(Vader POV)
I am 'walking' back to my ship. The droid has spent the last day fixing the broken parts, so I can leave this place. I have achieved it, not only in terms of obtaining my lightsaber and kyber crystal, but also in terms of growth and power increase. I have grown more effective and proficient in using my suit and moving inside with it. The damage and the suit I suffered have given me a lot of information on what I will change when I get the chance. While making it painful and reminding me of my failure is beneficial and will only make me stronger over time, I will not accept my master dictating how I live. He will not control me. I must create a personal training program once I am finished getting my lightsaber, and be in the best shape possible before going on the next 'errand' the Emperor will put me on.
I finally reached my ship and saw that the droid had finished fixing it.
{Lord Vader, I have completed the repairs and we are ready to take flight as soon as you are ready.}
"Good. I am finished here, let us go."
I enter the ship, and we leave the moon, jumping into hyperspace not long after. It seems my master has more planned for me.
{Lord Vader, there is a prerecorded message for you. Would you like to play it?}
"Yes," I say, and a hologram of my master appears.
[Lord Vader. If you are seeing this message, then your quest nears its end. The droid was instructed to take control of the ship once you obtained a Jedi lightsaber. It will bring you to your final destination. This was selected ... by me.]
The message says as the spaceship, which has entered the Outer Rim, approaches Mustafar. As I see the planet, every muscle in my remaining body tenses, and images enter my mind, which makes the ship groan under the pressure, before I control myself.
[Deep beneath its surface rests a Locus for the Dark Side of the Force. Here, you will reclaim yourself. From the site of your greatest defeat, you shall rise - strong, unbroken ... powerful.
You have acquired the lightsaber of a Jedi and the Kyber Crystal it contains ... but they are not yet yours. The Crystal is a potent thing, alive in some strange way, pulsing with Light Side energy. You will need great strength to bend it to your will.]
I listen to the recording as we begin our descent and finally land near a lava lake, where I can sense the potent Dark Side energy.
[When you arrive on Mustafar, find the place where the Dark Side calls to you. Draw upon the energy there, and combine its power with your own. Then ... use it.
Corrupt the Kyber Crystal. Teach it your pain. Teach it your anger. Hear it sing a hymn of darkness.
... Make it bleed.]
We land in front of a small cave that leaks strong Dark Side energy. I exit and start walking in. There are a lot of symbols on the walls, speaking an ancient language and telling me about the Dark Side and its power. I feel the energy sing, just as Sidious said and feel it calling out to me. But the call is strange... It's not just the dark and cold that calls me, it's everything. Something is waiting for me, and I can sense that this will be a pivotal part of my journey. A decision has to be made.
In the middle of the cave is the Dark Side Locus. A small stone slab, which I will now use. I place the lightsaber on it and begin to take it apart using the Force. My goal is the Kyber Crystal inside. I pick it up and look at it. It is a green crystal, filled with life and the Light Side of the Force. I place it on the locus and begin to use the Force. The Dark Side of the Force, to be exact.
This requires a lot of focus and is very challenging, but I don't mind. I begin to push the Dark Side of the Force into the Crystal and teach it all of my pain, my fears, my anger, my hatred, when suddenly ...
"NNNNNGH!"
*SZZZZCK!*
... the Force inside the Kyber Crystal pushes back against me and the Dark Side. However, when I attempt to corrupt it, the crystal resists and uses the Force to send me flying into one of the cavern walls, causing the damaged visor to be destroyed and energy to strike me, filling my mind with a vision.
.
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(3rd Person POV)
The Crystal shows Darth Vader a vision. In this vision, Vader experiences what would happen if he'd abandon the Dark Side of the Force right now and return to the Light Side.
"What ... what have I ... done?" Vader asks himself as he stands back up. He makes his way to the lightsaber and places it back together. Then, he boards his ship and makes his way towards Coruscant, walking into the palace and into Palpatine's office. There he stands before the Dark Lord and Emperor of the Empire.
"My apprentice. You have returned. Were you successful in your quest?" the Emperor asks.
