Author's note: the image is not mine

   "Rey!" he whispered as he saw her collapsed on the hard stone floor. His voice almost broke when he called out her name and saw her eyes closed, as if she was fast asleep.

   He dropped to his knees and approached her, heavy breaths coming out of his mouth. He struggled hard not to cry right then, next to her. She couldn't be... No...

   His hand reached out to touch hers.

   "Rey..." he sobbed. And he began to stroke her fingers. But she lay still. As If she couldn't feel the touch, as if she were... No! Ben blocked the thought from his mind.

   "I'm here... Rey, I'm here, I'm with you." he whispered again, trying desperately to break the eerie silence that hung over them. He placed one hand on the back of her head, the other wrapped around her waist.

   As he cradled her in his arms, his lips found her forehead and gave her a long kiss. "I'm here, Rey. Please hold on." he had forgotten that they were in a place where he supposed that the jedi could see almost anything. But all he cared about now, was Rey.

   Then his fingers began to stroke her soft hair and her face. His hand trembled as he realized that her skin was cold. Yet her loving heart was still beating; though he could say she was in shock.

   There was a strange light protruding through the stone ceiling, Ben noticed as some white small things like flakes began to fall slowly upon them. It seemed to be ash at first view, but it wasn't. It was something as he had never seen, and those crystals fell on Rey's face, making it seem like she wore a silver mask in that light.

   His hand cupped her cheek as he nestled her head in the crook of his neck. And as if seeking his warmth, her nose brushed against his skin. Only it hadn't been her intention; her head only lolled against him, as he cradled her unconscious body.

   And he felt a rush to protect her, to shield her. He shook her lightly as if rocking her to sleep, and buried his face in her hair.

   "Rey...wake up, please wake up." he kept whispering. And he didn't know whether he was rather telling it to her, or to himself, in his fear of losing her, to reassure himself she was going to be alright.

   He broke apart, and his thumb began to caress her cheek, tracing her jawline, and stroking her fair skin. Her cold skin, trying to rub some warmth in her.
   Whatever she had seen in that trial of hers, it had frightened her to death. And the shock of it was rooted too deep in her heart. Had she seen Tor Valum too, just like him?

   After placing another kiss between her eyes, right over her nose, his hand reached for hers. It was cold and limp and heavy as he began to rub and rose it to his lips.

   He kissed the back of her hand, then the inside, then her fingers. And held it close to his chest, as if it was the last string of her life he never wanted to let go of. Because he had seen her dead. And he had vowed to never let that happen again.
   
   And it would not.

   "Be with me." he whispered as he closed his eyes, chin resting on her head. "Be with me, be with me." he said again, faster this time.

   And after long moments, he could feel her stir a little. Or maybe it was only in his mind. Yet the next thing convinced him it was not.
   He could have sworn she had mumbled something indistinguishable against his chest. He  opened his eyes and, cradling her head in his palm against him, looked at her face.

   "Rey?" he asked, his voice small, thick with fear and relief at the same time.

   And the next thing, she tried to open her eyes. But it seemed to be a real struggle for her. And she could easily do it if she wanted, it was not like her eyelids were locked, but she was afraid.

   The back of his fingers gently stroked her cheek, and he could see her relax at his touch.

    "I'm here, Rey. We're back in the cave." he whispered, his mouth close to her ear.

   And as he touched her, and as he spoke, he knew she had recognized him. She knew it was him holding her in that moment. And she knew she was safe.

   Her eyelids fluttered open, slowly, carefully, as if making sure she was right about him. And when their eyes met, she opened them completely, staring at him for a moment, as if not believing it was him at all.

   And he could see her struggling to speak, but not knowing how to contain her words.

   "Am I dead?" she asked in a thin voice, as if not to disturb the shadows cast on the walls.

   Ben smiled, and pressed his nose against her forehead in an affectionate manner. "No, Rey. We're very much alive. And we did it. I suppose we succeeded and were accepted as jedi."

