Chapter 61: 62. Chapter

The golden fields of Unity.

Anakin was resting in his assigned room, which turned out to be just next to Ahsoka's room inside the Temple of the Grey. He went to look for her padawan only to be notified by a floating orb like droid that she had left to look around the city. Now Anakin went back to his room to brood over her padawan's thoughtlessness.

This place could be dangerous for all we know, and what does she do? Of course she goes out and starts to wander around without a second thought.

I mean, yeah I was kind of occupied until now, I was trying to boost this signal emitter to the maximum range... I mean, teleportation is one thing, but I am not going to believe just like that, that we actually went to a different galaxy in a snap. This place sure feels weird enough, but I have seen much stranger places. The only truly unusual thing here is this strange force presence.

-Force presence. 

-Force presence.

-Force presence.

Three different voices spoke up behind me at the same time as I finished the exact same thought in my mind. This made me jump up from the chair as I turned around I ignited my lightsaber as fast as I could.

My heart was beating with an unusual sense of dread, how could someone get this close without me noticing anything... Also, how could they disappear just like that, the room was completely empty, am I... imagining this? No, no way.

I walked towards the centrum of the simplistic room, there was a wardrobe with a large mirror placed on its door, a cabinet, a chair, a bed, and a table, where I was sitting until now. There was nowhere to hide in here, but I could still feel a presence, now that I was focusing on it. I decided that it was time to speak up. 

-Who are you?

I waited for a while, but there was no answer. I decided to try a different approach.

-Show yourself, there is no reason to hide, I already know that you are here. I can sense your presence.

I could see small shadows move at the edge of my vision, yet when I turned towards it, it always seemed to disappear. This annoying process repeated itself for a while.

Then, my eyes accidentally fell on the large mirror hanging on the door of the wardrobe and I got a new idea. I turned in a way that I could see behind me in through the mirror.

Then I began to wait while focusing on my own form standing inside the mirror with the blue blade still shining in my hands, I was ready for anything. 

The low humming of the blade filled the entire room. The shadows seemed to begin their dance at the edge of my vision again, just as I expected. My eyes began to feel irritated from the long staring as I didn't even blink. More seconds went by, and the irritation only grew, in the end I had to blink, and I did.

In that fraction of a second a shadowy form appeared inside the mirror just behind me. My eyes locked onto its face with a sick fascination, while his eyes looked into my eyes through the mirror. Eyes glowing with a radiating golden blaze, resembling a yellow star. 

I was momentarily stupified, those eyes on that face made me feel sick to the bone, it was... it was my own face, after all.

-Do you like them? 

Sounded the question, and it finally forced me out of my shock induced stupor, I whirled around cutting the shadowy entity in half diagonally, from right hip to left shoulder. 

Its humanoid form turned into heavy black mist and fell down towards the floor dispersing slowly seeping into the cracks on the charred earth under my feat.

It was that moment when I realized that I was no longer in my room. All of a sudden I was in a completely dark place with only my lightsaber to serve as a torch. I looked around quickly, but there was nothing I could see, couldn't understand what was going on. Seeing myself with those eyes, however ridiculous that may have been, it was still making me uncomfortable.

I felt a spike of anger, rise inside me, as I realized, this bastard was hiding again. 

-Is hiding the only thing you can do? Come out and fight you damned coward!

-Hiding? 

Asked the voice of an old woman.

-Hiding, he says! 

Stated the voice of a much younger woman. 

-But, who is the one, who hides? 

Questioned the voice of a young girl.

-Is it me? 

Came the voice of a little boy. 

-No its me!

Shouted a young man.

-Or is it him? 

The question came through the voice of an old man with a slightly shaking voice.

I heard six different voices speaking between one another, like playing a game of some sort, and I was not here to play games. 

-I am not hiding anything. 

My patience was running out, I could feel it with my anger rising. 

There was a moment of silence, then the voices began to speak again. This time all of them spoke at the same time, words by words their voices merged together into a completely new voice.

-He is not hiding anything? 

-That's what they all say!

-Not from us, that's true. 

-One can hide from the eyes outside. 

-But one cannot hide. 

-From the eyes within.

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The moment the last word was spoken, my lightsaber held in my hand flickered and its light suddenly changed to  a blood red hue.

The change surprised me so much, that I dropped the blade on the ground. I watched it in confusion as it rolled on the ground still ignited leaving behind a molten trail where the plasma burned the earth.

I was about to take a step towards it and pick it up. I wanted to see what the hell happened with it... A lightsaber does not change its color just like that... 

