This story was written and edited by UltimateZMaster, a good friend of mine. I am not trying to steal the credit for it, just so you know. This is just a very good story and I wanted it to be recognized as such...

Prologue
The famous legend of the Hero of Time seems difficult to be true, but the adventures of this powerful warrior, named Link, really happened, however unbelievable they seem. Long ago, when evil crept forth from the depths of the world and obtained a piece of the power of the goddesses, Hyrule fell into a dark age, as this evil descended over the fair land and loosed hideous monsters and abominations across the sacred land. But then, a lone warrior obtained three Spiritual Stones, unlocking the gateway to the future in the Temple of Time. He obtained the sacred Master Sword, awakened the Six Sages, and eventually killed off the evil, sealed it away, and saved the land of Hyrule. This hero is known as the Hero of Time.
But, known only by the greatest Seers in all of Hyrule, there is another legend. The myth-to-be soars above the heavens, blanketing the people of Hyrule in a fluttering moment of comfort. It is a legend of the greatest warrior ever to walk the earth. In his veins will flow the blood of the Hero of Time, as well as the forces of light and darkness colliding, miraculously working together, giving the ultimate warrior his power. He will grow to be greater than the legendary Hero himself, and will come forth not only to cast down evil and seal it away, but to destroy it, to kill off the darkness plaguing the sacred land, for evil is never distant in Hyrule. But this warrior’s worst fear shall rise as well, blocking his way to victory and hiding the true evil that really plagues the land. This evil will be like nothing anyone has ever seen, and it has the potential to destroy the entire world and throw the universe into darkness.
So begins the darkest chapter in Hyrulean history, the journey of the most powerful warrior in existence and how he came to be, as a youth awakens, deep within the shadowy confines of Kokiri Forest.

Chapter One
The hero of legend was floating. Just floating, through an endless sea of black nothingness. He tried to look around, but his head appeared to be frozen in place. Suddenly, something appeared out of the black. It was a face. Vaguely human, but yet unlike any human I’d ever seen. It was white-skinned, and stained with tribal paints in various designs. Its hair was also white. In a way, it sort of looked like the warrior, right down to the long hat he wore, except this one was white as well. The hovering face smirked; it’s eyes blank and lifeless, without any pupil. The hero gasped as the face began coming toward him.
The hero tried to run, but he was going so slowly…a split second before the face collided, Shadyn’s eyes opened, face drenched in sweat. He looked around his house, squinting into the bright sunlight streaming through the open window of his home in Kokiri Village. His tiny corner of the world appeared like the castle armory at first glance. Hung up on the walls were swords, daggers, shields, and other weapons. Shadyn jumped out of bed and darted to the window. Seeing the height of the Sun in the east, his eyes widened because he knew he was late. The youth, appearing to be about the age of 19 or 20, slipped on the black tunic he was named for wearing. Remaining silent the whole time, he slipped on his boots and fastened his armor breastplate. While many other great knights wore full armor, he preferred to be mobile and agile and only wore this. The armor was dark blue with the sacred symbol of Hyrule, the Triforce, along with many other symbols on the front and a long cape extending to a little above his ankles. He donned the long black cap similar to those it is said his ancestors wore.. As a final touch, he strapped on his sword (none other than the golden Gilded Sword, having been passed down through his family for ages), so that it hung off of his back, ready for action, and his Hylian Shield. These were his two most prized possessions, and he treated them as such. Then, squinting in the morning light, he stepped onto his doorstep.
Wasting no time, Shadyn tried to make a cat-like leap, but one foot hooked around the ladder to the platform and suddenly he found himself lying on his back in the grass, dazed.
“No one saw that, no one saw that…that never happened…”He chanted to himself as he scrambled up and dusted himself off. He turned toward the tree, where his steed Melynlas was tethered. Melynlas was a blinding white stallion, with a saddle depicting Shadyn’s connection with the royal family of Hyrule. He leapt onto it, untying the horse’s tether as he did so. With a shrill neigh, Melynlas leapt forward through the village, heading for the Lost Woods.

Shadyn headed for Hyrule Castle. Normally, the trip to the castle would take a day or so on horseback, heading over Hyrule Field, but Shadyn had recently discovered a portal in the Lost Woods that would take him directly there in a fraction of the time. The warrior rode through the village. Seeing his friend Rasha of the Kokiri Children, he stopped Melynlas. The green-clad child’s mouth turned up in a crooked grin.
“You off to the Castle? Gonna defend Hyrule?” He asked excitedly. Rasha was obsessed with one day becoming a soldier of Hyrule and, because of Shadyn’s skills with his sword (he was the most talented and powerful swordsman in the land), he had been deemed Supreme Commander of all Hyrule’s armies by the King a few years ago.
“Yes Rasha. Take care and defend the village for me, will you?”
“Of course, Shadyn!” He said, waving the surprisingly sharp wooden sword he’d carved himself.”
“Good. I’m counting on you, you know.” Shadyn grinned and took off again. Riding through the trees, he took the way he knew by heart, and emerged in the patch of trees near the Castle.
Shadyn arrived at the castle gates. The guards grinned and waved at him as he rode past, through the marketplace. He reached the castle, where he waved at the guard in the watchtower, who let the drawbridge of the palace itself down. Riding across it, reached the courtyard. This huge expanse of grass was where he trained his soldiers for battle. As large as this courtyard was, it was filled with all his soldiers in identical uniforms and armor. As he rode in, they saluted him with their swords. He returned the salute as he tethered his horse at the stables. He reached into the nearby trough and pulled out some grain. Feeding it to Melynlas, he patted his faithful steed on the long, bony head.
“Eat up, my friend. You do enough for me already.” Shadyn whispered.
Cape billowing behind him in the wind like a black raven’s wings, he began to walk among the ranks of his soldiers, standing at attention.
“Hear me, my friends. I sense the air of evil. I fear that darkness is once again descending upon this land. I cannot understand how I know, only that I know, through strange visions. We must redouble our efforts to make you battle-ready. Due to all of your incredible skills and talents, we are already one of the strongest armies in this world.”
As Shadyn said this, his best warrior and second-in-command, Aragran, stepped up.
“It is not our talents, sir, that make us great. IT is only your leadership that guides us.” Shadyn simply nodded.
“Thank you, my friend. Now, we must be to business. Aragran, please step forward, and you, Drace. I would like to teach you all one thing today, and that is to not rely on your armor. It is in the agility of the hand that wields the sword that the power lies…”

And so went the training of the army. At sunset, the army quit for the day. Shadyn headed for the castle. Making his way along the familiar path to the Princess Serena Rubella Zelda Barbara Hylia’s room, he considered his overwhelming sense that evil was on its way. The princess had a way of interpreting things for him. The princess was named partly after her most famous ancestor, Zelda Hylia, who was actually a Sage. She was the most gorgeous and beautiful maiden in the land, with fair skin, long, shining blonde hair, and sparkling eyes the color of the purest blue sky. He knocked on her room with his sword-gauntlet.
“Come in,” came the clear voice of the princess, sounding like clear silver bells on a crisp morning. Shadyn opened the door.
“It’s me, Princess.”
“Hello Shadyn!” The Princess gave him a joyful smile that made him want to grin back, which he did. This smile was meant to conceal Serena’s quick hand in hiding the large plate of éclairs by sliding it under her bed. Shadyn noticed, but chose to remain silent. The pair knew each other very well, and were each other’s best friends, being the same age. Serena sat in a cushioned miniature throne, facing the window. She immediately stood and pulled another luxurious chair over to her. “Come on, sit down!”
Shadyn grinned and made his way across the large, royal room. It was bathed in the soft golden light of the setting sun. Red carpet covered the floor, its surface as comfortable as being with the princess herself to Shadyn, who was used to the hard wood of his tree house.. Serena’s bed was a large, four-poster, feather bed with pink translucent curtains and stood against the wall on the left. On the opposite wall was the royal family crest, in a large finely- painted version covering a third of the entire wall. Smaller versions could also be found all over the room.
Shadyn sat next to the princess. She coughed politely, her hand flying to cover her mouth. Again, Shadyn noticed that this was to conceal the removal of a few tiny specks of white icing and couldn’t help a furtive grin. Once this little display had ceased, she gave a dazzling smile, now unmarred by food fragments, of which she had her own, special version of just for the young warrior.
Serena laughed. “C’mon. You know you can’t hide anything from me! I’ve known you longer than anybody since your parents’ death, and I’ll find out sooner or later! Tell me and make it easier on yourself!” So the youth began to recount the whole thing. How he had been having this horrible sense of evil lately and his visions. Serena was an excellent listener and didn’t speak the whole time. As he finished, Serena thought a minute before answering, suddenly solemn and rapt.
“Shadyn, I confess to having incredibly similar premonitions. To similar to be a coincidence. I shall speak to Father tonight about our suspicions. In the meantime, I implore you to continue training your army. We must be prepared.”
“ Understood, princess,” Shadyn smiled and got up,” now, I must return home. Please, Serena, do not hesitate to use your magic to contact me at any time when you are in danger. I would do anything to protect you. I know what a skilled sorceress you are. It should be no hard task for you.” He headed for the door.
“ I will, Shadyn, and…”Shadyn turned from the door,” …don’t do anything foolish. I know you are prone to wild, careless actions. Please, the thing I would hate most in the entire world is for you to be hurt or killed.”
“I promise princess. I will see you tomorrow.” The pair exchanged last affectionate smiles before Shadyn headed for the courtyard again. Then, as the darkness grew heavy in the evening, Shadyn mounted Melynlas and headed back to his home in the forest, through the Lost Woods.

Chapter 2
Shadyn fell asleep that night as soon as his head hit the pillow. He did not even bother to take of his armor breastplate. He tossed and turned in bed, wracked by terrible nightmares of a terrible, bloody battle, until he was suddenly awakened, still in the deep hours of the night.
“Commander Shadyn, sir, you must get up! Wake, noble warrior!” Shadyn’s eyes opened. Standing over him was a messenger of the Royal Family, he could tell by the crest on his chest.
“Huh? What? What’s going on?”
“Sir, Princess Serena sent me here with her sorceress powers! She requires your service! There is a horrible battle going on at the castle! We were suddenly attacked by an unknown source overnight! Your army is fighting valiantly, but we are grossly outnumbered! The princess needs you!”
By this time, he was already out of bed and strapping on the Gilded Sword and Hylian Shield. He headed for the door.
“Let’s go! Not a second to waste!”
Shadyn and the messenger landed on the ground. Shadyn sat astride Melynlas, the messenger his own swift roan (it had been warped with the messenger himself). The two of them raced through the Lost Woods at a full gallop. Shadyn bent low over Melynlas’ shining silver mane as they emerged into open field. Ahead the youth could see and hear the battle. The clashing of swords, the shouts and screams of men. Shadyn’s army was in silver armor, while the opposing one wore black. The warrior headed straight towards the battle (the messenger making for the castle). Still a good hundred feet away, he leapt from the saddle, drawing his sword as he did so.
“Melynlas! Seek shelter in the stables! I have no need for you here!” Melynlas obeyed his master and galloped for the stables. Shadyn ran for the thick of the fighting.

As the warrior neared the battle, two warriors broke off and headed straight for him. Like all of the enemy soldiers, they were clad completely in full-body black armor. Shadyn grinned. They stuck with their swords in synchronized motion. Shadyn blocked both calmly with his shield. He gave a mighty swipe at the side of one, and although it didn’t penetrate the armor, it sent the warrior sprawling as Shadyn had intended. He turned towards the other, faked with his sword, pulled back his shield arm, and bashed the warrior with all his might, right in the helmet with the metal shield. The helmet warped and dented, flying off into the night. Shadyn then made short work of the stunned soldier, slicing his head off cleanly at the neck. As the headless soldier slumped to the ground, the other was climbing to his feet. Shadyn leapt up and shoved his sword through the metal helmet visor.
Sword now bloodied, Shadyn ran to the sides of his comrades, right in the middle of the fight. He flew into a frenzy, a never-ending combo of sword slashes, stabs, thrusts, and slashes. As one enemy stabbed, he jumped up onto the soldier’s sword, trapping it against the ground and ramming his won though the visor. As another brought his sword down in a mighty slash, Shadyn sidestepped and, shoving his sword blade into the ground, swung around it giving him momentum for a mighty kick that sent the black enemy flying.
As enemy warriors closed in all around him, he smiled and watched them surround him through locks of his blond hair, now splattered with blood like the rest of his body. He pulled his sword back into a ready position and performed a little thing he liked to call the Hurricane Spin. This was a secret move passed down by his family, and was sort of his signature attack, along with being by far his favorite. He charged his sword, and it began to glow brightly with a yellow light. He released and whirled around and around lightning quick like a tornado, sword becoming a blur as soldiers were cut down and repelled by the powerful golden blade every second. He closed his eyes to prevent dizziness as long as he could but eventually slowed and stopped, momentarily stunned with dizziness. It was now that one soldier ran up, throwing Shadyn to the ground and raised his sword for a killing stab. That was when it happened.
Shadyn braced himself for the impaling stroke, when he heard a loud horn sound from the top of a nearby hill. The war momentarily came to a standstill, as a lone horseman appeared at the top the hill. Shadyn could not see his face, as it was shadowed by his black cloak’s hood. The mysterious warrior drew a sword and shield, leapt off his horse, much as Shadyn had done, and joined the battle.
Shadyn had used the moment to spring to his feet, leaping into the air, spinning, and swinging his sword in a mighty horizontal chop, cutting down that wretched warrior that so nearly killed him. He had time only to steal a few glances at the new cloaked figure, but could see he fought astonishingly like me. I doubt there was even an inch of difference in our heights, and his vague figure through the cloak reminded me of mine. The two of us fought back-to-back several times, slicing down enemies like tissue paper. Soon, the enemy army began to retreat! That one warrior had turned the battle around! I turned to him while cheering with my surviving comrades. He was only a few feet away, but he still couldn’t see his face. His hood was obviously designed to shadow his face. Shadyn did not know why, but as he looked into that shadow of a face, the hair on the back of Shadyn’s neck stood on end, and an indescribable hatred rose up within him. Shadyn suddenly wanted to strike down this creature in front of me, but I held back and reached out my hand for a handshake.
“We owe you a debt, warrior, as well as our gratitude. You may well have saved the battle, as well as my life. We are indebted to you.”
He just stood there looking at Shadyn. At least, he thought he was looking at him. It was hard to tell through the shadow. Shadyn did think he saw a faint grin coming from deep within the hood. If what Shadyn saw was a grin, it looked evil. I pulled my hand back, giving him a last look before walking away. What a weird guy, I thought. But he may have saved my life, and I can’t deny that he helped turn the battle around. Heck, they didn’t even get inside the castle! But then a horrible thought occurred to him. What if the battle was a decoy? What if it was used as a distraction while others slipped inside…THEY COULD HAVE KIDNAPPED THE PRINCESS!!!! I immediately forgot the mysterious stranger and turned, darting for the castle, praying to the gods that Serena was alright.

