The Aftermath

Still feeling defensive even though the stranger had essentially saved their lives, the warrior duo watched the man warily as he stared at the spot where the creature had once stood. Stepping out of the shadows to formally introduce himself to Link and Izzy, the stranger that had saved their lives smiled pleasantly in hopes of relieving their nerves. His features were mostly hidden, since he had neglected to take off his cloak. They could both see that he had a kind smile across his face, the kind that enemies didn’t usually wear. Izzy noticed immediately the peculiar glow to his eyes. The only thing she could think to compare it to was the sparkling of stars in the night sky.

Instantly Link felt more at ease and less threatened than he had when he’d watched the display of raw power this man had against the shadow beast. He wasn’t sure how he would’ve managed to take on such a powerful enemy when he was already wounded. If the man hadn’t shown up they would’ve been toast. Though on the other hand, looks had been incredibly deceiving lately. They were looking for a man enraptured in shadow. Could this be the man who attacked the Queen? Link felt his nerves on edge, but had a gut feeling that the man who had helped them was genuine.

Izzy on the other hand hadn’t put her sword away but instead had reaffirmed her grip upon it. She didn’t trust the newcomer despite the fact that he’d risked his life to help them defeat the shadow creature. She firmly believed that enemies came in all shapes and sizes and the worst villains rarely looked as wicked as they were. Those who thought evil wore a giant sign that claimed they were villains were idiots. Link, no longer feeling threatened by the beast, allowed his body to feel the pain that had been caused by the arrow that had struck his shoulder during the battle. It ached horribly and stung annoyingly; wearing on him the longer he stayed standing upright. Everything in his body was telling him to take a seat and get some rest.

“Who are you?” Izzy sounded as defensive as she looked.

“You really don’t trust anyone do you?” Link didn’t bother looking to his counterpart.

“Go sit down or something and stop trying to be all tough. You’re useless to me right now.” She didn’t turn her gaze away from the cloaked stranger. Link wasn’t going to sit down but he wasn’t going to stay at the forefront of a potential fight either. Izzy was only half wrong about his current state. Link, though wounded, was definitely not useless but he was definitely not up to par either and would risk further harm during a fight.

“You can put your sword away, madam. I have no intentions of harming you or your friend.” The stranger didn’t seem to be offended by Izzy’s distrust, in fact he seemed understanding.

“And I should just take your word for it?” Izzy countered with a sneer.

“Come on Izzy, he said he wouldn’t hurt us.”

“Oh and you think he won’t just because he said he wouldn’t? Really, how did you get by all these years?” Izzy threw Link a wide eyed look of disbelief before turning back to the stranger.

“She’s right.” The man in the cloak bowed his head respectfully. “You have no reason to trust me on merely my word, but I assure you that I mean you no harm.”

“If you wish so badly to be trusted, then tell me who you are.” Izzy wore a smug smirk, just pleased to see Link pout when the stranger had corrected him.

“My name is Tenameru.” He bowed his head again politely and held his hand to his chest as he did so. “I am a doomed warrior, beckoned by the royal family to serve them thanks to my proud lineage.” Tenameru smiled pleasantly.

“Why are you hiding under your cloak? Izzy slowly sheathed her sword, but kept her hand on the hilt of it just in case he went back on his word.

“I told you, I am a doomed warrior. I will explain in due time all that you desire to know.”

“What was that thing?” Link asked, wondering if perhaps this man was one of the Sheikah that Impa had told him about. He hadn’t heard anything about them being doomed to their fate, but perhaps they were. It had never been something Link considered before. Hadn’t the Sheikah always been proud to serve the royal family? Why would this man say they were doomed? Then again, that was assuming he was a Sheikah and not something else.

“I don’t know what they’re called exactly. I’ve only seen them in old texts written in ancient Hylian which I can’t read on my own. My parents called them shadow beasts, which leaves a lot to the imagination, you can guess.” Tenameru glanced at Link, eyeing the arrow in his shoulder.

“Sounds pretty accurate though, if you ask me.” Izzy considered the name given then nodded her head to agree.

“Isn’t it though?” Tenameru chuckled.

