"You've (ou've) d-done -ell to com-ete the -rial (trial)." The stilted, distorted-Farore voice from everywhere and nowhere that had spoken to him… was it only yesterday?... managed to sound proud to his ears. "I -ill nnnow -eturn your things (-ings), as I -omised (promissssst)."

As the sibilant hiss faded, he suddenly felt much warmer— his clothes, shoes, and hat having returned as quickly as they'd gone, not to mention the reassuring weight of the Dark Master Sword and Hylian shield at his back; he couldn't resist reaching back to touch the handle, grip it. He let go again, relief breaking over him at the simple fact of having done it. He'd faced the island with nothing but his wits and what he could find and he'd come out the other side— tired and sore, sure. But also warm inside with something which he recognized could only be pride— the unfamiliar emotion a tender sprout unfurling in his chest.

"Shadow Link," came Navi's voice, and he'd never admit to her how happy it made him just then but she sounded… off. She'd appeared in the air not far from him, her glow a strange green, and while it was her mouth moving and her voice speaking, the words coming out were certainly not hers. At least through her, the echoing distortion ceased: "You have passed the Trial of Eventide. At this point, it is customary that you be given something to assist you on your journey, and I will fulfill that promise. However, a creature of darkness lingers with its minions in Koholit Rock, stifling the air and blocking out the sun. If you can successfully rout the evil still inhabiting this island, I will bestow upon you a special gift."

That piqued his interest, but Navi was already visibly shaking herself. "Oh, Hylia, that was strange," she said, voice back to normal and glow returning to her normal blue that lit more than just the few inches of space it touched physically. She focused on him and a huge grin broke over her tiny face. "Shadow Link! You did it!"

He opened his mouth to reply but just then a pretty, joyful tune sounded from somewhere and a Heart Container appeared, spinning in the air not far from his chest. He reached out to touch it and it sparkled out of existence with a flourish of gold. Warmth suffused his chest and rippled out to his limbs, easing all his aches, pains, and tiredness as it went.

"Ah," he sighed, relieved. "Much better." He looked at Navi again, but his attention was caught instead by a Fairy twinkling to itself a few feet away. "Hey," he said, lifting his chin in its direction.

"Oh!" Navi whispered. "Okay. Now, move very slowly; grab out your empty jar and capture the Fairy in it!"

"Wouldn't it make more sense for you to just use magic or, you know, go and wrestle with it?"

"That's not how they work; magical interference spooks them worse than quick movements from you. So if you want it— and you do— then it's on you to get it."

He sighed but did as she said, feeling the mantle of security settle over him again as he tucked the glowing jar into his pack, which he patted lightly after he'd closed it, shuddering as the memory of bleeding out washed over him. He shook off the feeling and looked at Navi again. "So you were able to watch me?"

"Yes. It was like I was watching on a screen; I could see you perfectly, but couldn't interact in any way. I'd have warned you that the Chuchus would explode."

"Chuchus?"

"Or just Chus for short— they're the blob creatures."

"Thank you, that was driving me crazy."

"Their jelly can be used to make elixirs."

"That's gross."

She shrugged. "It's like the Korok Seeds— if you ignore what they are, they just… are."

"I guess so. I feel like I haven't spoken in forever."

"It has been a while. You mostly just swore to yourself."

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

"Oh, and the dark, parasitic creatures are Shadow Beasts—"

"Oh, hey— that's one of the things I was calling them in my head," he informed her.

"It makes sense," she nodded. "They're Twili— people from the Twilight Realm— who've been corrupted; they've lost their spark or had it taken away. Which confirms one of the theories I had about what's happened here."

"And that is…?"

"That someone has placed a Twilight Mirror on top of Koholit Rock and is using the life forces of the captive Zora to keep the gate open, letting the Twilight pour in and blot out the sun. We must be thankful it has not expanded to greater Hyrule."

A memory came to him then, strong and sure. "Midna, Princess of Twilight." The sword on his back jerked forcefully, once, into his shoulder. He glanced at it out of the corner of his eye before frowning at Navi. "A Twilight Mirror like you said we'd need to check on Midna?" He swore the jewel sparkled at him in his peripheral vision.

"Precisely." Navi was looking at it, too; had she noticed?

"So we'll be able to do that?"

"I'm not sure. I hope so."

"What's it like there?"

She looked at him again. "It's not so different from the Hyrule you know, except for the constant dusk. The Twili are descendants of a tribe of Hylian sorcerers who had attempted to use their magic to claim the Triforce and were banished to the Twilight Realm, forever living in the shadow of Hyrule. There they evolved, acclimating to their surroundings and eventually thriving. They lost their most powerful abilities but retained some magic; they built a leadership structure and have been living peacefully for thousands of years."

The sword on the Shadow's back jerked again then, very deliberately, twice— once to each side. Navi tilted her tiny head. "Oh, how strange." They waited for a few moments, but the sword stayed quiet, apparently done with its tantrum. "Hmm. Anyway, the sun saps the Twili's remaining powers, so that would explain the need to blot it out, make it dusk permanently." She paused to give him a contemplative look. "Come to think of it, most beings exposed to Twilight turn into spirits. I wonder why you didn't? Maybe because the Twilight is being pulled in through the portal, so it's weaker…?" She trailed off, lost in thought.

The Shadow thought over everything she'd said. "What corrupted them?"

"The ones I saw? The same thing that has always corrupted people: greed."

The Shadow nodded, feeling the truth in the simple statement.

"Every living being is born with a certain amount of light inside us, even the Twili."

