Arc V: Path of the Hero
Chapter 46: Memento Mori
Whoever said pain was blinding clearly knew how it felt to be crushed by a trio of helpless bodies while rolling down a pitch-black tunnel.
Jaune yelped as he, Yang, a third voice who sounded suspiciously like Blake and a fourth huntress roleplayed an impromptu live-action pinball movie. They scored bruises for points, but the plot armour of Aura saved them from a mountain of medical bills. It was a novel experience that ended in a circular room with a well in the centre, though the unfortunate fourth rolled into the water.
Save for their rapid breathing, it was deathly quiet; the stone door at the entrance muted outside noise, reminding him there was no turning back now. Jaune gagged as the smell hit him with the force of a Helmasaur. It had a certain tang like rotten meat, which he knew would cling to him for days.
Are you alright?
"Yeah. It's just - hrk. So much for getting used to it on the way up here."
Water then splashed as the fourth figure heaved herself out of the pool, hacking as she inhaled the putrid scent -
"Ugh. Ow. That...freaking...hurt."
Jaune glanced over to find Yang rotating her dented and scratched prosthetic arm. "Uh oh. Is it broken?"
"Nah. It's gone through much worse, though I gotta get it checked once we leave. Speaking of which, who exactly is -" shock, confusion, anger and denial flashed across Yang's face. "Blake...? What are you doing here? You shouldn't be –"
"Actually, I should," Blake coughed. She and Yang then rose in a battle of wills. "I promised I wouldn't leave you, remember?"
Yang's irises flickered between red and purple, but in the end, her gaze fell first. "I'm fine. I told you not to worry about me. I can take care of myself."
"Even the strongest need someone to watch their backs. I'm not going anywhere. Not anymore."
"Well, that's good because we're stuck in here," a fourth voice snapped, and they turned to meet eyes cold enough to freeze Vacuo's deserts. The effect was somewhat lessened since she was dripping wet, but something told Jaune he should remain quiet until the storm passed.
"This is neither the place nor time. I didn't propel us with glyphs into a cursed temple just to argue in circles. I'm wet, I'm surrounded by an unbelievably bad stench, and I will not tolerate bickering when we could be ambushed at any moment. Am. I. Clear?"
Whether it was Weiss' tone or the gravity of the situation finally hitting them, Yang and Blake mumbled apologies. "Thank you. I'm not dismissing either of your feelings, but it's best you both talk once we're outside. Now, where exactly are we?"
He blinked as the three girls finally acknowledged his existence. "The Shrouded Shrine."
"Yes, you buffoon. I'm asking what you make of all…this."
Now that was a good question. Blanketing the hard dirt floor was a thin, shin-height layer of fog, but most important were seven statues of foxes, dragons and wolves perched on large stone blocks circling the interior. Black moss ate away their chiselled features while vines covered the walls like a patchwork blanket.
"I've got a bad feeling about this."
It's not unjustified. Keep track of the shadows, Link warned. If you're not paying attention, who knows what will drag you into the void. Best not linger longer than necessary in certain areas.
Jaune shivered. "Well, if this is just the entrance, then there should be another exit."
"And where would that be?" Weiss asked. "I don't see any doors in here."
"Then maybe it's hidden. Split up and look for clues."
The only issue was where to start. He could see nothing through the pool's dark, brackish water, while Yang and Blake combed through vines for anything hidden.
By process of elimination, that meant…
Jaune walked over to a nearby fox statue. The surrounding ground was oddly smooth, so he threw his weight against the block, budging it a few inches.
"Over here! I think I found something!"
"Wait!" Weiss interrupted as they came over. "What if it's trapped or monsters are hiding behind it?"
"Only one way to find out," Jaune replied, earning a nod from Yang. "Cover us just in case."
The cavern rumbled as the dragon statue lurched aside, revealing a chained stone doorway with the Sheikah eye. Fog seeped from below, covering the floor and a small, shallow hole with a rusted lantern -
One that flared with blue flame, held in the mouth of an emaciated, spindly humanoid figure on clawlike fours, its Malice eyes burning in a borderline skeletal face. Behind them, Ghinis rose from the fog while red and green gel-like creatures fell from stalactites above.
The Poe shrieked.
Jaune swore.
Chaos erupted. Shotgun blasts painted the statues with Chuchu slime while Weiss unleashed a tide of ice dust that froze the floating Ghinis. Yang and Blake destroyed them when they fell, but he couldn't help as the Poe scurried over like a spider. Trapped against the dragon statue, Jaune backflipped when it swept low with a skeletal arm, then kicked off with a jump attack that cleaved its lantern in two.
They waited anxiously for round two after dispersing the last Chuchus, but soon it was clear they were gone…for now.
"Is…everyone…okay?"
Green jelly plopped against his boot, and he turned to see an unamused, jelly-splattered Weiss nearby.
"Fair enough."
"Heheh. At least we found where to go next," Yang quipped, ignoring her glare as she walked over and yanked on the door's chains. She growled when they held firm, especially when a shotgun punch failed to break them apart.
Blake hummed. "I suppose there's no way out of finding the key, but it could be hidden anywhere in here."
"Then we should be efficient about our search," Weiss replied. She snapped her fingers after a moment in thought. "Jaune, do you have the Mask of Truth?"
Good call. It was somewhat oversized on her face, but with a quick scan, Weiss leapt atop the entrance to stand on what appeared to be thin air.
That is until she whacked something with a metallic ping, followed by a whoosh as the murky pool began draining. When they shone a light down the well, right above the murky water was a small alcove with a small wooden chest. Blake fished it out with Gambol Shroud and opened it for a metal key – one causing the chains to fall away.
"Huh. Some sort of invisible platform?"
Weiss' was smug as she returned the Mask of Truth. "And a diamond-shaped crystal switch. I suspected something was hiding here."
