Through the moderate-sized windows, the rays of the dying day lazily slipped to the throne room. Still, considering the sheer size of the hall, these shining beams could be described as a water drop in a dry sea. Because of that, a decent percentage of the marble-like floor was covered in shadows. This darkness seemed to gain more and more ground with every passing moment. However, it was certainly not a time for such reflections.
On the room's only piece of furniture, a muscular, red-skinned man could be spotted. His frame relaxed against the throne's soft upholster. Nevertheless, his bloodshot eyes were fixated upon the prisoner. As the man's fingers started digging into the armrests, his frustration manifested. Around the monstrous being, there were a couple of other people. Directly to his left, a blond-haired woman kneeled down with her head hanging low, defeated, broken down. Another specimen of this monstrous race could be easily spotted on his right. This one seemed even more, intimidating as he towered over everyone in the room. His skin could be described as an unhealthy mix of green and yellow. Protected by a full, black scale armour, the giant felt confident enough to have his eyes partly closed. A semblance of a wicked smirk could be spotted playing on his lips.
As if the situation was not grave enough, numerous armed soldiers were scattered across the throne room. They had their traditional greyish armours painted red. These men and women were the hatchmen and executioners waiting for a sign to strike.
"Your noble flaw is a weakness shared by you and… your Duchess," the red-skinned monster slowly uttered. His voice was uneven, and despite all his effort, the hatred and anger could be sensed within it. "You should have chosen the Dark Side, Master Jedi," he continued after a brief pause. Then, the blood-hungry Sith raised from the throne, forcing the broken-down woman by utilising force. "Your emotions betray you. Your fear and… Yes, your anger. Let your anger deepen your hatred," he continued, shifting his voice to a low growl.
"Don't listen to him, Obi," the blond-haired woman managed to mumble. The force surrounding her throat was slowly choking the life out of her.
"Quiet!" the other assassin hissed toward the choked woman.
"You can kill me," Obi-Wan finally sounded up. "But, you will never destroy me. It takes strength to resist the Dark Side. Only the weak embrace it!" he threw toward the red-skinned brute.
"This is more powerful than you know," Darth Maul growled, turning his head toward the Duchess.
"And… those who oppose it are far more powerful than you'll ever be," the Jedi responded with some signs of anger. He tried to take a few steps forward but was stopped by the soldiers behind him. That two held him down, preventing him from approaching furtherly.
"I know where you are from," Obi-Wan continued after an extended pause. "I've been to your village. I know the decision to join the Dark Side wasn't yours; the Nightsisters made it for you," the Jedi tried to reason with the beast.
"Silence!" Maul growled, visibly affected by the Jedi's words. "You think you know me?! It was me who languished for years thinking of nothing but you, nothing but this moment. And now… the perfect tool for my vengeance is in front of us. I never planned on killing you, but I will make you share my pain, Kenobi," the fallen Sith apprentice grew angrier with each passing moment. His slightly rasped voice filled the otherwise empty room, echoing through the walls.
Immediately after Maul's voice faded away, a powerful surge of Dark Side energy ripped through the air. Then the black onyx blade was activated by the assassin; its form was disturbing and a way, wicked. The beaten Jedi Master felt that something horrible was about to happen. He dreaded that he might be unable to stop it. As the very thought crossed his mind, the Duchess was pulled forward, fast approaching the deadly weapon. The blond-haired woman's end was nearly sealed and done. But, Obi-Wan could not let it happen. The Duchess, Satine, the only woman she had ever truly loved, the key to his sanity. He knew her under many names, but it did not really matter, for he found himself unable to do anything. To make the matter worse, the soldiers standing behind him hit him, forcing him to kneel down.
Then, something manifested when Satine's delicate flesh was about to be pierced by the black onyx power blade. Within a blink of an eye, time seemingly froze. Then, Kenobi's mind got flooded with visions so realistic that they could have been mistakenly taken for reality. As expected, according to these projections, Satine was about to be impaled by the wicked Sith. Then, as the woman's body was allowed to fall onto the cold floor, he mustered enough strength to overpower the Mandalorians behind him. Without hesitation, the Jedi Master threw himself forward, getting to his dying love in no time. As he held Satine close to his broad chest, the Duchess began mumbling with her dying breath.
"Remember, my dear Obi-Wan, I've loved you always, I always will," she uttered weakly.
It was apparent that her words struggled to escape her throat. However, that struggle did not last long. As soon as the last phase sounded, Satine's blue-sky eyes closed, and her heart stopped beating. Within a mere moment, the Duchess of Mandalore died in her lover's arms. Even for someone as steadfast as him, it was too much.
