#i floated the idea of her purifying the crystal eventually but decided against it

[imogenkol]

— WIP WENDESDAY

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Another Imogen flashback post Order 66. Finally got around to writing her bleed her master’s kyber crystal🩸🖤

Shadows seemed to swallow every corner of the small room apart from the meditation circle Imogen kneeled in. Even there, dark wisps reached across the edges like tongues of flames that burned ice cold. Her master’s lightsaber lay just before her on the stone floor. Dim illumination from the handheld lantern shined clearly in the chrome hilt, reflecting a distorted image of the young Padawan’s ghost of an expression. 

No longer a Padawan. No longer a Jedi at all.

Imogen reached out to her connection with the Force and lifted the weapon until it floated at level with her chest. Her form remained as still as a statue as she disassembled the lightsaber with her mind piece by piece, pulling each component apart with meticulous precision. A vibrant blue light ignited in the darkness as the Kyber crystal emerged from its chamber. So strong and pure was its glow. Imogen took a very long minute to allow the brightness within her one last time. 

The light never sat well with her. 

Imogen’s hand slowly extended and the crystal came down to suspend above her palm. Rejna, the Order, the Republic – all of them so desperate for the war to end that they mistook peace for sovereignty. No one stopped to consider the price for their self righteousness until the Temple burned. Now all that remained were the ashes of her brethren in a hollowed out tomb. 

Though, they were not her family. Not really. Not once did she feel accepted in their halls. To Imogen, the Temple had always been a tomb – her final resting place where the shadow of a life she could have had haunted her. 

The cobalt blue of the crystal flickered. 

Imogen thought of every moment her master lectured her. Rejna, so dutiful and virtuous. If only she had seen her apprentice as anything other than a problem to be solved. No matter the lengths of Imogen’s efforts, she simply could not change the look of disappointment written in stone on her master’s face. Rejna’s eyes always gave it away. There had been a gleam about them, so subtle that Imogen convinced herself she had imagined it more than once. Rejna looked at Imogen like she knew she would fail, but refused to admit defeat in her role as Master. In doing so, she resigned the two of them to a fate worse than death. That is, until Imogen plunged her blade into Rejna’s heart and freed them both. 

Bleed, Imogen commanded in her mind. Bleed for her.

A dot of crimson appeared at the center of the crystal and pooled outwards, gradually infecting its old light. Then she pictured the vacant expression on her master’s face as her eyes – finally devoid of all judgment – stared lifelessly up at the Temple arches. Whatever Rejna may have been, she was all Imogen had. She did not wish for her master to suffer. Her actions had been merciful. But now, in the cold, dark room, Imogen was truly and utterly alone. 

Her pain brought forth a couple of stray tears. They quietly rolled down her cheeks and dropped off her chin. It was so silent in the room that she thought she might have heard them fall onto the stone beneath her knees. Imogen and the crystal were one in the same. Each suffered from a heart that dripped scarlet. 

Bleed for me. 

The blood red heart in the crystal released one more pulse of energy before it completely consumed what once powered a weapon of peace. With her mind, Imogen set the old saber components aside and assembled a new hilt. A sharp emitter. A sleek handle. Gilded electrum and smooth greel wood, contrasted with dark metal. The red Kyber crystal perfectly slotted into its chamber and with that, Imogen fused it all together. 

The lightsaber gently landed in her palm as she stood. She waved her other hand to extinguish the light of the lantern. Now bathed in total darkness, her fingers gripped the saber tightly, and she ignited it. A red so deep and brilliant coruscated across all surfaces of the room. Imogen was mesmerized by the blade. She gave it a few swings, its hum vibrant and invigorating in her ears. 

It finally felt right. 

Imogen could not wait to put this new weapon to use. Together, they would do magnificent things.