Changelog at the end

Chapter 9

The ground was not far, and Link easily landed on both feet in a crouch, arms outstretched for balance. Dust hung around him and made him cough. The air smelled of damp soil and mould, with a stronger, foetid odour wafting around him that his mind begged to remember.

He briefly looked up into the fading light of the upper room, seeing Harish with his monkeys bent over the hole to catch a last glimpse of him. He quickly turned his attention to the path ahead, trying not to think of what this dark tunnel would become if he failed.

His eyes soon adjusted to the darkness, but he lit his lantern to feel a little safer.

"What a moron, your ape friend," Midna's voice echoed from right beside him instead of from below, making him jump. "Say the word, and next time he shuffles around before you like that, I'll be more than happy to kick him in the—"

"Don't call him that."

"What? That's what he is."

"He was just being… friendly."

"He treated you like a deity. And you're many things, my little wolf; naive, weak, pathetic, whiney, untrained, slow on the uptake—"

"Hey!"

"—but you're definitely not a god. You're not even a real hero yet. After you find the power that's hidden down here, maybe then you'll have crawled a little bit closer to that title. Maybe. Highly doubtful."

As unpleasant and insulting as she was, Link felt an odd thankfulness towards her. She, at least, saw him for what he was—not the many things she had described him with, of course—just a simple farmhand from a rural village in the south. Nothing more.

"Also, why are you over there all of a sudden?" he asked.

"Cause I'm in your shadow, genius?"

He looked at his own silhouette projected to the right wall by his lantern, sighing. "Right. Sorry."

"You're apologising for your own stupidity?

"No, I just didn't—"

"What was it I just said? Help me out: slow on the uptake?"

He cleared his throat, cheeks reddening, and continued on silently. His mind was just fogged with too much sudden change in his life. Slow on the uptake, please!

The path before him was littered with clumpy earth, roots, insects, and the occasional mummified rat. A flock of screeching bats soared past him when his light fell on their nesting place, and he crouched low with a quiet gasp of fright. He held his lantern high as he continued through the long tunnel that ran at a steady downward slope, wondering if he was still in the Faronian Giant's belly or if he had passed into the next one.

Soon the tunnel widened, greeting him with withered daylight, gloomy from the massive root clusters entwining the sun's radiance. He felt like an ant before a lighthouse as he gazed up at the trunk that towered before him. He stood now within the chasm, he presumed, surrounded by the tree's gargantuan roots. A similar round door to the ones up above allowed him to enter the tree, but it was not painted with the red swirl of Faron. Cryptic lettering made of dots and tapering lines had been carved into it instead.

Dēaþ bideth þām unweorðan

Sē þe næfþ þæt isern to þrāwan

Þæt mod to gefaran

Ond þæt lēoht to ādrǣfan þæt yfel

"Know any Ancient Hylian, farm-boy?" Midna asked.

"I do, actually," he replied, eagerly studying the script. "Do you?" A shimmer of hope laced his heart; would they finally have something in common?

"Never been one for dead languages. Didn't see the point. Well, what does it say?"

He sighed in disappointment and translated, swallowing his fear rising at the words and burying it in the deepest, farthest corner of his mind.

"Death awaits the unworthy

Who does not have the mettle to persist

The courage to advance

And the light to banish the evil."

"I guess I'll find out…" he muttered after a brief pause.

"Find out what?"

"If I'm worthy."

"Oh, I can't wait," she sighed.

Thankfully the ropes attached to the pulley mechanism seemed intact; at his pull on the rotten handle, it rolled aside sluggishly.

Something heavy and sticky collapsed onto his boot. He backed away in fright as his eyes fell on a twisted, bony hand and a brown arm, shrivelled and slimy from decay, which belonged to a human corpse lying face-down in the soil. Wispy hair still clung to its cracked skull. Desperately stifling a whimper, he pressed a hand to his eyes and nose, inching his way past the long dead body and trying with all his might not to peek at it. The foul smell drifting from the carcass made him choke, but when he had made it to safety behind it, his morbid curiosity made him glance back despite his better judgement.

"I guess we found those buzzies your ape friend mentioned earlier," Midna grumbled.

"I said, don't call him that."

"Yeah, yeah."

Clearing his throat, he focused on the rotting corpse behind him. The man—whoever he was—looked like he'd been torn in half. His legs and hips were missing, the hand that had fallen onto Link's boot outstretched towards the door as if reaching for help. Link did not want to imagine what had happened to him.

Another skeleton lay in a similar position near the tunnel's opening. This one had an oddly-shaped hole in its torso, the severed ribs ending in round bulbs that, if Link didn't know any better, made him think of molten metal. They had fled from something, and their killer must have either chased them or shot them down, otherwise both of them might have been able to get away.

