Life After Legend
Chapter 9: The Valiant Beast
The sky burned a deep crimson red. Orange clouds of flame rumbled against the sky. Lightning flashed while thunder roared. The world was devoid of most plant life. Barren land stretched for most of what one could see. Towering mountains of cold stone loomed above all.
There was a Hylian lying upon the ground. He had been unconscious, but was now coming to. He awoke with a start. He was in an unfamiliar place and had no memory of how he had gotten there.
"Where am I?" he wondered aloud. As if the sound of his voice was a trigger, demons came from nowhere and started to attack the man. None of them reached the man however. Someone had come from nowhere and slain all the beasts. The newcomer was white with short green hair. He had an orange chain mail, orange shorts, and a blue cape. His oddest features were his tiger ears and tail. His weapon was a staff with a tiger claw on the tip.
"Are you okay?" the stranger asked.
"I am fine. My name is Nansen. May I learn the name of my rescuer?"
"I am known as Tigris. What are you doing in this place? You haven't been here for long since you are still a man."
Nansen relayed to Tigris the story of finding the ruined village and fighting hordes of demons and then what happened to Link.
"I see" Tigris said. "It makes sense. Let me give you a brief overlook of what is going on. There are three realms: The Highlands, the Lowlands, and the Land of Men. The Highland is above the Land of Men, and the Lowland below it. There are also three forces: the High, the good guys, the Low, the bad guys, and the Neutral. They each reside in their respective lands. The world of men is where the power of the forces mingles. The Neutrals are judges who preserve balance and reside in a cut off part of the Highland. They serve no one side but try to keep the balance of the two opposing forces at rest."
"We are in the lowland," Tigris continued. "Here evil and heresy rule. Mere men can stay as men. There are dark spirits that are in the form of mist that transform men into monsters. You obviously haven't encountered one yet. There is an artifact known as the Avalon Spike. It is used to make sure that the High and Lowlands never collide. It keeps distance between the two. If they did collide, the land of men would be turned into chaos and void. In the Highlands, it comes from the ground, and here it should come from the sky. Somehow, the low inverted it so they could use it to escape to the Land of Men. That is what you found in your world, and is why you fell through to this world. Most can't travel between the Lands, or if they can, they pass through the barrier between their Land and the Land of Men. I possess they power to go to any Land. That is why I am fixing the Avalon Spike. You should stay close to me."
The two then set off to fix the Avalon Spike. Quite soon, the spike came into view. It was a large purplish colored tower stretching toward the sky. As they neared, some dark mists descended upon them.
"It was nice to know you Nansen. Once these mists transform you, I'm going to have to kill you."
The mists descended upon Nansen. He struggled and tried to repel them but his efforts were in vain. Then, as the mists closed in on him, they were repelled by a white light. Standing there in Nansen's place was a white beast. The humanoid figure glowed white. It had pale white skin and long shaggy white hair. It's hands and feet were claw like and horns protruded from its head. It was garbed in black shorts and a black vest.
'Odd,' Tigris thought. 'I have never heard of someone becoming a demon and retaining there goodness before. This beast must have been lurking inside him before and he summoned it to defend himself against transformation.'
"Tigris," he said. "Only my body has transfigured, not my mind. Don't try to slay me."
"Fine then," was Tigris's reply. "Let's move on." As the two closed in on the Avalon Spike, hordes of demons came from the ground and attacked them. Tigris and Nansen attacked and destroyed demon after demon. "There are too many. I can't reach the tower without killing you."
Nansen then fell back. He launched himself at the mob of demons with his hands over his head forming a wedge. He sped through until he reached the tower. He then grabbed it by the base and hoisted it up. With much strain, he ripped it from the ground. Nansen flipped the tower upside down and charge into the sky. The tower connected with the sky as if though the sky was solid. A great burst of energy was sent rippling through the Lowlands. It obliterated all of the demons. Tigris was sent flying back.
When all was clear again, Tigris looked towards the sky. He saw no living thing. The sky was empty except for the protruding Avalon Spike.
From afar, someone looked on. He had heard and seen everything. What a tale this would make. The black fairy started to grin as he chuckled to himself, "Wait till the judges hear about this."