Bared doors. How was he supposed to get out? Both ways chained by cold metal. For an instant he could feel fear trickle down his skin; the thought of being trapped, alone in the darkness, unable to escape. To forever be bound to this misty room by invisible threads piercing into his mind.
"Link," a voice woke him from his conscious nightmare, a familiar voice.
"What is it Navi?"
"There's someone..." she paused, unsure of whether to be hopeful, "...over there...by that wilted tree."
Link turned; an enemy, a way out, hope.
This thought would have been ironic to the figure, for it to be considered a symbol of hope. It, a creature of the shadows, forever damned to Link's fearful nightmare; trapped in the cold desolate room, alone and bitter.
Link approached the tree cautiously, trying to make out the new enemy. It surprised him, to say the least, when the figure finally stood and Link could completely make out the creature. He stood there, staring at the empty shell of himself. Its breathing was harsh like a beast's and its body as black as the infinite void of space; but the one thing that made Link's hair rise was its blood-red eyes. Those eyes were not as their color suggested, they showed no lust for blood; all there was was a hollow pain, something beyond desperate, an unbearable loneliness of having to rot in a cold forgotten cell for a crime that was never committed.
This foe was like no other Link had ever encountered. This foe had a reason. It had a reason for unsheathing its sword and throwing hatred toward Link, for unlike Link it had never seen a star in the sky or felt the warmth of the sun's caress. Defeating Link would open a path to freedom, which was all this dark broken creature longed for.
Link quickly guarded as the first swing came gently slicing the mist. There was no more time left for thought, or for the tugging pity at the back of his mind.
Link swung in retaliation, but it blocked the identical attack it had given only seconds before.
Link flipped backwards in an attempt to get some valuable distance between this enemy, but it had other ideas, charging relentlessly at the hero as he stumbled for footing on the slippery floor.
Link barely had enough time to bring up his shield before the dark sword slid noisily across metal.
Link took his turn at swinging, but this time the dark creature was ready and swung with the same attack. Swords clashed together, echoing inaudibly through the room. And Link found himself staring into the creatures forlorn eyes again. It asked a million questions in the dim silence as it also stared into the hero's blazing blue eyes. It saw something there it could not understand: a burning purpose. Maybe it was then that it knew the outcome of the battle, tied to a fate it could not change.
The two stepped a foot backward breaking the unbearable tension, then charging right back with two fierce swings.
Their blades came clashing, over and over. Neither could get a straight shot. The game couldn't be stopped, their minds on a different level of reality. The creature would swing and Link would be there to guard. Then Link would thrust, but the creature would slip away from the blow and be right back for another attack.
The silent war lasted long and hard, intensity growing with each powerful strike, but all wars end with only one victor.
Lady Luck stood with Link as in the heat of battle the creature of darkness lost its balance to the slippery waters, and as its awareness of battle blinked out for a moment it could do nothing to stop the next moment Link drove through his soul.
It never stood a chance, not from the start, and not then, lying there helplessly as Link removed his sword from its hollow stomach. To Link's surprise he found red blood tainting the swords shine.
As this pitiful creature lay dying, shivering in the frosty water, a stream of crimson blood peacefully flowing through its tunic, Link saw it gaze up in a sad question, and Link could almost hear the word "why" echo through the foggy damp.
Then it smiled...it smiled in an understanding. The corners of its lips curved in a twitchy motion, and in a raspy, faraway, yet familiar voice, it spoke, "I would have done the same," and then his labored breathing came to a calm and he closed his eyes...finally free.
Link stood still for a moment, listening to the final peace, trapped in thought. At last he turned to leave, only giving one final glace at the dark creature, and found himself gazing upon his reflection.