First off, welcome to my new story, The Price of Freedom! I need cover art, I know, I'm still looking. If anyone has any ideas please inform me. Anyway, this story has been spinning around in my head for some time. This is the revised prologue. So, enough of my author's note!

NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: Cover art is of my own making.

Prologue: Of Demons and Heroes

Balls of small white light started to emit from Midna, Link saw. They ranged from the size of a small bead to nearly Link's hand. Midna followed his gaze and looked down at herself, her eyes going wide. She began to glow white, and the two followed the direction the orbs were going in- they were entering Zelda's body. As they watched, Zelda's eyes fluttered, before opening slightly.

"Pr-Princess…I…I…" Midna sounded like a child having a hard time confessing something.

"Say nothing, Midna," Zelda whispered, just audible enough for them to hear. It was apparent she was still recovering. "Your heart and mine were as one, however briefly. Such suffering you have endured." Midna's lower lip started to quiver as she hung her head slightly downward, as if in shame of something. Zelda pushed herself off of the throne and smiled, then looked from Midna to Link. "Such suffering both of you have endured, the trials you have passed to reach me…" The reunion was cut short from the sound of an igniting flame. Link spun on his heels, followed by Midna, who picked her head up in surprise, and Zelda gasped.

The flames were a bright, burning yellow, formed in the shape of a head, with some sort of odd ball towards the back. White and red burned in the eyes and tongue of the face, which was laughing at them. It swayed slightly, affected by the light wind that had started with the rain.

"Did you really think I'd die that easily?" Ganondorf spat. "I am the king of darkness! You will all bow before me!" The shout rocked the throne room. Ganondorf turned to Link, and emitted a growl. Link growled back, but it sounded more like the Sacred Beast than him. "What do you think you will do when this is all over, hero? You're addicted to it! You won't ever stop looking for an adventure, and it will be the death of you! Face it! You're bound to be a lost, alone, wandering soul forever!" Ganondorf bellowed. Part of the Triforce crumbled, kicking up dust that infiltrated the scene, however mellow.

"Well, first, me and Midna here are going to get a hot meal and some rest," Link countered. "After that, we are going to clean up your ashes and put in you the deepest hole we can possibly imagine!" Link's voice raised with each word, ending in a scream. Ganondorf chuckled.

"Does she know about what's inside of you? Do you she? You both have bits of your exact opposite inside of you, yet you try to clear away the very making of what you are." Ganondorf's voice was nigh a whisper. "Clearing away the darkness that takes your very soul is to commit suicide. Would you really die for all these ignorant roaches?" Link knew this tactic; it was persuasion- Ganondorf was trying to win them over. Was Ganondorf, King of Darkness, scared of death? No, Link decided. He's just trying to play us.

Link smiled. "Yes."

"So be it!" Ganondorf roared, and took a long breath in. Midna closed her eyes, and the Fused Shadows came out of her storage. They danced around her in slow motion, beckoning for her to accept the darkness. Link saw this, and screamed. He reached out for her, only to be pulled upwards in black squares, and his last view was the most sincere smile he had seen on his companion.

"See you later, Link." Midna whispered, and the Fused Shadows clamped over her head.

Link and Zelda were dropped in Hyrule Field, able to see the castle in the distance. The sun was setting, and the clouds that had brought a slight rain were moving away. The castle looked black on the background. Link started for Hyrule, when Zelda called his name. He turned, his once hard eyes now turned soft with wet. Zelda gave a sad smile.

"I can still reach her!" Link shouted, and Zelda shook her head.

"No, you can't. She'll be here soon, Link. Have patience." Zelda whispered. No sooner did she stop did Link retort.

"Patience? Patience?! Zelda, she could be dying! Ganondorf could be killing her righ-" Link finished his sentence as the castle exploded. Not a particle of dust flew away from the castle, which was now smoking. "Midna…" Link whispered. Link spotted something coming out of the smoke. He squinted.

Only to find Ganondorf on his nightmarish horse, holding Midna's piece of the Fused Shadow that she wore like her hair. Link's heart shattered, climbing up his throat into his brain. The two seemingly merged, and the Sacred Beast that dwelled within him joined in their chorus of one single word, which rocked Link's world.

REVENGE.

