If she were to describe their trek through the forest years later, she's not sure what she would say. It took three days, she thinks. It all blurs together almost as soon as they reach their destination. The forest does provide. Or, at least, it tells him how to provide. He collects some sort of fruit that he assures her is not poisonous. He kills an animal he knows is edible. And despite being some sort of prince (for surely, if General Organa was once a princess, Ben is a prince), he knows how to prepare it so they can make a proper meal of it.

It tastes strange and yet at the same time it's a welcome respite from the rations she left behind on the shuttle.

It's not easy traveling for them. During the day he shows signs of complete exhaustion and in the light of the midday sun, when she is at her most alert, he falls into a fitful slumber that she can't pull him out of. She curls up next to him and passes the hours until he's awake again listening to his deep breathing and the occasional strange mutterings that pass his lips.

They hit their stride again during dusk and it's during the next evening that she finds she is the one starting to tire. When she simply can't go on anymore and collapses, he's there to catch her, swooping her up in strong arms. She comes to some hours later and realizes she's still in his arms and he's still walking.

"You're awake," he says and there's that amused quirk to his lips.

"Yes," she says simply. He nods and continues walking. "You can set me down," she points out.

He looks suitably embarrassed as he sets her on her feet. "Right, of course."

"Thank you."

She's not sure what else to say and it's clear he has no idea either. He nods and turns to walk off. This drive to get somewhere hits her and she's right at his side a moment later.

Masaka City.

Yes.

They must get there. She can't imagine why but it feels important, now more than ever, even more than when they first set themselves on this path. She doesn't know why she didn't feel it before.

We must go there. She feels the whisper inside her mind, pushing her forward, driving her on. We must go there and...

She has no answer to that. She doesn't know what they'll find once they arrive. But she feels it now, the voices less discordant around her. They come together with one purpose, one meaning.

Masaka City.

"What is Masaka City, do you think?" she says to him toward the beginning of the third day.

He turns to look at her and his eyes are dark, serious.

"I don't know."

There are red spots on his cheeks that she hasn't seen before and she reaches up to brush her hand across one side of his face. He feels slightly warm to the touch and for the first time she wonders if they're infected with something. There are times she's not sure if the thoughts in her head are her own. They're not his through the bond, though she can certainly feel it running like a river beneath it all. But they're not her thoughts either.

"Why are we going there?"

"I don't know."

She's silent for a time after that. She doesn't know either: doesn't know what to say, what questions to ask, what they're doing.

Finally she speaks again. "Who is Korgano?" The words come out quiet. She's not sure she wants to know the answer.

When he turns to her, there's a sneer on those full lips and his eyes are almost black. "I am."

He grabs her by the arm then and swings her around and for a moment she knows real fear. But then his eyes lighten and he releases her. There's a furrow between his brows.

"I don't know what I'm saying."

She takes a shaky breath. "You're not the only one."

The rest of the trip through the forest is uneventful. No more words are exchanged, though the worry, the fear, remains a dark current beneath them. And then in what seems like the difference from one step to the next, the trees around them are gone. There's no thinning out slowly, no lightening of the thick canopy over their head. The trees are there one moment and the next they're simply dumped on top of a hillside looking down on –

"What happened here?" Rey murmurs.

There's a city. And she knows, somewhere deep inside her that they are looking down upon Masaka City. She's seen it before.

But it's not a city anymore. There are buildings, but they're crumbling into ruins. Even from this distance, she can see the blackened shells of what were once tall buildings tilting in on themselves.

Destruction.

Death.

We shouldn't be here, she realizes. But she doesn't give voice to her fears.

Ben is already moving down the hillside. There's no sound here except his boots, heavy on the dry grass. She goes after him, gingerly stepping where he steps. It feels almost sacred.

She looks to where the sun is rising past the city, the rays of light illuminating the darkened husks and what look to be a few buildings still left standing somewhere toward the middle of the city. There's a spire shooting up from the center and she's not sure how it can still be standing amidst so much destruction. Made of a dark purple quartz, it may be the only thing of beauty left in the forsaken place.

They trudge past the outer buildings. They're small, little more than huts blackened with soot. She glances inside one, fearing for what she'll find. She exhales in relief when she finds nothing there.

There's nothing in the next building.

Or the next.

There should be bodies here.

There were...in her memories of the place.

They come to a few that are still half standing and Ben ducks inside one. She follows. She's not sure what else to do really. There's nothing much there either: a bench that's broken in half, a few scattered chairs, a mural on one wall. She moves closer to it, trying to make see what lies behind the soot and the Maker knows how many years of neglect.

She can just barely make out a golden shield with a symbol on it. The sun, her mind says. Masaka, the voices supply and she shudders.

She feels him come up behind her and is surprised to feel one of his hands rest heavily on her shoulder. "There are no bodies," she says and turns toward him. So much destruction, but no bodies, as if everyone had left before something laid waste to their city.

