Awakening

The legend of Zelda: Duality

 

 

Chapter 1

 

Awakening

 

 

It was dark as if light had never existed, and the warmth had been stolen away by the bitterness of cold. He was lost in some void of hopelessness, confused as to exactly who he was or how he had gotten here. He thought for a moment to open his eyes, but dared not to for what could be beyond the veil of darkness was unknown. The blackness that surrounded him started to take shape into the form of a man dressed in a blue tunic. Details seemed to be beyond grasp at first, but slowly started to come into perspective. This man stood with confidence, holding a sword in his left hand and a kingly shield in his right. Flying just above his head was a great ball of light that radiated the warmth of love and friendship.

The image of the heroic looking man faded away and once again he was alone in the darkness. The feelings of warmth and friendship bothered him, although he did not know why. Who was this man that he had seen in his mind? The thought overtook his consciousness, and for a moment he was unaware of his surroundings. His fingers twitched a bit, breaking him out of the stupor and he could tell he was lying in water. Why was he laying in water, he thought? The curiosity as to what happened to him and where he might be drove him to open his eyes.

Slowly and painfully his eyes began to open as if they had not been opened in days. It took awhile for his vision to focus and get used to the bright light. The room began to come into perspective and he started to make out the details of sapphire carvings and etched markings on the high ceilings above. The carvings seemed to be very intricate depictions of water flowing from several large sapphire gems that were embedded within the stone. He tilted his head a bit and noticed a small tree just to the side of him. It was dead, almost petrified with gnarled, leafless branches jutting out from the trunk. Yet it meant something to him, as if it was important in some way. He continued to look around and could see two pillars opposite of each other, with magnificent golden doors. Just past the pillars was a bright void that seemed to stretch forever. It looked as is this room was in the middle of nowhere and there was no sign of anything else except what was in the immediate vicinity. The emptiness of the room made him dizzy and for a moment he wanted to close his eyes and wait for him to wake up from this dream but he knew that he needed to investigate further.

He began to stand; his muscles ached from the lack of use. How long has he been lying in this room he wondered? The water level was not very high, maybe two or three inches off the ground. It seemed to be on that same level throughout the entire room, or whatever he could see of the room. Shaking away the dizziness that he still felt, he looked around again, almost as if trying to find something he missed. There had to be some sort of clue that would reveal the mysteries of this room. He slowly surveyed his surroundings again, making sure not to miss some important detail. This place looked so familiar to him, yet he couldn't quite put his finger on it. While scanning the room he was drawn to the old tree in the center. This tree almost reached out to him, teased his curiosity. He began to walk towards the tree, ripples appearing in the water beneath his hard leather boots.

The tree stood twice as tall as him and looked to be very brittle. Its roots seemed to grow into the stone beneath the water, as if this room once gave this tree life. He continued to study the tree and noticed a very deep gash at the base of the trunk. He knelt down and examined the mark, running his fingers over it slowly. Just as before when his eyes were closed and he was surrounded by darkness, a vision of a man started to appear. It was the same man as before, dressed in a blue tunic and accompanied by the bright orb. This time, however, there had been another man who appeared standing against the one in the blue tunic. He was wearing a black tunic and his eyes had a very distinct reddish tint to them. An aura of murderous intent surrounded the man in black, whereas the man in blue seemed to be heroic indeed.

The men were identical down to every detail except the eyes, the color of their clothing, and the auras that surrounded them. In both of their left hands they wielded a magnificent sword with a three part triangle at the hilt. Equip In their right hand was the same steel shield, raised in defense. They faced off against each other in silence, the tension between them was very apparent. It was obvious they were enemies, but what he couldn't figure out was why he was seeing these men. One other thing he noticed was the subtle anger welling up deep within him as he would look upon the man in the blue tunic. This was also confusing, considering he had no idea who this man was… or did he?

The vision once again faded away and reality set back in. He found himself still touching the scar on the tree, waiting there as if he would be given answers. He glanced down for a moment; his eye's catching something metallic, shimmering under the surface of the water. It was a sword, maybe the same sword that had given the tree this scar he thought. He reached out and grabbed the hilt of the blade, hesitating at first. Slowly, he pulled the magnificent sword out of the water; the light surrounding the weapon seemed to be absorbed by the black metal the blade was made out of. At once he recognized it, as if pulled out of the vision itself; this was the sword he saw the two men wielding. He stood and examined its length. It was black as midnight, and cold to the touch. The sword also had a three part triangle at the hilt, just like the one he saw in the vision.

This new find only brought him more questions. The mystery surrounding this room was a bit frustrating he thought, he couldn't quite figure out what was going on. Nothing made sense, considering this sword was now here and not just in his mind. He looked around the room again for more information he might have missed. His eyes trailed past the golden doors on the pillar just to the left of him. He stared into the doors and was drawn into a sort of trance, another vision he expected. He would find his answers in this next interruption he hoped.

Once again he saw the two figures, but this time they were locked in a fierce battle. Both warriors put on a spectacular show of swordsmanship as they moved about each other, equally locked in a deadly dance of blades. Their shields rang out in a song of defiance whenever one would deflect an attack that would have surely been a mortally wounding blow. A wide swing from the dark man tore into the old tree causing a deep gash in the trunk, spraying splinters all around. The valiant man in the blue tunic jumped back, taking advantage of the missed strike to pause combat and prepare for his next actions. Crouching down a bit, he held his kingly shield out in front and let his sword dip low behind him.