However, before I could move, I heard a series of heavy steps echoing through the dark place. They were coming closer with powerful momentum and speed, from the sounds of the steps it could be described as the fine line between running and walking.

Then I heard a strange noise appear in the darkness, it was like an elongated heavy and painful breathing. Then it repeated louder, then again. Soon the red light from the still ignited blade fell upon the silhouette of a tall droid... no it was a man, completely covered in black armor and a black cape was hanging over his shoulder. 

There were many strange lights on his armor, belonging to machines, I reached out with the force sensing the purpose of such machines. My eyes widened with surprise as I understood that all of them were life supporting machines attached to his armor. I reached further and realized that his arms and legs were mechanical and some of his organs were as well.

I flinched, how is this man still alive? He shouldn't be alive, how could he walk around like that, in heavy armor.

The man stopped next to my lightsaber, he raised his right hand with a heavy and somewhat slow movement than the blade, my blade jumped up into his hand and his black gloved fingers wrapped around it with ease. As if they'd done it hundreds of times already.

My eyes narrowed on him, he was a force user with an extremely dark and malicious presence. The room seemed to drop in temperature only from his appearance. I felt threatened, especially now, as my blade was in his hand, I should have picked it up while I had the chance... Well, no reason to cry over spilled milk.

I acted as if I was perfectly comfortable with the situation and asked him.

-Who are you, another sith? Maybe that mysterious master we are looking for? 

The tall figure lowered the blade next to his body, but he did not turn it off. His face looked up then turned towards me showing that his face was also covered in a completely black mask just as his eyes were. 

There was a tense silence and the air was filled with the low hum of the lightsaber and the repetitive sounds of the lonely breathing apparatus attached to the man who had suffered from countless injuries yet still stood tall, in front of me. 

It was sad, what could drive a man to live, still after such pain and suffering.

At last, a mechanical and emotionless, deeply malformed voice spoke in the darkness.

-You know, who I am.

I felt pure dread crawl up the length of my spine as a cold shiver came over me. Sensing the suffering, and loathing ringing through that mechanical voice was disturbing. Still, I tried my best to cover up this growing sense of discomfort and fear with an awkward joke.

-Well, I beg to differ...

-Your jokes cannot save you, Skywalker.

A spike of coldness bit into me as the room seemed to become frigid.

I swallowed drily and continued.

-Lets not get to conclusions so quickly, I could be a real charmer if I gave it my all, you know?

I asked him as I tried to brighten the mood. I didn't really know why, but in front of this man, I had an urge to speak nonsense only to stretch the time at least.

-Did your charm save your mother? 

I blinked in momentary confusion, and shock.

Then I felt as a cold fury spread inside my chest. My voice naturally lowered almost to a whisper as a wave of pain, selfloathing, anger, and disgust spread inside me, making my body shake from the wave of emotions. The shame of massacring all those innocents... even the children blinked into my mind as I said. Then the thought of what they did... they deserved it! 

-Shut your dirty mouth, or I will kill you.

My easy going persona was no more, it was shattered into pieces by that simple sentence that the man said.

I heard my own voice speaking to him in a menacing tone distorted by so much hatred that I couldn't recognize it anymore. Was that truly my voice?

The man didn't care for my warning and he continued.

-Just like you did with the tuskens? 

-Stop it, shut your trap, now! 

-It did not bring back your mother. It will not bring back your wife, either.

I froze, my wife? How could he know about that? Did... did Ahsoka or Nizzal tell it to someone else? Could it be? No, Ahsoka would never do something like that... Then it could only be... that damnable twi'lek... 

-Was it her? That idiot twi'lek! 

I asked in a confused panic, my mind was clouded by anger and fear. 

-It does not matter. You have already failed. Your wife will suffer the consequences of your failure. Only then will you understand true terror.

I was about to tackle the bastard even without a weapon, but he sent my lightsaber towards me with a saber throw. I had to dodge then use the force to take control over it and pull it back into my grasp.

When I looked back at the bastard I only saw the end of his cape, as he turned and walked away disappearing in the darkness. 

-You can run, but you cannot hide from me. In the end only I remain.

-We will see about that. 

I spat the words after the man, whose form was clouded by darkness, pain and mysteries. 

Then the darkness began to dissipate, my blade color turned back to blue as I found myself back in the middle of my room, standing with an ignited blade. 

I looked around and turned off the blade, the presence I had sensed before, was gone.

-Okay, what the hell was that!?

Anakin meets a mysterious shadow.

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