Chapter Text
Link turned his Mirror Shield to reflect the combined beams of light onto the strange fourth door that he’d left unopened years ago. Just as he remembered, a bar began to fill to show how long he was required to hold this position if he wanted access and, this time, he did.
Just like last time, a musical chime echoed around the room, the Language of the Divine, Link now knew to call it. His mind translated without difficulty: “The Sword that Leaks the Shadow lies beyond. Beware, for only the Sword that Seals the Darkness may counter it.”
Link now possessed the Sword that Seals the Darkness, most commonly named the Master Sword in his memories. He was still confused why that first batch of memories from his past lives, meant to show him who and what he was, hadn’t shown him the Master Sword at all, but that didn’t matter now.
The bar filled and the door opened. Link slung his Mirror Shield back over his shoulders, if that message was to be believed, it would be no use here. Then he drew the Master Sword. It’s white blade glowed in the low light of the room, illuminating better it’s own blue-winged cross guard and Link’s green Hylian battle tunic. This weapon was one of only two companions Link could truly call constant, and he felt a bond with it that went beyond what his memories of past lives showed him. Now it was his only weapon and shield against whatever lay beyond that door.
He had hardly taken five steps towards it when a voice spoke in his mind. "You did it! You opened the door! I was starting to think nobody ever would! Well, are you ready to destroy some evil?"
Link hesitated, whatever he’d been expecting, it wasn’t that. He hurried into the room he’d just opened. It was a small chamber, illuminated by magic lights just as the rest of the temple had been, filled only with three corpses off to the side, mummified not skeletal, and a raised alter-like construct. The final object in the room held Link’s attention fully: a large sword, far too long for all it was designed like a one-handed weapon, black hilted and sheathed in a silvery-white scabbard (aluminum maybe?) with a buckle looped over the cross guard.
"Ah, I’d forgotten how awesome I look, but you should admire me when I’m drawn instead! I’m sure I look even better that way, it’s also better for destroying evil" The voice said in his mind.
“You’re… the sword?” Link asked aloud, he wasn’t sure if the sword would hear him that way.
"Oh yes!" The sword said with enthusiasm. "I am an amazing sword, my name is Nightblood, and I was made to destroy evil. You look like you want to destroy evil too! We should team up, we could destroy a lot of evil that way."
“I… you were made… to destroy evil?” Link questioned the sword, Nightblood. He was starting to become very confused, the sword sounded genuinely sincere, not like an evil weapon trying to tempt him would. “What do you call evil then?”
"Hmmm…" The sword seemed to ponder. "I’m not really sure. I just get a sense for it usually. I’ll trust you, you seem like you know. What’s your name? I’ve told you mine, Vivenna always said it was rude not to introduce yourself to someone who told you their name."
“Link” Link answered, mind reeling. The sword moved along very quickly. A sword… made to destroy evil… that defined evil as it’s wielder saw it? That sent alarm bells ringing in Link’s mind, though it was hardly enough to make a judgement on. “But I’m afraid we won’t be able to work together, I already have an anti-evil weapon, you see.” He held up the Master Sword, though he was unsure if Nightblood would be able to see.
"You can ditch that old thing, it’s not nearly as incredible as I am. It can’t… even…" Nightblood’s voice trailed off, then returned with a sense of awe, "What IS that?"
Link was about to answer, but stopped when the Master Sword itself pulsed, a beautiful blue light emanating from the blade only for a second. Then something Link had thought impossible happened: a blue ribbon of light left the sword’s hilt and transformed, taking the shape of a woman in a flowing dress that moved as if she stood in the wind. Her features were indistinct, and she certainly didn’t look quite Hylian or human. Fi. She was a sword spirit that was the, admittedly very logical, heart of his weapon. He suspected she was the reason only he, in his many incarnations, had every been able to wield the Master Sword, but that fact that she’d been asleep for something like six-hundred million years, ever since the conclusion of Link’s very first mission against his ancient enemy, had seemed to indicate he’d never see her like this again. He was very glad to be wrong. Of course, his memories of that life weren’t complete, he only had pieces that told him something important, but he did remember her and their friendship to some extent.