Something deep inside of Obi-Wan snapped. A wave of dark energy raced through his veins, fueled by rage, guilt, and sadness. And… even though the Jedi Master knew it was everything he stood against, he could not have found the strength to resist this time. As the time seemingly unfroze, the fallen Jedi was ready to act, renewed, refuelled by the very energy he had sworn to oppose.
In a split second, Satine stopped being dragged toward the energy blade. And before anyone was allowed to gasp in utter surprise, the Duchess was set free, slowly and somehow gently put onto the floor. Then, Kenobi raised up, pushing all of the surrounding soldiers away effortlessly. His usual blue eyes were bloodshot, a pure terror lurking behind the man's soul mirrors. As his lightsaber flew back toward him, the Mandalorians got affected by another burst of dark energy. Their bodies were lifted from the ground and put into stasis.
"Finally," Darth Maul exclaimed, visibly pleased with the turns of the events. "Kenobi, you have finally succumbed to the power of the Dark Side. But, even with it by your side, you're no match for me. Not to mention two of us," he burst into laughter.
"I think that conversation is at its end," the fallen Jedi uttered surprisingly stoically.
Then, without a moment of hesitation, he struck. The man's blueish lightsaber fluctuated as if it was changing its shape or form. Obi-Wan leapt straight toward Maul, but the other Sith decided to intervene. As their blades clashed, Savage Opress loudly gasped. Considering the sheer difference in muscle mass between these two, Opress should have had the upper hand. Instead, however, it seemed that the opposite happened. As Kenobi pressed forward, his aura flared with darkness. Currently, he was no longer relying only on his own strengths. Instead, the unexpected snap filled him with enough raw power to overcome Opress nearly effortlessly. And… still, it was not the worst part of the current situation. Kenobi's power seemed to surge rapidly as the fight continued.
"He's performing the Bleeding without even realising it," Maul stated, finally opting to join the ongoing fight. "You will soon be just like us, Kenobi. How shameful that out of all the people, you are the one to fall," he mocked the fallen Jedi. "Have you not told me that only the weak would embrace the power of the Dark Side? How ironic is that?"
"I am weak," Obi-Wan uttered coldly. "If I weren't that weak, I wouldn't need this power. But, there will be time for me to atonement for my sins after I'm done with you two," he added slowly. His voice turned hoarse.
"We will see about that, Kenobi," the red-skinned Sith chuckled. "We will see about that, Jedi scum!"
Then, Maul finally crossed blades with the Jedi. This confrontation felt ecstatic; the dark energy emitting the fallen knight was raw and uncontrolled. However, it did remind the assassin about his first combat training with the Sith Lord.
"It will only take a moment," Maul thought to himself. "His rage will consume him, rendering him not a threat to me."
But, surprisingly enough, the tide was not getting in the Sith's favour. No matter how hard they tried, they could not break Kenobi's seemingly unpenetrable defence. As a result, their effort seemed to be futile. But, it was an obvious observation that the Jedi master could not control the raw, newfound energy reservoir. The longer the confrontation went on, the more sheer darkness was emitted. The Mandalorian soldiers who had previously been incapacitated were the first to feel the consequences.
A cascade of disgusting sounds arose at some point in the struggle between the fallen Jedi and the two Sith. It quickly turned out that Obi-Wan lost even the semblance of control over his new powers. Even though the soldiers' bodies still floated a few feet above the ground, their frames were completely shattered. Their limbs twisted, crumbled, crushed.
"Obi!" Satine's gasp reached Kenobi's ears, seemingly from afar. "You must finish it! You're not a monster like these two. Don't allow that power to overthrow your rule, my love."
Obi-Wan did not reply, at least not directly nor verbally. But, the words he heeded carried a meaning, purpose he needed now. So, as his eye became increasingly infected by the Dark Side, he pressed on. This fight needed to conclude soon, or he would certainly lose himself. The Jedi master's internal change could be easily distinguished just by looking at his lightsabre. The original colour of his blade changed. Within the blueish energy, increasingly often reddish stain could be seen. Just like cancer, corruption slowly took its toll.
Kenobi's current state was challenging to describe correctly. On the one hand, he felt stronger than ever. But, this had its price. The darkness had already planted its seeds inside of him, slowly clouding his judgment and mind. However, he still found himself perfectly capable of using his experience to guide this enormous, raw potential. Through that, he swiftly managed to overcome the powerful yet clumsy Savage Opress. With a few quick slashes, the Jedi master rendered the savage beast unfit to continue the fight. As both of Opress's hands were cut off clinically, Kenobi released tremendous force, sending the wounded Sith straight onto the wall.
