“Ben’s fall had been caught on a jagged outcropping. His ankle was twisted, and he was pretty sure he’d broken at least two ribs. But he had to get back to the throne room.
Because he couldn’t sense Rey at all.
The climb was agonizing. Each time he reached for a handhold, a hot knife of pain stabbed his left side. Dizziness threatened to send him tumbling back into the abyss, but he kept on, one hand over the other, until his fingers grasped the top.
He hauled himself over the side. Paused a moment to catch his breath. Dragged himself to his feet.
Ben made it only a few steps before he crumpled, forced himself to his feet again, limped forward.
He could see her now, collapsed on the floor, and the pain in his chest was suddenly so much worse than that of a couple of broken ribs.
She seemed at ease, almost as though she were sleeping, except her eyes were wide and staring, lifeless and dull.
He hardly knew what he was doing as we crouched beside her, wrapped his arms around her limp form, yanked her onto his lap. Rey’s skin was growing cold. Her barren eyes stared up at him, and he imagined them accusing him. You did this. This is your fault.
No, Rey would never be that way. Those thoughts were the vestiges of Snoke’s conditioning. Rey was good. Kind. No matter what had happened between them, what he’d done, she’d always showed him compassion.
He cast his gaze around the ruined cathedral, as if answera might lie in the shadows. But there was nothing. Just aching emptiness and a sense of loss so sharp and terrible it was like a vise around his gut.
Ben pulled her against his chest and hugged her to himself for a moment. He’d just found her. Really found her. He’d wasted his life, he knew that now. But anyone who could have showed him the way forward, helped him be Ben again, was gone. Luke. His parents. And now Rey.
He couldn’t make himself believe it. Rey was the strongest person he’d ever known. She’d fought off the darkness in a way he never could. She’d saved everyone. She deserved better.
As he held her, he sensed something. The tiniest spark. And he realized: The Force hadn’t taken her yet.
He knew exactly what Rey would do, in his place. It was the easiest decision he’d ever made.
He cradled her gently and placed his hand on her abdomen. He closed his eyes. Called on the Force. Ben didn’t have much strength left, and he was about to do something he’d never done before. Fortunately, Rey has shown him how to give.
Ben poured everything into her. He found reservoirs he didn’t know he had. He gave her his whole self.”
— The Rise of Skywalker Novelization
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