“Master” she said aloud in her voice that was somehow both musical and monotone at the same time. “I did not expect to be awakened anymore, but I heard this strange sword, which calls itself Nightblood, speaking in my mind. Rest assured that my long sleep has not dulled my ability to serve you.”
Nightblood spoke before Link had a chance to. "She is beautiful! Hi! I’m Nightblood! Link said you destroy evil too, maybe he dual wield us! Then we can destroy evil together! Wouldn’t you like that?"
“My master is far more accomplished at using one sword than two. I calculate a 67.8% chance that dual wielding would put him at more of a disadvantage than an advantage. Furthermore, regardless of your origin or power, he cannot use you to face the reincarnation of Demise. I therefore conclude that you are not the better weapon for Master Link.”
Link raised his eyebrows at Fi’s response but didn’t say anything. He wasn’t 100% certain he was reading Nightblood correctly, the sword didn’t exactly have facial expressions.
"Ooh, he’s going to fight someone called Demise? He sounds evil. He should use me to fight him. I am very good at destroying evil. Oh! You didn’t say your name! Vivenna says it’s rude not to give your name when they introduce themselves."
“My apologies, I did not realize I was being rude. My name is Fi. I am a sword spirit designed to assist Master Link.” Fi said.
"Fi. Fi." The sword said, as if testing it out. "I like that name. Now are you two going to take me out and use me or not? I’ve been trapped in here a very long time, and I think Vivenna and Szeth can’t find me or they would have come gotten me by now. They would draw me all the time, you know. Does your master draw you often Fi?"
Fi looked to Link, “Master, I am unsure whether or not I should continue dialogue with Nightblood, or how I should do it. I would greatly appreciate guidance from you.”
Link shrugged, “I don’t mind you two talking. See what you two can learn about each other.” He sheathed the Master Sword and set himself to listen. There were definitely some inconsistencies here regarding Nightblood, but he seemed fairly free with his speech, maybe Link could learn what he needed to just from letting the two swords talk.
Fi nodded and looked back at Nightblood, who still rested on his pedestal, “Master draws me very frequently when I am in his possession, though he does usually leave me somewhere I can rest when he no longer has use for me, and it can be many thousands of years before I am drawn again from my place.”
"Oh wow, so he only finds evil for you to destroy every few thousand years? That seems very odd, since there is usually a great deal of evil in the world, Vasher and Szeth always seemed to find it. They would use me to destroy lots of evil. I must say, I like you Fi. I think you’re pretty."
Fi didn’t seem to be grasping Nightblood’s implications here, but she did seem confused, for some she asked: “How do you see me? You don’t have eyes.”
"I can still see, I’ve decided that I can. And I think you’re pretty."
“I see, thank you for the compliment. Though whether or not I am pretty does not have any practical impact of my helpfulness to my Master, so it is a pointless attribute.”
Oh yeah, Fi was absolutely missing what Nightblood was trying to get across here. Though, Link admitted, he didn’t really think it would matter much if she did. Only once in her ‘life’ had Fi shown or voiced anything close to an emotion, and Nightblood definitely hadn’t had the time to build up that relationship enough to get even that from her.
"Oh. Well I reeeaaally want to see you destroy some evil. I want to destroy evil too, it’s what I do. So can we leave this place already? Is veeeeeey boring here but the people who put me in here said I was evil! Can you believe that? I can’t be evil, I destroy evil!"
This time Link’s couldn’t just sit aside while the two swords talked. “Wait, you said the people who locked you away called you evil?” Link asked, the message from when he opened the door ringing in his mind.
"They did, yes. Actually, they locked both of us in here. Ooh! Maybe he can use me and Link can use Fi! Then we can destroy evil together!"
Link started, and checked again the beings he’d thought corpses. But no… no all of these we’re definitely dead.
“Nightblood, who else was locked in here with you?” Link asked.
"Hmm? Oh! I never got his name, but he did use me to destroy evil, even if he only drew me a little bit. He’s over there."
“Which… one?” Link asked, confused.
"That one! Can’t you see I’m pointing at him?"
“There’s three… wait, how are you pointing? You don’t have hands.”
Fi interjected here: “Master, based on my physical and verbal analysis of Nightblood, I calculate that there is a 78% chance that, while self aware and capable of thought, Nightblood’s primary function is to fulfill his purpose of ‘destroying evil’. All other functions seem to exist to serve to that goal, and he is, therefore, not fully able to understand his own existence.”