Beyond the door was a flight of crudely cut stairs that led to an expansive rectangular room with an unlit torch in front and three more at each corner. The ground dipped in the centre to form a valley that was enshrouded in fog, though a bridge connected both halves of the room. Barred doors lay at the northwest, northern and eastern ends, with fog streaming into the valley from beneath the latter two. Like a sore thumb, a tiny island poked out of the fog before the eastern door.
"Hmm. This looks like some kind of nexus chamber."
Perhaps, though I'm curious about the fog lake and what's inside. It appears to be thicker than what we've previously encountered, Link hummed as a rat skittered closer. What they didn't expect was the fog to splash into it like a wave, and when it ran out, the poor creature collapsed and spasmed violently until it stopped moving.
I suggest you avoid patches of thick fog.
"N-no need to tell me twice," Jaune gulped as they split up. Weiss went with him and ignited the two torches with Myrtenaster's fire dust while he discovered an invisible alcove by the northwest door with green rupees, blue rupees and a purple one in jars and a chest. Upon crossing the bridge, a quick check beneath revealed a vine-covered alcove within the foundations that hid a switch for said door.
On the other side, there was a small explosion as Yang blew open a cracked wall to reveal another floor switch, one that found itself covered in spider guts after a Skulltula ambushed her. The switch unlocked the eastern door, and when Blake slew a flock of Keese to light the last two torches, a large wooden chest clattered down onto the tiny island.
They all regrouped as Yang shotgun-jumped to retrieve it, and inside was a stack of old parchments that appeared to be the dungeon map. The layout, however, was a little troubling.
"…so going northwest leads into two chambers, the last one connecting to the locked room," Jaune hummed, nodding towards the northern door. "And there's only one room in the eastern wing, but it's pretty big, and…well…"
"Can you read what it says with the Mask?"
"Barely. It's way too faded, but it mentions something about a forest up ahead, a key at the end of the west wing and lowering water levels in the east," he replied. "Maybe it can affect the fog since there's no water here?"
"Perhaps, but that can only mean one thing," Weiss sighed. "We'll have to split up. I fear what might happen if we stay here for too long when everyone else is defending the village."
He didn't like the sound of that. There was strength in numbers in a place like this, but at the same time, he didn't want to risk worsening things if they failed to cleanse the temple while they had the chance.
A quick glance at his scroll revealed no reception, and it was at that point Yang took a photo with her own and turned away.
"I'll go east, then, if...someone wants to come with me."
Blake took a photo, nodded to him and Weiss before following along, and Yang didn't even look back to know who was following her.
Jaune blinked when the eastern door closed shut. "Huh. I guess that leaves you and me, Snow Angel."
Chuchu jelly splashed across his chestplate.
(==|======-
Any curiosity Weiss had about spelunking had long since vanished.
It was stuffy. It was dusty. It wasn't hot but just warm enough to make her sweat if she kept walking. And it took all her willpower to not scream as things skittered past her soaked boots. If she saw what they looked like, she'd have run and...well, not get very far since they were trapped. It was truly terrifying.
...maybe the Triforce could help, though it felt silly to use divine power to get rid of a minor phobia.
Instead, it abated when the tunnel opened into a cavern with turquoise veins across the walls and ceiling. Some coalesced into Luminous Stones the size of chicken wings while others were boulders that illuminated whole sections of the cave, and deep below was a chasm of sharp, jagged luminous stalagmites. The ethereal light made it feel like a planetarium instead of a haunted dungeon.
Until she realized the implications.
"It's so…so -"
"Morbid?"
Jaune looked conflicted. "Yeah. It's kinda mesmerizing, but I can only imagine what made them like this."
Weiss shivered at the thought of being stuck here for eternity. "You better not let that happen to me. This place makes me uncomfortable, and the last thing I need is for something to -"
Click.
Weiss froze. So did Jaune.
They glanced down at her foot resting on a blocky switch that blended rather well with the floor.
"...for the record, I blame you."
"I-I'm sorry."
"Shut up."
She slowly, gingerly, ever so carefully lifted her foot off -
And…nothing happened.
Until a distant crash revealed the tunnel collapsing behind them.
"Aaaarrrc!" Weiss screeched. "When we get out of here -"
"- you're gonna kill me, I know!" he whined as she spawned a line of towering icicles. They sighed in relief as it held up the ceiling, then panicked when innumerable tons of dirt began cracking through.
"This won't hold forever!" Weiss grunted, strengthening the icicles with more ice dust. "Don't you see a way out of here?"
Jaune glanced between the ice wall, her frantic expression and the chasm once more before donning the Mask of Truth.
"Locked door to the north! Follow me!"
"Wait, what!?"
Jaune leapt into the chasm and landed on thin air as the icicles gave way, but with great trust, Weiss spawned a line of glyphs and slid across. She kept going past the last glyph, but Jaune caught her before presumably dropping over some invisible edge. The tunnel then collapsed with a mighty boom. For a moment, she continued laying down, refusing to peek at the chasm before dusting herself off.
"Are you okay, Weiss?"
"Peachy. I should've expected more of these."
Weiss accepted the Mask of Truth when he offered it, revealing a zigzagging path of thin, single-file stone platforms suspended midair. Some were dead ends, others floated between points like ferries or had small chests at their ends, and a few...blinked.
"See it now?"
The Tile Worm chittered and burrowed inside. "Mhmm. You know, I could just glyph us across."
"Yeah, but we need to find the key first," Jaune replied. "And one of us will need to take point with the Mask of Truth. I...well, I'd do it myself, but you can save yourself if you fall, so..."
Weiss hoped he saw her flat stare through the Mask. "There's something to be said here about chivalry, but whatever. Just watch my back."