Link unsheathed the Master Sword and let out a wordless roar, in which Zelda felt his emotions. It started with maddening fury, followed by sadness, which ended the roar in an abrupt fashion. She held out her arm, barely large enough for Link to even feel the presence of, and she nodded.

"Spirits of the Light!" Zelda was shouting as Ganondorf began to approach. Link spotted ghostly visages behind him, watched as the crumbled helmet fell to the ground, and let the riders come. "Wielders of the power that shines far and wide upon the lands of our world!" Ganondorf was closer. Link could smell the sweat, feel the energy reverberating off of the burning white sword as the King of Darkness grew ever closer, seemingly slowed. Link readied the Master Sword, ready to cut into Ganondorf, when Zelda finished. "Grant me the light to banish evil!"

Link was transported, in a white flash, to a realm with light for ground. He stood startled, not bothering to turn around. A white light flashed behind him as he looked at the sky, which was incredibly black.

"Link," Zelda whispered. He turned around, she was right behind him. However, slung over her back was something new- a golden quiver stocked with burning white arrows, laced with gold. "Chosen hero!" Something was different about Zelda's voice, Link decided. It sounded like more than just one person speaking, but thousands. "Lend us the last of your power!" Zelda's eyes were glowing golden. Link realized his eyes were, too. He placed his hand on her outstretched one and the realm faded before their eyes, returning them to Hyrule. They were both on Epona, and Ganondorf was charging them.

"How'd E-" Link began to ask, turning slightly. Zelda shrugged.

"Maybe the spirits put her here. Maybe it was sheer dumb luck. Look out!" She cried suddenly, and Epona backed away as Ganondorf sliced, nearly taking the threesome's heads off. Link instantly retaliated with an uppercut, colliding with the blade. At the word of Link, Epona took off after the King of Darkness atop his mighty mare, which was as black as night. Link held his sword at the ready, murder in his eyes. Ganondorf saw this, and made a swift turn and an attempt to decapitate Link. Instead, Link ducked and made a glancing blow to Ganon's side. Blood spurted from the wound, covering Link's face. Ganondorf clutched his side and turned his mare, which had taken him away from Link.

"Stay on them, mindless beast!" Link heard Ganondorf shout. Epona stopped short and let Ganondorf pass, the ground being torn up like it was but air, which surrendered to the steed. In that time, Epona caught up to Ganondorf, in which Link and he clashed blade to blade. Ganondorf slashed opened Link's right shoulder, the blade entirely missing his sword shoulder and arm. Link cried out in pain before Ganondorf brought up the mighty Sword of the Sages-

But Ganondorf never brought the sword down. An arrow of light impaled his chest with enough force to knock him off his horse. Link leaped off Epona, more like a roll as his shoulder nearly stopped working, as the King of Darkness pulled the arrow, which was covered in blood, out of himself and stood.

"You really would do all this," Ganondorf said, gesturing to Link's bloodstained clothes. "For such lax people? Arguing over who took what when others are debating the fate of a hundred thousand starving citizens? Hyrule has grown plump, Link, and you know it. Why bother with following these thing's rules," Ganondorf whispered, holding up his right hand. On the back of his hand, the Triforce of Power shone with a brilliance that could cut darkness in half. Link whimpered, for the Triforce of Courage also burnt the skin on the back of his left hand. "When you can own them?" Link felt a tugging at the front of his mind. He realized Ganondorf was trying to do something to him. Link jerked his head away and broke the connection, which made Ganon snarl. "The more I try to convince you what you're holding is true power, the less you see it!"

"What I see," Link whispered. "Is a man who uses that power for greed and personal gain to get everything he wants! You embraced the power, and look where you are. It consumed you! I'm sure somewhere deep down inside that tar pit you call a soul there's a miniscule shard of a person!" Link's voice was small, strained from the pressure of three days of no sleep. He hadn't heard the orange barrier go up around them, or Epona's neigh. Link held up his left hand, and let the Triforce burn him. "I don't want this thing! Look at yourself, you who calls yourself a person, when you've you spent your life wallowing in a cesspit of a body with no soul! You're an abomination, and today you die!" Link charged.

