Kylo Ren stood amid the flaming forest, staring through his mask as cinders and small bouts of flame flew to the ground around him. Kylo's ebony cape flew through the air, and his entire demeanor as well as outfit stirred a great fear in his pathetically weak-minded enemies. These factors additionally contributed to the aura of his extreme power, and his tight grip on the galaxy. He ignited his lightsaber, feeling the fiery red and orange flames licking along the edges of the lightsaber's hilt. His purpose and purely channeled rage rendered this intense heat ineffective against his gloved fist. As another member of the Alazmec of Winsit cult ran at Ren through the billowing forest, Kylo lifted a hand towards his foe. His expression was grim, with something that could almost be described as annoyance, under the mask. He knew this weakling would require little to no energy, just as the others had proven to requisite.

In his other hand he held his infamous cross-shaped lightsaber, which he held parallel to the ground. The Supreme Leader... ah, as he relished the ability to refer to himself as such, channeled the Force through his very being, and turned his raised hand slightly as he wrapped the cult member in the tendrils of emhis/em power, dragging the struggling creature through the air towards him. Once the flailing guard of Vader's Castle was close enough, Kylo raised his ignited lightsaber and jabbed it through the creature's abdomen. Ren released his grip on the now limp body suspended mid-air, turning off his saber and letting the dead cult colonist fall to the ground amongst the other bodies of his kind.

The leader of the Knights of Ren was unphased as he stared at the corpses littering the surrounding terrain through icily cold eyes. Although unignited, he kept his lightsaber gripped tightly in his gloved hand when he turned and quickly picked his way through the debris. Kylo couldn't help wondering if... she... could tell what he'd done. He was still seething after her refusal to take his hand. Why couldn't she let go of the past, and join him? They could have ruled the galaxy together, and he was so close to making her see sense and turn to the dark side as he knew she eventually would. He couldn't let this distract him however, because now he had a greater problem; Palpatine was supposedly back, and the 'late' Emperor posed a large threat to Kylo's position of power. He would easily smite the slimy old raisin of a snake today, assuming that he would successfully find the Sith Wayfinder.

Kylo suddenly felt a shift in his mind, the same familiar feeling he experienced all too often. His eye twitched with fury as he slowly turned to see none other than Rey sitting on what he could only assume was a bench within the Millennium Falcon. His blood ran cold, yet he left his lightsaber off. Rey was sitting cross-legged, her back hunched over as she read off of a datapad in her lap. She clearly felt the shift in the Force too now, for she lifted her head, staring around through widened eyes until she caught sight of Kylo Ren. Her hand flew to her belt, but hesitated on the hilt of Luke's lightsaber. Why did she pause? Her eyes had the same look as before. Fear, yet an insatiable determination.

She still wants to kill me. He let the telepathic comment ring between and through the both of them, wincing as he recognized the fear in her eyes he'd seen so many times. But Rey's hesitation lasted only a moment, before she whipped out and ignited the long blue saber that had belonged to Luke, and Anakin before him. Both of her hands gripped the handle tightly and she stared through uncertain eyes. She didn't know where they stood, especially after she had refused his hand and they'd fought over Luke's saber, breaking it. She had only just finished the back-breaking repairs, and hoped the already flickering weapon would hold up.

"We could have ruled together, Rey. You'll turn eventually though, you'll realize this is the only outcome, and I'll be waiting for you." Kylo spoke, his voice distorted and deep through his apparatus. She suppressed a shiver when he said her name, and responded after a moments recuperation.

"I wanted to take your hand…"

Kylo stared at her, his fury building at the thought. He only made himself more furious with the realization of how much pain her rejection caused him.

"Ben's hand." Rey continued, whispering the words as she watched him through wary yet certain hazel eyes. At this Ren snapped, igniting his saber and slashing it through the air. Rey instantly raised her weapon up to meet his, blocking the aggressive swing.

