**Chapter 412: Second Chances**
**Nox's POV**
The private quarters aboard the *Sovereign* felt like a dream.
Soft lighting, a large bed, and the gentle hum of the ship in hyperspace created a cocoon of peace that Nox had not known in four thousand years. He lay on his back, Ashara curled against his chest, her white montrals and orange skin warm against him. Both of them were nineteen again — bodies restored, eyes clear, the weight of centuries lifted for a brief, precious moment.
Ashara traced lazy patterns on his chest with her finger. "Alim… this feels like a gift we don't deserve."
Nox kissed the top of her head. "Dagon gave it to us. He risked everything — his life, his standing with the Jedi, even parts of his own soul — just to keep a promise a dead man made."
Ashara lifted her head, golden eyes soft. "I think we should help Dagon with his relationship problems."
Nox raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, help?"
"Isn't it our fault he is in this mess?" Ashara replied, sitting up slightly. "He brought me back for you. Because of the promise you made. Now his girls have left him. He's alone again."
Nox sighed, running a hand through his white hair. "He said this would have happened sooner or later. He told them what would happen if they joined him. He warned them."
"Yes, but don't you think they need advice?" Ashara pressed. "Dagon just accepts everything so easily. Like he expects to be alone."
Nox's expression darkened. "He was a soldier in an apocalyptic world for fifty years. He was used to being alone. And his new Sith abilities just keep getting stronger every time he uses that damn Mind Prison."
Ashara froze. "Wait… Mind Prison? As in the Force-sensitive Rakata species' means of incarcerating criminals and other beings they considered unsavory? However, these prisons were unusual in that an individual's physical body was not caged, but rather the mind."
"Yeah," Nox said. "Why do you sound concerned?"
"The holocron version of you showed him it to train," Ashara replied, eyes widening. "Apparently every hour in there is about 5,000 or 10,000 years."
Nox nodded. "It enhances the soul but not the body. That is how he was able to keep learning all these techniques to help us."
Ashara sat up fully, pulling the sheet around herself. "How many times has he used it?"
"About five or seven," Nox replied.
"Ten, actually," Ethan's voice interrupted calmly as the droid entered through the door. Dagon had posted him to guard Nox and Ashara's private affairs.
Ashara's face paled. "So that's about 100,000 years of eternal combat… Don't you think?"
Nox rubbed his face. "What are we supposed to tell him, Ashara? He risked his life because of a promise holocron-Nox made with him and because he promised those girls he would protect them till the end."
"Nox…" Ashara said warningly.
"Don't give me your sexy looks," Nox replied, though a small smile tugged at his lips. "We never had a relationship with a harem before to even help them."
Ashara leaned in, kissing him softly. "Find a way. You talk to the girls, and I'll reason with Dagon."
Nox pulled her back down into his arms, sighing. "You always were the better diplomat."
They lay together in comfortable silence for a while, enjoying the simple miracle of being alive and together again.
Ashara eventually spoke, voice soft. "He's carrying too much. The dark side is getting stronger in him. I can feel it even from here."
"I know," Nox admitted. "But he's also the only one who can balance it. The girls… they love him. They just don't know how to stand beside someone who keeps walking into fire."
"Then we teach them," Ashara said firmly. "We owe him that much."
Nox kissed her forehead. "We owe him everything."
Outside their quarters, the ship continued its journey. The war waited. The girls were hurting. Dagon was alone.
But for the first time in millennia, Nox and Ashara had each other again.
And they would not waste this second chance.