Jaune nodded, unsheathing his sword, and Weiss pressed on with her own at the ready. Starting from the southeast corner and heading west, the path turned right and forked between north and east. Weiss decided to go straight -
And leapt back as the tile crumbled into nothingness. They continued east towards another fork, but a small chest lay at the end - along with a tile that stared back with beady eyes.
She wasn't having it. The sword of the Arma Gigas annihilated the Tile Worm, allowing her to open the chest for a red rupee. Others yielded similar results, and as they killed a few more Tile Worms in the process, Weiss realized they had no way to get through.
"This is hopeless. We've opened all the chests and I don't see any switches or hidden alcoves," Weiss sighed. "And I lack the Aura and dust to dig us free."
"Uh..."
"What? Do you have any other ideas?"
"Not exactly," Jaune growled, hefting his shield up. "But they might."
Weiss spun to find nothing but the floating path, even though how some of the lights blinked was a little odd.
And then she realized they weren't Luminous Stones, but the glowing eyes of skulls with bat-like wings. Some burst into blue flames as they popped out of nooks and crannies in the walls, seemingly alerted by their presence.
"Here, take this!" Weiss yelled, tossing Jaune the Mask of Truth as the flock of White, Blue and a single Green Bubble descended. She speared one through the mouth before whacking another like a club, and when more divebombed from the side, Weiss spawned a wall of glyphs that peppered the flock with anti-aircraft fire.
The White Bubbles were eviscerated while the sheer wind from the projectiles tempered the Blue Bubbles' fire, rendering them vulnerable to the volley. The lone Green Bubble kamikazed straight for her, but it bounced off a glyph that also doused its flames long enough for Jaune to impale it. A small, sparkling object fell from its jaws when it poofed away.
"Gatekeepers in life and death," Jaune panted as he snatched the key. "Not exactly the best way to go about spending eternity."
"Let's just move on," she griped. "I'm sure it can't get any worse."
Weiss regretted that statement when the door opened to reveal darkness so thick that Myrtenaster's flames struggled to stay alive. It became worse when they came upon an east-west T-junction bordered by short, rocky cliffs, with headstones, urns and sarcophagi peering down from above. No wonder it felt weird - she and Jaune weren't truly alone, something she refused to accept even when the path led them east towards a barred door.
"Weiss."
"I know. Something's telling me we're not welcome here. I'd rather we not stay longer than we must."
"Then maybe this can help," Jaune replied as he examined a broken urn embedded in the cliff. He ripped out the shards and tapped a hidden crystal, but the door remained locked when it glowed yellow.
"It seems there are more, unfortunately. Let's split up and find them quickly."
"No. We stay together," Jaune whispered back with a surprisingly stern tone. "My sisters put me through enough horror movies to know what happens when the good guys split up. I'd rather play it safe here."
"But –"
"- we won't be able to support each other, and then it'll turn into a rescue mission that'll take even longer."
Perhaps it was how the light cast odd, almost humanlike shadows in the corners of her vision, but hearing that was more encouraging than she'd admit - especially when they kept running into empty sarcophagi emitted a strong smell of decay.
"Maybe there were…grave robbers or archaeologists that came before us. Yes. Surely, that must be it."
Thankfully, within a cluster of headstones on the southwest hill was another sarcophagus that didn't smell but contained the second crystal. Another ping and the darkness seemed to lighten a little.
With one left to go, it didn't take long as they found a small cenotaph on the northern hill that was remarkably less weathered, borderline pristine compared to other graves. When the Mask of Truth didn't reveal any secrets, Weiss spawned a gravity glyph and shoved it aside, revealing a hole with the third crystal switch.
The ping was familiar as it was relieving, even as an intense rotting smell suddenly filled her nostrils. But that was okay since they could finally leave the cemetery behind -
"Don't. Move."
"Huh? What do you mean -"
Weiss gasped upon seeing a gaunt figure hunched over the path leading down the slope. How it snuck up on them was a mystery, and as they leapt down the ridge, it took all her strength not to scream.
The ReDead didn't chase them, though a quiet, mournful moan came from the shadows beside the path. Weiss pushed on and ignored the emerging voices until reaching the barred exit and the ReDead curled up in front of it.
"Nope, nope, nope. This is absolutely not happening."
Weiss released a shaky breath, traded a fearful look with Jaune and turned around.
Her father drilled into her and Whitley the importance of never showing emotion, but nothing could've prepared them for tall, emaciated corpses blocking their escape. Some were still garbed in fraying Sheikah robes, and when light drifted over the closest ReDead, its funerary mask creaked upwards with pale, pink eyes before letting out a sad moan.
"W-Weiss," Jaune hissed, brandishing Crocea Mors. "Quick, cover your ears -"
Too late. Its piercing, haunting shriek shook her to her very core. Weiss keeled over and plugged her ears, but its voice overwhelmed her with fear – an eerily similar feeling to Dark Link at Haven. The reminder sapped her will to fight.
"I…s-stop...everything...hurts…"
The fear, the ringing, the absolute terror ensured she could only stare as the ReDead behind staggered closer.
"N-no, please!"
The ReDead lunged with unnaturally wide-open jaws -
And recoiled in the sudden face of warm light that illuminated much of the cavern. Fear melted away as courage filled her veins, and Weiss found Jaune standing against the horde with a ringing Triforce.
But the ReDeads weren't yet vanquished. While Jaune killed the few who were blinded by the light, the rest unleashed a cacophony of screams that nearly overpowered him. Try as he might, Jaune fell to his knees and Courage's light waned.
In the distance, skeletal hands clawed out of their graves and threw open their sarcophagi.
This wouldn't do. Weiss sent a fireball into the ReDeads, freeing Jaune as the one behind her latched onto her shoulder. Weiss screamed as it chomped down, but Jaune returned the favour by driving its sword down its throat and through its spine.
"You alright?"
Weiss accepted his hand, eyeing together the remaining ReDeads and emerging Stalfos. "No, but I will be. Think you can keep that up?"
