There was finally light. Faint, shimmering shafts of it cut through the cloudy water, hailing the end.
Link kicked harder, propelling himself to the surface. Breaking it, he breathed air in, ripping aside the mask over his face. After clambering over the ledge he freed Navi from the airtight bottle he'd stowed her in while they were underwater.
She took a few delicate gulps of fresh air, searching their surroundings for information.
"What do you think?" Link asked.
They'd emerged into what seemed to be the temple's centre, a chute that stretched high above their heads and dropped well below their feet on the other side of the passage. A rectangular stone column dominated its centre, cut with multiple ledges wide enough to walk on. One level above and directly across, a door indicated the column's interior was hollowed out.
Navi floated out over the gap between where Link was standing and the next ledge. "The water level is down at the bottom," she announced. "It's almost dry; I can see sand."
Link noted a pair of torches, already lit, casting light against the wall of the chamber. The whole place was illuminated as if it were daylight, through a combination of torches and artificial sunlight sconces. The decorative quality of these was similar to what he'd seen in Zora's Domain.
"Someone must be here," Link called to his fairy companion, mentioning the gate as well.
Navi's wings pulsed with light briefly. "Whoever they are, they're friendly."
Using the hookshot, Link lowered himself to the ground floor, following the path set by the lit torches. Turning right down a narrow passageway, etched with Zora designs, Link found himself in a small, underground chamber which vaulted upwards to more floors unknown.
Standing in its centre was a female Zora. She turned at his approach, her violet eyes widening in delighted surprise.
"Link!"
He paused. Her face was familiar to him, but he couldn't place it at first.
"Do I know you?"
She laughed, tossing her head back. "Don't be silly!" she admonished him with a playful wave of her hand. She rested it against her hip, her fins fanning out artfully. "It's me, Princess Ruto, your wife-to-be!"
"Um…" Navi said.
Link reeled back in shock. "My what!?"
Ruto laughed girlishly. "I haven't forgotten! But you're a terrible man to keep me waiting like this for all these years."
Link's tongue was having trouble forming words. Oblivious to his awkward confusion, she floated over with a grace other Zoras would envy.
"But now is not the time, I know," she carried on in a dramatic tone Link remembered well. "I came here to save my people. Have you seen it, Link? Zora's Domain – completely frozen!"
Link swallowed and found his voice. "Yes, I—"
"Such a tragedy!" she interrupted with another regal sweep of fins.
Link quickly relayed his visits to the Domain, and rescue of her father, King Zora, before making his way here to the lakebed temple. When he'd finished, Ruto threw her arms around him, trapping his arms at his sides.
"Oh, Link! I can't thank you enough for saving my father. And for coming here to help me save all my people." She clung to him in a tight embrace. Link gently patted her shoulder.
She released him, brushing aside a tear and returning to business. "There are three reservoirs within this temple to control the water level. My people have long used places like this to keep the waters of Hyrule's rivers and lakes clean and flowing, even in times of disaster. If we can reach all three reservoirs and raise the water level, we can find the monster that has been leeching our water supply and destroy it."
"Have you been here all this time fighting the monster?" he asked incredulously.
A delicate blush crept across her face and she looked away from his gaze. "I have not been here long, but as the Sage of Water, I can sense the monster's presence, draining the lake. Unfortunately, I…" she gestured to Link. "I am not strong enough to defeat it alone, nor can I turn the valves to release the water in the reservoirs."
Ruto laid her head on Link's shoulder and began stroking his arm through his sleeve. "Which is why I am ever so grateful that you're here now to help me."
Navi emitted a noise suspiciously like a snort. Link shot her a glare, but she pretended not to see it.
"I'll do what I can," he promised Ruto.
She embraced him gleefully. "Thank you! Now, follow me! There is no time to waste."
"Then why are you wasting time fawning?" Navi muttered.
"Navi!" Link hissed.
At least Ruto couldn't understand Navi; she relied on Link to translate. Otherwise, she ignored the fairy. The Zora princess guided them through the lower level, where Link dispatched the occasional tektites and spikes and that crossed them, drawn from the dark energy cloaking the temple.
When they reached the basement room with the first reservoir, Ruto stood aside and Link grasped the lever in both hands. It took some effort, but the piece of metal eventually turned with a painful, metallic scrape. The great stone reservoir seemed to shudder, then a door at the base creaked open and water gushed free.
Link put on his mask as the basement quickly filled, swimming behind Ruto back to the main cavern. They floated on the surface as the water level rose until Link could reach the platform of the centre structure.
"The second reservoir is inside here," Ruto explained, peeking around the corner and finding the door. "Oh, Nayru's ears, it won't open!" The Zora princess heaved on the handle, but the door refused to budge.
Link tried, but it was wedged tight. "Is there another way inside?" he asked.