"...Even me?"

"I am certain of it." She nodded, emphasizing her point. "I believe it's what is allowing your hue to lighten— you began first as a copy of Link, who likely had an extremely bright and strong spark, and then you were infused with Ganondorf's malice, so you are unique. I would venture to say that your spark may also be especially bright for one born to shadows, but, of course, all of this is pure speculation on my part."

He thought about the imp in his dreams, the Twilight and the Mirror, and the sword on his back seemingly reacting independently, and frowned. "Something big is going on here, I can feel it. The imp— Midna— said her magic was somehow bound; I wonder if this is connected to that."

"I agree; I think Eventide is just a symptom of a much larger problem."

He looked out over the island, toward the beach where he'd come ashore. But for the small, dense wooded area— and from here he could see a good-sized bog of foul water— he'd been everywhere on the small island. Which reminded him— "Not all the monsters were possessed; the Chu that spit fire on me, the Hinox, and all the Stals were normal. Dorephan said there were no permanent inhabitants of this island, so that would mean that whoever came here and did whatever they did was done during the day? They activated the trial and then all the monsters were infected? And then I came along and basically finished someone else's trial. That's why the message was messed up; it had already played and the island was confused."

"I believe so. And it appears that the hosts must be awake to be possessed, which is why the Hinox was not."

He nodded and tilted his head back, looking up toward the peak of Koholit Rock, a straight shot from where he stood on the appeased altar. "At least I have the hookshot again. Climbing's a bitch without it."

She chuckled. "So spoiled."

"It's at least partially your fault, you know."

"I knew you missed me."

He smirked without answering and began the climb. A few short minutes later, he stood on the narrow lip that curved around about a third of the rock roughly a story below the actual peak, which turned out to be a sort of bi-level affair. It was dominated at its highest point by a large, round object seemingly made entirely of obsidian and covered in bright white symbols forming concentric circles— some simple geometric figures and others that were possibly letters in some unknown language— that moved in alternating directions and offered the illusion of sinking in to the inverted Triforce in the center. It was clearly some sort of portal, as out of it poured the darkness covering the island; he could actually see where the thick haze dissipated not that far above his head.

And directly in front of that, covering most of the peak of Koholit, was a dark, pulsing pit in the soil shot through with the same markings that had scored the imp's arms and legs, but in a deep, menacing red.

"Oh, look— completely new bullshit."

"Not to me."

"Do tell."

"Well, the big round thing is the Twilight Mirror I told you about; that's to transport between realms. And the pit is a sort of portal, too, but it will only take us somewhere else in this Twilight— it's the only place they're possible because the sun would burn right through them."

"Well, that's something." He blew out his breath forcefully, letting his lips flap in frustration. "I gotta fucking jump in there, don't I." It wasn't a question.

"I don't see any other option."

"I knew you were going to say that." He looked into the seething, swirling darkness. "Fuck," he said, taking a deep breath, then another, just for good measure. Then he jumped.


He opened his eyes, disoriented; there had been no sensation of falling or landing, of passing through the portal, not even of dissipating and teleporting. He'd simply closed his eyes to one landscape and opened them to another.

"That was strange," Navi whispered.

"'Strange' is a sliding scale, I think," he answered in kind.

A commanding voice suddenly boomed from far below, echoing through the chamber: "What do you mean the 'island has changed'? Blast this infernal place, with its light…" and then trailed off into incomprehensibility, whittled down to plosives and sibilants rather than distinct words.

Without warning, something— possibly a few somethings, but it happened too quickly to be sure— shot past, up and out the portal— a bright teal on this side. Simultaneously, something loud thudded behind the Shadow. He spun to find a black stone spike about half again his size and shaped like a "T" embedded in the dirt of the ledge he was on. It was covered in glowing red symbols resembling those in the portal and on the imp. A second spike, shaped like a lightning bolt, slammed into the ground on the other side of him— the beginnings of an obvious attempt to cage him in somehow— and he reacted on instinct, jumping for the closest edge and engaging the hookshot. Seconds later, he was hanging from the wall like a sconce and looking down at the ledge he'd just escaped.

Four more spikes had appeared, forming a hexagon that took up most of the ledge and was immediately closed by some sort of wide, red energy field that incorporated more symbols. As he watched, three Shadow Beasts— larger than the others he'd seen— rose up from the floor within the spike-cage, arms raised and shrieking in a strange harmony. The dark figures looked at each other and around the cage in confusion before disappearing back into the ground with frustrated screeches.

The Shadow's brow furrowed as he took in the rest of the cavern. It appeared that the inside of Koholit Rock was almost entirely hollow, a giant, vertical cavern with three landings at different levels, the highest of which being where he'd landed, perhaps a story from the ceiling showing the same swirling portal he'd jumped into, though the symbols on this side were teal.

The entire space was lit by the strange twilight that seeped in from the ceiling portal and dripped down. In addition, there were several oddly-pulsing balls of greenish light hovering randomly throughout the cavern.

The other two levels were both populated with stone-spike cages— which also gave off a low-level light, adding to the overall-creepy ambiance of the cavern— and both of them were packed with Zora carefully keeping to the center and away from the cage itself. He was currently perched no more than a story above the nearest one, unsteady light flickering over a few dozen heads.

A few moments later, he stood outside the cage on the second level, making eye contact with a startled male Zora. His shade seemed to be just slightly off normal, but the deep shadows in the cavern made for difficult discerning. "L-Link?" the captive asked, squinting in the low light, but someone else began moving toward them quickly, the crowd bowing their heads and parting to let her pass.

