Chapter 1

Link clutched the reins of Epona hard in his hand, so hard that his knuckles had turned the color of bone in the icy wind. The skin over them was beginning to dry, crack and bleed, but he didn't notice, nor did he pay mind to his incredible soreness from riding all day. All of his muscles screamed at him to stop, but he could not hear them. His joints had become stiff and rigid, and his bones popped frequently. The features around him were nothing but a blur as they rushed past him

In his left hand he held onto the shard of the mirror that had fallen at his feet. He clung to it for dear life, so hard that it dug into his skin, causing blood to slowly drip from in between his fingers. He did not notice this either. His body was on autopilot as he dashed through the Hylian Plains, for his mind was not in his body anymore. It was deep within the darkness of his thoughts, saturating its self in the waters that had run black with sorrow and anguish.

He was so sorry. He was so sorry that he hadn't told her what had really gone through his mind when he held her in his arms. He was sorry that he kept how he felt when he saw her alive after Ganondorf had been slain. He wanted to tell her that she was beautiful, he wanted to run up to her and wrap his arms around her, he wanted to look into her amber eyes and convey what he couldn't say in words. But all he did was let out a muffled gasp. And now, because of his inaction, he would be cursed by the very thought of her.

"Midna…" he whispered softly. His voice, however, would be heard by none as it was swept away by the wind. Everything was hopeless now. He felt like he had nothing to live for. Even though the world had been protected, he was left in ruins, and the only thing that could save him had left for the Twilight Realm with no possible way of returning.

Finally, after a long day of riding, the spring near the small town of Ordon was just behind him and the narrow road into the town itself was just in sight. There he could see the tomboyish Ilia awaiting his return, her upper half and lower half in completely different positions. Her hands were cradling each other and met just before her heart, but her legs were wide set like a man would stand, firm and planted to the ground.

He dreaded coming back, but he couldn't just let all of his friends sit there and worry about him. And now, because of his decision, he had to face Ilia. They had had a crush on each other for the longest time, but during the journey Link's opinion of her had changed from puppy love into feeling of siblinghood instead. He still loved her, just not the way that she loved him. Well, if you could even call it that. It was something he called immature love, something that young people could only speculate about until they really felt it.

Link, on the other hand, had found something more… real. He had gone through everything with Midna. They had traveled to the farthest reaches of Hyrule, fought for life at one another's side, and more than anything, stay true to one another in the direst of situations. Like two trees planted next to one another they had merged into a single being, their roots entangled with one another's and their trunk being of the same wood. Without one, though, the other would die. And in this way was he tied to her. With her gone, what would happen to him?

As Ilia raised her hand to wave at Link, however, everything around him suddenly stopped and turned into a pale blue. The wind around him just ceased to blow, and the air became bitterly cold. Before him stood the ghost warrior who had taught him his beautiful flowing maneuvers. Link ground Epona to a halt and dismounted. He walked closer to him, drawing his sword, but the ghost warrior merely lowered his head and held out his hand to stop him. "No," he said in his deep, booming voice, "It is not about a new combat maneuver this time. It is of much more dire urgency."

Link cocked his head slightly. "What do you mean?" he asked, his voice raspy and crackly from his crying and its discontinued use throughout the day.

"Patience, boy. Before I say anything, I want you to know who I really am." His voice was much sterner than all of the other times they had met, where he had sounded like a teacher. "I am, or was, Link, the Hero of Time."

The younger Link looked up at him in awe. "What is all of this about? Why are you telling me this?"

"Because," he said, "I want you to know who you are." He held out his hand and before it appeared a window which showed different parts of Hyrule and places he had not yet seen. "We are of a long line of heroes that have been chosen by the gods," he explained. "Whenever a new threat arises or when one is anticipated, they choose one person to grow up in relative solitude until they are called upon in their early years to combat the evil that has emerged. I was the one to battle Ganondorf just before he was sent to the Twilight realm. You, my boy, are the hero that has transcended time to kill him." He then closed his bony hand, making the image disappear.

Link looked at his own gloved hands. He was not just given power by the gods, he was chosen for who he was, for his self. "Well, if I'm that amazing, then there must be some way to bring Midna back, or for me to get to her!"

"That, young one, is why I have come to you now." His serious voice became one of sternness. "Midna's shattering of the mirror was not planned. There is a great evil expanding its influence in the light world solely for the purpose of destroying all that exists in the Twilight Realm. It can move back and forth freely between the two worlds, and you were meant to meet him in the Twilight Realm through use of the Mirror. However…" His eyes turned downcast. "With no mirror, there is no way to defend the other realm."

Link's view suddenly turned to the dark, bloody shard in his left hand. "Midna…" he said under his breath.

The ghost nodded. "Yes, she will be dead."

His head shot up when he said that. "You're lying!" he yelled, "She has the power of the ancestors! She could…"

"Hush boy!" the ghost yelled with such command that Link himself cowered beneath its might. Once he had determined that the young farm boy had hushed up, he cracked his spine in a few places and continued. "This army is much too powerful to deal with without the strength she needs. And right now, this strength can only be offered by you." He then opened his palm again, revealing the window. Inside of it he could see Midna on her throne, her head in her hands, weeping tears of diamond, the kind that had shattered the mirror. Now, however, they were nothing more than small bits of stone that fell lightly to the ground. "Even now, she grieves without you. She may have enough power to rival them, but in the state she is in, she does not have the will. And even if she could , victory is highly unlikely."