Jaune hummed and flourished his sword. "Let's go find out."
The ReDeads shrieked, but Courage helped resist the worst of it. Weiss jumped, spawned a gravity glyph and rocketed through a pair of ReDeads, then jammed her rapier through another's jaw before it could scream. Clanking armour warned her to backflip over a Stalfos' low swing, then weave around its attacks like a figure skater while thrusting between the joints. Once disarmed, Weiss stabbed its ribcage and summoned a fire glyph inside that blew it up for good.
Beside her, Jaune lit Crocea Mors with Aural fire and sent a green fire crescent which tore through a ReDead's scream and set it alight. He then blocked a flurry of blows from a samurai-looking Stalfos Knight before retreating when a back slice bounced off its chestplate. When it counterattacked, Jaune parried with a shield bash and leapt high, halving its skull with a helm splitter.
When the number of undead dwindled, a low rumble preceded the Big Dark Stalfos that clawed its way through the wall with a giant, rusty pendulum. Nodding to Jaune, he skirted left as the monster slammed down and met the sword of the Arma Gigas with a deafening crang. Jaune then leapt off the ridgeline, severed its arm with a jump strike and slashed its shins with a spin attack, allowing Weiss to drive the ghostly sword into its head like a railroad spike.
The cavern brightened as the Big Dark Stalfos burst into purple smoke. A flash of light at the crossroads then followed, revealing a large, black treasure chest decorated with talismans and Sheikah eyes. Inside was an ugly black iron key with a red jewel on top, but the key was sliced vertically down the centre.
"What exactly is that?"
"A boss key. Half of it anyway," he sighed as the barred door unlocked itself. It was clear a sign as any that they overstayed their non-existent welcome, and so they hurried through without looking back. When the door slammed shut, Weiss keeled over and panted, feeling the pain from falling adrenaline but no less thankful for making it out alive.
"...but just where exactly have we ended up now?"
When she joined Jaune by a nearby cliffside, she gazed across the massive forest sprawling in all directions. For a moment, Weiss forgot they were underground since the thick fog concealed the cavern walls. At least the forest surrounding Kakariko could be flown over, but here, the only way out was in.
"...man, I never thought I had to deal with the Lost Woods again."
"Lost Woods...? Isn't that the place where you said you stumbled upon some temple?"
"Yup, but at least we weren't there to go treasure hunting. We still need to find the other half of the key, and I can only imagine the monsters lurking in the mist."
"Yes, well, I'll leave that to you," Weiss sighed, reloading her rapier. "Your Triforce was the only reason we survived up until now, and I have a feeling it will prove crucial deeper in."
Jaune looked down at his hand before meeting her gaze. "Shall we?"
She took a deep breath and plunged into the unknown.
(==|======-
Once upon a time, she'd have cracked cheap (but smart) jokes to amuse herself by annoying the ever-living frick out of her teammates. Blake would've rolled her eyes, Weiss would've groaned and Ruby would've stoked the flames in a show of sisterly mischief.
That was back then. Now, Yang never felt more awkward as she walked with Blake up the dark, foggy tunnel. The passage was empty except for a few Chuchus, which would've been a blessing if it didn't force them to confront the elephants in the room.
Namely, each other. No doubt Blake felt the same, but Yang stayed quiet since they could be…ambushed at any minute, and they had a mission to complete. Yup. That was totally why. Never mind what Shiro said.
"Um, Yang?"
She tensed slightly. "What?"
Blake pointed towards the tunnel's exit. "There's some kind of light reflecting off the walls. Should I cover you while you take point?"
Yang replied by deploying Ember Celica and peeking around the bend, then entering when the coast was clear. The room opened to the right and wasn't as large as the nexus chamber, but the stalactite-covered ceiling was much taller to accommodate the towering statue at the eastern end: a cross-legged woman with a braid beside her right eye and mouth covered by a long cloak. On her chest, forehead and left eye were Sheikah eye patterns while a sash reminiscent of Jaune's looped around her waist. Her bandaged hands, clasped in her lap, emitted a pale turquoise glow between the fingers.
A fog-filled canal skirted the northern wall while a second one flowed from a ridge in the southern wall, converging at the entrance and channelling fog to the nexus chamber. They were fed from a spout next to the statue's right shoulder and cracks in the dirt by the southeast corner.
Most importantly, three wolf statues were hunched over the northern canal with lanterns in their mouths while alcoves in the southern wall revealed empty torches doused by the fog stream.
"I'm getting the feeling this is more than some random shrine. But what exactly is this room hiding - wah!"
Yang yelped as Blake tackled her away from a sudden crash behind them. Her surprise turned to anger upon seeing the barred door that denied their leave. "Great, now we're stuck here. And warn me before you do something like that!"
Blake looked like she bit back a retort. "Sorry. Spur of the moment. Besides, whoever designed this place must've had some way of leaving. I'm sure we'll find it quickly since we're working together."
Like partners, went unsaid, a bitter reminder as she examined a wolf statue and Blake headed for the southern alcoves. They were fixed in place unlike the entrance, and the fog suffocated Blake's attempts at a fire.
"Guess we gotta stop the fog if they're to stay lit. Haunted waterworks. Who would've thought?"
With wolves and alcoves down, Yang examined every inch of the fifty-foot woman. Her expression remained...stony at best.
...which was how Yang noticed that her right eye was cracked like the wall in the nexus chamber. Accordingly, she fired a blast that deafened the chamber, obliterated the eye and revealed a crystal switch that now rang a brilliant yellow. The right hand rumbled upwards, blocking the fog spout by its right shoulder and revealing a Luminous Stone inside a giant unlit torch.
"What did you do?"
"Took care of some things," Yang mumbled as they glanced between the Luminous Stone and the now-empty northern canal. Blake stole a belt of Yang's ammo and tossed it in, and with another shotgun blast, the flames flickered from orange to turquoise.
