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Twilight was not okay.
Try as he might to hide that fact, he knew that Sky could see the exertion starting to pull at his features. His skin was slick with sweat (it was drafty down here), his pace had slown (they’d just rested), and his posture was starting to fall (a ranch hand always stood tall). Any attempt at conversation was met with curt replies as Twilight tried to keep his breath even. He could feel Sky’s eyes constantly moving back toward him.
Through all of this, however, Twilight was grateful that the Skyloftian had yet to comment on his condition. He seemed to understand the desire and pride needed for Twilight to continue carrying himself along, especially after all that time of practically being babied after his injury. He had fought those monsters and was still standing to tell the tale- Short as that tale would be at the moment.
All of this was only because one of those monsters had gotten an unlucky hit.
This dungeon was not helping things, either. After their tussle with the monsters earlier, they had come across several rooms that were more akin to obstacle courses than the dungeons Twilight was used to. Please, he would take any kind of puzzle room over what they kept encountering today. And now, they were in a hallway that went on forever, slowly going deeper and deeper underground. The strange symbols decorated on the wall were the only true indication that this was, in fact, the same long dungeon.
A loose stone shifted under Twilight’s weight as he stepped down, forcing him to twist and catch himself to avoid hitting the ground. That of course, only jostled his side, causing it to burn with a fresh intensity. He forced himself to keep walking forward.
Sky, Hylia bless him, barely spared him more than a glance. A few minutes later, he slowed with a huff, “Twi, I think I might need another quick break.” He grinned kindly, “Sorry about all my stopping.”
‘Hylia bless Sky and his whole generation.’ Twilight could only nod and breathe out a ‘no worries’ before they both sat against the wall. Sky leaned his head back and closed his eyes, looking content. And there they quietly sat, just breathing.
Until a faint sound caught the edge of his hearing. Sky did not react to it.
Twilight waved it off, perhaps imagining things or- there it was again. It was definitely faint, to the point where he was unable to even categorize what it could be. Footsteps from monsters? The sound of the stones further along the path settling? However, it was definitely something.
Figuring that he had caught his breath well enough, he pushed himself back onto his feet, lantern in hand. The hallway wasn’t going to get any shorter from his sitting around now, would it? Once again without comment, Sky followed his lead, rising to his feet with a yawn and a big stretch akin to a cat.
The noise had stopped.
Yet, they continued on. Swirling down, down, down with the slight decline of the floor. Sky began his prattling once more, talking for the purpose of filling the silence that Twilight didn’t have enough extra energy to break.
Twilight let his mind drift as they walked, thinking of everything, yet focusing on nothing. Sky’s voice made it hard to let his thoughts run loudly in his own head. One foot in front of the other. Don’t think about the ache in his side. Perhaps he should shed his pelt in an attempt to cool himself down?
“Twilight?” Sky had paused, glancing behind them, “I hate to say it, but perhaps we should head back to the central room and see if any of the others have found anything? Maybe wasting our time is all…” He trailed off as the hallway in front of them finally led into some kind of room. They strode in carefully, alert and ready. Well, Sky moreso, but Twilight wouldn’t sit back if a fight came.
A quick search revealed that the huge round room was a dead-end. Unfinished or closed off archways blocked any further exploration. Empty sconces sat on each side of the walls. There was little else to note about the room. Other than perhaps, the circle on the ground.
The symbols or images that had decorated the hallway now lined the inside of the floor, mapping out a circle. The ground itself was worn, but unkept- It was obvious that no one had been down here in ages.
“Do any of these look familiar to you?” Sky squatted down to get a closer look.
Although he had seen them several times over on the way down, Twilight took the time to double-check them. They all looked the same as they did earlier. Including the one that reminded him vaguely of a goat. So he shook his head, “No.”
“Hmm.” He mumbled in return, brows furrowed as he studied them.
“You see anything?”
Clearing the dirt, Sky brushed off one of the markings. “Well, not really. But this one is almost a ‘D’ in my Hylian. And that one kind of looks like your tattoo.”
Twilight lowered his lantern, squinting at the latter image the other was pointing out. He leaned forward as far as he could before the pain in his side told him to stop. If he tilted his head the right way, he could maybe see what Sky meant. While not necessarily his, it could certainly pass for a Twili marking.
“It kind of does, doesn’t it?”
Sky ‘hmm’ed again, moving to sit on his haunches. “I suppose we should rest for a minute before heading back.” Then he leaned back until he ended up laying on the ground.
With a hint of amusement, Twilight settled beside him, instead of near the wall. He kept himself upright, worried that he might drift off if he followed the other’s lead. The walk back would be a pain, the slope of the floor now making an incline rather than letting gravity help propel him forward.
In the meantime, however, he continued looking around the room, disappointment settling over him. All that time was spent for nothing. He hoped that their brothers’ exploration had proven more fruitful.
