The air in the pyramid was dry and stale, as Green had expected. Having walked though the doorway, he found himself in a perfectly square room, made entirely out of pale yellow bricks. He took a sip from the water skin he had accepted from the Gerudo, and then tied it around his belt. Next to the skin was a small sack of jerky and dates. Feeling a little more prepared, he drew his sword from the scabbard, holding it at the ready as he went to the doorway at the other side of the room.

He followed the long passageway until he found himself into another room, square, exactly like the last one except that there were now two doorways. Green looked from side to side, and eventually chose the left door. Another passageway, and another square room with two doorways. Green furrowed his brow, and chose the right door this time.

He found himself in yet another passageway, and he cursed as he found himself in yet another square room. But there was one difference; there was a piece of parchment lying on the floor. Sheathing his sword, Green picked up the parchment and leaned against the wall. The letters were crude and faded, but he could read most of it.

It is morning. I know I will find who I am looking for here. I have my sword, but I cannot be sure of my odds. Either he will win, or I will. Make no mistake, I do not take the idea of lying lightly. But while I might possibly perish, Hyrule will certainly be torn apart if I do not stop this villain. With my companion, I hope to succeed...

Green shook his head. The remainder of the statement, this apparent last will and testimony, was ineligible. Placing the parchment to the side, he went on the move again, going through the left doorway and stumbling through the passageway until he found himself in the next square room.

He hissed, swinging his fist through the air. He was lost.

In his anger, he did not notice the monster materialize next to him.

But he heard the footstep, and he jumped back just in time. He drew his sword.

The intruder was a tall humanoid, covered head to toe in gleaming, silvery armor. A faint red aura radiated from the armor, and the figure carried a rusty sword in the right arm and a dilapitaded shield in the left. The eyeholes of the square helmet were solid black, with a small red gem set between them.

Green moved fast, aiming low and slow and striking at the legs. To his shock, the blade passed through each as if they were made out of air. Green did not have time to think about the nature of the antagonist, for the shield was thrust forward, knocking the young hero to the ground. Green scurried away, dodging a downward strike and springing back to his feet. This phantom could not be hit, but he could hit Link. What about the phantom's weapons, then?

As he had learned in the battle against Shadow, there was almost nothing the Four Sword could not cut when pushed far enough. He lunged forward, aiming straight for the shield with a two-handed thrust. The blade went straight through the shield. There was a low growl from beneath the helmet, and the phantom tore his shield arm away, taking the Four Sword with it.

Green yelped, dodging another blow and running down the left doorway. He could not defeat the phantom barehanded. He huffed as his boots hit the floor. He recalled the parchment. If there had been someone else here, maybe there would be a weapon left behind...something, anything.

His eyes suddenly twitched as he saw that the next room was a dead end. There was only a window, letting in the golden sunlight from outside. In his confusion and speed, he did not see what he was about to step on.

Green let out a wordless scream, feeling as though he had been shoved underwater. But the effect was over almost as soon as it had begun. He shook his head, finding himself in the same room as before. Or was it?

He looked to the side. There was a blue portal in the middle, rippling like a whirlpool. It looked exactly like the one in Hyrule Castle Town. And the window was no longer letting in the sunlight, but instead, orange moonlight. Even the air was cold. He was back in the Dark World.

But there was no time to reflect. The phantom was coming through the passageway too. The enemy still carried a sword, as well as the shield that the Four Sword was impaled on. But the phantom had changed. He was no longer glowing, and his armor was deep gray instead of a shining silver. Was he...solid? Green took a few steps back, waiting for the phantom to enter the room.

When that happened, the young man took the scabbard from his waist and hurled it straight at the phantom's head. The creature raised his shield, but the move was too slow. The scabbard bounced off the helmet with a clang.

Yes!

Green rushed forward, grabbing at the hilt of the Four Sword. He jumped back, wrenching the blade free from the shield and barely missing a sword slice. He grinned. Now that they were in the same playing field, the odds were even.

Green pressed his advantage. He put both hands on the hilt and all his power into his next swing, which sliced the blade of the phantom's rusty sword cleanly in two. The phantom took a step back, raising the shield. Green thrust his sword forward, piercing through it a second time. This time, he was ready.

He pulled and heaved, flinging the shield out of the phantom's hand and off his sword. Without missing a beat, Green swung his sword straight at his opponent's head, slashing through the jewel between the eyeholes. To his surprise, his blow did not immediately send the helmet flying. The phantom stood silently, as if in a trance, as the broken fragments of the jewel fell to the ground. Then, after a long silence, the figure stumbled into movement. Link watched, sword at the ready, as his opponent took hold of the damaged helmet with both hands and slowly pulled it up and away.

There was not a monster beneath, but a man, perhaps thirty years old, with shoulder-length red hair. He blinked several times, then looked at Green. His eyes widened.

"You...is that you, Link?"

"Uh..." Link stammered, trying to wrack his brain for the names of the knights that had been at Hyrule Castle. There had been quite a few, and being a loner gave him no advantage to telling faces apart.

"You...you're one of my father's men."

At length, the man's face relaxed into a smile. He gave Green a half-bow.

"Valensuela, at your service."

"Oh..." Green faltered, but he put his sword away. "I had no idea you were a fellow knight. I would not have wanted to attack..."

"It is alright." Valensuela kicked the helmet away. "That piece of devilry turned me into a beast. You have freed me from it."

"I'm afraid to ask," Green began, "but did someone who looked kind of like me do this to you?"

Valensuela hesitated, but dropped into a sitting position and put his back to the wall.

"We knights did everything to stop him, but it was no use. He could vanish from thin air and reappear out of nowhere. Every time he touched one of us, he sent us away. I did not find out until I was caught myself that he was sending us to this...this..."

"Dark World?"

Valensuela waved a hand. "If that is what you call it. I tried to fight further, but I was subdued. I was fitted with that helmet, and I was told to search for you and...three other boys in the Pyramid, and do whatever I needed to do to slay you if you showed up. One of his minions must have opened the portal here so I could attack those in the world of light."

Green tilted his head. "He must have guessed I would be here..."

The stale, dry air hit Green and Valensuela as they went back through the portal and found themselves in the Pyramid once more. The older knight looked down at the ruined sword and shield on the floor.

"Those weapons were from this world," he said. "That must have been why I could attack you while you could not harm my body." Green nodded, and Valensuela's brow furrowed. "There is something I have to show you."

It was not long before he started to weave through the corridors outside, with Link close behind.

"Most of your information is correct." Valensuela nodded his head after Green had recounted what the Gerudo had told him about the structure. "This was built to contain an object of great and terrible power." He turned into a passageway, and gestured. "But that power is no longer here."

Green beheld a stone alter in the middle of the room. He stepped closer. There was a carving from one side to the other, shaped like a spear with three blades.

"That stone alter used to hold the Trident of Power. A Gerudo king once tried to take it. But it disappeared, and so did he."

Green's brow furrowed. "What happened to him? What put him down?"

Valensuela took a glance at the Four Sword Green carried.

"What indeed?"

And so Green triumphs over the ghostly knight. As for the parchment, I hope to expand more on it in future chapters.