The tunnel widened into a vast room, silent except for the quiet churning of shadowy water within a large pool in front of him, poisoned purple. The Faronian Giant's walls were puckered with countless large holes like a molten honeycomb. At last, Link recognised the rotten smell that imbued the air; thick with humidity, the violet fog he and Harold had once discovered in the forest crept over the ground like a malevolent spirit. It reached all the way to his knees.

Quietly, he stepped a little closer to the water. It looked more like a swamp than a pond, with no vegetation growing at its edges. The little grass that was stretching into the fading beams of sunlight was yellow and rotten, but so far nothing moved at Link's approach. He decided to break the silence.

"Ic eom hēr, Ascunung. Āwēn þē!" he said in Ancient Hylian, then stood still, not daring to breathe. Carefully he looked around. I'm here, Abomination. Show yourself!

He was startled by a sudden, bubbly growl resonating from the walls of the tree. The boggy water trembled and shuddered. He placed the lantern on the ground and drew his sword and shield. With a pounding heart he took a few steps back, keeping his gaze rooted on the surface. A sudden splash made him pull his shield up, and a hissing sound came from the painted hardwood as a few drops landed on its surface. One bore itself into his left underarm, making him cry out in sudden pain. The water is acidic!

"Show yourself!" he shouted, lifting his blade and crouching a little as he took up a fighting stance. The smells floating around him intensified; the room seemed to brighten as his senses sharpened, and every muscle in his body tensed up. He was as ready as he could be.

Finally, the monster emerged from the water.

Slowly it peeled itself out of the swamp, sluggishly stretching its red, bulb-shaped head into the fading light of day. It seemed to go on and on; a stalk like a birch tree, covered in flaky skin, with its head as wide as Jaggle's waterwheel. When it caught sight of him, it roared a bellow that let the walls of the tree shake like foliage in the wind. Razor teeth dripping with green saliva flashed in the strobing light, and like a snake smelling the air for prey it stretched out a red tongue and hissed. Link crushed the grip of his blade to give him courage and raised his shield.

He jumped aside as it attempted to smack its maw shut over him. Instinctively he stepped backwards, watching as it clonked into the ground before him with a sizzle, and a flash of memory replayed Harold's words during their reconnaissance; Just a stalk with a maw, really. One of the many bizarre monsters we share this forest with.

It's a giant Deku Baba! he thought triumphantly. And it can't reach me!

He took three steps forward and waved his blade provocatively. The Baba lashed out at him again, but he jumped aside quickly and this time struck out with his blade at the creature's wiggling tongue. His sword cut a deep gash into it that made the monster pull back with a cry of pain. The tip of its tongue hung limply where he had almost severed the delicate member in two, and dark swirls of red appeared in the swampy water where the blood fell in thick droplets out of the wound. Link shifted his weight from one foot to the other and watched it intently, waiting for its next move.

The giant Baba's head lowered, moving in a trance-like motion from left to right as if it tried to glance at him from every side. Link took a few careful steps back just to feel safer. Because the snake-like monster was in the water, he could not reach it and deal actual damage. Fiercely he scanned the area around him for a means to get to his opponent, when the water next to the Baba suddenly started to bubble.

The monster bared its teeth as if mocking him, and Link tensed when a second head appeared next to the first. Together they lashed out at the Hylian, mouths open, and Link thought quickly.

Courage to advance, the door had said.

Instead of backing away from their approaching heads, he promptly ran forward right between them, throwing himself to the ground and rolling under the rightmost Baba's throat where the blue maw was attached to the stalk. He could tell that the monster was surprised by his move, and he didn't hesitate. With a roar he drove his blade into the stem as deeply as he could, jerking it up to sever the head off the rest completely. A sickening gurgle erupted from the separated maw before it fell to the ground, motionless, the wounded tongue hanging out limply. Link scrambled back to his feet, when suddenly he gasped.

His head began to spin as black spots appeared before his eyes. He breathed hard, staggering out of range of the second giant Baba bellowing in anger. A large rock close to the exit gave him cover while he struggled to clear his head, but his vision clouded with sudden fatigue. It seemed much more difficult to get air into his lungs. He leaned heavily against the rock, and noticed something.

Daylight outside was fading rapidly, and so was the violet fog gaining ground. It now reached to his shoulders and closed in on him like a noose, thick and damp. Link felt himself panic as he struggled for fresh air, stretching his head as far up as he could. The monster in the pond thrashed against the walls of the tree, making the poison water spill over the shoreline.

"What's wrong, you idiot? Are you tired already? Go on, fight it!"

Midna's voice drifted through his stupor like a shrill bell, but he couldn't focus on her words. Hazy, foul smelling vapour continued to drift around him, engulfing his face. He had to think fast.