 

Chapter 3
Shadyn dashed through the castle with all the speed he could muster. So far, things seemed okay, but was the princess…? Shadyn reached Serena’s door and pounded on it.
“Serena? Are you there? Serena?” Suddenly the door opened. It was the princess.
“Whoa, whoa, Shadyn, what’s wrong?”
Shadyn sighed. “Your OK. I thought…”
“You thought the battle was a decoy and I was kidnapped?”
“Yeah. But…your ok.”
“Come in and sit down. I presume we won the battle?”
“Yes Serena, but…there is something strange about it…a lone warrior appeared in the thick of the fighting. He fights brilliantly. In fact, I have never seen a warrior with those skills. He turned the battle around. I understand he should be considered a hero and honored, but…”
“But what? This is excellent! It will make a great tale someday!”
“There is something strange about him. He wears a black cloak and hood that shadows his face. And he never speaks. Plus…I get this indescribable sense around him, it’s that unwelcome feeling that makes your hair stand on end…I just don’t like him.
Serena frowned for a second, then spoke, smiling.
“Nonsense, Shadyn! This warrior obviously deserves our gratitude, and to explain that cloak and his lack of speech, many wandering warriors, hardened by battle, prefer to keep their identities a secret. As for this feeling, let us pray you are wrong this time.”
“Yes Serena, but…” Shadyn shook his head. “ Your right. Of course you are. I only ask, princess, may I stay here in the castle for a few days? I wish to…give my army additional training. Serena appeared surprised.
“Of course Shadyn! You know you are always welcome here!”
“Thank you princess. And may I have the room right down the hall from yours?”
“Whatever you like!”
Shadyn smiled and nodded. “I thank you again. Good-bye for now. I wish to check the status of my army.”
He left the room. He didn’t trust this stranger, no matter what Serena said. He was staying in this castle, not to train his army, but to watch this cloaked warrior. Serena may be optimistic about this situation, but Shadyn was not. Though he didn’t want to admit it (he didn’t like rumors circulating about him) he had secret affections for the princess, and served as her unofficial and ever-present bodyguard. Shadyn scowled and thought, if I know the king as well as I think I do, hospitable and grateful to the end, this swordsman will be offered a stay in the castle for as long as he wishes. My eyes will be on that stranger until he is out of Hyrule, and should anything happen to Serena, I’m going to tear that warrior apart. He will feel the cold blade of my sword.

As Shadyn had predicted, the mysterious warrior was given a room. Also as Shadyn had intended, he was given a spare bedroom, farther down from Serena than the war leader’s room, so that Shadyn’s room was between the two. Shadyn’s eyes were always on the stranger. The cloaked figure never spoke, only nodding, shaking his head, and bowing when people talked to him and the king personally thanked him. Though the stranger accepted no reward, he did take the room.

Late one night, Shadyn lay awake in his bed, staring at the ceiling. His word and shield propped up against the wall across the luxurious room. The castle was sleeping, and all was dark. Suddenly, Shadyn looked up as a shadow passed the open door and headed down the hallway. Well, well, well. What have we here…I knew it, he thought. Without even bothering to grab his sword, he leapt out of bed, agile as a leaping spider, and headed to the door.
Peering out, he saw the long, billowing cloak of the stranger and followed it. Just outside the princess’ room, Shadyn shouted, “Hold it!” and stepped into a patch of moonlight cast by a nearby window.
The warrior spun around. He appeared to be studying Shadyn, and the war leader got that terrible feeling again. Silently, the figure brushed Shadyn aside heading down the hall and back toward his room. The youth watched him go and scowled. I knew he was too good to be true. He won’t dare to make another move tonight, but I’ll be ready tomorrow, and that’s when I’m going to find out what his true motives are, he thought.
The next night, Shadyn lay in bed, frowning because of the fact that he was laying on his sword and shield, strapped to his back for battle, as well as wearing his armor breastplate. He covered himself with a blanket and made it look as if he was sleeping to anyone looking through the darkness from the door. Once again, the shadow appeared in front of his open door, this time stopping briefly and peering into Shadyn’s room to make sure that there would be no more interference. Appearing satisfied, the mysterious warrior headed down the hallway quickly as before. Fast as lightning, Shadyn was after him. Shadyn scowled as he saw the warrior enter the princess’ room and darted down the hall. The shadowy figure moved toward the sleeping princess, pulling his sword from his cloak. Silently, Shadyn drew his own. The stranger stood over Serena, raising his sword for a deadly stab.
“NO!!!” Shadyn cried and leapt toward the bed, deflecting the blow at the last second and kicking the stranger so he flew across the room and slumped against the wall. Shadyn saw the princess awake and sit up in bed.
“GO, PRINCESS!!! RUN!!! I’LL HANDLE THIS!!!
The princess shook off the last effects of sleep and obeyed, running from the room. Shadyn turned his attention back on the warrior, who was getting to his feet and drawing his shield, readying his sword. He ran at Shadyn and their weapons clashed. They struck and defended, neither managing to hit the other. They fought, out of the room and down the hallway. Shadyn let out shouts of battle and swung furiously. They reached the landing, still fighting full steam. By now the castle had awakened, and were beginning to come to see what the commotion was about. They gasped as they saw the horrific battle.
Shadyn saw his chance, and caught his opponent off-guard. He kicked, sending the cloaked warrior flying into the opposite wall again. Shadyn grinned. He had him now. Time for the Hurricane Spin. He charged his word, glowing yellow as before, while the stranger got to his feet. The figure dashed as him as Shadyn began the spin. Quickly, the stranger ducked beneath the spinning blade, released his hold on the handle of the shield, allowing it to hang on his arm like a large bracelet, and delivered a vicious uppercut into Shadyn’s gut. Stunned, the war leader struggled to regain his composure, but the stranger took hold of the handle again and this time punched at Shadyn’s face, using the metal of the shield, as Shadyn had done in that fateful battle. Blood splattered from the hero’s face, and he fell over the railing of the landing, down a floor, and landed hard on the stone floor. As he landed, Shadyn felt his right thighbone break neatly in two, and he lay on the floor, a pool of blood slowly spreading around his face.
He struggled to his feet, wincing in incredible pain from his injured leg. Supporting himself with his sword, he managed to stagger up. The evil warrior leapt from the floor above, cloak billowing out like evil, black angel wings, landing like a cat on the stone. He kicked Shadyn twice savagely, the first knocking out what little breath he had, and the other sending him sprawling. Shadyn raised his sword as the cloaked figure approached, and it connected with the sword of the other. The evil sword began to glow black, and with an enormous crack, the Gilded Sword split in two under the power. The stranger kicked the broken shards and hilt of the finally defeated sword away and, grabbing the hero by the throat, he slammed him against the wall several times, finally throwing him onto the floor. The war leader screamed in pain. Some of Shadyn’s own warriors were in the crowd wearing night clothes, a few with swords to spring into action at their leader’s command.
“Stay…back…,” Shadyn gasped,” I…don’t want you hurt on my behalf.” They obeyed, but continued to look on, swords ready, wincing at the horror.
The stranger swept over to where the hero lay and held him down with a booted foot, sword at Shadyn’s throat.
“You fight well…even I must admit. But now you are beaten.” The voice that finally seeped out of the shadow was icy cold. Evil to the core. And yet…it sounded very familiar…
“Yes…you recognize my voice…I can see it in your pain-stricken eyes. It is time that I revealed myself to you.” He stepped away, but his sword glowed with a black energy and continued to hover at my throat. He reached up, and pulled the cloak off, tossing it to the floor. The horror under the shadow was unlike anything I had ever experienced. Nothing had prepared me for…ME. The mysterious warrior was none other than a copy of me. The only difference was that I lay helplessly at his feet, grievously injured.
“My name is…Shadow. I am also known as Dark Shadyn. Years and years ago, I was known as Dark Link.
Shadyn overcame his horrified state and gasped,” Why did you bear the name of my ancestor, Link?”
Shadow laughed, a cold, cruel sound, ringing throughout the room.
“You were never told that your ancestor really was you! Well, I’m not going to spoil the surprise. I will simply tell you that back then, I was a shadowy representation of Link. Merely a shadow, not human, as I am now. I was sent to destroy him, for my Master wanted him dead so very desperately. But, I failed and was defeated, as was my Master soon after. But now, he has returned. He pulled me back from the depths of the netherworld, and changed me to resemble the next Chosen One of legend. This time, I will not be defeated! Link wielded a powerful sword of evil’s bane, and it proved to be my downfall. This time, my Master has countered that! HE has created al all-powerful sword that repels good, and now hovers over you!”
Shadyn took a closer look at the sword, glowing with darkness.
“This sword has given me true life, made me human! I am more powerful than ever now! Do not fear, though. I shall not kill you now. I will leave you to lick your wounds for now. But the next time we meet, you will not be so lucky.”
And with that, he pulled something from his belt, threw it to the floor, and vanished in a flash of purple and black flame. . At this point, Shadyn's vision blurred, and his mind darkened. He finally succumbed to the incredible pain, his consciousness finally shattered, lying in the small pool of his own blood.

Chapter 4
It was the dream again. The dream of floating through blackness, and the face appearing. Once again, it raced toward him, but just as it was going to collide, the hero awoke to, “Shadyn? SHADYN!”
Then his true eyes opened. He was staring into the worried, beautiful blue eyes of Serena.
“Wha? Serena? Where am I?”
“You’re in the castle hospital. You’ve been unconscious for days. I…I was so worried…I didn’t leave your side for a minute. Then, you started yelling and thrashing around in your sleep, and that’s when I woke you up. Do you feel okay?” Her normally flawless facial features looked stained with past tears, and she was looking at and holding Shadyn like he might vanish from her any second.
Shadyn looked around. He was sitting in a long room, full of many beds, none of them occupied with the exception of the one I was in. The princess sat in a chair by the side of the bed. He sat up, getting his bearings, then made to stand, but the princess forced him back down.
“No! You don’t have your strength back yet. At least sit on the bed!” I obeyed. She crawled over the bed until she sat beside me.
“Are you all right? You look…strange…and you have every reason to be shocked. Dark Shadyn really messed you up. When he disappeared, I ran to your side, helping two of your soldiers carry you here. It took a lot of magical healing to get you back to normal.”
Shadyn tested his right leg, seeing that it worked perfectly again.
“Unfortunately, your sword is beyond repair. But you must know you have access to the best swords in Hyrule.”
“NO sword will do against that…abomination…” Shadyn said coldly.
Serena ran an elegant hand through his hair. Shadyn’s hat, shield, boots, gauntlets, and armor sat against a night table beside the bed. “That reminds me, what were you dreaming about? C’mon. Tell me.”
And Shadyn proceeded to tell the princess the whole story. Of the nothingness, the face, everything.
Serena looked at him, the worry returning. “No…it can’t be…it isn’t. Coincidence.”
“What, princess?”
“Nothing.”
Shadyn shrugged. “I’ll find out sooner or later.” He then stood up, grabbing his armor, shield and sword scabbard and strapping them on.
“Where are you going?”
Shadyn put on his hat, gauntlets, and boots and started to leave. “To get some answers.” And before the princess could stop him, he was headed down the hall towards the castle Seer, cape billowing out behind him.
Fortunately, it was very early morning, still completely dark. No one was up. He headed for the North Tower, where Shadyn would find the one person who could answer my questions. He came to the ornamental door, adorned with various celestial signs. He knocked on the door. When no one came, he knocked louder. Still no answer. “OPEN UP!!!!” He shouted and pounded on it. Finally, the door was opened by a tall, thin man wearing billowing robes and spectacles that clung to his nose. He looked annoyed and wore a nightcap over his messy white hair.
“Master Shadyn. What is the meaning of this? Barging up to my tower in the middle of the night…have you no sense?”
“I’m sorry Seer, but I need have need of your powers.”
Grumbling, the Seer allowed Shadyn inside. As he began to head for he table in the center of the room, Shadyn though he heard something like, “Why don’t you just ask that celestial princess of yours. Everybody knows she’ll do anything for you…”
“What was that?”
Nothing sir. Please have a seat, gesturing roughly to the table. This table had a cloth covering it, with drawings of the planets and starts. In the center was a crystal ball, filled with white fog. Shadyn sat in a chair by the table. The Seer sat in the one across from it.
“Now, what can I do for y…OH!!! I’m sorry sir! You must have just regained consciousness! My sincerest apologies. It was my wish that you come see me once this is over. I must’ve forgotten to tell someone to let you know…”
“Never mind. I know how forgetful you are.”
“Thank you sir!” The now-ecstatic Seer said. “To business. Yes.”
“My ancestor Link. Shadow spoke of the truth about who he was. Well?”
He smiled. “Yes, your ancestor was the greatest warrior the world has ever known. He was born during a horrible war and raised in the forest. When evil rose to threaten this land, he struck out. And with a sacred sword of the gods, with the power to repel evil, he obtained a piece of the sacred Triforce and defeated the evil.”
Shadyn looked shocked and stared. “But…there’s no way…that would mean he was…”
“The Hero of Time?” The Seer smiled, revealing rows of sparkling white teeth. “Yes. Link’s blood within you is part of the reason you are such an excellent swordsman.” And, Shadyn thought he also heard,” and why the princess is so infatuated with you.”
“What?”
“Nothing at all! Pay it no mind! Anyway, do you know the name of his sword, whose power still resides within Hyrule?”
“The Master Sword!”
“Yes. Thought to be lost to time, the sacred sword still lies underneath where its resting place, the Temple of Time, once stood. In order to discover your true destiny, you must find it and wield it yourself.”
“Thank you Seer. I now leave you in peace.” Shadyn started to rise, but looked harder at the crystal ball. It was the scowling face again. This time it was laughing.
“Yes…and about these dreams you’ve been having, you will discover the meaning yourself, and perhaps much, much sooner than you thought…”The face vanished. Shadyn thought for a moment, then got up and left the room silently.