"Link? Oh, Link, I'm so glad you're here! Oh!" the new person came to a sudden stop, tilting her head at him curiously. She came up to about his chin and carried herself with a subtle, innate nobility— something in the tilt of her chin, the set of her shoulders. Her eyes and forehead creased with concern as she took him in. "Link? Are you all right?"

"Shadow Link, and I'm fine, thanks."

"What?" she asked, alarm working its way into her voice.

"I said my name is Shadow Link and I'm here to rescue you. Any idea how to break the energy field?"

She kept quiet, clearly torn between blind trust and common sense.

"Look," he tried, "I have no idea how long whoever that is will be gone," he pointed at the ceiling, "but they seemed pissed that I beat the trial—" he saw her eyes widen more at that, "and for some reason, I feel like it's better if I do as much as I can while they're not here, so I need you to stay calm, okay? I'll tell you the full story later, if you want, but the short version is that Link is dead—"

"Oh, my," she gasped. Her face made him think she was holding back some emotions and he was profoundly grateful, since he absolutely didn't have time for that shit right now.

"—my name is Shadow Link, I was Chosen by Farore," he reflexively held up the back of his hand, the Mark faintly glowing, "I promised your king I'd bring you all home, and I fully fucking intend to do that, so I know it's unusual and I'm not the Link you know and you have no reason to trust me, but it really is best if you do." He took a deep breath, feeling like those were probably the most words he'd ever said in succession and deciding then and there against repeating the experience, if possible.

She spent a full minute looking thoughtfully at him before nodding. "I see. You're right, of course. I'm sorry, I was just startled. Please, my name is Mipha and—"

That explained her demeanor and the deference of the crowd. He shook his head, cutting in as respectfully as he could, "No time, Princess."

And he was right; just then there was another ghastly screech as a large Shadow Beast clawed its way up out of the ground behind him, followed immediately by two more. The nearest one reached out its spindly-fingered hand for him and he reacted on instinct, drawing his sword— and perhaps it was his imagination or the odd lighting in the cavern, but its dark luminescence seemed brighter than normal and the handle was subtly vibrating in his hands, which no amount of lighting could explain— and severing the limb. To his astonishment, it immediately grew back and reached for him again.

Worse, its companions had begun to move closer, as well, and he did not want three of those fuckers reaching for him.

He quickly spun closer to the one he'd already engaged with and took its head right off, watching it pixelate and… float up to the ceiling where it blended into the portal. Okay...

He heard a shouted Wait! behind him, but lacked the time to do so as the second creature had seized the opportunity of his momentary distraction, its long fingers— black as pitch and scored with deep gray swirls— caught his shirt at the shoulder of his sword arm. He reacted instantly, and a second later another Shadow Beast blended into the ceiling portal.

"No!" Mipha and a few others cried, but they were quickly drowned out by a shriek— louder than previous screeches and multi-tonal, it raised the hair on the Shadow's arms.

Two more Shadow Beasts— whether the same two or new ones, the Shadow had no way of knowing— had appeared, called by their compatriot.

"Well, that's fucking bullshit," he griped, following it up with a, "Fuck you," aimed at the one moving to grab at him. Thinking quickly, he used the Stasis rune on it, then moved closer to it, sure the other two would move to intercept. He was correct; as the timer expired on the rune, the other two were upon him, forming a neat triangle around him. He swung the sword in a wide circle, severing all three heads at once and feeling brief satisfaction as their pixelated bodies were absorbed into the ceiling portal.

"That's what I was trying to tell you; you have to destroy the last two together or the rest will keep regenerating," Mipha said, then frowned. "Obviously, we were unaware of that until it was too late."

"Fucking figures. I hate this place," he lamented, and was rewarded with her startled laugh.

"I think you'll find that to be a rather popular opinion currently," she said, smile lingering at one corner of her mouth. Likely reacting to the cage, the Shadow's sword was still glowing where it hung loosely from his hand and she tilted her chin at it. "We need something strong enough to break this dark energy field. That's not the Master Sword…?" She sounded uncertain.

He shook his head. "No. It's the Dark Master Sword, and all I really know for certain about it is that it's Sheikah made and there's some sort of dark magic on it, but it's also helped me to vanquish I don't even know how many monsters and is strong as hell so I'm damned glad to have it."

"How fascinating," she said, eyes locked on the strangely-luminescent blade.

"But I have something else that should work for this," he said, recalling the Light arrows he'd picked up from his serendipitous meeting with Beedle a short lifetime ago. He sheathed the sword, reached into his quiver, and pulled one out. The bright shaft was a beacon in the gloom, reflected in dozens of tired, hopeful Zora eyes focused on him. He wondered, briefly, what the reflection in his own red eyes looked like before moving over to the nearest pillar.

Mipha seemed both surprised and pleased. "Oh, a Light arrow!"

"Yep." He held it like a stake and raised it above his head before bringing it down at one of the points where the energy unsteadily met the black and red pillar. There was a bright flare of golden light and the entire cage became pixelated, rising to blend with the ceiling vortex. His fist closed fully— empty— as the Light arrow just… disappeared, apparently having used all its power to overcome the dark energy.

On the floor, a smaller, teal-accented portal opened up, obviously a way to escape the cavern since there didn't seem to be any ladders, stairs, or steps leading up and out.

There was a collective gasp as the Zora realized they were free, many heads turning and smiles breaking out. But Mipha's face when she surged forward remained worried, brow drawn and mouth frowning. "Shadow Link, please, we must help my brother and the Captain of the Guard; they're both in the other cage," she said, pointing over the ledge.