The fog was rising as daylight faded. His mind rang with the Ancient Hylian words on the door once again. Light to banish the evil.

Light; there was light in the fog, shining like a meek spot of bright pink, filtered by the smog. His lantern, which he had set down near the edge of the pond, still stood like a beacon of hope in the dead grass.

He lurched towards it, holding his breath. Back out in the open, the remaining giant Deku Baba bellowed as it saw him and came soaring down. He managed to jump aside, but the move made him gasp instinctively. Everything spun. He could not breathe. The humidity pressed down on his chest and choked him. His vision blurred. He didn't know where he was, or what was happening, forgot the enemy retreating with an angry growl as he battled just to suck in air. His hands and knees gave way to exhaustion and he continued at a crawl. The lantern was right there, so close, piercing the veil yet still out of reach. His cheek hit the dead grass, and his eyelids slowly drooped as the poison worked its effect. One hand reached out, mirroring the posture of the two dead travellers.

His fingers closed around his Ordonian beacon and he pulled it towards himself. Like a bubble of protection it chased the fog away with a hiss and revealed Link's body jerking back to life as fresh air surrounded him. He coughed and gagged, drawing himself up on his hands and knees, sucking in the air greedily.

The Deku Baba appeared out of the haze like a nightmare from darkness and ploughed into him, sending him flying. He hit the grass with a grunt and rolled all the way to the wall. The lantern in his hand fizzled, but remained lit. A fleeting thought passed his mind; Windy weather, stormy blight, Coro's lamps will stay alight! The oil merchant's advert chant. Bless that man.

"And here I thought I could finally sit back and enjoy the view," a voice echoed to him and he looked up to where Midna hovered with her hand stretched out before her. A bright blue orb shone in her palm, expanding the radius of his lamp.

"Midna?" he croaked, shaken by another coughing fit.

"And what a pleasant sight it is, indeed." she sighed. "A little Hylian trapped in poisonous fog and a giant plant-head running wild, all in one room. Weren't you supposed to kill that thing? Instead you're killing yourself with poisonous fog. Truly a fine hero you are, taking the easy way out."

Link staggered to his feet and tried to ignore her last remark. He felt wobbly and dizzy, and his body ached from being flung across the room, but at least he could think clearly again. "You… you can make light?" he asked, his voice croaky.

"Don't act so surprised. Light is an integral part of shadow, after all. Now pull yourself together and fight!"

In the back, the Deku Baba thumped and wailed.

"Stay close to me," Link commanded, ignoring her acidic expression at being ordered around. He drew his weapons once more and stepped out into the room. Determined to finish it, he approached the growling monster, breaking into a run the moment the Baba saw him. It thrashed about in fury before plunging at him with its maw agape, and Link jumped aside. This time he made sure not to let himself fall to the ground where the poisonous fog was at its thickest, but remained on his feet and brought his sword down on its neck in one swift motion. Its cry of pain cut off the moment its head fell into the grass.

Panting, Link staggered away from the two heads and stayed close to Midna and her light. She was watching the dead Babas expectantly, anticipation visible on her black face. Link felt giddy with sudden pride; he had actually done it! He had managed to fulfil Faron's request, had slain the monsters Harish had warned him about.

First he thought that the light shake of the ground was only his dizziness playing tricks on him, but as Midna hummed out next to him, intrigued, he knew that something was wrong.

"The stalks, they're moving."

He looked at the two Baba heads again, and saw how their dark green stems were slowly dragged back into the water by a force unknown. He clenched his sword tightly as he watched them disappear in the murky water, inwardly scolding himself. It had been too easy. He'd been foolish to think that such a great power would only be guarded by two giant Deku Babas. Harish had said that it was an abomination. Faron had called it a seal, a curse put on those forbidden fragments that only he could break. They would not make it easy for anyone, not even their own chosen Hero. He swallowed, trying to steady his heart. He would need every ounce of courage he could muster.

The Faronian Giant quaked as the monster emerged from the swamp, roaring and sending a wave of purple water raining over the Hylian and his companion. Link pulled up his shield as the poisonous droplets landed over him, the acid scorching his protection and leaving tiny holes all over it. The grass next to him steamed and hissed as he hurried out of the way, struggling to see past the fog to get a full look at what creature had emerged from the deepest part of Faron Woods.

It was so large that it almost reached the ceiling. A bulbous worm, covered in gooey skin, dwarfed him with a neck like a fully grown tree and a belly as wide as his house. It parted its three-jawed head like a sickly mockery of an unfolding flower and glared at them with a single eyeball that was, to Link's horror and disgust, attached to its flailing tongue.

