Private You Can't Run Away [ Asha]

[Darth Carnifex]

"The Jedi did not even lift a finger. They allowed our world to burn, let millions suffer. But the true blame cannot be laid at their feet, it was the actions and policies of the Eternal Empress Ingrid L'lerim that enabled such destruction to come to pass. She bears the weight of responsibility, so it will be her that is judged when the time comes." Carnifex rose, again towering over Asha and casting a wide shadow over her. He walked to one side, allowing the light to spill back over her as the corridor reverted back to its normal state, well-lit in all directions.

"Where else will you go, Asha? Back to where I found you? A forgotten world, abandoned by the Jedi and the Mandalorian? All the past vestiges of your life are severed, there's nothing left for you in this galaxy other than the hand I freely offer." To punctuate His words, Carnifex reached out and extended His left hand. It was clear that this was the moment of truth, the choice had been laid before her. Accept the Dark Lord's offer, and travel with Him to re-learn the Force, or slip back into the suffering of her old life bereft of meaning.

"I can show you where our people yet survive, Asha. You need not be alone."

Asha Seren ​

 

[Asha Seren]

The Jedi did nothing to help her people. It came as something of a surprise to see that he didn't lay the majority blame at their feet, though. It made the whole thing that much more... sincere. How easy would it have been to scapegoat the Jedi Order? But he didn't. It was a level of honesty she hadn't expected from Kaine.​

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Towering over her as he was, with light pooling in from behind him, she looked upon the God-King with a battle formed within her expression. Could she forsake all she'd worked towards? Slip into the embrace of the darkness she'd once clung to? The Living Force had been her companion for as long as she could recall, but even that had forsaken her now. Left her sick to draw upon it.​

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She had no people, no Order, no Force, no family... Just herself at this stage. Just... Asha.​

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"Kobe..." she breathed, as her gaze drifted down to the offered hand, "Do you still have my son? Did he survive the Fall..?"​

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That was one last tether, wasn't it? The boy who walked the path of darkness. By submitting to Kaine, would she know that boy again?​

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Darth Carnifex ​

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"He has."

The weight of those two words must have been tremendous, to know that her last living son still lived. It had been so long since she'd last lain eyes upon him, when he'd fallen into the Dark Lord's clutches and taken away from her. A lifetime had passed since that moment, she might not know the man, no longer the boy, that stood before her when their reunion was realized. She might not also recognize the darkness that lurked within him, imparted by the Dark Lord.

"My sister has taken to instruct him, raised alongside her own son. Come with me and I will reunite you with your son, you will not be kept from him any longer." His hand was still outstretched, waiting for Asha to take it. Every word that the Dark Lord had spoken to her had been truthful, He'd spoken sincerely and without deceit. He would do all that He said He'd do and more, she'd only have to rest her hand within His and it would be done.

To accept the beast.

Asha Seren ​