He nodded. "What can you tell me about the Shadow Beasts? If I shoot that cage from up here with a Light arrow, are they going to pop up and grab everybody again or are there only the three?"

"I've only ever seen three of those at a time— whether they're the same three, I do not know— but there are two other, larger ones that stick by their side."

"Whose side? Who did this?"

"All I know is what they've said when they come up here to rant at us sometimes— they seem to forget we're here for the most part. They wear a helmet that covers their face, so I've not seen it, and their voice is all over the place. They've said they're here by invitation from the Twilight Realm, but they always sound angry about it and they haven't said who invited them," she said. "I suspect they were using the cages to draw energy from us, because I felt a constant… pull that is now gone. It was making me quite fatigued, and I've not been here nearly as long as some." She nodded toward the lower ledge and the other cage.

He gave an answering nod and drew both the Ancient bow— so he could use the scope— and another Light arrow. He pressed a button on the side of the collapsed bow and it snapped into form with a soft snick, string taut. Loading the arrow, he located the other cage in the scope, aimed carefully, and fired.

The Light arrow flew in a perfectly straight line, a brilliant streak in the dark cavern, and hit exactly on target. The other cage retreated up into the ceiling vortex, an escape portal appeared, and the prisoners cheered.

But it sounded weaker than the distance warranted. Mipha gave orders to someone and he felt her come to stand next to him. He looked down at her when she spoke: "I must get down there. I can help those who've been the worst affected."

"How?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"I have a special ability that allows me to heal others from nearly any wound— including death, but only once per day, since that takes quite a lot out of me."

"What?" the Shadow asked, surprised.

"It was my reward for beating the trial. I've always been able to heal myself, but before I received my Gift, that was all I could do. Now, I am able to assist others; it is why I was allowed to be a Champion," she said, motioning to the blue sash draped across her torso, "and why I insisted on leading a rescue mission." Her mouth twisted. "Well, attempted rescue mission."

"Works for me." He grabbed his glider and handed it to her. "Let's go."

Her face was puzzled. "How will you get down?"

He grinned and held up his left hand, pressing the button to arm the hookshot. "Follow me, Princess."


The Shadow waited like a fly on the wall until Mipha had landed safely, then dropped down next to her and took back the glider as she moved to where the need was obviously greatest.

In the center of the circle of Zora— as protected as possible— was what was clearly the Captain of the Guard, the first Zora captured. His skin was nearly as gray as the Shadow's and looked as dry as parchment paper. Next to him lay several other Zora, clearly the worst-off. Standing sentinel not far off was an enormous male Zora— roughly twice the Shadow's height— who was the same color as Mipha and looking at her with clear fondness and joy. Sidon.

"Mipha! My dear sister, it is wonderful to see you," he boomed as she knelt next to Bazz, the Captain of the Guard.

"Hello, Sidon," she smiled before setting to her work, layering both hands atop Bazz's chest and closing her eyes. A soft, blue glow began to leak from Bazz's pores and the Shadow watched health and vigor returning by the second. It was fascinating.

Once Bazz's flesh had turned a charcoal-gray with a cream-colored chest and pale blue and yellow fin accents, he opened his eyes and smiled adoringly at Mipha. She nodded and smiled in return and then moved on to the next patient, showing each one the same concentration and consideration.

Sidon, assured that Mipha had the situation well in hand, moved closer to the Shadow. "You must be Link. My sister has told me a lot about you. My name is Sidon," he said, tilting his head and giving an absolutely winning grin, some strange light manifesting in the gloom purely to glint off a sharp tooth.

"Well, you can forget just about every single thing you've heard because I'm not Link, I'm Shadow Link."

"What's that, now?" Sidon asked, grin not dimming in the slightest.

"I said I'm Shadow Link, not Link."

"Shadow Link?"

"Yes."

"How interesting!" Sidon threw back his head and laughed. "I thought you were a myth. Well, a day passed without gaining knowledge is a day wasted, I always say."

"Never in your life, Sidon, have you even read a book without being directly ordered to do so," Mipha said over her shoulder, momentarily between patients.

Sidon threw back his head and laughed again, bringing one hand up to his chest. "True enough, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy learning," he clarified, the joy in his voice as he teased his sister genuine even to the Shadow's ear.

The Shadow looked around curiously. "Where are all of your weapons?" he asked Sidon. All of these tired Zora, save Bazz, were here on rescue missions. So surely they'd come armed?

"No idea," Sidon informed, still in that same joyful tone.

"Right," the Shadow said, moving to look over the edge of the ledge at the bottom of the cavern. The glowing orbs floating in the space seemed more agitated than they had been, swirling slowly above each ledge and giving fairly helpful light as opposed to the lazily wafting in random non-patterns they'd previously done. Far below, he could see the gleam of silver weapons reflecting every pinprick of light as they lay in a haphazard pile in a corner of the cavern floor. In the middle of the wall, flanked by torches, sat some sort of… throne. It looked just like the cage pillars, but was shaped like the least-comfortable chair ever invented. He frowned.

"Be right back," he said to Sidon, just before hookshotting down to the bottom of the cave. Once there, he whispered, "Navi, can you magic me something to carry all these weapons?" A moment later, the pile of metal had neatly and silently arranged and bound itself, a carrying strap dangling helpfully. "Thanks," he murmured, engaging the hookshot once more and zooming back up.

