Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Zelda Franchise... I wish I did.

The bleeding eye sees it all within the shadows

It is our home, our legacy, and our duty

Take pride in your burden, oh child of ours

Yours are not the trail of glory or fame

Yours is the calling hidden from the light

Take pride in the brothers and sisters at your side

For when the time of darkness comes

We will be the bleeding eye unveiling the hidden truth

Page III – Requiem

Chapter 29 - Shadow's Fall

Legend of Legaia OST 56 - Mist Generator Fortress 2 - watch?v=EqNiKRelbo0

"Spirits… what is that?" Link's voice passed by his lips in a hushed and disgusted tone.

Stepping closer at his left side Vahn and Sheik leaned over from their hiding spot, a small place of shadows under the already bright light of the morning sun.

"Is that the head of a fish?" Vahn asked back, sounding just as disturbed as Link.

"Goddesses…" La'Azul cried out from behind, both hands raising to her mouth. "T-They killed Lord Jabu-Jabu. W-Why… why would they do something so cruel?"

"Jabu-Jabu?" Link glanced back at the Zora woman and then back at the startling giant skull hovering above the open entrance. "That guy swallowed me one time when I was a kid. But he wasn't bad or anything, why would they kill him?"

"What better way to destroy the Zora's morale than killing their guardian?" Sheik said in a little comment. "Nothing is sacred to that bastard."

Casually stalking across the defiled grass-field, Sheik moved closer toward the start of the raising path to Zora's Domain. Taking a glance at both the empty doorway and the alcoves to the side, a slightly confused frown tugged at his expression.

"Where are the soldiers…" He said aloud without noticing. Two nights before when he visited this place at least six soldiers were patrolling the door and the pathway, now no one is in sight.

"Maybe it's a trap?" Link asked as he moved closer to Sheik.

The other blond glanced at the Hero, his red eyes still a little glossy with stupor as his mind is going at a very fast pace. "That wouldn't make sense. A trap for who? Unless one of us here or the other three people who were present in our last meeting, sent a warning letter to Ganondorf, they would have no idea we were coming here."

"Hm… but in one of your reports, you wrote in a lot of details about the destroyed legion camps you found across the field." The red-haired boy pipped in, placing his right foot at the side of the elevated path. "What's with that look? Your aunt allowed me to read it."

"Did she now?" Sheik squinted his visible eye at Vahn, the boy just shrugged at him. "That's unexpected."

"Hah, maybe she is going soft." Link added with a little smirk.

Glancing at him, the Sheikah shook his head, a little smile hidden behind his mask. "Don't let her catch you saying that. Believe me, you don't want to test her patience." Moving past a smirking Vahn and a wide-eyed Link, he continued to step up the curving path, his eyes trained at the abandoned entrance. "Nothing… no one."

"How do we go from here?" Link's voice startled Sheik, the blond couldn't hear or notice the Hero sneak so close to him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't." The Sheikah respond simply, refocusing his attention fully ahead of them.

Quirking his eyebrows, Link grinned but shrugged. "This is your field, Sheik. I only know how to swing my sword and yell a bunch. Whatever you say, we do."

With a small glance toward his lover, he smiled at him. Despite not saying much or even being able to show it, he truly appreciates Link's confidence in him. It fills a little something in his chest that has been left empty for a very long time.

Shattering their small moment with a loud boom, something within Zora's Domain exploded, pushing out a heavy smoke tainted with a purple color out from the blasted door.

"By Farore's grace, what is happening in there?!" Protecting his face from the gust of dust and debris flying out, Sheik squinted his eye trying to peek inside. "It appears we have no time to formulate a proper plan."

Putting one hand on the Sheikah's shoulder, the taller blond stepped forward as his other hand raised towards his sword. "My way then?"

Sheik sighed but nodded. "Your way it is."

With a quick nod in response, Link unsheathed the Master Sword and charged forward as he wiped the lingering dust with his free hand.

"It's happening then? And so soon?" Vahn said as he and La'Azul ran to catch up to Sheik.

"It already happened Vahn. Our only choice is to take advantage of whatever chaos is happening inside." Pulling out the pair of knives from within his clothes, the Sheikah glanced at both his companions and nodded towards the door. "Let's hope whoever started this mess, can be counted as our ally."

"A-And if they are not?" La'Azul asked quietly.

The blond looked at her and frowned. "Then we deal with them when we have to."

Stepping into Zora's Domain felt like stepping right into a weird nightmare scenario. People screaming everywhere, blood and dead bodies littering each floor in the complex, coats of fire raining down from the ceiling, making a weird contrast with the bottom as the frozen lake has completely melted, liberating the waters to flow in a tempestuous current.

Link tried to adjust to his surrounding as quickly as he could, remembering the lessons his master has told him that every battlefield is a chaotic place that can and will change in the span of breathing.