Chapter 5
Shadyn strode from the palace and into the market nearby. Dawn was just beginning to poke its golden fingers at the Earth, and the castle began to stir in its slumber, as early morning shoppers and shopkeepers began to move about. Several saw him and waved, but Shadyn didn’t respond and moved toward the old ruins of the Temple of Time.
He left the noise of the market behind and entered the solitude of the ruins. Years ago, invaders entered the castle and destroyed the temple, but if what the Seer said was true, then the Master Sword still slept here. He wandered around the skeleton and rubble of the old building, seeing nothing unusual.
Shadyn stepped up onto the marble slab in front of the ancient altar. Then he saw it. Barely noticeable, there was a small faded imprint of the Triforce on the worn floor. Shadyn reached down and touched the symbol. He jumped backward as it exploded with color, and shone with a deep gold. Then, The stone slab slid smoothly back, revealing a staircase going down.
Shadyn reached the end of the stairs, and found himself standing in front of a huge stone door. It bore another Triforce symbol, and an imprint of a hand. Shadyn placed his hand into the print, and gasped as the saw something begin to glow on the back of his hand. Yet another symbol, yet this one glowed with the bottom right of the three triangles glowing brightest. His hand was outlined in a strange golden light, and the Triforce symbol above glowed with the same light. The door slid back, then into the wall and Shadyn stepped into this new room, gazing around. He was in a large cavern, lined with pure white marble. In the center of the room, stuck in a stone, was a sword.

Shadyn reverently stepped up to the sword, which had started to glow softly in the dim light. Silently, he reached out and grabbed the handle with both hands. Giving a mighty heave, the sword came free with a loud “shiiiiing”. Shadyn held it at his side as a blue shaft of light appeared around him. He felt his feet lift off of the floor as the chamber dissolved around Shadyn…

He found himself standing in the center of a very strange room. It didn’t seem to have walls, and he stood on the symbol of a Triforce. Around him were six Symbols on the floor, each depicting a different element of nature: Forest, Fire, Water, Shadow, Spirit, and Light. As Shadyn looked around, he noticed someone standing on the Light symbol. It was a portly figure wearing robes. He had a thick beard and dark hair.
“Hello, chosen One.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Rauru. I am the Sage of Light.”
“You’re a Sage?”
“Yes, but there is no time to explain the details. I am one of the six Sages who protect this land, but alas, I fear we have been defeated. Evil has returned to Hyrule, and now even we are not strong enough to stop it. For a time, peace reigned in this country for a time, but eventually evil defeated us and now threatens Hyrule. Only you can stop it.”
“Me?”
“Yes. Over 200 years ago, I spoke to Link of similar matters. He had pulled the Master Sword from its resting place, just as you did.” Shadyn looked down at the blade now residing comfortably in his hand. “Because you hold the Triforce of Courage, as Link himself did, you have been able to reach the Master Sword and call upon its powers.”
“…Triforce of Courage? What are you talking about?”
“Alas, I fear I am moving too quickly. Fine. I shall slow down. When Link pulled the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time those many years ago, he was not yet old enough to become the legendary hero. He was sealed away in the Sacred Realm for seven years, leaving the sacred Triforce unguarded. This evil moved into the realm and laid his hands on the Triforce. Unfortunately for him, his heart was not in balance of the three forces the Triforce represents, power, wisdom, and courage. The triangle separated into its three parts, and evil only held the Triforce of Power. The other pieces went to the people who best represented the forces they contained. The wisdom shard fell into the hands of Hyrule’s fair princess Serena, the original, of course, and courage resided inside Link. Ganon ruled with an iron fist until Link arose finally and ultimately defeated the fiend.”
“This time, you are already of the age to be the Hero of Time. Because the Triforce bearers of wisdom and courage no longer live, in this world, their powers disappeared for a time, until suitable hosts once again walked the Earth. Your see the Triforce symbol that now shines on your hand since when you opened the mighty Door of Time into the Master Sword’s chamber? That is the Triforce of Courage that lives inside you, has since the moment of your birth. The holder of the wisdom shard is then none other than the princess Serena, descendent of the original Triforce bearer, as you are.”
“So…this sword is the equal to the dark sword of Dark Shadyn?”
Rauru sighed. “I fear that though that sword you hold is indeed the sacred sword of the gods, that even it is not powerful enough to stop that sword. But there is a way to make it that way. High in the peak of Death Mountain, The Hero of Time Link built a chamber of the utmost secrecy. Here is where he hid the various magical objects he found on his many adventures. Like the Door of Time, it can only be opened by the bearer of the Triforce of Courage. It is at he very top of the mountain, in the most unreachable part, but this is the only way you may fulfill your destiny. That is the only clue I can give you. The rest you must discover on your own.”
“One more question, most esteemed Sage, how come there are six Sages, and I only see you?”
“The remainders of them are in their respective Temples, in the four corners of Hyrule, tending to their own affairs. There is also a way, however, to call upon their powers when you have need of them. Look at the bandolier of your sword you now wear.”
The bandolier was adorned with miniature versions of the Sage symbols around me. From Light at the top to Spirit at the bottom. Six of them.
“Yes. By using them, you can call upon our powers whenever you need them. There is only one, that I implore you, never use until you need it most dearly. And that is mine, the Light Medallion. You have not the power to control the results of using it. Use it only when you need it the most. Now, I transport you back to the normal world as you know it. Farewell, chosen one.”
At this point, Shadyn descended through the column of light, coming to a rest on the stone slab in front of the destroyed altar, at the ruins of the temple. Despite the perilous quest before him, the Hero of Time grinned and swung the Master Sword a few times before effortlessly depositing it into its sheath. It felt good to have such power behind him. With these thoughts in mind, Shadyn struck out back toward the castle.

Chapter 6

The castle was up and bustling with activity by the time Shadyn reentered the courtyard. Aragran, Shadyn’s best warrior, saw him and immediately came and dropped to his knees.
“Aragran, you are just the man I was looking for. I am leaving today, and it may be for good. As of now, I place you in charge of all of Hyrule’s armies. Of all my warriors, you are the bravest and most worthy.” Shadyn drew the Master Sword and touched each of his shoulders with it. “Rise now, Aragran, commander of armies.”
“My lord, I shall undertake this immense responsibility with a stout heart. We shall all await your return.” Aragran rose to his feet. Shadyn nodded, and bade him farewell. He worked his way through the crowd, then through the halls of the spacious palace to get to the princess’ room. He knocked, then entered. As always, the princess looked happy to see me, but today her smile looked…different…somehow. She was wearing a pink dress, adorned with symbols of royalty, as well as the Hyrule royal crest. She wore some ornamental shoulder armor on her shoulders. Her golden blonde locks fell to the small of her back. Serena also wore Triforce-shaped earrings. Her face, beaming with that smile, was clean and pure, not full of dried tears like earlier, her eyes were clear blue. She looked gorgeous, and it was obviously her intention to be that way.
“Princess, I would like to apologize for my actions this morning. You were merely showing me compassion, yet all I could think about was the answers I sought. I am sorry, Serena.
“That’s alright. I understand the confusion Shadow must have forced upon you.” Then, here smile faltered, as the seemed to be looking at my right shoulder. Or rather, what could now be plainly viewed over my right shoulder. “Is that…the…Master Sword?” She stammered. “I…I thought it was destroyed…then it is true…you are the next chosen one of legend…”
“Yes princess.” And Shadyn proceeded to tell her what the Seer and Rauru had told him.
“So, you’re leaving today, on this journey to find your ancestor’s secret chamber, then to find Dark Shadyn? And his master, Ganondorf? Indeed I knew I had this strange wisdom and power inside of me, but I had no concept that it was actually a shard of the sacred power of the gods…”
“Correct. I must leave now. There must be no delay. The forces of evil may once again attack this castle, this time in greater force. Last time, it was simply a masquerade for their real plan, for Dark Shadyn (or Shadow) to infiltrate the castle. And the army wasn’t even enchanted. I must extinguish this evil before it permeates this land even more.”
“Shadyn, before you go…there is something I would like to do, and something I would like you to know…” As she said this she had been stepping toward the hero, and now they were very close. In fact, their faces were only five or six inches away. “Shadyn…I…love you.” And before the warrior could respond, Serena kissed him. Shadyn’s arms went around her, hers going around his neck, as the kiss deepened. They drank each other in, each spurred on by the passion of the other. Serena murmured in pleasure, and they both relaxed. Neither of them had experienced anything like this, their minds both went blissfully blank, until, slowly, they slipped apart. Shadyn grinned, she blushed and smiled back.
“Serena…I’ve had love for you ever since we met, those many years ago. That is why I’ve always protected you, never allowing you to be harmed under my watch. Nothing would please me more than to stay here with you, but alas, I must go. I promise you, however, under the deepest commitment I can make, I will return to you. Thus I swear.”
“Do not worry, my love. We shall meet sooner than you expect. Much sooner…in fact.” She then gave Shadyn a mysterious look, like she was hiding something. Shadyn disregarded this and left before anything else happened.

All Shadyn heard was the pounding of Melynlas’ hooves as they raced toward Death Mountain. Black cape flapping in the wind, the great warrior rode through Kakariko village, and up as far as the horse would take him on the increasingly steep surface of the mountain. Finally, Shadyn got off of the horse and spurred the steed back to Kakariko, turning his sights towards the long climb to the crater.
It was tough going, what with a heavy sword and shield on his back. From handhold to handhold, the straight vertical climb was a struggle, but eventually he pulled himself on to level ground. In front of him lay the entrance to the Death Mountain Crater, near where this secret chamber was supposed to lie. Shadyn walked down the steps carved into the rock, and entered the deadly heat of the crater. His body immediately began to sweat at the intense conditions, but the hero pressed on. At last, he found something. It was a faint carving of the Master Sword, imprinted into the rock wall pointing up. Up above, about 100 feet, was a ledge. Shadyn would have bet anything that it concealed an entrance.
“If I ever meet this famous Link, he’d better run. All this climbing is really ticking me off.” Shadyn said to himself as he placed his hands into niches in the rock and began to climb the hot rock face.
Sweat beading down his face, as much from the heat as the exertion, Shadyn finally pulled himself up onto the ledge. He lie there on his stomach for a moment, sweat forming a small pool on the ground below his face. When he felt a little better, he staggered to his feet, peering into the long tunnel carved through the bedrock in front of him.
Eventually, the tunnel gave way to stairs. Climbing the seemingly endless carved staircase, Shadyn finally saw sunlight again, emerging onto a small niche in the side of the mountain, concealed against view by people looking up from below. This niche was at the top of the mountain, and Shadyn could see smoke rising from the all-too-close crater. There was a bedrock “roof” above his head, which shielded the little alcove from eruptions. And there, in front of him, over the edge of the ledge, was the most beautiful view of Hyrule Shadyn had ever seen.. He could see the sparkling waters of Lake Hylia in the distance, the endless Lost Woods, and the glittering castle of Hyrule. In between it all was the vast expanse of Hyrule Field.
Prying his eyes from this amazing sight, Shadyn turned around, examining the far wall. There was a carved symbol of the Triforce and a handprint, just like on the Door of Time. Striding up to it and placing his hand into the print, he watched with amazement as the Triforce of Courage glowed brighter on the back of his hand (the symbol had remained on the back of his gauntlet since opening the Master Sword’s chamber), as well as the outline of his hand and the larger Triforce symbol on the wall. Shadyn stepped back as the door slid into the wall, and stepped forward into the large chamber.
The room was very big, and Shadyn’s jaw dropped at the sight of the wonders he beheld. The room was lit by a number of bright magical fireflies near the ceiling, illuminating a bed in the back of the circular room. All over the room were tables, each having different items from Link’s journeys. They were also hung on the walls. Shadyn saw a very rare hookshot, a bow with arrows hung on the wall, a huge bomb bag, the legendary Lens of Truth, and many others. On the far right wall were several shields, among them a Hero’s Shield, Hylian Shield much like his own, a Deku Shield made of wood, and two ones with blindingly mirrored surfaces, one made for a child, and another bearing the Triforce and other strange symbols, larger, and made for an adult. A Kokiri sword, no longer than a long dagger, hung near them. A long sword, finely crafted and looking to be of Goron make, hung near it bearing the name the Biggoron’s Sword.
But what really amazed the hero were the masks. All around him, hung on the walls. So many different varieties. People, animals, and strange creatures. Along with the masks, every single little tidbit in this museum of adventure was labeled by plaques, with what it was, how to use it, and what it did. Shadyn wandered about the room many times, before deciding to stock up. These could seriously come in handy.
Along with the Master Sword, he grabbed the adult-sized Mirror Shield, strapping it to his back. He picked up each item, learning from the labels that they magically got smaller, to fit in compartments in a special utility belt, which Shadyn found on the bed and donned, only to become normal sized again as you pulled them out to use them. Shadyn equipped the bow and arrows, labeled the Fairy Bow, the hookshot, a special spring-loaded chain used as a grappling hook and to pull objects toward the user, the Lens of Truth, a special magnifying glass-like item used to see through fake walls and illusions, and the bomb bag and bombs. Also, on a table near the bed, Shadyn found a pair of boots, apparently magical like the rest of this stuff to withstand all these years of decay and wear and still look new, and put them on. Shadyn learned that they could change at the users will, to be made of iron, or to be hover boots, allowing the wearer to walk on air for a short time, as well as normal.
Sitting on another table, all alone, was an ocarina. It was labeled the Ocarina of Time. The ocarina was shaped like a long egg, with three holes in the top, and a tube coming out of the top of one end for blowing in. It was deep blue in color and sported yet another Triforce symbol painted around the blowing tube. This was a sacred treasure of the Hyrule royal family, apparently given to Link. Shadyn picked it up, as well as a piece of parchment with many songs for playing it written on it.
Shadyn also found a golden pair of gauntlets that fit his hands perfectly. when he put them on. Immediately, he could feel incredible strength moving through his body, the strength to move mountains, and to feel light as a feather even with all this equipment! Shadyn looked with amazement into the large glittering mirror of unknown purpose beside the bed, admiring his new look. Besides these additions, he wore the same armor, the same tunic, and the same hat. Then Shadyn turned his attention to the masks. Walking around the room, he admired them and their uses. One gave the wearer super speed, another made him invisible, and still another allowed him to read the minds of animals! Amazing! Shadyn left all these, deciding to leave them as a tribute to his ancestor’s memory. Over the bed hung five special ones. Three were in the shape of three sentient, intelligent species in Hyrule, Deku, Goron, and Zora. Because they are not important to the story at this point, I shall not describe them further, except to say that they represented the three regions of Hyrule, forest, mountain, and lake. Shadyn took these three for good measure, knowing from the labels that they would transform the wearer into the species of the mask itself. Above these three hung two more, one over the other. The bottom one was shaped sort of like a knight’s helmet, with a small slit for sight. Shadyn learned that it transformed whoever wore it into a huge giant, capable of mass destruction.
Then he saw the one on top, and his jaw dropped. It was the face from his dreams. It was uncanny, the resemblance. Same pupil-less eyes, same white, long hat, same face adorned with various tribal paints. Below it was its label. No description, only the name. It was known as the Fierce Deity’s Mask.