“I used magic with my arrows to try and get rid of it. Why did your magic work when mine didn’t?” Link cocked an eyebrow curiously, finally giving into the urge to sit down and lean against a nearby tree. His shoulder was throbbing and he could feel the blood trickling down from the entry wound. He would have to take care of the wound sooner rather than later.

“Ah, you didn’t use the proper type of magic. You see, that beast in particular had no power until it had been attacked.”

“What do you mean? It seemed pretty powerful to me.” Izzy seemed less defensive and more curious than anything. She’d chosen to trust this man who had done his best to protect them. After all, he hadn’t given them a reason not to trust him.

“When you shot an arrow into the creature it learned your skills and returned with its own similar attacks. If you hadn’t attacked it then it never would’ve been able to hurt you. It simply would’ve warned you to get away in its native language.”

“Alright, then why did it shoot bombs at us when we got close to it? We hadn’t attacked it at that point.” Izzy spoke over Link who was about to ask the same question.

“My guess is that whoever summoned this beast to do its bidding had set up some kind of explosion to go off when anyone got close to the creature. It wanted to give the beast a way to defend itself if stumbled upon.”

“That’s clever.” Izzy looked partially impressed. “But, if that’s the case, shouldn’t your magic have had the same effect?”

“You’re right. It would have but…” Reaching inside of his dark cloak, Tenameru pulled out a moon shaped necklace, holding it up for Izzy to see. “I absorbed the shadow of this creature into my necklace. The only way to defeat such a creature is to absorb the magical creature within something else magical. It will remain trapped within this necklace for all eternity, unless I choose to release it. I shall instead, research and find a way to destroy it forever so it can no longer do anyone any harm.”

“Do you mind if I take a closer look?” Izzy pointed at the necklace. Tenameru nodded his head and allowed Izzy to touch the glowing moon shape that hung around his neck. Tracing the shape of it she cocked her head to the side curiously, noting the small detailed carvings along the exterior of the necklace. Tenameru seemed pleased that the woman was so interested in what he’d done to the creature.

“It’s powerful magic in itself that necklace, and it has been passed down for generations within my family since the days where my distant relatives served beneath the King and Queen of this land.” Tenameru smiled.

“What about the other magic you used?”

“That is also passed down to me through blood.”

“That’s a pretty impressive gift.” Izzy handed the necklace back to Tenameru so that it wouldn’t smack against him when she let go of it.

“It is both a gift and a curse.” Tenameru shook his head.

“How is it a curse? You mentioned before that you are a doomed warrior. That sounds awfully harsh.” Izzy’s curiosity continued and she seemed to forget all about the fact that Link was practically laying on the ground wounded and bloody.

“All magic comes with a price. That’s why those with magic choose to sometimes pass their gifts into personal objects so that whatever the backlash is may be inflicted only to the object. The problem with that being…”

“That whoever gets their hand on the item with the magic in it can use it.” Izzy nodded knowingly.

“Very good. You’re a fast learner.”

“Thanks. So what price do you pay for your magic?” Izzy shrugged, pondering this and wondering what other mundane objects lying around could Hyrule could possibly contain magical properties.

“You see, not all magic can be transferred into objects. Magic is often too powerful to be contained with one solid object and requires life to feed off of in order to exist.” Tenameru held his hands close to his chest and acknowledged himself. “My magic in particular is extensive and so it requires me to give up a very precious gift. I, as my forefathers before me, am unable to withstand sunlight.”

“You can’t go into the sun? Well, that sucks… and explains a lot.” Izzy winced.

“That is correct. I have learned to live with it over the years by keeping myself covered entirely at all times. Artificial light is a different matter entirely. Only sunlight affects me so when I’m indoors I can dress properly. You must have thought I was being shady when I didn’t remove my hood but I’m afraid it would cause me a considerable amount of pain.”

“Well, you definitely should’ve opened with that. Now it makes perfect sense.” Izzy laughed pleasantly.

“Yes, though it is often an awkward conversation starter. It’s my burden to bear and I am sorry that I didn’t instantly tell you what my intentions were. I’ve gotten used to being around people who simply know of my affliction.”

“Well, thank you for taking care of that thing for us. We had no idea what we were going to do. It would’ve gotten the best of us.”

