บท 274: V.3-C.72│The End VII│

Voices. Voices was all that could be heard for Anakin, as he came to from within the supermassive black hole that is known as the galactic center of this galaxy.

Voices familiar and foreign to his ears, or was it his mind? He was opened up now, more so than what he was before, and due to the influence and nature of this black hole, the Force itself was being sucked out of him.

Of course, the Sands of Time provided a layer of protection for himself, so that he may last as long as he may need to within.

Abeloth on the other hand was no where to be seen, and the only thing that Anakin could consider for her is death. This black hole was ruthless in its desire to distort the Force, even the strong Force energies being emitted by Anakin himself.

Thankfully, his form is fully kept and his current level of strength not only allows himself to not be torn apart by such forces, but also allows him to exist in a true physical sense and not be downgraded into mere information for this thing to absorb.

'Anakin!' Many people seemed to be calling for him, but his mind was growing hazy due to this whole situation. The closer he got to the center of said black hole, there was no way for him to see, hear or sense anything.

Time was truly distorted from within, and whatever he is experiencing now is only a fragment on the outside. Things were slower in than out.

Even so, he knew that he was getting closer now, and this may very well become a waiting game. Either he is able to find a way out of this place, gets help from a miraculous source, or he dies, ending his life here.

'... I really don't want to die...' Anakin thought to himself, his eyes closed for they may not help him here.

Drawing on the Force would only make things worse for him and easier for the gigantic mass of nothingness to take him faster.

That was when it happened, his connection to this galaxy and those within, to this universe in its entirety seemed to dim, before he felt himself awake.

Sweating and looking around, Anakin looked around himself. 'Wait...' His eyes widening, he couldn't believe that everything was but a result of some sick dream. A nightmare in which he would finally awake after years of being within a coma.

'It can't be a dream.' No matter how hard he tried though, he discovered that his abilities within the Force was absolutely nothing. He couldn't sense anything, and even if he has connections still, he would be unable to feel them.

Those threads so thin now that they barely exist.

'Anakin!' A voice spoke to him, his mind going hazy before he got out of his rather plain bedroom and walked out and towards his living room.

The living room of a 21'st century person from the planet of Earth, and himself being completely human. Looking into a mirror, what was reflected was exactly the reflection of that of Anakin Skywalker, but he didn't seem to come to his senses.

It was like all a practiced routine, in which he would get up out of bed before going on with his day.

Eat, sleep, shit, repeat. Of course, there is more to it like going to work, but this was all basically doing the same thing as his body degrades further.

Days and nights passed, his mind a whole hazy bunch of things, his body deteriorating, and most of all was the loneliness.

No family, not one thing to indicate he was with someone, lived with someone, in love with someone, or at the very least had some sort of connection to anyone.

He is all alone. Having not had a family, he never felt the sense of loss one has when they loss someone close to himself, but that didn't mean he was unrealized of such potential.

A barking sound seemed to come, and Anakin was now the owner of a puppy. A little dog that would age with him, grow old with him, be with him and comfort him. It was something akin to the closest thing to family he has ever had.

Unfortunately, like all things good, they must come to an end. The puppy, then fully grown dog, not even reached the final stages or even middles stages of its life died.

Put down due to disease, bringing him back to his own painful reality of death. Death and dying and losing a loved one he had grown close to, Anakin couldn't handle it and broke down.

However, his will strong, he would recover soon after and try more and more to continue. He must not stop. Must not stop on his path of trying to live, trying to survive.

The only possible conclusion is his death, but nonetheless, he continued.

It would happen soon that he is now bedridden, within a hospital's intense care unit. Left there with no guardian, no lover, no parent, no sibling. No cousin, no extended family or relatives with which could come.

Friends that were not friends but merely acquaintances, work colleagues that were not so interested in someone like him. Even with good looks, nice enough attitude and high intelligence, it was not enough for some reason.

'Anakin...!'

