Sora's eyes needed to adjust to the dimmed light of night. He was surprised by how much he needed to blink, even if it was going from firelight to moonlight. He could see the glint of their swords easily enough, though.

"First blow that makes contact ends the match." Rusl said. Sora nodded.

He waited for other instructions, but was quickly surprised when Rusl just charged without a sound. Sora blocked it, sparks briefly crossing their vision as the swords ground against each other. Sora shoved him off and went for his typical counter, but quickly found Rusl was much more masterful than him.

"Good effort." Rusl said as he pressed down and twisted Sora's arm. He suddenly changed his defense to offense, lashing at Sora's shoulder, "But to win you need to step it up."

Sora blocked it, "Okay then!" He switched, feeling a well up of nausea that probably meant he was pushing it. He backed away, holding his body and his sword loosely. He bounced as he dodged Rusl's swipes, and soon felt the shore of the river he'd seen earlier. He jumped back and dove into the water.

Sora could hear a few noises (laughs or yells he wasn't sure) and saw a torch dance over the rippled surface. He grinned and swam off to shallower waters, and surfaced with a thrust at Rusl. He grinned when he saw that there was now a cut on his cheek, "First blow goes to me." He drew his sword back and stabbed it into the ground, "Now do you trust me?"

Rusl grinned, "I trust you."

...

Uli handed Sora a sword and shield the next morning with a bag, "Here, this will last you a trip to Kakariko."

Sora peeked into the bag, ignoring the fact he had no idea what or where Kakariko was, "Food, awesome!"

Rusl punched him lightly, "Keep in mind we and the town are trusting and counting on you to get our children back."

Sora set up the shield and sword on his back, nodding, "I promise I'll get 'em back." And so he left.

He passed by the spring, but halted at the voice that whispered into his ears, "young... hero... come to me..." He looked at the spring. Empty. He looked around some more. No one.

"That wasn't me."

Sora jumped and yelled in surprise as Midna popped out of his shadow, glaring at him. She waved her hand in exasperation, "I can do this naturally as a creature of shadows, ya know."

Sora yelled at her, "Warn me!"

She giggled and pulled at her eye, "It's fun seeing you scared!"

Sora went past her, "Well if that wasn't you-"

He stopped in the middle, the voice whispering again, "Be... prepared... It is... coming."

Sora drew his sword, looking around warily. He looked up and jumped back as some gigantic... thing fell from the sky. It was big and black with red lines, and honestly Sora was glad to beat the crud out of it with his newly acquired sword. It poofed out of existence with hardly any cry, which was much more disconcerting than Sora thought it would be.

He washed off the blade in the water, "That... That was... interesting." He coughed a little, but let the blood run down his chin. After all if it was just going to keep happening why even bother?

The sky darkened, and soon it felt like it was a moonless night. Sora bolted upright and drew his hands in closer, "H-hey what's-"

A glow diffused from the center of the spring at his feet, running up the rocks and illuminating everything. Sora had to squint when it looked like the water sprang up just from the suddenness of all the light, but found himself gaping in awe at the beast before him. Nothing but pure light, and rather goat-like with the horns fusing into a circle.

It stared at him with a strange intelligence and wisdom beyond ages, and spoke with a voice Sora could only hear as a keening song, "Thank you, young hero, for saving me."

Sora sheathed his sword reluctantly, "Uh, I kinda do things like that all the time."

The light-beast nodded, "Indeed."

Sora scratched his chin, then turned to leave, "Y-you're welcome-"

"O hero, wait." The beast said, "I have the knowledge you crave." Sora turned back, letting it continue, "I am the Light of Ordon Province. I am Ordona."

"The light?" Sora asked, "How can you-" he shook his head, "Never mind."

"I am one of the four Light Spirits that withhold the twilight from Hyrule." Ordona continued, "And I am sure you are wondering what you just defeated."

Sora looked to the sky, noting the black and blue thing that now seemed to hover in the heavens, "Uh, yeah..."

"You have slain a slave of the Twilit King, o hero, and saved myself and Ordon from the twilight." Sora nodded hesitantly, as if that seemed a little... big. Even by his standards, which then again hadn't really changed despite his universe-saving antics. He snapped his head up when Ordona began speaking again, "I know you are wondering why the twilight lingers in your veins."

Sora lifted his hand to wipe up the blood from his mouth, "Right..." He was vaguely surprised to find that instead of blood there was water now.

Ordona's mournful song sounded sadder, "I cannot restore you completely, but I can grant you a boon of my Light. I can purge only the smallest amounts of the twilight within you, but I cannot remove it all."

Sora wiped up the water completely, "Thank you, but..." he laughed at himself, "I sound so greedy saying this, but why can't you help me completely?"

Ordona explained with regret, "You lost your light when my kin, Lanayru, fell. I cannot restore you to your rightful state because your light is sleeping within folds of twilight with the rest of Lanayru province."

Sora nodded, then turned away once more, expecting to leave, "Okay. Thank you, Ordona, Light of Ordon."

"Part of that light slumbers within you." Sora stopped abruptly, leaving ripples in the spring. So that was the other being that had approached him begging for rescue. "Lanayru's light is perhaps the only thing between you and an ordinary spirit. Exposure to the twilight saps the strength of my kin, and of yourself." Sora quietly held a hand to his heart as Ordona continued, "I beseech you, do not be hasty and rush into the shadows without thinking. Every second your life and Lanayru's is sapped away. Lift the dark cloud of twilight from Hyrule quickly and decisively."

Sora nodded, "Right, so it's either clear the twilight, or die trying."

"Indeed." Ordona said softly.

Sora saw the light fading and the darkness exposing it lifting, "Hyrule is in your foreign hands, young hero..."

Sora turned and the spring, well, was just a spring. He turned, then ran towards the wall of twilight shielding what he had been told was Faron Woods. He held out his hand, "Midna, you know what to do."

He didn't stop for a beat when Midna popped out with an annoyed huff, then vanished into the twilight. Midna's ponytail lashed out, and Sora was dragged into the twilit forest headfirst and running.

Back into the twilight~