Chapter 12: Lanayru in Twilight
After Link had returned to Gor Coron and Darunia, he spent an hour receiving their thanks and requests to tell of his journey within their mines. Though he was battered and fatigued, Link recounted the events, leaving out only certain details … such as what had happened to their sacred treasure. In Link's silence at the question of whether it had been left intact, the Gorons read his expression falsely, believing that his reluctance to reply was due to his shame in its destruction. Link let them believe so, for it was in their best interests that they not know he was collecting the ancient treasures...
By the time that Link was able to politely pry himself from the Gorons' presence, he was ready to collapse, but he refused to allow his exhaustion best in. He thought it would insult the Goron tribe.
As Gor Coron and several others dived into the mines to retrieve Darbus, Link and Darunia stepped outside.
Evening had dawned, spectral colors skipping through the skies above. Link sat on the ledge, collecting his strength to descend the mountain. Why can't they escort me back down? he chuckled to himself. With a wearied suspiration, he looked across the rocky range. He had not appreciated the beauty of the mountains until now … when all was settled, calm. The threat was over and it was then that Link saw the reflection of sky beating peacefully against every peak and mountainside.
But there is but one last Fused Shadow to be found, he reminded himself.
It was time to move on.
Link hummed as he gathered himself up. He took one last look at the mountains below. So many provinces that I have never ventured to, he mused. I have saved this mountain country from darkness, and I cannot even spare time to explore its great wonder. I suppose it'll be like this everywhere I go.
Darunia faced him. "I recognized you the moment I saw you," he whispered. "Do you have Midna with you?"
Link was shocked. "How do you know her?"
"I fought in the War Across the Ages," the Sage of Fire replied. "You are younger than when we fought side by side on the battlefield, though."
Midna decided to emerge from Link's shadow. "What do you want, Sage?" she asked.
"I only wanted to wish you luck on your quest," Darunia answered. He looked west. "The sunset is beautiful today, isn't it?"
"It is," Link stated. He spun on his heel to leave. "But I'll come back to see a sunset like this again … when it's all over..."
Night reigned when Link and Darunia had finally escaped the mountains to enter Raaru Village once again. Link's limbs were shaking with pain, and his shoulder injury had worsened. The sight of the familiar village brought a smile to his face.
Luda ran down from the porch of the nearest house to welcome him back, however, frowned once she saw his battered face and singed clothing. "Come, my father wished to see you the moment you returned."
She led him to the two-story home and quickly ushered him inside. Link made an effort not to wince when she accidentally and unknowingly rubbed up against his sore hip when entering the house. "Father!" she called up the stairs as she and Link ascended them.
Renado peeked out of the room that Link had left Colin and met them at the stairs. If the shaman was alarmed at Link's bloodied and burned appearance, he did well to mask his concern. "Link, Colin woke a few hours ago and wanted to speak to you. He said it was important."
"Thank you," said Link, and he brushed past, and without catching himself, he brought a hand up to his chest in an attempt to lessen the beating pain that thumped against his ribs. Renado and Luda watched as he disappeared into the room, concerned.
As soon as Link entered the room, Colin—who had been lying down in bed—hurled the covers from his body and ran to Link. Disregarding his own discomfort, Link knelt down to catch the boy when his weak legs forfeited their support. "Are you alright?" asked Link.
Colin looked up at him, and thought the bruises of his capture still spotted his face, he was more pained at seeing Link's battered appearance than his own discolorations. "What happened to you?"
But Link smiled, even as a trail of blood slipped out the corner of his mouth and drizzled down his chin—the aftermath of one of Darbus's rather brutal hits. "Don't you worry about me." Link helped Colin to his feet and they seated themselves beside one another on the edge of the bed. "Now—"
"It's about Ilia," burst Colin.
Link's head snapped to the side, looking directly at the boy. "What about Ilia? Do you know where she was taken?" His heart roared.
"Those monsters left me with the other kids," started Colin, "but Ilia … all I know is that they headed north."
Link looked from Colin to his scratched fingers, their flesh burnt slightly from the task of reshaping his boots.
"Whenever I thought I couldn't go on," Link heard the boy saying, "I would think of you and Ilia and hold on." Colin took a breath. "Do you remember what I told you back in Ordon, Link?"
Link grinned. "That when you grow up, you're going to be just like me." Yet his smirk faded. But look at me; I don't want you to be like this. I don't want to see you hurt.
"So, you don't have to worry about me anymore, Link. I'm fine now." Link returned his gaze to Rusl's son and to his surprise saw a reflection of himself. Colin's blue eyes seemed as fierce and as strong, and his golden locks framed his face in lines of bravery. The innocent boy within Colin had disappeared.
Link assured himself that Colin indeed was safe without his protection, and his trust in Colin's abilities and unwillingness to lie defeated gave to Link the kind of strength that he himself needed, for though Link's body sat in a deep and painful exhaustion, seeing Colin's hopeful twin oceans enabled him to pick himself up. As Link brought himself to stand, he kept the smarting ache in his hip at bay. He refused to stagger before the son of the blacksmith.
"When next I return to Raaru," said Link, his eyes burning with the abated distress in his heart, "it will be with Ilia."
Colin stared up at him, sad yet hopeful.
Link, however, could not bear another mention of Ilia. The pain he would feel if he could not find her … if he would end up shattering his promise...
He left the room without another word or glance toward Colin, the boy who had always been like a little brother to him. Link heard Colin squeeze himself back under his covers to sleep through the night, and when Link knew that he was alone, he leaned against the wall at the top of the stairs and winced, holding back a bellow of torment. His shoulder pulsed madly, his hip raged frantically, and his chest heaved painfully. His face, burnt by the lava's heat as if it had been the sun itself and scratched along the chin, cheeks, and temples, seemed to scream its own callous song, humming inside his nerves like the constant vibrations of the cranes inside the mines.
Renado then appeared at the top of the staircase and looked apprehensively toward the drooped frame of Link. The young warrior immediately tried to right himself. "I did not think it wise for you enter the mountain pass those days ago," began Renado, "but I misjudged you then." The shaman fell into a reverie, and a smile caught his lips. "In Hyrule, countless tales are told of the ancient hero … and your deeds bring them all to mind. But even heroes need help sometimes … and rest."
Link smiled, his mouth cracking through the blood dripping down his chin. Renado looked toward the door of Colin's room. "You have so many demands upon you now, Link, and I think it is your destiny to help this land. Do not let the fates of the children trouble you. I will watch over them. I swear it.
"For now, however," the shaman said, turning back to Link, "you must cleanse your wounds and take a day of rest." Renado's lips broadened. "Come, I'll take you to the hot springs above the village."