The dark man looked to the hero and curled his lips into an evil smile.  "You should know there is nothing you can do to beat me. I know everything about you."

The man in the blue tunic held still, uninfluenced by the dark ones words.  The sword that the heroic man held started to vibrate and light began to collect around its edges. At first it was enveloped with a blue glow but it soon shifted to a darker yellow. Slowly the vibrations increased with the change in color. The sword looked as if it would shake out of his hand; the man's grasp was strong though.

The dark man's grin washed away from his face as a look of curiosity and confusion replaced it. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"You think you know me so well, but I promise you dark one, you will not be able to stop this. I will defeat you and cleanse this temple of Ganondorf's corruption!"

The evil mans eyes narrowed. For a few short moments, which seemed like hours, the only sound that could be herd was the violent vibrations emanating from within the hero's sword. "If you are so confident in your abilities, why do you linger? Why not charge forth and strike me down with your weapon?" The evil man said.

The hero slowly began to inch closer to the dark man, his eye's still holding the very essence of courage within. The man in the black tunic tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword and readied his shield. "Have it your way hero. If you will not strike then I shall cut you down where you stand!"

The man of darkness rushed forward raising his weapon high. He swung down with overwhelming force, but the hero in the blue tunic brought his shield up and deflected the heavy blow. At that very moment the energy within the hero's weapon was released. He spun around several times, impossibly fast; cutting into the dark mans flesh with his blade. Deadly gashes appeared all along the dark man's torso, tearing open his stomach and staining the water around them with his blood.

The man in the black tunic dropped his sword and shield, putting his hands to his wounds. He fell to his knees, gritting his teeth at the agony he now felt.

"How could you..." The dark man gasped through a furious visage. "You cannot defeat me..." He tried to hold back the flow of blood now pouring out of the gashes on his belly but it was all in vain. "..I AM you..."

The hero sheathed his sword and stared at the evil man with a look of pity. "You're not me; you are everything I stand against, a shadow without substance or any real power over those who are righteous. I pity you because you will never know anything more than what it is to be alone, even now as you take your last breath, you will die alone."

The dark man looked down into the blood stained water below and saw his reflection. His face swollen with anger he cursed the hero for what he did to him. "You will pay for this one day... I swear it!"

The hero still looking at the evil man sighed and shook his head. "Go back to the shadows, demon." He said as he turned around and headed for the golden doors behind him.

"Damn you, LINK!" Was the only reply the dark man grunted out just before he collapsed into the water and closed his eyes for good.

The vision ended just as quickly as it had set in and he was left staring at the pillar and the golden door. He could see the hero in the blue tunic walking through the doors and out of this bright void of a room. Who was this Link, and where was the dark man now? More questions seemed to rise up, yet none of them were being answered. With a sigh of frustration he looked down into the water where the dark man had collapsed. He could see the evil man looking back at him, lying in the pool of his own blood. Slowly the blood vanished and the dark man was left alone still staring back at him, almost as if he was aware of what he was looking at.

A few moments passed, and the sight of the evil man did not disappear as the other visions had. He knelt down a bit and touched the water where the face of the dark man was portrayed. Ripples that had originated where his hand had contacted the water fanned out, distorting the picture. Slowly he began to rise still looking into the dark mans eyes. Immediately he recognized that this was no vision or phantom, but a reflection.

He raised a hand to his face and gingerly touched its features. He could see the same action in the reflection of the water and knew that it was himself who was staring back at him. How is this possible he thought? The man he is seeing was in fact himself, but also the dark man from the visions. Could it be true that he was the dark man?

He searched his memory for more clues, replaying what he had seen over and over again in his mind. Every time he ran through the visions he noticed one word had stuck out above everything else. Who was Link? He focused on that name for a moment, fixated on who he could be. If it was him who had fought this Link he should be able to remember something he thought. Slowly the visions started to look more like memories and he began to put two and two together.

Then suddenly as if he had been hit with all of the answers at the same time, he remembered. He lifted his shirt a bit to reveal the sleek muscles of his torso, covered in massive scars where he had been cut by Links blade. A scowl found its way onto his features and the anger started to well deep within. He began to hate Link for what he had done and cursed his existence, as if the hatred had been transferred from the visions to himself. He now knew what had to be done... he had to find Link and make him pay.

As the realizations set in, the room started to lose its white glow. Blue walls formed around him, outlining a rather small square room. The only things that remained constant within the shift of scenery was the old tree in the center, the water below his boots, and the two golden doors marking the entrance and exits of the chamber.

The dark man had his mind made up, and knew what he would have to do. He looked to the golden door, the same door that his most hated enemy had walked through, leaving this room and himself behind. He turned and began to walk, fully aware of how he had gotten here and who was responsible for what had happened to him. It was his turn now to walk through the exit, and begin his quest to exact justice on the hero, Link.

 

Author's Note

Reviews help me a lot. tell me what you think about the chapters, what i can do better and what you appreciate about the story thus far.

Reviews

[Vertigo Cat1111]

I dont know if you’re still on this website, but you’re writing here is amazing, and there’s finally someone else that loves Zelda like I do! I’ve been working on a sequel for Twilight Princess for six years and am finally posting it on here, and this makes me happy to see someone else put so much work into this. The writing is very beautiful and so intricate, detailed and nice.