Timeframe: Several months after the Windu sparring session
Setting: Jedi Temple – Training Rooms, Meditation Sanctum, Council Tower
The Patient Flame
For Anakin, control had always come second to instinct.
He was faster than most Knights. Stronger in the Force than nearly anyone his age.
He burns bright but too fast.
And Cain knew: fire left uncontrolled could scorch the very future they were trying to save.
So he and Seris took it upon themselves to temper it.
Every spare morning, between rotations and minor off-world missions, they trained together—sometimes under the Temple waterfalls, sometimes in the chamber gardens, sometimes in quiet meditation rooms where Cain would sit cross-legged beside Anakin and simply say:
"Breathe. Listen to the Force like a river—not a storm."
The Training Evolution
Their training evolved from basic sparring to multi-stage mock missions—silent movement through the Temple's vertical mazes, Force-based deduction games, and slow-saber duels where power wasn't allowed, only timing.
Anakin hated it at first.
But as weeks turned into months, he began to find clarity in the pause.
"You're getting better," Seris said one evening, as Anakin deflected a faint blow without flaring.
"Still not as good as you two," Anakin muttered.
"No," Cain said softly. "But better than the you from last week. That's all that matters."
Brotherhood in Motion
They trained. They grew.
Anakin began trusting his instincts without letting them lead him.
Seris became a mentor-in-motion—graceful, fast, but now learning restraint and compassion in correction.
Cain watched it all, guiding them with patience and quiet pride.
In another world, Anakin stood alone. Misunderstood. Feared. Worshiped.
Not this time. Not while I'm still breathing.
Cain's Eighth Year
On his eighth birthday, Cain didn't celebrate. He didn't tell anyone. But Anakin remembered.
The three shared a quiet late-night meal in the archives, under the high crystal vaults. No cake. Just laughter, warmth, and trust.
Later, alone in the meditation hall, Cain wrote:
Force Codex Entry – Log 004
Subject: Year Eight – The True Mission
I've lived in this world for eight years now. And I've learned more than any Jedi library could hold.
What matters most isn't the power I carry. It's the people around me. The hearts I can shape. The fates I can alter.
I cannot save the galaxy by myself. But I can inspire the ones who will. Starting with him. With her. With them all.
The Summons
A day later, Cain stood alone in the north meditation balcony when Master Fay approached.
She didn't smile, but there was a sense of quiet readiness in her voice.
"The Council has summoned us."
Cain turned calmly. "What's changed?"
"They didn't say. But we're not alone." She gestured with her chin.
Padawan Serra Keto stood nearby—older by several years, confident, arms folded, a small grin on her lips.
"Looks like you're coming with the big kids this time, golden eyes."
Cain gave a respectful nod. "Only if you promise not to slow me down."
Serra smirked.
Fay raised an eyebrow.
The three walked together into the lift that would take them to the Council Tower.
Council of Turning Tides
The doors slid open.
The Council sat in full assembly.
Yoda. Windu. Shaak Ti. Plo Koon. Obi-Wan. Adi Gallia. Even Ki-Adi-Mundi had returned from the Mid Rim.
"Padawan Cain," Windu began. "Your recent insights and abilities have confirmed a theory we hoped was incorrect."
Shaak Ti continued. "An ancient vergence in the Force… one the Order buried long ago… is shifting."
Fay stepped forward. "The planet is not in our records. Its orbit was masked centuries ago. But the Force has revealed its name to both myself… and to Cain."
She turned.
"Nizorad."
Cain's eyes narrowed slightly.
He hadn't heard that name in this life.
But the Force whispered confirmation.
It was real. And it was broken. A world where balance was shattered. Where knowledge fell and power was scattered.
And now… it calls again.
Yoda tapped his staff. "To Nizorad, you three will go. Observe, you must. Guard what awakens, you will."
Windu added sharply, "But know this, Cain—whatever draws you… may also be watching for your return."
The Mission Begins
As Cain stepped out of the chamber beside Serra and Fay, he whispered to himself:
Eight years old. And now I begin the journey the galaxy has tried to forget.
This is more than a mission.
This… is the first gate.