Ignoring the most outlandish and unimportant details surrounding him, Link began to follow the path down from the entrance, and right at the first corner, he saw a broken line of soldiers rushing as fast as they could on the stairs to the third level.

Pacing with haste but taking enough care to not tumble at the slippery ground, the blond warrior followed after the soldiers. But in his haste, he drew the attention of another group, coming up from the lower level with weapons already trained in their hands.

"YOU!" One of them shouted in panic and outrage. "You son of a bitch, you will pay for what you did."

The black-clad man to the left bashed his arm on the wall as he tried to push past his companions. "I saw what he did to Fletch and Jabo! The freak cut their arms and legs. I'll butcher you, YOU MONSTER!"

Screaming like a man possessed, he tumbled and almost tripped but never stop running upwards the stairs. Holding his sword above his head, the man's blood-red eyes widened more and more as his target got closer in reach.

Turning to face the incoming threat, Link waited as the soldiers continued to rush toward him. He waited with bated breath; eyes fixated on the swaying blade.

Without hesitation his arm swung down, bringing the Master Sword in a perfect arc. His opponent screamed again; this time more visceral, filled with pain. Then, he screamed no more.

Seeing their companion be slain pushed the other men into a frenzy. They all climbed those steps in a fury, pushed and tackled each other as every single one of them aimed to strike the green-clad warrior down.

Pushing his poise into a nimbler stance, Link began descending the stairs with methodic and slow steps. Each time his feet moved down a flight of stairs, his upper body moved to parry and strike against a foe.

One by one, the soldiers fell to his blade. Every arc made by the Master Sword sparkled with a keen light right before staying the walls with a spray of red. In one final downward slash, Link blocked the last remaining soldier's strike, pushing the man four steps down.

"Yield and I let you live." Link said firmly, holding his sword next to him, prepared to react to anything.

Scrambling up to his feet, the soldier glared at Link with a fierce glow in his hate-filled eyes. "F-Fuck you!" He screamed as he charged up toward Link once more.

Wearing a saddened look on his face, Link allowed himself a simple nod. "I'm so sorry… but you leave me no choice." Moving down to match his opponent, Link dodged to the right as cold steel glided on the air, then his right arm flew forward bringing his weapon in a powerful arc that ultimately cleaved the man's arm out from his body.

Closing his eyes, Link turned away as the other man's body fell in a loud thud to the stairs, making even more noise as the metal of his armor grinded against the ground as he rolled down.

Echoes of steps came from the corner up the stairs, soon enough the rest of his group appeared with Sheik leading them. The Sheikah looked down at the bodies on the floor and glanced at Link. "You okay?" He asked, worried about the other blonde's mental state.

Swinging the Master Sword at his side, Link pushed the coat of blood staining his blade, running the side of his left hand after to remove any lingering red still on there. "Don't worry Sheik, I'm fine." He replied, calmly climbing the steps back to the second floor. "These people made their choice, I understand that now."

"Good." Sheik gave Link an approving nod. As it looks, General Val managed to harden Link's resolve on the fatality that exists in wars. "From here I can discern two points as the core of this mess." He then pointed up to the highest level. "Something big is happening up there. People are shouting, explosions and I think there is also this distinct sound of metal clashing."

"So a big fight is happening up there." Vahn added in, making the blond nod at him.

"There is also a smaller commotion coming from there." Sheik pointed to a large deformed hole in the wall down into the first floor, the one almost drowning on water. "I saw at least a small regiment of their soldiers storming that place." Turning to La'Azul, he asked. "You know what is in there?"

She first replied with a quiet shrug. "That room was mostly used as storage. It was easier to move things through the waterfall and put it there."

"Hm… so much noise for a storage room?" Link leaned over the edge, trying to peer into the darkness of that area. "Worth taking a look at least."

Sheik let out a small grunt in agreement. "Our priority is to find the Zora and set them free. That place can be just as good as a lead as the battle at the top. But we can't spare so much time to go down into the bottom and then up to the top."

"Easy enough, you guys go to the top and I go check that place." Suggested the Hero, who already turned to the stairs leading down.

"W-Wait! I want to go with you." La'Azul called out before Link could leave. The blond looked at her, his cerulean eyes asking her reasons. "I'm not very good in a fight, and we know people are fighting up there… but I'm a very good swimmer, even by Zora standards…" She gave a small nod to the area below which is filling more and more with water by the minute.

"Sure, I'll be counting on you." Link smiled and gave her a little wave of his hand. His eyes then shifted to Vahn and Sheik. "Meet you at the top?"

"We will try to save a bit of the fun for you." Vahn said cheekily.

Quirking an eyebrow at the red-haired at his side, Sheik shook his head and then looked back at Link. "Be careful, we don't know what Ganondorf has done to this place. He had years to spread his influence in Zora's Domain."