“You’re correct. It is lucky that I took this path through the woods on my way to the castle in this land. You otherwise wouldn’t have been able to defeat the creature.” Tenameru smiled then continued. “Oh and you are welcome. It was exciting to use my powers for a change. At home I didn’t find occasion to do so at all. It’s been years since we were called to action.”

“Hey, I’m bleeding back here if anyone cares.” Link spoke up after several attempts to gain attention by clearing his throat. Finally tired of being ignored, Link couldn’t help but have an edge to his voice.

Izzy turned to look at Link, having forgotten he was there at all and smirked at how distraught he looked. It wasn’t that she enjoyed seeing him in pain but it was the first time she’d seen true annoyance from him. She guessed that the mighty hero wasn’t always the saint people praised him to be.

“Oh, I’m sorry about that.” Izzy addressed Tenameru once again. “I’m Izzy and this is Link.” She nodded toward where Link was laying on the ground.

“Yeah that’s all well and good. Hello, hi, good to meet you… I think we’re past that.” Link winced, touching the stalk of the arrow plunged into his shoulder.

“Oh, calm down you big baby.” Izzy rolled her eyes, walking over to where Link had taken a seat on the ground.

“If you like, I could help you take care of the wound. It looks pretty painful. My guess is there was poison to cripple you on the tip of the arrow. Magic often taints such things.” Tenameru walked over to Link as well.

“Poison?” Link widened his eyes. He hadn’t thought much when the wound had started to become extensively painful. Though he’d done much more with worse, he figured it had only hurt so badly since he’d been in a fight just the day before or perhaps because he hadn’t suffered such a severe wound in a very long time.

“That is only a guess. Izzy would you mind helping me with the arrow? I’m afraid that I’m a little squeamish when it comes to blood.” Tenameru chuckled.

“This really isn’t funny, guys.” Link grimaced. Izzy sighed heavily and knelt down next to Link.

“Yes, if I must.” Grabbing onto the stalk of the arrow, Izzy started to tug when Link very suddenly grabbed onto her wrist to stop her.

“No wait!” He widened his eyes in surprise.

“What?”

“I’ll do it.” He pouted, trying to swat her hand away.

“Oh come on, it’ll feel better once it’s out.”

“You’re going to be mean about it, I can tell.” Link objected immediately. Izzy wriggled her wrist free and before Link could object further had tugged the arrow intact out of his shoulder. “Holy…” Link gritted his teeth and stifled a string of curses under his breath.

“That wasn’t so hard, now was it?”

“Easy for you to say… you sadist.” Link gritted his teeth and hissed in misery.

“Are you always this nice to people who are willing to help you? It’s really a wonder you’ve made it this far. You’re welcome by the way.” Izzy stuck her tongue out at him then reached into the bag on her hip, pulling out what looked like antiseptic.

“Helping me? I think you’re making me worse!” Link accused in frustration. Link had suffered from arrow wounds before, but something about this one stung worse than he recalled. Perhaps it was the poison that Tenameru had mentioned.

“Oh yes, I’m poisoning you by cleaning your wound with this terrible and horribly dreadful antiseptic. I could just use some salt instead if you preferred.” Izzy chuckled, cleaning the edge of the wound before discarding the now filthy cloth. Tenameru watched quietly in amusement as the two bickered.

“Give me one moment.” Tenameru waited for Izzy to move out of his way, holding his gloved palm over the wound on Link’s shoulder. Closing his eyes he concentrated for a long moment. A red light extended across the palm of his hand, tracing over his fingers in the shape of what seemed like muscular tissue then spread below his hand, singing the wound on Link’s shoulder.

Link cursed from the burning pain and gripped at the grass beneath him, pulling much of it out of the ground, seeing stars in his vision for a moment. He’d be damned if he passed out. Tenameru pulled his hand away a moment later and smiled down at Link.

“There. The poison has been neutralized and your wound will heal in a few hours. Magic can often accelerate the healing process, but again it comes at a price. The pain you felt was the price you had to pay for such a gift.” Tenameru got back to his feet.

“You could’ve warned me first, you know.” Link took several deep breaths to try and calm down.

“And you could be grateful to no longer be poisoned.” Izzy pulled gauze out of her bag and wrapped the wound, purposely pulling and pushing at his shoulder to further irritate him. “You’re being rude.”