The Shadow set the bundle down, then turned to Sidon. "Here are all the weapons; take them and get everyone out of here," he said, pointing to the portal. "We've got to be just about out of—"

The atmosphere in the cavern suddenly took a nosedive as the ceiling spit out three figures who descended quickly down to the cave floor.

"Go," he hissed at Sidon. "I've got this."

"Not a chance, my non-fictional friend," Sidon murmured— and the Shadow confessed to a moment of wonder that the enormous Zora knew how to be quiet— offset by another grin. "We Zora are fighters."

"And I promised your father I'd bring you all home."

"We will not leave until we have won." That damn grin glinted winningly again. If he wasn't careful, it would give them away.

The Shadow huffed out a quiet breath. Come to think of it, he was damned tired of having to stay quiet; if he ever got off this goddess-damned island, he was going to have to do a good amount of stomping and yelling, just on principle. "Fine; I'm not going to sit here and whisper-argue with you. I've never done a group project before, so why don't you all figure your shit out up here while I go and see if I can find out who this jackass is and what they want." He looked over the ledge once more.

"How will we let you know the plan?"

"No need. I know you're coming and he doesn't; that's good enough for me. Just don't stab or shoot me with anything and we'll get along just fine."

He dropped off the ledge just as the same voice from earlier stormed, "And now the monsters have somehow shaken off my minions and are attacking me again, and I still cannot leave this blasted island but to go home!"

A moment later, the Shadow landed several feet in front of the stone throne, the figure on it leaning dramatically over one of the armrests and moaning in a high, grating tone. They were dressed in long, charcoal-gray robes with teal accents down the arms and maroon draped down the chest, both chest and sleeves covered in foreign symbols. Shoes shaped like dragon heads and looking incredibly stiff and uncomfortable were draped over the other armrest.

Standing silently to either side were the two larger Shadow Beasts Mipha had mentioned, possibly awaiting some command.

His arrival went apparently unnoticed.

"He was very specific," the figure continued, arm thrown over eyes already hidden by the tall, pointed helmet masking their face. "'These coordinates are an ideal entry point to Hyrule', he said. But how can that be so when I cannot escape this damned island?! I am as trapped here as in that cursed Twilight Realm. It cannot be that my god has misled me, so there must be some other explanation…"

The Shadow decided to take that as his cue. He'd like to get this moving so he could get some damned sleep sometime soon, the toll of the last however-many hours finally starting to make itself known by pulling slightly at the back of his eyelids. Or possibly it was just his natural irritation coming to the fore. "Hey."

The reaction was instantaneous: the figure shot straight up on the throne with a squeal, sleeves so long any hands were completely covered, eight tassles hanging over the edge of each armrest like long, boneless fingers. "Aah!" Then, leaning forward, "Ooh, another light-dweller!" The pointed tip of the helmet tilted to one side. The bulging, wide-set eyes on it made it seem disturbingly lizard-like— a similarity that was doubled by the metal tongue, coiled and ready to strike. "You don't look anything like the others. How fascinating!"

"Oh, I'm a novelty all right."

"Are you the one who changed the island?"

"I could ask you the same thing. You the one blocking out the sun?"

"Nasty, bothersome thing. It burns us!" They stopped, head tilting again. "Well, not me, of course. But my minions would turn to dust in moments." It sounded like more of an observation than actual concern.

"Well, we actually need it, so if you— whoever you are— and your minions just go ahead and fuck off back to wherever you came from, you won't have to worry about it anymore."

"Oh, no, I don't think we'll be doing that. It's become boring there, you see, and I am looking to expand my kingdom. Zant, King of Twilight, at your service." The helmeted head bowed toward him and when it rose again, the faceplate had retracted to reveal a wide, flat nose, and skin that was a rather fascinating blue color, with a darker blue tattoo in the middle of his forehead. The skin around his mouth and slanted red-and-yellow eyes was scored with deep, symmetrical cracks, giving him an outright eerie appearance.

The sword at the Shadow's back had begun to emit a very faint, high pitched whine he'd never heard before, and it was vibrating gently at his back, scabbard and all. "Never heard of you. I thought Midna ruled the Twilight Realm."

"Did you now?" Zant's mouth twisted cruelly. "I'm afraid your news is outdated, mister…"

"Shadow Link."

"Never heard of you," the cocky fucker parroted. "What is your business here?"

"Well, those Zora you took hostage were missed by their king. I was hired to find them."

"Yes, yes, nasty things. Powerful, though, quite powerful— especially that small female and the huge male," he said, eyes greedy and possessive. "But even they are not enough! I need more! But none have come, save for you." That glowing gaze pinned the Shadow again.

"Hey, that's rude; you'll hurt my feelings. And you haven't answered my question."

"Still your tongue for a moment, whelp, and I will tell you a tale of both magic and the oppression of ages.

"The people of our tribe— a tribe that mastered the arts of magic— were locked away in the Twilight Realm like insects in a cage, punished for trying to take control of your Triforce. In the shadows we regressed, so much so that we soon knew neither anger nor hatred… nor even the faintest bloom of desire. And all of it was the fault of a useless, do-nothing royal family that had resigned itself to that miserable half-existence! I had served and endured in that depraved household for far too long, subjugated to that impudent princess. Midna," he spat the name. "And why, you ask?"

"Didn't."

"Because I believed I would be next to rule our people! That is why! I was biding my time. But would they acknowledge me as their king?"

"Yes?" It was the logical response; the guy had introduced himself as a king, after all.

"No! And as such, I was denied the magic powers befitting our ruler."