Turning away, Link began to move down the stairs, waving one hand up as he said. "When I'm not careful?"

Which made everyone present frown at him.

Leaving Link and his antics alone, the blond and the red-haired turned away and started to made their way up.

With La'Azul following a little bit behind him, Link quickly ran down the steps, jumping into the water-filled ground as soon as he could reach it. Splashing water everywhere, he got more than knees deep into the freezing lake, making him shudder at the sudden chilling feel clawing at his body.

"I don't remember this place having this much water…" He said loudly to overcome the sound of all sorts of things falling into the water. "Did it rain last night and I missed it?"

"What?" La'Azul looked at Link's back, totally confused by the last remark. "It doesn't rain inside, Link. But I think the reason this floor is flooding, is because water always ran freely through Zora's Domain, but those weird wizards froze everything up. Now my home is on fire, but the bottom of the lake is still frozen, there is no path open for the water to flow out."

"So it will keep flooding until the ceiling?" Link asked as he walked as fast as he could against the agitated lake.

"Well, until it reaches the entrance, then it will flow outside."

"Great… we better get this done fast; I really don't wanna drown in this gloomy place… Oh, sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

"I-It's okay… in the way that is now, my home has become a very awful place." Looking up to the chaos raining from above, La'Azul sighed but didn't allow herself to cry. "But we will make it better."

"That we will, you can count on me." The blond Hero declared boldly, raising both arms in the air to express his enthusiasm. "Look, there's some sort of light inside." He squinted his eyes the closer he got to the cave. "A lot of movements, there's a ton of shadows dancing on that wall. We gotta hurry!"

Diving forward, the blond began to swim instead of slowly walking, this change made him cross the body of water twice as fast as he would otherwise.

Feeling the elevation on the ground, Link got up to his feet, this time the water hitting only onto his ankle. Getting both the Master Sword and the Hylian Shield from his back, the blond charged forward without caring how much noise his steps are making against the water surface.

A few paces inside and his eyes meet straight on the grim sight of dozens of Zora imprisoned inside a weird cask of red ice. Biting his lips in frustration, the blond decided to ignore them for a moment and continued to press on.

Along this wide hallway, he ran past a vast number of Zora frozen in place, but the closer he got to the slightly open door ahead, the more and more soldiers he finds on the ground. Some of them are unconscious, others dead with a mix of anger and confusion on their faces.

Putting more force on his stride, Link did a final sprint toward the door, slamming his shield against the wooden structure he busted his way in, but quickly had to duck and roll away from a fast wooden pole flying to his face.

"Link?!" A male voice said his name, sounding surprised and glad at the same time. "How did you manage to get here? Last time I saw you an entire battalion of legionaries were after you."

"Legionaries? Oh, you mean the soldiers wearing black!" Almost automatically, Link replied to the question, but then he frowned at his casual behavior. Shooting up to his feet, he studied the tall and muscular Zora man in front of him, confused as to the man's easiness around him. "Wait a minute, who are you?"

"Huh?!" The Zora frowned at him. "Dammit, did your memories decided to get foggy right now?!" With a sound click of his tongue, the man looked away in frustration but quickly looked back at Link. "What's up with the wardrobe change? Where in the blazing hells did you manage to find another stupid hat like that in here?"

Now Link felt the need to glare at the man. If one wants to incur aversion from the blond youth, they need only to insult his clothing, especially his hat.

"No… this isn't right. Your eyes are different and unless you discovered how to change the tone of your skin, you should not be this tanned." Taking a few steps back, the Zora looked at Link with an odd combination of distrust and awe in his large black eyes. "Goddesses, you are him aren't you? The other one. What are you doing in Zora's Domain?"

"Other one?" Now Link properly glared at him. "If this is about what I think it is, then there is no other one. I am the one, there is just me. Link. It doesn't matter what type of lies you may have been fed."

"Wow… that's a contrast." A small chuckle escaped the blue-skinned man. "Now I know for a fact you are not the Link I know. Not enough cursing and vitriol in those words of yours." Shifting his attention away from Link, the Zora turned and pointed to a giant sculpture at the end of the dim-lighted room. "So, real Link, can you help me break that thing open?"

Leaning to the side, Link looked at the weirdly shaped thing. "What is that? No, forget about it. You said that you know that… thing. Where is he? Is he here? He is the one at the top isn't he?"

"Din's light, you really are different… so much yapping." Both men glared at each other this time. "Can you split that thing open or not? If you can't, then get out of my way, I need to find something that can take this fire out of that stupid crystal."

Still fuming at this rude person, Link moved past him to properly inspect the weird thing at the back. Looking at it up close, he notices that the sculpture is actually a case of purple-colored glass, and inside of it; an ever-burning pyre of blue fire is dancing at its core.

