Shadow Spirits
"Link! Get back!" Sheik demanded as he stood over Kakariko Well, an unnatural growling sound coming from the deep stone trench.
Get back? Link? Never. He hadn't taken that option once since his quest began. It was then the growling noise reached his ears and he felt the hairs on the back of his next stand up. Despite his fear, however, he reached behind him and grabbed his sword as if preparing for battle.
Just as soon as he had his shield in hand, however, the top of the well was blown off violently and thrown against a nearby building. Link braced himself, hand gripping the Master Sword tightly, but to no avail. Soon after he felt a horrible pain in his abdomen as if something was squeezing him too hard, and he felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him. He was then lifted off the ground, tossed around wildly by some invisible force and, despite the fact that he couldn't breathe…or see the monster; he waved his sword frantically in an effort to stop it. This resulted in his back slamming against a building and his world going black.
"Good…you're coming around." Link heard Sheik's voice close to him, and his eyes slowly opened. As his surroundings became less blurry, he sat up and rubbed the back of his sore head. Wincing, he looked to his friend.
"What was that?" He asked as he attempted to stand, stumbling slightly. Sheik helped him up, then, dusting him off a bit.
"That, Link, was the evil shadow spirit of Kakariko Well." Sighing, he leaned against a wall and looked to said well, "Impa sealed it down there many years ago…but it had grown so strong over time that it finally escaped." He stood up straight again, looking to Link and taking out his harp, "Link…you have to stop it. Impa has gone to the Shadow Temple to destroy it forever, but she will die without help. Please…" Sheik looked to his harp, fingers strumming the strings lightly, "I'm going to teach you the Nocturne of Shadow; it will take you to this temple of shadows where you must defeat the evil shadow spirit once and for all."
As they played, Link felt the same eerie sensation as before; the feeling of true darkness, awakened by this song. He could tell he wasn't going to enjoy this next temple.
After braving the bottom of the well, Link set out to liberate the Shadow Temple of the evil that plagued it. Many hours of dodging guillotines, slashing Dead Hands, and dredging through nightmarish terrain led him to his final destination; the lair of the shadow spirit that had long since been plaguing the area beneath the nearby village. He gripped his sword in hand, overwhelmed by the feeling of darkness surrounding him as he fell through the seemingly eternal black oblivion. Not soon after, however, his feet hit strangely elastic flooring, and a dull thud echoed throughout the circular room. There was nothing there. Nothing except the foul smell of stagnant water and darkness. He took a few steps, and with each he heard the sound he had heard echoing through the entire temple. Eyes widening, he looked down.
He was on a giant jungle drum.
No sooner had he made this observation that two massive shadowy hands emerged from the black walls around them, both slamming down on either side of him. The drum shook fiercely then, causing Link to lose his balance and stumble about for a moment. As the vibrations ceased temporarily, Link looked up to see a huge fiery eye glowing through the darkness, staring at him. The hands then began to beat the drum in a steady rhythm and the shadow spirit's body finally emerged from the surrounding oblivion.
As the drum beneath him was played, Link found it nearly impossible to keep his balance. He pulled out his bow and arrows, none the less, and attempted to hop away from the massive hands that were switching between playing the drum and trying to throw him off into the surrounding toxic water. By skill and a few strokes of luck later, the Hero of Time had paralyzed both hands with arrows, causing the giant body to fall on the drum. Relieved that the world had stopped shaking for now, he drew the Master Sword and ran up to the vulnerable eye, impaling it on the sacred blade. He slashed and slashed and slashed until finally the creature let out a roar and its shadowy hide began to hiss and burn, eventually deteriorating completely. Triumphant, Link collected his prize and then left for the Chamber of Sages.
The lair left behind was far from empty, however. As Link disappeared into the light, another figure emerged from it.
"You should have stayed where you belong." Impa spoke in an almost sarcastic tone. As she did, the dim face of a Keaton's mask emerged from the shadows before her.
"The Dead Hands are sore losers when it comes to cards." A deceptively soft male voice spoke from behind the mask. Impa smirked. The voice then sounded more serious, "Will you tell him that he hasn't destroyed this 'dreaded shadow'?"
Impa stood in silence for a moment beneath the light, her arms folded over her chest as if in thought.
"No," She spoke softly, "Not if you go back to the well and stay there."
The shadow spirit cringed behind the mask. It was something he had to do, though…his powers had been weakened again and he knew with another encounter this Hero of Time would defeat him.
Impa nodded as the mask disappeared, small smile on her face. She then looked up, feet rising off the floor as she was taken to the Chamber of Sages to present the Hero with the Shadow Medallion…
A dark shadow crept across the walls of Kakariko houses, moonlight it's only witness. As if in no hurry, it found its way into the well again, the stone barrier breaking to make way. It paused for a moment as if to soak in the remaining moments of the outside world, and then disappeared into the darkness beneath the well once more.