Tribulations of Twilight
Chapter 4
Link and Midna entered the Arena. The first thing he noticed was the grandness of the room. It was huge, with intricate designs along the walls, as descending, seats surrounded the white marble arena. The seats were filled with Twili of all ages, and on two opposite sides of the Arena, there were the Councilors, sitting in two large tables. Midna told Link good luck, before walking off to her spot with the Councilors. Link approached the Arena, and stepped on. The talking immediately ceased, as all eyes were on him, and the opponent across from him.
Link guessed that this Twili, who stood opposite from him in black armor, was General Robur. As Link stood opposite from him, he took off his helmet, revealing yellow eyes, and crew cut white hair. "You are the proclaimed Hero of Twilight?"
Link nodded.
"I hoped that. You seem battle-hardened. I can see it from your scar... And from your eyes." Robur examined.
Link looked at Robur questioningly, before High Councilor Cerebrum stood. "We are gathered here today to partake in an Equitum proelio. A Battle of Knights, to prove Link, the Hero of Twilight's worth, against our top soldier, General Robur. You may choose your weapons of choice."
Two bulked men wearing white robes walked onto the Arena, both pushing a shelf of weapons. Robur slipped on his helmet, before taking out a Great sword from a shelf. The Hilt was black, while the Guard and Pommel were silver. The blade itself was a shining steel.
Link examined the shelf presented to him a second, before he drew out his Golden Sword. "This will be my weapon, Gentlemen."
Satisfied with what they chose, the men carried off the shelves, as Councilor Cerebrum resumed his speech, "now that both warriors are properly equipped, let the Equitum proelio begin!"
Link eyed Robur, before he sheathed the Golden Sword, and donned the Hylian Shield, tossing it out of the Arena. "If you shall not be using a Shield, then neither will I."
Robur looked at Link with a look of respect. Normally, any opponent Robur faced used any advantage he could get. It was rare for someone to want to be on equal terms with him, even if that someone was not wearing armor.
Robur approached Link steadily, his grip firm on the great sword. He eyed Link curiously, 'What does he plan to accomplish not drawing his blade?' Robur thought.
His question was immediately answered, as Link's hand flew to the hilt, unsheathed the Golden Sword, as he twirled, gaining momentum, and sliced diagonally against Robur. Robur was caught by surprise, and couldn't guard, as the Golden Sword cut through his armor like butter, and sliced his flesh.
Robur lost his balance from the attack, and Link, who was quick on his feet, lay attack after attack upon Robur. The Twili was getting cut left and right, and finally, regained enough footing to block some of the attacks.
Link sliced at Robur, who parried the attack, and stabbed at Link. Link dodged barely, as the tip cut through his shirt and into his skin, while rolling around Robur, and performing a Back Slice.
Robur, again caught off guard by another Hidden Skill, was once more victim to more of Link's relentless assault.
Link sliced vertically across his back, cutting through the armor placed there, while slicing horizontally, giving Robur a nice cross on his back, that was slowly bleeding.
Robur twirled on his heel, giving a mighty slice along with him. Link blocked, but in vain, as Robur had gathered enough momentum to bash Link's Golden Sword, and knock Link off balance. It was time for a counter-attack.
Robur swung his mighty blade, as it danced across Link's chest, earning a grunt of pain. Robur then followed up that attack, with another, though this one was aimed at a fatal spot, as the blade sailed across Link's chest.
Link back flipped away from Robur, clenching his chest with one hand. Link had no time to analyze his wounds, but from the expression from Robur, he shouldn't be standing. Link casted a glance downward to the searing pain, and found that his chest was bleeding furiously. There was no time for games, Link had to end this quick.
Link got into the stance for a Jump Strike, and charged up. Only this time, he poured some of the power from his Triforce onto the Golden Sword. It glowed gold, as Link felt the warmth of his Triforce spread from his left hand, to the Golden Sword.