"There's no one left here," he answers and pulls her away from the mural. Somewhere, off to the far right side of it, she catches a glimpse of silver and another small symbol. When she turns to look at Ben, in a brief flash, she sees it across his forehead, as if that symbol has made its home in him. And then they're moving out of the building.

They search another, and another one after that. There's a pull there. "This is wrong," he says and she turns to look at him.

"Wrong?"

"Don't you feel it?"

He steps into another building. "It's wrong!" he shouts and his fist collides with the nearest wall. "We're in the right place but it's all wrong!" Another punch to the wall and she feels the building shudder around them. They've disturbed something, maybe nothing more than the rot left behind after the destruction. She reaches for his hand and pulls him from the building before it can collapse.

They press forward and there's a crawling across her skin, like ants skittering up her arms, down her legs. Her heart beats faster than it should, breath coming faster with each step they take further into the city. "Yes," she finally says and he turns to look at her.

"You feel it too." It's not a question. He knows. She opens herself up to the bond for a moment.

"It's wrong." The spots on his cheeks are even more prominent now, tinged fever-red and she's sure now that he's fallen prey to something.

But if he has, so has she. She feels it too. And it's more than their bond, more than whatever this thing is that lies between them that they never speak of. The bond sings, it aches. Her blood boils as he continues forward. His motions become more erratic all the time as he sways into a building and punches it again and again.

She watches helplessly as he loses himself to whatever this is, whatever this rage is. And she feels it too, racing across her skin and through arteries and veins. She feels it too. Crawling through her mind, making new pathways of terror into her thoughts and feelings.

She feels it too.

When he turns around and ignites his lightsaber, she knows. She will end him, this upstart. This Korgano.

She is Masaka.

She is a Goddess. The sun is her domain and she will defeat this Korgano, this nothing. His light is weak. Hers is strong.

She will end him.

Their lightsabers clash as they come together. She snarls at him, teeth bared. He watches her, cautious and wary as always. But there's a fire there, deep in those dark eyes of his, black and blazing, and she knows he's every bit as invested in this fight as she is.

She thrusts and he parries, blades locking as they spin around each other. It's a dance they know well. She twists as his blade comes near her, the heat from the unstable crackling of the weapon far too close. She takes a swing at him and he ducks underneath it, rolling on the ground and back on his feet before she has a chance to recover.

He's on her in a moment, tackling her at the knees and taking her to the ground. She swings wildly as he tries to pin her beneath him. He won't get her down, he won't stop her. Her blade hits his arm, just a touch but it's enough for him to make a small grunt of pain and gives her the time to roll clear of him and get back on her feet.

And then she's rushing at him again, kicking at his legs and swinging her lightsaber at him. He parries and it almost catches her off guard. She falls back, rolling to keep her momentum going, coming up and waiting for him to advance. He does so quickly. His long strides take him to her without any difficulty.

He swings at her, a two-handed, powerful swing that she's able to duck underneath. The momentum carries him beyond her and she turns then, kicking out at his knees with a vicious attack. He's goes down then, hits the the ground and lets out a grunt of pain as she steps over him. Her foot is on the arm that still holds his lightsaber, grinding it into the steps they've landed on.

Steps.

She looks above her for a moment and she knows where she is. This is where they're supposed to be. "I will banish you from the sky forever." And she has no idea what it means, what she's trying to say. She lifts her own lightsaber and it feels wrong in her hands, as if it should be a different weapon. With a snarl of frustration, she brings it down in a great arc toward him. She will end him.

No!

There's enough Rey in there to fight and she strikes to wound, not to kill. The saber hits his shoulder, strikes a path down it almost identical to the one she'd left on the other side in what feels like someone else's life. Ben Solo, Kylo Ren, Korgano, falls backward with a grunt.

And then she's walking past him, leaving him lying there to watch her through half-lidded eyes. This is where she needs to be. This is her temple. Masaka's temple.

Rey steps inside and the world goes dark around her.

Child.

Her eyelids flutter, eyes half opening.

Ah, there you are.

When her eyes open fully, she blinks. This can't be right. A moment ago, she was stepping into the ruins of an old city. What did they call it again? And now she's…

She looks around. She's in a field. The grass is to her knees, caressing her bare lower legs in the wind. Her dress white, draped across one shoulder and tied at her waist with a golden thread, moves gently around her as she treads carefully through a path down the middle of the grass.

She's sure she's seen that dress before.

You make a lovely Masaka.

Masaka. There's power in that name and she draws herself up, just a little bit higher. "I am Masaka." Her voice is half her own, half someone else's. She hears thousands of voices mingled within the lone cadence.

You are.

"Who are you?" There's nothing there and yet she feels it all around her, as if she's floating within and atop it. Whatever it is that's there is all encompassing.

Something materializes off to her side. An old woman. No…The woman comes closer and she realizes that though she is bent strangely at the waist, she is not old. She is ageless. Her skin glows a pale yellow, her eyes are as blue as the Jakku sky, her hair is wild about her face, the color of starflowers in bloom.