"Never say that name again, Ben Solo is dead!" His voice was icy even through the voice filter of the mask, and his eyes flashed under the mask. He tilted his lightsaber towards the hilt of Rey's, and one of the flames from the cross-guard of his saber dug into Rey's shoulder. She let out a cry, keeping her flickering saber against his as she lifted her weapon upwards, swinging it down in a circular motion and pushing his blade to the ground before stumbling backwards. Her shoulder felt as if it was on fire, and she didn't dare to even look at the painful wound. She backed off of the bench she was standing on, so that she was in the main hangar of the Falcon. Kylo lifted his saber, and walked towards Rey. He couldn't see her surroundings, but doing so wasn't necessary. He swerved around a tree in the still burning forest on Mustafar, only to be welcomed by Rey swinging her lightsaber towards his side. He whipped around, meeting her blade with his and deflecting the hit. They raised their lightsabers and lunged forward simultaneously, their sabers connecting right beside the handles. Rey hissed between her teeth at the agonizing pain in her shoulder, but she wouldn't relent.

"I refuse to believe that. You don't have to listen to Snoke, to Vader, you don't have to let the dark side's influence control you!" Rey shouted over the whirring and burning sounds the lightsabers produced in close combat. She was struggling to hold up against his brute strength, especially with her injured shoulder. With a last sudden surge of energy, Rey shoved forward, making Kylo retreat a few paces. She panted, her breath coming raggedly. She lifted her lightsaber once more, wondering how long she could continue this. Ren was subjected to her weakness through their bond, and felt his entire body drop as if a weight had been placed upon it. But sympathy was an emotion only the weak allowed themselves to experience. He started to approach her, lifting his lightsaber to swing yet again.

Rey had fallen to her knees from exhaustion, yet she continued to grip Luke's saber tightly. As she prepared to meet his attack, the recently rebuilt lightsaber faltered before blinking off. Her breath hastened as she smacked the handle, shaking it and trying to force it to ignite again. Nonono, this can't be happening- it must be faulty, this is my first time fully reconstructing such a complex weapon! Rey lifted her head to gauge how much time she had before Kylo took the final blow, finally ending her, and saw he was only standing there. His mask hid any facial expressions, but she could feel his conflict through the Force dyad in which they were currently fighting- both physically and mentally. Rey's eyes flicked between his mask and his now lowered lightsaber, and she waited.

Kylo stared down at her, and observed that she didn't move from the crouching position on her knees. Rey was staring up at him through narrowed eyes, almost expectantly. What was she expecting exactly? Oh, it was clear, if not from every context clue in existence then from her gaze's constant shift between him and his lightsaber. From the fear that she tried to suppress at the thought that this could truly be the end. She was waiting for him to try to kill her, to prove he was really only Kylo Ren. That he had truly surrendered to the dark even after sacrificing everything he had to simply attempt to be as great as, if not better, than his grandfather. The sound seemed amplified as she let Luke's saber clatter to the floor of the Millennium Falcon yet also the compacted dirt ground of Mustafar. All the while, never dropping her intense gaze from his. He felt rooted to the floor. He should've been able to overcome this measly pull to the Light and kill her, end this all, but he couldn't. He stared down at Rey, the first person to have hope. The first who could truly pierce through the masks he had put up. They were connected whether they liked it or not, but he would not give into the Light.

"I have better things to do." Was all he whispered before the Force connection ended and Rey disappeared from the visibly surrounding parts of Mustafar. Kylo raised his still ignited lightsaber and began destroying a tree, repeatedly dragging his weapon over the tree's already burnt trunk. Releasing his anger and pent up energy the fight had produced. He watched as the already ablaze tree fell, before turning to a warily watching Stormtrooper.

"Prepare my ship."

"Y-yes sir!" JT-4169 replied before skittering back the way he'd come.

Kylo raised his hands to his mask, pressing the mechanisms on the sides and removing it. He dropped it on the ground before turning to follow the stormtrooper. His face was grim with determination as he prepared to destroy Palpatine, the singular threat to his power; besides the constant pull to the Light side and his seemingly inevitable weakness he faced to none other than Rey- the scavenger from Jakku he had somehow found himself connected to.