"I was," Vader answers.
"Show me. I would see your blade," the Sith Lord says with an eager expression on his face. But that changes fast when Vader ignites the lightsaber. Because instead of the Sith's red-coloured lightsaber, he shows the original green one.
"Ah, so you have made your decision?" Sidious asks.
"I have."
"Ha!" Sidious jumps into action and attacks Vader with his lightsaber, "So be it, my friend! You have chosen weakness. So be it!" Sidious says and attacks Vader while the latter defends himself.
The fight is short but intense, and the result is something that seems impossible. Vader moves with vigour and is filled with newfound power. He directs his suit and performs lightsaber combat better than he ever did before.
"Such a waste," Sidious says.
"Yes," Vader remarks.
He uses the Force to block Sidious' lightsaber and slashes horizontally, cutting Sidious lethally and killing him. "I agree."
After that, Vader leaves Coruscant and flies into the galaxy to search for someone. On a remote planet, he finds Obi-Wan Kenobi and kneels in front of his old master.
"Obi-Wan ... please," Vader says, and takes off his helmet. As he kneels in contrition in front of his former master, Obi-Wan calls out to Vader by his former name ...
"Anakin"
.
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(Vader POV)
"HSSSSSSK!" I pull the air into my lungs as the vision stops, and I return to the cave on Mustafar. The crystal... it tried to make me change my mind, to stop me from corrupting it and fully dedicating myself to the Dark Side. I stand up and approach the Kyber Crystal, which still rests on the locus. I grab it with my hand and tell him what I think of his trying to get me back to the Light Side.
"No ... I refuse ... This is all there is," I direct the Dark Side on the Crystal and focus on all the things I experienced. Slavery, no father, taken by the Jedi, the death of Qui-Gon, the death of my mother, the Clone Wars, Padmé... her death and my defeat. I infuse it and start corrupting it with all of my accumulated hatred and anger. This triggers another reaction, releasing powerful energies.
[Picture]
Lighting is released from the Kyber Crystal. But that's not the only thing. On the entire planet, Mustafar, the air changes. Clouds appear in the sky, the lava on the ground begins to erupt, and Force lightning starts to rain down from the sky. The Dark Side erupts in a cacophony of chaotic shouts as the Light Side tries to fight back, but I do not care for that.
Memories flash in my mind. I see the back of Obi-Wan as he walks away from me after cutting off my limbs, leaving me on the ground to burn and die.
'You were my brother Anakin ... I loved you.' and then he walks away, leaving me ...
I see myself as I carry my mother in my hands after she was killed on Tatooine. I feel the weight on my shoulders as my heart breaks at that moment, and I lose myself for the first time.
And then I see the hardest picture. I see Padmé ... I see her smiling at me with ... love and care. I see her smile change from happiness and love ... to despair and fear as she gets choked.
And finally, I see the biggest part of my pain, Darth Sidious, my master, the one who orchestrated all of this and led me on the path to become who I am now. But that is not the person I hate the most. The last picture I see ... is the face of Anakin Skywalker as he bends and breaks to his weakness. My disgust reaches unimaginable heights, my fear and anger peak higher than they did when I challenged Master Kirak. I pour all of it inside the crystal.
"ARRRRGH!"
I scream as the final moment arrives and the corruption reaches its climax.
*BOOOOOOM*
Another explosion occurs, and I am thrown back, hitting the wall once again. However, this time, the explosion causes more damage, and my suit is essentially destroyed. Thankfully, I used the Force to protect myself in the last moment and managed to protect the chest piece, holding my breathing apparatus.
I lie there on the ground and feel the Force around me. I feel the Dark Side, and I use my form of Force Healing to take in the Dark Side energies so exuberant here into myself and make sure that I don't die. I close my eyes for a moment and try something new. I use telekinesis to levitate off the ground, maintaining that position, and then repeat the same action I performed in Al'doleem after being thrown off the mountain.
I begin to put myself back together. Many parts are missing, as they were destroyed in the blast. But that doesn't bother me at all. I will use the Force to move and not care about the electronics. All that matters is my breathing, and it is already getting better the longer I absorb the Force. I use the Force to take hold of the droid inside my ship and pull it towards me.