"Phew, okay. Don't—don't panic." Midna's voice was even higher than usual, a tone he had never heard from her before. He turned to her for guidance. "That's just a giant, ugly, surely carnivorous plant, nothing to worry about."

"I'm not worried about anything!" Link squeaked, uneasily stepping over the dead grass and feverishly thinking about a way to kill that thing. "When it comes down and gets closer, I'll—"

He broke off as the monster attempted a direct attack, which prompted him to perform a hasty tactical advance in the opposite direction with Midna following closely for light. It threw its head to the ground and sent chunks of earth and grass flying.

"I can't hit it from here," Link called. "How do I—" He broke off again when, through the opaque air, he saw it toss its head at him again.

"You've got a bow, don't you?" Midna asked, annoyed, her tone suggesting a few more deprecating adjectives amassed at the cusp of her tongue.

"Yes, but what am I aiming for?"

"How should I know? You're the hero."

Backtracking to his safe rock, Link swapped his sword and shield for his bow. While he nocked an arrow, Midna's light suddenly uncovered the abomination's lance-shaped head soaring down towards them. She giggled in fright, and Link ducked around the rock just before it could crush him.

"Damn, it's big," Midna marvelled. He didn't feel like sharing in her wonderment; he had nowhere to take cover where its giant head could not reach him.

His first arrow glanced harmlessly off the sickly green hide, the next buried itself in its crimson bottom jaw and did as much damage as a midge bite. Link peered down the length of his third arrow, struggling with the fog obstructing his view. He aimed for the monster's head just as it opened its jaws, and loosed.

A sudden, tinny wail echoed from it. It thrashed about much like the smaller Deku Baba had earlier, then it stilled and roared at him. A white feather stuck to the monster's tongue.

"You hit the eye," Midna laughed. "Nice aim!"

That's it! That's how I hurt it!

Shaky with anticipation he drew back another arrow, but the monster's jaws were closed. A moment later, it threw its head forward, and Link's eyes widened as he watched it shoot a jet of steaming purple liquid out of its mouth like a viper ejecting its venom.

"Watch out!" Midna called.

Link dodged it, the jet landing in the tree wall behind him where it dissolved the wood, forming another deep gouge and adding it to what had made him think of a molten honeycomb upon arrival.

Was this how the two fallen adventurers had died? Doused in acid water that had disintegrated the latter's ribcage, and entirely evaporated the former's lower half?

He saw in horror how the creature turned to shoot a second stream right at him, and he didn't think anymore. He only acted.

Courage to advance!

Instead of running away like the adventurers who were now lying dead among the roots, he ducked underneath the acidic jet, feeling its heat as it flew mere inches past his head, and ran towards the shore. Dropping his bow and pulling out his sword in one fluid motion, he pointed it forward, hoping beyond hope that his instinct was true.

His blade plunged deeply into the monster's belly that was bulky enough to reach the edge. Green blood spurted out of the stab wound and ran in sickly rivulets down its skin.

The monster roared, the acid jet cut off, and it thrashed its massive neck and head about.

"Move, stupid!" came Midna's scream from behind. Mortified, he noticed how the giant plant came crashing down right on top of him, either stunned or dead. Conjuring up a last dredge of speed he sprinted out of the way.

Now's my chance! Link ran around the creature's prone body, spun his dripping sword around, and thrust his blade right into the middle of the monster's tongue, through the iris and down the eye's depth until Rusl's royal commission was stuck in the ground. Beneath his left glove, he felt sudden heat radiate from his mark.

A sickening screech resounded from the monster now planted to the earth by his weapon, and in its death cry it tried to jerk its eye away from the blade, severing the orb completely as it tugged with the last of its might. The still wiggling eye streamed with green blood and Link turned away, gagging. Behind him the monster crashed with its full weight against the wall of the tree, making it shudder, before it finally collapsed into the poisoned water with a mighty splash.

The echo of its death wail hung in the room like the breath of a ghost, making Link's spine creep.

"Come on, come on, where is it?" Midna muttered while she flew around the carcass. The monster in the water began to shrink, turning black and crusty.

"Yes! Yes! Come on!" she called as the creature burst into thousands of tiny black speckles. Slowly they moved together towards a common centre, floating about as if searching for a way to fit. One after the other found its place, forming curves and edges and turquoise lines that criss-crossed the materialising grey-black object. As more and more rectangles disappeared in the floating piece, Link's breath caught in his throat; he knew that shape.

His legs moved too late; Midna soared towards the black fragment and shrouded it in her strange hair hand, smiling crookedly.

"What are you doing?" Link asked, clenching his sword.

"Just taking what's rightfully mine," she sneered, examining the piece with rapt admiration and holding it to the crown upon her head, which looked nearly identical. Whatever he had just freed had a matching jagged, broken edge and would fit flush against its front.

