Darkness.
Nothing more, nothing less than an all-encompassing blackness. Not only in terms of colour or lack thereof, but a sensation, an instinctive feeling. Not a thing to be feared, it imbues a sense of security and comfort, like a child wrapped in a snug blanket. A figure drifts in the center, feeling singularly at ease as a tremendous sensation of well being envelopes him. But it does not last.
In the darkness a single pinprick of pure brilliant light opens. Tiny, but blinding nonetheless. The figure stirs, torn between wanting to experience it, and the familiar comfort of the darkness. It begins to grow; the pinprick grows to a tear, to an opening. The darkness recedes as the light floods in, and it consumes him.
And, like the slow stirring of a heavy sleeper roused from a comfortable slumber, he slowly wakens. Too soon to open his eyes, he tries to identify by touch, feeling sand on his face, coarse and gritty. There is water lapping around the lower half of his body, and there is the heat of the sun on his back. Unable to hear anything other than the splashing of the waves and the beating of his heart, he slowly opens his eyes, plants his palms in the sand and forces his body upwards, bringing his legs in so he was able to kneel upright. More light, natural light this time, not the brilliance of before but still, it hurt his eyes, so he shields them with his hand until they adjust. As they do, he is presented with his first view of the surroundings; he is lying alone on a beach, clothes soaked from the seawater. The beach is a tropical one, white sand, palm trees and clear water. As he struggled to his feet, still groggy from sleep, he tried to recall where he was, but the place was not familiar. Here he was, new to this land but how did he get here? He seemed to have lost all memory of the chain of events that transpired to bring him here. He tried to think back, but every time he tried to access a memory, it vanished. He began to panic, grabbing at strands, trying to remember a time before, but his life is like the hazy recollection of half-remembered dream, and the more he tried to remember, the more he forgot. As all he knew slipped away from him, he was faced with the horrible truth.
He is lost, within and without.
Reeling from this revelation, he staggered backwards and tilted his head skywards in a desperate, silent scream, but as his vision was directed upwards he saw, saw... it.
Words could not describe its natural beauty. A mile or so inland, a gargantuan cylindrical column of rock stretches skyward. But, it shines, sends out light in all directions like a beacon or lighthouse. How can this be? Then, as clouds hid the sun, he could see than the pillar was not purely of rock, but also of crystal. It ran through the rock like a spider web, giving the impression that this massive rock had been shattered into a thousand pieces, but had been rebuilt using the crystal to fill the cracks. And then, the sun emerged once more, and again, reflecting the sunlight, the crystal monolith shone and sparkled, and bathed the land in its beauty. His fears, his apprehensions melted away, and he was utterly mesmerised...
He must have stood for an hour or more, just staring before he snapped out of it. Blinking his eyes, his survival instincts kicked in. There was no wreckage on the beach that would indicate a shipwreck, and therefore nothing he could salvage. He checked himself, no injuries asides from muscle fatigue and a curious numb pain in the center of his chest, but no wounds. His tunic was almost dry, and as he brushed the sand off it, he spotted a odd golden tattoo on the back of his hand, three triangles forming a larger one, one of the smaller triangles more prominent that the others. As he touched it with his other hand, images blazed a trail through his mind. A girl in a pink and white dress with a tattoo on her hand too, a huge armoured man with blazing eyes, also with a tattoo. A sword in its pedestal. The images left him as quickly as they had came, leaving him with only an echo of a whisper of a word, Ryforce? Triforge? He had to put these questions out of his mind; his survival had to come first. He decided to venture inland through the rainforest ahead of him.
He pushed through the rainforest, making his way through the dense undergrowth as best he could, and suddenly he noticed that there were no birds, no animals, nothing all living other than him. That wasn't right, he thought, an island like this should be teeming with life! There wasn't so much as a mosquito trying to bite him. After a further few minutes trek he came across a stream. Thankful for clean water, he washed his face and drank deeply from it. Then suddenly, another vision gripped him. Water, a lake full of water, a small island in the middle, an entrance below it. Water again, this time in, in a fountain, a floating figure of light rising out of it and speaking to him without words. Then the lake again, the setting sun reflected off of the water's surface, but what was it called? Then as the vision faded, a voice, clearer this time, "Lake Hylia..."