Despite his fear at having finally met the terrifying face, he felt drawn to it. Staring into its eyes, Shadyn surmised that the mask appeared to be mocking him, though its expression was grim. Its eyes willed Shadyn to put it on, to fit it over his face. Drawn by some mystical energy, he lifted it off of the wall, and held it before his face. He slowly lifted it, and he could feel some strange power flowing through the wooden surface. At first touch, the mask was cold, but as it fit over Shadyn’s face, it became suddenly much hotter. In fact, burning, scalding his skin. Alarmed, the hero tried to remove it, but he could feel the separation between the mask and his skin disappearing. The mask was merging with his skin! Soon, the edge of the mask wasn’t there anymore. It only felt smooth. Shadyn screamed as incredible pain blasted through his body, clawing frantically at the sides of his face to remove the mask. Somehow, through it all, he could feel his body changing, morphing. As this was happening, Shadyn fell to his knees, writhing in agony. His blood felt like it was boiling, like it was on fire. His flesh crawled, changing shape.
Suddenly, through the blackness of the inside of the mask, the face appeared. This time, it had a body. It wore a white tunic and rainbow-colored armor, like Shadyn’s, except not black and it extended down past his chest, covering his stomach. His undergarments, a tight, full-body cloth suit, were a dark, navy blue, like the hero’s, except Shadyn’s were white. The figure held a sword at his side. The sword had two blades, one white and one blue, which crossed in the center like a sort of flat spiral. They joined at the end, making a razor sharp point. He strode slowly toward the warrior, that familiar sneer on his face. He reached Shadyn and stood before me, sneering down at him.
Suddenly, he pulled back his sword and struck at the hero’s body. Just as it hit, Shadyn felt an incredible jolt of pain, and screamed again in agony. But, this was not the feeling of metal slicing into his skin. It was an incredible, burning agony roaring through his body. Then, as suddenly as it started, the pain was gone. Shadyn opened his eyes, and found that he could now see through the eyes of the mask (or was it a mask?) where before he could not. The new Shadyn slowly staggered to his feet.
The true Ultimate Warrior, the chosen one that was destined to destroy evil and save Hyrule and the entire world, was now truly born.

Chapter 7

Shadyn looked into a nearby mirror hung on the wall. He nearly fell over with surprise. His appearance had almost completely changed. His tunic had turned white, but it was a mysterious, glittering white that made Shadyn wonder what it was made out of. His armor now extended down over his stomach and, while still mostly black, glittered with other strange colors all over its surface in a beautiful rainbow pattern. It now also appeared to be made of diamonds, and nearly unbreakable. More symbols, including the Triforce, now covered it as well. His long hat was now white. The boots he wore looked to be the same still, but the tight undergarments he wore had changed from white to a dark, deep blue.
His face delivered one of the biggest shocks. It was still virtually the same, but it contained part of the smug arrogance of the face of his dreams. He could see some features that had been transferred to his face, though the tribal paints that were all over the other face’s features had not.
All in all, he looked like a cross between himself and the figure, apparently Fierce Deity from the name below the mask. He was visibly a taller, more imposing figure, meant to strike fear into enemy’s hearts. The cape he wore on his back now was also adorned with symbols, and like his new armor, had a Triforce in the middle. Shadyn was deeply impressed by his new figure and drew his sword and shield to see how he looked with them.
Even the Master Sword had changed. It was no longer only the powerful blade to repel evil. It now appeared to have taken on some of the traits of the Spiral Sword of Fierce Deity. The normal blade extended from the hilt, but now the two different blades (one white and one blue) of the Spiral Sword wrapped around it, each rising from opposite sides of the base of the blade. They joined with the main blade at the end, forming a point so sharp the lightest touch sliced easily through skin and drew blood. The hilt kept the basic design of the Master Sword’s, but now was a sparkling pure gold instead of blue and the golden stone that sat in the middle of it had changed to an incredibly beautiful blue crystal. The Mirror Shield, his utility belt, golden gauntlets, and all of his new items remained unchanged.
Only now did Shadyn feel it. A sudden explosive power! The incredible surging POWER!!! It made Shadyn want to do everything, and made him feel invincible! He could feel magic surging through him, the power call upon the powers of the gods, as well as the sages! With a smile on his face, he ran from the secret chamber, sheathing his sword as he did so, and ran onto the stone “porch” overlooking Hyrule. The stone door closed smoothly behind him, and without skipping a beat, he leapt from the edge, soaring through the air, in an incredible leap no normal man could have even attempted (for he was no longer anywhere near normal).
He twisted around smoothly as he soared down from Death Mountain, feeling powerful wind on his face, blowing his hair and cape back. He streamlined himself, falling in a kamikaze dive straight toward Kakariko village. He smiled and yelled in glee at his new strength and peered down, seeing the windmill of the village, the tall tower, the graveyard, the great buildings ignited with leaping flames, the screaming and running townspeople, undead warriors closing in on them, swords glittering in the moonlight, and the overall mass destruction. Wait a minute. Shadyn did a double take. The town’s buildings were on fire, more flames leaping up every second, and a battlement of skeleton warriors wielding swords and shields called Stalfos and zombie-like creatures with moldy brown skin called ReDead were attacking the townspeople.
The Stalfos were the ghastly forms of people that had gotten lost in the Lost Woods. They now had no souls and sought only to destroy all life around them. The ReDead were evil murderers and thieves who had sold their souls to darkness. They wandered aimlessly about, hideous monstrosities of evil seeking only to latch on to a human being and suck out his/her soul. The person then eventually became a ReDead themselves.
Shadyn twisted, landing on the ground like a cat, not feeling hurt in the least. He drew his hookshot, and latching onto the roof of a nearby building, it pulled him up. He drew his Fairy Bow and notched an arrow. Using this new magical power he felt inside him, he charged the arrow with flame. It stuck a ReDead and immediately fell to the ground in flames. He picked off a few more, put the bow away, drew the new Spiral Master Sword and leapt into the fray. Immediately, one of the Stalfos broke off and headed for him. Shadyn, with his new powers, easily blocked the blows from the jagged bronze word with his shield, brought up his sword, and sliced down through the bone of the creature, cutting it cleanly in half. The bones crumbled to dust. A ReDead tried to jump him from behind, but the Spiral Master Sword cut through its rubbery skin, ripping it to shreds. Shadyn grinned and gave it a practice swing, loving the way it cut through the air. Suddenly, three points of energy flew up the blades and blasted out into the air, forming a spiral beam shaped sort of like a whirlpool in water that struck a nearby ReDead. It exploded with light and fell to the ground.
“Whoa…”Shadyn said to himself. He aimed another at a charging Stalfos, stopping it in its tracks and disintegrating it. He leapt to the attack, striking down enemies as fast as they opposed him.
One Stalfos took a horizontal swing at his gut. Shadyn leaped into the air, seeming to hung poised above the creature, turned a double flip and landed a blow to the skeleton’s head each time. Shadyn landed gracefully as the Stalfos’ head fell off its shoulders. The body swung blindly, but Shadyn easily dodged and destroyed the undead warrior. He blasted two more ReDead with beams and they fell immediately. Only 50 feet away, a ReDead successfully latched onto an innocent man trying to escape the burning hell of the village. It leaped onto his back, wrapping its moldy legs around the man’s midsection and buried its face in the screaming man’s neck. Shadyn’s eyes widened in alarm and ran towards the horrific scene. He brought up the Master Sword and sliced the zombie’s head clean off as Shadyn sprinted past. The body went limp and fell to the ground. The man collapsed, unconscious.
Shadyn placed his shield back onto his back and lifted the man over his shoulder, as easily as on lifts his jacket and throws it over his shoulder to put it on. Sword held in front, Shadyn dashed through the chaos, striking down enemies as he went. He saw the remainder of the townspeople at the gate between the village and Death Mountain Trail, starting to flee up the mountain. They were not going to make it. Stalfos dropped from all directions, dozens of them, and gave chase. Slower ReDead brought up the rear. Shadyn made a tremendous leap, landing between the people and undead legions. He threw the man to the people who caught him and began to apply first aid as they struggled to run up the trail. Shadyn drew his shield again, holding his ground against incredible odds.
Then, he felt an emotion he’d never felt before. It was an indescribable black rage boiling up inside of him. He’d felt mad many times, but this was different. The opposite of his usual righteous anger. It was hatred for these undead abominations. It flew the warrior into a rage, striking this way and that, sword a blur. Blocking with his shield, firing sword beams, and countering attacks using this hatred as a weapon. One ReDead got close to him and leapt onto his back. Shadyn yelled in anger and thrust his sword over his shoulder and deep into the head of the zombie, black blood flying everywhere. He brought the sword back in front of himself, and the ReDead stuck on it, until he swung the sword, sending the carcass flying off into the night. He sliced the sword hand off of one Stalfos and gave it a mighty kick that sent it flying into the night. Shadyn felt the magic power inside him, placed there by the mask. He donned his shield and held his hand in front of him, watching as a crystal with a glowing red center appeared and floated in his gauntlet. He then smashed it toe the ground. From where it struck rose a fireball. The fireball expanded into a huge dome of inferno, igniting all the Stalfos and ReDead in the vicinity. The fiery arena blasted outward, destroying and damaging many enemies in the near vicinity. The remaining creatures turned and ran, fleeing into Hyrule Field.
Shadyn then drew his hookshot again and pulled himself to the top of a building, standing amid the flames of the burning wood.
He watched the undead army retreat and shouted,” Run, flee back to your master and tell him that Shadyn, Chosen Hero of Time of legend is coming for him. I am the Ultimate Warrior, who has come to strike down and destroy the evil in the world. Tell Shadow that I am coming, and that his reign of terror with his master will soon be over!!!”

Somewhere in a neighboring country, a figure approached a tall, dark throne, set deep in the shadowy confines of an enormous floating castle…

“My master, Shadyn has discovered the Master Sword’s resting place, as well as the secret chamber belonging to his ancestor, Link,” the figure said.
“Hmm…,”came another voice, cold and deep, from the shadowy figure sitting on the throne,” so he now wields the sword of evil’s bane as well as the many items of the original Hero of Time…no matter. The sword I have created, infused with the purest evil, and given to you, Dark Shadyn, should more than suffice.”
“Yes, my lord. But he has also…transformed, somehow. He put on the Fierce Deity’s mask, and seems to have bonded permanently with it.”
“An interesting development. When Link wore that mask it turned him into a powerful, mysterious warrior of unknown origin, but its effects were always reversible. He could always take it off. And the power within the mask was evil, so I believe he wore it only once and then hid it away, fearing it’s power if it escaped.”
“Yes master, but when Shadyn put it on…it changed him…it appears permanent, and gives him enormous power. Using it, he defended Kakariko village from our attack.”
“No matter. It was but a small part of my army and campaign against Hyrule. Continue to watch Shadyn’s every move, and inform me of any new developments. We shall analyze this new warrior and find his weakness. He may be strong, but everybody has an Achilles heel, so to speak.”
“Yes, my master.”
Shadow left the throne room silently.

Chapter 8
Shadyn watched as the last of the enemies disappeared, then turned away. Suddenly, he realized the town was still in trouble. Leaping flames leapt up put of the building he stood on, crackling as the scalded and burned the roof. He realized that it was time to call on the power of the Sages for the first time.
He reached inside himself, as he had done for the other magical spells, and found what he had to do. He focused on the element of water and cried, “Oh mighty Sages hear my plight. Release the Light! WATER!!! As he chanted, the water medallion burst out of its spot on Shadyn’s bandolier and hovered in front of him, spinning quickly. Shadyn raised his sword to horizontal in front of him, parallel with the blue medallion, and as he shouted “WATER!!!” he pushed the sword out with one hand on the handle and the other on the blade so it hit the spinning disc.
As he did so, the medallion abruptly stopped spinning. Blue jets of light spun around it and Shadyn, and an enormous jet of water, larger than any fire hose, blasted out. Every flame it touched went out, and soon the entire town was drenched and smoking, but no longer burning. Shadyn stopped his concentration and the water stopped, medallion floating back to its rightful place in his bandolier. He sheathed his sword as townspeople surrounded him, shouting and cheering. Feeling somewhat breathless because of the enormous magic he just used, Shadyn turned from the crowd.
Calling Melynlas, who had freed himself from the stables where he had been tied when the battle started, he leapt astride the horse. After rearing up in triumph, Melynlas and Shadyn galloped quickly from the village.