Ruto scrunched up her face in frustration and concentration. "Back in the basement there might be a way. But you'll have to—"
The water behind her stirred, shooting upwards into a long arm that swept her clean off the ledge.
"Ruto!"
Link dove in after her, but the malevolent water had a mind of its own. The water formed itself into a vortex, shoving him back and pulling Ruto under. With its prey snatched, it whisked her away underwater and into a tunnel in the cavern's outer wall.
Link swam after it. Around him the cavern shook violently, and the walls of the underwater tunnel collapsed, raining boulders down on him. He spun out of the way, avoiding being crushed, before kicking for the surface.
"What was that!?" Navi screeched. "That was not normal water!"
"No idea," Link panted, peeling off the face mask. "I'll have to find another way in. Looks like we're on our own."
Navi shuddered. "Alright. Just don't stay underwater too long. I hate being stuck inside that bottle…"
The bottom of the temple was a maze of tunnels and passageways. Hitting dead ends and being forced to double back made his progress slow, and his urgency pricked at the back of his mind.
The temple was a curious mix of the Zora's water-based technology and their deep spirituality, serving both a practical purpose and as a place to honor the spirits of water.
When Link at last found a tunnel, which led inside the central column, he flipped over and floated on his back to rest. Above, the reservoir loomed. With the crank turned, the room flooded again. He managed to unwedge the troublesome door and swam across the gap to the second floor.
"It's another maze, isn't it?" Link groaned. His sense of direction was stellar, but underneath all this earth and water, it was impossible to tell where he was headed.
Navi huffed. "At least I can be free of the bottle."
A half dozen cramped corridors later, Link nearly tumbled headfirst down a waterfall as the path abruptly ended.
In an enormous room, two giant waterfalls splashed into a deep basin fifty feet below. Standing above them, Link realized the water was flowing beneath his feet from an unseen channel. Directly across the gap, another passageway stared him down.
"Well, how do I get over there?" Link sighed, exasperated.
"Link, look!"
Navi bobbed excitedly at a row of sconces on the walls. Underneath was a small padded target.
"You can use the hookshot!" she explained. "It will hold, trust me."
Not wanting to doubt his fairy companion but not altogether certain it would hold him, Link used the hookshot to sail over the wall. He wrapped his free arm around the sconce and looked across the room to the next in line.
There was no going back now. He hoped the hookshot's chain was long enough to zig zag over the huge room.
With a brief prayer, he pressed the release, and the spearhead of the hookshot found its target. A few more crossings and he was standing on the other side, the falls thundering behind him.
Link rubbed his aching shoulder. "Let's hope there's another way back," he muttered.
Further down the corridor, he found a rectangular room, ending in a single door on a raised platform. To the right and left were imposing statues of dragon heads, their mouths open and expressions fierce.
Before them were stone bowls, meant to catch a flood of water from the spout inside their mouths. All were dry and had been for some time. The recesses of the room were dark, but the walkway to the door was lit by more glowing orbs.
While Navi mused about Zora spiritual beliefs and rituals the room had once been used for, Link studied the door. The frame was impressive, three times as big as the door and decorated exquisitely with Zora designs. The door itself was blank, painted so deep blue it would have been invisible if not for its frame.
It bore no handle, but swung open soundlessly at the touch of his fingertips, admitting entrance to the strangest room yet.
Shallow water lapped at his boots, pushing ripples across the floor and disappearing into the haze.
On the far side an identical door, shut, was only just visible.
He took another step, disturbing the glass-like surface of water and distorting the reflection of the room. Between him and the exit was a sandy island, big enough for a single dead tree, black with decay.
Link approached it warily, unsure what kind of eerie place he had stumbled into. On his shoulder, Navi shivered.
The whole room was still, cool and open. There was no ceiling, no walls, yet he had a sense of being caged in, trapped.
Wisps of fog ebbed and flowed around him, drawing back when he walked and then flooding to cover his tracks behind him. In the distance on either side of the tree, Link could make out what looked like stone ruins, as fragile as dust and the colour of sand. Even when he ventured for a closer look, the fog obscured them; they stayed out of reach.
Giving up exploration, Link hurried to the opposite door. A cold trickle of apprehension ran down his nape. His fingertips felt numb.
Link reached for the door. With a sound like a blade being drawn from its sheath, iron bars dropped from the frame, barring his escape.
Ice pounded through his veins now. Navi's wings blazed with blue light.
The energy in the room had shifted, gathered by the mist and coalescing at the base of the tree. With laser precision, it targeted him, compelling him to turn.
A shadow waited before the dead tree, watching him.
"It's...me," Link said, shocked.
The figure took a step forward; the water beneath its feet dead calm. It cast no reflection.
He reached for his sword and shield. His shadow-self did the same. "What is this?" he asked Navi.