Lake Hylia? As he shook his head to clear his mind, the sun really had begun to set. How long had the vision lasted? There was no way of knowing for sure at the moment. He followed the stream until, unexpectedly, it ended as a waterfall over a small cliff ahead. The sun was behind him, the crystal monolith ahead, and as the light of sunset was reflected it was a wonderful sight to behold. Then a soft breeze blew, running its airy finger through his hair, and more flashes of memory returned to him. The breeze, a huge field, a compound in the middle, a walled town with drawbridge. Then the voice as each image passed, "Hyrule field, Lon Lon Ranch, Hyrule town". But then the images repeated, and he heard two more names; "Malon, Zelda", and at hearing them, he knew something was wrong. They were in danger, they needed him, and he wasn't there for them. But where was there, and where in relation to here, and for that matter where was here? Once more the images faded.
It was night-time now, the sky was clear but there were no stars were shining. But somehow, the atmosphere had changed. Darkness was all around, not merely the black of night. He felt shivers up his spine, and in his mind, he sensed the presence of another. No animal, no bird, but another being like him. A terrible feeling of urgency gnawed him; he had to reach the crystal monolith. His visions would have to wait. But it was too dark, with no stars and no moon there was perfect night. He stepped forward, unsure of his position in relation to the waterfall, and fell off the edge. He hit the water and went under, began kicking wildly to reach up to the air. He broke the surface and gasped in the oxygen he needed, and started swimming blindly in one direction until he hit the shallows. He stood up and walked on to solid ground, only to trip over a rock and crash into the dirt. This was ridiculous. How was he supposed to get anywhere like this, without light? Then, as if were reading his thoughts, that same voice replied. "You are the light. Focus that light and release it." He had no idea what the voice meant, but he was all out of better ideas. He struggled to his feet once more, and tried to focus his mind on the light. At first, there was nothing, only the feeling of total idiocy as he stood there, in the dark, dripping wet with his eyes shut like it made a difference and his arms outstretched. Then, as he forgot about how stupid he felt and began to really concentrate, the unbelievable happened. He no longer felt wet and cold. He opened one eye, then the other, to see light all around him piercing the darkness. What was more incredible was the fact that the light was coming from him. He lifted up his arm, it was glowing, pure, white light, as was the rest of him. He pushed with his mind, trying to enlarge the aura of light around him, and it grew as he concentrated. He could see! He could make out in the huge silhouette ahead; he was close. The forest was thinning out now; he broke into a run clearing the last few trees and across the open plain that lay between him and his goal. As he raced closer, illuminating the area as he went, he somehow knew that the other being must be doing the exact same thing on the other side. This feeling of duality was disconcerting, but he pushed on. As he finally reached the foot of the monolith he realised there was no way in. In his own mind he questioned this, why had he expected there to be a way in? It was huge colossus of rock and crystal, why would there be an inside? But as his eyes searched the rock face and its crystal strata, his gaze fell upon what looked like the imprint of a hand. He shook his head. This was no ordinary island. Everything had been planned; he was just following the path that seemed to be laid out for him. He pressed his hand into the imprint; there was a rumble, and a section of rock collapsed, revealing a passageway. He shook his head incredulously once more. "Be kind O fate" he muttered, and walked inside.