Ganondorf blocked the first lazy strikes, content on not letting Link through. After the first few blows, Ganondorf kicked Link's chest, staggering him and forcing the air out of his body. Link gasped for air as Ganondorf turned the table and swung at Link. Link dropped to all fours and tried to roll, going underneath Ganon's midsection. Link slashed at where Ganon's legs parted, hot blood covering the ground underneath him. Ganondorf grunted, and slashed Link, opening up his chest. The muscles in Link's chest shouted, aching for him to stop. But he couldn't, he knew, lest he be killed. Link swung towards Ganondorf's head, and when he went to block, Link stopped mid-strike and sliced Ganon's knees. Ganon growled, thrusting his blade forward.

Link sidestepped, slightly tripping from balance, and launched himself at Ganondorf, who attempted to block. The two swords collided, pushing against the other, one backed up by thousands of years of power and the other fueled by rage. The sparks made Ganondorf look like a laughing pig in the light and it made Link appear as a blood-drenched neonate. In the end, the Goliath fell, pushed back by a severe snap when the sword of sages finally broke. Link leaped atop the foul man and smiled.

"Any last words, Dragmire?" Link whispered, putting the blade of the Master Sword onto Ganon's neck. Ganondorf Dragmire laughed.

"She's dead, boy. Did you really think-GRAKKURK!" The end of Ganondorf's sentence was cut off by Link bringing his blade into the Gerudo's neck. After a second, Link knew that the pig was dead, and pulled his blade out of the corpse. Before the blood came spurting up, Link lay two fingers on Ganon's neck, checking for a pulse. Thankfully, he found none. Link stood from the corpse, listening to the wall of twilight sizzle and fade, his tunic dyed red.

Then, the pain started to set in. His right shoulder was cracked open, it would take a long while for that to heal. His muscles had exceeded their limits under his gored chest. He would need a new tunic, mail shirt, and a bath. In fact, he decided the latter would be what he needed most. Epona snorted, and he turned towards his horse. She was completely blood-free, white hair resembling Snowpeak. Link absentmindedly reminisced Snowpeak, and it's cold.

Most of all, he missed Midna. She had made the beginning part of his journey more cumbersome than it needed to be, but like Rusl said, everyone had baggage. After Zelda had harbored her spirit within Midna, the imp had undergone a change- from the moment she confessed everything about what she was in the Gerudo Desert to when they fought against the cold in Snowpeak to even earlier today, when he had looked her in the eyes and saw someone more, someone that he wanted to stand with and someone that he would've killed for (or had killed for, for that matter) and someone that he would've died for. That alone made him different from Ganondorf. Ganondorf had nothing to die for; but Link did. He first had Orden, then Illia, then the rest of the kids, but Midna... He would put his head on a pike before something would get to her.

He hadn't heard Zelda's soft approach (that seemed to be happening quite frequently lately, Link made a mental note to see if a medic would examine it), and had barely registered the hand on his shoulder.

"It'll be fine again soon, Link," Zelda tried to be comforting, but Link knew better. "We'll search the city for the body and give her a proper burial." At the mention of the words 'body' and 'burial', Link had had too much. It was an exhausting day, he didn't need the weight of sadness on him more than it was already. He shook his head.

"Zelda, it'll never be fine. When you lose someone you traveled your homeland with, lose them because they sacrificed themselves for you, it hurts." Link whispered, barely restraining himself. "It feels like someone ripped out whatever was left of that person, and held it in front of you, for you to gaze, as they crushed the memory even further." Sadly, Link knew from personal experience.

"Link, look-" Zelda started.

"To where? Your smoking castle?" Link snapped, and bit his tongue. "Sorry, I just-"

"It's fine. You're hurting. Though, seriously, look there." Zelda said, pointing over the base of the hill they were standing on. The light spirits had gathered around a crouched form, and he heard a familiar laugh. Without saying a word, Link took off.

He ran up the hill so fast that he barely stopped his muscles from collapsing when they hit flat ground. Midna was no longer there, only a pile of black cloth. Link scratched the back of his head as his other shoulder detested the action, wondering where she had ran off to, until the cloth started to rise. In some areas, the robe had splashes of what appeared to be gears in circles, with grey markings running the length of the robe.

