A beast.

That's what my brethren had said. A terrible beast of darkness that steals our souls. It goes around, ruthlessly murdering our kind for who-knows-what reason, and ripping our souls from our bodies. Then it simply trots away, leaving our corpses to fade away into the night.

I clench my hand into a fist. It shakes slightly with rage. What right does this beast have to kill us? It merely destroys us for our souls, keeping them as trophies! This act is outrageous.

I go out tonight. I plan to seek this beast, where it will surely find me. It has hunted down others of my kind before; I should be no exception. I shoulder my scythe, gripping my lantern. Gazing up at the sky, the sun fades behind the horizon. I brace myself for this monster; to underestimate it is to die.

I head out, eyes darting around warily. This monster, it was said that it appeared as if from no where, lunging and clawing and snarling. It would smartly skip out of our scythe's reach, then suddenly leap towards us, fangs flashing.

What purpose does this beast have? What does it want? It keeps our souls, but for what use? We are evil beings, not so different from the monster itself. Why would one of the Twilight seek to destroy its own kind? Did the Light beings behave so?

I float in my spot, in a place the beings of Light call 'Lake Hylia'. I stare up at the moon, quite aware that this may be the last time I see it. But I cannot let this beast go out and kill us one by one. Our race is a small one already; we do not need a genocide! I growl my anger at nothing, crossing my arms and waiting.

And waiting.

And waiting.

And waiting.

I look around, seeing nothing but the regular waters and mortal contraptions. No sounds reach my ears. Nothing unusual is happening. I re-adjust my grip on my lantern, starting to wonder if the beast would actually find me. I even glide outwards a bit, seeking this murderous creature. A scream reaches my ears. One of my own is being attacked!

I whirl to my right, eyes looking up at the far side of the lake. On a hidden ledge, where another Poe usually stood, I hear the sounds of screaming and terrible ripping. The beast snarls, and the Poe falls silent. I see the dark red glimmer of the Poe's soul before it vanishes. The monster has claimed it.

I swallow, clenching my scythe. It's here. Not one of my kind has been able to stop this monster. How shall I fare against its mercilessness?

I see something large and black leap from the ledge and plummet into the waters. I lose sight of it for a second, and when I try to locate it again, it's gone. I quickly glide back to where I originally was, cold chills of paranoia creeping up on me. I cannot let my guard down. Not when the beast is so near.

For the moment, I hear and see nothing. I sense no dark presence. But I refuse to relax. This beast is strange, and something was slightly off about it. I remember the way it looked when it leapt from the ledge. It seemed as if a powerful, hidden light was trying to shine from within the depths of this monster, but it was smothered by the darkness. I do not understand how or what is happening with that creature. It is as if it is both light and dark, from both worlds.

I rock backwards in surprise as black shards of Twilight surge before me, coming together and forming into the black beast. It snarls, lips pulling back to reveal several fangs, ready to shear through my flesh.

So the beast had come for me after all.

Could I destroy this monster?

I raise my scythe, not knowing how this fight would end. This creature, now in front of me, was not entirely black. There were grey streaks on the sides, and odd markings on the forehead. I sensed an intense mix of Light and Dark powers radiating from it. There is another odd creature on its back, head a range of different colours. I recognize this kind of magic. The thing on the beast's back...comes from the Twilight.

'You traitor!' I shriek.

The one glowing eye stares at me hard, but there is no regret. No guilt or anything. The beast leaps, claws extended, strange blue eyes sparking with determination.

Determination for what? To eradicate my kind once and for all?

I instinctively swing my scythe in a quick circle, spinning around with the momentum. Sparks fly as my ghostly blade and the creature's wicked claws make contact. I flit backwards, bringing up my scythe to defend myself against the monster's supposed surprise attack. The very same attack that had killed my kind several times over before.

'Why?' I scream, swiping at the monster. 'Why are you doing this to my own?'

The beast doesn't understand, nor does it seem to care. It persists lunging forward, growls echoing through the night.

More sparks ignite as we collide. 'Why do you want our souls! We have done nothing to you, strange monster!'

More snarls. Continued jumps and swipes. A large gash opens up on my limb. I grunt as I sweep my scythe through the air, narrowly missing the beast's ear. At this moment, I am completely helpless. My scythe imbeds itself into the ground with a despairing thud, both my hands glued to the handle. My eyes widen as I realize this. I whirl around to see the monster leap at me, opening up my body. I scream as I fall limply to the earth, already feeling my entity start to fade. Everything was slipping away. I felt my soul rise to the surface, dark red sphere shining.