"What was that...?" Anakin was tired, so very tired. "Am I starting to hallucinate now? Is that how things are...? Am I so far gone...?" Despite his words, Anakin's firm will was not overwhelmed but his current situation.

Remembering his life, lonely as it was, as quick as it passed him by, he still cherished his memories. His experiences, and most of all that one source of comfort, his doggo that died due to unforeseen circumstances.

Nothing that he could've predicted, nothing he would've wanted. Ever.

'I guess you don't get everything in the end after all. Hard work? Nothing. Intelligence? Nothing. Money? Nothing. No purpose, no place to belong, and dying still...' Anakin seemed to glaze over for a moment, before continuing his thoughts confused. 'What is it I was here for again...?'

As if he was developing some kind of mental deficiency, Anakin was going into cardiac arrest. His heart starting to fail him.

Many came and tried to help, but it was all for naught.

'Is this it? Is this how it all ends? With a roaring applause?' All Anakin could sense was some jumbled sounds coming together to seem as it was some cheering.

'Cheering for my death? Is that it?' His eyes were unfocused, the doctors seemingly giving up as he flatlined.

There was no more beat to the rhythm. No heartbeat to create just that little bit more of life for him to revive.

'Didn't I have at least two hearts?' This random thought popped up into his head all of a sudden, disrupting the cheering audience, the doctors trying to assess the situation as their medical technology was unable to help him.

There it was.

On the monitor, a heartbeat so faint that one wouldn't even notice it. 'Anakin! Anakin! Anakin!' Many voices seemed to come into his head again, as the dystopia he lived in was broken down into grey particles of nothing.

'A choice must be made. Stay, don't stay. Live as you were, live as you are, or live as you become. Which one will you choose?' More confusing thoughts and flashes of something was banging against his mind.

Like a barrier preventing something from coming in, Anakin was forced to deal with the pounding headache he was starting to develop. This attack unprovoked was something he started to deal with almost instinctively.

'Death? Didn't I create a kingdom so that I too, shall be reborn if I wanted?' Anakin thought to himself, his connections starting to grow in power more.

'Life? Didn't I subvert such a thing by gaining immortality?' Anakin started to visualize the world he was first born into.

Grey color schematics and all, displaying a depressing and grey world heading for a permanent end.

'Good! Bad! Both real things, but controlled all within my grasp! Didn't I literally ascend such concepts?' Anakin was starting to gather power within the void he was trapped within, a light coming from some undetermined location.

'Freedom! I shall never be trapped! Not within the confines of my form! Not within the confines of this space! Not within my own mind shall I limit myself and be bound to myself of the past, or the present, or the future! I am me...' Anakin reached out, grasping at the world in his fingertips.

It started to be molded in the vision Anakin had for it. As depressing as it was, the light and the dark was recreated in a form that they must create a cycle. Like the nature of the Force, both the good and the bad necessary for this worlds future potential to shine.

'I am Anakin Skywalker... The Chosen One of the Force? To bring balance to all that is? A divine being worshipped within my Empire? A former Jedi? A potential Sith? A hero? A villain...?'

'Darth Vader...?' Anakin thought as he echoed his thoughts into this void, that light growing bigger and brighter.

'Anakin!' Other thoughts reached Anakin as he started to disintegrate into nothingness.

'I am... me.' With that last thought, Anakin was gone, the grey world had gained color, a new dawn was above them.

The light having grown and become such a light for all things, the shadows reflected becoming something to draw strength from.

With night and day, Anakin was no longer. His physical form destroyed.

However...

'And I have some people to come back to!' With this last thought, an explosion occurred in this world, propelling something past everything and straight into the sun.

A star at which would destroy everything, it started to implode in on itself and its mass started to resemble a black hole.

The supermassive black hole at the galactic center seemed to come to a still for a moment, before resuming, but this time there was peace.

[]

Many things seemed to have happened within but a moment, when in reality a long, long time had passed from within.