His breath was snatched away as he entered the interior. All trace of rock had gone, and what was left was nothing less than a cathedral of crystal. There was a solid column in the center with a platform at the very top, and all around it curved a maze of gravity defying paths, twisting and turning their way the upper reaches of the monolith. But the other being was here too, and at this proximity he realised, If I am the Light, then he is the Darkness. And he could feel it, resonating through the crystal, but his light was there too, keeping balance. He saw to his left a slope leading up to the aerial maze above, and he made his run for it. And as he began to scale the interior, they could see each other. He was following his own path, running like a man possessed for the platform. They were even, as it seemed they had always been. He felt his path steepen, yet his feet held to it firm. The path forked ahead, he took the higher one, only to realise it dipped again soon after. With no time to turn back, he took his chances and leaped for a nearby walkway that showed more promise and made it perfectly. He began to wonder if it were possible for him to fall, but decided not to take his chances. The dark figure came into view again, only to raise an arm in his direction and shoot some kind of ball of dark energy. He rolled forwards and carried on, the attack hitting the wall behind him. Two can play at that game, he thought, I've got an aura too. He raised his own arm at the path the other was running on and focused on projecting his energy in a ball. And, sure enough, an attack of his own shot forth, slamming into the area just before the dark man's feet. The section of the path collapsed, but his adversary had reacted and jumped the gap. But now the dark man was trailing him, he was higher. He was about three-quarters of the way up, the platform drew ever closer, but then the path exploded underneath him and sent him flying. The dark man had destroyed it from underneath. He flailed as he fell, trying to grab something, but before he had been falling long his hands gripped something. He was hanging onto the outer wall with no visible support. What is this? He thought, can my aura grip the crystal? It seemed so, as he started to climb, slow at first, but as he found his confidence, faster. Once he had reached a point near where he had fallen, he kicked off of the wall and landed on walkway. No need to take the paths, he realised, I can do this freestyle. He jumped to the center column, climbed and pushed off, grabbing the underside of another and swinging round to land on top. He ran along and then jumped straight up to grab a path that passed above. Once on top of this he backflipped on to one closer to the central column and turned to see that this was the final pathway that lead directly to the top. He broke into a sprint and jumped the gap and landed on the uppermost platform. He had made it. There was a large shard of crystal in the center of the platform, and as he looked around, a hand grabbed the edge of the platform. The dark figure pulled himself up, as he looked him straight in the face. His face. Their faces were the same! Both reeled back in shock, neither at all comprehending this final twist. He looked back to the shard. It had two hand imprints. The dark figure was the first to speak.
"Do it. Let's end this madness."
They walked to either side of the shard and placed their hands in the indentations. And like a floodgate being opened, where by the visions of before were but trickles, now a tidal wave of memories rushed his mind, full recollection was granted him, and he was his true self once more.
He was Link. The Hero of Time, the Defender of Hyrule. Bearer of the Force of Courage. He had used its power to merge their dying bodies, to combine their power and turn it on Ganondorf. But Dark Link had survived, and the mind of the new body had been inhabited by both, and now they must decide who would remain.
"You bastard. You merged us!"
"And you stabbed me in the back. I guess that makes us even."
"You didn't bet on my consciousness remaining. Only one of us will awaken fool, and I plan on it being me. I will kill that traitor Erin, and deliver the Force of Courage to Ganondorf."
"Which is exactly why I'm going to stop you. Our battle ends here for the last time."