I am everything, the woman says and Rey, Masaka, believes it.

"Why am I here?" And this one is Rey. Masaka knows why she's here. Rey can feel that beating at the inside of her mind, the surety of what this is, of what she must do. But Rey is still uncertain, still there, her sense of self too strong to be pushed completely aside.

You need to let go, my child, the woman says. Rey's head cocks slightly to the side but she says nothing. Come, walk with me. The woman gestures with calm authority that indicates she is used to being obeyed.

Rey obeys.

What choice does she have, really?

How did you come to be here? Her voice is almost conversational and Rey shakes her head.

"My shuttle," she starts with. But no, that's not really the answer. Her shuttle does not work but it started before that. "I was following a…friend," she finishes, still not quite sure what he is to her.

A friend? Or a lover? The woman sounds almost gleeful, if one can describe it that way. Gleeful and all knowing at the same time.

"A friend." She feels less certain of that all the time.

Hmmmm…

They fall silent as they keep walking. She can see no end to the grasses, no change in vegetation. "He could be more," Rey whispers and it's the first time she admits as much to herself. "But there are…complications?"

She's surprised to hear the woman offer a throaty laugh. There always are. And then. Your coming here with him is momentous. Others have come, my child. But they have not left.

"How do we leave?"

This is a worry for you.

"Of course it is."

You have this planet all to yourself. You and your…friend, maybe lover. Why leave?

Rey lets out a huff. "I have a life away from here. And he and I? We're not…" They're not friends, not lovers. They're enemies, on the opposite side of a war. But are you? she wonders. Are you really?

He can't go back and she doesn't know if she can. So where does that leave them?

It ends with a death, my child. The woman levels her gaze at Rey. Yours.

"Death." She feels numb at the word. No, that's not how it's supposed to go. She and Ben. They're a…team? They have each other's backs. They need to leave this place. Together. "I can't accept that."

Another laugh. Oh my child, so naïve. Is your young man as well?

"I…"

There are many kinds of deaths, child. Do you not know who Masaka is?

"She's a Goddess." This is all she's gotten so far. There are clues, she knows, hidden within the lore she has seen in dreams, heard in Ben's strange mutterings. But she can't quite find her way through the maze of clues to the conclusion. It should be obvious. Somehow she knows this, but at the same time it isn't. She lets out a snarl of annoyance.

Yes, child. That she is. The amusement is back. The woman watches her for a moment and then looks up. Rey follows her eyes, up and further up until…

She lets out a gasp.

And it suddenly all makes sense.

"She's the sun," she whispers. Masaka is the sun.

Now you see.

"And Korgano?"

Exactly who you think he is.

Masaka's polar opposite. The God of this planet's moon. It's why Ben keeps falling unconscious during the height of the sun. It's why she's dragged down at dusk and suddenly finds herself with so little energy during the night.

"I don't understand."

Our world is confusing, the woman muses. Lak'tra prhn'i to.

Rey just stares at her.

The little death. The woman waves a hand at her. Go, find your young man. The ritual must play out or you'll descend into madness. And from madness…death.

She comes to a moment later, laying at the foot of a statue. For a moment, she's not even sure who she is. Rey. Masaka. When she glances down, she's dressed as Rey, but there's a part of her mind that's no longer hers. She knows the sun is just past the zenith, feels connected to it much as Rey is Force-bonded to Ben.

The ritual must play out.

And she knows what it is.

She is Masaka.

He is Korgano.

She stands and makes her way to the entrance of the temple, taking one last look around. It's one of the few places left in the city that's not in ruins and she wonders if it's because of this, luring unsuspecting travelers into its web. She shudders at the thought of landing on the planet alone, without her Korgano.

A ritual incomplete.

Madness.

Death.

When she crosses the threshold, he is there. He is still dressed in all black, but there's a dark, wary look in his eyes.

"My Masaka," he whispers, kneeling before her. As he should be. He is the lesser god here, she the highest of this world. And her sun, Masaka, is still at the height of its power over the day.

"Come, Korgano," she says, reaching out her hand for him to take. He does so and she's yet again surprised at the size and strength of his hands. His fingers surround hers, almost too warm, and he draws himself easily to his feet. She looks up at him then and smiles. "You know how this has to end."

"Yes." The deep notes of his voice cut right through her, leaving heat pooling deep inside. She's never acknowledged that before. But here, now, she can. She is not wholly herself, though there's still enough Rey in there that she can appreciate the way his dark eyes follow her, the way he fills out his tunic, the dark hair that she craves to run her fingers through.

She leans close to him. "Then catch me, my dear Korgano." She slips out of his grasp. "If you can."

And then she's off, nimbly racing through the streets of the ruined city. She doesn't look over her shoulder, but she knows he's there, can feel him through the bond and through whatever has drawn them here to this strange planet.