The woman wearing the robes had light blue skin like Lake Hylia in the sun. The woman's left leg was completely black, where her right leg held blue tattoos and a silver anklet. Around her right leg was a piece of the same cloth, which had been held onto her frame by what appeared to be a curved silver branch. The woman's arms, to her wrists, were black, covered in the same blue markings. Her hands were the same color as her face, a pale blue. The inside of the black cloth was teal, with grey markings. Her nose and mouth were small, but still alluring to Link. Her eyes were yellow with red irises, which seemed to be drinking in Link. Her hair came down in an orange cascade, flowing to a central point which was tied with a silver clamp. A puff of magnificent orange exited the other side of the clamp. In the center of this odd woman's forehead lay a single red gem, which was surrounded on either side by silver Cs. The Cs had a limb that reached back, like thin antlers. The woman smiled.

"What? Say something! Am I so beautiful that you've no words left?" The unmistakable voice of Midna taunted. Link's mouth cracked open with a gape.

"Mid-Midna?" He asked in a small voice. Midna started to laugh.

"Who else would it be, stupid wolf?" Midna taunted, taking a step towards him.

"You're alive." He croaked, still unbelieving this was Midna. Link ran to her and embraced her quickly, holding his friend to his chest. "You're alive." He repeated.

"Link?" Midna whispered.

"Yes?"

"You're bruising my bones." Link immediately let go, and saw that she was covered from her knees to her chest in blood-Link had rubbed it off on her. He put his arms on the lower chest wound."I think the old wolf has learned a few new tricks." she whispered, giving off her signature fanged smile.

"What did you think, I'd die, Mid?" Link chuckled. "I am one hard dog to put down." Link grinned wolfishly. Midna took off his hat and ruffed up his hair.

"How bad did he get you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It doesn't matter. Everything heals in time, except for when I put my blade through his neck." Midna picked up at this, eyes shimmering with excitement.

"He's dead!" She whispered excitedly, it was more of a statement then a question. Link nodded.

"How could that guy possibly live through a blade in his neck and a cut down south? Even I'd be a sucker for that." Link said. Midna let out a squeal of glee before sending a bolt of shadow magic into the sky. "What was that for?" Link asked, suddenly aware that the motion of turning his head upwards strained his slash.

"Compliments of the chef." Midna placed her hands on her hips, before watching the shadow bolt came down with a burst of water. Link hissed as the water sprayed his wounds, making them further sting, but did not complain.

"You decided that I'm a meal?" Link asked.

"Well, it depends on who you ask. To some birds of prey, probably. However," Midna raised on finger, and put it on Link's nose. "I decided that since I taught you everything you know, I should be known as the chef." Link searched his pack while she talked, looking for red potion. "What's the matter?" Her voice was now filled with concern more than humor.

"I'm just looking for some red potion, which doesn't seem to be in my pack. Could you check the Shadow Vault?" Link asked, gently removing her finger.

Instead of answering, she removed his arms from where they cover up the wound, eyes going wide. Midna snapped her head up to look at Link while mentally checking the Shadow Vault, where they had stored next to everything they had found. "You just had to go and cover it up?! Honestly, sometimes I think you'd like to die!" She snapped, before finding the bottle. She retrieved the bottle and handed it to Link, who placed it in his pouch for now. She also had brought bandages, and upon bending down, saw the extent of the cut.

Link's lower midsection was covered in blood. The cut was nearly two inches wide on the shortest parts, nearing four on the longest. The muscles looked lacerated, splitting underneath the pressure of Link's very breath. She cursed when she saw green liquid starting to form.

"What is it?" He asked.

"It's starting to become infected, I've no doubt." Midna said, shooting her eyes up at him from where she bent over. She noticed that Zelda was walking up behind them, guiding Epona, who walked lazily up the slope.

"Thanks, Midna. Do you mind checking the one on my shoulder while I apply the bandages?" Link asked as he unrolled the cloth strips. "I might need you to apply the bandages there, if you can, while I take the potion," Midna examined the cut to find the same fate when Link handed the bandages to her. A few seconds later she heard the pop of the potion and Link's groan after he drank it. "Why do potions always taste like urine with leaves and sugar?" He asked aloud.

"I do not want to know how you know that flavor." Midna replied, patting the strip of cloth onto Link's body..

"Midna?" Zelda asked. Midna turned to Zelda, expression questioning. "Do you think he needs healing magics?" Zelda asked. Link turned around to catch Midna's nod.