"Blue fire? What is this for?" Link asked, tapping the glass with one finger, to his surprise it doesn't feel hot or even warm.

"That is the key to save my people. The blue fire melts over that red crystal; it's the only way to free everyone frozen in this place." The man explained. "So, can you break it? I already tried and I broke one of my Tonfas in the process." He nodded towards the broken wooden weapon on the floor next to Link.

Looking at the man one more time, Link placed the shield on his back and grabbed the Master Sword in a two-handed grip. "If it's true, then I will at least try." Closing his eyes for the smallest moment, Link began to concentrate the power that always flows inside of him, pouring this raw energy into the weapon on his hand.

Cutting at the darkness in the room, the Master Sword gave life to a golden light, pure magical energy flowing across its blade.

With a mighty swing forward, Link clashed his sword onto the eerie glass. At first, the legendary blade simply fell onto the purple surface, almost bouncing back by some magical force, but as the light around the steel gained even more intensity, a crack appeared on the glass and soon it shattered in a blast that echoed everywhere inside the room.

"You did!" The Zora cheered with a big smile on his lips. "By the goddesses, you managed to burst through that blasted crystal. Hurry, we need to gather as much fire as we can inside these flasks-"

"Link?! I heard a loud noise coming from here, are you okay?" La'Azul's worried voice came from the hallway, not long after she appeared at the left side of the open door, her large eyes searching for Link, but stopping on someone completely different.

Water splash suddenly when the second tonfa fell to the floor. Buckling forward slightly, the tall Zora almost went knees into the ground, his big eyes widening even more at the sight of La'Azul.

"Lazul?" He said with quivering lips. "Is that you?"

"Brother!" Running into the room without a moment's hesitation, La'Azul tackled her brother into a tight and desperate hug. "Brother, brother! I thought you were dead, all these years, I thought I had lost you." Warm tears slid down her eyes, running from her cheeks into El'Azul's broad chest.

"It's okay, sister… I'm here… We are fine." He whispered softly to her, making the girl hug him even tighter. "Shhh, I know we have a lot to talk about, but we need to leave it for later little sister. Right now, we have a chance to save our people, we need to act fast."

She pulled away from him, wiping away her tears. Still bursting into the occasional smile, she pointed a finger at him and tried her best to glare. "Is that it? After so long that is your reaction. Why aren't you surprised to see me alive?"

He gave her a big smile. "That's a long story, which we can discuss at a later time."

"Ahn… La'Azul's brother." Link called, feeling a little awkward to interrupt their moment. "How do we use this thing?" He pointed to the roaring flames dancing in front of him.

Walking over towards it, El'Azul stared at the bright thing and grinned. "Scour this room for every purple-tinted flask you can find. We will use this dammit thing in the same way they did."

Link watched as the man reached for a flask resting on an open box nearby and fearlessly reaching into the fire. As La'Azul stepped closer to them, the blond leaned closer to her and whispered. "But who are they he is talking about?"

"Goodness… look how many of them are here." Vahn said in a little voice, his tone trembling with the sight in front of him.

After climbing the stairs to the third level, the pair came face to face with the majority of Zora's Domain population, each of them frozen in place with terror evident in their faces.

"H-How many do you think?" The red-haired scholar asked, as he slowly began to move closer to his blond friend.

Looking at the rows and rows of red crystal dotting the room, the Sheikah frowned deeply behind his mask. "Too many…"

However, they had little time to contemplate the enormous room filled with people. From the floor above the loudest explosion yet raged violently against the floor, making the third level tremble with force.

Then a flash of light came from the giant gap at the top of the waterfall at the top. Turning their attention to that place, they saw a lone figure dancing with rapid movements, the glint of a sword dashing from left to right.

Another explosion erupted, this time right where that person was standing, pushing him out into the open air.

Pulling something from behind him, that figure aimed his right arm in the direction where Vahn and Sheik are standing. From the gloomy darkness in front of them, the pair dodged to the side in surprise when the tip of the Longshot came flying past then, attaching itself to the wall.

As the chains pulled, a blond came crashing into the third floor, rolling at the wet ground to try and control his landing.

"I… fucking… hate… THIS SHEIKAH!" Link screamed at the top of his lungs, his scarlet eyes shining with a mad glow, giving a very unsettling look to his bruised and sweaty face.

"S-Sheik! Isn't that?!" Vahn scrambled away from the irate blond, his little shriek making the man aware of his presence.

Quickly moving to stand between Vahn and the pale warrior, Sheik raised his daggers. "Stay behind me, Vahn."

Link looked at them, his glare only worsening when he identified the two in front of him. "Not now… I can't lose it in this place." He slapped the side of his head twice, then shook his blond locks wildly as he tried to fix whatever is wrong with him. "Why won't you go away?! Not now!"