“I’m being rude?” Link looked at the woman in shock, though to be fair she had been incredibly kind to the stranger since she’d put her sword away. He was about to comment on the fact that she was wrapping his wound over his clothing but decided he would only get further grief if he did. Turning his attention back to Tenameru he collected his thoughts. “How did that thing get into the Lost Woods in the first place? And why do you know so damn much about it?”

“Only a powerful sorcerer could have summoned such a creature. I’ve only read about them in texts passed on through my family over the years. My parents taught me about them years ago before their deaths.”

“You’re Sheikah training right?” Link frowned, though he had to admit now that his wound had been cleaned up he felt world’s better. He got to his feet, ignoring the hand up that Izzy offered to assist him.

“Yes! You know of the Sheikah?” Tenameru looked pleasantly surprised by this new turn of events.

“I do. If you saw the messages left in the towns nearby, my friend Impa left them for people like you to find.” Link attempted in vain to fix the damage that had been done to his shirt from the arrow and the cleaning.

“You must be trusted by the royal family to know that much about us.” Tenameru smiled despite the annoyed tone Link spoke to him in.

“I am the hero of time.” Link smiled for the first time, still proud of the title he’d been given.

“Oh, I had heard of your existence but never expected to run into you in my travels.” Tenameru nodded and bowed his head in greeting after he spoke. Izzy walked around Tenameru and toward the spot where the beast had fallen. Leaning down she dug around in the grass for a moment. Link could practically feel her rolling her eyes at him and hear her thoughts of what a snobby brat he was. Watching her for a moment, he noted that the cut on her forehead looked pretty nasty. He wondered if Tenameru would help with that.

“So you think that someone summoned that creature and left it in the woods on purpose?” Link cleared his throat and rubbed the side of his nose, attempting to change the subject.

“I do. In fact, I know that’s the only way it could’ve been brought here. Creatures such as that have not existed in this world in thousands of years. They were only rumors until this moment! I only know it because of how fascinated I had been with the books my parents had given me. While I don’t remember all that had been said about the creature, it looks exactly like the drawings in the book.”

“You said the books were in ancient Hylian…” Link looked curious, wondering if the man could read the dead language.

“Yes, they are and before you ask, I do not read the script. That language is lost to even us Sheikah. My parents have translations of the books written in our modern script.”

“Do those books ever say why someone would summon a shadow beast?” Link thought it made sense that the creature had such a silly, to the point, name now that he knew it was only a translation from a dead language.

“No, but my guess is that they are trying to destroy this forest to find something else hidden within it. I don’t want to assume things, but have you heard the legends about the Lost Woods?”

“I know of them, but no one knows what’s hidden here.” Link shrugged his shoulders.

“I’m sure there must be texts about what’s hidden somewhere.” Tenameru pondered the idea, curious himself to what this magician could have been looking for.

“Good luck finding any. Nearly everything important in Hyrule has been destroyed, thanks to Ganondorf.”

“Ah yes, the dark king… I doubt he would’ve had access to something so terribly important. The Sheikah of old times knew how important these things would be. I bet you anything they were hidden and only one of royal descent can access them.” Tenameru glanced over at Izzy who was on her knees digging in the grass. She’d sworn she had seen something drop from the beast when it’d been absorbed.

When such a beast was vanquished, all of its physical belongings were often left behind. While Izzy was hoping for something worth selling, she would be pleased just to know she hadn’t been seeing things. Then she found just the thing she was looking for: a glowing red jewel with familiar looking script on the side of it.

“Well in that case you should visit the Queen. She’s the only surviving descendent.” Link sighed heavily, then snapped his fingers in realization. “Wait a second. A dark man attacked the Queen earlier…”

“Do you think that maybe this dark man and the sorcerer who summoned such atrocities to this forest are one in the same?” Tenameru finished Link’s thought.

“I could be wrong, but I think it’s possible. It’s the only lead I’ve got so I might as well follow it right?”

“I agree with you completely.” Tenameru smiled softly.

“Damnit!” Link and Tenameru turned around when Izzy cried out in pain. She’d picked up the stone to get a closer look at the script to see if it said anything or could be deciphered but it had instantly caused her pain.