After lighting the lanterns, Yang fired at the crystal switch once more -
Only for the hand to rumble back to its lap, covering the soulfire and dousing the lanterns as the fog spout was freed.
Yang swore.
"Wait. Look," Blake replied, leading her to the now fogless alcoves. "Whatever mechanism drives this statue blocked the fog here."
"Sure, but there's no point turning it on and off if it won't stay lit."
"True. But maybe we can get around and...cheat it somehow?"
The answer came after a minute of searching in the form of a fog pool on the ridge left of the statue, along with a fat, precariously dangling stalactite. They knocked it down and clogged the pool for good, then clogged the spout and finally lit all six torches.
The door unlocked and the statue's Sheikah eye crumbled away, revealing a large wooden chest Blake swung up to open. Simple as it was in hindsight, for a moment Yang felt like she was a proper huntress after killing some monsters and solving some puzzles with her partner –
And her grin faltered, especially when Blake returned with a chest-sized purple mirror with three spikes and a handle on the bottom like a magnifying glass.
"All this for a fancy mirror?"
"There has to be a reason why it's been sealed away," Blake replied. "When I look into the lens, I feel like I can see things I wouldn't have been able to before."
"Well, maybe Jaune'll know what to do with it."
"Perhaps." Yang flinched at the light when Blake withdrew her scroll. "According to the map, they'll eventually end up in the central room, which looks like some sort of large forest."
"..."
"Do you think we should chase them through the side rooms or catch up by going straight –"
"Mhmm."
Blake eyed her neutrally but stayed silent as they returned to the nexus chamber. She surveyed the room long and hard, totally not ignoring her; the western door was caved in, but with the fog river sealed, only a faint mist remained - revealing a valley of skeletons, a floor switch near the southern edge and a black chest with Sheikah talismans by the north. Pressing the switch unlocked the northern door while the chest contained a black iron key cut straight down the centre.
"...the final room is just north of here. It's just a straight walk ahead."
She nodded but refused to budge.
"Are you alright?"
"I said I'm fine. Let's go," Yang sighed as she walked into the next room –
Right into the thickest fog she'd ever seen.
They weren't trees, but twisting euclidean shapes that cast wavering shadows from the door's ambient light. It sounded distant and echo-like when it closed, and their breaths could be seen against the fog despite the warm temperature.
Yang flinched when Blake drew her blade. It was going to be a long, long walk.
At first…it didn't seem so bad. Nothing attacked as she brushed leaves aside and crunched twigs underfoot. Yang kept her guard up, but the constant vigilance and mental exhaustion made her wish that it was just a little…brighter. Or happier, like the cliffside woods on Patch, the relaxing winds of the Emerald Forest –
A forest that burned as Grimm emerged from the darkness, at their helm a bull faunus with a long, bloody sword –
Yang gasped and yanked her arm back, only to find Blake reaching out with a concerned look.
"You're okay. It's not just you," she whispered with a strained voice, as if fighting to keep it even. "The fog's considerably worse than in Kakariko. I think it's preying on our fears, but I'd rather not stay and find out."
"I know. I'm…fine," Yang mumbled, hugging herself. She was just weirded out. There was nothing to worry about.
Not like the faint blue light that weaved between the trees. They ducked behind one and held their breath as a lantern with ghostly flames floated past, clinking lightly in the air.
The fog grew thicker further in. There were some points where she could see less than twenty feet away, and their footsteps sounded increasingly muffled. Yang pushed on, irises flickering red as she fought to not get disoriented.
So focused was her tunnel vision that she missed the shadow that passed above and landed behind her.
"...ng!"
"...huh?"
"...Yang!"
"What?" she hissed. "Blake, are you –"
Blake was gone.
And in her place was a human-sized Wallmaster that skittered into the bush.
Yang screamed and fired a salvo of shotgun blasts, abandoning all stealth while finding nothing when she followed it.
"Dammit, this isn't happening. Blake! Where the hell are you!?"
Silence.
Yang growled and scanned the area. "Alright, think. No bullet casings, no tracks except mine and...no signal for our scrolls' homing beacons. Fuck. You know what, I'll go back to the entrance so I don't get lost –"
Except that the place she came from...wasn't. She only took a few steps into the brush, so the trees should've looked the same despite the fog and why weren't there any signs of life and why, why, why, why -
The realization hit her like a ton of bricks, but she refused to accept it. Yang walked towards what she assumed was south, and even when she retraced her steps, it was like she was never there. Everything was alien.
Panic slowly weakened her ironclad will, but a distant, flickering orange light had her desperately bounding towards it -
And found herself surrounded by burning tents and ruined vendors. Pained cries might've echoed somewhere in the distance, but when she turned a corner, Yang froze at the sight of a tall, black shadow.
A shadow that smiled underneath its bone white mask and blood red hair.
It was too much. Yang turned and ran, but there was no forest within the endless maze of tents. The shadow kept up, darting between stalls until it cornered her in a dead end, and so Yang fired away to no effect.
When she tried reloading…she couldn't. How could she when she had no arms for it?
Yang fell when her grinning demon unsheathed a long, bloody blade.
"No...please..."
It raised it high before slicing down -
And vanished when a bruised, dirty cat faunus walked right through, snapping Yang out of her fog-induced trance.
"...Blake? Is that...are you real?"
"In the flesh," she panted, helping Yang up. "I quite literally got carried away by one of those hand-shaped monsters back to the entrance. But the fog didn't mask your gunfire, so I just followed it until – wah!"
Yang tackle-hugged her to the ground. Blake reciprocated when the shock wore off, remaining silent as tears moistened her shirt. They stood up as faint, golden light flashed through the trees, relaxing when the fog receded against its warm, powerful source – the Triforce of Courage.
The latter sighed. "I never thought I'd be so glad to see a Schnee."
