Chapter Text
I place my hands on my hips and stretch, popping my back and loudly sighing. I've been in the Water Temple for over an hour, and at this point, I'm just sore and tired. I'm trying to find a good place to sit down and rest, but that's hard to do when there's water almost everywhere and monsters everywhere there isn't water. I know the tunic I was given is meant to help with staying underwater and still being able to breathe, but I'm not going to risk falling asleep 40 feet underwater.
"Look!" a tiny voice, belonging to my fairy companion Navi, says. "That door looks hopeful!"
"Thank the goddesses..." I breathe. "This room is creeping me out..."
"What? You don't like the big statues?" Navi makes a twinkle sound like giggling, almost making me want to bat her with my hand.
I roll my eyes and take a deep breath before approaching the door. It slides up as soon as I touch it, per the usual with all the doors in this temple. I take in the new area before me as I walk through the doorway. Sand around the door, a small island with a dead tree in the middle, another door surrounded by sand on the other side of the island, and water all around. More water...
I'm not surprised when the door closes behind me and metal bars stab through the sand and seal me in. I close my eyes for a moment and take a deep breath.
"...That was totally unexpected," Navi says with sarcasm that could kill someone.
"I know right..." I grumble.
Begrudgingly, I make my way to the other door, keeping aware of my surroundings incase any monsters decide to appear out of thin air (as they usually do). But there's nothing. Just the endless water. And that tree in the middle of the room, which is ominous to say the least. But it's behind me now, so I should fine. Except the door out is sealed.
"You're kidding..." I mutter under my breath.
I pull on the bars a few times. They aren't budging. So I turn around and set my eyes on the tree. Maybe the key is buried in the sand or something... So I, despite wanting to bang my head against the bars blocking the door, walk over to the little island. But before I even get to it, Navi rings.
"Link, watch out!"
"What do you me-..."
Then I see what she was already seeing.
It starts forming, slowly becoming visible and opaque. It's the same height as me. It has the same frame as me. It slowly becomes darker, darker, and darker until it's pitch black. Then it opens its eyes and stares right at me.
Full red, completely blank, eyes.
It's...me..?
I unsheath my sword and put my shield between me and this...creature. It does the same. I bounce slightly on my feet to help me move easier. He does the same. I watch him for a moment. He watches me. Then I swing my sword at him. He blocks and swings his blade at me.
"He's just copying your moves!" Navi rings. "You have to defeat yourself, Link!"
But that's not me...
Our little skirmish continues, but it goes nowhere. I swing my sword, he blocks and swings his. I block, he reels back and blocks. I move to my right, he moves to his right. Finally, I charge at him and slice at him with the Master Sword. But he jumps onto it. I'm forced to look up at him. And now I can see that his face isn't aggressive. His eye brows are raised like someone blankly staring off into space. Before I think much longer, he flips off my blade and lands a few feet in front of me, still staring. I stop and let my shield lower a little. He does the same. I sheath my blade and he follows suit. Then I put away my shield. He puts away his shield.
"What are you doing!?" Navi yells in a shrill voice. "You have to defeat it!"
"Hold on, Navi," I respond, putting a hand up to silence her.
The shadow puts his hand up. I drop my hand. He drops his. I start to walk around him to inspect him. He starts to move as well.
"Wait," I tell him. "Hold on. Just...stay there."
He obeys and freezes in place. That's something, alright... I circle him slowly, taking in his whole look. I can barely make out the outline of the belt hugging his hips or the guards on his forearms. But it looks like he's slowly starting to solidify. As if he was just a 3D shadow before, and now he's walking darkness inside a clear skin. I circle back in front of him and look into his eyes. They look like polished rubies, boring back into my own eyes. I slowly step forward. He steps forward as well, but slower and more hesitantly. In only a few seconds, we're just a couple of inches away from each other's faces.
And finally he does something of his own accord (other than jumping on my sword).
He slowly raises his hand and reaches to my face. I don't stop him. His fingers press gently against my cheekbone, sending chills through my body. He's cold as ice. He presses his whole palm against my cheek. I must be warm to him.
"Link..!" Navi squeaks. "This is dangerous!"
I ignore her and return the shadow's curious gesture, placing my hand on his cheek. He really is cold, geez... For a moment, he simply stares at me. Then his eyes go soft and he looks down.
In that moment, I decide I'm not going to let anything hurt him.