Timeframe: One week after Anakin's Trial
Setting: Remote Jedi Moon Sanctuary – Crystal Cavern of Nala'Seth
The Departure
Cain stood quietly before the Temple hangar, wearing ceremonial white robes. His friends watched in silence—Barriss, Derran, Seris, and Anakin.
He smiled at them, gently, without words.
"I'll see you after," he said softly.
Anakin gripped his shoulder. "You better."
Master Fay waited beside a small Jedi transport, her long cloak trailing behind her, her expression unreadable.
The Council had ruled unanimously: Cain's trial would be off-world. The Force had whispered its location—Nala'Seth, a long-forgotten Jedi moon known only to Masters of ancient rank.
Fay would guide him—but she would not interfere.
Arrival – The Silent Cavern
Nala'Seth was silent.
No cities. No beacons.
Just nature—mountains and trees frozen in time, under skies streaked with stardust.
Fay led him wordlessly through a silver forest to the mouth of a crystal cavern. Its entrance pulsed with a faint blue glow, responding to Cain's presence.
"The Force called you here," Fay said softly. "And it will speak… through pain."
Cain didn't flinch. "I'm ready."
"You're not," she whispered. "But you're willing. That's what matters."
He stepped inside.
The cavern sealed behind him.
The Fracture Within
Inside, Cain saw reflections—not on walls, but floating mid-air, each like a memory carved from light.
Scenes played:
Jasen Smith, sitting in front of a screen, watching Clone Wars episodes.
Jasen, alone in his old world, reading Star Wars Legends novels by moonlight.
Jasen, broken after betrayal, dreaming of being more, of mattering.
Cain collapsed to one knee.
He had buried this. Hidden the full weight of his past self.
"I wanted to escape," he whispered.
And a voice answered—not external, but his own… yet older.
"You didn't escape. You evolved."
A figure stepped from the shadows.
It was him—a man, older than Cain, with golden eyes, white hair streaked with silver, and a calm, powerful aura.
"I am you," the older Cain said. "What you will become… if you choose to become it."
Cain stood slowly. "What are you? A vision?"
"I am what's left when truth is stripped of identity. The Force allowed you to remember, Jasen. But it didn't do it to grant you power. It did it to see whether knowledge would become a burden… or a beacon."
The Offer
The older version walked with him through the cavern. Holocrons and relics floated around them—artifacts from Revan, Bastila, Satele Shan, even Tarre Vizsla's hilt.
"You could change everything," the older Cain said. "You already are. Palpatine, the Clone Wars, the Vong… all of it could fall before it rises."
"But should it?" Cain asked.
The reflection smiled. "That's why this is your trial. Not to see if you can. To see if you understand what must remain unchanged."
They reached the heart of the cavern—a glowing Force nexus.
"Choose," the voice said. "Erase your memories. Become only Cain—and walk the Jedi path with purity."
"Or… keep your past. Carry the weight. Accept that your presence will change the flow of time."
Cain stared at the light.
Then back at himself.
And whispered: "I choose to remember."
The Truth Revealed
The cavern shook—but not with danger. With recognition.
The Force rushed through him—not as a power—but as a song.
He saw a vision:
Himself at Mandalore, guiding a new council.Anakin at peace, watching stars with his mother.Seris, older, fighting not for control—but for protection.Barriss healing Jedi and non-Jedi alike.Derran coordinating fleets in a galaxy no longer at war.
But most of all… he saw balance.
And he understood:
"You weren't reincarnated to change fate.
You were reborn to give it a second chance."
The Council Reflects
Back on Coruscant, the Council waited.
Hours passed.
Then Fay returned.
Alone.
She stepped forward to the central circle.
Yoda asked, "Returned, has he?"
Fay nodded slowly. "He is… becoming."
Windu looked concerned. "What did he choose?"
Fay's lips curled into a rare smile.
"He chose to remember. To carry the burden—and keep walking."
Plo Koon exhaled slowly. "Then the galaxy just shifted."
Reunion and Resolution
Two days later, Cain returned.
He stepped off the shuttle quietly.
His friends were waiting in the garden. They rose together.
They saw it in his eyes.
He had not changed.
He had arrived.
"You okay?" Anakin asked.
Cain smiled faintly. "Not yet. But I'm getting there."
They all stepped forward, embracing him one at a time.
They had passed their Trials.
But something greater was beginning.
Together.