The two stepped around the side of the shard to face each other, each moving into a fighting stance. Link could feel the air was laden with energy, two forces, equal and opposite facing each other down. Link focused, his aura beginning to glow. Dark Link followed suit, a black cloud of charge outlining him. And then it begun. They launched themselves at each other with lightning speed, Link punching, Dark Link blocking. And as their swords had done before, their energies discharged, sparks flying between them. Dark Link spun on one heel, his other leg swinging in a roundhouse kick at head height, but Link had ducked, and tried to sweep his legs out from under him with a kick of his own, only for him to react and back-flip out of the way. And as soon as Dark Link landed, he threw himself at Link once more, but this time landing to the side, swinging round and uppercutting Link in the ribs, who countered by elbowing him in the cheekbone. Recovering quickly, Dark Link brought his knee up and caught Link in the base of the spine, causing him to drop to his knees with an agonised curse. Seeing his opponent prone, he raised his hands above his head and brought them down in a double fisted thump meant his neck, but Link rolled to one side and kicked him hard in the lower leg, sending him down hard. Soon both were one their feet and facing off once more. Both their palms locked together in a test of strength, trying to push each other back or to their knees, but neither budged nor backed down. As they pushed against each other with everything they had, their power fields grew in intensity, the crackling rising to a roaring of discharging energy balancing each other out, a fierce bombardment of raw force. The entire structure began to shake, the crystal resonating with furious intensity. As each combatant still drove into the other, the crystal began to lose integrity, hairline cracks turning to large fractures lacing the whole outer wall. The complex web of pathways collapsed one by one, smashing others in their descent and finally crashing into the floor far below. The whole monolith was coming apart, unable to withstand the intensity of the battle. But the power fields continued to increase and expand, the fighters heedless of the consequences of the structure collapsing. Link found his strength beginning to falter, giving way to Dark Link by millimetres, tiny but terrifying. He knew the cost of failure, Dark Link would take control of the new body and kill Erin, Ganondorf would possess the whole Triforce, Zelda would die, along with Malon and countless others. Hyrule would fall under his control for all time and no-one would be able to oppose him. As he saw in his minds eye all this and more, he found the inner strength to resist. His slow slide stopped, and he realised he was growling under his breath. He tapped in further to that inner strength, let it come to the surface, and then, with a roar from the depths of his soul, he released it in one mighty barrage. His aura, already sizeable, expanded rapidly, white lightning crackling across the surface. And then, in a split second the entire outer wall, the roof, every part of the monolith save the center column exploded outward in a maelstrom of shattered crystal and rock. The debris rained down over the entire island. But it was still night outside, and suddenly Dark Link, who had begun to falter seemed to be revitalised by the darkness, and with a outpouring of black rage they were even again. But seeing no way to win in this stalemate, he released from Link's grip, and catching him off guard punched him hard in the gut. Link went down on one knee, and Dark Link followed up with a flurry of punches and kicks to his torso and head. Link fell, his energy gone, his aura almost invisible. He landed on his back near the edge of the platform, his head tilted back over the edge. Dark Link stood over him in triumph.
"Looks like luck wasn't on your side brother. Game over, I win, you lose, you die. Look, the darkness is everywhere. Darkness can exist with no trace of Light, but with Light there are always shadows. That is why you can never win. To eradicate all trace of Darkness is impossible, because it is natural, and a part of human nature. Light is created, attained, and can be extinguished just as easily. Just as I extinguish your light. Goodbye brother."
Dark Link stooped over Link, one arm pulled back, ready to plunge forth and pluck out Link's heart. But then, on the far horizon, dawn began to break, rays of morning light struck the column, played over the pair. Dark Link stumbled back, the light hurting his eyes. And, just as the black of night re-energised Dark Link, the break of day imbued Link with a new-found reserve of life force. He brought his hands to his chest, and willed his new energy into them. With one he reached up and grabbed the front of Dark Links cloak, holding him in place.
"Just because Light has to be attained or created does not make it unnatural. It makes it a rarer, more valuable thing. It gives life, and true strength, not an empty parody. But you will never understand that. Goodbye, BROTHER!"
Link summoned all his power into his other hand, outstretched his arm and placed it on Dark Link's chest, and released the light. Dark Link was shot into the air on a beam of white energy, propelled higher and higher, until, with an unholy, terrible scream, the beam detonated in an explosion of light. Dark Link was disintegrated, his spirit destroyed for all time.
Finally, Link understood everything. This island was his mindscape, representing his unconscious mind. And the crystal, so sparkling and brilliant was crippling him, created by the overloading presence of two consciousnesses in one mind. But now only one remained, but so did the crystal. The column, the shard. Link walked the center shard, raised his fist high and brought down hard. The large shard shattered, falling into pieces that faded away and disappeared. The platform, the entire column began to crack and fall away and vanish. The base of the column exploded and everything above it followed suit. As the floor fell out from beneath his feet, Link remained in mid-air watching as the last chunks of crystal crashed the ground and faded out of existence. He was free. He looked up into the sky, and began to rise. He stretched out his arms as he soared into the sky, his body and mind healed and re-united as he closed his eyes and woke up.
