**Interlude: Mortis – The Eternal Balance**
**Scene 1: The Timeless Realm**
Time.
Time flows differently here than in the rest of the world. Which isn't surprising at all—for this planet was artificially created a hundred thousand years ago. Moreover, it's located in an even more astonishing place—a Monolith floating in a completely empty star system. This place is called Mortis.
Here, day follows night; light follows darkness; life is followed by death. And life returns again. A place of immense concentration of Power. Home… and prison.
The Father opened his eyes, looking around the meditation hall in his home. Nothing had changed. This is as it should be. The Daughter and Son were still nearby, busy with their own affairs—but under his control. This is as it should be. The Force must be balanced. Without darkness there will be no light, death is impossible without life. This is what the Creators intended.
But the Father sensed that everything was about to change. Strange things were happening in the galaxy, unsettling the balance. Perhaps he was already too old to bear his burden? But the balance must be maintained. Without him, the galaxy would descend into chaos. For if he, the Father, failed in his task, the Daughter and Son would be free. And one could only thank the Creators that they could not directly influence the rest of the world, and that their efforts resulted in barely perceptible fluctuations in the real world. After all, the power of the Daughter and Son was practically limitless. Star states would fall to their knees, the stars would go dark, and the Force would obey them unquestioningly. Only he kept them here on Mortis, while simultaneously monitoring the Force in the galaxy.
But… soon everything will change. He feels it. And he knows that his Daughter and Son feel it too. It's becoming increasingly difficult for him to contain their boundless power and absolute knowledge. And then there are these fluctuations in the Force… The surges of the Dark Side nourish the Son, and the radiance of the Light Side, like sunlight, fuels the growth of the Daughter. And he has to exert great effort to balance them.
A clot of light and a clot of darkness slowly floated into the hall.
The Father stretched out his hands and called them to him.
"What happened during this time? Hmm, let's see…."
These clots of power were his eyes on the rest of the world, reporting on what was happening in the galaxy. For a hundred thousand years, the Father had seen much: the birth of new civilizations and their fall. Endless wars and long periods of peace. And although he wasn't obligated to follow the fates of individual living beings—he nevertheless sensed each of them in the Force—he did follow some. But… time flows differently here. During his meditations, not generations but dozens of generations passed.
"What happened during this time?"
Father closed his eyes, absorbing the information from the clots of power. Nothing new—it had all happened before in his memory. Once again, the Light and Dark Sides were waging war. Once again, armies and fleets were clashing in battle. Once again, a new race had appeared crossing the threshold that separates animals from sentient beings. Suddenly, his eyes widened.
"Is that so? Are you sure?.. Are you sure? Well. It seems there is new hope. But is he the Chosen One? That is the question? Hmm… Summon him here? Test him? Check him out?"
The father focused on the image of the young man, who was literally a focus of the Force.
Almost identical to himself.
Anakin Skywalker.
The Chosen One?
**Scene 2: The Eternal Prison**
The meditation hall of Mortis was a vast, timeless chamber carved from living stone that pulsed with the raw essence of the Force. Crystalline formations grew from the walls like frozen lightning, glowing with shifting hues of blue and gold. The air itself felt heavy, saturated with power that could reshape reality if left unchecked. At the center of the hall, the Father sat upon a simple throne of ancient rock, his form tall and robed in flowing white and gray. His face was lined with the weight of eons, yet his eyes burned with an inner light that had witnessed the birth and death of stars.
He had created this place—a sanctuary and a prison—long ago, when the galaxy was young and the Force was still raw and untamed. The Monolith that housed Mortis floated in an empty star system, far from the prying eyes of mortals. Here, the rules of time and space bent to his will. Days became years. Centuries passed in the blink of an eye. It was the perfect place to maintain the eternal balance.
The Daughter and the Son were never far from his thoughts. The Daughter—radiant and compassionate—embodied the Light Side. The Son—shadowed and ambitious—embodied the Dark. Together, they were the living embodiments of the Force's dual nature. Without the Father's constant vigilance, they would tear the galaxy apart in their endless conflict.
But something was changing. The Father felt it in the currents of the Force. Distant ripples. Surges of darkness that fed the Son's power. Bursts of light that strengthened the Daughter. And at the center of it all… a young man. Anakin Skywalker. A being of immense potential, almost identical to the Father in his connection to the Force.
The Father extended his senses, drawing the clots of light and darkness closer. These ethereal messengers carried echoes of the galaxy beyond Mortis. Wars. Empires rising and falling. Beings of power emerging. And now… this Skywalker. A chosen one? A threat? A hope?
The Father's eyes opened fully, glowing with inner power. "The balance is shifting. I must see for myself."
**Scene 3: The Call of the Chosen One**
The Father rose from his throne, his robes flowing like liquid starlight. He moved to the center of the hall, where a great circular pool of liquid Force energy shimmered. With a gesture, the pool came alive, showing visions of the galaxy beyond.
Anakin Skywalker appeared in the vision—a young Jedi, powerful, conflicted, surrounded by war. The Father watched as the young man fought, loved, and struggled with the darkness within. He saw the boy's potential—the light and the shadow warring inside him.
"Is he the one?" the Father whispered. "The one who can maintain the balance when I can no longer?"
The Daughter appeared at his side, her form radiant and serene. "Father, he is strong. But the darkness calls to him."
The Son materialized on the other side, his presence shadowy and mocking. "Let him come. I will test him. Break him. Or turn him."
The Father raised a hand, silencing them both. "We will observe. We will test. But the choice must be his. The galaxy's fate depends on it."
The visions in the pool shifted, showing Skywalker's future—battles, loss, love, and a destiny that could either save or doom everything.
The Father closed his eyes once more. "Come, Chosen One. Mortis awaits."