The fairy moved to hover at the other Link's side; its featureless face didn't turn. His eyes, glowing red with sinister magical energy, were fixed on Link.
They began to circle each other, waiting for the fight to begin.
"It's you," Navi repeated. "I don't know how to explain it...he feels just like you, only...not."
The other Link sprung, his shadowy Master Sword, crashing onto the Hylian shield.
"Not helpful!" Link growled, rolling out of the way of a follow-up attack.
Charging with inhuman and relentless force, his shadow-self barraged Link, keeping his defense on a teetering edge. When he did parry, the creature copied his movements exactly. Not only imitated, but anticipated Link's next move, evading every hit.
Link raised his shield, and with a well-aimed kick, the shadow sent him sprawling to the floor. Acting quickly, he rolled as the point of the other's false but very sharp sword slammed into the spot his chest had been a moment before.
Dispassionate, the shadow Link yanked the blade free, ready to fight again. The pair traded blows again and again, but neither was able to gain an advantage. It was all Link could do to keep himself upright. Fed up, he focused his will into his left hand, executing a spin attack with the Master Sword and releasing a wave of energy at his opponent.
Struck by the spell, the shadow grunted in pain and dropped to his knees. Without warning he slipped beneath the shallow water, swallowed by the mirror's reflection.
"It's just an illusion!" Navi warned. "He'll be back."
Sure enough, Link's opponent materialized again at the base of the tree, moving towards him at high speed.
He readied another spin attack, but the shadow jumped, bringing his own weapon down in an arc.
Link raised his left arm. It was wrenched down as the other Link stepped on the Master Sword's blade, pinning it to the floor.
Defenseless, Link felt the other sword's blade pass through him insubstantial and formless. Yet the pain it delivered was real.
Link collapsed to his knees with a scream as white-hot agony pierced him. Just as when the creature from the Kakariko Well had attacked him, but twice as devastating.
Above him, the shadow was twitching, losing and regaining its form. As if at war with itself, whether to kill Link or let him keep fighting.
When the pain faded, it left an invisible, cold scar over his heart. He rose unsteadily to his feet, every breath pricking like needles.
He lifted his sword to attack, but it became a half-hearted defense when the shadow crashed into him, drawing strength as Link's waned.
Managing a second spin attack, he drove the shadow away again, but it returned with vigor. The other Link's sword swung over and over, finding holes in Link's armour, battering away at his shield arm or deflecting blows.
With a quicksilver twist, the shadow pried under Link's defenses, locking his sword arm at his side and knocking the Master Sword from his fingers.
The blade whirled across the room, lying useless in the water.
A punch took Link to his knees, then another kick forced him down. The evil blade stabbed into his shoulder. He screamed himself hoarse with anguish as it pierced like teeth laced with venom, stealing his strength and halting his breath.
Crouching next to him, the shadow turned Link to his back. Fighting the urge to pass out, Link blinked at the whiteness of the fog.
The shadow sword kept him bound to the floor, unable to move. As the shadow watched him without expression, Link struggled, though it sent searing whips of pain across his body.
Link clenched his left fist. A twitch of his fingers eased the paralysis.
Underneath him, the water at last started to move, creeping up and over him. Dazed and weak, Link mentally resisted the sensation of being dragged down—into whatever lay on the other side—but it didn't stop.
Water covered his face, until all he could see was the shadow's indistinct form. His mind began to float away, peaceful and unconcerned. His body relaxed, content to lie in this strange ether.
Here, nothing mattered. Nothing needed doing. No one waited on his help or his heroics. He could simply sleep.
Sleep sounded nice.
Link closed his eyes.
His left hand twitched.
~oOo~
Dark's hands were sticky with blood, coating them and running in thin veins down his arms.
He knelt on the kitchen floor of their farmhouse in a circle of red. His father watched him with unfocused eyes.
"Dad?" His voice trembled like a scared child's.
Naron lifted his head and rested it against the wall. He breathed in shallow pants, hands fisted over his abdomen.
"You can't stay here, Kai," his father told him. "You need to leave."
"I won't leave you."
Dark gripped his father's hands, ignoring the blood. The coppery scent stung him.
Naron's image began to come apart, his features fragmenting into flakes of ash and scattering to dust.
His eyes melted into pools of black ink, overfilling the now empty sockets. Dark recoiled instinctively, only to hear a new voice calling his name.
Behind him, his mother rushed towards him, one scarlet streaked hand pressed against a gaping wound in her chest. Blood bubbled from the wound, staining her dress, the grass. Arms outstretched, she tried to reach him, crying out for him, but no matter how he pushed himself faster, the distance between them wouldn't close.
Dark's heart ached in his chest as he pushed with every ounce of desperation to feel her fingers catch in his.