Nothing more, nothing less than an all-encompassing blackness. Not only in terms of colour or lack thereof, but a sensation, an instinctive feeling. Not a thing to be feared, it imbues a sense of security and comfort, like a child wrapped in a snug blanket. A figure drifts in the center, feeling singularly at ease as a tremendous sensation of well being envelopes him. But it does not last.
In the darkness a single pinprick of pure brilliant light opens. Tiny, but blinding nonetheless. The figure stirs, torn between wanting to experience it, and the familiar comfort of the darkness. It begins to grow; the pinprick grows to a tear, to an opening. The darkness recedes as the light floods in, and it consumes him.
And, like the slow stirring of a heavy sleeper roused from a comfortable slumber, he slowly wakens. Too soon to open his eyes, he tries to identify by touch, feeling sand on his face, coarse and gritty. There is water lapping around the lower half of his body, and there is the heat of the sun on his back. Unable to hear anything other than the splashing of the waves and the beating of his heart, he slowly opens his eyes, plants his palms in the sand and forces his body upwards, bringing his legs in so he was able to kneel upright. More light, natural light this time, not the brilliance of before but still, it hurt his eyes, so he shields them with his hand until they adjust. As they do, he is presented with his first view of the surroundings; he is lying alone on a beach, clothes soaked from the seawater. The beach is a tropical one, white sand, palm trees and clear water. As he struggled to his feet, still groggy from sleep, he tried to recall where he was, but the place was not familiar. Here he was, new to this land but how did he get here? He seemed to have lost all memory of the chain of events that transpired to bring him here. He tried to think back, but every time he tried to access a memory, it vanished. He began to panic, grabbing at strands, trying to remember a time before, but his life is like the hazy recollection of half-remembered dream, and the more he tried to remember, the more he forgot. As all he knew slipped away from him, he was faced with the horrible truth.
He is lost, within and without.
Reeling from this revelation, he staggered backwards and tilted his head skywards in a desperate, silent scream, but as his vision was directed upwards he saw, saw... it.
Words could not describe its natural beauty. A mile or so inland, a gargantuan cylindrical column of rock stretches skyward. But, it shines, sends out light in all directions like a beacon or lighthouse. How can this be? Then, as clouds hid the sun, he could see than the pillar was not purely of rock, but also of crystal. It ran through the rock like a spider web, giving the impression that this massive rock had been shattered into a thousand pieces, but had been rebuilt using the crystal to fill the cracks. And then, the sun emerged once more, and again, reflecting the sunlight, the crystal monolith shone and sparkled, and bathed the land in its beauty. His fears, his apprehensions melted away, and he was utterly mesmerised...
He must have stood for an hour or more, just staring before he snapped out of it. Blinking his eyes, his survival instincts kicked in. There was no wreckage on the beach that would indicate a shipwreck, and therefore nothing he could salvage. He checked himself, no injuries asides from muscle fatigue and a curious numb pain in the center of his chest, but no wounds. His tunic was almost dry, and as he brushed the sand off it, he spotted a odd golden tattoo on the back of his hand, three triangles forming a larger one, one of the smaller triangles more prominent that the others. As he touched it with his other hand, images blazed a trail through his mind. A girl in a pink and white dress with a tattoo on her hand too, a huge armoured man with blazing eyes, also with a tattoo. A sword in its pedestal. The images left him as quickly as they had came, leaving him with only an echo of a whisper of a word, Ryforce? Triforge? He had to put these questions out of his mind; his survival had to come first. He decided to venture inland through the rainforest ahead of him.
He pushed through the rainforest, making his way through the dense undergrowth as best he could, and suddenly he noticed that there were no birds, no animals, nothing all living other than him. That wasn't right, he thought, an island like this should be teeming with life! There wasn't so much as a mosquito trying to bite him. After a further few minutes trek he came across a stream. Thankful for clean water, he washed his face and drank deeply from it. Then suddenly, another vision gripped him. Water, a lake full of water, a small island in the middle, an entrance below it. Water again, this time in, in a fountain, a floating figure of light rising out of it and speaking to him without words. Then the lake again, the setting sun reflected off of the water's surface, but what was it called? Then as the vision faded, a voice, clearer this time, "Lake Hylia..."