Link let out a war cry, and leapt at Robur. Robur raised his great sword in defense, but it was futile. Link rammed the Golden Sword left, knocking the great sword from Robur's grasp, and on the ground. Link then slashed to his right, earning a gash across Robur's chest, and to finish it off, as Link landed on the ground, slammed the Golden Sword on Robur's chest, cutting deeply into it, and setting off a shock wave of energy, not only sending Robur flying about five feet, but it also rendered Link the winner. No man or twili could get up from that.
Robur slammed on the ground on his back, letting our a cry of pain from the assault. He had a fatal wound on his chest, and not to mention he was in severe pain. He had no words to speak, for the pain was too much. It was a foolish idea to challenge the Hero of Twilight. He truly, was the one who defeated Zant, and saved his realm. With that final thought, he lost consciousness.
Link still gripped his sword, and walked to Robur. He crouched near him, and spoke to the General. "I have nothing against you, General. You were my opponent, not my enemy." He said, before he stood up. All eyes were on him. The Twili seated in the seats surrounding the Arena were wide eyed, and mouths were agape. They all had the same line of thought entering their heads – 'He truly is the Hero of Twilight!'
Link felt the pain in his chest grow, and put a hand to it, trying to apply pressure. He looked down, and saw that it was more severe than he thought, as his hand had a big red blob on it.
Robur had sliced deep into Link's solar plexus, and it was bleeding. Soon, Link would pass out from blood loss. It was a wonder how he was still standing. That was not to say he couldn't feel it. It felt like someone was constantly pressing a heated stick of metal against him, as it seared his flesh.
Link shook his head. He was feeling dizzy already. He had a 'title' to keep up. He sliced in the air twice, before using the momentum to twirl his sword, and sheathing it stylishly. Clapping rose, quiet at first, before it grew loud. Some were even cheering.
Link took one last glance at the General, before the two men came in once more, and picked up Robur, before taking him to the infirmary. Link walked to his Hylian Shield, before donning it to his back.
The cheering and clapping ceased, as Cerebrum stood up once more. Just as he was about to speak, from the roof, a pillar of fire erupted, and cast down toward Link.
Link had barely enough time to react. Immediately, he unstrapped his Hylian Shield from his back, before holding it over his head.
The Pillar of Fire encased Link, surrounding him in flames. Everyone watched in fear, as the Pillar didn't cease. Midna immediately stood from her chair, watching in horror. Zeke, who was by Midna, looked on in the same fear, hoping that Link was still alive.
The Pillar of Fire slowly thinned, until it was no more, and as the smoke cleared, Link stood, holding his shield, which was black from soot.
From the hole in the ceiling which the Pillar of Fire came, a man dropped down, wearing a red cloak. The hood was down, concealing his identity.
Chaos rose within the chamber, as people started to flee. They exited through the doors, as the Councilors did too, save for Cerebrum, Anxia, and Lunaris, Lienosus, a couple others, with Zeke standing by.
The man in the hooded red cloak turned to face Link. Link simply clenched his left hand, as the warmth of healing spread through his body, focusing on his wounds. They would not heal completely, and would drag him down in battle if he pushed too hard. He would have to do what he could.
The red cloaked man walked toward Link, but immediately, Zeke and Midna leaped forward, but with a death glare from the cloaked man, a wall of fire surrounded the arena, encasing Link and him.
"Damn it!" Zeke yelled, and Midna just scowled. They couldn't help Link at all. They were powerless for the moment.
Link unsheathed his Golden Sword, and got into a battle stance. The man looked at Link, before drawing out a crimson longsword from his cloak.
In a snide voice, the man spoke. "Forgive my intrusion, Hero of Twilight." The man spat the words of Link's title.
"But, as Templar of Flames, Argus, I will defeat you!" Argus, the Templar of Flames, charged at Link.
Link sliced at Argus, who blocked with his sword, and pointed his hand at Link. Flames erupted from it, toward Link, and Link just barely dodged it, rolling around Argus, and back slicing him.
Argus howled in pain, the wounds becoming encased in fire, as he did a mimic of Link's spin attack, only instead of the power that usually encased it, it was a fury of flames.