His eyes dropped again to the markings, unsure of their purpose other than decoration. They had not been carved or etched into the cobblestones, nor could it have been painted, rather, it seemed like they were simply part of the stone. Which made no sense.
Once again leaning forward, he moved to brush his hand over the mark nearest to him.
It began to glow softly the moment his hand made contact.
Twilight pulled away, wincing as it jostled his injury again. He straightened up. It didn’t stop the sharp pain like it should’ve.
“Rancher?”
The remaining markings began to light up in succession, until the whole circle sang with a sunset-orange hue.
He blinked and he was standing; his side burned. Sky was pushing himself onto his own feet.
Twilight stared down at the circle, now morbidly curious. The sudden sound of grinding gears wouldn’t even steal his attention. He stepped forward.
Sky was suddenly at his side. He tugged on his arm. “Twi I don’t think we should touch it anymore.”
But couldn’t Sky feel the allure? The tug of something?
Another blink and Twilight was jerking away from the knight. The circle sang. Somehow he knew that it could ease the pain that was steadily growing. He just had to-
“Twi!”
Sky made to grab him again, saying something else that he couldn’t quite understand.
Twilight grabbed him first and threw him to the ground. Hard.
Bewildered eyes met his.
He turned back to the circle and stepped inside.
- - -
Unfamiliar eyes broke away from him.
Sky lay stunned.
The sudden fall to the ground knocked his breath from him. He couldn’t scramble up fast enough. He couldn’t call out without breath.
Darkness began to fill the room. Like a hazy kind of smoke, though it lacked the smell of fire. Twilight’s shape began to change. A horrid sound of snapping followed. Sky knew, in a sense, that this was wrong.
Sky had only witnessed Twilight’s transformation twice, but he knew it wasn’t supposed to break him.
The markings, which had been glowing an abnormal orange color, went dark. As did the rest of the room. Where had the Rancher’s lantern gone?
Finally, Sky had enough sense (and breath) to stumble back to his feet. He unsheathed the Master Sword, unsure of what was coming next. It’s soft azure glow did little to fend off the darkness. “Twilight?”
A low animalistic growl responded. He tightened his grip on Fi- There would be no reasoning with him.
“Twi?”
Should he try to go get the others? It was obvious something was terribly wrong, Sky was clueless on how to help. Surely the Master Sword could change him back, but would it purify the darkness that had overtaken him?
Perhaps he should run down the new corridors that had appeared? The once-blocked off arches had opened up when Twilight had first lit up the symbols. Would they lead the others here? Or maybe lead him back to the others?
Was the whole point of this temple to trap them?
It was then that Wolfie sprang toward him.
Sky side-stepped, holding Fi in defense. He decided that of course he would not hurt his brother. Even as Wolfie lunged again with a snarl.
He snapped at his feet before darting away. It was hard to keep track of the wolf, the haze still present in the room. Fi’s glow just wasn’t enough.
He held her out anyway as he tried to move along the wall. He had to leave. One of the others would know enough to properly handle -whatever the heck this was.
If his theory was correct, one of the new passages would take him there. And if he was wrong…
Well, he couldn’t be wrong.
The sound of metal scrapping against the stones came from his left. He turned toward it, stepping backwards now. That must’ve been the chain around Wolfie’s leg. It went silent again.
He finally drew close to the nearest archway. He breathed a sigh.
A ‘huff’ was the only indication of the next attack.
Spikes dug into his sword arm, past his leather braces, followed by a heavy weight that pulled him down. He cried out- Wolfie bit him!?
He fought to stay on his feet, trying to hold Fi firmly through the pain. He failed the former; the beast dragged him to the ground.
Somehow he ended up at such an angle that he couldn’t get Fi close to Wolfie. Not even a tap that might help change him back. He tried to punch the wolf with his left hand instead, maybe a hard bop on the nose? It was weak, and he only got a firmer bite for the trouble. Sky didn’t know what to do.
Then he did.
He curled up and turned- Planting a kick square in the other’s muzzle. Both whimpered: Wolfie due to the blow, and Sky as the wolf’s teeth scraped down his arm, taking with it his brace, before letting go.
The Master Sword was yanked from Sky’s hand. Her light went out. Wolfie growled at him before he disappeared into the haze.
Did he- Did Wolfie just take the Master Sword!? That meant… this darkness was greater than even Her.
Sky held his arm close to his chest. Slick with blood and saliva. Pain stabbed with each heartbeat. A chill seeped into his bones. His breath caught in his lungs. He was now defenseless. He was now alone.
Orange glow returned to the markings, lighting up both the circle and now the symbols that had lined the walls. The haze only intensified their daunting light, rather than smothering it.
He was scared.
Unable to see another option, Sky ran. Down the new corridor. Into the unknown.
Somehow he knew that the beast wouldn’t follow him.