"Give it to me," Link growled, lifting his blade. "Now."

When she turned to him sharply, he was pleased to see genuine surprise on her shadowy face. "What are you…? Are you threatening me? I just saved your hide and helped you defeat that monster. I earned this."

"It wasn't meant for you. Faron entrusted it to me. I can't let you have it."

"You don't even know what this is, do you?" she said and snapped her finger, dissolving the fragment into black quadrants that disappeared from sight. Link tightened his grip on Rusl's sword.

"Why don't you enlighten me?"

She scoffed at his pitiful attempt to be menacing. "It's called a Fused Shadow, my little wolf. And I've been looking for it ever since I came to this pathetic world."

"Why?"

"Same reason as you: so I can use it to kill the king of Twilight."

"Why do you already have a piece? What do you know about them?"

"That is none of your business."

"It is my business. Faron asked me to find them. How do I know you won't suddenly use them against me?"

"I guess you'll simply have to trust me that I won't."

Link gritted his teeth. "I don't trust you. I don't even know anything about you!"

"Our goals align. That is all you need to know."

"If our goals align, then there's no harm in giving it to me instead."

"Don't flatter yourself," she scoffed. "Even if I gave it to you, it would probably kill you the moment you touched it. I know how to harness its power and stop it from corrupting everything around it, including you. But I can use it to end your life just as easily if you don't comply with what I tell you, so you better listen to me very carefully."

She approached him until her blood red eye was mere inches from his face. An ominous droning radiated from her body that made his chest contract painfully. He had felt it before whenever she was near, but it was now much more prominent, like the drumming of thunder announcing an upcoming tempest; announcing death. He took an involuntary step back and knocked over his lantern that, miraculously, was still alight.

"You will go to the other light spirits, find their Fused Shadow fragments, and free them for me," she muttered darkly. "If you do that, no harm will come to you or your friends. If you don't…"

She smiled wickedly. "… then I will put you in your place. Now, you better lower that silly weapon of yours before things get ugly."

Link's heart was pounding as he tensed up. Finally she showed her true colours, and he'd fallen right into her ruse. She meant to use these Fused Shadows to kill the king of Shadows and take his place. That had to be her plan; why else would she withhold them from him? She was a liar, a cheat, and a bully who had used him simply for her own selfish ends. He'd been a fool to trust her this whole time.

She had threatened him.

She had threatened his friends…

Ignoring the pain of his many bruises, he advanced on her and swung the blade at her neck where it severed a few strands of hair from her nape.

A flash of pain, pressure on his throat, orange hair pressing him to the rotten ground, cutting off his air. Her glowing red iris appeared in his line of sight, savagely furious, contrasting with the deep obsidian of her shimmering body.

"Are you out of your mind?" she growled. "Don't you ever do that again, or I will kill you." The flame in her hand dimmed, allowing the poisonous fog to seep closer.

He gasped and squirmed, clawing at her hair until she slackened her hold enough for him to speak. "I'd rather die than help you get your hands on that power!"

"Oh, really? That can be arranged. I don't even need to use the Fused Shadows on you. I could smother you right here and now simply by extinguishing this light and letting the fog do the rest." As if to prove her point, she flicked her free hand to propel his lantern away. The flame in her palm dimmed further, and Link began to feel dizzy. "That's how pathetic and weak you are, Hero."

Every part of his mind screamed at him not to antagonise her, to let her have this victory and allow him to fight another day, if only to give him time to find out her weaknesses. But with every piece of this Fused Shadow he freed, she would be there to snatch them away from him. He had to stop her, by whatever means it took.

He struggled against her hold and managed to lift his sword off the ground, but she smacked it back down with a free strand of hair. She wasn't even touching it; how did she control that ludicrous appendage?

She snarled and chuckled darkly, dimming her light further. Waiting for him to start pleading, to start begging for his life. His heart thundered in his chest. The fog seeped into his lungs, burning them, coating them with poison. He wouldn't last much longer and he could see that she knew it. Still she persisted, her head twitching with fury and contempt, holding on to the expectation that he would give in before his body did. Still he held out, fighting with every ounce of courage he had in him to keep his panic at bay.

When his eyelids began to flutter, she let out a growling scream. Her flame flared with heat and was catapulted at the water with the speed of a lightning bolt, making it shoot skyward like a geyser. Her hair released him. The fog dissipated. Gasping and coughing, he sat up and rubbed his throat.

She had vanished. Only his lantern, somehow back in place close to him, now formed a radius of brightness around him that kept the fog away. The ominous droning accompanying Midna's presence had disappeared with her. He was alone.