Link had no strength left to thank the shaman, showing his gratefulness by accepting his help out of the house and up a rocky path of the mountain village. And when they reached the hot spring, Luda sat waiting, bandages, towels, and mashed herbs at her feet. The young girl helped Link in removing his weapons and belts as her father began sorting through the bowls of medicine.
Once Link had stripped down to his white leggings, he blissfully sank into the deep waters of the spring. Steam rushed over him as he submerged himself to the neck, sitting on a rocky ledge in the water. He wiped away the blood clinging to his mouth and chin and leaned his head back onto the edge above the water.
Renado dabbed two fingers into a medicine bowl and leaned over Link. He chuckled softly when he realized that Link had fallen asleep.
However, it was no light matter. The shaman's grin disappeared. Link, a hero of the time, had tired by the end of one day within the mines of the Goron tribe, and he had sustained such brutal injuries. Surely there were far worse situations into which the young warrior would be cast, and he feared that Link's path would lead him into a corner, that the youth who had saved Raaru Village and purged the rage of the Gorons would one day enter a fight that he would not be able to win. The thought sent shivers down the shaman's spine.
Would Link, the heroic youth from Ordon, suffer at the hands of the gods? Suffer the very fate from which he tried to save so many?
A half hour later, they moved Link and his weapons to Renado's room. And as Luda took the soldier's garments and set to work mending them, the shaman visited the sanctuary … where he prayed to the gods.
Link woke to Malo and Colin sitting at his bedside. The former was holding Link's bow and ogling over its intricate carvings. The latter ran out of the room yelling something that resembled "He's awake!" Groaning, Link tried to pull himself up and lean on the wall that the bed was propped against. His body bare save for the blankets that covered his lower half, he looked over himself. A bandage still concealed the wound to his shoulder, but other than that, all the pain his injuries had caused him had seemed to vanish.
He looked up at Renado when the shaman entered the room, Colin standing at his side. "How long have I—?"
"Nearly two days. But it was rest well needed," Renado added at Link's expression.
"I need to be going. Where are my clothes?"
"Here," the shaman said, pointing to a chair that had all his articles draped over its back, his gauntlets, belts, and hat relaxing in the seat, and his boots bowing against a leg. "My daughter tried to mend your clothes as best she could." Renado looked to the boys then, "Come along, Colin, Malo."
But as Malo set Link's bow onto the bed, he whispered, "Where did you get this? Can you really shoot it? How far off can you hit a target? Can you show Talo and me?" Link was glad to see this side of Malo again, for the last time he had seen the boy was when he had given Link the Hylian Shield—and within Malo's mart, he could hardly pass as a boy with the way he conducted himself.
Yet before Link could answer, Renado hushed him and prodded him out. Link gave the boys a wink as they turned from the room. He then climbed out of the bed and examined his clothes. His white and green clothes still bore their black marks, but they had been stitched so that the holes were no more. His hat still bore its scorch mark. Link shrugged and began dressing.
Raaru village was a much different place as Link surveyed it, stepping out of the shadow of Renado's doorstep. Some of the mountain tribe had come down from their lands and were clogging the thoroughfare of the town. Link noticed Gor Liggs himself sitting comfortably and meditating on the Malo Mart porch. Another Goron had its arms around quite a large crate, entering Barnes's house and shop. Curious, Link followed.
Inside Barnes's house the Goron clambered up the winding stairs to the right on Barnes's order. Barnes, standing on the opposite side of a counter, loaded tiny round balls from a pail and into a shelf. Obviously, the paranoid man felt eyes staring at his back, and he turned around to face Link.
"Oh!" Barnes was immediately flustered. The bumbling man apparently knew what the young hero thought of him—the village idiot. But Link simply thought of him as nothing else than a coward, at often times amusing one at that. "Renado told me how you persuaded the Gorons, and well—ahem—I suppose I should thank you," he said, trying to act professional in his haste to get rid of Link so that he did not feel so embarrassed. "When the Gorons wouldn't have anything to do with us, I had nothing left. My business is run out of the ore they bring down, you see." A glimmer of childish enthusiasm flickered in his eyes. "Would you" —he held up one of the orbs— "care for a demonstration?"
Link, unsure what the sphere was even supposed to be used for, had no say in the matter, Barnes leading him up the staircase and out an elevated back door before Link could respond—or even consider the question.
Barnes placed the tiny ball next to a boulder, lit a frail cord on fire, and ran back inside the house. Link, squinting at the device and dwindling string, did not know what the function of this object could be, and its inaction befuddled him. Only when Barnes yanked him back, swearing under his breath, did he realize that it was supposed to be dangerous. Link could not see how it could possibly be-
Debris was hurled at the door and as a booming rattle filled his ears so loudly that he clamped his hands over them. Directly where the sphere had been situated, a cloud of dust rose into the air and expanded outward with the moving breeze. After the brown haze cleared, Link observed that the boulder had disappeared and a mild crater had indented the ground where the ball had been. He turned to Barnes, who only giggled wildly.
"What—?" Link started.
"A bomb!" answered the lanky man. "And I have plenty more."
Barnes led him back down to the lower level, smiling insanely to himself. He loaded three of the bombs into a small sack and handed it to Link. "A gift," said Barnes irritably. "But if you ever want more, they won't be free of charge!"
Understanding the abrupt dismissal, Link took his leave of the bomb maker's shop, only halfway regretting he had entered in the first place. The new weapons might serve him well on his journey. He tucked the sack into the pouch on the back of his belt. Looking up, he saw Renado and the children exiting the sanctuary and house. Link reached them before they reached the thick of the crowded street.
"May the graces of the great goddesses who shaped Hyrule bear you on your way," said Renado as he bowed. Oddly, the shaman seemed wiser than before he had been when Link had fallen asleep two days ago. Link wondered why the man's eyes sparkled with a keener understanding, but shoved it off when he looked to the faces of the children.
A wordless farewell lodged itself between them, and only Talo broke the silence with a whisper. "So … can you really shoot that bow? How about that pole on top the lookout tower?"
Beth elbowed him and he fell silent, yet hopeful. She looked up at Link with large, admiring eyes.
Link passed on his thanks to Renado and Luda and a short goodbye to the children. He hated goodbyes and hoped that he would never have to suffer through one more terrible than his abrupt and violent farewell to Ilia.
He whistled for Epona with her favorite six notes and leapt into the saddle from behind when she galloped past without skidding to a stop. Link did not turn in his seat to wave but removed his bow from its case and shot an arrow for the pole atop the tower. It struck its target at its very tip and wobbled at the sudden stop.
Link smiled when he heard the jubilant screams of Malo and Talo behind him.
Link and Epona traveled through the unfamiliar territory south of the village quickly, Link tossing his gaze about the surroundings often, watching for any sign of an ambush.
