Vilyam left the training field in haste after the two knights finished their sparring match, heading for his room that hugged the outer wall of the temple along with the other Initiates.
Still clutching the stone orb in his palms he closed the door with a push of his hip.
SLAM
He winced as the sound of the door echoed through the walls.
"Hope that didn't wake anyone."
With a frustrated sigh escaping his lips, Vilyam made his way over to his bed and settled onto the mattress, his mind completely absorbed in the sparring match he had just observed.
"They were magnificent, I couldn't even follow most of it!
He recalled vividly the sensation of the clash between the Jedi, feeling it through the sheer power of their Force abilities, the way they focused their inner will and channeled their energy into a forceful Push!
I wonder if one day I will be as strong as they are.
He laid his head on the pillow as he pondered this, but after a moment he shook his head.
No I WILL become strong like them, I won't settle for anything less!
He pounded his chest as he thought this before he lifted the large orb of stone over his body, the weight causing him to strain mildly.
Vilyam closed his eyes, focusing intently, and reached out with his inner will, intending to connect with the Force, and then he let go, releasing his hands.
The orb of stone fell a bit before gravity ceased to function around it and it began levitating over his chest.
Opening his sapphire blue eyes he began maneuvering his fingers, the Force answering his will in the form of invisible, finger-width tendrils wrapping around the stone and turning the stone a little too hard.
The stone orb was spinning with an incredible speed, and as a result, it began to generate a noticeable wind.
With a gentle wave of his hand, he guided the stone orb through the air.
Initially, its movements were slow and somewhat clumsy, but after practicing for about half an hour, the orb gained significant agility.
It transitioned from wide, sweeping circles to tight, precise squares, continuing its dance until Vilyam commanded it to return to his outstretched hands.
He carefully placed the stone orb down on the ground, right beside his bed, and then he slowly leaned his head back against the pillow, his eyelids starting to feel incredibly heavy.
It was as if his eyelids had been swapped out for thick sheets of dura-steel, and sleep was finally claiming him as he succumbed to its inevitable pull.
It wasn't long before he began dreaming.
Vilyam found himself lost in a vivid dream, one that transported him back to the familiar setting of his childhood farm.
In that dream, he was once again working diligently in the fields, putting forth a significant amount of effort and doing so with remarkable efficiency.
After a long day of work, the dream culminated in a truly wonderful shared dinner, enjoyed in the company of both his father and his mother.
However soon his dream began to shift and change, the fields surrounding him burst into flames, the crops were reduced to ash, and the home that he had known most of his life was reduced to rubble.
"Wha... What is this."
A wave of panic washed over him, causing him to frantically search for his parents, his vision narrowing as he struggled to see through the thick smoke.
"Mom... Dad... Where are you... Everything is burning... Please help."
At that moment, he was forced to witness the horrific sight of his own home engulfed in flames, where the once-proud walls and ceiling caved in under the force of a raging inferno that burst forth from within.
Driven by desperation, Vilyam relentlessly searched for his parents, eventually discovering his father, Deon, lying motionless beneath a wooden pillar, a pool of blood.
"D... D... DAAAAAD?!"
He ran over, tears mixed with snot as his emotions overwhelmed him, reaching out towards the pillar with his bare hands.
"It... It burns... Dad... Wake up, please."
The burning pillar slowly but surely melted the flesh from his hands, the muscles and tendons creating a dark putrid smoke as the came into direct contact with the pillars flames.
However no matter how hard he struggled the pillar remained embedded in Deon's back and as the flames continue to lick his flesh.
As he struggled, he lost all feeling in his arms, ultimately causing him to fall to the ground, landing on his knees helplessly.
"Da... Dad I can't move it... I can't do anything."
In his highly emotional state Vilyam began subconsciously channeling the Force.
As his body lay still in slumber, a strange phenomenon began to unfold: objects within his immediate vicinity started to levitate.
Papers floated upward, followed by the blankets, and then the heavy stone orb, eventually culminating in the entire bed itself becoming airborne, as if gravity had become a mere suggestion that these objects chose to ignore.
Back within the confines of Vilyam's dreams, the pillar began to rise slowly, inching its way out of his father's body. But just as it was about to be fully removed, a pair of harsh footsteps echoed from behind him, startling him and halting his progress.
He slowly turned his head, his gaze drawn to a shadowy figure clad in dark, hooded robes. Only his piercing red eyes, burning like embers in the gloom, were visible within the surrounding darkness.
However, the man himself wasn't the focal point of his attention; it was his mother, who was struggling desperately as the man gripped her neck with a seemingly impossible hold.
"Let her go you bastard!"
William suddenly rose to his feet and thrust his hands forward forcefully, unleashing a powerful Force push that shot towards the man's head with a deafening screech.
FWOOSH!
The man leaned back avoiding the brunt of the Force push however the wind it created blasted the hood off, revealing his head for Vilyam to see.
Vilyam's eyes went wide as the man straightened, revealing his face.
"This... This can't... It's impossible!"
It was Vilyam, or at the very least a dark doppelganger.
The doppelganger Vilyam smirked devilishly.
"Weak, so pathetically weak!"
CRACK!
His doppelganger squeezed his hand around his mother's neck so hard that her throat was crushed and her body went limp in his hand.
"Think fast!"
Waving his hand his doppelganger sent Aola's body flying towards him with enough momentum behind it that Vilyam fell backwards onto the burning pillar still embedded inside his father's back.
