Star Wars IX- The Rise of Skywalker

Chapter 19- The Spark of Hope

That night would be Kylo's last on this planet; he did not want to spend it in the clinical white room. Instead, he stood in the dark outside the pyramid, staring up at the planet this moon orbited, gazing at the stars above and listening to the sounds of the native nighttime creatures. He wasn't meditating in the Force or considering the fight ahead. He was just being, which was possibly why the ghostly blue apparition of his Uncle, Luke Skywalker, surprised him stepping out of the trees. Luke didn't look like he had on Crait; his hair was longer, he had a full beard, and he looked weather-beaten.

"Hey, kid."

Kylo's chest heaved against his tightly crossed arms as he breathed deeply, his face devoid of emotion like the mask he had always worn. Kylo didn't say anything; he just surveyed Luke. The last time he'd seen him, it had been a deception, an illusion. He'd technically have killed him three times if Luke had been there in the flesh, but he hadn't. The lust Kylo felt for revenge had been quelled; his bitterness, however, had not.

"You know I said to Rey, when I saw you two touching hands across the galaxies on Ahch-To, that she'd opened herself to the dark for a pair of pretty eyes." Luke was peering up at the clear night sky, "Seeing you here, I'd say you opened yourself to the light for a pair just as pretty". 

Luke turned back to Kylo and smiled at him. Kylo did not return his Uncle's smile and once again remained silent as he surveyed his former master turn back to the stars above.

"We've passed on all we know. A thousand generations live in you now, but this is your fight. Yours and Reys; together, you are the Dyad, the balance in the Force. Powerful light and powerful dark and potentially formidable."

Kylo was observing Luke, his stature unchanged, but the words from his vision had caught his breath in his throat, his arms clenched tightly against his chest, attempting to steady himself. He must not have been able to hide it from his Uncle; his face must have somehow given him away because his uncle's eyes narrowed with concern.

Luke searched his nephew's face; he'd always struggled to read him. Ben wore his emotions openly, but they were still a jumble that Luke couldn't see through clearly. Unlike the Jedi of old, Luke felt attachment and love should not be forbidden. Emotions were not part of the darkside, so it made sense, due to Luke's teachings, that Ben used his feelings, but as a young Padawan, those emotions had been anger and fear. His fears were not always for himself, but there was so much fear, so much doubt, so much power always in motion simmering beneath the sullen exterior. Seeing Ben now, Luke could see how little he'd ever been able to comprehend his complex nephew.

"What did you see?"

Kylo pressed his lips before responding.
"A legion of Imperial Star Destroyers, a planet obliterated. Rey," he started, cleared his throat, then continued, "Rey turning to the darkside. Those words, those words are always how it starts. I've seen the fleet of ships and the planet destroyed."

"It is the destiny of a Jedi to face their fears," Luke responded. Luke knew Rey's fear was facing Palpatine after he'd found her throwing her saber away on Ahch-To, and now he knew Ben's was her turning when she did. It interested him that, like his grandfather, Ben's fear was not for himself but for another and that his fear involved her turning to the darkside. Kylo had made it clear by his past actions he wanted Rey to join him, to train her, but apparently, a Sith version of Rey was not what he wanted.

"I am not a Jedi!" Kylo snarled.

His Uncle's ghost merely cocked his head, sarcastic yet sympathetic.

"You're not a Sith either. You never turned to the dark, not fully; you never gave in; you were always both. That's why Snoke wanted you, that mighty Skywalker blood. The combination of light and dark in physical form is more powerful than just a dark user. You utilise both sides; it's how you were able to deceive him and how you are deceiving Palpatine. The Sith's weakness is their lack of understanding of the light side of the Force."