Lake Hylia? As he shook his head to clear his mind, the sun really had begun to set. How long had the vision lasted? There was no way of knowing for sure at the moment. He followed the stream until, unexpectedly, it ended as a waterfall over a small cliff ahead. The sun was behind him, the crystal monolith ahead, and as the light of sunset was reflected it was a wonderful sight to behold. Then a soft breeze blew, running its airy finger through his hair, and more flashes of memory returned to him. The breeze, a huge field, a compound in the middle, a walled town with drawbridge. Then the voice as each image passed, "Hyrule field, Lon Lon Ranch, Hyrule town". But then the images repeated, and he heard two more names; "Malon, Zelda", and at hearing them, he knew something was wrong. They were in danger, they needed him, and he wasn't there for them. But where was there, and where in relation to here, and for that matter where was here? Once more the images faded.
It was night-time now, the sky was clear but there were no stars were shining. But somehow, the atmosphere had changed. Darkness was all around, not merely the black of night. He felt shivers up his spine, and in his mind, he sensed the presence of another. No animal, no bird, but another being like him. A terrible feeling of urgency gnawed him; he had to reach the crystal monolith. His visions would have to wait. But it was too dark, with no stars and no moon there was perfect night. He stepped forward, unsure of his position in relation to the waterfall, and fell off the edge. He hit the water and went under, began kicking wildly to reach up to the air. He broke the surface and gasped in the oxygen he needed, and started swimming blindly in one direction until he hit the shallows. He stood up and walked on to solid ground, only to trip over a rock and crash into the dirt. This was ridiculous. How was he supposed to get anywhere like this, without light? Then, as if were reading his thoughts, that same voice replied. "You are the light. Focus that light and release it." He had no idea what the voice meant, but he was all out of better ideas. He struggled to his feet once more, and tried to focus his mind on the light. At first, there was nothing, only the feeling of total idiocy as he stood there, in the dark, dripping wet with his eyes shut like it made a difference and his arms outstretched. Then, as he forgot about how stupid he felt and began to really concentrate, the unbelievable happened. He no longer felt wet and cold. He opened one eye, then the other, to see light all around him piercing the darkness. What was more incredible was the fact that the light was coming from him. He lifted up his arm, it was glowing, pure, white light, as was the rest of him. He pushed with his mind, trying to enlarge the aura of light around him, and it grew as he concentrated. He could see! He could make out in the huge silhouette ahead; he was close. The forest was thinning out now; he broke into a run clearing the last few trees and across the open plain that lay between him and his goal. As he raced closer, illuminating the area as he went, he somehow knew that the other being must be doing the exact same thing on the other side. This feeling of duality was disconcerting, but he pushed on. As he finally reached the foot of the monolith he realised there was no way in. In his own mind he questioned this, why had he expected there to be a way in? It was huge colossus of rock and crystal, why would there be an inside? But as his eyes searched the rock face and its crystal strata, his gaze fell upon what looked like the imprint of a hand. He shook his head. This was no ordinary island. Everything had been planned; he was just following the path that seemed to be laid out for him. He pressed his hand into the imprint; there was a rumble, and a section of rock collapsed, revealing a passageway. He shook his head incredulously once more. "Be kind O fate" he muttered, and walked inside.