Over many days and nights, Melynlas galloped over Hyrule Field, stopping only minimally to eat, drink, and sleep. Eventually, the pair made it to the border between Hyrule and the neighboring country, Xertia. It was the land from which the first army had come from, and almost certainly where Dark Shadyn was now. Many years ago, it was a land much like Hyrule, with beautiful, sprawling fields, tall mountains, and deep rivers and lakes. But then, it had been torn apart by civil war, and it was now an area of death, all the perilous surfaces scorched with flames of the past. It is unknown who took control of it eventually, for he sought to keep his identity secret.
Throughout the long journey, Shadyn had much time to contemplate what had happened. What had happened when he placed the Fierce Deity’s mask on his face was still unknown, but it was obvious that he had somehow bonded with the mask and it appeared permanent. But he found a much more distressing matter was the emotion he felt while defending Kakariko.
He had felt a horrible, black rage. HE had no idea where it came from. Always in battle his emotions were that of righteous anger. This was pure rage. He’d wanted to KILL, to destroy all that opposed him. At last, he decided to push the thought to the back of his subconciousness and worry about it later.
One day, near twilight, Shadyn was riding through the yellow, malnourished grass of a huge field. Looking up at the sky, he learned that it was going to rain hard. And very soon. The sky had the jagged look of fish scales, and the clouds appeared swollen with moisture. Spotting an overhanging cliff-face just ahead, he thanked the gods for his good fortune and headed directly for it.
Shadyn tethered Melynlas and built a fire. As he stood before the crackling blaze, warming his hands in their gauntlets as a violent lightning storm raged outside, his ears, greatly enhanced by the mask’s power as well as his other senses, picked up the sounds of carefully furtive footsteps behind him.
There was someone sneaking up on him.
In the blinding flash of a lightning bolt, he spun, bringing up his hands crossed in the shape of an “X” above his head to block the blow of enormous club from splattering his brains. His assailant was a grinning, slightly chubby-looking man. He had the grubby look that immediately said “thief” to Shadyn. His bloodthirsty grin changed immediately to surprise and pain as Shadyn blocked, then slammed his fist into the man’s gut. Grabbing his collar, Shadyn threw him 30 feet easily, slamming him into the rock wall. The thief fell to the ground, dazed, but still barely conscious.
Shadyn stepped closer, cape sweeping behind, and grabbed the man again, holding him aloft with one hand by the neck in a chokehold. If he’d wanted to, he could’ve held him there for weeks.
“Why are you attacking me, u scum?” Shadyn said in a hoarse, angry voice. He felt the rage boiling up quickly, but was too mad to notice. “I hate sneak attacks. Low and cowardly way to overcome your opponent. You obviously don’t know who you are dealing with.”
To enraged with the man to notice the footsteps behind him again, and the man’s frightened grin, Shadyn was unprepared for what happened next. Four other men grabbed his arms, causing him to drop his attacker. Stupid! Why did I think he was alone? Shadyn thought as he was shoved hard and pinned against the wall. A knife was held against his throat. If he moved, it would kill him. Another thief, he counted six in all, grabbed his sword, then froze and was blasted back unconscious by the magical electrical charge.
The other ones looked shocked, but held strong and the one with the knife said, “Foolish boy. You too stupid to see our attack plan. Now we shall take everything you have of value, then you shall die! Ha ha!”
Shadyn grimaced in humiliation and tried to think of a way out, then he saw something behind the men. It looked like a man. He dropped from the cliff above and approached the men silently, like a cat. He was tall, leanly muscular, and wore a black tight suit that seemed to be magically formed to his body, so fluid was his motion. The suit was also white in places, and covered with designs in a strange language. Folds of cloth were wrapped around his lower face and hair, exposing only a few golden locks and his shining red eyes. Some other folds wrapped around a few fingers.
With an incredible fluid move of martial arts, the stranger chopped down the knife hand and kicked the man away with surprising force. Shadyn threw away the men who pinning him and drew his sword. The five assailants split into two and three, two heading for the new figure and three heading for the hero, daggers drawn. Shadyn knocked the first’s dagger away, and rammed his word threw the thief’s heart. He fell immediately.
The other two attacked in synchronized motion. Shadyn ducked under their blows, spun around for momentum, and kicked their legs out from under them. He then made short work of them. Blood splattered all over his Spiral Master Sword, he turned to his rescuer, who had drawn twin long 3-pronged daggers from his belt, which I hadn’t seen before. Both thieves lay on the ground, one appeared to have been struck with ninja throwing stars, and the other had six deep punctures in his chest suggesting a double-dagger attack. He sheathed his daggers and turned to Shadyn, as his sword vanished into its sheath.
“Thank you stranger. You may have saved my life there.”
“I know.” It was strange. His voice sounded completely unfamiliar at one end, but on the other it seemed to be the voice of someone he knew…
“I am Shadyn, commander of Hyrule’s armies and Chosen Hero of Time of Legend. What is your name, mysterious warrior?
“Just call me…Sheik.”

Chapter 9
“Sheik…the name sounds familiar…from somewhere” Shadyn thought-out-loud.
“I have been following you since you left Kakariko Village. I used ancient methods of my ancestral race, the Sheikah, to keep myself from being seen, even on horseback.”
The two stood under the rock overhand that sheltered the destroyed camp. The wind ripped and roared outside, throwing water over the earth.
“How? I saw nor heard no one!”
“We Sheikah have our ways.”
Shadyn thought for a moment, then began to break camp. “They may show up again, and in much greater numbers.”
“I agree. We must leave immediately.” The mysterious stranger then gave a shrill whistle. A leanly muscular black roan galloped up. “Let’s go.”
Through the blinding rain, the pair galloped. Shadyn’s cape flapped in the fierce winds as he flowed the dim form of Sheik riding at high speed barely visible through the darkness and rain. Shadyn saw nothing as he sped through the darkened land but Sheik riding only a few feet ahead.
At last, a shadowy form rose out of the mist and water. As Shadyn got closer, it took on the immensity of a castle.
Sheik stopped, and Shadyn rode up alongside. “Is that…the castle of Xertia?”
“No,” Sheik said. “This one is apparently abandoned. It is overgrown with vines and weeds.” Indeed, the castle did look empty and abandoned. The drawbridge had long ago collapsed and lay in ruins in the few inches that remained of the water in the moat. The once-exquisite windows and marble walls were now green with moss and weeds, as was the courtyard. There were four towers, one in each corner if the huge building. They each seemed on the verge of toppling over, one leaning precariously to one side. The entire castle gave one the feel of desolation. There was a certain evil about the place that Shadyn loathed.
“It would be wise to seek shelter in here for the night, and continue our perilous journey in the morning.” Sheik advised.
“Agreed, Sheik.”
Shadyn and the mysterious Sheikah rode into the overgrown courtyard, horses racing down the sides of the nearly empty moat and up the other side. They rode to the huge double-doors, surprisingly in good shape after all those years. Tethering their horses under the stone roof overhang forming a porch over their heads, Shadyn and Sheik pushed the doors open and entered.

Shadyn stepped inside and shook excess water off his warrior’s garb. Surprisingly, the castle was in reasonably good shape on the inside. They stood in the entrance hall. Ahead of them was a sweeping stone staircase and on either side there were doors leading to unknown areas. Also in the walls were torches, long gone out. Shadyn and Sheik saw all this in the very dim light the rain provided. Though run down, it was dry and reasonably warm. The duo took a few steps inside and spun around as the enormous doors slammed shut behind them with a loud crash.
“Mighty Sages hear my plight! Release the Light! FIRE!” Shadyn cried, swinging his word around and pushing it into the floating red medallion like before. Instead of blasting fire, the sword began to flicker with flames. The medallion bonded with the sword, connecting at the base of the blade, where the blade met the hilt. It appeared to be on fire, but didn’t burn for all the fire’s fury. The bright orange glow lit the room up.
Sheik and Shadyn both pushed furiously on the stone doors, but for all their great combined strength, they didn’t even budge.
“What now?” Shadyn asked.
“…I suppose we have no choice. Let us search for suitable sleeping quarters.”
Shadyn holding his flaming sword in front of them, they wandered the corridors of the sinister castle, up the stone stairs in front of them, finally finding another, seemingly endless staircase. Going up via the moldy stone stairs, they arrived at a short hallway, presumably in one of the towers. Shadyn and the Sheikah found all of the doors lining the walls to be locked tight. Searching for another alternative, they discovered one door to be rotten. With a mighty kick, Sheik splintered the door and the new entrance yielded a bedroom. It may have been meant to be used by the servants of the master of the castle. A few moldy-looking beds lay along the sides of the room. A bare square window on the opposite wall made the storm outside visible.
Silently, the warriors made a makeshift camp and, after building a pile of wood in the small fireplace in the right wall, Shadyn used his flaming sword to ignite it. Through the bare window, they could see the storm raging outside. They sat before the leaping flames and warmed themselves, Shadyn sheathing his flaming sword, but made it keep it’s fire powers. He may need it.
“So, Sheik, tell me about yourself. Tell me how you came to be saving my life back there.”
“I am of the race of the Shadow Folk, the Sheikah. As you have undoubtedly heard through the tales and legends about us, we were the guardians of the people and of the old traditions in Hyrule. Alas, I fear that there are only a few remaining of our ancient race. They live in solitude, choosing not to descend into the bustle of the ordinary world.”
“Yes, I know the legends, but what about yourself?”
“I saw you go up Death Mountain, and awaited your return in Kakariko Village. When the town was attacked, I did my best to help defend, until you made your grand reappearance. Much changed you were than when you went up the mountain.”
“Yes. I placed Link’s Fierce Deity’s mask on my face, and it transformed me. I became a powerful cross between myself and the mask.”
“Link only wore that mask once, then sealed it away, fearing its power if it reached the wrong hands. When he did wear it, it’s effects were reversible…I know not what has caused this transformation… But enough of that. I am certain the solution shall present itself eventually. Now, I fear, we face a danger of greater importance. Only by our teamwork can we destroy the evil plaguing Xertia and Hyrule. So, it is time that I revealed my true identity to you.”
He stepped back into the shadows, away from the fire, reached up, and removed the cloth strips covering the very tops and bottoms of his face. Shadyn’s jaw dropped as long, golden blonde hair fell out and the cloth revealed the lips of a girl, a girl he knew.
“I can see you are surprised, Shadyn. Did I not tell you that we would meet again, perhaps much sooner than you think?” Princess Serena said, a smile playing across her lips. Her skin, still fair as ivory, reflected the orange flames of the fire, as did her glistening golden locks of hair.
“Serena? But…you shouldn’t be here! I don’t want you hurt.”
“Ah, but it is prophesized that we will work together to save the world. I knew this and used on of my ancestor’s, the original Serena, spells. It allowed me to use the power of the Triforce of Wisdom and transformed me into a light and graceful Sheikah, and I took the form of a man. It was also in this way that I was able to follow you seemingly invisibly.” She smiled at the warrior again, Shadyn’s heart giving a leap and feeling warmer than any fire could make it.
“…But…so your saying the original Serena became Sheik too?”
“That Sheik was black and blue in costume, though he bore the same symbols on his chest. I wear black and white.”
Shadyn smiled. “I am grateful to you for following me. I could use some company. Thank you.”
The fair maiden’s smile faded. “What has happened to you? You seem taller, and you hold a different aura, somehow. Your armor, your tunic, your face…I don’t like this change.”
“I don’t know, but I think it may have something to do with the light-powered Triforce of Courage and the evil of the Fierce Deity conflicting within me. Occasionally, I get these emotions…sometimes in battle…that I can’t control-—“
But a sound cut him off. It was a loud slamming, echoing through the castle. Shadyn and Serena/Sheik immediately drew their weapons, Shadyn the still-flaming Spiral Master Sword, and Serena her three-pronged twin daggers.
Together, united in their cause and feelings for one another, they stepped from the room to confront the sound.

