62nd Entry: Shadow Crystal
Stumbling his way around Vah Rudania, Yunobo attempted to catch the bug-shaped Tears of Light that flew around. However, they were too quick for his stumpy arms to catch.
"Come on, brother!" Darunia complained. "This should be easy for you."
"It's harder than it looks!" Yunobo complained. "At this rate, I'll never awaken the Light Spirit that's in here."
"Don't think like that!" Darunia insisted. "A Goron never gives up, no matter what the circumstances are!"
Yunobo said nothing and once again reached out towards one of the bugs. But like the others, it slipped out of his fingers and flew away. Frustrated, Yunobo clenched his fists and the orange-tinted energy shield of Daruk's Protection appeared around him. Only this time, it spread outward and knocked multiple bugs out of the air causing them to fall to the floor.
"Whoa!" Yunobo blinked. "I didn't know my dad's gift could do that…."
"That's amazing!" Darunia cheered, slapping Yunobo on the back. "I knew you could do it, brother! Or, descendant in your case."
"Yeah, I guess I am your descendant," Yunobo agreed as he picked up the bugs.
To his surprise, they became balls of light that attached themselves to a transparent grapevine that appeared on the side of his loincloth. So with his newfound ability, Yunobo was able to collect the rest of the bugs in a short amount of time. Darunia grinned proudly and told Yunobo to place the full grapevine upon the main terminal of Vah Rudania. Yunobo did this without question, and watched in awe as the main terminal's flower-shaped form opened to reveal a glowing creature shaped like a bird.
"Excellent timing, Yunobo," said the bird-like creature. "Your father made the right call in picking you as the Champion of the Gorons."
"Um, thanks," Yunobo said sheepishly. "Who are you?"
"I am Eldin, one of the Light Spirits that was placed in the Divine Beasts by the Seer who predicted that Hyrule would be covered in Twilight once again," the bird-like creature stated. "The presence of my brothers Ordona and Lanayru is strong, but there is one more who still hasn't awakened."
"And who is that?" Yunobo asked.
"Faron, though I can't sense where she is at the moment," replied Eldin. "But for now, I shall cleanse the province that is my namesake of the Twilight."
As Eldin glowed, Yunobo thought he saw the bird become a dragon wearing a red robe with a fiery head and a long mouth. But then Eldin disappeared, while overhead the sky turned from orange to blue. Meanwhile, Darunia started to become transparent.
"It seems that I have fulfilled my purpose," Darunia said remorsefully. He then gave a confident grin at Yunobo. "You did good, son. Just be more confident in yourself from now on, okay?"
"I'll try," Yunobo said, and waved to Darunia as he disappeared like Eldin.
When this happened, Yunobo's vision went from being negative and back to normal. He immediately called Riju, who answered while Revali stood behind her.
"Did you finally awaken the Light Spirit in your Divine Beast?" Riju asked.
"Yeah, I just did," Yunobo answered.
"Took you long enough," Revali groaned on the other end. "I was starting to get bored over here."
Ignoring Revali's biting words, Yunobo said, "Where are you guys?"
"We're in front of the Arbiter's Grounds in the Gerudo Desert," Riju answered. "That's where the Mirror of Twilight is, which we're hoping to destroy and stop Zant from invading our world."
Yunobo's eyes widened. "Zant? You mean the Twili Usurper?"
"The same one," replied Riju. "Apparently, he's come back and intends to finish what he started all those years ago. But we're going to rain on his parade with the firepower of our Divine Beasts. So take control of your Divine Beast and get over here as soon as possible."
"And if you have any trouble, I'll be sure to send you an instruction manual," Revali teased. "Of course, the way Vah Medoh operates may not be the same as Vah Rudania."
Once the call ended, Yunobo went to the main terminal and placed his Sheikah Slate on top. The blue lights of Vah Rudania lit up as it let out an echoing roar. Afterwards, it steadily climbed down the slope of Death Mountain towards the Gerudo Desert.
###
"I'm sorry for deceiving you earlier," Zelda apologized to Link as they left the Korok Forest with Midna floating behind them. "But you understand why I did it, right?"
Link nodded in response, now carrying the Master Sword on his back in its scabbard.
"Though it just occurred to me…if Korok Forest wasn't affected by the Twilight, how was Midna able to teleport us here?" Zelda wondered, looking back at Midna.
"While I can only teleport to places affected by Twilight, the Fused Shadow's corruption on the Deku Tree gave me enough of an opening to get here," Midna answered, and made the Shadow Crystal appear in her hand. "Now with this Shadow Crystal, though, I can teleport to any place in Hyrule regardless of whether it's affected by the Twilight or not. Also, Link, you can now turn into a wolf whenever you want to."
Link looked a bit surprised, and concentrated. Dark shadows consumed his body, and from it emerged the wolf. He moved around in a circle excitedly, and then the dark shadows made him turn back into the human Link.
"That's amazing," Zelda remarked. "If I recall, the Hero of Twilight had the same ability when he obtained a Shadow Crystal."
"You mean when my ancestor obtained a Shadow Crystal, and gave the Hero the ability to turn into the Divine Beast," Midna corrected.
"Right, the Hero was considered to be the Divine Beast of Twili legend," Zelda realized. "I wonder if that's where we got the idea for our Divine Beasts…."
Midna seemed interested. "You have Divine Beasts? What are they like?"
"They're giant mechanical animals that are activated by these things." Zelda held up Paya's Sheikah Slate. "It's an ancient device called a Sheikah Slate that can do a lot of things, though almost everyone has them nowadays."
"Fascinating," Midna remarked as she looked at the device. "It seems Hyrule technology has progressed much further since our worlds last collided. But if you were Princess Zelda, why didn't you say so when we first met?"
To be continued…