Link could only stare in agony as he watched her cry. He wanted to be there to wipe them away, but he could do nothing for her except for watch. He felt hot tears begin to roll down his face as he collapsed to the ground. However, the ghost walked over, his metal armor clinking, and picked his tear up off of his face. He then cocked his head in interest at the tear. "This is very odd indeed," he said, a hint of interest in his voice. "Look at this." He knelt down to Links level, holding his bony finger only about a foot from his face.

Link looked back up, tears rolling down his face. Before him was a small diamond liken to the ones that littered the ground before Midna. "Is that…?"

"This is your tear," he said, placing it in Link's hand. "The only reason I can think of for this happening is that you transformed into a wolf so many times that you have become part Twili." The ghost stood back up. "Take off your shirt, young creature of darkness."

Link reluctantly obeyed and looked at his body. He suddenly gasped when he saw a glowing line of light blue running from his right shoulder to his sternum. His face went pale as the fact sunk into his mind. He was… becoming a shadow creature… A creature like Midna.

"This is much better news than you may think. With you in this state, there may be a way to get you to the Twilight Realm. Give me the shard in your hand."

Link was hesitant to give it up, but eventually he dropped it into the ghost's hand. It examined the shard for a minute then knelt down in front of Link. "This may hurt, but just bear with me." He began to slice his flesh in patterns that resembled those that covered Midna. Eventually he had them on his arms and legs, his stomach, and one that ran from his forehead down around his right eye and ended at his collarbone. Then, with great strength, the ghost stabbed it into his forehead.

Link felt no pain at the final action, only a strange dizziness and numbness all over his body. With a slow exhalation of breath, he fell forward onto the ground, his face turned out to the side. Slowly, the shard slipped into his head, and he began to change.

It began with the symbols etched all over his body emanating their light blue color, but then other features began to show their selves. His skin grew darker and darker until his body was completely black, and his clothes changed into black along with it. The Master Sword strapped to his back fell off and began to change as well. A crack appeared straight down the middle of the scabbard and fell apart, leaving the sword naked on the ground. It began to glow interchangeably between red and blue, the metal morphing until it resembled a large metal flame. His shield remained unchanged except that the markings on the front, which were replaced with the blue lines, with a golden Triforce symbol in the center.

Link groggily forced himself off of the ground and stared the ghost in the eye. He did nothing but turn the window in his hand into a mirror, which Link was able to view his new self in. He stared at it for a few moments, a look of shock and horror etched across his face. Slowly he fell to his knees, staring at his new hands. He was… a Twili… he was like Midna… Suddenly, he felt an awkward sort of happiness and fear swim through his veins.

The ghost looked down at him and nodded, which was the closest thing an expressionless face can do to a smile. "I believe," he said, "With your special condition and the power of the shard, you may be able to travel to the Twilight realm."

Link looked up at him excitedly. This was amazing news! He could see Midna and save her! But he had another question burning in his mind. "How did you know that would happen?" he asked.

"That is of no consequence. But Link…" he said with a hint of disappointment in his voice, "It is true that you can go to the Twilight Realm again with the power of the shard, but I'm afraid that you will only be able to go one way. Once you go, you can never come back. Your sword will stay the same, but you will not, and therefore will not be able to travel back home."

Link swiped his hand in front of him as though brushing away a fly. "I don't care!" he exclaimed, "I want… no, I need to go. Now!"

The ghost held out his hand. "Patience, young one. This new threat is much greater than any other you have faced. It is a near infinite and very powerful army, and for that reason you will need my experience. Take your sword in hand, young hero."

As he picked his sword up he noticed that it was much lighter than before, and he could swing it much faster. He also felt some sort of strange energy running through it, a power that he could not fathom. His shield was exactly the same way.

"You hold in your hand the Sword of Twili, whose power is greater than the Master Sword's by tenfold, its attack, deadly, its power, unmatched. Now you carry it."

Link became too excited again. "With this then, I could just take down whatever I needed to!"

Patience!" the ghost boomed in his commanding voice, "You have a long time before you must travel there. One month, in fact. I want you to meet me in the spirit spring every day for the next two weeks. We have much training to do between now and the time of your travel. I will teach you how to harness the sword's power and the skills you will need to master it. Until tomorrow, young fighter."

"Wait!" the young man called out, "I have so much to ask you! You can't go yet!" But he was already gone, and the color of the world around him had already turned back to normal. Ilia was running over to him, her hands waving in the air. "Link!" she called out, "You're finally home!"

He knew that she couldn't see him like this; he had to get away. The sword reacted on its own to his panic, and he began to break off into tiny pieces of shadow and disappeared into the sky.

He found himself in the basement of his home, black and empty. "Did I just…?" he muttered. He looked over himself, but all he could see were the blue symbols on his body. He was all there though, and he let out a sigh of relief.

He had no idea what to think, so his mind wandered everywhere. What was this new enemy? What kind of strength did they wield? What kinds of powers did his new sword have? What kinds of new powers did he have? And most of all, how would he face everyone in Ordon before he left? His roots were here, all of his friends were here, his life was here. He wished that there was an easier way, but there wasn't. Finally, the riding and the shock all caught up with him and he fell to the floor.

Just before he lost consciousness, he had a single organized thought: 'Midna… I can see you again… Midna…'