"I'm standing right here, you know," He said, meeting Zelda's hard gaze. "Shouldn't you ask the patient if he feels like he needs help before asking his friend?"

"I saw those wounds, how much endurance can one man possibly have?" Zelda told Link, standing cross-armed.

"Enough to walk back into town." Link replied. Link started ahead of them at a small pace, brushing Epona on the way.

"You girls coming or what?" He asked, and Midna rolled her eyes with a smile. She followed him, thanking Zelda as the princess tried to guide Epona again. From afar, the threesome looked like an odd bunch, but up close, people could feel the power hanging in the air. Something changed in all of three of them that day.

High Warden Davos Screhkia entered the prison through the pressed silver door. It was thin like paper, yet still held a certain strength that made it slightly hard to move. His heavyset frame intimidated the other jailors, and they were the best at what they did. Davos' shining white armor and armaments illuminated the dull grey hall behind the door, where another figure entered his view. This jailor was of a moderate build, wearing a shirt of mail over leather padding. This jailor's wings were folded behind his back, stone with white and blue specks of cold. The Lux's blue skin was clearly visible underneath his helm, the top section of a dragon skull with a pointed blade on the front that covered from his nose up. Burning yellow eyes with no pupils were visible underneath it.

"Davos." The Lux responded in an intrigued voice, and in a great flash the stones retreated from the Lux's wings and he spread them, magnificent feathers of water, ever changing, reflecting Davos' large frame which scraped the ceiling of the grey hall, wearing blinding white armor that only made his shining blue eyes seem brighter. Davos' wings were brilliant yellow burning orbs that followed him in a cape when they folded. The Lux folded his wings again in a flash, stone and cold returning to them.

"Thundros. Glad to see you're alive and well." Davos' hearty voice boomed. Thundros laughed.

"A few Kersala can't take me down that easily. Who've you come to see to their deaths today?" Thundros asked, folding his arms.

"Xul." Came Davos' more quiet reply. Thundros looked to the side, where the wall met the floor. Davos followed his gaze, looking at the cracks mending themselves under Thundros' gaze.

"That pig deserves on the spot execution, friend." Thundros spoke in a whisper- the voice that most Lux's hasted, for it made them sound far too alike the demons the Lux fought to protect the Archipelago.

"Don't use your Forbidden Voice. You're starting to sound like Xul." Davos growled, and lay his hand on his friend's shoulder. "I am permitted to be Executioner for today, as Xul is too dangerous to guide to Execution." Thundros picked up at this, sparks igniting in his eyes.

"I would love to assist you." Thundros said in a giddy voice, holding his hands palm up to the ceiling. An orb of light originated in between his hands, which continued to expand, and shape to Thundros' clawed plate gauntlet. The light stopped glowing when the pointed stick was nearly six feet long, another blade spouting from some way below the crystalline short spear's glowing blue blade. The second blade had a green hexagonal gem inset, which hummed with a familiar energy. The second blade formed a U shape, the gem floating in midair, the ends of the conduit reaching the bottom of the point of the spear, which was a foot long.

"What's the spell for?" Davos asked as Thundros shrunk it with a flick of his hand, and laid it into the socket in the middle of his chest.

"Amplification of spells cast in the direction pointing. It's an adept utility spell." Thundros explained, before leading Davos down the hall. On the walls were thousands of little slits in the wall, each marked with initials. Thundros turned right, and the hallway expanded into a large circular room. A smaller circle was implanted onto the ceiling, opening it like a skylight. The room danced with wards both in the air, clicking and intervals and ever shifting, and ingrained into the walls. The floor was more solid here, nearly twelve feet deep. The light from the morning sun drizzled down into the room, making the spot where a slit in the ground shine. Around the slit lay lighter colored ground, and even the floor by the exits were lighter. This was the result of the extensive warding.

The slit was blackened parchment stuffed into a hole, and written in the parchment were three letters: XUL. Thundros lay his hand over the slit of parchment, and made a fist. To the naked eye, nothing was happening. However, to one that was familiar in magic, they could see thousands of thin, small, clear tethers down to the piece of parchment. Once all the tethers were attached, Thundros yanked, and a circle rose from the ground.

The circle was nearly twenty feet in diameter, taller than even the Archons. The circle had a flat bottom, allowing it to stand perfectly still. Glassy steps ascended to the front of the circle, where a scene straight out of a nightmare took place.