   But her face saddened at that, as she clasped his hand to make sure he was real. "I don't think I did. I must have failed, Ben." and then, in a more desperate voice, and one thick with unshed tears. "If only you would have seen me, if only you would have seen how weak I've been, how frightened." She shook her head, but he pressed a soothing kiss on her forehead. "No, Rey. You were brave, very brave. You threw yourself in the middle of the storm only for my sake. You almost got killed for me, and I couldn't..." his voice broke. And he was interrupted by Rey's confused statement.

   "No, I didn't save you. You came to save me. And I wasn't able to save you back..."

   "Rey. I think we had different visions. Yet with the same meaning."

   She frowned at him. And he gave her a moment to think about it. It was true, it had taken him some time to understand it, too. But she had just woken up, and she was still in shock of what happened.

   And her sudden hug startled him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head in his chest. At first taken by surprise, he then placed both arms around her and stroke her back reassuringly.

   "While I was there, I was afraid... That I would lose you." She said at last. And he understood. He had had the same fear, that of losing her. And they had had to face their biggest fears. And finally she seemed to come to a conclusion as she drew back a bit to look at him." So my biggest fear is..." 
   And he nodded before she even had the chance to say it all.

   "But... Is this right?" she frowned.

   "I guess it is. Since those visions never lie."

   "No..." She began, seemingly troubled. "Isn't it forbidden to the jedi code that we have attachments?"

   "Oh..." he hadn't thought about that. So happy he had been, thinking that now she did indeed mean the world to him, and that if he ever lost her, the galaxy will collapse on top of him, he hadn't bothered to think about the jedi and their rules.

   And out of reflex, he began to stroke her hair. And he wanted to whisper other things in her ear, so many things. He wanted to make her his. But he was a jedi now. And as Rey had said before, attachment was forbidden. And he could only think at the tragedy of his grandparents. But knowing that loving her was almost an untouchable dream, it was like a burning dagger twisted cruelly in his heart.

   And after a few more moments Rey placed her head on his chest again and closed her eyes.

   "Do you wish to talk about your vision?" he asked gently.

   And she answered with a light shake of her head. "No... Not now." and he understood. He was in less shock now because he had met the fearsome creature before. But for her, it was something new, and to her pure light soul, it might have been overwhelming. Again, he placed a hand on her cheek and pressed her head against his chest, as if she were a little child, not a grown woman, not a hero of the galaxy.

   He knew the darkness. And it had helped him push away that one coming from Tor Valum... But Rey... Rey was only light. So what was the point then, if not become fully in light to stop the dark? Could the darkness help, too, but in a good way?

   Millions of questions flooded his mind. Why did someone fully in light not succeed as best as him, who was part darkness?

   And then, a voice came to his head as he held Rey. "There is no light without darkness." it is said. And he couldn't quite piece it together. Had Rey heard it too?

   "Ben?" she asked.

   "Hmm?"
  
   "Did you hear that?" she frowned.     
   She had to be thinking there was something wrong with her.

   "I did. There is no light without darkness." he repeated the words.

   "What does that mean? Have you heard it any other time than now?"

   And his brows creased. Had he heard it before? He couldn't remember now. But maybe, in the future, the mistery will unfold.

   So his answer was, "No. I think we should go now." And he made himself understood that he wanted to stand up.

   But what he said next surprised Rey. "We should go and inform the resistance about what we have seen here." he said. And Rey stood up straight in his lap, as if struck by lightning.

   "Ben! Have you lost your mind? They'll kill you. They'll kill you right away, I know it. And they won't understand you've turned. They have always wanted you dead, they won't see past the danger." and then she added, with sorrow in her voice. A pang of sadness that reminded her of the old him." And they're not ready to forgive you yet for what you've brought upon the galaxy." and her eyes fell down from his face. It was hard for her to recall that, after she had forgiven him completely.

   And remembering what he had done, and how he was looked at in the whole galaxy, and knowing that people hated him for destroying their lives, their families, he found it hard to forgive himself once again. And he deserved it, to answer for his crimes. Be it how much he wanted a quiet life with Rey. But as long as the danger loomed over them, he couldn't stay passive. And he knew that, sooner or later, he would be caught. He had to save the galaxy, yet he could not live with his acts. He could not cut himself off completely from who he had been.

