Without consciously realizing it, Ben fulfilled a Sith rite of passage by ending the life of his father, Han Solo.
A Sith ritual, known as a trial of ascendancy, existed. One such trial involved the ultimate sacrifice of a cherished person to unlock previously unknown reservoirs of dark power. In the year 34 ABY, the dark warrior Kylo Ren, without being aware of it, underwent this trial through the killing of his father, Han Solo. However, this act of patricide did not empower him; instead, it spiritually weakened Ren, leaving him haunted by his actions.
The concept of a trial of ascendancy was initially introduced into the official Star Wars canon within Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary. This companion book for the movie Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker was released on December 20, 2019.
The trial's origins can be traced back to the Star Wars Legends continuity. It was initially referenced in connection with the Lorrd Artifact in Legacy of the Force: Betrayal, a novel penned by Aaron Allston and made available on May 30, 2006. It was first identified specifically as the Prophecy of the Sith in the novel Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines, authored by Karen Traviss and published on August 29, 2006.