{Lord Vader, wha-}, the droid tries to say something but has no chance as he breaks into a thousand pieces. All of its components float in the air around me, ready for me to use as I wish. I don't care about the droid at all and use what it has to offer me. I already downloaded everything of interest I told it to get from the Jedi archives, so it is of no use to me any longer.
There isn't that much to work with, but it will suffice.
- One hour later -
Finally, I am finished. I look like a terribly arranged puzzle, and it is the last time that I will be content with such a terrible suit. As soon as I am finished here, I will make sure to rebuild my suit with much better materials... on my own! My destiny is my own.
I look at the locus where a blood-red Kyber Crystal lies, pulsating with the Dark Side, calling me like a child its father or a servant its master and revealing who it belongs to. I will use Kirak Infil'a's lightsaber in conjunction with my corrupted, red Kyber Crystal for now until I can remake the lightsaber later on. But that is not a priority. What matters now is to keep moving forward, keep improving and for that, I will need to know more, learn more, train more and gather more and better materials. I have a destination in mind, but that will have to wait for now.
I place the corrupted red Kyber Crystal in the lightsaber and then take it in my hands.
*WOOOOSHHH*
I can feel the connection immediately and know that this is indeed my Kyber Crystal. I feel my hatred fuelling it and making it powerful. It is an extension of myself and feels right in my hands. Then, for the first time, I activate the lightsaber and look at the blood-red colour, feeling its familiarity and power.
I deactivate it again and place it on my hip. It is time to return to Coruscant and present my work to my master. So I walk back to my ship and then take off, leaving Mustafar for now, but I will surely return. The amount of power here will only help me in the future. The droid is now gone, but that doesn't matter. I don't need it to find my way back to Coruscant.
.
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(3rd Person POV)
Vader returns to Coruscant and marches into the Emperor's office during the middle of a discussion between Tarkin, Mas Amedda, and the Emperor himself. They are currently talking about the construction of some form of ... weapon ... who knows what that could be.
"Construction continues apace, Your Excellency. I believe we will meet or surpass all targets," Tarkin says.
"And the weapon, Tarkin? Does that move forward on schedule as well?" Mas Amedda asks from the other side.
"The latest reports are promising, Mas Amedda. I believe that-" Tarkin starts but is interrupted by a big black-suited individual making his way into the Emperor's office.
As Vader was completely unknown to anyone other than Palpatine at the time, the Royal Guards, in their full red garments, attempted to intercept him from entering the Emperor's office. But that doesn't go as planned. A powerful force is unleashed from Darth Vader, and the two guards rise in the air by an invisible hand. But that isn't all. A crushing, gurgling sound is heard, and a small fountain of blood spurts out of the visors of the two guards, showing that their skulls have been completely crushed and exploded.
"Both of you leave," Palpatine says to Tarkin and Mas Amedda.
"But, Emperor ... your safety ..." Tarkin remarks as he is about to contact troopers.
"I am perfectly safe, Tarkin. Leave me," Palpatine says, and the two reluctantly leave the office, leaving the Master and Darth Vader alone in the office.
Palpatine has an excited and ecstatic look on his face. He feels his apprentice has succeeded, but not only that. His hopes have been confirmed; Vader has grown stronger. Vader can feel his excitement about his progress. During the journey, Vader has made tremendous progress in both the Force, survival and lightsaber skills. He stands proud and mighty in front of his Sith Master.
"Apprentice," is all that Emperor Palpatine says, and since Vader already saw the vision of what he wants, he doesn't need to hear it again.
"Master," Vader says, and ignites his lightsaber. He holds his lightsaber in front of him and presents it to Palpatine.
"I see, you were successful, Lord Vader. I can feel the hard work which you put into it, as well as your feelings towards it. Don't mistake the lightsaber, though. It is not your friend. The lightsaber is nothing more than a symbol for the true power that anyone who stands against the dark side will face."
"I am well aware, master."
"Good."