Link nodded, the sword’s existence was fascinating, but trying to talk to him to understand him was like looking for the starting point of a circle. He needed a way to understand what he should do with Nightblood.
"I understand exactly what I am. I am a sword and I destroy evil."
“Yes”, Link said, “But how were you made?”
"Sashara made me!" Nightblood said, helpfully.
“Ok, but how did they make you?”
"I don’t know how she made me, I wasn’t made yet."
Link, supposed that was actually fair, though far from helpful. He started to try asking another question, but was suddenly warned by his magic sense. He spun, drawing the Master Sword again to confront a tall, dark robed figure.
"Oh wow, that guy looks very evil. You should use me on him."
The creature chuckled very softly under its hood, then it morphed, loosing any physical features and becoming what Link could only describe as a solid shadow before reshaping into… Link. A Dark Link. While, in past lives, Link had faced creatures like this before, he’d never seen one of these hooded figures morph into one like this. Though, it wasn’t a perfect copy. While it did have a shield slung on its back, it had no sword anywhere, and Link tilted his head in confusion.
"Oh wow, that thing just became you, Link. Hey, new Link, want to destroy some evil?"
Oh. Oh this was bad.
Right as the Dark Link’s plan clicked for Link, the fake collapsed into a shadow, formless and very very difficult to hurt. Link had tried. It moved right under Link’s feet and reformed in front of the alter where Nightblood sat. He reached for the sword.
“Back in the sword, Fi! Nightblood might be able to hurt you!”
“Yes, Master!” She said even as she became a ribbon of light and re-entered the Masted Sword.
The Dark Link picked up Nightblood and unclasped the hilt.
"Finally!" Nightblood said as the shade set his sword hand to draw the blade. Link rushed forwards, sword out, trying to stop Ganon’s puppet in time. Unfortunately, the Dark Link must’ve had Link’s own speed, for he drew the weapon fully and parried the Master Sword away in an instant.
"DESTROY EVIL!!!!" Nightblood roared out.
Link’s eyes widened with fear. The sword was, just as the message from before had said, leaking shadow. A liquid shadow pouring from the pure black blade and dispelling slowly after it touched the ground. He’d faced down many many enemies in his many lives but, in all honesty, only his ancient enemy Ganondorf had ever given off a greater aura of destruction. How had Link not been able to sense it before? He looked at the aluminum scabbard, now cast aside like garbage, was that somehow enchanted to contain Nightblood?
The shadow advanced on him, holding Nightblood with one hand in exactly the same position as Link held the Master Sword. Link backed into the main chamber, which was much much larger and wouldn’t constrict the battle. The problem was: Nightblood was nearly two feet longer than the Master Sword and, as soon as he was in range, the Dark Link attacked and Link wasn’t in a position to do more than block. The black blade met the white one and the result was a small blast of power that pushed the two Links apart.
"DESTORY!!!" Nightblood yelled as the shade holding him recovered and attacked again.
Link dodged this time and watched as the darkness slung off Nightblood, evaporating in the air or on the ground. The sword touched the ground and left a gash the ground far wider than the sword’s blade, wide enough for a man to stand in, the effected stone melting into the same inky substance before evaporating.
"EVIL!!!" He finished when the damage had been done.
Link forced himself to breathe deeply, his muscles relaxed and his mind began to work properly again. Fear still flooded his body, but it mixed with intelligence and training to form instinct. He stopped himself from pulling free his shield, as it would clearly just be obliterated by the sword if he used it. This temple was enchanted to be nearly indestructible, and Nightblood was capable of disintegrating it with a touch. Instead he gripped the Master Sword in both hands and attacked. This time both Links were ready for the force their blades exuded when they met, and neither was forced back in the next several strikes, though neither of them got an upper hand either.
The Master Sword flashed in his hand, and Fi spoke in his head, similar to what Nightblood had done. "Master, Nightblood appears to have lost what reason he had before when he was drawn. He also seems to no longer care that he previously concluded that you and I were not evil."
“Yeah” Link said as he fought, “He may have been made to destroy evil, but I’m certain now that he himself is evil, nearly as evil as Ganondorf!”
"DESTROY EVIL!!!" Nightblood screamed, helpfully.