"I don't know if I should be offended or happy," Weiss humphed, allowing Blake to sweep her up in a hug while nodding to Jaune. "So I'll settle for being patient. What are you two doing here?"
Yang stepped up before Blake could. "Following the map. We found some stuff you'd probably find interesting."
His eye widened as they handed over the boss key shard and purple mirror. "Where'd you find this?"
"Inside a statue that controlled the fog into the central chamber," Yang replied. "I don't know what it does, but it's gotta be important…right?"
"Important? This is the Lens of Truth," Jaune laughed. "An item used by the Hero of Time to dispel the most powerful illusions. Huh. Nice job, Yang."
"Thanks, but I don't deserve all the credit. I wouldn't have gotten this far without her."
Blake looked like a deer in headlights, but she recovered quickly and replied with a smile.
"That's good to hear, seeing as we've reached the end. We'll be needing all hands on deck for this."
Weiss pointed dead ahead, and it was only because of Courage's light that the cavern wall was barely visible. Past the twisted trees was a massive, chained stone door with various dragon carvings and a hefty padlock in the shape of the Sheikah eye. It clattered free with the combined boss key and opened to reveal stairs rising into the void. Even with the four of them, whatever lay ahead was gonna test them hard.
But that was okay. She wasn't alone anymore. Her emotions were still raw, but now she could at least trust that Blake – her partner – would be there to watch her back.
"Looks like you were right, Shiro. Guess this bridge had room for one more after all."
(==|======-
"Wait, what? Haven't we been here before?"
For a moment, Jaune wondered if the fog still affected him as he gazed across a large cavern reminiscent of the entrance. But while a thin layer hovered above the ground, it became clear this was the beginning of the end.
Uneven mounds of dirt rose and fell while a few natural stone pillars connected the floor to a ceiling of Luminous Stones, casting half the cavern in turquoise light. At the opposite end was a stone platform with a raised pool of brackish water and four empty torches bearing Farore's mark at each corner. Behind those were a Goddess Statue and a flat stone panel, one carved with the winged Triforce crest and various Hylian characters.
"I suppose that's where we purify the Spirit Guardian. But how do we go about something like that?"
By preparing for the worst. I have a feeling it won't be so easy.
"You and me both. Just what exactly are we up against?"
I have my suspicions.
"…you can't just leave me hanging like that."
"What are you talking about?" Weiss asked as she, Blake and Yang joined him atop the stairs. "Never mind. This place looks more innocuous than previous rooms, but I still don't trust it."
"Neither do I," Jaune replied as he headed for the platform. The ground was a strange mix of mushy and solid as if it was a giant bean bag couch. Especially when he realized that mixed with the soil were rusty weaponry and the occasional half-buried arm...some of which were too pale and fleshy to be skeletal.
It did not feel right. Jaune practically hopped onto the stone platform with the others, but a glance back revealed Weiss stuck in place a far distance behind, legs covered by a low bank of dirt.
"Weiss? What are you doing?"
"You should take a look at this."
Jaune traded worried looks with the others as they walked over, and before he could ask, she pointed down at her feet.
His heart rate shot up to eleven – not just because of concern, but of a memory that wasn't his: a place where Hyrule's history of blood and greed gathered while providing unaware townsfolk the water for their home.
Whatever was left of the Hero of Time brought Jaune back to his senses. The pallid white arm kept its vicelike grip on Weiss' ankle.
Jaune raised his sword to slice it apart –
And missed as it flung Weiss into a stone pillar. A localized quake then tore through the cavern, causing some Luminous Stones to fall like fluorescent rain as white hands emerged in force. Dozens more blanketed the torches, Triforce crest and Goddess Statue, with one grabbing Yang's face and trying to sink her until Jaune hacked her free while Blake escaped by leaving behind an exploding fire dust clone.
Seeing the odds turn against them, Jaune infused his sword with extra Aura and slammed down with a Bombos attack. The closest arms were incinerated with green fire while the shockwave stunned those further away, but it was matched by an eruption of dirt and stone by the entrance. When the dust settled, they didn't see anything over there at first –
Until a thick, foul-smelling jet of fog spewed from thin air, forcing them to jump apart. When he donned the Mask of Truth, it revealed a ten foot tall mass of flesh lumbering over from the blast zone. It had hooked arms, red splotches on its skin that churned in the vague outline of faces, but its actual face had black pits for eyes and a wide jaw filled with rotten teeth.
In short, disgusting.
Dead Hand. A cursed monster that once inhabited the depths of a village well. It is drawn to fear and slowly devours the souls of those it traps underground.
Weiss gagged when Jaune passed her the Mask and relayed the information. "I…ugh. How do we kill this thing?"
Its flesh is thick and its hands are infinite, Link warned in his mind. The Hero of Time slew it by injuring its mouth, but don't be surprised if it learned its lesson.
"Aim for the mouth!" Jaune yelled anyway. "It's the source of fog and its only weak spot! The hands won't stop so we gotta go for the source with all we've got!"
Dead Hand replied by spewing more fog, though Weiss dodged and retaliated with an icicle volley, giving it a hedgehog exterior. Carving his way through a field of arms, Jaune aimed a jump attack for its face –
And was swatted into an oncoming Weiss. Yang and Blake then flanked it with gunfire, but the latter tripped because of an arm and was blasted with fog breath. When it cleared, she lay a good distance away while coughing up fumes, causing Yang to rush in with a flurry of blows. But rage alone couldn't penetrate the hands shielding its mouth; Dead Hand gobbled Yang up and spat her out, and when Weiss rocketed forwards with a glyph-propelled thrust, a mass of arms sprung up to clothesline her across the face.
Jaune retrieved the Mask of Truth where it fell off Weiss and met its eyeless grin. Dead Hand shook the icicles off and emitted noise that sounded like laughter.