Epona galloped at her mightiest speed. It seemed she, too, wished to find Ilia. Yet as they crossed the middle of the wooden bridge, Link felt a strange bump at his back. He brought Epona to a halt and lifted a hand to his backside. The pouch had become lighter, and he fearfully turned about, spotting one of the small bombs rolling and bouncing backward across the bridge. It struck the wood upside-down and its fuse began dwindling, ignited by the hit.
Eyes wide, Link froze, panicked.
"What are you doing?" shouted Midna. "MOVE!"
Just as the bomb exploded, Link slapped his horse's reins and outraced the detonation which now crumbled the bridge. When Link passed the end of the bridge, he halted Epona and turned her about partway. The entire elevated path no longer existed, the bomb having caused instability in the whole. The bridge was now bits of flaming blisters that descended into the river below.
He looked away, wincing, to see the blackened face of Midna. Her arms were crossed. "You are honestly the clumsiest hero I have ever met."
Shoving off her remark, Link continued on his path. He would concern himself on how to return to Raaru once had found Ilia.
Link passed through the grey-stoned surroundings quickly, searching for signs of the twilight barrier that surely existed on the border of the Lanayru province, and after crossing a short wooden bridge and dispatching the bulblin guard that brandished its weapon, Link spotted the orange-tinted blackness that rose up from the ground, encasing the land beyond in a dark terror.
He dismounted Epona and told her to find a way back to Raaru. He then approached the wall of dark flames.
"Ah, finally here," breathed Midna at Link's side, her one red eye staring into the tumultuous haze. "Only one Fused Shadow left. So, this is … the last of the twilight you'll see, I guess…." A slight quiet came over her words, a soft farewell to the unnatural darkness preparing itself within her. Yet, all of a sudden, the Midna that Link knew resurfaced, the bold and selfish side. "Whether or not you accomplish your final task and survive is up to you."
Link could barely see her arms fold when she turned to him. "So, shall we enter the twilight?"
Hesitation did not exist anymore. Link nodded, and braced his body for the coming mutilation.
The crunching torture of the transformation never dwindled in power, yet the act in itself Link had come to no longer fear. If it had not been the wish of the gods for him to mutate into the beastly creature, he would have been like all else in the foreboding darkness, a wandering, lost spirit to forever drift through life in the fear of unknowing. His back buckled and broke and reformed in a more prominent arch and he felt the teeth within his mouth stretch. All his garments and accessories became extensions of his body, and a furry coat of grey, black, and silvery white grew at an accelerated rate from these additions as well as from his now quite tanned flesh.
Standing upon his four legs, it took him less time to recuperate from the trauma than the two previous metamorphoses. Midna had watched his changing body, and Link, this time, caught a trace of emotion in her eye when he looked to her. The instant she knew he was watching her she clouded her feelings and narrowed her eye in her usual half-snarl. To dismiss the subject further she hopped onto his backside, prodding him along.
Link followed her unvoiced instruction and tried to ignore the sparkle that he had seen within Midna. She had seemed almost … human. Sympathetic. Sad. And Link sensed something else. She had looked at him so sorrowfully, so guiltily, as if … she were responsible somehow. Midna was now bothered by how he had to suffer; he could nearly be certain of it. But even if he asked her she would never resign to her hidden truths.
However, her bond with the twilight was strong for some reason, and perhaps it was this struggle that pained her when she had looked at him. Whether she valued Link more than the unnatural darkness of which she had been so fond even before they had met. Which attachment was stronger within her?
Link had a sinking feeling that one day, either soon or quite distant, that Midna would have to choose one or the other…. And when that day came … where would her loyalty lie?
"What a shame that this is the last of the twilight. I had become so fond of seeing it covering this world..." Midna murmured. Perhaps it was her own cruel version of hope that she added, "Or is it really the last time we'll see it?" It seemed she forced herself to laugh, for it did not sound as unforgiving as most of her chuckles.
Yes, the twilight held a special place within Midna. Why, Link could not even begin to guess.
But he set all his thoughts aside when he tripped over a rock in the road. On his animal instinct, he barked at it after righting himself, yet there was something peculiar about this rock. It was not ordinary for stones to be shaped that way. Closer inspection revealed a tiny leather pouch, one that smelled of fresh hay and the wildflowers outside Ilia's window.
Ilia!
The pouch belonged to Ilia.
… Link, can you promise me this? …don't try to do anything out of your league... Just come home safely...
He could hear her words so clearly, see her so perfectly. That warm smile... Her gentle, caring embrace...
"You smell that girl, don't you?" said Midna knowingly. "But remember, this scent could be quite old."
Link shook free of his memories, ignoring all chances that he would be led to a dead end, and set down on his path, registering her scent within his nostrils and following the trail that would lead him to Ilia, the fifth and last Ordonian who had been taken.
Even though they were merely spirits of glowing green who were unable to be heard unless Link strained his ears, Link awed at the sight of all the inhabitants in what Midna had called Hyrule Castle Town. That, however, Link could have deduced on his own, for the castle in which he had met Zelda loomed behind the city.
Sight-seeing, though, was not why Link had entered the town. Ilia's scent led him down many a tight roads, and he ignored the bobbing green lights as they traveled about their day, obviously unaware of the gravity of their circumstance.
Finally, after stepping out of a Hylian guard's way, Link came to a house built into the same wall as the houses beside it, just as most of the houses in Castle Town had been constructed. Link read the sign beside the partly open door which proclaimed the premises as Telma's Bar.
Link entered, his skin crawling with a nervous tickle.
Off to the right, a bar stretched the length of the wall; and to his left slept an oddly proportioned, blue-skinned boy whose breath came in rasps as he lay upon a makeshift bed made of boxes. At his side was who Link guessed was the barkeep and—did his eyes deceive him? After all these days...
Ilia sat right in front of him.
Link stepped up to her, and barked … but Ilia could not hear him; she continued to stare at the boy. "This boy," said Ilia, and her soft voice resounded in his ears. He wanted to store the hum of her voice within him forever. "Can you save him?"
Link had not truly understood the seriousness of her query until the barkeep answered, and he was pulled violently from his yearnings. "All right, little lady, try to settle down," the plump woman was saying. "I've sent for the doctor. But this is strange." Her brow furrowed. "A child of the Zoras... I wonder if this is all related to the incident the soldiers were talking about in the back."
A Zora child? Incident? Perhaps all this had been the work of the last Fused Shadow. Link half wished he could stay with Ilia; his other half willed him to do something about their situation. Ilia could neither hear nor see him, and yet he supposed it was better that way for now. He did not wish to frighten her in his current state of appearance. Besides, she seemed well enough. This Zora child did not. His judgment forced him into action, and he sprang from them and bounded into the midst of the soldiers Telma had mentioned.