   Opposite from her worries, he answered with a incredible calm. "Rey. I can't go on until I know I've paid for what I did. I destroyed homes, families... That right belongs to them. My life belongs to them."

   "No!" she said in a voice almost drowned with tears. "Let's get rid of that darkness, and we'll see past that what to do. Please!"

   And he found it hard to think farther. He couldn't live with his crimes. Yet leaving Rey alone again would be the greatest crime in the world.

   "I won't." he said at last. "I will never leave you." and he hugged her. "It was folly what I have spoken. Forgive me, please."

   She heaved a sigh of relief. "Of course I do."

   He broke apart, and held out a hand  to help her up. "Back to Takodana?" he asked, and she nodded. 
 
   She slid her hand in his and stood up next to him. "Please, don't let me fight that thing alone."

   But before he could reassure her, tell her he will never in his life or afterlife leave her side, a different voice came from behind them.

   "Alone, never you were meant to fight." it said. And Ben recognized who it was before he turned around to see Master Yoda's shimmering blue ghost. A silvery blue, exactly as his own lightsaber.

   As Rey noticed the jedi's presence, she slid her hand from Ben's, embarrassed. And Ben understood her. They needed to instill hope, not make the ghosts afraid they have made the same mistake as with Anakin Skywalker.

   And suddenly there were ten times more force ghosts.

   "We put our faith in you." Anakin spoke. "The galaxy does." and then he turned to his grandchild, with whom he wanted to share some special words. "I hope you have found atonement, child, and that you will find it from now on."

   And as Ben looked at him, he felt the urge to ask him something else. Something that didn't have to do with the Force, or with saving the galaxy. And the words almost slipped from his mouth, when he shut it up. And he could feel Rey wanted to know the same thing, as she threw him a longing glance.

  " You'll find your answers in time, kids." Anakin said. "But there is a way. You'll see, there is." and he glanced understandingly when at Ben, when at Rey. But neither of them seemed to understand. Or maybe they were too afraid to do.

   And finally, it was Rey who spoke. "I know... There's a very thin line between light and darkness." She said, almost with fear. "And from what I know, even the lightest acts drive to falling prey to the dark."

   And Ben knew that Rey was referring to the story he had told her one night on Takodana, the one of his grandfather falling to the dark side because of his love for Padme.

   This time, it was Luke who came forward and answered Rey. "There's no light without the darkness, child. Remember that. And... It's sad, but it was the jedi who have wronged. They created the sith..." and he seemed lost for a while, until he spoke again. "The jedi, the sith... They have wronged. And they belong to the past. What you need to do, is find a balance."

   "And embrace both sides." Leia said. And she went over to place a hand on each of them's shoulder.

   "Anything is possible." Anakin said. "And I have failed, for I was unbalanced. But you are the balance itself. One darkness, one light. And together, grey. The Dyad that had been prophecied for so long. The Dyad that will finally bring peace upon the galaxy. The Dyad that will bring balance."

   "Our mistakes, repeat you must not." Yoda spoke again. "The beginning, you must find. And repair the mistakes of the jedi."

   "And find the path that we have failed to." a different voice spoke.

   And Ben recognized Obi-Wan Kenobi. "But how can I know I'm going down the right path?" his voice was queasy. "I've been through this before."

   "One thing at a time. Now, I'm afraid we'll have to leave you to it." Anakin said, and the bluish ghosts began to flicker and fade.

   And Ben felt like he was not ready to let go yet.
  They were confused, even though the path, the words spoken by Anakin, were now clearer than ever. But it was the fear of failing, the fear of creating too deep attachments, the fear of falling to the dark, that fogged their minds.

   But a jedi he had never known stepped in front of the crowd and looked at Rey and Ben with hope. It was a woman. And one of a different species. Ahsoka Tano, his mother informed him through his mind.

   She reached out a hand as if to touch them. "Please, if you find my granddaughter, train her in the ways of the Force. For a dark path lays ahead of her. Be her guidance, please."