A low whistle came flying through the air, it sounded like the cry of birds. This sound traveled with a faint flash across the dark, aimed directly at the grey-clad warrior.

Link, who felt too perturbed by Sheik and Vahn's presence in front of him, failed to notice the projectile flying at him, allowing the throwing knife to dig deep into this right shoulder.

Staggering with the force, the pale blond took two steps back. He cried out in pain, his left hand instantly grabbing the projectile and pulling it out from his body.

"You are growing careless with time, Hero…" A voice mocked from within the shadows.

Two more knives came flying at Link, but this time he swung his sword directly at them, blocking the incoming blades. "I swear… It won't be pretty when I drag you out of the corner you are hiding…" He growled angrily, his eyes scanning the room, completely ignoring the other two behind him.

"Oh… what is that? Do we have company?" The voice sounded again, the words making Link glance at Sheik again, but this time his expression turned a lot more conflicted than before. "What a surprise, a traitor has decided to enter the domain entrusted to me." From the far corner on the left, the masked man decided to remerge from the shadows, enough to show himself to the other two.

"Goddesses, is that…" Vahn whispered softly, this revelation confusing the young scholar.

However, where the red-haired felt taken aback by it, Sheik grew furious instantly. "A Sheikah." Taking a step forward, he glared at the masked man, pointing both daggers at him. "You fight for that monster, and dare call me a traitor?"

A burst of resigned laughter came from the other Sheikah, given almost only for the act of mocking. "You serve and protect the spawn of the people responsible for the Sheikahs destruction. What else to label you but a traitor? You kill and bleed for the kind that despises us, that hunted down our brothers and sisters like animals… You are nothing but a traito-"

From directly above the fully masked Sheikah, Link came flying down at him with the sword aimed at his chest. With enough reflex the man managed to slip aside, making the taller man crash directly on the floor.

Yet given the opportunity, Link promptly jumped from the spot he landed and grabbed the man by his throat. "Got ya, your sneaking little rat."

Pressing his fingers tighter and tighter, Link felt a twisted satisfaction in hearing the man gurgling in the choke, clawing desperately at his arms, trashing left and right to try to get away. Every reaction, every sensation of pain dealt to this person, it tastes like the sweetest nectar to the pale warrior.

Horrified by the expression tainting the face that he grew to love, Sheik almost gag watching Link in that way. That sinister glow in his eyes, the small twitch his lips are doing to widen into a cruel smirk, everything about this scene is a nightmare to witness, one that feels unbearable for him.

"S-Stop it…" Sheik's plea came out as little more than a hushed breath. "Let him go, Link!"

Stiffening at the scream, the pale blond gave a small glance behind. "Why?! He deserves to die."

"Maybe he does for following Ganondorf, maybe… but you have to stop this." The Sheikah stepped forward, letting the dagger fall off from his right hand as he raised it toward Link. "Look what it is doing to you. The look on your face; is pure evil. That isn't right, that is not… how Link is. Please, let go of him."

Link looked at Sheik and felt a throbbing jolt of pain in his chest at the desperate look on the Sheikah's visible eye. Instantly his trembling hand released its grip on the man's neck, allowing the masked Sheikah to fall into the floor as he began to cough and wheeze for air.

"Ack… Gahh… Y-you… You'll regret this!" Spat the Sheikah, his bearings slowly returning to him as he wobbly tried to get to his feet.

Link turned back at him, his face completely blank but his red eyes terrifyingly focused on the person crawling away from him. "No…" He squat next to where he had landed, the fingers of his right hand slowly sliding into the handle of his fallen sword. "I won't."

With a fast pull, he raised his sword above his head and moved forward toward the masked warrior. Allowing his arm to drop with gravity, he aimed a simply thrust at the man's back.

Sparkles flared up as the Darkened Master Sword crashed on a smaller blade, with one push the larger weapon forced the dagger down, gaining ground instantly after their shock.

"Get out of the way, Sheik…" He growled, forcing his right arm to go forward.

"N-No…." Sheik spat back, his knees buckling down under the weight of Link's arm, despite using both hands to hold his dagger. "If you kill this person like this, like you are now. Then you will be no different from the monsters that hurt us."

Link snorted, putting more strength in his arm. "And here I thought you already saw me as one."

"Not yet!"

Two words made Link's strength crash and fade more than the growing fatigue that assaults his body. Hearing those words made him falter and relent, letting Sheik gain space and push him back enough to make his feet stumble.

"Do you… truly mean that?" Link's voice came out as tamed, quiet and hopeful. Even his bright red eyes twinkled a softer glint on them, a sudden crack in his hardened shell.

Just like their previous encounter inside the Water Temple, Sheik felt a disturbing connection to this person. An impossible but fast trust, a need to understand and be understood, a feeling that surprised him just as much when it happened with Link, his Link.