"Maybe it was your crazy eyes." Zant's eyes were actually glowing, the cracks in the corners widening them unnaturally and the ones in the lower lower lids making it look like they were bleeding light onto his cheeks. Add in the fissures around his expressionless mouth and he became the facial embodiment of horror. The Shadow suppressed a shudder that matched the vibrating sword at his back. "All right, I'll bite: how'd you get them to vote for you?"

"You don't vote for king," Zant scoffed.

"Well, how'd you become king, then?"

"One day, when I was in the thrall of hatred and despair, I turned my eyes to the heavens… and found… a god." Those eyes were pulsing with awe and reverence, mouth open in a sickening, jagged O. "'I shall house my power in you,' he told me. 'If there is anything you desire, then I shall desire it, too.' Well, obviously, I desired the throne I now occupy, so that worked out well for me!" he laughed maniacally, echoing creepily in the cavern. "I gave that royal family exactly what they deserved."

The sword at the Shadow's back shuddered so violently it actually nudged the back of his head, the whine a soft but incessant tone in his ear. "It's my experience that gods and goddesses don't do anything for free," the Shadow offered gamely.

It was the right move, as Zant nodded approvingly at him. "Indeed, it is so. My god had only one wish— to merge shadow and light… and make darkness."

"What does that even mean?"

"He has bestowed great power unto me! I have taken what was rightfully mine and together, he and I will take back this realm, and sweet darkness will blot out that harsh light!"

"Yeah, that's not happening. You said, yourself: you can't get off this island."

A truly evil light came into Zant's eyes then. "I couldn't. However, if I turned the Mirror to the west and add your energy, I might be able to reach Hyrule proper. I can feel it— can practically see it oozing out of your pores."

"I've got news for you: you're not getting anything from me but a headache."

"Is that so?" And then the sonofabitch disappeared.

"Oh, here we fucking go again. What is it with these guys and disappearing?" the Shadow lamented, drawing his sword with a sigh. Its glow was brighter than he'd ever seen it, the red in the jewel a bloody beacon amongst the purple of the blade. It seemed to pulse with what felt an awful lot like… rage. He also strapped his shield onto his arm, pulling it up to cover most of his torso as he looked around, on high alert.

A second later, Zant reappeared almost exactly where he'd been, but floating at least a body length above the throne with some sort of magic symbol glowing red behind him. He raised his arms and spun them deliberately, calling forth a barrage of purple balls of energy that shot at the Shadow, forcing him behind his shield.

He didn't quite make it all the way, apparently, as he smelled singed hair and fabric and heard a tiny cough near his ear. Shit.

Only moments after the first volley ended came a second, longer one. As the last blast dissipated against his shield, the sword in his hand jerked and the jewel sparkled dangerously. He followed his instinct, bringing the blade back and then swiping it quickly across his body.

A magenta-colored bolt of energy shot out of the end of the Dark Master sword, shocking the shit out of him and smacking Zant out of the sky where he proceeded to bounce around crazily, as though the floor was made of lava. The manic movements brought him to within range and the Shadow struck at him with the sword, hitting him squarely in the chest.

Zant yelled in pain or anger or both and disappeared.

The Shadow Beasts stayed where they'd been on either side of the throne, seemingly completely oblivious.

Zant popped up a moment later across the room, appearing and firing almost simultaneously. The Shadow was ready this time, successfully deflecting the attack and then feeling the sword tell him when to strike— and when he had time, he was definitely going to sit and boggle about that for a while— and then hitting Zant with the physical blade when he'd bounced close enough.

In the moment between Zant disappearing and reappearing, the Shadow caught a glint of silver in the corner of his eye and suddenly there was an entire row of Zora guards lined up in front of him, large, silver Zora shields held together to form a long barricade.

The Shadow felt a disturbance in the air on either side of him and found himself in the middle of a second long line of Zora, spears intermixed with archers. Turning his head a bit, he saw a third row of sword-wielders behind.

Zant's attack halted after just a few seconds. "What? Free?! How dare you?!" he screeched at the Shadow before unloading his energy-ball attack, seemingly trying to hit everyone at once. But with so many allies, the Shadow didn't even have to raise his own shield to defend himself this time. An archer ended the barrage and a spear dealt the blow when Zant bounced near enough.

"Enough!" Zant shrieked, doing his odd arm motions again and making the large symbol appear in the air behind him. The cavern went completely dark for a moment, and the scene that greeted the Shadow when next he could see startled him.

All the Zora and the Shadow Beasts were gone; only he and Zant remained. And the cavern was no longer dim but brightly lit by rivers of lava. Flowing into the floor. Which was also lava. What the fuck? He didn't know if it was an illusion, but didn't think so; the temperature had also spiked and he was suddenly sweating, moisture beading at his temple uncomfortably. He frowned.

Above the fucking lava, suspended by some unseen force, was a massive, flat disc that was now the floor. Zant stood directly across from him, at the opposite edge. In the floor right next to the Shadow was a metal plate with a long, thin, rectangular slot. But he didn't have time to wonder what it was for or if there were more of them because the fucker jumped, and the Shadow had to scramble toward the middle as the world tried to fall away from his feet.

The closer he got to the center, the more the floor leveled off. The disc was apparently suspended above the liquid pool of death by a single support in the middle, which made successfully balancing it both difficult and paramount. He noticed three other slots in the floor, dividing it into quadrants, and thought they might be significant, but then Zant poofed back into visibility at the far edge the Shadow had just abandoned, causing the floor to tilt in that direction.