His breath was snatched away as he entered the interior. All trace of rock had gone, and what was left was nothing less than a cathedral of crystal. There was a solid column in the center with a platform at the very top, and all around it curved a maze of gravity defying paths, twisting and turning their way the upper reaches of the monolith. But the other being was here too, and at this proximity he realised, If I am the Light, then he is the Darkness. And he could feel it, resonating through the crystal, but his light was there too, keeping balance. He saw to his left a slope leading up to the aerial maze above, and he made his run for it. And as he began to scale the interior, they could see each other. He was following his own path, running like a man possessed for the platform. They were even, as it seemed they had always been. He felt his path steepen, yet his feet held to it firm. The path forked ahead, he took the higher one, only to realise it dipped again soon after. With no time to turn back, he took his chances and leaped for a nearby walkway that showed more promise and made it perfectly. He began to wonder if it were possible for him to fall, but decided not to take his chances. The dark figure came into view again, only to raise an arm in his direction and shoot some kind of ball of dark energy. He rolled forwards and carried on, the attack hitting the wall behind him. Two can play at that game, he thought, I've got an aura too. He raised his own arm at the path the other was running on and focused on projecting his energy in a ball. And, sure enough, an attack of his own shot forth, slamming into the area just before the dark man's feet. The section of the path collapsed, but his adversary had reacted and jumped the gap. But now the dark man was trailing him, he was higher. He was about three-quarters of the way up, the platform drew ever closer, but then the path exploded underneath him and sent him flying. The dark man had destroyed it from underneath. He flailed as he fell, trying to grab something, but before he had been falling long his hands gripped something. He was hanging onto the outer wall with no visible support. What is this? He thought, can my aura grip the crystal? It seemed so, as he started to climb, slow at first, but as he found his confidence, faster. Once he had reached a point near where he had fallen, he kicked off of the wall and landed on walkway. No need to take the paths, he realised, I can do this freestyle. He jumped to the center column, climbed and pushed off, grabbing the underside of another and swinging round to land on top. He ran along and then jumped straight up to grab a path that passed above. Once on top of this he backflipped on to one closer to the central column and turned to see that this was the final pathway that lead directly to the top. He broke into a sprint and jumped the gap and landed on the uppermost platform. He had made it. There was a large shard of crystal in the center of the platform, and as he looked around, a hand grabbed the edge of the platform. The dark figure pulled himself up, as he looked him straight in the face. His face. Their faces were the same! Both reeled back in shock, neither at all comprehending this final twist. He looked back to the shard. It had two hand imprints. The dark figure was the first to speak.
"Do it. Let's end this madness."
They walked to either side of the shard and placed their hands in the indentations. And like a floodgate being opened, where by the visions of before were but trickles, now a tidal wave of memories rushed his mind, full recollection was granted him, and he was his true self once more.
He was Link. The Hero of Time, the Defender of Hyrule. Bearer of the Force of Courage. He had used its power to merge their dying bodies, to combine their power and turn it on Ganondorf. But Dark Link had survived, and the mind of the new body had been inhabited by both, and now they must decide who would remain.
"You bastard. You merged us!"
"And you stabbed me in the back. I guess that makes us even."
"You didn't bet on my consciousness remaining. Only one of us will awaken fool, and I plan on it being me. I will kill that traitor Erin, and deliver the Force of Courage to Ganondorf."
"Which is exactly why I'm going to stop you. Our battle ends here for the last time."