'No!' I cry. 'You can't do this to my kind!' I choke and cough as I turn my gaze to the sky. The silver moon looms over me without expression. It simply watches as I die. Could this really be the end? I realize now that I had truly believed I would rid us of this beast. That I would actually defeat it.

Oh, how very wrong I had been.

'Why?' I shout to the moon. 'Our souls belong to no one! You have no right to steal them and keep them as your trophies! We are not your collectibles!'

Darkness. Pure and utter darkness.

Yet, sound comes to my ears. How is that even possible? I am dead, aren't I?

I open my eyes, seeing my soul slowly start to sink back into my torn up body. What is happening? Did the beast leave without taking my soul?

No. Its ugly head looms over me, casting me in its shadow. The strange blue eyes are filled with a sort of emotion.

'Eh?' comes a high, mystical voice. Another head comes into view. It is the Twilighter that rides on the monster's back. It wears an odd helm, red, flaming hair half-visible. The crimson eye glares down at me. 'What are you doing, Link? Kill it. It's just a Poe.'

Yet the blue eyes hesitate.

I cough and cough, shaking as my soul remains exposed. Anytime, this beast could end my life. But why is it just standing there? Does it want to prolong my suffering?

'Strange beast of Light and Dark...' I whisper, feeling my body start to dissolve. 'You who hunt my kind...'

The ears of this monster twitch, telling me that it is listening, and that it understands after all. I raise a weak hand into the air, gazing at it. My skin is becoming transparent. Soon, I will no longer exist in this world. I will fade away into the sky, haunting the dark shadows of the Twilight Realm for all eternity. No conscience, no awareness, no personality or emotions. Just simply existing for no reason. Yes...I will soon be whisked away into the dark, never to return.

That is what it means for a Poe to lose its soul.

Everything is becoming numb. The moon's light is starting to dim. I stare up into the beast's odd blue eyes one last time. 'Take it, you murderous wretch. Take my soul and be done. It seems I cannot best you, and therefore you have every right to...collect my soul. I don't know why you are doing this, but I suppose it doesn't matter. I have lost, and you are the rightful winner. Just steal my soul like how you did with all of my other brethren!' I shriek, coughing and shaking. My soul rises a little out of my body.

Yet the beast does not move.

I scream in anger, glaring up at the monster. Does it want my soul or not? 'Kill me! You've killed so many others! I should be no exception!'

'We've waited too long!' a distant sounding voice says. It is that traitor riding on the monster's back. 'Just kill the stupid Poe!'

There is the sound of crunching grass, a brief silence, then a scream and horrendous shredding noise. I shriek one last time, gaze burning through the moon, choking on my last breath as my body dissipates forever.

Link gazes at the Poe's soul.

It is a round, misty black sphere with purple depths. A fierce, evil red light shines from it. Yes, Midna was right. It was just a Poe. Shouldn't be too hard to kill it, right?

'We are not your collectibles!'

Link looks down at the empty spot where that Poe had died. The soft blue sparks dissolved, carried away on the slight breeze. Slowly, one by one, they vanished. Link returned his gaze to the soul, the one last thing left of the Poe.

There was a sharp tug on his ear, making him jerk his head back. Midna's voice sounded. 'What's wrong with you? Don't tell me you're sad about some demon!'

'Take it, you murderous wretch.'

The words of the Poe echo through Link's mind. The soul floats in midair, spinning slowly in front of him. He gazes up at the moon for a moment, thinking. This Poe...was different. It hadn't been like the rest of them. The others had been menacing and evil. Careless as they swung their scythes. Sinister as they had laughed.

But this particular Poe...it was as if it had cared. As if it wanted to live. It hadn't picked the fight first, and their battle had been surprisingly difficult compared to the others.

'Just steal my soul like how you did with all of my other brethren!'

It had treated him like he was a crazy beast lurking around and killing all the Poes in sight. It had accused him of keeping Poe souls as none other than trophies. But what was it about this Poe that made it care?

Link shakes his head, taking the soul from where it floated. Perhaps he would never know. After all, Poes are demons, beings of the Twilight. He is a Hylian human, from the world of the Light transformed into a wolf of the Dark. Link gets up on his feet, and begins to walk away.

The moon is high tonight. Its silvery brilliance looms overhead.

But for some reason, it seems dark and unwelcoming. Even as a wolf, Link feels uncomfortable. The moonlight shines in all the strange, twisted ways. It seems as if the moon is angry and baleful. The world starts to rain.

As the icy water seeps into his fur, Link hangs his head. That Poe...Link will remember that Poe forever. Wherever it is now, Link hopes it is a good place. But that seems unlikely, as it was a demon.

There is no rest for the wicked, people say.

But that Poe had been different.

'I should be no exception!'