The Temple air shimmered under twilight's glow.
Eli Kaen's boots pressed lightly against the polished marble floor as he descended a winding stair from the archives. His heart pounded steadily—he had trained it to stay calm through twelve resets, but tonight was different. Tonight, he would speak to the shadow at the center of the storm.
Twelve times, he had died. Twelve times, the attack had come without mercy. And twelve times, the man who had once been the galaxy's greatest hope walked through the Temple gates and turned the Jedi's home into a tomb.
Anakin Skywalker.
But not yet. Not for a few more hours.
Eli passed through the inner hall of reflection, nodding briefly to a clone patrol. They returned the gesture with blank professionalism—just men in armor. Calm. Still helpful. Still pretending.
He hated that part the most.
This time, he would not waste his final hours with escape attempts or desperate defense. He wasn't ready to fight—not really. And if knowledge was power, then Anakin was the last mystery left unsolved.
He had to try.
Eli found Tavi and Niyala at the small garden terrace on the Temple's western spire. The fading sky cast the clouds in burnt orange, streaked by the glow of distant traffic.
"You're quiet," Niyala said, frowning.
"I've just been thinking," Eli replied.
"Always thinking," Tavi muttered. "Master Tallis said if you think too long, you'll forget to feel."
Eli smiled faintly. "She's probably right."
He looked at them both—two bright lights in a world that kept trying to extinguish them. His throat tightened.
"I need you two to stay in the dorms tonight," he said.
"Why?" Niyala asked, standing.
"I… can't explain it. Just stay there. Don't follow the noise. Don't try to be heroes."
Tavi scowled. "We're Jedi."
"No. We're younglings," Eli replied, voice firm. "Please. Just this once, do what I ask."
The two exchanged looks. Niyala bit her lip. Tavi looked annoyed. But eventually, they both nodded.
Eli placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "Thank you."
Then he turned and left, his path already decided.
He made his way toward the upper level of the Temple—the Grand Promenade, where Jedi Masters once walked to meet dignitaries, where statues of ancient Jedi looked down with blind serenity. A long balcony overlooked the Temple gates, and that was where he waited.
The hour grew late.
The last rays of sun dipped beneath the skyline, and night cast its veil across Coruscant.
Then it came.
The Temple doors groaned open.
A blue blade lit the shadows.
Anakin Skywalker stepped into the hall, cloak trailing, face carved from stone. Behind him, the 501st marched with eerie precision—dozens of clone troopers in full armor, blasters ready.
Eli stepped forward from the balcony stairs and down into their path.
Anakin paused.
The clones raised their rifles instinctively, but Anakin held up a hand. He looked down at the boy before him, brow furrowing in faint confusion.
"You shouldn't be here," Anakin said, voice calm.
"I know," Eli replied.
"You're one of the younglings," Anakin observed. "Why are you standing in my way?"
"I want to talk."
The blue saber hissed, still active. "This is not a conversation you want."
"You're right," Eli said. "But I need to try."
Anakin tilted his head. "What's your name?"
"Eli Kaen."
The Jedi Knight looked at him for a moment longer, the light of his saber casting long shadows across his features.
"I don't want to hurt you," Anakin said.
"Then don't," Eli whispered. "Please. You don't have to do this. I know what's about to happen. You're going to destroy the Temple. You're going to kill everyone inside. But I don't believe that's who you are."
Anakin's jaw tensed. "You don't know anything about me."
"I know you saved Master Obi-Wan on Geonosis. I know you fought for the clones, not just with them. I know you risked everything for the people you cared about. That doesn't just vanish."
Anakin stepped forward, blade humming, but not yet striking.
Eli held his ground. "I know you loved people once. I know something broke you. But breaking others won't fix it."
The clones shifted behind Anakin, uncertain.
"I'm doing this for peace," Anakin said, quietly. "For order. The Jedi were betraying the Chancellor. The Republic."
"You know that's not true."
Anakin's eyes flashed. "They would've taken everything from me."
Eli nodded slowly. "And you're going to lose everything anyway."
For a heartbeat, Anakin's saber flickered, its glow trembling in the darkness. His lips parted as if to speak—but the sound never came.
Then his face hardened. The moment passed.
"I'm sorry," Anakin said.
He moved faster than a scream.
The saber punched through Eli's chest before he could flinch. There was no pain, only a bright heat—and then the weightlessness of falling.
Eli hit the floor with a thud, his breath caught mid-inhale.
The last thing he saw was Anakin walking past, the 501st storming behind him. Blaster fire cracked in the distance.
Then came the dark.
And light.
Eli gasped awake in the dormitory, heart pounding, breath ragged. The ceiling above him was familiar—quiet, undisturbed.
Same hour.
Same beginning.
He curled onto his side, hands clutching at his robes, eyes burning.
He had tried to reach Anakin.
And Anakin had cut him down.