"We've had many complaints from the citizens who cannot send prayers to the spirit spring of Lake Hylia," the commanding officer was saying to his second-in-command. "And we have received orders to investigate why the spring is inaccessible. Understood?"
"Yessir!" shouted the second-in-command and the four others lined with him.
Link did not linger to overhear anything more. He glanced at the map pressed out on the nearest table and located the lake, memorizing the location and how to get there. He then turned tail and headed for the door, sending one last look toward the downcast Ilia.
As per his memory's orders, Link left Castle Town through its west exit and followed the westward path of the field toward Lake Hylia. They met no resistance along the way, and Link thought it odd, seeing as though the soldiers had said that no one could reach the spirit spring that was supposedly located on the lake. If dark creatures were not the problem, then…?
Link approached the famed Great Bridge of Hylia that had withstood generations of erosion. Midna leapt off his back and walked along it. Link watched her for a moment. He could not remember ever seeing her use her feet; she had always hovered above him or simply stood. It found it strangely entertaining the way the movement made her head and helm wobble.
She looked over the edge of the tall sides of the bridge. "Hmm, long way down." She raised a dark brow, "Is this what passes for a lake here?"
But Link caught wind of an acrid smell and looked to the floor of the bridge. What looked like blackish liquid was spread all over the stones from one end of the path to the other. Link barked, but Midna only frowned at him. Growling, he ran for her. But he was only halfway toward her when an archer on the other side shot a flaming shaft at them. Midna ducked and it fell to the blackness. It was then that she realized their situation.
A flare leapt up from the drop point and identical fires spread out from it, beginning to engulf the entire bridge in flame, yet though the bridge itself was made of stone and would not be destroyed, Link and Midna were soon cornered, more fiery arrows sailing to the ground. "Oh no! We're trapped!" she gasped.
When at last Link finally reached Midna, he thrust his snout between her legs and pushed up on her buttocks, bumping her up into the air. He nudged forward slightly, and when Midna came crashing back down she landed roughly on his back. Without retort, she grabbed onto his fur and watched the fires close in on them.
Link did not fancy the thought of burning alive and, in Midna's panic, did not rely on her to find a solution.
There was only one chance they had at survival, and he did not hesitate; he prayed.
He felt Midna hug him round the neck and heard her prolonged scream of "Are you insane?" as Link leapt from the edge of the Great Bridge of Hylia.
All of a sudden Link and Midna were no longer falling. They were unable to find air, choked. A coolness had clouded over them, had crowded around them. They were throttled by the force that bubbled and hazed about their eyes. Link sputtered, fighting the transparent shield against the air. Midna grabbed and writhed, trying to find which way was up.
At long last Link felt a yank on a tuft of hair behind his ears, and both he and Midna were coughing up the droplets of water that had seeped into them during their struggle. Link held onto the shore side, Midna crouched beside him. After he had hawked up the sparkling and deadly liquid from within him, he pulled himself completely onto the solid earth. He passed a furtive glance at Midna, realizing what had just happened.
They had fallen from the bridge to land in a pool of water … and Midna, knowing that he could not swim so well as a wolf, had saved his life. She had done so without hesitation, which made Link assume, hopefully, that she truly did have humane interests, for saving lives was a human instinct.
Midna, however, seemed not to notice, sitting down to face the water, sneering. "Well, that was a close one. We're lucky this puddle was here. If this is a lake..." She left her last thought incomplete and gathered herself up. "Well, you heard that soldier. There should be a spirit spring somewhere around here. Why don't we take a look around?" She leapt onto his wet fur as he brought himself to his paws.
Looking about, Link realized that they had taken to a shore were three green lights emanated. Sniffing closely, he breathed in the smell of sweet fish. At a murmur's level, Link could barely hear the lights speaking. "The drop in water has been faster than predicted..." the lowest glimmer judged.
"At this rate, Lake Hylia will dry up. It's a race against time..." another said with a wearied sigh.
"Yes, the lake will most definitely vanish if we don't somehow get water from Zora's Domain upstream," the third agreed.
Link was inclined to listen further, yet past them in the distance, something caught his eye. There was a stubby man wearing a pink shirt that was too small to cover his plump belly, however; Link allowed himself no time to be amused at the sight, for the chubby man was running as fast as his short legs could carry him as he screamed, "MONSTER!"
Following close behind the man flew the largest bird that Link had ever seen. An archer sat atop its back, readying an arrow as the man lodged himself underneath a piece of equipment that sat on the wooden raft that housed what Link assumed was his shop. The archer released the shaft and it sailed straight for the ducked citizen. Link, having run to the aid the man, leapt up and caught the arrow in his mouth. The dark duo turned their attention on Link and Midna.
If his alter ego were capable, Link would have smiled at the fact that he had caught his enemy off guard, however; now was no time for such behavior. As Link fought, he heard the portly man behind him whimper and curse, "What is going on? Are the zoras upriver responsible for this, or is this a curse from that spirit that hangs around up there?" If the little man had said anything else, Link was unable to hear his murmurs, for his engagement with the winged beast took a great deal of his concentration. He wondered, for as long as he could allow himself the privilege, how odd it would be to find a beast attacked by thin air. He quickly turned into his dragon form.
The dragon took advantage that the bird's agility somewhat decreased seconds before the archer released a shaft toward he and Midna. When the dark bowman aimed its next weapon—Link just dodging the last—the dragon stepped out of his evade and leapt for the belly of the winged creature. He ripped at its wings, trying to climb up to reach the more threatening opponent, but when he sunk his claws into the bird's chest again, it wailed and teetered. Its pained, twisting flight thereafter threw Link from its feathers and let out an awful screech.
Ignoring the bird and benefiting from its distracted rage, Link pushed hard upon the ground again with his hind legs and launched himself for the archer. The bird's wings flapping downward as he sailed left a direct path toward his target, and he soared mouth agape. Crunching down upon his foe, Link snapped his jaws shut around the fiend's neck and gave a jerk with his mouth as he descended back down to the ground, a limp body now in his maw.
Link tossed the corpse aside and felt another weight lifted. He looked to his side to see that Midna had slid from his back and was now gazing up at the bird creature. Curious, Link turned to follow her gaze. "It's a kargarok creature, though, infested by the dark Twili magic," she informed.
Unexpectedly, Link then heard a soft melody of alternating high and low pitches and was surprised to discover that it was Midna's voice. The creature calmed slightly and lowered itself to a more manageable height. As Link watched Midna leapt into the air, trailed by the too familiar black, red, and green bubbled magic which seemed to define her very essence. She caught onto the kargarok and slipped into the seat from which the archer had just moments ago been stolen. At once, it reared, and Midna yelled. "Stop it! I am your new master now. Settle down!"