"Ordona…" he whispered, feeling along his neck and chest. The lantern flickered dimly and he hastily twisted the cog to strengthen the flame. He could see from the gauge on the side that it was running low. The fog formed a bell of blackness around him, making him feel as if he was underwater in a tiny bubble of air. His mind dutifully shut out every other worry but bare survival; if he wanted to live, he had to get back to Harish, quickly, before his lantern gave out.

Go, get up. Move!

Still coughing, he stood up and brought the lamp to where he had dropped his bow.

"Oh no…" He fell to his knees cradling the twisted mass of Timberfell yew wood and flax that had been his companion ever since his first hunting trip with Rusl; it lay half-dissolved in a puddle of acid water that stung his fingers. "No, no, no…"

He was too exhausted, too disturbed by his defeat against Midna, to mourn it for long, and threw it angrily into the murky pond. He had half a mind to toss his quiver after it—what good were arrows without a bow?—but he stopped himself and instead turned to hurry back out of the exit. The first corpse startled him once again and almost made him trip and fall onto the other skeleton. Breathing heavily, he ran through the tunnel until his sides hurt from the effort. The further up towards the surface he went, the fewer foggy fingers clung to his aching body. Soon, his lantern cast its bulb of light at nothing but bare, moist earth.

With his life out of danger, the borders of his inner compartmentalisation flickered and faded, allowing harsh reality to seep back into his mind.

He had failed. Midna now held the first fragment instead of him, and only the goddesses knew what she would do with it. She had… almost killed him to make him comply; he could still feel the poison's noxious taste like a slimy film on his tongue, its cold touch inside his lungs where it had likely damaged the tissue. Would he suffer lasting effects from it? Would it slowly snuff him out, just like Midna had tried to do?

He groaned as he stopped in the tunnel and leaned over, trying to still the heaving of his chest. It was definitely harder to breathe, and the fear that surged through him when each deep breath only filled his lungs halfway, only barely satisfied him, made him nauseous.

No, calm down, he thought as his voice made his frantic breaths whistle with panic.

All along he'd trusted her, considered her an ally. But allies didn't try to murder each other—

Suddenly, he felt weak on his feet as he remembered; he had swung his sword at her first.

"Is the fog still affecting you, or what?"

He whirled around and fell on his back, one hand upon his sword hilt, which was jammed inside the sheath by his body's weight; he couldn't pull it out.

"Hey, calm down, you moron," Midna grunted. She was hovering above him with arms folded as usual and regarded him pitilessly.

"Back off," he gasped, finally managing to pull his weapon out. He tried to sound bolder than he felt. "I won't miss again."

"Dear Sols, keep your breeches on. I'm not going to touch you. I just want to talk before you go back to the monkeys."

He gave her his most fearsome scowl. "There's nothing to talk about. You got what you were after. Unless you give it to me willingly, I'll take it from you by force."

"Fine. Here you go."

The black fragment materialised in mid-air and plonked to the ground with a loud, reverberating thud, gently rocking on its curved side. Link stared at it in bewilderment.

"I wasn't lying when I told you I'd kill you if you attacked again," she said, her voice carrying no emotion. "But it wouldn't have been my choice. These fragments are far more powerful than you can imagine. Your attack almost severed my hold on it, and I lost control over everything in between. It may look harmless, but even now I'm keeping it in line. You just don't see it, because you're nothing but a clueless little Hylian. If you touch it now, I can't guarantee you'll keep your sanity, or your life."

Link cocked his head, still looking at the Fused Shadow. Its low droning once more pressed against his chest like a persisting drum beat, fuelling his fear with menace. He pulled his eyes from it and looked up at Midna.

"Why didn't you just tell me that? Why did you threaten me instead?"

"Threats seemed to be the only thing you understood, so I used them."

"I understand truth, Midna," he replied angrily. "Truth and confidence. You could have given me a hundred different reasons to trust you, but you chose to use violence instead. You have no one to blame for my resistance but yourself."

"I will not bow to the whims of a child who's been given a fancy title and a power he is not ready to hold. You need to do much better than that to prove to me you're worthy of my confidence. All I see is a boy crumbling beneath the responsibility he's been given."

"And all I see is a strange creature I know nothing about, who usurped an artefact the light spirits entrusted to me."

He saw a flash of anger on Midna's features. "I usurped nothing! This is my—"

She stopped herself with a grimace that was surprisingly rueful. In the flickering light of his lantern, her face looked starkly different. Those sunset-coloured eyes did not match the malice that had imbued her voice earlier. They looked troubled, almost… plagued.

"I can tell you this much, my little wolf," she finally said softly. "I'm what is called a Twili, an inhabitant of the Twilight Realm, same as the king of Shadows. But I am nothing like him. I have sworn to destroy him, and that is the only reason I followed you in here. Once we have all of the Fused Shadows, and I have killed him, I give you my word that you will never see me again. You can go back to your boring little village and live out your days in peace. If it is trust you need, then trust in the fact that I regained control of the Fused Shadow before it could kill you. And trust in the fact that I am here now, trying to explain what I can."