"Mom! I can't reach you!"
"Kai! Where are you!?" she sobbed.
Her tattered dress tore away in shreds as if by a gale wind, taking pieces of her with it until nothing remained but her clutching hands and panicked eyes.
She reappeared, closer this time, but she was deaf to his calls. A bundle was in her arms, and she cradled it close, crying quietly. His infant brother lay inside, his tiny face cold and ashen.
Dark screamed as the visions collapsed and he was alone on the grassy plain, facing the Shadow once again.
It lunged at him, a shapeless mass, so black it made the night around seem bright. Slicing through him, the Shadow twisted, coiling around Dark.
He dropped to his knees, though there was no ground anymore. He clawed back at the Shadow surrounding him, but his hands passed right through. There was no strength left in his body to move, to draw breath, to feel anything but the agony.
His parents' voices rang in his head, calling for him endlessly. Low, mocking laughter followed after it.
Then everything halted. Dark raised his head, managed to stand on legs as shaky as a newborn foal's.
He cursed. He was back in the same white room, the sorcerer Alatar's latest prison.
Dark laid back down on the deep blue tiles, letting the impenetrable white fog wash over him. The visions would start again soon, and he was tired. So tired.
There was no use exploring, he knew. The room went on and on forever. It was only a mirror, a non-existent prison in a world that wasn't real.
When Dark and his Twili companion had arrived at the so-called blight—a magical barrier covering the centre of the Twilight realm, Alatar had been waiting. He'd reached through the veil and pulled Dark through, back into his trap.
Somehow, Dark had escaped from him during the sorcerer's attempts to place him under a curse of dark magic and wound up in the Twilight. But now, Alatar had succeeded, and he was caught in a twisted, eerie replica of the Light World.
When Alatar wasn't forcing him to relive horrifying alternates of his worst memories and experiences, Dark wandered in this empty room, losing count of the days that passed.
On his back with his eyes closed, Dark bolted up when the energy of the room shifted. A chorus of echoing voices filled his ears. The white fog receded, forming into a giant swirling root at the centre of the room, connecting floor to ceiling.
The voices grew louder, sounding like the wailing cries of the damned. He gritted his teeth and held his head in his hands, moving towards the column of white.
At his approach, it dissipated, leaving a shallow pool of water behind. The voices stopped.
Link lay in the water, still and pale as death.
This wasn't a vision of Alatar's to torment him. This was real.
"Link!" Dark seized his shoulders, trying to shake him awake. "Wake up! Link!"
His brother didn't open his eyes, but he took in a shallow breath. Dark nearly cried in relief. He was alive.
"Come on, Link," he urged. "Get up. Whatever this is, you can fight it. You're supposed to be a bloody hero, aren't you!?"
Link muttered something indiscernible, so Dark leaned close. "Your sword…" he repeated, scanning the room.
There. The Master Sword struck through the stone at an angle, its blade glowing with faint blue energy.
Dark raced to it, grabbing hold of the cool hilt. Pain exploded up his arm and over his heart. Dark released the blade, gasping in shock. The pain immediately vanished.
He glanced back at Link where he lay. The column of fog had returned, draining away his life. The unearthly voices cried out, more eager and frantic than before.
Dark seized the sword and pulled it free. Rejecting him, it pushed him to the floor, but he kept holding on. He would place the sword in Link's hand if he had to crawl there.
Dragging the impossibly heavy sword behind him, Dark gasped at each new throb of pain. It was the mark that the Master Sword attacked, where Alatar had sliced Dark with his knife. Sensing the dark magic in him, the sword would try to rid him of his curse, even if it destroyed him.
Collapsing next to Link's body, Dark panted for breath. The pain was worsening. The voices were shrieking. The fog was moving faster.
Link's breaths were slowing. He was dying.
The Master Sword's hilt was inches from Link's slack fingers. Dark pushed against it, feeling as if he tried to move an entire mountain and not just a piece of metal.
"You won't make it," Alatar hissed in Dark's ear, his disembodied voice amplified. "You're too late. He's already lost."
"Go…away."
"You won't save him!"
Dark ignored him. A few more centimetres. The hilt brushed against Link's fingers and his eyes flew open, no longer blue but brilliant, glowing gold.
Alatar shrieked. "NO!"
Link stood up, dispelling the fog with one swing of the Master Sword. The voices cut off with a chorus of screams.
Dark fell back against the ground. "Sweet Din," he exhaled.
Flowing from the mark over his heart, the Shadow formed a barrier over Dark, coiling and writhing as Link approached. The Shadow lunged, but Link was quicker, cutting straight through it with one powerful slash.
The Shadow broke into a thousand black mirror shards, letting loose an earth-shaking howl of rage before it vanished.
Dark heaved in one more breath of air, then lost consciousness.