   And they found themselves nodding. Though what force could they teach her, if they did not even have it yet? And how had Ahsoka been allowed to have children? Wasn't she a jedi? But no, he remembered. She was no ordinary jedi. Then what was she? She was a force user, and yet she had managed to have a family.

   "Can you feel the Force?" Luke asked.

   "Hmm... Yes." Rey said, still unsure about it.

   "And among it all?"

   A moment of silence. Then, both at the same time "A balance."

   "Then you have everything you need." Luke smiled proudly at his two apprentices.

   Ben had some moments to lock eyes with Anakin, before he faded almost completely.

   "Compassion is essential to a jedi's life" , Ben heard his grandfather's voice through the Force.

   Compassion, he thought. So did it mean he was free to love Rey the way he wanted? But right when his mind was beginning to clear, his grandfather spoke again. "You must not repeat the same mistakes I did."
And Ben didn't know what to think anymore. His grandfather's mistake was falling in love with his grandmother. Was falling in love with Rey a mistake? Would nothing stand against his love for her if need be? Not even the light?

   As if sensing his heavy soul, Rey placed a hand on his arm, jerking him up from his thoughts. Her touch just calmed him, it always did. And she came closer, her nose almost pressed to his jaw. For a moment he felt the urge to kiss her. But it was not the moment.

   "We should find out what this new force is." Rey said. "And how we can gain it."

   He nodded. But then he remembered she hasn't shown him her new lightsaber yet.

   "Rey. I suppose your lightsaber is golden now?" he asked from pure curiosity. Was what he had seen in his vision true?

   "Yes." but then she frowned. "And I also saw yours in my vision. You must have a silvery one."

   "I do, indeed." he smiled and pulled it free from his belt. He ignited it and held it in front of Rey.

   "It's a rare one." She said as if recalling something she had read so long ago. "I know of this color from one of the ancient jedi texts."

   And he parried and twirled it a few times in front of her, before it was her turn to show hers to him.

   "It matches you." he said as she ignited her holden one.

   And his eyes followed her as she did her own twirling and stabs. She held it in one hand, the way she always did. And that golden light bathed her in the darkness of the cave, making her look like a dancing ray of sun that protruded through a tiny hole in the ceiling.
   She wheeled around, and a smile spread on her face as she stepped in front of him.

   And he was robbed of words. He would have liked to tell her she was amazing, but it was by far too little. But a deep stare into each other's eyes was enough to tell everything that was locked inside their hearts.

   There was no need of words as they headed out of the cave, and back into the fresh air.

   Just as they were at the mouth of the cave, a strange, deep voice echoed from the sacred place they left. "There is no Light without the Dark." it said.

   Ben and Rey stopped in their tracks, and stood silent for what seemed an eternity. But neither of them could associate it with any of the jedi of old.

   It was almost dawn, for a thin line separated the dark land from the darker sky in the east. How long have they been inside?

   Rey suppressed a yawn, and Ben gave her an affectionate smile. And out of pure reflex, he placed an arm around her shoulders, leaning her farther into him.

   "We'll rest at the Falcon, I promise. I'll take the ride back to Takodana so you can sleep."
  
   "Thank you." She managed.

   The dawn broke as they stood straight in front of the cave, on the stone terrace that overlooked the tops of the rocky mountains.
   The sun beamed golden at the horizon line, its faint light piercing the darkness of the night. And they wasted some precious moments just watching it, before heading to the fathier that waited patiently a little bit down the slope.

   Rey's eyelids almost had dropped down drifting her into a sleep as her head was leaned against Ben's shoulder.

~*~

Author's note: thanks for reading, and I hope you like my story this far!

  Saw that first hint about the "New Force"? Please, let me know.

   I want to thank especially @brhr14 for the amazing comments on every chapter, and @LROSE109 and @stitch4321 ! And @Dazzdazzie for the spam 😂😂

What do you think about the way I described Ben and Rey's relationship by far? And, where do you think it will go?

   I haven't found a meaning for Ben's Saber color, so if you have any idea, feel free to drop it into the comments section 😁

   And what do you think about Ahsoka's daughter? You'll find out in the next chapters why I introduced her ^^