Crystalline jagged, bladed spines and steady, hard, sharp spires rose up from seemingly nowhere and twisted and writhed around a central mass, not even stained, yet dripping with an essence. The central mass had stopped moving, yet the spires and spines kept twisting. The central mass was a sixteen foot tall humanoid creature with wings and limbs the thickness of tree trunks. It was wearing midnight colored plate, two bladed arms like pincers emerging from the shoulders, reaching down towards the stomach. The arms had one pincer emerging from where the piece would connect to the shoulder pauldrons, except these were thicker. The gauntlets themselves were clawed and spiked, making a punch surprisingly deadly. Some way above the wrists was an indentation, which held a black hexagonal gem that seemed to suck in the light around it. The greaves had another indentation like this, as well did the boots, however the boots had a feature the greaves did not. The boots had small knives coming from the heels, in shape of wings. On the back of Xul were wings- but wings not like Davos had seen. These wings were tendrils of horrific black smoke, lashing out at the bubble they were trapped in with intense speed. Xul wore a hood that concealed his face entirely. He threw back his head and let out an unnerving laugh.

"At your service, High Warden." His voice seemed to eat at their minds, commanding them to listen. Davos drew his blade, marble with three inlaid enchantments to tear at the dark, be stronger than steel, and to burn the dark in completely, as Thundros revealed his spear. "Aah, Moondrake and Leviathan." Xul mocked, looking at each weapon. "It's been a while."

"Silence, beast," Davos growled. "Or should I say your full title? Antithesis of the Archons, Demon of the Archipelago, Th-"

"-e Lord of the Hallowed, yes, yes, I am aware of my titles quite clearly." For some reason, Xul was cheerful. It shook Davos to the bone, but he wouldn't portray weakness in front of a monster. Xul would exploit that weakness so much that Davos would become beyond recognition.

"You have been sentenced to death by my hand." Davos shouted. If they could see Xul's face, they would've seen him smiling.

"You would kill me? I'm hurt, Davos, I really am." Xul's voice still wasn't taking this seriously. Davos approached, ascending a step, when Xul cut in again. "Look, no hands!" He yelled joyfully, showing his unbound gauntlets. Davos' eyes widened to their capacity before the shockwave ripped everything apart.

It came from within Xul, a wave of wind clearly visible. A whomp sound could be heard before it reached the glass holding Xul, shattering it on impact. The sound of the wave was drowned by the shattering of nearly millions of shards of glass flew into the air. Davos was thrown back, somersaulting into the air. His wings caught him, extending their brilliance. Thundros held up his arm to block his eyes and channeled a bubble in the other arm. The air distorted around him, glass turning against his shield. Xul growled.

"You want to do this the hard way? Fine, let's use bladed swords instead." Xul growled, and his wings ripped the jagged spires out of his body. No blood spilled from the grievous wounds. Xul raised a clawed finger at Thundros. Davos screamed a wordless battlecry, folding his wings into a dive, Moondrake ready to go through the Antithesis' face.

Davos watched in what seemed like slow motion as one of the spires turned and rushed towards Thundros. Thundros lowerd his arm, squinting to try to see what Davos was getting at, when the killing machine entered his chest and went through cleanly, piercing the wall. Thundros let out a terrified cry, which was shut up as another spire entered his face. Davos finally seemed to reach Xul, and put his blade through the face in the hood. The demon fell with the blade, landing on the floor. Davos ripped it out of the monster yet let it hang above it's face, not bothering to look at his friend. They were both dead.

Until Xul's hand gripped Moondrake and the explosive energy discharged, sending Xul on his buttocks towards the wall, still holding the blade, where Davos hit the wall head-first. The High Warden was overwhelmed with rage and confusion. The Antithesis wasn't dead from a stab in the face! And why didn't the wards work!

"Disabled by yours truly, honestly such pesky work, " Xul said, taking the pommel of Moondrake and clipping it to one of his pincers. The blade pointed straight, towards Davos. "Your barriers are dead. As is your friend. And if you don't leave here now, you are too." Xul's voice was dark, rank with fury. Davos snickered.