"It would have killed me… through you?" Link asked.

"Yes. And I know how to harness them, since I've done it before." She pointed at her headdress. "Imagine what it would have done with you, who's never even seen something like this."

"But then… How was I supposed to control it? Faron told me only I could, and that… I could touch it."

"You're welcome to try," she sneered, and the fragment moved across the tunnel floor a few inches in his direction as if pushed by an invisible force. Link flinched back from it instinctively.

"But I wouldn't recommend it," she continued. "I am your only chance not just to touch them, but to transport them. So you don't really have a choice but to trust me."

He frowned up at her, trying to look past her complacent countenance and find the deception behind it. He had been childishly naive to trust her so unconditionally in the beginning without even knowing the first thing about her; she had called herself—and his enemy— a Twili. An inhabitant of the realm which had invaded his, who harboured a grudge against the one he was tasked to defeat. If that was true, their goals indeed aligned. She could control this cursed power when even being near it made his chest clench and his skin prickle with dread. She could transport it by turning it into black speckles; how would he even have carried it? On his back, so close to his skin?

No, he was being foolish. Faron had implied that touching the Fused Shadow would maim every other person but him. Perhaps she had put on this diabolic show just to gain his trust and prove her point. The light spirit would not have entrusted him with something he couldn't control.

But why would she give it to him now if she wasn't telling the truth about it? He couldn't know, not unless he touched it.

Huffing, he returned his sword to its sheath and leaned forward, one hand outstretched. Faron would want me to carry it.

"Hey, hold on, I really think this is a bad idea," she called, sounding alarmed. It did nothing but strengthen Link's mistrust in her. Clenching his teeth, he pressed his fingers to the Fused Shadow.

At first, he felt only its cold surface like freshly dried bone. It was solid and rigid with a slight bevel to the edge he brushed over. A pinprick of pain arose in the back of his head, travelling swiftly to his eyes as if a paper-thin needle was being driven through his skull. The droning came next, a low vibration that became louder, more stringent, more alarming. His muscles tensed up and shook under an invisible strain trying to push on them, move them, make them lift.

Power. That was all he knew; the power to fulfil the deepest, darkest desires in his heart. He wanted nothing more than to save the children, his little brother, his best friend, and stop the invading force at its roots. With just a flick of his finger, the king of Shadows would lie dead before him. The ogre with the chipped horn would grovel at his feet, begging for mercy, before he gutted it like the pig it was. Nothing stood in his way. He could tame lightning, conquer fire, guide a flood, unleash a hurricane. The very boundary to the Sacred Realm would crumble before him—

No, this was going too far. He did not want so much power.

Midna held the second piece. He could kill her easily, crush her like an ant beneath his thumb, claim her fragment for himself and double the might flowing from him. With it, he could reap the saviour's glory as was his birthright, bring the light back to the land. Her life was meaningless—

No, it wasn't. All life was sacred.

The power at his fingertips knew no bounds, no limits.

He did not want it.

Foolish, the darkness told him. Naive. Weak. His darkest impulses could be realised with just a snap of his fingers.

It was not his power.

Pushing through its endless stream of promises, he opened his eyes. The droning faded slowly. He was on his back, gazing up at the ceiling.

"You idiot! You stupid, stupid boy! Answer me!" Midna's black face appeared above him, stretched wide.

Is she… worried?

"What happened?" he asked, only now realising that his body was shaking. With a deep breath he mellowed out his frantic heartbeat.

"You tell me, idiot. I called for you but you didn't answer. You were just lying there stiff and twitching. I thought it had consumed you. How are you still sane?"

"It felt… I don't know." Easy. It had been much too easy to grasp every problem he'd ever encountered, and make it vanish simply by crushing whatever had caused it. But every use had presented unknown outcomes with unpredictable consequences. He'd been a near insignificant factor in its trajectory, tasked with guiding the force of a thousand suns but blinded by their blaze. In his aim at reaching a peaceful end to the invasion, his inexperience could have destroyed everything in his path instead.

At that moment, overcome by doubt, he'd made the choice to let it go. To give up control before it was taken from him.

"I couldn't hold it," he told her with sincerity. "It kept drawing ahead of me, trying to force me to do things I didn't want to do. It wanted me to… kill you."

Her non-existent brows lifted. "And you managed to resist?" At his nod, she made a face that spelled not anger, not irritation, not jealousy, but awe.

"Interesting," she muttered. "Well, what now, Hero? Still want to carry it all by yourself? Resist it again and again, until you snap and do something terrible to everyone you love? Until your very soul gets consumed?"