"Looks like I'm the last one standing."
And yet, you're not alone. Show this creature who's truly boss.
The monster spawned a line of hands that clipped his shield, but Jaune dodged the next and went for another jump attack –
Only to miss when the monster bent its neck and whomped Jaune from behind. He landed amongst arms with katanas, which were promptly stunned with a jump strike and then destroyed with a spin attack.
Dead Hand responded by burrowing out of sight before erupting beneath him in a shower of dirt. Using the painful momentum, he rolled into a run and came close for an uppercut to its mouth -
Only for it to catch his blade with its teeth before flinging him into a jagged rock pillar.
Pain and Aura blossomed across his back. Jaune grimaced as he collapsed behind it for cover, and in the distance, he noticed Weiss giving Blake first aid while Yang dealt with oncoming hands.
"Ugh. Ow. Everything…hurts."
Get up and fight, Jaune.
"I…know…but how? I think it really did learn from last time."
Then find a different way. It's not just one's heart, but the items at hand that can turn the tide of battle.
His items? The Mask of Truth didn't dispel illusions, and the Lens of Truth…? Was he supposed to whack Dead Hand with it like a tennis racket?
Jaune growled. The item was straight up useless, especially in a place as dark as –
"…"
"…"
"…wait."
…I see what you have in mind, but while it's creative, your control over the Triforce is still basic. This is still dangerous for someone at your level. I wouldn't tempt fate a second time after Haven.
"I know. But I gotta try something."
Jaune sidestepped its fog breath and rejoined the others beneath a low dirt bank. After issuing his last potions and giving a rushed explanation of his plan, Weiss re-marked Dead Hand with more icicles as she and Jaune dashed towards a small ridge. When its attacks relented after Blake and Yang distracted it, Jaune raised the Lens of Truth and willed Courage to life.
Beside him, Weiss threw up a sizeable pair of glyphs around them, allowing him to focus. It was warm, inviting, alluring…
…and it took every ounce of mental strength to not go all out as he did in Haven. This time, he needed to be precise.
Weiss shouted something, but it was drowned by Courage's metallic ringing. It grew bright enough that Blake, Yang and Dead Hand noticed, but he held back. It became harder every second, and at some points, his Triforce mark began flickering green.
…focus, Jaune. Master it, but don't lose yourself to it. Bend Courage to your command.
The light reached a crescendo, and Dead Hand spewed a beam of fog -
And Jaune screamed as he fired a thin, laser-like beam of light through the Lens of Truth. It pierced the beam of fog and hit Dead Hand right in the chest, evoking a howl of pain. He ripped the Mask off to watched it flicker in and out of sight, and when the illusion faded, a smoking bullet-sized wound didn't seem to heal.
The monster looked up at him with palpable fear. Not only was it visible, but now it was vulnerable.
A fact Yang took advantage of when she dashed over and delivered a Semblance-enhanced punch that blew a plate-sized chunk out of its torso. Dead Hand howled and lunged to bite her, which Yang ducked before delivering a shotgun uppercut that snapped its mouth closed.
Dead Hand then retreated and covered the ground around it with thick fog, reviving some bones as Stalfos. Three of the latter went for Blake; she parried the first one's swing and sidestepped the second's thrust, letting it impale buddy with a spear, then proceeded to slice their heads off. Blake then weaved between the third Stalfos' frenzied assault and trapped its katana in a frozen clone before slicing its joints apart.
With the small fry taken care of, Jaune stared Dead Hand down with Weiss and the light of Courage. It eyed him warily and refused to burrow underground.
This was it. This was his chance.
Mixing ice and wind dust, Weiss summoned a small arctic tornado that tore up its remaining hands. It also provided cover for Jaune as he dashed around, another fog beam diffused by the gale, and when it dispersed, he infused his sword with Aural fire and leapt up high once more.
Dead Hand inhaled for one more stream of fog –
Which never happened as Jaune plunged an ending blow into its throat and unleashed a Bombos attack.
His senses were overwhelmed by an explosion of green fire and sickly white skin. He vaguely recalled tumbling across the floor, and when he came to, all that remained of the boss was a burnt shell now evaporating into purple smoke. Beside it, a sparkling red Heart Container clattered to the ground.
The curse, it seemed, had been lifted at last.
(==|======-
Jaune knelt beside the altar's pool and tossed in a pebble. The water, having cleared after the boss' death, rippled lightly but failed to produce any meaningful effect. For a shrine dedicated to a revered guardian deity, it seemed there was nothing left that could be called sacred. He glanced at the Goddess Statue, but Hylia's likeness remained silent with an empty smile.
"Nothing?"
"Nope," he replied, turning as Weiss returned the Mask of Truth. "I mean, it's not like I expected the Spirit Guardian to just pop out of nowhere, but summoning spirits is out of my league. Find anything useful, at least?"
The heiress shook her head. Behind her, Blake and Yang talked quietly by one of the torches. "The inscriptions were too faded to read, but now that we've defeated the monster, we should have a clear path back to the village. I suggest we ask Chief Yohma on how to proceed."
He couldn't argue with that. Better to get expert help instead of wasting time doing nothing. She joined her two teammates as they headed for the exit, and as Jaune stood up, enduring the soreness from battle a few minutes ago –
…uth...
He froze.
…oh, brave youth...
The voice was low, weak and definitely not Link's.
"Who…who are you?"
"Hey, Jaune?" Yang called out with a worried tone. "You, uh, might want to see this."
He turned to see green light flash within Dead Hand's disintegrating corpse, and after a few seconds, a thin mist of the same colour emerged from it and floated over to the pool.
Jaune remained entranced when the others returned. "Wait. Are you…?"
"…oh, brave youth…chosen of destiny…" the mist replied out loud, startling them with a voice seemingly coming from everywhere. "Grant unto me the Goddess' healing…"
Jaune traded shocked glances with Weiss and Yang until Blake pointed at his feet. No wonder they missed it; when he moved aside, green light illuminated an almost completely weathered engraving of the Triforce and some sort of music scale.