"I…" He hesitated, despite wanting to say the words. "I d-"

Loud and fast thumping sounds echoed from the stairs behind them, a gush of wind rushing forward in the form of a green blur.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Link rushed inside the room with Master Sword in his hands, his blue eyes never leaving the form of the pale impostor so close to his lover.

Metal met metal in a violent clash of strength. Green and grey, both warriors faced one another yet again, equal hatred mirroring in their eyes.

"You…" The pale warrior sneered, the fire that had faded from his eyes returning tenfold at the mocking perfect reflection of himself in front of his eyes. "This time I won't fail."

"Likewise!" Roared back the blue-eyed Hero.

Breaking the lock of their blades, the two warriors stepped away from each other just to jump forward to strike their opposition again.

Different from the last time they face one another, there was no disparity in their skill, however, now exists a glaring contrast in their style.

While the red-eyed Link strikes with fury and strength, the blue-eyed one moves with precision and deliberation. Where burning ire storms without relent, a cooling current stirs the violence aside, placing them in an equally matched duel.

Their fight soon engulfed the entire platform, the duo moving everywhere in their battle, as the sparkles flying from their swords began to flash a different place each time they flared in the air.

Trapped in his focus in their exchange, Sheik was too stunned to try to break them apart. Yet, following his instincts of a warrior fully trained in the shadow arts, he pulled another dagger from within his clothes and spun back toward Vahn to block to flying knives aimed at the unaware red-haired.

Squealing in panic, Vahn hugged his friend's back after seeing the pair of throwing blades bouncing on the floor.

Staring into the masked man retreating into the shadows, Sheik glared at the Sheikah who glared back at him.

"This changes… nothing. Traitor." Warned the Sheikah before disappearing into the darkness.

Sheik waited to see if another projectile would come their way, but after a few moments of nothing, he relented and took his eyes away from that corner. "Tch… Why is one of us serving that tyrant?"

A loud crash forced Sheik's attention back to the ensuing duel; both Links are once again with their blades locked in a struggle of strength. Both blondes continued to push and shove, ignoring how close they were to the edge.

"I…" Link said between gritted teeth. "I will never allow you to hurt them again."

"And you will do what?" The pale warrior replied with just as much anger in his voice. "An imbecile incapable of thinking for himself. You are the last mocking joke that bastard Rauru left to torment me."

"Rauru was a friend!" Link screams back.

"Rauru was a farce! But you are too stupid to see his manipulation, his meddling." Pulling his sword back, Link made a large number of sparkles fly from their blades, blinding both him and his blue-eyed counterpart. "You are his pet, a fraction of what I am." Shaking his head to try to overcome the blue spots in his vision, Link changed the handle of his weapon and shoved his right hand forward. "You still don't get it, do you? Ganondorf will never die while there are two of us!"

Blinking his dizziness away, Link saw the flow of the golden symbol shinning in the other man's hand. However, it was incomplete; the triangle has only its left side filled with light while the right one is completely absent. "The Triforce… how? You stole it!"

"Now you get it." His red eyes twinkled at the outrage of his rival's face. "There can be no Hero of Time while the two of us breathe." Running forward, he laced his arms behind Link's back and moved them closer to the edge. "That's why you have to die."

Pushing his heels against the floor, Link shoved them both from the cliff.

Unable to utter a word, both Sheik and Vahn ran to the edge just to witness the other two fall headfirst into the water. Took little to no time for the two of them down there to start punching each other while trying to swim to firm ground.

"We have to stop them. They will kill each other at this pace." Sheik bit at his lips, almost having the mind to jump down after them.

"But how?" Vahn asked. "It's like Link goes rabid when he sees that other him. He didn't even care that we were here. He didn't even care that I almost…"

"Vahn! Sheik!" Running up from the same path Link came, La'Azul climbed the stairs holding a bundle of purple flasks in her arms, pressing them firmly against her chest. "I found it! I learned how to set everyone free."

"Oi, what is that in your hands?" Vahn squinted his eyes at the dancing flame inside the jars. "Is that a spell in a bottle?"

"Lazul, I told you not to run up the stairs." El'Azul quickly appeared behind his sister.

"AND WHO'S THAT?" Vahn squealed loudly, pointing at the tall muscular Zora.

"T-This is my brother…" She explained, taking long breaths to regain her composure. "But forget about him for now, I have something more important."

"Oi?!" Her brother growled as he climbed the last steps up.

"We found this strange fire inside that cave." She excitedly pushed one flask onto Vahn's hand. "We can toss it against the red crystals and the fire will spread around, melting that weird ice thing."

Still watching the two blondes down on the first floor, Sheik noticed the wave of Zora people wobbly running for the exit on the second floor, his gaze then finally changing towards the two Zora next to Vahn.