Tenameru rushed over to the girl and picked up her palm which was smoking and looked painful, like she’d been burned. Instantly trying to pull her hand away, Tenameru tugged it closer, forcing Izzy to drop the stone to the ground. Link walked over to join them curious of what happened and picked up the stone that had fallen to the ground.

“Who’s being the baby now?” Link tossed the blackened and charred rock into the air and caught it easily.

“She is not being a baby.” Tenameru moved to the side so that Link could look at woman’s scorched and destroyed glove. “Do you mind?” He acknowledged the glove and Izzy shook her head no. Tenameru tugged the glove off of her hand and showed Link the reason for Izzy’s pain. Her hands were visibly trembling from the ache of whatever was happening.

It looked like a fine point burning hot needle was carving something into the palm of the woman’s hand. The symbol of the Triforce had already been carved into the back of her hand and now on her palm were four circular designs forming, all connected by intricate line work. After the design had been carved, the topmost circular design filled itself in blood red.

“What the hell is happening?” Izzy winced, wanting to close her hand but every time she tried to bend her fingers to do so it caused her pain.

“I don’t know…” Link looked befuddled. He’d never seen anything like it before. Deciding it couldn’t hurt to ask, he then looked over at Tenameru. “Any ideas?”

Tenameru held up a hand to silence Link and Izzy for a moment then reached inside of his cloak to pull out the moon shaped necklace he’d shown the woman earlier. The glow it’d carried after it’d absorbed the creature had disappeared entirely and it was simply a plain looking moon necklace. There was nothing magical about it, it seemed.

“…there’s no way.” Tenameru furrowed his brow then looked back at Izzy who seemed confused and annoyed, though the pained look on her face was starting to fade.

“What? What happened?” Izzy wanted to know and now that she wasn’t in pain anymore she wanted to see what had been carved into her hand.

“You absorbed the shadow creature.” Tenameru frowned. Link looked at Izzy skeptically.

“You didn’t tell me you had magic powers.”

“That’s because I don’t have magic powers.” Izzy clarified, pulling her hand close to her and pouting.

“Well, obviously you’re wrong.” Link pointed to her hand. “That’s the Triforce you know. I thought you weren’t from around here.”

“I’m not.” Izzy wondered what could’ve caused the reaction from the stone.

“She’s right, she has no magic… at least not tangible magic. There must be some sort of magic within your body for you to have absorbed such a creature. I thought only objects could do that. Not people.”

“Maybe your translations are wrong.” Link shrugged and wondered why this was important at all. So she’d absorbed something magical? Big deal.

“No, they’re not.” Tenameru was puzzled. “I must warn you… as I told you before, magic comes at a great price Izzy. Though you may not feel it right now, something will come of its continued use.”

“What, the pain wasn’t the price I paid?” Izzy scoffed. Link was looking over the blackened stone in his hand. It didn’t seem so special now that it’d lost its glow.

“Not at all. That was a clue.” Tenameru pointed to her hand. “Hold up your palm.” She did as she was told so the other two could see it, though her fingers still trembled with pain.

“There are four circles, three yet to be completed. My guess is that it means this sorcerer left traces of his magic within the creatures he summoned. There must be three other similar beasts hidden within this world.” Tenameru signaled that Izzy could put her hand down. Izzy cursed under her breath.

“So, it means if we find the other three, the spots on her hand will be filled in?”

“Yes, and perhaps the engraving on her skin will disappear in its entirety.”

“Perhaps?” Izzy didn’t like the sound of that at all.

“I don’t know what sort of magic you possess Izzy, but I will do my best to try and find you answers.”

“That’s a good idea.” Link smiled, feeling renewed. “You should go visit the Queen and see if you can find those hidden texts you were talking about. If you can find out more about the creature and how it was summoned then you can find out how to get rid of them and perhaps trace the person who did the summoning.”

“And find out how to get rid of what’s happened to my hand.” Izzy added in quickly. There was no magical blood in her entire family, she was sure whatever had happened to her had to be some sort of fluke. Perhaps the stone had been magical and this would’ve happened to any person who had picked up the stone.

