Darkness. That is all I see.
Shadows. Night. Black.
"Am I alive?"
I feel a breeze. Wind blows my hair and ruffles my clothes. I feel the ground beneath my boots. My sword and shield are heavy on my back. I breathe. That simple movement. In and out, in and out. Smells reach my nose; musty, humid air with the faint scent of earth. "I am alive." I open my eyes; I see for the first time. I am standing in shadow, peering out into a world of color and white. "…Is that light?" I do not like it. I shy away, pulling myself further into the familiar and welcoming blackness.
A thought comes to my mind. "Who am I?" This question is answered by a voice. "Link… No… Dark Link. That is my name. Is the voice mine? No. It is not. What is my purpose? What am I?"
"I am a shadow, a shadow of the light. I am here to fight. To kill my… copy? No, I am the copy. I am a puppet. A puppet of evil."
A voice whispers in my mind. It is soft but powerful. A commanding force I cannot resist. "You must obey."
"I must obey. I will obey. What is my task?"
"Kill the boy… he approaches…" it commands.
"I must kill the boy. I do not want to. He has done nothing to me. Why do I feel the desire to harm him?" I fight the urge to hurt, but am defeated. I speak. My voice is low and deep. "Yes," I agree. "Why am I doing this?"
A young man enters the room. The shallow water covering the floor ripples where his boots touch. He is wearing a long green tunic, timeworn, with white sleeves and pants. Brown boots and gloves cover his hands and feet. I notice three triangles of light emanating faintly from the back of his left hand, suggesting power or a force within him. A sword and shield are hung on his back, held in place by a brown belt. He looks just like me, but is not. While he is full of color and light, I only emanate blackness and shadows. I have only darkness. I am a shade.
"That is the boy…" The Voice thunders, "Kill him. Kill him!"
"I must kill him. I must obey. I do not want to." I try to resist. I can't. It is too overwhelming. It overtakes my senses. "Why do I have to murder him? He looks like a good person. …Am I good?"
"No," The Voice opposed. "You are not good. You are evil. A shadow that darkens the light."
"I am evil. I am a pawn of evil. But… why does it feel so wrong? I am a shadow… shadows belong in the dark. The bad. The good. Why do I want the light? It burns. It hurts too much. I feel so wrong." I leave the comfort of dark, stepping in front of the boy. He looks down at the reflection in the water covering the floor. I look down too. I see myself for the first time. The boy has the same clothes, but his are green and mine are black. Same weapons, same shoes, same face. "I am… him?"I study my image again.A figure of darkness. That is what I see. Gleaming red eyes, emotionless. That is… me? The image I see is frightening. I do not like it. "Why do I look like this?"
"I told you; you are a shadow," The Voice echoes in my mind, "Merely a reflection told what to do. You will kill the boy."
"I am a shadow. I will kill the boy." I watch my eyes harden, my face become full of determination. "Death. I cause death." I look up. The boy sees me now. He pulls out an elaborate shining sword with a deep blue hilt and a matching shield that gleams with blue and silver. The same three golden triangles on his hand are set in the center of the shield. I wonder at its significance. I pull my own sword and shield, mirroring his actions. I look at them; the same design, but all dark and shadowed. After all, what am I but a copy? His copy.
We fight. He swings; I swing. He blocks; I block. I can do anything he can. Every move he makes, I mirror perfectly. I grin in satisfaction. He cannot defeat me! But, how can I possibly overpower him? I am compelled to fulfill my destiny, my purpose. To kill. My soul is screaming. "Why? Why am I doing this? What is the point? This is wrong." With that thought, I falter. That one second of hesitation costs me. The boy hits me. It is a deadly blow. I collapse. Pain washes over me. It takes over my senses. I cannot get up. I scream. I can see myself in the water, crumpled and defeated. My eyes full of emotions. Sorrow. Regret. Pain. I should have fought harder. I see the light fading from my eyes. My soul is crushed. I taste despair.
"You failed! You are worthless!" The Voice yells.
"I am worthless? Is that all I am? A worthless puppet?"
I see the boy looking at me. Our eyes meet. His are strikingly blue, not that horrible red that mine are. His eyes are full of compassion and sorrow. My eyes are reflected in his. They are full of hate and despair. Why do I feel hate? I am a tool. I have no control over myself.
Against my will, with a surge of strength that is not my own, I swing my sword at the boy in a last attempt to harm him. He stops my blade, taking it from my hands and watching it dissolve into nothingness once it leaves my contact. "I am nothing." This thought scares me.
He kneels beside me. He sees something in my eyes. Regret. He knows. "I am sorry," he whispers, "Be free." He swings his sword. There is a fleeting sharp pain. Then it is gone. Everything is gone. All but my thoughts. I am alone with nothing but myself and darkness.
"Where am I?" I wonder, "Is this death? What am I supposed to do? What is my purpose here? What am I?"
The Voice is silent. Gone. There is no strange presence in my mind. I am relieved. I feel… happy?
I know what I am now.
I am free.
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A/N- As the title says, this is a rewrite of my fanfiction Shadow of the Light. I am keeping the original copy up on this site, because I like it better in some ways than this one. I rewrote it in the first place because I needed to fix it up and make it longer for a fanfiction contest at a con, and this is the finished product. It placed third. I hope you enjoyed. Hasenpfeffer, signing out.