The Shadow's feet slipped a bit and his heart jumped up into his throat. Thinking quickly, he fired the hookshot into the center of the floor, anchoring himself but leaving enough slack in the chain to move around. He lost his footing entirely and— seeing that he was heading right for Zant— he just let gravity take him, coiling his legs as he neared and holding his sword out as if to skewer, but at the last second, he reared back and instead kicked with everything he had, sending a startled Zant over the edge—

Where he disappeared with a small puff of smoke, which was hardly fucking fair, in the Shadow's opinion. He engaged the hookshot once more, reeling himself back to the center and regaining his footing before allowing himself slack in the chain again.

A heartbeat later, Zant popped back up at the outer edge directly in front of the Shadow and jumped to tilt the floor dramatically. The Shadow adapted again, allowing his boots to slide somewhat gracefully and readying his sword as he neared the usurper king.

After a few slashing hits from the still-vibrating sword, Zant sort of… collapsed onto himself quickly, becoming nearly two-dimensional and sliding into the slot in the floor. Oh, that's what that's about. The Shadow got back to the middle and settled his feet. A few seconds later, Zant emerged from the slot to the Shadow's right and the floor tilted in that direction.

The Shadow went to work, chasing Zant around the tilting floor, trying to anticipate where he'd appear so he could strike and dodging the dark energy blasts that started up again; he couldn't use his shield effectively with the hookshot in use. Several times, Zant just popped up, jumped a few times, and slid back into the floor, coming up directly across the room and jumping there.

Thank goodness— no, thank Anly for the hookshot. Again.

After the third successful counter-attack, when Zant reappeared, it was higher in the air again, and the Shadow braced himself for another surprise just as the huge, red symbol appeared behind Zant and the room went dark. The hookshot retracted back onto his wrist; unsettled, he readied his shield.

And then the Shadow went to inhale and his mouth and throat filled with water.

The terrifying lava-pit was now cold and dark and, apparently, a lake, complete with a sandy bottom— rocks, seaweed, and a large indentation decorated the middle of the floor.

He heard a wet gasp behind his ear and felt a and then suddenly he could breathe again, even though he was still entirely underwater. Reaching up, he felt gills on either side of his throat and his eyebrows shot up. He also felt a certain heaviness on his feet and looked down to find that his comfortable leather boots had been replaced or coated with heavy iron, overriding his natural buoyancy and keeping him standing on the floor. He tried to say Thank you, but he guessed that sound didn't carry well underwater, since he couldn't even hear his own voice except inside his skull. Instead, he gave Navi a thumbs-up and assumed she saw it.

And then the ground shook ominously and something began rising up out of the indentation in the sand.

The Shadow retreated, giving the structure as much space as he could, not knowing its size. It looked familiar, and he soon realized that it was because it was shaped exactly like Zant's helmet, right down to the bulging eyes and coiled tongue.

Once it stopped, the helmet seemed to exhale out both its nostrils, and then the mouth was open and Zant stood inside. He'd already begun his attack, energy balls on their way toward the Shadow and made only slightly slower and more floaty by the friction of the water.

The Shadow deflected them with his shield and before Zant could fire again, the hookshot was embedded in whatever armor was around his chest and he was being brought— arms flailing behind— toward the Shadow's waiting sword.

After a few good strikes, Zant disappeared and the mouth of the oversized helmet closed. The Shadow expected it to open for another energy barrage, but instead the whole structure sank back into the floor.

And reappeared about half the size but in quadruplicate, around the center indentation and facing inward. All four of them opened, the one to the Shadow's immediate left revealing Zant already firing at him.

The sword in his hand gave a quick, definitive shake and he pulled back to loose another strange beam of purple-red energy at Zant, knocking him backward.

All four mask heads were just suddenly gone as Zant performed whatever magic was in his particular arm movements that brought forth the large symbol.

When next the Shadow opened his eyes, sure enough— the room had changed once more. Gone was the sand and all the water, and with it his gills and iron boots. Instead, they were in some sort of forest scene. The cave walls looked like solid wood, enormous branches suspending the ceiling canopy. In the middle of the floor were several totem-like pillars in a circle around a central pillar, upon which Zant danced maniacally.

As soon as the Shadow was in sight, Zant fired more energy blasts at him. The Shadow brought his shield up to block them as he rushed the pillar, becoming a battering ram as he ran into it and toppled Zant onto the floor where he landed on his head.

The Shadow took advantage, shooting another beam from his sword and hitting Zant square in the exposed hindquarters. He drew closer and struck with the blade itself several times, too, until Zant disappeared again.

A few seconds later, he appeared, firing, atop one of the outer pillars. The Shadow repeated his counter-attack, and after he'd landed several more blows, Zant rose into the air once again. The Shadow braced for another scene change and was not disappointed.

They were now in an incredibly bright chamber with several barred windows well above his head that appeared to be letting in every speck of light the sun had ever produced and sent to Hyrule. The floor was either a mirror or a perfect sheet of ice; from the chill in the room, he suspected the latter.

Zant, who was floating above the Shadow's head but below the windows, suddenly started to grow. In a wink, he was easily twice the size of a Hinox and floating high above.

Movement drew the Shadow's eye downward, and he realized he could use the floor to see and dodge whatever attack was coming.

Which turned out to be a simple attempt to stomp him flat. The Shadow dodged out of the way at the last moment, feeling the sword in his hand give that distinct vibration again and turning to fire an energy blast at the nearest foot.

