Link continued to dodge more of the attacks and fired his bow again. This pattern continued until Link noticed that the black magma had froze too. He threw a rock onto the pool and watched as it skipped along the surface and gently rested on the pool until the creature started moving again.

The next time that Link froze the Staldrae, he tentatively walked onto the pool, found it as hard as stone. He got within four feet of the beast, unleashed a magical attack by quickly charging up his sword and ran back to the safety of the path. Although Link had come in a full circle around the path, the melted rock from the beginning of the fight was cooled.

Link also tried shooting the beast while it was frozen and found that the arrows bounced harmlessly of its hide. It took several more cycles of the hit and run tactic that Link employed by freezing it, hitting it with his sword and running back before the magma became a liquid again for Link to finally be victorious.

The creature roared as it unfroze from the last hit Link had delivered. The Staldrae shriveled as it was destroyed by its own monstrous heat and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Link sat back on the path and rested. He needed to get the injury on his face tended too, potions never cured such severe burns. He knew that it was dangerous to leave it untended, he had suffered from an illness that had left him near death whenever he had received such burns in the past and not taken care of them properly.

Link… the deep voice from before called out to him.

"Yes?" He thought back.

There is a magical technique for the hero of the goddesses that can heal any injury, including his own.

"Aren't you the spirit of that mask, the leader of those dark gods, the Fierce Deity?"

He heard the voice break into a fit of laughter. Link paused, wondering if he had said something stupid. I'm sorry, Link. The voice said after a while. I had just thought that the Chosen Hero of the goddesses would be able to see through such deceptions. My people were no dark gods, nor the antithesis of the goddesses. In fact my people were the opposite. We brought their will into the Golden Lands before you Hylians were civilized. But, your kind banded us as such and slaughtered us all. Since the goddesses didn't want us to kill the Hylians, we didn't fight back.

"I understand." Link knew that the voice of the mask was not lying. "So what are you called, if not Fierce Deity?"

You may call me Roke. I am the original Hero of the Golden Lands, Leader of the Oni. In your tongue, my name would translate into Link.

"What?" Link asked, taken aback.

Our language was different than the Hylians, hence your misunderstanding of us. We knew what you said, but could not speak your language. My name was Roke among my people. In your language, my name would translate to Link.

"But, that's my name."

It's something about the heroes that the goddesses choose. We're the link between them and the people and other such things. I didn't pay attention to that part, their symbolisms were for Tiza. Her name would have been Zelda, and she, like your princess, was Nayru's bearer.

"I get it. So, what's that technique, Roke?"

I can't teach it to you until you reach our old shrine in Greater Termina, just below the lake there. Din's Light Blade also resides there.

"Won't do me much good. I need to take care of this now."

I understand, then do what you must before we get there.

Link's conversation was cut off by a sinister laugh. He stood up and held his blade at the ready.

"Calm down, oh eager hero." A twisting voice said. Link recognized it as the one that belonged to his foe. "You wouldn't stand a chance against me anyways. I see that you beat my challenges, so I guess I'll be generous enough to reward you with a clue as to where your princess is."

There was a long pause.

"Ready yet? I won't repeat it, and I think that you need to pay complete attention in your exhausted state. Here you go: The crystal of time resides within the tower. Below ground in the darkness it gathers power. Four more days before life turns sour."

Link blacked out as he felt the shadows wrap around him. He found himself outside the mines. It was morning and Epona stood nearby, grazing on some grass. He groaned at the riddles that he found himself deciphering. He hadn't even fully understood the first set of directions and now he had a bit of poetry to comprehend. Link mounted Epona and rode to a town south of his current location. From there he planned to go get Din's Light Blade and figure out the riddle on the way.

Zelda sat silently near the pedestal that held Lei's crystal up. She was bathed in its colored light, but it did not penetrate the darkness that Umbra had cast upon her. His shadowed eyes had destroyed her will. The darkness that cloaked him had shriveled up her courage. His honeyed words had cloyed her rebuttals.

She knew that he was in the room with her, but she no longer cared. He would not harm her. With her eyes cast to her knees, he could not look at her. With the crystal above her, he would not come near her. She was safe from him. The only weapon he had was his tongue, but he had used up even its usefulness. She knew that he was here now only as a formality and to avoid the light of the rooms above.

"So, Princess, any questions, comments, or concerns?"

"None, Umbra."

"Good. Keep it that way." He said silently as he grinned in his triumph. He had finally convinced her that this was what she wanted. Ganondorf's revival was her true desire.