As soon as its failing wings died to a sustaining flap that was merely used to keep it suspended, Midna called down to Link. "We can use this beast to get us all the way to the water's source."
Link nodded up at her. It was consent, and strangely, Midna was beginning to hear the words he wanted to speak within this garbled speech.
"Hmm, you want to see the light spirit first, don't you?" she said, scratching her chin. "Well, it is on the way, so why not?"
Commanding the kargarok to snatch Link up in its talons, Midna then steered her new ride up to the cave where the light spirit was said to dwell. Once at the edge of the opening, the bird lowered Link to the ground. He could already hear the sorrowful harmonic voice that he had come to associate with the lamenting spirits.
Looking back, he watched as the bird landed on the edge and leaned over to let Midna down. After ordering to wait for them, Midna followed Link into the spirit's cave.
Inside the hole of the lakeside, darkness reigned. The glow of Midna's arms and eye contrasted with the hard black of the cave, yet Link could still make out the overall shape of the grotto. But within moments, Link's draconic ability mattered not, for the pair then stumbled upon the resting place of the distressing spirit. Its weak and splattered light gave off a weak orange tint that lit the walls, however, the dimness sustained Link and Midna's normal vision.
A rasping sigh floundered from its unseen mouth. "I am … the last of the spirits of light … consumed … by twilight..." its light voice wept. "Hero … Chosen one of the gods... You have … done well to make it this far... Please, gather my scattered tears of light … that were stolen by shadow. Take this..."
Again, it was Midna who clutched onto the vessel when it appeared from out of the waters' depths.
"I am sure … you know by now … the forms that these dark insects take … when they steal our light... In this shadow realm of twilight … the insects are invisible … much like the humans of this world... By collecting my stolen light … you shall lift the final cloud of twilight … that threatens to cover … all of Hyrule..." With another gasp the voice fell silent, submerging itself once more into its unnerving song of lamentation.
Link and Midna exchanged a silent glance. To think that they were so close to banishing the twilight from Hyrule. There remained only one last spirit to aid, and then the dark mantle that had engulfed parts of the land would be lifted. An evil curse set upon Hyrule by a tyrant king. Midna had not revealed much about him to Link, but he understood the tone with which she said his name. Zant. Clearly, a history swelled around Midna and the king of twilight, but Link had never pressed the matter. He had learned all he had needed to know at the moment, back in the mines of the Gorons. He knew that the memory of this king troubled her, but he would only ask of him again when the need for information would outweigh the careful distance Link had constructed to keep from hurting her.
Midna had lately become more than just useful to him, and he suspected that she saw him the same way now, for they had come to a bitter understanding after their battle with the darkened form of the Goron patriarch. He had learned that there was more to Midna's selfish desires than self-preservation. There was a terrible past that lay deep beneath the thick skin that she had grown so fond of wearing. He saw the way that she glanced at him occasionally now, the furtive stare that spoke that she had a developing care for him as a person and not just a means to an end.
So, there they stood again, gazing into each other's eyes again, the same thought passing through both of them.
Maybe. Just maybe … it was nearing the end of their journey. With the completion of the Fused Shadows, Midna and Link would be able to fight Zant on an equal foot. When that time came, it would be up to their skills to decide the outcome of the battle.
Heaving a deep breath, Link and Midna exited the chamber, the latter holding closely to the vessel that would hold the last of the tears of light.
The last leg of their journey before the battle that would decide the fate of Hyrule and so much more.
Once outside again Midna immediately mounted her new beast, which had taken up a perch on the adjacent bridge network. Without pretense, Link felt two taloned feet wrap around his midsection again, and he was uplifted. "Well, those Zoras said something about the source of this problem being upstream somewhere, so why don't we just see for ourselves while we're hunting?"
Her tone seemed uncaring, but Link had learned to disregard the melodies of her voice in most situations, for he supposed that it was a way of shielding herself. Keeping an eye out for the buzz of the insect thieves, Link relaxed in the kargarok's grasp, enjoying the time to rest, even if it would be short-lived. As the bird sailed off, a coldness struck deeply within Link, and he was reminded that his fur remained wet from their fall. Yet, it was more than just his mess of hair causing the problem. A sinister chill seemed to infest the lake.
As they flew upriver—after having obtained a few tears in the immediate area—Link admired the beauty of the vast river. Although there was little water trickling down the gully, the great scale of the channel amazed Link. There were outcroppings along the edges, cut deep into the sides of the trench in the mountain that formed the great river. He had to wonder, however, how much of these formations were truly supposed to be underwater.
Halfway through the ride up the path, shimmers began appearing ahead of them. "There are insects through here," Midna shouted down to him. With that declaration she leaned into the bird, and Link braced himself. In the next moment, the kargarok breathed its wings in close and shot straight for the dangling lights that had attached themselves to the ceiling of an underground section of the river.
On Midna and Link's approach, the insects began to scatter, fluttering about in futile attempts to escape. With three well-placed snaps of his jaws, the bodies of the shadows deflated and dispersed into nothing, leaving the core of their shells to be scooped up by Midna tiny hand.
The threesome then began the climb upward, to reach the top of the river where the lands would flatten again. Upon a stiff grassy edge, the kargarok lowered Link safely. Midna leapt from the bird demon to regain her usual seat with a rather soft landing. He could feel her shiver against the air and his matted coat, but she tried to brush it aside. "Well, then. Where's the village of the Zoras? Let's look for it. But it's getting cold, so hurry up!"
Her voice snapped inside his head, and combined with the bitter sting of the rising cold, a quiver trembled down his spine momentarily. Shaking himself of the feeling, he caught a glimpse of another green form, sitting on disconnected stairs. He trudged over to a shack built into a hollow of the riverside shore and heard the woman's voice as it shook in the cold. "…those Zoras up to, anyway?" he heard her ask. "The river's run totally dry... Oh, I can't work like this." With a soggy pout, she added, "I miss my fur coat." She rubbed her arms then folded them tightly over one another. "Whoever thought renting out boats was going to be a good idea, anyway?"
She was silent for a moment, but screamed suddenly, and Link understood why.
A large glinting bug sprang out from underneath the brush beside her boat rental shop, and ran in a beeline form towards her. Before the woman had time to react, however, the bug had been stamped dead. "What? It's gone?" Her voice trailed away as she jerked down her head to hide behind her warm hands and frazzled pouf of hair. With a shrug, Midna collected the blue light that rose from the ground.