"Do we have enough for everyone here?" He asked, taking one flask into his own hands.

"More than enough… I think." El'Azul replied. "We just need to throw a few at the corners; the fire will spread in a wide enough range that it will go from crystal to crystal. I brought enough to cover this floor and the next one… Just hope everyone up there is as close to each other as people here."

"Then let's finish this mission and save the remaining Zora." Sheik announced a bit frustrated. "We can resolve the other problem after we are done here."

"You sure?" Vahn asked, giving a small glance to the two down there, who already managed to swim to the shallow parts of the lake.

The Sheikah sighed and replied with a hint of hesitation. "No, I am not… but our priority here is to save the Zora from this place. We can't let anything jeopardize a mission as important as this, even if it is Link…."

For years, this desolated paradise at the borders of the Zora Kingdom has been kept private and isolated. One could count in a single hand the number of visitors, expected or no, that came to this place, a site that had become almost a forgotten memory to Hyrule

Yet, fate has a strange way of reigniting the fire of history. For so long, Zora's Domain has remained quiet. But today, the rising voices gathering here had not yet stopped.

"This is where they came to? Are you sure?" Asked the agitated Gerudo. "I don't see anything."

"Why are you looking at me? I'm just following them." One of her companions, a brunet Hylian man pointed at the round Goron at the realm of a cart pulled by two horses, a little silver-haired girl sitting quietly by his side.

"Zora's Domain." Fie said in her little voice, her big red eyes going up to his big Goron friend's face.

Teddy smiled at her and nodded. "This is Zora's Domain, Fie."

"Here!" She pointed to the constricted waterfall far back in the distance. "I heard them. Zora's Domain."

"Okay, we believe you… BUT WHY ARE YOU HERE, FIE?!" Nova almost fell from her horse when her arms flayed wildly in the air.

"I fight." That was all the girl said, her little fist pumping the air.

"No, you don't!" Lars cried from his horse. "You will sit here with Teddy while we go there help the boss."

Fie glared at the brunet but didn't say anything in retort.

"Aw… why do I have to be the one sitting out?" Teddy whined, the rather large Goron began to pout like he is a little kid himself.

"Because you are the one that brought her here." Nova replied with a grin.

Looking down at Fie, Teddy began to scratch the top of his head, trying to remember when he agreed to take her with him. Which he didn't. Then he tried to remember when she climbed on the cart with him, and he has no idea when she managed to do that.

Teddy was about to raise his counterpoint at Nova, but as the Goron stood up from where was sitting the pristine blue sky above them darkened in the blink of an eye.

A giant mass of dark clouds began to swirl in a rapid form directly above Zora's Domain. From the center of that eerie spiral, ragging bolts of lightning shot everywhere, and at the apex of that airborne vortex, a massive flaming orb shot down into the ground, slamming with a blinding explosion right at the entrance.

All the horses cried out in panic, giving a lot of trouble to keep them in place, almost dropping Nova on the grass, Lars on the other hand fell face first on the grey-tinted foliage.

"Blah, ack… what in the heavens?!" Spatting out a few blades of dried grass that flew into his mouth, Lars slowly pushed himself up, his widened eyes staring at the disappearing turmoil in the sky. "Am I going nuts, or did a giant fireball rain from the sky?"

"You are not the only one Lars, I also saw it." Jumping from her horse, Nova grabbed her gear from the sack she had tied to the saddle. "Teddy, keep an eye on the horses. Lars and I are going in, I'm getting a very bad feeling about this place."

Teddy raised a hand to complain but the other two quickly started running toward the inner sanctum of the valley.

"And don't let Fie out of your sight!" Lars shouted with a glance back, before disappearing behind a hill with Nova.

Letting out a slow sigh, Teddy sat down and frowned. Gripping the reins on his hand, the Goron whispered a few grumblings, before he sighed again and relented. His round eyes then glanced to the empty seat next to him.

His breathing stopped and a sense of urgency flared up. "Fie?! Fieee!" He looked left, right, and even jumped from the cart to look beneath it. "Aww…"

The echoes of Link's battle raged across the first and second level of Zora's Domain. After moving onto the elevated path beside the now unfrozen lake, the estranged duality of the Hero of Time resumed their fierce encounter, going past a duel with their respective Holy Swords, to an all-out brawl between them.

Holding no type of tactics back, they have started to punch, kick, grab, and tackle one another across the dripping walls.

"Why… ha… ha… why are you even here?" Link spat as they pushed each other away. "Look at this, look what you do! Everything is on fire; this has to be your fault. I saw what you can do in the Water Temple."

"MY FAULT?!" A different glint flashed on Link's red eyes. "You are the one screwing everything up! Why are you here? If you hadn't come, we would have freed the Zora already. If you just disappeared into that fairytale, you had holed yourself in, that blasted Sheikah would be dead."