The two stepped around the side of the shard to face each other, each moving into a fighting stance. Link could feel the air was laden with energy, two forces, equal and opposite facing each other down. Link focused, his aura beginning to glow. Dark Link followed suit, a black cloud of charge outlining him. And then it begun. They launched themselves at each other with lightning speed, Link punching, Dark Link blocking. And as their swords had done before, their energies discharged, sparks flying between them. Dark Link spun on one heel, his other leg swinging in a roundhouse kick at head height, but Link had ducked, and tried to sweep his legs out from under him with a kick of his own, only for him to react and back-flip out of the way. And as soon as Dark Link landed, he threw himself at Link once more, but this time landing to the side, swinging round and uppercutting Link in the ribs, who countered by elbowing him in the cheekbone. Recovering quickly, Dark Link brought his knee up and caught Link in the base of the spine, causing him to drop to his knees with an agonised curse. Seeing his opponent prone, he raised his hands above his head and brought them down in a double fisted thump meant his neck, but Link rolled to one side and kicked him hard in the lower leg, sending him down hard. Soon both were one their feet and facing off once more. Both their palms locked together in a test of strength, trying to push each other back or to their knees, but neither budged nor backed down. As they pushed against each other with everything they had, their power fields grew in intensity, the crackling rising to a roaring of discharging energy balancing each other out, a fierce bombardment of raw force. The entire structure began to shake, the crystal resonating with furious intensity. As each combatant still drove into the other, the crystal began to lose integrity, hairline cracks turning to large fractures lacing the whole outer wall. The complex web of pathways collapsed one by one, smashing others in their descent and finally crashing into the floor far below. The whole monolith was coming apart, unable to withstand the intensity of the battle. But the power fields continued to increase and expand, the fighters heedless of the consequences of the structure collapsing. Link found his strength beginning to falter, giving way to Dark Link by millimetres, tiny but terrifying. He knew the cost of failure, Dark Link would take control of the new body and kill Erin, Ganondorf would possess the whole Triforce, Zelda would die, along with Malon and countless others. Hyrule would fall under his control for all time and no-one would be able to oppose him. As he saw in his minds eye all this and more, he found the inner strength to resist. His slow slide stopped, and he realised he was growling under his breath. He tapped in further to that inner strength, let it come to the surface, and then, with a roar from the depths of his soul, he released it in one mighty barrage. His aura, already sizeable, expanded rapidly, white lightning crackling across the surface. And then, in a split second the entire outer wall, the roof, every part of the monolith save the center column exploded outward in a maelstrom of shattered crystal and rock. The debris rained down over the entire island. But it was still night outside, and suddenly Dark Link, who had begun to falter seemed to be revitalised by the darkness, and with a outpouring of black rage they were even again. But seeing no way to win in this stalemate, he released from Link's grip, and catching him off guard punched him hard in the gut. Link went down on one knee, and Dark Link followed up with a flurry of punches and kicks to his torso and head. Link fell, his energy gone, his aura almost invisible. He landed on his back near the edge of the platform, his head tilted back over the edge. Dark Link stood over him in triumph.
"Looks like luck wasn't on your side brother. Game over, I win, you lose, you die. Look, the darkness is everywhere. Darkness can exist with no trace of Light, but with Light there are always shadows. That is why you can never win. To eradicate all trace of Darkness is impossible, because it is natural, and a part of human nature. Light is created, attained, and can be extinguished just as easily. Just as I extinguish your light. Goodbye brother."
Dark Link stooped over Link, one arm pulled back, ready to plunge forth and pluck out Link's heart. But then, on the far horizon, dawn began to break, rays of morning light struck the column, played over the pair. Dark Link stumbled back, the light hurting his eyes. And, just as the black of night re-energised Dark Link, the break of day imbued Link with a new-found reserve of life force. He brought his hands to his chest, and willed his new energy into them. With one he reached up and grabbed the front of Dark Links cloak, holding him in place.
"Just because Light has to be attained or created does not make it unnatural. It makes it a rarer, more valuable thing. It gives life, and true strength, not an empty parody. But you will never understand that. Goodbye, BROTHER!"
Link summoned all his power into his other hand, outstretched his arm and placed it on Dark Link's chest, and released the light. Dark Link was shot into the air on a beam of white energy, propelled higher and higher, until, with an unholy, terrible scream, the beam detonated in an explosion of light. Dark Link was disintegrated, his spirit destroyed for all time.
Finally, Link understood everything. This island was his mindscape, representing his unconscious mind. And the crystal, so sparkling and brilliant was crippling him, created by the overloading presence of two consciousnesses in one mind. But now only one remained, but so did the crystal. The column, the shard. Link walked the center shard, raised his fist high and brought down hard. The large shard shattered, falling into pieces that faded away and disappeared. The platform, the entire column began to crack and fall away and vanish. The base of the column exploded and everything above it followed suit. As the floor fell out from beneath his feet, Link remained in mid-air watching as the last chunks of crystal crashed the ground and faded out of existence. He was free. He looked up into the sky, and began to rise. He stretched out his arms as he soared into the sky, his body and mind healed and re-united as he closed his eyes and woke up.
