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The moon was high in the sky, its dim light filtering poorly through the thick fog that swirled its away across the night.

Though he did not remember coming, he had somehow arrived at a beach. A beach he'd yet to venture to. A beach in the OA. Had he fallen asleep? Was this a dream, or was he really on the otherside? It was harder to tell, now that he was always so worn down. Nothing, it seemed, could draw the fatigue from his body. He felt heavy and slow. Every step he took reminded him that he couldn't go back.

Margaery is gone. The kids are gone. They're not coming back.

Hux heaved a sigh and started his way across the beach. Without putting much thought into where he was going, he meandered quietly; doing his best not to think, not to feel. Though at first glance it seemed there was nothing but sand and water to be seen, rock appeared from out of the mist. Hux squinted as he approached what he realized was some sort of cave. The entrance beckoned to him. He found himself moving towards it, his long strides carrying him across the distance between him and the cave post-haste.

He had to duck his head to enter, so he did. It was dark and damp within. Hux widened his eyes, to try and pick up as much light as he could, but he couldn't make out much of anything.

Hux frowned at the glowing rocks. He clenched his fists by his side then let the fingers loose again. There was no point in fighting what the OA wanted to show him. He'd learned that much.

He did what it wanted. He followed the path laid before him.

Hux?

The voice was familiar and not at the same time. He paused, the sound startling him, but he made no effort to reply. He felt tired. Hollow. He moved forward again, allowing the cave to guide him.

The voice was cryptic and Hux hesitated. His foot hit a particularly slick bit of rock and he was forced to careen forward; barely saving himself from a painful landing by planting one of his large palms firmly onto the wall adjacent to him.

He could hear the sound of water deep within the cave. Or deep within his mind. He wasn't sure.

"What do you want from me?" He asked finally. His voice was tired and his throat was tight and dry. He hadn't spoken aloud in days. The noise in his head was maddening. "What's at the end of this path?" He'd stopped walking. He wanted answers.

Hux laughed, but it sounded more like a dry bark.

"Challenge myself? Have these past few months not been challenging enough?"

Still, that voice. It sounded like- but, no. It couldn't be. She was gone, he'd seen her blood with his own eyes. Had watched as the very life left her eyes and the color drained from her face.

Even so, his curiosity forced him forward again. Deeper into the cave. He couldn't turn back now. There was an energy within the cave that writhed and pulsed around him. It beckoned him forward; each of his steps echoed back to him by the damp rocky walls.

"I'll never be better than I was. Any strength I gain could never amount to the loss I've suffered."

It was dramatic, but true. Without his sister and her kids he was a hollow shell of a man. A puppet without the necessary strings to keep him from being nothing more than a pile of painted wood.

The path was growing smaller now, more claustrophobic. He wondered just how deep he was, and just how much deeper this voice expected to go, but he didn't bother asking. He doubted he'd be given anything more than riddles or vagueness in response. Instead, he pressed onward. He fit his large frame through the ever-shrinking space as it closed in on him, determined to see it through.

The sound of water, growing louder and louder, kept his curiosity piqued.

On his hands and knees now, Hux pushed hard against the invisible force that weighed heavily on his shoulders. Sweat glistened on his forehead and trickled down through his beard. His body scraped painfully against the rocks around him and when a particularly sharp bit caught his bicep, it bled. <********>," he said. "Why am I even ******** paused, took a deep breath then released it. He squinted at the light, at what he assumed was his destination, then began to crawl once again. He hummed a tune to himself as he went, to keep his emotions at bay and to ignore the tight feeling of claustrophobia that pulsed within his chest.

For a moment Hux couldn't breathe, and then he could.

He pulled himself out of the tunnel he'd drug himself through, taking in great gulps of air as he rose to his full height.

"How surprising," he murmured, once he had regained himself. He brushed the dirt and dust from his elbows and his knees. "More cave."

He frowned at the pool of water, taking a step closer to it as he peered at it with one brow raised incredulously. "What do you want me to do now, hm? Take a bath?"

Hux winced. The laugh was loud and made his ears ring with its sound.

He rolled his bulky shoulders and continued to frown in the direction of the small pool, still somewhat unsure as to what the OA wanted from him. The glowing crystals reflected on its surface. The water from the stalactites above still drip-drip-dripping at its center.

He took a long breath in, then let it out. He stepped forward, towards the water's edge, and peered down into it. Maybe there was something at its bottom?