Chapter 10
Stepping from the room, the pair saw someone, no, something vanish into a now open door down the hall. They crept down the hallway, hearing a horrible rasping coming from the room, getting steadily louder as Shadyn and Serena came closer. They could do nothing to stop the bright flames of the Master Sword, so they leapt into the room, swinging weapons viciously.
The source of the noise was a man. He was hunched over, with some strange oozing black liquid dripping from his mouth. His clothes were in rags and covered with unidentifiable substances. His skin all over was gray and pallid. His hair looked rotten, and Shadyn thought he saw something writhing around in it. In his eyes was evil to the core. And…could it be…hunger?
With a shrill cry, Serena leapt forward, impaling the disgusting man with a double-dagger strike. She then stepped back, expecting to see her enemy fall. Instead, he simply recoiled slightly from the blow, then jumped at Serena with astonishing quickness, appearing to try to bite her throat! Shadyn yelled in fury and struck with quick, decisive blows, slashing one arm off, impaling the thing in several places, and driving it back. Blood splashed everywhere, drenching Shadyn’s sword, the ground, everything. The flames of the sword made the thing bust into flames on contact, but it kept coming!
Shadyn was flabbergasted. A normal human would have died several times under this kind of punishment. As the flaming abomination reached for him, he hauled off and sliced the man’s head off. The head was sliced off cleanly and hit the floor, rolling like a bowling ball over the rotted floorboards, it’s eyes like milky black marbles in its pallid head. The decapitated body finally fell, lying motionless on the floor, still flaming. Serena appeared stunned.
“Did he hurt you?!” Shadyn asked, frightened.
“No…but…what was it? It…took so much damage…and kept coming! What’s the deal?”
“I don’t know, but I have a bad feeling about this place. Let’s get out of this castle.”
“But…those doors at the entrance locked us inside! We’ll have to find another exit, but it’s like a maze in here! How can we find it?”
But Shadyn wasn’t listening. He had noticed something strange about the blood lying in a large pool on the floor. He bent down and touched it. It was sticky.
“Serena, look at this. This blood is coagulated.”
“So? How does that help to solve the mystery?” Nevertheless, she bent down beside the warrior.
“Princess, I know blood. This is very strange. Blood doesn’t coagulate and become sticky like this until long after you die.”
The princess was silent. Her face wore an expression first of fear, then disbelief. Finally, it settled on defiance.
“We’ve got to find a way out.”
“Agreed. Search the room. We may find something useful.”
Sure enough, they had barely searched five seconds when they found something. Two pieces of parchment lied on a table in the corner of the otherwise bare room. One was written in an unknown language, and the other was a map! A blueprint of the castle they were prisoners in!
“What luck! Princess, can you make anything of that language?” Shadyn asked as he surveyed the map.
“…I can only read a little of it, but what I can decipher is very frightening. It says that long ago, this castle was under the leadership of a tyrannical ruler, who dealt with his subjects harshly and made incredibly unfair laws that gave him total power. But, he greatly feared death, so he was constantly searching for a potion that gave immortality. He worked tirelessly, and the castle became filled with his horrific experiments. Then it says…that some substance they created got out—the ink is blurred here ad I can not make out the name of this magical potion—, and it infected everyone living here. Oh no…they became mindless, deathless zombies, incredibly hard to kill and able to spread their epidemic of evil throughout the world, with only a bite. All intelligence is driven from their minds, and their only longing is to feed. On…human flesh.”

It took a moment for the pair to recover from the weight of this declaration. Shadyn placed his gauntleted hand on Serena’s shoulder, comforting her.
“Don’t worry princess. We’ll find a way out. I promise.”
“I know.” Her face was radiant with righteous anger that took Shadyn by surprise. Looking at the decapitated, still smoldering corpse now lying on the ground, she said defiantly,” It looks like they can be killed destroying what little brain they have left. Cut their heads off, otherwise, they’ll probably keep coming until they kill us.
Once again stepping into the hallway led by the light of the fiery Master Sword, they prepared to face whatever this living hell of a castle had to face them with, no matter how horrible and foreboding it was.

Chapter 11
“From here on, we’re silent.” Shadyn whispered to his companion. Serena nodded, that righteous fury burning in her eyes. Shadyn had to marvel at her courage, at the contrast between this seemingly battle-hardened princess as opposed to the princess he’d known all his life.
From the musty room the stepped, peering up and down the hallway carefully. Suddenly, the door behind them slammed shut with a loud bang, and every other one slowly creaked open. The pair headed from room to room, checking each for enemies. They were all empty. At the very last room, at the end of the hallway, Shadyn found a small, spiraling staircase. Wood groaned loudly as Shadyn descended, and Serena followed.
Stepping off the precarious staircase, they found themselves in a large room, looking like the kitchen. Tarnished steel pots and pans hung on the walls and an inch of dust coated every surface. Gold and silver plates sat on the stone counters, also gathering dust. In the center of the room was a large stone counter, this one bare. A huge door on the left, seemingly leading to food storage, lay on the left wall.
As the pair reached the center of the large room, the enormous door suddenly sprang open, and uncountable hoards of…beings…emerged, all leaping for the companion’s throats. Instantly, Serena and Shadyn’s weapons sprang up to the defense. Steel pierced undead flesh, as the warriors desperately tried to fight off the increasing number of enemies.
Shadyn’s whirling sword sliced off the groping hand of the rotting body of a man. The flaming blade ignited everything it touched, quickly turning everything around him into an inferno. Sticky blood and disgusting black liquid flew everywhere as Shadyn became increasingly surrounded by the zombies. He lost sight of the princess as they grouped tightly around him. He drove his sword forward, piercing two at once, but they kept coming. The warrior remembered the weakness of the first zombie, swung his sword in a mighty arc, and sliced about six heads, all flying through the air. A flying decapitated head sprayed black liquid all over, splattering Shadyn’s already blood-covered costume in its sticky embrace.
Despite all his skill, Shadyn could feel himself becoming overwhelmed. All at once, about five moldy arms grabbed his, forcing him down, into the blackness. He got in one more mighty swing, his flaming sword igniting the decayed flesh of one woman, before it fell from his grip, clattering to the floor. He felt the jaw of something biting his neck, drawing his own blood all over the floor. In a final act of desperation, he performed Din’s Fire.
Te crystal with the burning central ember like in Kakariko appeared in his gauntlet. With all strength, remaining to him, he hurled it to the ground. The fiery dome blasted outward, holy flames forming the fiery arena once again. Deathless zombies flew in all directions, some destroyed by the blazing inferno. As it subsided, he found himself with a little elbow room. Shaking off the steadily increasing pain in his neck, he grabbed his sword and leapt to the attack, feeling rage overcome him once again.
When he had defeated the surviving demons, Shadyn peered around for the princess. She had fled into the food storage locker to escape the fiery explosion. As Shadyn watched, she pierced the final monstrosity’s skull with one dagger. He fell. She twirled her daggers in her nimble fingers, depositing them smoothly into their sheaths.
“You were bitten!” She cried, rushing over to inspect his neck.
“I’ll be alright,” Shadyn gasped hoarsely. The pain was increasing, and he secretly feared for his health. Peering at it in a dirty silver plate, he saw that is was a shallow wound, and the fiend’s teeth had not punctured his jugular vein. However, it would not stop bleeding, and what the parchment from the room said frightened him. “The curse could be passed on with one biting flesh wound…”
“Are you sure?” She said anxiously. Tearing some bandage-like cloth from her costume, she began to dress the wound. Shadyn winced as she pulled it tight like a tourniquet. “There. That should prevent any future problems. As a princess, I had to learn these things.” She gave him a smile, one that suggested her earlier life as a princess and not a fierce warrior.
Feeling the cloth bandage with his fingers, he gasped, “Where did you learn to fight like that?”
She smiled sneakily. “From you. Who do you think Drace was? The one who never showed “his” whole face and insisted on using daggers like these? One of your best warriors? I was there, fighting when the castle was attacked. Sensing you’d want to come up and speak to me, I snuck away from the cheering, victorious army and came up to my room, changing once I got there very quickly.”
Shadyn shook his head. “I don’t believe it…right under my nose…I really ought to pay more attention to important things like that…but that’s not important now. We have to continue exploring hell, I mean, this castle.”
And with that, the warriors headed through the bloodstained room, full of burning corpses in their dank environment. Pulling out the map, Shadyn found where they were at this moment. “It appears as if the ballroom is where we should be headed. It’s located in the very center of this castle, and is the largest room by far. There is a secret passage there that leads straight out of here.”
Moving from the room, they met little resistance by the demons as they moved through the moldy, musty hallways, burning sword lighting the way with bright, flickering light. Shadyn’s wound was constantly painful. It seemed to be becoming more agonizing as time passed.
Finding door after door locked, they headed down a long hall, following the route shown on the map. They stepped in front of a door they had to enter. It was locked as well. Thinking quickly, Shadyn drew a bomb from the bag in his belt. Lighting the fuse and lobbing it at the door, he watched as it exploded, blasting the door to splinters and leaving the way clear. Stepping through the thick smoke, Shadyn anticipated zombie threat, so he sheathed his sword, intending to surprise them with his Fairy Bow. Shadyn notched an arrow. Aiming the weapon in all directions, he cautiously stepped into the chamber. Apparently, this room led to the dungeons, which they had to pass through in order to reach their destination.
Finding the room initially to be empty, they began to search for some secret passage. Finally, Shadyn got impatient and lobbed another explosive into the center of the room. The explosion revealed a seemingly bottomless hole, descending to pitch blackness.
“Well, well, well…here’s the dungeon entrance.”
“But…how can we know how far it falls?”
“I’ll go first. Wait until you hear my voice from the bottom and follow. I’ll catch you.”
Then, Shadyn vanished into the hole. Cape flapping behind him, he fell and fell. Darkness surrounded him, engulfing his body. Jamming his fists and feet into the sides of the narrow pit, he slowed his descent until he felt his feet touch stone.
“I’M ALRIGHT! STEP BACK FROM THE HOLE! I’LL SHOOT A FIRE ARROW UP TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF HOW FAR IT IS!”
Drawing his bow again, he charged the tip of an arrow with blazing fire and it whizzed from the bow, shooting up the shaft, lighting it up for a brief moment before it struck the ceiling of the room above, but not lighting it because of the damp wood. The dim light at the top was suddenly covered, silhouetting the princess as she fell, screaming a little on the way. She landed in Shadyn’s arms, but she had caught him off-balance and they tumbled to the floor.
Giving each other sheepish yet affectionate smiles, they climbed to their feet and turned toward the blackness of the dungeons, Serena drawing her daggers and Shadyn unsheathing his Spiral Master Sword, still continuing to burn. Then, they walked confidently into the infinite blackness, which almost seemed pierced not only by the bright sword, but by the burning passion for overcoming their obstacles in their eyes.

Chapter 12
On either sides of the warriors were squared-out holes in the walls, almost all containing ghastly skeletons, bones green and moldy from decay. Their mouths were opened in perpetual screams of pain, empty eyes sockets seeming to display intense agony.
Through these horrors Shadyn and the princess walked. The sound of dripping water could be heard in the deep recesses of the tunnels. Shadyn, despite all his power, was uneasy. He hefted his sword and shield in front of him as he stepped through the crumbling catacombs. In the flickering light of the Spiral Master Sword, the princess too seemed wary, daggers held high before her breast.
Shadyn saw small furry creatures, rats, scurrying from the penetrating light desperately, squeaking insanely. For a long while, the pair walked through the long tunnel. Eventually, it broke into a “T” intersection. Shadyn peered at the map.
“#!@$ it. The ink is blurred by a large spot of blood on the dungeon section. We’re marching through here virtually blind. What do you think we should do about this intersection, princess?
“I think we should split up. You take the right, I’ll go left.“
“But Serena…we have no way of knowing what dangers there are in store for us! We don’t even know if the two tunnels eventually end up in the same place!
“It will take whoever is forcing these beasts of hell on us by surprise. Plus, one of us is more likely to find the exit if we split up.”
“Agreed. Be careful.” Shadyn said, reluctantly.
Serena didn’t respond, simply bending to lift a piece of relatively dry driftwood from the floor. She lit it on Shadyn’s sword, and headed along the left passage. Shadyn watched until the pinpoint of light had vanished around the corner. Now he was truly alone.

**Shadyn**
Shadyn walked briskly down the tunnel, growing increasingly wary. All at once, his fears were realized. Out of no where sprang zombies. Not like those above ground, however. They were a lot more skeletal, green decaying flesh peeling away from white bone. More and more appeared out of the darkness.
Shadyn stood there a moment, expression forming a steely determination as he raised his powerful flaming sword. Suddenly, they leapt at him. The Master Sword blazed in and out, tracing a design in the air as Shadyn struck, leapt, and dodged. It was child’s play for a warrior like him to slay mindless, weaponless zombies like this, but their numbers simply increased. One’s head rolled from its shoulders, sword of inferno cutting it cleanly.
Shadyn leapt from the attack, landing like a cat several feet away from the crowd. He swung his sword up horizontally across his chest and pressed his gauntlet against the blade, yelling “FIRE!!!” At once, in enormous cyclone of blazing flames blasted from the sword, engulfing the enemies. They only had time to give unearthly screams before they were literally incinerated. Shadyn started sweating as much from the heat as the prolonged effort. He finally stopped the attack, sword swinging back in front of his body. Only few undead remained, staggering through the flames engulfing their body. The tunnel was very damp, so the walls did not ignite, fortunately. The last zombie reached out skeletal fingers or Shadyn’s throat. Shadyn twirled his sword rapidly in his fingers, forming a flaming disk, then cut down the undead zombie.
Continuing on through the fungus-lined catacombs, Shadyn’s boots made a slight crunching sound as they pressed against the loose earth on the floor. Slicing through all zombies in his way easily, the Ultimate Warrior made his way quickly through the tunnel.
Suddenly, appearing in the light of he flames, Shadyn saw that the path just dropped off in front of him. Stopping just before he went over the edge, he peered over the abyss. Shadyn could faintly see the tunnel continuing, but was a good 200 yards away! And the tunnel was too short to even try to leap across.
Shadyn didn’t have time to contemplate the moment. Zombies pulled themselves up from the earth, and from the walls, their green skin tearing away from white bone as they became visible. Grabbing one by the throat as its head appeared, he pulled it from the ground and threw it over the edge, sending it tumbling into the dark pit. Another had risen up to its waist. Shadyn drove his sword into the base if its torso, its flames immediately igniting the zombie, and with a mighty heave, Shadyn swung his sword upward, slicing the monstrosity in half. The two burning parts crumbled to the ground, motionless. Three heads protruded from the walls. Sheathing his sword and drawing his bow, Shadyn pelted three rapid-fire arrows, each piercing a skull directly. Shadyn notched another arrow and prepared to shot again, but two rotted hands shot up beside either boot and began to drag the warrior into the ground. He dropped to his ankles before he unsheathed his sword and drove it into the ground in both places, the hands going limp as Shadyn pulled his feet free.
One creature had managed to surface completely. With a fierce cry, Shadyn leapt into the air, spun once, and delivered a fierce kick to its chest that sent the atrocity flying, and into the seemingly bottomless black pit.
Shadyn thought for a moment, more zombies struggling to reach him all around, then remembered the Lens of Truth that he’d taken from Link’s secret chamber. Shadyn pulled it from his belt, peering into the circle of glass between purple crystal shaped like a magnifying glass. The glass shimmered as the hero held it up to his eye, then became transparent as Shadyn looked into it.
Just as Shadyn had suspected, a path across the abyss was visible through the Lens! It was just invisible to the naked eye! Suddenly, a deafening scream rose up along with a loud roar.
“SERENA! I’m COMING!” Quickly, Shadyn slew the undead in his way and hurried across and down the continuing corridor.
The zombie threat increased as Shadyn darted with renewed energy through the long passageway. Ahead, he could see in the bright light of his sword, was an intersection. Judging from its rough location, it was near where the hideous scream and roar had come from and the tunnel Serena had taken! He sliced through the remaining undead, and his way was clear.
As he darted through the darkness, he suddenly seemed become very weak. He tripped and fell, his shield arm folding beneath him and the sword driving into the ground. Then, his neck wound exploded with pain. He screamed in agony and writhed on the ground, cape matted against the floor. He spat up blood. His shriek was picked up by the princess, not so far away, also hurrying through the endless passages…