Link back flipped, dodging narrowly. Link charged once more, and rammed his shield into Argus, who stumbled, as Link performed a Helm Splitter.
Link's golden blade met with Argus's head, as Argus fell to his knees, while his hood fell too.
Link turned around, and gasped.
The man had eye-length spiky jet-black hair, and his eyes, the iris' burned a crimson fury, as blood trickled down his face. But the most surprising thing, was that he had Light Dweller skin.
"I have been unmasked, it seems." Argus said, monotonic. "A simple mistake, never to be repeated!"
Argus shot up, fire encasing him. He flew at Link, leaving a trail of fire behind him. He unleashed attack after attack upon Link, who blocked in vain, as Argus was relentless.
Once or twice, Argus had a hole in his fury of sword attacks, as Link sliced Argus once or twice, but it was futile. Argus ignored the pain, and slammed his longsword into Link's shield, making him lose balance. Argus seized his chance, he pierced his blade into Link.
Argus made use of his element, and trailed fire down the sword, burning Link's wound, searing it.
Link was in severe pain. The sword narrowly missed a lung, and the fire that was encasing the blade was not making things easier. Link fell upon one knee, the pain becoming unbearable, as the sword cut wounds internally and externally, while the flames seared the wounds, stopping the bleeding, but the pain was unbearable. Link's coughed a fine red mist, while he heard Zeke yell. "No!"
Argus ruthlessly ripped his blade from Link, watching blood spill down Link's mouth and chin, while he looked at Argus with a cold fury in his sapphire eyes.
"Now now, I'll make your death as painful as possible." Argus smiled. If Link ever saw a shit-eating grin, that would be one.
Argus rose slowly, fire encasing his hands, as he held his hands above his head, palms outstretched, and gathering slowly, was a ball of pure fire.
It grew in size, until it was at least three times Link's height. Argus hissed, "This is where you DIE!" He flung the ball of fire at Link, as timed seemed to slow.
Link closed his eyes. He had one chance, and he didn't want to do it. He had barely any control of this technique, and to use it blindly, was a deadly mistake. He opened his eyes slowly, and looked out beyond the fire. He saw the wide-eyed gazes of the Councilors, while he saw Zeke's mouth agape, and his hazel green eyes widened in fear. He saw Midna, and saw fear and hurt across her face. He thought he saw a tear in her eye, but it must have been his imagination.
Link turned back to the ball of fire approaching him. He had no choice. Die here, and let the Twilight Realm be annihilated, or try this last chance, and possibly die, but he could clear out Argus with him, at least.
Link sheathed his Golden Sword, and donned his Hylian Shield. He pointed his left palm at the Ball of Crimson Fire, and saw his Triforce of Courage radiate with his decision. It's warmth spread to his hand, up his arm, and throughout his body, draining him of any cold doubt. He gripped his left wrist with his right hand.
Link's left hand began to glow a radiant gold, as Link concentrated all of his power into it.
As Link's hand met with the Ball of Fire, the two forces of energy collided with each other. Power was being sent everywhere, colliding with eachother, fighting to better the other. Link began to radiate a bright gold, as suddenly, the Ball of Fire drew into Link's hand, until it was no more.
Link, unsheathed then his Golden Sword, as his body radiated from the absorbed power, and his own.
Argus stared at Link in awe, he had just absorbed his most powerful attack. Then, once he regained his composure, realized Link was using the new found energy to fly up to where he was.
Link concentrated all of the energy he had left, and all the energy he had absorbed into his Golden Sword. It glowed with power, radiating Link's cold fury. Link let out a piercing war cry of a howl, and met up with Argus. He sliced once, as Argus tried to block. The moment the two swords met, Argus's red longsword suddenly exploded from the energy passed onto it. Then, Link brought his sword to another slash, and made contact with Argus's chest, sending out a shock wave of energy. Argus let out a cry of pain, and Link sliced again, another booming shock wave shooting out, mortally wounding Argus a second time.