'Coming...' Was all that was left of Anakin. A voice in the wind, or a shadow within every corner. The light from a star far away, or the passing embrace of something that called to them.

Ahsoka and Eve would return with heavy hearts, which would then return back to the Empyrean. Shaak and Zannah joining them along the way, and instead of some epic breakdown of tears, there seemed to be this silence that lingered.

A silence that fell, and within that silence was a heartbeat, or was it two? No one could really tell, or care for that matter.

The greatest of them all had just sacrificed his life for the galaxy, possibly the universe and even the Force itself was still in lament. It was as if everything was gone off balance, leading to the light being dark and dark being light.

The Empyrean itself didn't go through any sort of instability, which was the weirdest of things to happen.

Time passed, but Anakin's lovers would not forget him, not only because they loved him like they were soulmates, but because of their connection. Their connection in the form of the Dyad should of given them a choice, the choice to sacrifice their lives for his own.

It was a standard ability after all, but nothing had happened. A down atmosphere was felt even at the news that Padme was pregnant, and not only that, but with twins.

Everyone was saddened.

Most of all, those that felt responsible in some way for Anakin's death was probably among the most damaged in this massive conflict.

'Coming...' That was all they would hear of him. As if it was not cruel enough he was gone, but his constant words would come to them in their sleep.

In their wake and everything else that seemed to push them into various states of being.

Siri ran as normal, if not more now due to Anakin's absence and no one really helping 'her' out. She was carrying the Empyrean on her back, but it wasn't like she wasn't designed to do this very purpose.

'I am coming...' As time passed even more, the time was soon due for Padme to give birth, and given birth to twins she did.

Luke and Leia, their looks taking after Anakin and Padme alike. Even still, there was this sadness and happiness within them all, Padme, Ahsoka, Eve, Aayla, Shaak, Barriss and Zannah.

It would be one starry night on Tatooine that the seven girls would gather themselves, for some reason being drawn the stars. "Why are we here again?" Ahsoka asked as everyone had developed a little bit more, probably all reaching their final stages of selves.

Even Ahsoka had grown more beautiful over time. However, even so, her heart still ached.

All of their hearts did. "I don't quite know..." Eve put a finger to her lip as she said this.

"This is crazy! I don't know what we are trying to do here." Zannah grew angry, her frustration at everything having built up. She finally found love and now he was taken away from her.

"It is strange, is it not?" Barriss seemed to be the most interested. "I mean, the voice, right? It sounds like Anakin..."

"If it really was him, he would be back by now, right?" Aayla seemed to think that Anakin would definitely come running, and he would, she is right.

Shaak was silent herself, but she bit her lip as she was struggling to find why this was happening. Even the Force itself had no answers, stating itself that he is supposed to be dead. No way would he survive, forever his connection to the Force being severed.

"I want to believe..." What Padme just said allowed everyone to quiet down, they too hoping that a miracle may happen.

The only thing giving them hope still is their bond remains unbroken.

Then it happened. A shooting star that was more than a shooting star was coming right for them, crashing just a bit away. The seven looked at each other before moving towards where this star, or meteorite landed.

There it was, a fully naked and asleep man was there.

That man being Anakin Skywalker. "Anakin!" Ahsoka exclaimed, being the first to reach him as all the others also arrived and checked him. "Anakin! Wake up! It is us!"

Gently opening his eyes, Anakin saw his lovers all with him. Smiling, he seemed to emanate a weakness and vulnerability towards them like none other before. "I said I was coming back. How could I leave my loved ones."

"Thank you all, for being mine. For allowing me to be yours. I just need a quick rest, than we can do whatever from now on. Also, although you may all feel the Force Dyad between us, it is not like before."

"You see, I am no longer connected to the Force. I am but a separate entity now. I am free, and so is everyone else." Anakin said this words before he fainted.

Ending this story, Anakin would finally live, have a family, a massive family, and be free. In body, in mind, and in soul.

'I am... me. Alive, free and...' Looking towards the night sky of Tatooine. 'Thank you.'