With one of the opponents already defeated, the tide turned even furtherly in the Jedi's favour. Even though Obi-Wan's rage somehow faded away and died out, his body struggled with constant surges of new energy. He felt as if he was drowning. But, simultaneously, he was flying at the peak of his capabilities. It was a strange mixture, but it sadly only fueled the temptation. What if he tried to learn how to control the Dark Side? How powerful could he have become? Such questions lingered inside his clouded subconsciousness, making it difficult, if not impossible, to make a wise decision.
Finally, after an untold amount of time, Darth Maul decided that it was time for him to retreat. But, of course, his warrior pride was hurt, but even he must have come to reason at some point. That new fallen Jedi outclassed him, outdueled him, humiliated him. If he elected to continue the confrontation, he would soon be dead. So, he chose to live to fight another day. But, there was still but one question unanswered. Would the Jedi allow him to leave?
With that in mind, the assassin mustered all the strengths he could spare and released a massive force blast toward his opponent. Even though it did not inflict significant damage to Kenobi, it gave Maul enough time to leap to his wounded apprentice and then run away. A single glance was spared toward his nemesis. As hoped, the fallen Jedi master did not opt to pursue him. And… this fact alone was a victory in Maul's book for now, at the very least.
Back in the throne room, Obi-Wan finally collapsed onto the floor, giving in to the pain, sorrow, and guilt. Then, as warm tears of shame started to roll over his heated face, he sensed a movement nearby. He did not dare to open his eyes; he did not dare to look at Satine. His pride was entirely erased, rendered into shame. But, surprisingly enough, the Duchess closed the distance between them, taking the fallen Jedi into her fragile arms.
"Obi?" she softly called him whilst messing up with his hair. "Are you still here, my dear Obi-Wan?"
"I am," he replied as the new wave of tears flooded his eyes. "I am so sorry. I am so sorry that I've fallen that low."
"You've saved me, Obi," Satine reminded him. "For that, I will forever be grateful," she added, then did something she had wanted for a long time.
As their lips met, the time seemed to freeze. In that separate reality, they were the only ones there. They had an eternity only for themselves.
A couple of days later:
"Are you sure you're ready for that confrontation?" Satine asked Kenobi, gently touching her beloved shoulder.
"If not now, then never," the Jedi replied, smiling slightly toward the Duchess. "Thank you… thank you for everything, Satine, my love," he added emotionally.
"Very well, then."
It only took a few moments for the Republic's transport ships to land on the broad Mandalor's shipyard. Then, it was only a fraction of a second before the shuttles opened, revealing who had been sent to judge Obi-Wan's fall. To some extent, Kenobi was not surprised to see his former Padawan and Ahsoka leaving the first machine. They were accompanied by Captain Rex and Commander Cody, two clones that Obi-Wan had respected massively. Then, the second and the third ship unloaded, revealing that Grandmaster Yoda had decided to take the matter into his hands. Some other masters followed Yoda, making this reunition even more complex and shameful. A few steps after him, masters Windu, Shaak Ti, and Plo Koon followed suit.
"I will be the one speaking for the High Council," master Windu nearly immediately announced when all of them met in the middle. "We have felt a surge of dark energy coming from you, master Kenobi," he added, fixing his eyes on the fallen knight. "Do you want to add some context to what we already know?"
"Simulationeusly, yes and no," Obi-Wan replied. "I have a few pieces of information to reveal that you might not be aware of. But, I know what I have done."
"So, tell us, master Kenobi," Windu uttered.
"Hmmm…" Yoda hummed. "Your lightsaber show me, young master Kenobi. It still a bloody red is corrupted by the dark side, or? Yes, hmmm."
"No, master Yoda," Obi-Wan said quietly. "I have managed to purify it, rendering it pure white in the end."
Then, the fallen Jedi master presented his blade to all of the gathered. And… just like he told them, the energy blade fluctuated with pure, snowy-white colour.
"I presuming it right am, master Kenobi? Duchess Satine, the reason you fell is?" Yoda asked another question.
"Yes, master," Kenobi responded honestly, lowering his head. "I… I no longer can stand true to the Jedi Code, master. For… I have found the piece of me that was forever missing. And, when faced with the inevitable reality, I have given in to protect that who had my heart for the most part forever," he added. "I'm ready to face my judgement, master. I have made mistakes and am ready to face the consequences."
"Consequences, you say, hmm?" the Grandmaster hummed, visibly amused with the turns of events. "More need I know before the judgment formed can be."
"As you wish, master Yoda," Obi-Wan whispered back, taking aback.