Dark Below

~~~(POV: Nathen Opal)~~~

~~~(Location: Reydoth, Ancient Je'daii Ruins, Dantooine)~~~

~~~(Galactic Time: 7:55 PM)~~~

My descent through the solid stone and metal takes almost too long, but I'm lucky enough to find a part of the buried temple that's still open. As I resolidify and fall from the ceiling. The area lightly shakes at my action.

I take a deep breath and find that the air is fresh. This means there is some source that leads to the surface where air can get in.

Before I start moving, I have to take a seat on a rock. It's not an easy feat to make oneself an incorporeal object. Even with my capabilities, it's taxing. But that doesn't last for long. Like always, my stamina only takes a few seconds to recover.

Being who I am allows for many things. I can count the times I've been genuinely exhausted on one hand in my life. While it was taxing, I'm not exhausted. So this doesn't count.

I slowly turn my head to the ceiling and sense there is a lot of confusion and chaos where I left. Nella is worried about me, but she's not panicking. I'm glad she's in control. However, I can't say the same for the Jedi present here.

Their emotions are easily read. While Ulta Mers herself is not worried about what I'm doing, I can't say the same for the people under her purview.

"Time to get a move on. The Force brought me here for a reason. Abeloth told me to come here. Whatever the reason is, I'm finding out what I want to know."

I stand up from the rock and pull my saber hilt from my belt. Igniting the blade and providing light. Walking around in the dark isn't a hobby of mine, even if The Force guides me. As my yellow blade ignites the area I'm in, many things are revealed.

There are metal and stone carved tables. As I walk by, I run my hand across them, and dust begins flying in the air. 

My eyes shift to the markings and inscriptions on the ancient tables. They're in a language that I don't recognize. The Force helps me with translation, but this time. I'm getting nothing. The yellow light from my saber affects the surroundings.

Soon, the unknown markings around the room glow the same color as my blade.

All over the massive chamber, the light matching my blade comes forth. So much so that I don't need my saber on anymore. As I place it back on my belt, I catch something in the corner of my eye.

There are pictures.

Carved into the surface of the stone. Depicting times and events I have no knowledge of. I turn my head to look around the room, and I see the chamber filled with these carvings.

They're more like scenes. Placed here for generations to come. But there is no hint of Jedi influence here. I came here believing this old temple held the answers to my questions. But looking at it and thinking about it, the Jedi don't know of what I found here.

Even before this place was buried. This seems to be a separate section that's never been discovered. Or created. By the Jedi that came before.

The Je'daii likely had no clue this place was here. Abeloth didn't send me to an ancient Je'daii temple for secrets of the Je'daii. She sent me here for what's in this room. I slowly walk around the room. Taking in the scenes depicted.

My memories from my old life on Earth have no use here.

As I pass these tales of old, each tells a different story.

One depicts a war that took place long ago; I don't know between whom.

Another shows a scene of what looks like a ship leaving a planet. It may be the first time a species has traveled into space.

I don't know.

But I stop at one that grabs my attention. More so than any others. I stop and stare at it. It shows a towering woman. And a man by her side. There are no discernable features. That doesn't mean I don't know who it is.

It's Abeloth and me.

Why am I here...

There have been times in the past that I've found my name in prophecies... Ones that tell the saving or destroying of the galaxy.

What's this one telling...

I reach out my hand and gently run my fingers through the small indentations against the stone. The yellow light brimming from them as I do.

"Why send me here, Abeloth... What's the point..."

For this?

A stone picture carved into a wall?

As the words leave my lips, I feel a presence I've felt once before. One that I can only describe as unstoppable. It's coming from behind me. As the feeling sinks into my form, I turn on my heels.

And that's when I see her.

Abeloth...

However, it's not her. Only an ethereal projection being cast by the yellow light coming from all the markings in the room. They're acting like a hologram projector, but this is different. I can't describe it beyond anything other than a ghost.

"I see that you've made it, my son..."

Her voice is calm and serene. Her long white hair cascades down her back, and her sharp feminine features portray her beauty. I've never said this before, but I look a lot like her. She's definitely my Mother.

"Why bring me here."

It's not a question but a demand. I've been chasing Abeloth and her messages all across the galaxy. It's not untrue to say that I've begun to grow tired of all the searching. All the clues and puzzles. My patience has been tested enough.

She lightly smiles, and her yellow form slowly walks to me. I stand where I am and wait for her. Once she reaches me, her hand lifts from her side. What happens surprises me. I feel her fingers against my cheek.

"Haa..."

She takes a sharp inhale of breath as she touches me. I watch her eyes dart back and forth while looking into my own.

"I've waited so long... To touch you... When you were taken from me, it felt like my heart dried up and withered away..."

I don't react in the way she'd probably want. Instead, I reach up and grab her wrist. Pulling it away from my face, and pushing it back down to her side. She looks hurt at my action but does her best not to let it stay on her face.

"I'm asking one more time. Why bring me here, Abeloth."

She doesn't answer me, but she instead takes a step back. Holding the hand that stroked my cheek with her free one. She takes a calm and steady breath, refocusing on what I'm asking her. I feel like I'm about to be jerked around.

But I'll continue to reserve judgment. My past life on Earth has revealed many truths to me, and one of them being Abeloth. While she may not be the Abeloth I know, that doesn't mean she's not dangerous.

"So that you can find me, Amor."

Amor.

The name she gave me. I haven't given it much thought since I first heard it, but hearing her say it does show me that's how she sees me.

As Amor.

The son of Abeloth. 

"This place is more than just an archive of stories... It's where the star charts to navigate the Maw are located. It's where you'll be able to find my prison world."

In the end, this is what it's about. Getting me to free her. She may love me. She may consider me her child. I could even be what's most important to her. But I've seen the damage someone as strong as us can inflict on the galaxy.

Since I'm the one who has done most of that damage.

"Here, you'll find a way to me. Then, I can leave, and we won't ever have to be apart from each other again."

This is turning more into a deception the longer I play along.

I don't know what Abeloth is planning.

~~~(POV: Nella Opal)~~~

~~~(Location: Reydoth, Ancient Je'daii Ruins, Dantooine)~~~

~~~(Galactic Time: 8:28 PM)~~~

He's been down there for almost half an hour now. I can sense him. He's not hurt, but that doesn't mean he's not alright.

I've come to know Nate pretty well, but that doesn't mean anything when it comes to his secrets. There is a lot that he keeps from me. He hides so much of what he's going through. I wish he'd confide in me like I do him.

My eyes shift to Ulta Mers as she speaks with some of the other Jedi here. They can sense what I'm sensing. The connection Nate has to The Force has many benefits. But a drawback is difficulty masking every emotion you have.

I know how that feels.

Nate is a special. He carries the weight of others while not burdening them with his weight. He's changed so much since I met him.

"Please be alright..."

C'mon, cuz... You've got this...