**Princess Serena**
Serena moved quickly through the winding tunnel, holding one of her daggers in front along with the flaming torch. Out of the shadows stepped a ghastly undead zombie, black gunk oozing from moldy teeth. Its clothes appeared to be that of a prisoner in the castle before the accident. They were in rags and looked as if they once were light brown. Moaning in agony, it stepped toward Serena, who raised her dagger.
With surprising speed, the abomination darted for the princess’ beating heart. Side-stepping the brutal assault, the girl impaled her dagger into the base of its neck, slicing what remained of its spine into pieces and killing it for good.
Wincing from the horrible stench of rotting flesh, the princess withdrew her weapon from the creature, now covered with the sticky dead blood of the undead. Serena continued her trek, this time more aware of the possibility of surprise attacks. Her beautiful face, unmarred by battle, now wore a defiant, confident expression, suggesting the warrior within her.
Another attack came, this time there were two. They looked vaguely like the one before, with the raggedy brown clothes. One lunged for the princess’ legs, attempting to tackle her to the floor. She leapt over the outstretched, skeletal hands, landing on the zombie’s head and springing into the air. Twisting around in the air, she pointed the sharp dagger towards the creatures back. She landed like a cat on the undead prisoner’s back, once again driving her dagger into the abomination’s head. It ceased living…again.
Serena leapt back, dodging the ruthless attacks of the remaining zombie. Sheathing her dagger, she continued to hold her torch in one hand as she drew five throwing stars from her belt with one cloth-wrapped hand. As she hung poised in the air, she launched the bladed projectiles. They spun through the air, glinting in the flickering light like fireflies or the stars form which they were named.
Striking the zombie all over its body, he sailed back against the wall, held aloft against the dirt by two that had passed through his shirt and stuck against the wall. A third had formed an enormous hole in the zombie’s forehead, and the remaining two lost themselves in its rotting torso.
Serena grinned in satisfaction, observing her handiwork. She turned from the now-lifeless carcass and started to leave, but stopped when she heard a slight rumble. It was coming from the wall behind the corpse. It quickly became louder. The normally serene expression on the princess’ face darkened in horror, as if she had had realized the horrible mistake she had just made. The tunnel was caving in on itself.

Darting for the safety of the tunnel ahead, she felt the first of the larger rocks falling from the ceiling strike her back. Serena screamed in pain, her face screwed up in agony as she fell, her spine giving a terrible crunch. Lying on the ground in pain, she drew one dagger again, driving it into the ground and pulling herself forward. She did the same again, gradually making her way through the hellish rain of increasingly larger stones.
They pelted her constantly, but these were mercifully small. Miraculously, she found she could stagger to her feet, her spine giving a dull ache. Hurrying as fast as was possible forward, she managed to dive out of the way as the tunnel was sealed off behind her. All became quiet.
Giving small cries of pain, Serena was hunched over, so intense was the pain in her back. Gasping out an incantation, she held up her right hand, sheathing the dirt-encrusted dagger as she did so. On the back of her right hand was a Triforce symbol, exactly like Shadyn’s, except that the bottom left portion stood out more instead of the bottom right. Her entire hand glowed with a soft golden light as she pressed it to her breast.
Instantly, she felt the agonizing pain in her back fading, until it was gone completely and the young woman could stand up straight. She stopped focusing her energies, and the Triforce symbol faded, but was still visible. Withdrawing her dagger again and holding her torch at the ready, she prepared to continue.
She had not taken many paces forward when she winced as she heard a blood-curdling scream, all to close. She recognized the voice as Shadyn’s.

Hurrying around the corner, she saw two things. First, she saw the intersection between the two paths. Then, she saw another point of flickering light, illuminating the crumbling ground it was impaled in. It was on fire, but was much brighter than her own torch. Sprawled next to it, giving weak twitches, was a dark figure.
Dashing as fast as her Sheikah legs allowed her, Serena quickly came closer to the figure. The Triforce of Wisdom granted her the form, speed, and agility of a Sheikah, and she used all of it. Her hair long hair billowed out behind her like the wings of a golden angel. She stopped about twenty feet from it, and watched as it climbed to its feet. Its costume was covered in coagulated blood. One side of its neck was black and bulbous, spewing with black pus. From its mouth came that all-too-familiar black ooze. Its face bore the lifeless expression of the countless zombies she’d encountered thus far. Its eyes were dull, blind except to its lust for human flesh. Serena loosed an enormous scream as she recognized this new undead zombie.
It was Shadyn.

Chapter 13

The ghastly Shadyn/zombie staggered forward, hands reaching desperately for the princess.
“SHADYN! NO!!!” The princess screamed shrilly.
Suddenly it was as if a breath of life was given to the figure. It’s eyes appeared more human, somehow, their sparkle returning partly, like a man filled with despair feeling warm sunshine strike his face. Its parched lips gasped out, “Serena…kill me. Use your daggers…I am losing all control…I can feel my life slipping away…kill me NOW. End my life for good!” Indeed, the life and sparkle began to vanish from his eyes again, and the creature took another step. It’s boots crunched against the hard ground.
“Shadyn, FIGHT IT! YOU’RE STRONGER! You can’t attack me! You know you can’t! Force that evil monstrosity from your mind! FIGHT IT, SOLDIER! Serena yelled at the struggling hero. Once again, his face lifted as if feeling the breath of Life.
Shadyn’s body contorted and doubled over in pain, emitting an unearthly shriek that pierced the princess’s body like cold darts, slithering through her skin like small , icy cold snakes. The figure’s spine arched back, bright light bursting from his skin. Letting out a final scream, Shadyn’s body’s knees buckled. It fell to its knees and slumped to the side, motionless.
Serena ran to the collapsed body and hoisted it up in her arms, kneeling on the ground until Shadyn’s body leaned over her own. “Shadyn, wake up! You can’t be dead. No, you can’t be…wake up!” The princess’ face streamed with tears as she held the fallen warrior, pallid face pressing against her. Its eyes were closed, body taking on the limp quality of a corpse. To Serena, it seemed as if those eyes she loved so much would never open again, that she would never again speak to her beloved.
“No…”The princess burst into tears, crying over the body. But then, as the glistening droplets sparkling like crystal hit Shadyn’s cheeks, its hand twitched. Then, the head lifted, eyes opening to reveal the familiar sleek eyes of Shadyn.
“Princess…looks like I win. Thanks…”
“Shadyn…I thought you….”
“I was, then you told me to fight. I did. Took everything I had, but it’s gone.” Then the princess noticed that the black wound on his neck was gone, vanished, replaced by normal skin. The pair’s lips connected, sharing a passionate kiss. Serena gripped the warrior as hard as she could, as if he might slip away again. Finally, they got up again., once they had been brought back to earth with a shuddering halt and remembered that they were in danger.
“Serena, when we find the demon that haunts this castle, I want you to stand down. I want revenge. The feeling I felt just now…with my mind dying and a mindless creature coming to take over…was terrible. I will destroy this thing myself. I don’t want you being succumbed to that horror.” Shadyn stammered quietly.
“But…”Serena started. Shadyn cut her off with a hand. She nodded reluctantly to show she understood.
Shadyn walked back, gripping his Spiral Master Sword wear it still stood impaled in the floor, flames burning constantly. The warriors met again, Shadyn brushing stale soil from his blade. They simply nodded at each other, each remembering the task at hand, and that they had a job to do. They continued along the path, going down the tunnel where the two passages intersected. It sloped upward, finally revealing a trapdoor in the ceiling, punching it open, Shadyn jumped through, Serena following soon after.
They had entered a small room, leading to a hallway straight ahead that revealed enormous double doors. Stepping up to it, Shadyn delivered another vicious punch, using his magical strength to throw the doors wide open. Serena followed close behind Shadyn as he entered a huge room, undoubtedly the ballroom they had been looking for. Unlike the other parts of the castle, it had gleaming walls, sparkling marble, illuminated by the bright sword. A disembodied voice suddenly rang about the room as the doors slammed shut behind them.
“You have been skilled to make it this far…but now you will finally die.” A shadow grew from the center of the room and expanded to fill the far wall. It then seemed to fold on itself, taking on three dimensions, forming the figure of a large man. Eyes burned like flames in its black head, a light blue over the shadowy body.
“Shadyn, you have resisted and killed many of my loyal minions, and even resisted my attempts to transform you into one of my own…I applaud you . No one else has succeeded before in these tasks. All before you who have stumbled across my lair have been defeated. I am the master of this castle, my name is not important. I was the one who released that powerful dark magic that blessed virtual immortality over me and my subjects, but on me it had a better effect. I transformed into a faceless embodiment of shadow. My magic is powerful, and it shall be your downfall!”
With that, the figure’s fists smashed together, revealing a dark sword, flickering with black and purple flame. This sword, was the flame. It swung through the air, flames slicing through the air swiftly.
“PRINCESS! Go! I’ll handle this! This is my fight. This demon will pay for what he did to me!” Drawing his shield and raising his sword, he waited until the princess had retreated into a corner, daggers drawn to defend if necessary. The creature became a blur as its flaming eyes and sword closed in o Shadyn.
Light flame met dark as the two swords connected with a sharp clang. Shadyn ducked beneath a second powerful slash, then leaping through the air, flipping once and landing sideways on the wall. His legs pushed off again, turning flips through the air again and landing gracefully behind the shadow.
The shadow seemed to turn around without moving his body. His shadowy form shifted until he faced backwards, sword rising to the defense from Shadyn’s flaming strike. Shadyn tried to kick the figure away, but his body shifted again, forming a hole that his foot passed through, throwing the warrior off-balance. The abomination swung his sword again, connecting this time. It slashed his armor, sending Shadyn flying. He landed, rolling a few feet, 20 yards away. Springing to his feet, he prepared for another assault. Astonishingly, his armor was not seriously damaged. Only a scratch or two. For several minutes the two champions fought, swords cashing together in bursts of flame.
“Fire!!!” Shadyn yelled, unleashing a torrent of fireballs from his blade, striking the shadowy entity. It seemed to falter for a moment, crying out in pain. Shadyn took advantage and struck, spinning through the air and slicing through the shadowy flesh. The monstrosity screamed as the light powers of the blade sliced it.
Shadyn withdrew his sword and jumped back. The shadow seemed to recover, standing erect once again. It raised its enormous dark sword with both hands again. Shadyn realized that this battle was going nowhere. The monstrosity attacked again, more ferociously this time. Shadyn rolled away from the slash, turning the roll so that he ended up behind the atrocity. He pushed off with his kegs, cutting a long slash in the demon’s back. It shrieked again, then turned and countered.
Every time Shadyn took a strike at the shadow’s body, it melted away fro m the blow and countered. Shadyn was repelled by a powerful strike that hit his shield, then the creature kicked the warrior. Shadyn fell several yards away from pain. His opponent advanced on the fallen warrior.
“Ahh…so now it ends, “the creature crooned, malicious victory dripping off his every word. “You are finally defeated. You fought well, but in the end even you were unable to defeat me. I shall destroy you, then feed your lifeless body to my minions.” At this word zombies appeared from the shadows of the room. Countless numbers of them. They staggered forward, a crowd of death. They headed straight for Shadyn. “Then…I shall turn my attentions to…the young princess.” The demon’s head turned to gaze at the princess, who looked defiantly upon the scene, raising her daggers courageously.
“Try again, you disgusting creature.” Shadyn had got to his feet. “Oh mighty Sages, hear my plight. Release the light! SHADOW! Shadyn’s sword swung around, horizontal in his hands. The purple medallion had bust from his bandolier, the fire medallion returning to its normal place finally. The sword now glowed with a strange light, like shadowy, black flame. Using the power of the sage of Shadow, Shadyn reached out with his mind towards that of the incoming zombies. His brain seeped through them, his strong mind piercing theirs easily, allowing Shadyn to take control of their bodies. He employed basically the same technique of taking control of their bodies that this monstrosity had tried to use on Shadyn. The undead people turned from the Ultimate Warrior as he assumed complete control. “Attack him!” Shadyn yelled, pointing at the astonished demon. On cue, the zombies leapt for the shadow, surrounding the creature.
“NO! What are you doing, you brainless idiots?! Get him!” But the zombies grabbed their former master and held the demon in place. The shadow’s flaming eyes grew round in surprise and…could it be… fear.?
Shadyn’s own eyes glowed with shadowy power, burning into the shadow demon. He sheathed his sword, reaching for his bow. Drawing an arrow, he armed his weapon. Shadyn then focused, causing the tip of the metal arrow to glow with a bright, heavenly light as he performed the ritual for the sacred Light Arrow. Shadyn grinned as he aimed his weapon, string pulled tight.
“Give my regards to Satan in Hell.” Shadyn released. The arrow exploded from the bow with a huge, blinding flash. The arrow blasted through the air, a blurring razor of light. It struck the demon in the chest. An enormous explosion of light ensued. The demon was swallowed up along with his undead legions. They disintegrated into thin air with countless, bloodcurdling, shrill screams of agony as the light dimmed, then disappeared completely.
Shadyn allowed his shadowy power to fade, the Shadow Medallion returning to his bandolier. He felt the power fading from his consciousness, like the light that destroyed the evil of the faded when it’s source was cut off. He placed his bow back into his belt. He had hardly taken three steps toward where Serena stood before the floor began to shake.
“Shadyn! The demon’s power! It must have been supporting this castle! We’ve got to get out of here!”
Serena ran toward Shadyn, who calmly focused his mystical energies, feeling his connection with the goddesses. He drew out his right gauntlet, glowing with the power of the Triforce of Courage. A crystal had appeared in the center, like that of Din’s Fire, but its center was green.
“I call upon the power of the goddess Farore. Lend me your speed! Give me Farore’s Wind!” Shadyn smashed the crystal to the ground, generating a huge ball of green light that Shadyn raised above his head. Powerful beams of light whirled around the pair, faster and faster, as the marble crumbled like sand all around. Then, they appeared outside, looking at the falling towers as they collapsed on themselves. Stone, glass, and wood alike gave sickening crunches as the castle toppled over, destroying all life that may have remained inside its walls.
Whistling to their horses, which had pulled free from their tethers as the castle began to collapse, the warriors leapt astride their backs and sped off, through the star-studded night filled with the calm and dampness after a heavy storm. Hooves pounded across the ground as the duo tore away from destruction. Grateful to have escaped evil itself, Serena and Shadyn never looked back as they raced away from the ruins of the castle.