Link approached the trench behind the woman, and—looking down—realization dawned that the ditch served as a continuation of the river, for there was a bridge of wood at the bottom that Link understood connected the opposite shorelines of the river. Though, without water, the floatation raft would not succeed in its intended purpose. What made the use of this bridge more necessary was the fact that Link could see a couple green sparks dotting the bank on that side. Now his curiosity about the river turned into an investigation. Returning the water flow to the region was now a foremost priority.
Link placed his paws carefully about the edge and slid easily down into where water should have been flowing. Searching for the direction toward what Link assumed would be Zora's Domain, Link spotted the bend in the river to his right and followed the curving path past icicles and frozen spots of rock until he reached the mouth of the river.
They were on a immense stone structure, perhaps dug from the side or top of the mountains behind it. The enwrapping cliff faces were lined with sharp edges. At the highest points in the iced cavern there lay the actual sources from where Link was sure the water normally spewed, for below the opening and hanging off of some of the rock walls and ledges dangled a stiff mass of ice, most presumably a frozen waterfall that had thickened over quite swiftly from a massive burst of frigidity.
"Hey, what's going on here?" Midna asked throwing back her arms. "I thought it was getting colder, but this? Who would have thought that it would be all frozen? This is the Zora village, right? Well, why don't I see any then?" She finished her line of rhetorical questions as she scanned the area over twice. "Well," she craned sideways so that she could see Link's face, "why don't we go look for them?"
Although Link had begun to see Midna differently, he could always count on her way of speaking to him as a filthy peasant, for she had the air of pompous nobility that he had heard tell of in his bedtime stories when he was an infant. At least, she was not the one that had to freeze her feet. He could even feel that the water on the long tendrils of fur that danced below his chin had crystallized, and it was a chill that had reached his very bones.
At least, however, he was in his dragon form to keep himself warm. Midna's ebony and ivory skin surely pained her by now, for the frigid air swirled about them and pulled his muscles tight. Breaking free of his rigid posture, he regained his flexibility as he moved, and as long as he remained in motion, he knew that his body would react well with the new climate.
He cantered ahead and began his long climb up several staircases, snapping at and pouncing upon the insect thieves as they spotted them. Soon, the tears that they had thus gathered nearly consumed the vessel of light. There were not many more to recapture.
Inside, though, his vigilance paid off, for they were immediately attacked by a shadow beast. Link had begun to associate them with messengers that always seemed to bare ill tidings, for whenever he encountered these creatures, there always happened to be something needing fixed or someone needing saved.
Right away, Link ducked, crouching low enough for the long, sticky fingers to miss Midna as well. Turning to his foe, skidding on the ice, Link growled. The monster twisted its skinny body about, its lumpy joints flexing. It brought its head back in a whirl of motion, its thick, black tendrils of hair flaring about. Link did not wait any further for it to recover from his evasion, and he swooped in low, striking the creature in the midsection with a bash of his head.
The messenger floated back and slammed into the side of the cavern roughly. Ice dust coughed out from its landing and caught in Link's nose. Distracted by the heavy sneeze that followed, the messenger was then upon him. Midna crawled out from under the restrained dragon and leapt onto the creature's backside, pulling down two locks of hair as if they were the reigns of a horse. The black figure shrieked and let loose Link as it tossed its head. In the motion its hair passed in front of the dragon, and Link bit down hard on a group of three and yanked.
Another piercing cry lit Midna and Link's ears to ashes, as Link scampered backward to a manageable distance, three black and lifeless fingers of hair trailing blood from his maw. With a triumphant yelp, Midna pulled back further on its hair, and the beast wriggled to achieve liberty. But its chest had been exposed in this arched position, and Link spat out the useless extremities and charged the beast, ripping and clawing across the monster's breast.
At last the messenger heaved and fell over, inert. Its body shattered into dark shards and disappeared into the air.
Link looked to Midna, a violent yet radiant expression having overtaken her features. She returned his stare after a brief moment as she collected her breath. Link nodded his approval and thanks, but she simply turned to scoop up the vessel that had fallen from her cradling arms.
Finally, they were granted the chance to look about, and it appeared to only be a hollow in the mountainside, for there was nothing but ice. Yet with Midna's words—"Whoa. Hey! Look down below the ice!"—he redirected his gaze beneath his feet. An intake of breath served as a gasp as he found to what she referred. Below them was a pool, frozen over by the same curse as the river, yet within its cylindrical form, were the bodies of at least a hundred Zoras, paused for who knew how long in their swimming strides.
"This is really strange. What in the world happened?" asked Midna. Then she rounded on Link, disapproving of showing her discomfort at the sight. "Hey! So, what do you want to do? We can't just leave them like this." She stroked a finger across her chin. "I think all we need to do is thaw them out."
"Ah, I think there may be a way," she affirmed. She raised a hand, and each of them began to break apart. But before Link's body was jerked apart by her mysterious magic, his thoughts shifted back to the fact that she had finally included herself in the situation. Before she had only addressed problems with what he had to do to solve the trouble, but now, she was actually involving herself. And he took that as a good sign.
When Link's senses returned, he stood alongside Midna, though his surroundings had altered. Death Mountain rose up before them, the home of the Goron Mines. Link could not understand how Midna meant to solve the Zora's problem with their new location. As convenient as it would be to take up a portion of the hot lava from the mountains to melt the ice, Link knew that carrying the molten rock was impossible.
As if sensing Link's doubt, Midna giggled. "Don't you remember that rock that nearly fell flat on top of you when Darunia was taking you up to the elder?" she asked, pushing off from the ground as she faced Link. By the force of her strange magic, he hovered next to a large rock. "It's been here for a while, but it's still pretty hot."
Without a second glance toward Link, she lapsed into concentration that seemed—by the twisting of her features—to be painful. Then the rock was enveloped by undulating red magic. Link closed his eyes as he felt his body yanked apart yet again, and when he opened them, he and Midna stood once more on the construct that had been the icy Zora's Domain. The hot chunk of rock that Midna had brought along impaled the ice below it and began to slowly melt the crystals back into water.
Luckily the construct was there for Link and Midna while they watched and waited for the boulder to perform its new function. Though, the rock had thickened the air with more heat, their surroundings were still rather chill, and noticing Midna's single shiver as she sat down, Link stretched so as to nonchalantly shift closer to her. Without appearing to notice, Midna simply stared below the thawing ice at the frozen Zoras, lost in her thoughts.
Before long, larger pieces of the ice began to crack free of the whole. Link knew that their reprieve would soon be over, for now that the ice melted steadily, he and Midna would soon fall to their true task once more. "Who knew something so dangerous would come in handy," remarked Midna, as she watched.
Twitching motions soon caught the Zoras, as the chill began to peel away from their bodies to renew its flow. The volcanic rock sank deeper and deeper still until, at last, it struck the bottom and lodged into the floor of the now lake below. The water's current mostly restored, Link and Midna stood and searched about. Certainly they would find more of the insect thieves within the domain.