It was like a switch was flicked. He withdrew the Goddess' Harp upon remembering his time in the Sacred Forest Meadow, and after a few moments of testing the strings with his limited training, the gentle notes of the Song of Healing echoed throughout the cavern.
The second he finished, the glowing mist collapsed on itself before unleashing an explosion of radiant energy. The cavern was overwhelmed with green light, and when his eye adjusted, Jaune found the source hovering above them – a luminous green dragon with a broad chest, serpentine tail and four massive flaming wings. It met their gazes with seven eyes of emerald fire, and strange swirling patterns across its body pulsed like a heartbeat.
And yet, none of them were afraid.
"I am the Guardian of Courage, Tenacity and Hope. I am Farozu," the spirit intoned with a powerfully rumbling voice. "Oh, brave youth, chosen of destiny, your actions have broken the curse placed upon me during the weakening of the seals. Because of you, light has returned to the green lands of Faron."
"I'm just doing my duty."
"An ancient duty. A sacred duty. But this is merely the first step, as much of the land remains a remnant of its former self, bereft of the Goddesses' blessing. The remaining seals on the old world shall break, and the duty to defeat evils freed falls to you alone. It is a heavy burden to bear."
"I know. And I still don't know the way forward or how to revive the Master Sword. But I do know I'm not alone," Jaune replied as Yang, Blake and Weiss stepped forward.
The dragon spirit eyed them harshly. "The path of the hero is a long and painful road. Noble may your hearts be, this is beyond all except the chosen one. Why fight in a war that is not your own?"
"Because this is our world too."
Weiss didn't back down when Farozu's gaze snapped to hers. What he saw in her was a mystery to even him, but after a long minute, the Spirit Guardian gave the subtlest of nods.
"…then I grant you the blessing of our patron Goddess."
Jaune flinched as Farozu unleashed an enormous beam of fire at his left hand. It felt…strangely warm, and when it dissipated, in his palm were a green medallion with Farore's crest and a small vial that contained glowing gold mist.
His Triforce mark rang softly.
"This is Farore's Medallion. Like the half of Din's Medallion you carry, it is crucial in restoring the sword that seals the darkness. And that vial contains the Essence of Truth - a shard of the Golden Power much like yours. It is none other than the Triforce of Wisdom."
Jaune choked.
"Wisdom was split in three after the Divine Calamity and used to power the seals on the Dark World," Farozu continued. "For evil had gained enough strength that only the soul of a Goddess could hold it back. It now exists in alternate forms as a test."
"Test for what?"
"For an heir to Hylia's bloodline to claim her place as the Princess of Destiny."
The Spirit Guardian flourished its wings, and a glowing circle appeared around them. "Return to the Sage on the hill, who shall reveal the way to my brethren and the mysteries of the past. May the Goddesses watch over you all in the long days to come."
With a flash of light, the portal flashed and returned them outside.
And on a distant hill, halfway between the Shrouded Shrine and Kakariko Village, an old, wise woman watched the cursed fog dissipate completely to reveal a dark blue sky on the cusp of dawn.
- AN -
Hey guys. Been a while, eh?
I apologize for the radio silence and constant update shifting. Things have been...somewhat eventful over the past couple of months. I won't go into super specific details, but I'd like to give y'all some situational awareness as to why I've been all over the place with writing; on the work front, I left my second job due to the company doing some under the table things and then police involvement, while I've been bouncing back between home and different places for various taskings regarding my first and main job in the military. In fact, I'm leaving the country for work for a few weeks, which will push Ch 47 further back to April. On the personal front, the stress, long term burnout from last year and some other issues with family contributed to a little bit of a mental rut since December. It was worse than I realized but things are much better now, and it's undeniable how much my ability to write has been impacted. Life...happens, and though I hate sounding like I'm throwing excuses left and right, it's also not fair to keep you guys waiting for so long without knowing some of what's going on. Again, I apologize for the delays and I wish I could stick to the promise of back to the old two weeks, but what's realistic right now is that I'm trying my best - and that ADoL will not be abandoned.
On a happier note at least...the chapter! Though it's technically the second, the Shrouded Shrine is the first true dungeon in the story. Considering its shadow temple element and theme of courage, I wanted the characters to face challenges overcoming various types of fear while adding some original puzzles. Granted, compared to other Zelda dungeons it's pretty simple and straightforward, though I wanted to strike a balance between having too many character interactions vs jotting down a walkthrough. Personally, I think for the next dungeon I'd lean a little bit more for the latter so I can include more puzzles, but we'll see how things go. At the very least, one thing I didn't want to compromise one was the boss since I just think Dead Hand's pretty cool. Scary as a kid, but pretty cool now.
Anyway, that's all for now, folks. Thanks for reading, take care and hope to see you next time!
- Reviews -
Super heavy weapons guy: Thank you, glad you liked it!
Dragon lord Syed 101: Yup! And thus the Shrouded Shrine was conquered.
Fyr RedNight: Thank you, hope to see you next update as well! As for the voices Jaune heard and Dark Link... ;)
Guest: Thanks! When I first started writing this in the ancient days, I underestimated how hard it'd be to come up and juggle multiple characters' arcs over time. But hey, without throwing any of that away, I definitely would like to focus more on Jaune and Link now that we're starting the Zelda phase.
Guest: Haha thanks, I'm happy you liked it!
- Stats -
Upload Date: Mar 15 / 2022
***Edit Mar 28 / 2022: minor grammar edits
Chapter Word Count: 8733
Approximate Page Length (Times New Roman, size 12, single-spaced): 22
- Disclaimer -
The Legend of Zelda and RWBY are the respective properties of Nintendo and Rooster Teeth.