Aaggghh!
Vilyam cried out as the flames licked at his back.
The doppelgangers' left hand crackled intensely with electric arcs, radiating a palpable aura of pure hatred, while his right hand reached for a cylindrical object strapped to his waist, a lightsaber, unmistakably, and activated it with a distinct SNAP HISS.
Vilyam shook in place, still clutching the still-twitching corpse of his mom.
"No matter what you do you will not be able to save them, or anyone else, because you are weak!"
With a sudden, almost forceful motion, the doppelganger thrust his hand forward, and from it erupted a chaotic arc of lightning that blazed outward, momentarily blinding Vilyam before it struck him, his mom, and his dad.
AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHH!
Vilyam cried out in agony as the arcs of lightning surged into him, his tears evaporated, his snot hardened, his blood boiled, the lightning even reached deeper into his nerves causing a series of neverending misfires that only caused him more pain.
Aola was still clutched in his arms as her body began to darken as she was struck. His grip caused her body to collapse in on itself as she was slowly reduced to ashes.
Unfortunately, Deon was not spared this same fate; his body, which was already burned, started to darken further and eventually reduced to ashes as well.
Within the confines of his bedroom, Vilyam's body, now suspended in the air above even the bed itself which was also floating, started to curve and arc with a sputtering but undeniably perceptible electrical current.
His subconscious mind seemed to tap deep into the Force until he unknowingly brushed against something dark, causing lightning to surge outwards and arc between objects in the room, creating a mesmerizing web of light.
As Vilyam was lost in his dream, a tremendous surge of Force energy suddenly swept through the temple, causing every Knight within to wake up.
Even the Master himself was roused from his own deep slumber, and he woke up drenched in a cold sweat.
It was only the younglings, still in their initial stages of training, and the initiates who remained blissfully unaware of the unfolding situation.
Their connection to the Force was still quite shallow, making it impossible for them to sense what was happening in the room immediately adjacent to theirs.
However, the situation deteriorated rapidly, and scarcely a moment later, Vilyam's room found itself completely encircled by knights from the temple.
Instinctively, numerous individuals began igniting their lightsabers, a clear indication of their heightened awareness of the darkness that was present.
Master Adega materialized silently within their vicinity, his hand resting on the lightsaber secured at his waist as he focused his gaze intently on Vilyam's room.
Utilizing the very essence of the Force, he expertly peered through the walls, pinpointing Vilyam's location by locking onto his life force.
He realized from Vilyam's twitching body and facial expressions that he was locked inside a nightmare.
"Put your lightsabers away, I will deal with this!"
Master Adega commanded, his voice resonating with authority and carrying throughout the air, so powerful that even the most battle-hungry of the Knights found themselves instinctively deactivating their lightsabers.
The Master moved forward with a steady, deliberate pace, heading straight towards William's door.
As he walked, his large, penetrating eyes continued their direct gaze at the boy who resided within.
What pains you young one?
He thought as he turned the knob and slowly opened the door.
Upon stepping inside, Master Adega was utterly speechless, completely taken aback by the cage of Force Lightning that was surrounding the boy and visibly flowing from him.
As Master Adega attempted to step forward the Force Lightning seemed to react, sensing his presence and considering him hostile.
The tendrils of lightning surged towards him, filling the room with the smell of burning ozone and palpable hatred.
As the deadly bolt of Force Lightning was about to strike him, Master Adega held one hand forward with a surprising calmness.
With a distinct crackle of electrical energy, the lightning caught in his palm.
However, instead of suffering the anticipated burns and spasms that would typically accompany Force Lightning exposure, Master Adega appeared to have absorbed the energy directly into his own body.
He then proceeded to release this absorbed energy harmlessly into the ground.
Despite the constant and relentless flashes of lightning that surrounded him, Master Adega pressed onward, determined to continue his advance.
Resembling deadly vipers, these creatures relentlessly surged forward towards Adega's outstretched hand, only to vanish instantaneously into the Master Jedi's palm and dissipate harmlessly into the ground.
Master Adega pressed forward through a relentless barrage of Force lightning, his resolve unwavering until he finally reached Vilyam, who was asleep but clearly disturbed.
The Jedi Master could sense the deep pain and anguish within the boy's thoughts, his brow furrowing as he felt every emotion the boy was suffering.
He reached out to the boy and pulled him closer with the Force, he hugged him close as he began directly absorbing the Force energy erupting from Vilyam's body, resulting in the objects in the room to clatter to the floor.
For a brief moment… nothing changed.
The lightning still raged.
It coiled around them like a nest of serpents, striking, recoiling, and striking again, each arc carrying with it the boy's fear, his grief, his helpless fury. It was not merely energy.
It was emotion given form, raw and unrestrained.
Adega closed his eyes.
He did not resist it.
He accepted it.
Each violent surge that struck his body was drawn inward before flowing safely into the ground through his feet.
As the Master continued the dangerous process of absorbing the energy, Vilyam's nightmare shifted dramatically to an all-encompassing vision of Planet Ossus.
The entire world was ablaze, with forests turning to ash, buildings collapsing, and the oceans boiling violently.
The nightmare itself seemed to burn away, leaving only a vast darkness from which laughter emanated, seemingly coming from all directions.
It was at that moment that Vilyam woke, his eyes wide with fear.