As Midna climbed onto his back, Link pranced off the steps that ascended into what Link thought would be the throne room and flew down to the well where many Zoras were beginning to leave to seek refuge in their village as they glimmered in that unnatural green light. Link could hear their mumbles and coughs. "Was I unconscious?" one asked himself. "Are you okay?" one inquired of another. "What of those in the Rito village?" a warrior-like one said as he leaned over. "I wonder if the downstream areas are all right," another reflected.
Just then, a red-scaled Zora that wore a blue sash and jewelry joined them, an ornamental trident on her back. "What of Vah Ruta and Lord Jabu Jabu?" she asked in a regal tone. "If the invaders did anything to them..."
The other Zoras nodded in understanding. "We understand, Princess Mipha," one of the others replied.
Link understood by most of these remarks that the people of Zora's Domain would recover, therefore; he wasted no more time in reassuring himself of the fact and searched through the entire domain for the insects he hunted.
Throughout the area Link only encountered one such dark demon, and since it appeared that it, too, had been subjected to the layers of ice, its movements were stiff and was easily overpowered.
Their duties completed, the pair made for the exit as they took a last look about the now refurbished domain. Waterfalls were again falling from above into the pool, and the decorative etchings that defined Zoran architecture could now be glimpsed on the construct. With the Zoras now adjusting to their circumstances, Link and Midna steadily paced themselves as they exited across an enormous bridge.
"Wait!" a voice shouted, calm yet grievous in tone. Halted, Link turned about.
Above the enormous bridge, a form appeared. It was not like the greenish bodies of the other fish people; its figure rippled with an elegant glow. Before them hovered a female Zora, and by the ornamentation upon the attire that adorned her body, she was one of noble stature like Mipha. The large tail-like fin that flapped down from her head swayed at the side of her body, as if to serve as a balance. Her fine hairlike fins tumbled down about her head in soft yellows and vibrant reds, and as it lay about her shoulders, it drew Link's attention to the elaborate necklace that looped about her throat and chest. The only features that seemed without sparkle were her eyes, two vessels in which Link saw much pain and atrocity. Her eyes had bore the sight of much grief; of that, Link was already sure.
"Please," she continued, noticing that they had turned, agreeing to give her ear. "You must allow me to thank you for revitalizing both my people and this spring, which is the water source for all the lands in Hyrule. In life, I was the queen of my people. I was called Rutela." Her voice remained gentle through her acceptance and declaration of her fate. It explained the nonexistence of any beams reflecting from her eyes, and it also clarified why she wore such stunning apparel.
Midna's tone, however, was much less gentle. "Not to be rude, but we didn't exactly do it for you guys." Yet this statement, to Link, was rather contradictory, for had it not been she who had proclaimed that they could not have left the Zoras in their frozen state?
Rutela's eyes darkened from their lifeless grey tint, her arms spreading out. She seemed to ignore the little imp as she continued, her beautiful gown swaying in her dimension of death. "The dark ones... They raided this village and, as a message to my people, executed me before them." Link could only imagine her past fears of knowing death would befall her so publicly. "Young man... You who take the form of a proud beast..." she said. The fins trailing down from her arms twitched slightly as she fell into a silent trance. Upon awakening a mere second later, she focused upon the dragon again. "I have something to ask of you."
Link perked up, listening closer.
"When the dark ones descended upon our village, I sent my youngest one, Ralis, to Hyrule Castle to inform Princess Zelda and Queen Hilda of our fate." There once a quiet snuff at the latter names, which Link understood to have come from Midna. Rutela had either heard her and disregarded Midna's reaction, or she had simply not noticed. Regardless, she continued on to her purpose, "But... I fear danger followed him from this doomed place. I feel it." A sorrow Link had never known overtook her voice. "His presence grows fainter to me over time... But my time in this world has passed, and though I would give it gladly, I no longer have a life to risk in his rescue." Her body began to falter in its form, fading slowly in its constant fluctuations. "Please, would you save my dearest Prince Ralis? If you accept, I will bestow upon you the protection of water, a power that will grant you the ability to swim and respire in very deep water as if you were a Zora and that of a Goron's strength and heat resistance.
"Please," she said, eyes brimming with tears that would never splash upon the earth of life. "Save my son."
Her body then became one with their surroundings, fading into the nothingness with which she had become one.
Midna's condescending tone was the first to rattle Link from his blank stare. "So, if we help her, she'll grant you the power to swim in the deep water like a Zora, huh?" She looked down to Link, her gaze breaking him of his rooted stature. "What are you going to do then, Hero? Oh, but I don't suppose you should meet the prince as a dragon." The giggle that followed was one that Link had learned to easily evade.
And with a sharp turn of his body, he departed from the elegant Zora's Domain.
Evening loomed above them, overtaking the already dimmed skies. Blinking away the cold, Link move to the edge where he had landed upon leaping from his climb up the icicle that no longer existed. In its place flowed a frigid waterfall. Actually, upon tossing a glance about, Link realized that it was not alone, for there were many falls where there had been clumps of frozen water.
The dragon chose the grassy path by which to descend, for now that the ice masses had been removed by the heat coming from Zora's Domain, many more paths could be traversed. As they made their way down to the riverside, they caught bits of conversation from the many Zoras awakening from their strange sleep. "…attacks by the shadow beasts..." "…volcanic boulder under the domain…" "…appears that the cave to Snowpeak in Hebra is still frozen; we'll have to wait a bit longer." "…need to check to see if the places that take their water from here have been affected…"
As the minutes ticked by, Link finally managed to bring them to the bend in the tunneled waterway, and upon resurfacing to the evening light, he heard another more interesting discussion. Two Zoras stood upon the natural bridge which overlooked the river and another path in the water that Link had not before noticed. He supposed that it, too, had been mired by the crust of the ice.
"Do you think Prince Ralis passed down the river?" one asked.
In reply, the other said, "He must have. This is the only waterway that connects to Hyrule Castle. Come. Let's follow this path to search for him."
Assenting, the first Zora nodded, and they dived into the river, their swishing fins carrying them out of sight.
Link pushed away the urge to follow them, for in his state, he would be of no help to the prince even if he were able to locate him. There was a more vital matter at hand, first. The restoration of light to the region needed to be completed.
Remembering the dark insects that he had seen on the opposite bank, Link quickly crossed the floating wooden bridge, and crouching down upon his stomach, he prepared to pounce upon his first victim.
