Chapter 90

  Talking to Yoda has always been a frustrating experience. Now that he is dead, the old green bastard has taken his art to a new level. Like a cliche get-well card, he's full of nondescript sayings and one-sentence quotes. I suspect that Yoda is doing this to test me; after all, my appearance has changed a little over the past ten years.

  Despite being a force ghost, I can feel Yoda's hesitation when he spots my yellow-glowing eyes.

  "It's been a hard ten years", I answer the question on Yoda's mind.

  I pinch the bridge of my nose, take a long breath of air and focus my eyes back on Yoda. "This planet is thick with the dark side energy, I'm finding it somewhat difficult to find the balance of the force"

  The glow from my yellow eyes faded a little.

  The little green devil chuckles like I was a small child who had done something stupid. My eyes flashed once again with the glow of annoyance that silenced Yoda's laughter.

  Poor Yoda was at an impasse. I was one of the most powerful force users in the galaxy, but my eyes told a story of leaning to the dark side. Yoda shuddered at the thought of me being let loose to the galaxy if I had fallen. Right now, I was trapped on a planet, but it was only a matter of time before I was free once again.

  This is where the impasse exists. In Yoda's point of view, if he did nothing, then it might as well be a coin flip on what side I would eventually land on and yet if Yoda reached out to help, it might give me yet more power to destroy the galaxy.

  "What did you do with the Death Star?" I ask.

  Yoda flinched; it wasn't a good sign that the first question I asked was about a super weapon.

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  "Dismantled", Yoda answered.

  "Shame...I tire of this planet and the never-ending Sith looking for my life. It would have been fitting to ram the Death Star right into the planet and destroy two problems with one action"

  Yoda's voice was stuck in his throat.

  "Did you at least gain some benefits and threaten to use the Death Star?" I ask

  "The way of the Jedi, it is not", sputtered Yoda.

  My glowing eyes pierce into the spectral image of Yoda, causing him to wiggle in discomfort, and then it's my turn to laugh at a child who had said something stupid.

  "It's very much the way of the Jedi to force their views onto others. Every war your peaceful order has participated in is a promise of violence to those who disagree with you. The Death Star was just a bigger stick to use"

  Yoda says nothing for a couple of seconds, and when I'm tempted to ask how the Grove collection is going, Yoda bursts out laughing.

  "Changed you have not; only you talk down about the Jedi while fighting for the galaxy's betterment"

  For many years, I realised how contradictive I can be when it comes to the Jedi, but hearing it from my old friend at the darkest of dark side focal points in the middle of a one-man war against the Sith leaves a nice tingle of contradiction and humour in my brain. I join in with Yoda's laughter. A rare moment of fun and joy on Exegol twilight hell.

  Ever so briefly, I feel lighter than I have in the last ten years. With all the victories I've earned, I haven't felt this lighthearted. My laughter continues past Yoda's chuckle until he becomes a little worried. My laughter then turns into a long, drawn-out sigh as the troubles of my life leave me.

  "Find the joy inside, and it will burn out the pain", I muttered to myself.

  The dark side that has soaked into my body is finally countered. I was too close to the problem. The dark side seeped in, and I didn't realise the simple truth that most people know but very rarely say, and that was problems and sadness are part of living, don't hinder yourself and find the simple joys that bring happiness to you.

  I knew this, but I've been fighting a one-man war without my favorite things. A good meal would have changed my outlook. A stiff drink would have refreshed my soul, and laughing out loud would have brought a new light to my eyes.

  The yellow in my eyes seeps away, and I'm left untouched for the time being by the dark side, and all it took was an old green Jedi grandmaster to turn into a force ghost and remind me just how ridiculous all of this was.

  With a clear mind and a balanced body, this is where the fun begins