He shivered. "No. Now that I've seen what it can do, I know I'm not ready to carry them just yet." Then he frowned at her with a threat in his eyes. "You said our goals align. I'm willing to be your ally, and bring that king of Twilight down with your help. But you will show me the same trust as I do now, and not use them against me. If you do, I will fight you for them, and I will not lose a second time."

"You'd give it to me, willingly? Even after you had all this power at your fingertips?" she asked, widening her single eye.

Perhaps it truly was foolish, naive, weak, to entrust someone he barely knew with the power to claim the universe. To trust in his meagre skills to stop her if she indeed used them against him. But he did not see it as such. She had given it to him and even let him touch it, knowing just how much influence and authority they held, and had tried to stop him only to preserve his life, not her own. He was willing to believe he could finish the light spirit's mission to claim these fragments, and use them with Midna's help against a common enemy.

The courage to advance. Advance into the unknown, towards their common goal with her at his side. The courage to ally with a potential enemy, and face the consequences of her possible betrayal.

At his nod, she snapped her fingers and the fragment, which still lay on the ground at his feet, disappeared from sight. Her face was impassive and betrayed no other emotion than tiredness. "Fair enough, wolf boy. Took you long enough to finally believe me. Get back to your monkey friends. I need some rest."

She flashed and shrunk until she had merged with his prone silhouette reflected on the tunnel side.

The droning still permeated the air around him, pulsing gently from his shadow on the wall, whispering sweet promises into his mind. It made his head hurt as it accompanied his slow march up the tunnel like a sombre drum beat. Every muscle in his body seemed taut and overstretched, as if he'd just been pulled apart on a torture rack. The fight with the giant monster had left its mark, now amplified by how insignificant worldly problems had seemed after touching the Fused Shadow fragment.

So much power, barely conceivable to his young mind. It made him crave simplicity now more than ever. Some water and sleep; that was all he truly desired now.

Finally, a cone of light appeared before him, shining through the open trapdoor. Harish had dropped a rope ladder from the opening that Link tried to ascend, but his feet lost traction on the thin hemp rope.

"Come on, son, let's git yer oyt of there," Harish's voice drifted down to him, and soon enough he felt the old man's wiry hand on his own pulling him up. It was dark in the totem room, with the caretaker's torch the only source of light turning the many carved faces around him into grotesque grimaces.

He barely heard Harish asking him about the fight, or if he'd succeeded in freeing the forbidden power. All he could think of was how that title—forbidden—couldn't have been more fitting.

Such might, even if contained and still weakened by its fragmentation, should never have been brought out into the light.

000

Author's note: this chapter underwent a lot of character and plot changes. The draft had Link naively accept Midna's explanation about the Fused Shadows and simply moving on, whereas here he was a lot more suspicious to the point of belligerence, since he believed he had just lost the artefact of the light spirits to his shady companion who, at this point, had never even told him what she was (I made sure of that in previous chapters). I delved much more into Midna's mindset of cheeky sarcasm and cutting remarks and also gave her meanness a subtle explanations: that the Fused Shadows are very difficult to tame and she has to work hard to keep their overwhelming power, which I found crucial to also give Link a taste of, in check. This chapter turned out a lot more violent than I had anticipated, but I thought it a necessary plot development to really ram home just how dangerous the forbidden power really is. It consumes, luring its wielder with promises, and feeds on its bearer's inexperience and weaknesses. And the fact that Midna can contain it speaks of her resilience and, in the end, gives a hint of how magnificent she will turn out to be.

In the draft I also used mock-up Ancient Hylian from UndyingNephalim's (why did you change your name, dude?) game Hyrule Total War, which was an on-the-spot decision on my part back then and ultimately not what I wanted. Instead, the Ancient Hylian language featured in this chapter is Anglo Saxon, commonly known as Old English. I decided that in this rendition of the story, the Hylian language should simply be English, so what better language to take as the primordial precursor language than the mystical sounding ancestor of English? (which actually sounds a lot like German and has many of German's grammatical quirks like genitive and gender nouns that my husband despises to this day) The phrases here were created using an Old English online dictionary and ChatGPT, which, originally conceived as a large language model (and which has since been used for all sorts of shenanigans), was quite adequate for the task and very helpful in finding the best translations for this. Of course, only an experienced linguist can make the most correct translations, but for a fanfiction, I believe this is more than sufficient. (By the way, just to have said it, I do not use any AI software for my writing, apart from this one instance for Old English. My writing is pure human error and frantic attempts to limit said human errors :D)

I hope you enjoyed this new take on the Forest Temple and liked the changes I made to this. See you next month for this story, and in two weeks for chapter 22 of Book 2!

DR