Chapter 14

Day in and day out, the pair rode over the massive field. The sound of their hooves pounding onto the ground was like the thunder that had shaken the castle during that terrible storm. Hardy stopping except to eat and drink, they steeled themselves to accomplishing their goal.
At last, through the blackness of night, stars shrouded in black clouds like a mouse in the powerful embrace of a snake, another castle began to materialize on the horizon. This castle was nothing like the previous one. It seemed at least four times the size of the last, with black stone walls and no sign of decay on its entire surface. The outer wall was thick, ready for war, it seemed, and the towers and keep of the castle was huge, dark , and ominous. The whole castle seemed to float on fog, its base enshrouded in icy mist. The entire structure gave the impression of pure evil, and deep in his heart Shadyn knew that this was their destination.
The two warriors mounted the crest of the hill overlooking this foreboding castle. Talking quietly for the first time in days, Shadyn and Serena decided to bed down for the night, for they were dreadfully weary, then heading for the castle and their destinies in the orange light of the morning dawn.
Sitting awake beside the small fire (in order to maintain stealth, thy had concealed it ad made it small), Shadyn could not sleep. He contemplated what should happen the next day. What happens if we get there and it’s not what we’re looking for? That Dark Shadyn isn’t there? Our entire journey would be in vain. What should happen, if it is the destination we’ve been going to? And even worse, what if the princess should be killed? Shady stole a look at the sleeping Serena, thinking for a minute then removing his cape and placing it over her limp form. And worst of all, what should happen….if we should fail?
These thoughts whirled through his head like a hurricane, and though he didn’t notice it, he did doze off into a light sleep from sheer exhaustion. He was startled awake by the sound of footsteps. In fact, many footsteps. Many thousands. Shadyn leapt to his feet, drawing his sword. Up the side of the hill rode armored warriors, on horses. More marched on foot behind them. He made ready o defend himself as best he could, weary though he was, kicking Serena lightly to awaken her.
Then he realized that these were his warriors! The bore the royal colors of Hyrule! And the figure riding at the forefront was Aragran! Horse whinnying shrilly, Aragran came to a stop before Shadyn. The soldier leapt off, and fell at Shadyn’s feet.
“My liege, it is so good to see you again. We feared your death, when we heard no word from you. The King is in constant tears, weeping over the missing princess. Yet I see she also followed you. Why does she wear the garment of the Shadow Folk, the Sheikah?” The princess stood behind Shadyn, rubbing sleep from her eyes, as she stretched her body, covered in the tight body suit and cloth strips of the Shadow Folk. Shadyn’s cape was draped over her slender shoulders, guarding her form from the biting cold of the night.
“Rise, Aragran. The fair Serena used her sorceress powers to take the form of a Sheikah, like her ancestor if you are familiar with the ancient legend. But now comes a more important question. Why are you here? You have followed me with my entire army? What is the meaning of this?”
“Because we feared your death, I gathered together every warrior we had, marching us deep into Xertia. We have come to attack and destroy the castle. Now that we have found you and the princess, by some extreme good fortune, we shall destroy the evil!” Aragran stood, drawing his sword and waving it around excitedly.
“I shall join you,” Shadyn said.
“And I, too,” the princess echoed.
“Then we attack at dawn. I see that the armies of the enemy have already spotted us.” Indeed shadowy figures were stirring within the black walls of the castle. Shadyn thought he could see the glimmering of swords as they were sharpened and readied. The gleam of shields hoisted by invisible warriors.
Every soldier lay awake that night, unable to rest with the monstrous task looming ahead on their horizons. Shadyn himself sharpened his sword to an incredible edge, preparing it to strike down his enemies I battle. Serena did the same with her daggers, also praying to the goddesses for good fortune and their power in the coming morning. This would be a battle to decide the fate of the world, one that would bring about success for the heroes…or failure?

Chapter 15

The red rays of the dawn stretched over the horizon, glinting off of the swords, shields, and spearheads of the assembled army and piercing into Shadyn’s eyes. The hero squinted into the light, seeing the bright rays as they bent over the hilly land. The castle appeared as dark as ever, red light not seeming to affect its shadowy figure. The rays did illuminate the vast battlements standing in front of the foreboding structure.
The night before he had ordered the princess to remain in their camp. He had insisted, remembering his fears of her death the night before. She had argued quite a bit, saying that she was a warrior just like the others, but Shadyn put his foot down, refusing to be defeated. Gradually, she had conceded, swearing to stay inside the camp. Shadyn remembered this now and, seeing all of his times with the princess flash before his eyes in an instant, focused on the task at hand, content in the belief that the princess was safe.
Shadyn’s jaw dropped in awe of the scene. Stalfos, ReDead, and other enormous warriors sheathed in black armor and wielding broad black blades. Swallowing his fear and steeling his face into a hard battle frown, Shadyn shouted, “Attack!!!” An enormous battle cry rose over the morning dew as hooves pounded, armor clanked, and footsteps raced over the hill. Shadyn, astride Melynlas (also sheathed in his own protective armor) at the head of the army, gripped his steed’s bridle with one hand, Spiral Master Sword held diagonally at his side. Their opponents stood their ground like an enormous shadowy boulder bristling with weapons. The armies collided, the shouts of one side mingling with the moans and grunts of the other in a terrible symphony of death.
Shadyn’s sword dipped in and out of the chaos, impaling skulls and slicing rubbery skin. The power of the sword shone through the blood, seeming to have a life of its own as it cut down enemies. Shadyn suddenly saw a massive armored warrior looming up in front of him. The figure drew back his fist, slamming it into the hero’s armor and knocking him off of the horse. The steed whinnied and took off, hooves kicking and cutting what they hit like razors. Shadyn leapt to his feet, sword blocking a death strike by the armored figure. Deflecting it to he side, Shadyn rammed his sword into the breastplate of the soldier with all his strength, splitting it like tissue paper and pushing through to the other side. The warrior died instantly, falling limply forward. With a mighty kick, Shadyn knocked him back the other way,
leaping over the carcass.
Blade shining like the sun, Shadyn sent whirlwind-like sword beams flying every which way. ReDead and Stalfos alike exploded with light and fell, motionless. Three Stalfos leapt above the onslaught and brought their swords down in a triple-blade strike. Shadyn did a gorgeous back-flip away from them, but they kept coming with surprising speed. Blocking their blows, Shadyn brought his sword around in an instantaneous Spin-Attack. Two of them were chopped to pieces and disintegrated into the earth. The last grunted in rage and tried to counter, but Shadyn finished him with a jump-slash.
ReDead and Stalfos alike broke off and moved for Shadyn through the chaos. Shadyn’s lips turned down in a grim frown. “Oh mighty Sages, hear my plight. Release the Light! FOREST!!! Shadyn used his Forest Medallion, the green coin-like object spinning rapidly in front of his body as Shadyn thrust his sword into it. For a moment nothing happened. Then vines grew from the earth, rapidly rising from the dry, cracked ground to ensnare their victims. Every one of them was trapped in the powerful, lethal embrace of the vines, growing thicker and longer every second. Giving final, shrill, bloodcurdling shrieks, they vanished into the earth, dragged under by the mighty power of Nature.
Ahead, Shadyn saw his knights pressed tightly by a pack of the huge armored knights. Shadyn pulled out his bow and, charging it with the power of the element of ice, hi sent it into the back of the nearest one. Instantly, the knight threw up his hands, engulfed in a large black of ice, crumbling into pieces along with the knight as on warrior hit it with a powerful sword strike. The remaining ones turned in surprise, but Shadyn was already there. A blur moving with the practiced grace of the leaping panther, Shadyn used their shoulders as ledges to spring into the air, pointing his sword directly down and impaling the head of the bewildered warrior in a gorgeous death stab. The last few swung their weapons, but were blocked by Shadyn’s warriors. Easily, Shadyn and his friends subdued the enemies. Stammering their thanks (Shadyn waved his hand dismissively), they attacked more enemies with renewed ferocity.
Then, with a brisk flit, an arrow pelted the ground only inches in front of his boot. Looking upward, he saw archers firing arrows at him from the top of the outer wall. Whipping out the hookshot, he fired the chain, watching as it latched onto the bare flagpole over the stone. With a powerful jerk, Shadyn was pulled to the top of the wall. Drawing his sword again, he walked along the wall, cutting down the archers in his way. One tried to aim an arrow, the sharp tip flitting from the bow and into Shadyn’s leg with a spray of blood. “ARRRRGGGGG!” With a spurt of speed, wincing from his injury, he threw his sword at the man. IT struck his chest, slitting a large hole in the archer. He immediately fell. The sword magically whirled through the air, coming to a rest in Shadyn’s hand again. Examining his wound, he was amazed that it didn’t seem that deep. He could’ve sword he’d seen white bone, but it was only a shallow cut. Then as he watched, the sinewy threads of flesh connected ,closing the wound up completely. The power of the Fierce Deity mask seemed to have healing properties as well. Checking that there were no enemies remaining to fire arrows, he vaulted over the edge, landing in a forward roll at the bottom near the moat.
Shadyn smiled darkly, cutting through a few more enemies as he made his way quickly towards the entrance to the castle. Without warning, the drawbridge of the castle fell open. With a crash, it hit the ground and a new soldier stepped onto it. He was massive. Many times larger than any warrior Shadyn had ever seen. He was covered in full-body black armor, and wielded a sword as thick and wide as a tree trunk. Shadyn stood less than a hundred feet away from this new arrival, the path in-between clear. Shadyn knew those death slits in the warrior’s helmet were looking at him. He looked straight back, defiantly, and started to make his way toward the soldier, cutting down any opposition.
Three of Shadyn’s soldiers appeared out of the crowd, in front of the armored behemoth. With an enormous growl, the enormous figure raised his weapon and brought it around in an earth-shattering horizontal swing. All three warriors were sent flying back behind where Shadyn was, dead by the time they hit the ground. Letting out a mournful cry, Shadyn ran for the behemoth. But before he got there, another warrior stepped out, sword covered in blood and head held high as he opposed the figure.
Aragran raised his sword and charged, expecting another deadly swipe and leaping. The practiced general leapt over the attack, but his sword glanced off of the armor of the black mammoth. For a few more seconds, the pair grappled, neither seeming to be able to damage the other. Finally, anticipating another dodge by Aragran, the massive warrior struck out with a metal hand, striking the warrior in the head and knocking him to the ground. Shadyn yelled in anguish as, almost effortlessly, the black-armored rammed his enormous weapon through the general’s body and into the ground.
The rest appeared to be in slow motion for Shadyn. The behemoth raised his weapon again as the hero finally reached him, swinging his Spiral Master Sword with all the strength to be found in his rage and grief for his fallen friend. For a moment, the enormous warrior seemed to falter, then countered. Shadyn dodged , spinning through the air and slicing at his helmeted head. Try as the evil warrior might, Shadyn was simply to fast. At last, Shadyn was knocked out of the air by a glancing blow.
Laughing softly, The mammoth prepared to kill Shadyn in the same manner, but Shadyn rolled out of the way. Leaping to his feet, he hacked off the arm at the shoulder that began to withdraw the sword. Fortunately, the blade hit at the joint between two armor plates, and struck skin. Fluid bursting in a bloody torrent from the wound, the mammoth soldier screamed in agony as his dismembered arm fell to the ground. Seeming to suck up the pain, he reached out with his remaining arm and gripped his sword, swinging it one last time with all his might. Shadyn leapt into the air, landing on top of the black blade. He grinned into the armor slits, hiding fearful eyes. “This is for Aragran,” he gasped hoarsely as he rammed his blade into the exposed neck skin.
But the mammoth was not done yet. Just before the blade struck, he heaved his sword, upwards, sending the Ultimate Warrior of balance. Using his momentum, Shadyn rolled, bringing his shield underneath him, under the behemoth. As he came up, he chopped the black knight between the legs. Doubling over in pain, the knight had no protection against Shadyn’s death blow to his exposed upper-spine. At last the black knight fell, dead, sending a shockwave through the ground as he hit. Landing on the ground lightly again, Shadyn bent over the corpse of his dead friend Aragran.
He had no time, however, to grieve. Swearing a silent oath that he would return for his body, Shadyn turned toward the castle drawbridge. He peered around at the battle, which he surveyed with a heavy heart, for it was about to end. His warriors had fought valiantly, but from the start they had been impossibly outnumbered. They retreated over the hillside, running from the attacking ReDead and Stalfos. Many of the ReDead, he saw, were his own warriors infected with the creatures’ evil. The survivors ran, vanishing over the hillside and away from the undead army. The remnants brave enough to fight to the death were slowly dieing or being transformed into ReDead. Eyes filling with hot tears for the many casualties, he began to turn away, toward his true destination. Boldly, filled with a dull, black rage for the loss of his soldiers and Aragran, he stepped over the drawbridge and into the castle’s stronghold, ready to face his destiny.