"And let you, The Lord of the Hallowed, run free?" Davos was starting to bellow. "You shall not pass me, monster!" And the unarmed Lux charged. Xul shook his hood head, allowing Davos to spot the wound-which didn't exist. He somehow regenerated his armor.

What Davos did not see was Moondrake being given to Xul's wings, which tore it apart. In fact, they made eight new Moondrakes- one for each wing. As Davos closed in, one hand glowing a yellow-white, Xul held his right hand back. His was sucking in the light in the room, making it seem like dusk. Davos' mind pumped through the charge. Was he really about to die? He had a family to return to. No, he had to! Davos decided to continue, and began to launch his fist into Xul's face when the demon's wings flew behind the High Warden, and in a matter of seconds Davos saw eight Moondrakes soaked with white blood pierce his chest, his magically enhanced fist falling limp as the Moondrakes curled and entered through his sides. He vomited blood, looking at his wounds, and then back up at the Antithesis. Xul closed in on him, and punched him in the face.

His spiked gauntlets and the force behind the punch broke Davos' helmet on contact, giving him a mild concussion as the swing hit his right cheek. The magic kicked in once it detected the signature of Lux blood, igniting his entire body from the inside. The spikes ripped through his cheek, tearing it apart, snapping his tongue. He silently wondered why this had to happen. As the punch exited his face, the spell discharged throughout Davos. Black lightning licked his body thoroughly in less than half a second. Davos' body went limp.

Xul, The Antithesis, had killed High Warden Davos Screhkia and Guardian Thundros Zzixkcla.

Xul examined his work as his wings uncoiled from Davos' body. The Lord of the Hollowed walked into the direct center of the light, and spread his wings, fifty feet across. With a vwhomp, Xul broke through the top of the prison and took in the Archipelago.

It was a collection of islands with bridges going between it as far as the eye could see. And Xul could see quite far from this height.

It was time to begin, he decided as his mere presence darkened the sky slightly. People began noticing him.

Yes, now was as good a time as any.

The threesome of Link, Midna, and Zelda stood at the Mirror of Twilight, exchanging goodbyes.

"Shadow and light are two sides of the same coin. I believe it was in the Goddess' plan for us to meet, and that we may see each other again someday." Zelda announced. Midna nodded.

"Zelda… Your words are kind and your heart is true. If all people in Hyrule are like you… You'll do alright." Midna said. Zelda nodded. Midna turned to Link. "Well, Link, the princess' words ring true; as long as the Mirror still stands, we can visit each other." Midna proclaimed.

"I'll be there." Link replied. The Twili nodded.

"Good. I could use someone like you to help me rebuild." Zelda opened her mouth, but closed it in the same motion, making a loud click. Midna ran up the runed white stairs towards where the Mirro was aiming. "Link…I…" Midna whispered, and then she shook her head, a tear of yellowed light dripping onto the floor. It made a metallic ring when it dropped to the floor, and remained, like a small orb of light. A smile crossed her face.

"Hey, it's not forever. Rusl told me that a wise man once said that," Link began, Zelda looked at him curiously. "'Whenever there is a meeting, a parting shall follow. But that parting needs not last forever. Whether a parting be forever or merely for a short while… that is up to you.'" Link had looked up while he recited this, and had noticed that his two companions followed his gaze. Midna sighed.

"Who was that from?" Midna whispered. Link turned to her, befuddled. "The wise man sounds more like a prophet." Her eyes wandered towards. "I'll miss you." Link nodded, absorbing the sound of their voices as they echoed off of the Arbiter's Grounds.

"I will be there soon. I promise." Link whispered. Midna flicked her hand, activating the Mirror, which made many different sounds. Zelda jumped, for she had been standing just next to the mirror. The mirror spilled white behind Midna onto the slab of obsidian. Another metallic tear hit the floor as Midna disappeared in, instead of the black squares that he was so accustomed to when warping, white squares. After she had gone, the tears remained, yet the stairs did not- and the most recent tear fell, another metallic sound ringing out.

"Would you come back to the castle with me, Link?" Zelda whispered. Link turned, and she caught a glimpse of his eyes that were soft like ponds instead of stones. She blinked, and the softness had left.

"I'm no good with a pickaxe, but maybe that mole could show me." Link murmured.

None of them could've foreseen the coming storm.

No pun intended with the final line, ladies and gents.