Astoundingly, it was enough to knock Zant back— both in location and physical size. In fact, the mad sorcerer had kept shrinking until he only came up to about the Shadow's chest, but it was hard to tell when Zant was bouncing up and down, holding the foot the Shadow'd struck.

The Shadow rushed in and slashed with his sword until the miniature Zant had disappeared, only to reappear a moment later in the center of the room, growing gigantic once more.

The next dodging strike set Zant to shrinking and bouncing again, but the Shadow was unable to draw close enough to use his blade and Zant disappeared just as the hookshot reached him, missing.

The next attempt was successful, though, and the Shadow readied himself for another change of scenery.

When it came, the Shadow was surprised to see the courtyard of a castle that looked both familiar and not. The large, square space was lined on all four sides by the same energy field that had made up the cages that had held the Zora, with a stone pillar at each corner, and the whole space was cloaked in the oppressive twilight.

The Shadow knew the castle and the surrounding trees and hills were all an illusion, but he wasn't sure about the energy field and decided to stay away from it.

As soon as Zant's feet touched the ground, he drew out two swords— one from either armpit— and attacked with a flurry of movement. The Shadow put up his shield and dodged, coming around behind and striking at Zant's unprotected back.

The usurper king shrieked and teleported across the floor in a heartbeat, where he threw his arms out to the sides and began spinning wildly. In the next second, the whirlwind came barreling toward the Shadow. He raised his shield to deflect the deadly blades and then immediately slashed with his own sword, striking a blow that left a huge gash in Zant's side— the first true damage seen.

It went on like that, Zant alternating between the brutal, almost-unskilled dual-slashing attacks and the deadly, spiky whirlwind. A plan began to form in the Shadow's mind as he dealt blow after slow blow— Zant now leaving a steady trail of stark, red blood but never seeming to truly weaken— and felt himself tiring once more (Heart Container notwithstanding, it had been a long fucking time since the Shadow had had any real sleep— more than a full day, he was sure of that, at least, having no idea how long he'd been inside Koholit Rock, where he still was, despite what it looked like at present).

After fending off the next spin attack, the Shadow sheathed his sword and instead grabbed the Ancient bow and a Light arrow. He waited for Zant to appear and took his shot.

The Light arrow sailed across the space and hit Zant square in the chest.

The twin swords disappeared as if they'd never existed, and a wailing Zant dropped pitifully to his knees in front of the fake castle. He shrieked and moaned, throwing his head and arms back dramatically before pitching forward to land on his face as the world blacked out.

And reset itself to the floor of the cavern inside Koholit, Zant slumped, defeated on his cold, stone throne. "This… cannot be…" he panted.

The Shadow, unconvinced the battle was truly over, grabbed out his sword once more, and waited. "It's over. This is my island," he said cockily.

"But… my god assured me—"

"Who is this god you keep speaking of? What is their name?" The Shadow tilted his head as he asked the question, instinct flaring to life in his chest even before Zant began to respond.

"Ganondorf," was the answer, spoken with reverence as Zant lifted his head, face defeated but awed.

"Well, that explains a lot." The Shadow didn't even try to hide his disdain. He sighed. "Ganondorf is no god, Zant. He was born in Hyrule."

"You lie!"

"I speak the truth. He is incredibly powerful, I'll give you that. But I know it to be so because he made me. Everything I know— almost everything I know," he amended honestly, "came directly from him. I am the Shadow of the Hero, forged by Ganondorf, himself, for the sole purpose of defeating the Hero of Hyrule. I did that and then the Goddesses made me take his place." He let his lips twist wryly. "Ganondorf is the King of Thieves, Zant. He's a liar and a manipulator and if he gave you some of his power, you can bet it will aid him somehow in the long run. He used you for something; what did he get?"

"Oh, he took that uppity princess for his own trophy, or something, I don't know. It matters naught to me so I paid no attention," he said, flippant and waving his hand dismissively.

The sword in the Shadow's grip flared up, the blade glowing brighter than he'd ever seen and the jewel positively glaring, and the Shadow knew it was time.

He drew back and made one final slashing motion across his body, and the brightest-yet beam of irate light struck Zant square in the chest.

There was an inhuman howl and the room went dark.


"Shadow Link," and that was Farore's voice as he'd originally heard it— not a distorted recording— only this time it was tinged with pride instead of distress and lacking the bell quality she'd had when they'd spoken in person. "You have routed the evil from this island and proven yourself worthy of the title of Hero of Hyrule. I will fulfill my promise to you, but first, take this to ease your wounds and comfort your weariness."

Another Heart Container appeared in the air in front of him, and he reached out a hand to touch it, feeling its warmth suffuse his chest and he let a smile tilt his lips for a moment.

"Darkness holds the Key to the Power of the Light," Farore's bodiless voice continued. "Four Trials await in Earth, Air, Fire, and Water to unlock Wisdom, Courage, and Power." The Shadow startled slightly as he realized those were the exact same words Calip had used. "In freeing the imprisoned and returning light to the island, you have also passed the Trial of Water and earned this Key."

In front of his face, a glowing blue triangle appeared, giving off a pleasing, harmonic hum as it spun in midair. He reached out, and as soon as his fingers brushed it, it sang and then flattened out into a two-dimensional object, losing its color and glow and shrinking before settling into the tip of the reverse triangle in the middle of the Triforce Mark on his right hand and disappearing altogether.

"Go now, and bring peace to Hyrule."


Chapter note: As always, I love to hear what you thought about this chapter, so feel free to drop me a line! :)