Teeth met the sensitive skin of the insect's wings before it had time to escape, and with Link's second bite, he rendered it lifeless. As Link moved on to his next and last target, Midna swiped up the glowing blue tear that floated up from its dead host. Midna grabbed Link's horns as he leapt onto a slope in the bank, snapping his jaws down upon his prey. Though, this one had buzzed away just in time to only suffer a minor injury to its feeble leg.
Quick in his reaction, Link retaliated by stamping his paw down upon its wing. Trapped, it bit and stung at his limb, but Link did not relent, for its attempts at freeing itself proved futile. He clamped his maw over the head and ripped the tear free. Midna collected its light, and her voice conveyed her uncertainty. "I thought that would be the last of them, but there's still one missing. We've searched everywhere." She broke through her doubt, however, and leaned up against the scales of Link's head where she could feel him panting. "I guess it's back to the spring, huh? Maybe the spirit will have a clue." Her eye slanted as she grinned, her pointed tooth peeking out of her lips. "Or do you need more time to catch your breath?"
Growling underneath his quick breaths, he looked down the steep river which would lead them back to the spirit spring. At this angle however, he spotted of a small overhang that he had not before noticed. Upon the grassy extension there rested a rather familiar stone. Strutting up to it, he recognized the dirty, broken appearance of an ancient statue. Reading the melody engraved upon the harmonic lines, he etched the notes into his throat and sang.
The wolf howl that emanated from his vocal chords did not dismay him, however, he seemed to fall deeper into the melody, swaying his head with the music. When he blinked the river had disappeared. Remaining was the protrusion upon which he had stood, but all else had become dark, stormy. The brightness of white that he had expected could be seen in no crevice of the countryside that he overlooked. The familiar castle of Hyrule slept wearily below him, fissures of fire raging behind it in the mountains.
His attention snapped to a sudden luminescence above him, where he discovered the golden wolf who—sitting on a higher protuberance—gazed down upon him with those blearing red eyes that had seen already so much violence in the world. Expectant eyes.
Realizing, Link again howled the melody that had been imprinted into his mind. When he repeated the tune, the majestic voice of the golden wolf sang with him. The moon above twinkled and it was then that Link sensed a distinct memory of desert shine within him, though; since he had never seen the renown Gerudo Desert, he supposed that the recollection had drifted upon the music from the other wolf, the shade of an old kingdom.
When their duet died upon the frozen air, red eyes bore into the twin oceans of Link. "Let teachings of old pass to you," the golden wolf spoke, though his mouth uttered nary a syllable. "Take sword in hand and find me."
The darkness swallowed the wolf as it leapt away from the illusion. The surreal world ripped itself apart, caving in upon itself, sending Link away in the coil of fracture.
When Link regained himself within the real world, night had been set upon the land. He did not grace Midna with a glance to respond to her questioning gaze, for she had not appeared with him in that other dimension. Her only signal to clutch his fur tautly was his body's inclination toward the river.
Once again they plunged into the cold of Zora's River, the current carrying them to the Hylia River that, in turn, carried them back to Lake Hylia, Link using his wings as if they were in flight to go faster. The quick flow of the river deposited them at the middle of the lake, where the force of the waterfall crashing down from the waterway lost its power. Astonishment reigned within Link as he gaze about the refilled lake. The plump man who had been attacked by the monsters now settled upon his raft which was connected to the land by a short wooden bridge. There was also now a direct path from the surface of the water so that they could reach the spirit's cave.
Paddling toward the opening, a reflection on the water caught in his eye, but when he turned, the gleam no longer presented itself. Puzzled, Link swam over to the broken planks of wood which surrounded the location where he had noticed the reddish purple twinkle. However, any sign of its presence seemed erased. Perhaps, he concluded, there had been no gleam at all. So, he started back for the spirit spring.
That is when a buzz invaded his ears. He twitched, trying to eliminate the harsh sound, but upon tilting his head to scratch away the noise, he saw it. The gleam had turned into a whirl of pulsating red and violet sparks which circled about some invisible force. The variations in the color reminded him of the insect creatures. Cautiously, he paddled toward the humming, fractured lights. He sniffed at the oddity as he climbed aboard one of the shattered rafts. When the shimmers dove at him, he dove out of its path and turned to recognize its true identity.
Four eyes sharing the same blazing green hue, the dark insect fluttered above Link and Midna. An enlarged body spawned from its smaller form, having a bloated slug-like appearance. Six pustules erupted from the balloon of its lower body, these spots spouting forth and elongating into flabby tentacles that danced with the strange energy. Four thin yet strong wings enabled the creature to hover above them.
It rained down upon them again, but this time Link leapt onto it and bit at its soft spots. The tentacles drew his attention, and therefore, he snapped at one of them. Putrid smelling pus and blood trailed from the wound, and the bug reared, knocking Link from its belly. Angered, it dove back into the water, its violet hues shattering the surface of the lake. This, Link surmised, was what had caused him to falsely accuse the water of its former reflection. When it whipped about and drove straight toward him, he bounded away onto another plank of wood.
Immediately, the parasitic beast splashed from the water and hurled itself toward Link. Dodging, Link hopped onto its backside. The parasite reeled, trying vainly to shake Link from its fleshy back, but this only succeeded in giving Link the leverage to topple onto the beast's front once more. Digging his front claws into the spongy belly, Link clamped his jaws over two more of the flexing appendages. A growl bubbled from the bug's chattering mouth. It snapped at him, but Link crawled up its chest and heaved himself past the long, barbed legs that had also lunged for him. Once at its shoulder, Link gashed two of its wings with a thrash of his claws.
At once, the insect battled the gravity that pulled at its opposite wings, which fluttered ever more quickly in the attempt to compensate. Its effort in vain, the parasite and Link dropped and crashed into the water. It had landed upon its back, however; and though it tried to escape, Link seized the opportunity and clambered down its length. Avoiding the barbs, he ripped through the last of the dangling extremities and then dealt with the true master. With a swift pounce, Link tore its head, and its flashing green eyes oozed.
It then lay limp in the water.
But then its body began to sparkle and Link descended into the water as its burst into nothing, leaving behind a bright ray that cast off Midna's doubt. She grabbed for the tear from atop Link's wet back and settled herself against his scales.
The last of the tears had finally been collected.
Link swam to a raft and grappled on with his paws, letting his body sway in the now peaceful waters of Lake Hylia. He stared at the entrance to the spirit cave and found himself in a daze.
His humanity would soon be his again. Yet, he had begun to ponder on the notion of being a human. Every time he returned to his birth state, it felt less natural. The feel of the skin tight around him had begun to feel constraining. Whatever this new feeling really was, Link was unsure, yet he did not take pleasure in every change that had been brought upon him by the shroud of the twilight.
He wanted to reassure himself that his humanity was his identity. Yet, though his human appearance had been set upon by his birth … was it still his natural self?