Link's right arm shivered at his side, his hand clenching and opening. "You won't lay a finger on him." He ran towards the chilling body of water, getting his sword back that had fallen during one of their exchanges. "Do you hear me? You won't ever harm Sheik again."

"Sheik?!" His scarlet eyes widened and then clenched at that declaration. "How much of a vacant head can you be? I don't want to kill Sheik, imbecile. Didn't you see him? The prick in a white mask that almost killed Vahn up there?!"

Now blue eyes twitched in confusion as they glared toward the pale man bending down to reach for his sword. "There was no…"

"Hah, of course, you didn't notice him." Link sneered at his blue-eyed counterpart. "To busy jumping to conclusions, too much of a hardhead to see what is important, the details right in front of your eyes. How can he choose you over me…? I will never understand."

Placing the Darkened Master Sword in front of him, Link glared at his mirrored self. Each time he ever glances at that person, something primal explodes inside of him. A violent instinct whispering at his most private thoughts the singular idea that this one person is the key to everything.

To the pain inflicted on him, on the ailments of his mental health, to unlock the path to his happiness. It guides him, pushes him to the one idea of killing the weaker part of Link.

These words, this idea, and feeling. It feels nostalgic to him, addictive… and deep, deep down… wrong.

For the very first time in their brief heated encounter, Link took a step away from the other him. His right arm twitched, but this time with hesitation.

"No… I… am not an animal… I…" Grabbing the side of his head with his left hand, Link buckled forward. The whispers getting louder, more insistent. The more he fights against the urge, the more it hurts him; it took away its sweet allure, replacing it with vindictive relentlessness. "Ah…. Run… Run away, you fool."

Link watched as the twisted version of himself clawed at his silvery-blond hair, his nails digging so deep that they have starting leaving marks on the pale skin. The man twitched and convulsed, taking steps forward and back, a pure look of insanity on those red evil eyes.

"I won't." Link replied, poising himself with his blade in front of him. "You are unstable, dangerous… Whatever you are, you are still wearing my face. I won't allow something as horrific as you to roam free on this already troubled land. I… I don't take pleasure in killing, not even you. But this is my responsibility. You won't leave this place."

Clenching his jaws hungrily, Link felt his resolve slowly crumbling at the vicious pounding inside his head. Little by little, the idea of killing that blue-eyed imbecile is getting sweeter and sweeter, leaving no space for anything else but this obsession.

"Hah... hahahah. You still don't get it, boy." The left side of his face hiding behind his pale hand, Link only visible eye shifted in its glow. Fury, hatred, fear, sadness. Everything boiling down in a mess of conflicting thoughts. "The only one dying here is…"

With a snap, the whispers and pain disappeared. Like if the giant hand that was crushing his will against the floor had just lifted away from him, Link managed to straighten himself properly.

Blinking a few times to regain his bearings, the pale blond felt even more confused by the sudden shift inside of him.

And so, in the void of the turmoil that was assaulting him, a different instinct took place. One alerting to danger, pushing him to one line of thought exclusively; survival.

This time he heard his inner thoughts instantly, with a spin of his heels, Link turned his back to his blue-eyed counterpart and poised his sword in front of him, aiming in the opposite direction where his rival stands.

"Oh… no, please do go on." A rich and deep voice sounded from the level above. Its tone is both entrancing and terrifying. "Finish what you wanted to say. Turn around and tell him; 'the one who shall die is you'… No? a shame. Your little struggle was so enjoyable to watch."

At first, distressed by the wild movements of the red-eyed clone of him. Link jumped back and prepared to respond to any sort of trick the man could pull. But after seeing his rival turn his back at him and the look of pure distress on that face, Link had to follow his gaze.

Soon, his own cerulean eyes widened and his lips closed into a thin line. Taking enough steps to stand next to the person he vowed to put down, Link held his sword to face the man floating above the broken, burned-down bridge of the third level.

With long waving red hair, olive green skin, and a piercing yellow eye. The great King of Evil himself stands in front of them, donning an extravagant-looking armor, filled with gems and golden inscriptions; and a menacing golden sword in hands.

A completely different image to the thin, almost balding man as he appeared to Link on that day in Ingo's Palace.

"It is a pleasure to meet you again face to face, Hero of Time." Ganondorf laughed, his rich voice echoing everywhere in its mocking song. "Now to choose… which one of you will die first?"

Pathless roads are roads all the same

As for one day for the path to be marked

The unknown must be explored

Brave is thee who path finds our way

Honorable is thee who sacrifices in our stead

Missed are thee who one day will go so the rest of us may stay

For a Hero is not claimed during the events of their life

A Hero is worshipped at the feet of their grave.

Page IV – Requiem.

Chapter End.