"Yes Master, however you do seem to have some great advantages. Nightblood has been able to destroy everything he has touched, except the Master Sword you hold in your hands. I calculate an 84% chance that the Master Sword has equal or greater power to Nightblood. He also seems to be feeding off of the shadow holding him, as it is becoming less and less substantial as this battle continues, and at a alarming rate at that. If you keep the fight going as it has been, I calculate a 95% chance that the shadow will be completely consumed by Nightblood."
“Great, but not good enough.”
Link leaped backwards and the Dark Link copied him, perhaps instinctively, putting a fair distance between them. The shade was indeed being… absorbed by Nightblood, it’s form flowing into the sword at the hilt. This process was, thankfully, speeding up, but Link knew from experience that Ganondorf had put a tremendous amount of power in each of these creatures, and fed them the magic they needed to maintain form, even when damaged, until he concluded it could no longer serve him to do so. Nightblood was absorbing that magic, but he was pulling from a nearly limitless source. Link couldn’t just wait out this fight. He needed to end Nightblood.
Link raised the Master Sword to the sky and charged a Skyward Strike. The power of the Goddess was not hampered by stone or enchantment. Only Ganondorf’s direct influence over an area he was present in could prevent this effect. The ability charged in less than a second, and though in that time the Dark Link had attacked again, Nightblood raised in an attempt to kill him, Link was ready in plenty of time.
"DESTROY EVIL!!!!" The sword boomed in Link’s mind.
“Destroy Evil.” Link agreed, and brought his fully charged Master Sword down on Nightblood.
The weapon exploded with tremendous force, but the shards of the wicked weapon were all blown away from Link, so he wasn’t in danger of any fragments. Still, he was blown backward off his feet, and landed in a painful crash some eight feet away. He shoved down his pain and stood up and readied his sword, worried about Ganondorf’s puppet which could still have survived that blast. The dust, thrown up by the explosion, was still settling but it wasn’t too thick to see through. The false Link stood still, holding a broken Nightblood in it’s hands. As Link watched, however it sank into a puddle and dispersed. Ganondorf had given up on this particular opportunity.
Several shards of Nightblood littered the room. A few of which sat in a cluster where the Dark Link had died, right next to what was left of the sword. Every single piece of him was still dripping the dark substance like it was the sword’s blood, but the sword no longer destroyed anything it touched. Link walked up, the Nightblood hilt had maybe a third of his original length of blade, the rest had been splintered into shards which, from what Link could see, were never larger than his palm.
"How…?" Nightblood’s voice asked, weakly.
“You were powerful, Nightblood. Whoever made you created something terrible. But they made a mistake. You were made to destroy evil but they forgot to make you good. You’re not just a sword to be used, neither good nor evil, you’re a person. A person with incredible power and no moral compass. So let me tell you something about evil. Evil is the absence of, by action or inaction, good. You are, paradoxically, an evil being created to destroy evil. So you could never have destroyed my Master Sword, my Sword of Evil’s Bane. Though, to your credit, I did have to use all of my power to destroy you in turn.”
"I can’t be evil… I… destroy…" Nightblood trailed off as the inky smoke finally slowed and stopped leaking free of the broken blade.
Link sighed, he supposed, given what he knew of Nightblood, that had been a bit high concept for the sword. He pitied the guy. He was nearly as dangerous and destructive as Ganondorf, but the King of Evil was evil fully by choice. Nightblood was just too… single minded to realize the importance of knowing evil.
"Master." Fi said, still inside the Master Sword. "It seems Nightblood’s presence was the only thing keeping me awake. I will slumber again very soon, but I wish to ask a question. If Nightblood was so focused on his one goal: to destroy evil, then why was it he seemed excited by my presence, rather than intimidated or jealous?"
Link smiled, though Fi wouldn’t be able to see, before answering: “I think, Fi, that it was because he was smitten with you.”
"That seems illogical, Master Link, we only spoke for a few minutes. There wasn’t sufficient time to build a romantic relationship."
“Infatuation isn’t logical, Fi. Though this was a pretty bad example of it even then.” Link said, grinning.
"How odd. Thank you, Master, I am… glad, we have gotten to speak again, one last time, in all likelihood."
“So am I, Fi. Goodbye.”