as it still feels, as heavy as the memory makes your heart. It’s gone, all of it. The Force is at peace because we all did what we did. We all thought the tragedies of our lifetime would eventually destroy the galaxy but it all led to where it is now: At peace.”
Ben did not answer. Instead, he observed the fine ripples on the steaming surface. Luke was probably right; if the Force would have rejected him for his actions, he would not be there. His past actions did not count as much as his later ones. He fell into the embrace of the Force once he let his life go and was accepted by the most powerful judge in existence. Still, it felt surreal.
“Did we all arrive here on that mountain top?” Ben finally asked out loud. His uncle said he arrived on the same spot that he himself had arrived. The mountain top instantly confronted him with the luscious gift he was given and created a gratitude he never felt before.
“The mountain top was where I picked up Yoda when he arrived,” Obi-Wan explained calmly. His head was sunken against Qui-Gon, whose blue eyes were watching the man in his arms with a seeping warmth. His lips slightly curled in the corners while he listened.
“It was odd seeing my old Master there, more irritated than I have ever seen him, but once he laid his gaze on me, he understood.” Obi-Wan’s voice was incredibly soft as he delved in memories. He turned his cup between his fingers before he looked at Yoda, who was more amused than anything.
“Dead you were, I knew. Suddenly in front of me, you were. Felt the embrace of the Force, I did. Only one place, I could have been.” The green master nodded in content and turned around to look at the sharp mountain top. “Wonderful, my arrival was. Greeted by good friends, I got.”
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan looked at each other and Ben frowned again.
“So, Obi-Wan was your student but he greeted you here, so he died before you,” Ben recapitulated. “My uncle obviously died after Yoda, because you were a ghost already. If Yoda was Obi-Wan’s master, who are you?” he asked and looked at Qui-Gon. The tall man looked back and forth between Yoda and Obi-Wan.
“I am a missing link in our lineage. Yoda taught my old Master, Dooku.”
“Wait, Dooku as in Darth Tyrannus?” Ben interrupted before he noticed but neither said a word. For a second, flickers of sadness moved as a shadow over the calmth of the Force but dissolved quickly after it sprung to existence. Qui-Gon nodded.
“My apprenticeship with him was long before his fall. Obi-Wan was my third apprentice when I died. Obi-Wan trained Anakin per my wish. The rest, I assume, you know.”
Ben took a sip of his perfectly tempered tea. “So, you also arrived at the mountain then, Obi-Wan?”
The man shook his head. “No, I did not. It was here, close to where we sit. Qui-Gon stood there with tea in his hand when I opened my eyes, filled with warmth and love. He had joined me during my isolation on Tatooine before and waited for me to arrive at our last destination. For that, I am eternally grateful.”
Obi-Wan leaned closer into the embrace. The Force flowed with joy and love and spread like the scent of blooming flowers. A gentle kiss from Qui-Gon against the man’s temple could almost be overlooked if Ben was not focused on the Force around them. The simple gesture caused no ruckus, though Luke pulled a joking grimace which made Ben laugh.
“There are topics where we agree to disagree,” his uncle just uttered before he turned his attention back to his tea.
“Master Qui-Gon gave me a liking for tea, I think that is an adequate exchange for lovey-dovey.”
The table erupted in chuckled and bit back laughter, which filled Ben with a surprisingly warmth feeling; it was nostalgia. He remembered the better and easier times in his life, where his friends and family had the same bickering and banter to share. Despite some harsh words, there had always been warmth and trust. Even if it crumbled, the memory was there, vivid and real.
“So, is drinking tea the activity for all eternity or is there more?”
“Meditation is also very relieving here,” Luke raised his eyebrows and nodded in content to his own words, which gained him more nods. At the sight of Ben’s melting expression from excitement to disbelief, Luke broke out into actual laughter.
“Relax, boy,” he said and wiped a tear from his eye. “There is nothing holding us back. There are some nice places to show you, but that has time. Patience, Ben. After all, we have all of eternity to spend.” The smile his uncle gave him was honest and warm; the old nightmare look of him standing above Ben crumbled and was blown away like dust. Luke put a hand on his nephew's shoulder to give him a friendly shake.
Yoda quietly enjoyed his cup while Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon enjoyed the peaceful reunion of a family. The tea was still perfectly warm when Ben took another sip. With a smile, he looked up into the valley that went on until the horizon. It was worth it. After all, it was worth it.