Then, Link poured everything he had, everything he could muster, and pierced Argus, straight where his heart should be.
Link's Golden Sword sank deeply into Argus, until it was down to the hilt. The Golden Aura left Link, and embraced Argus. Though, the aura was not of empowering, no, it was much worse.
Energy radiated from Argus, as it was slowly tearing him apart. He screamed in agony, as he tried to heal himself, but it was in severe vain. Then, an explosion from all of the magical energy Link poured into the Golden Sword rung out, sending Link crashing to the ground.
Link managed to look up, and saw a golden ball encase Argus. He couldn't see inside the ball, but the very room was shaking from the energy being uncompressed, as it slowly expanded.
Then, all to quickly, it exploded a second time. Golden energy was sent flying everywhere, as Argus remained in the air, his cloak tattered and in rags, and his black undergarments were ragged also. Slowly, Argus plummeted, and slammed against the ground, near Link.
Midna, Zeke, and the Councilors stared in awe at the presentation before them. Words couldn't even describe their emotions, as Zeke immediately snapped from his reverie. He ran toward Link, knowing the danger of what Link just did. If Link messed up anywhere in that performance, he would be dead.
Zeke knelt near Link, and saw externally he was fine. Before he could perform a magical scan of Link's insides, Argus spoke in a pained voice.
"Let him be, Zeke. I need to talk to him a minute."
Link's eyes widened. Argus was still alive? Link sat up, groggily, and in pain. He glanced over at Argus, who's normally fury-filled crimson eyes, had a sad tone in them, regretful, even. And how did Argus know Zeke? He found no answers looking into Argus's eyes, as they blankly stared at the ceiling.
Zeke hesitated a moment, then drew back. Midna and the councilors neared, but Zeke held out his hand, motioning them to stop. Reluctantly, and surprised, they stopped. Midna looked at Zeke quizzically, but before she or anyone else could question his motives, Argus spoke, turning to Link.
"I have been defeated. Link, I believe, that you can stop them."
Link looked at Argus strangely, but before Link could question what Argus meant, his body suddenly erupted in cyan flames, as Argus had on a face of severe pain.
"There is no time to explain! I'll try and tell you what I can. We Templar, have bound our souls into our own element, in hopes for Power. We have done this with Rituals, of the depth I cannot go into right now. The five of us chose an element for us to command, and I chose Fire. Saion chose Water, Gaia chose Earth, Aeries chose Wind, and Divus chose Spirit. In our life, we have become conflicted, searching for Power, so that we could dominate the lands. You have to stop them, Link!"
The Cyan flames started eating away Argus's body, till nothing was remaining. Argus was down to his torso, his lower body being gone completely.
"Why are you telling me all of this?" Link asked, confused.
Argus simply looked up at Link, the cyan flames drawing near. "So that... Just maybe... We could have Penance... long overdue..."
As Argus finished those last words, the cyan flames consumed him completely, shrouding whatever was left of him, until the cyan flames died, leaving nothing more in its place.
Link did not know what he meant, and dwelled on the subject a while, until Zeke slowly walked to Link, knelt by him, and rested a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, are you alright?"
Link looked at Zeke oddly. "How did he know you?"
Zeke shook his head. "Nevermind that, what about you? You know how dangerous the stunt you just pulled! Are you okay? Any internal injuries?"
At this point, the remaining councilors and Midna, walked to Link and stood by him. To break the silence, Cerebrum spoke up.
"If I may, Link, what did you do?"
Link suddenly felt a pain in his stomach. He ignored it, and faced Cerebrum to answer his question, but as he looked up, Link felt his insides burn, and rip. He started coughing, and each cough, a raspy noise rose from his throat, and blood spat out. Link pulled a hand to his mouth to at least provide some cover, but the coughing grew relentless, and soon, his hand was dripping with blood. He heard someone yell, "QUICK! GET DOCTOR KORIC!"
He recognized this voice to be Midna's, and that was his last thought, before he gasped, and fell forward.