“That was just what I was thinking.” Tenameru smiled and shook his head. “You two should try to find the other three creatures in the meantime.”

“But if physical attacks can’t be used against shadow creatures, doesn’t that seem foolhardy without you?” Link furrowed his brow. “I have very limited magical ability and obviously Izzy has no idea what she’s doing.”

“Hey, I’m standing right here.”

“I know.” Link smiled proudly.

“Oh no, I don’t think that will be the case. You see all those circles on her hand?” Tenameru nodded toward Izzy again. He and Link waited impatiently for her to hold up her hand. After a moment she sighed in annoyance and held out her palm to look at.

“I am not some museum display for the record. If you want to look at it again then I suggest someone do a doodle of it on some parchment quickly.” Izzy tapped her foot in irritation.

“That’s not a bad idea actually.” Tenameru chuckled then using his finger in the air, traced the design from her hand which appeared in streams of light in front of him. After he’d finished with the design, he closed his fist and the light in the air disappeared entirely. “It’s been committed to magical memory now.

“Neat.” Izzy had watched in fascination, clearly impressed by the magic that Tenameru had used so easily.

“Yeah, it was super cool.” Link said, sarcasm thick in his tone. “Now what were you saying about those different symbols?”

“Yes, as I was saying… those symbols are all different than the one on the top which means that the beasts are very likely different sorts of creatures rather than similar to the one that we found in this clearing. I can’t tell you what you’re up against but I am hoping that you will be able to attack it physically.”

“You’re hoping?” Izzy grimaced.

“Yes, sadly. I apologize… I wish I could be of more help but until I can find something to decipher the symbols on your hand I can’t do much.” Tenameru hung his head in regret.

“So what do we do then? What happens if we can’t fight these things?” Link frowned.

“You must find a way to weaken the creatures, then Izzy you can absorb them simply by touching them. They should leave behind a blackened stone such as the one you’re carrying now, Link. Retrieve the stone and bring it back to the Queen. We will keep them safe until we can find out what they are exactly.”

“It looks like a charred piece of coal.” Izzy looked at the stone as Link opened his palm to show the others what it looked like.

“Yes, but it could still be important so it’s best that we keep it until we’re sure that it has no potential to do any further harm. Summoning can be extremely dangerous. Whatever this stone had been before his creature had been summoned through it, had to have been very powerful.”

“You know an awful lot about this stuff.” Link cocked an eyebrow suspiciously.

“I am not a summoner, it’s magic I am not privy too. I can only do what’s been given to me by the goddesses and passed down to me my parents. Summoning is a skill that goes against all magical law. Whoever did this can no longer possibly be human, particularly if he’s used such evil four times in a short time.”

“So we’re looking for some rogue magician, huh?” Izzy felt much better now that the pain from her hand had passed completely unless the aching wound graced her cloak. The skin around the carvings was tender and sore, but looked like it was already on its way to healing with the mark permanently carved into her skin. She didn’t want to be branded for eternity with the mark of Hyrule and the goddesses on the back of her hand. If she was lucky, Tenameru would find something to help her.

“Not exactly, but that is a good summarized version of it.” Tenameru couldn’t help but smile. At least Izzy had found a way to be in good spirits about the situation.

“Okay, how do I find these creatures then? I mean… Hyrule is pretty big.” Link speculated. He wanted to make sure he knew all the facts before he stepped out into the unknown. Even the little details could be of some use to him later.

“Beasts like this… they are designed to steal life and feed on the negative energy they create. If I were you I would look around your home and find out which places are… cursed, so to speak.” Tenameru pondered.

“Like the Lost Woods was covered in shadow and fog. It practically beckoned me when I was walking past. Do you think the other creatures will do the same?” Izzy cocked a curious eyebrow.

“I do. I think that when you stumble upon another shadow creature you will not be able to ignore its presence. They don’t want to hide in the shadows like their namesake. They prefer to cause as much chaos as they can manage.” Tenameru smirked, proud of the two in front of him for coming around to his logic and trusting him despite the suspicious circumstances he’d arrived under. He’d wanted to have adventures of his own since he was little and it seemed now that he had quite an adventure on his hands.

“Well, it’s a start then.” Link shrugged, still pondering why Izzy was so nice to this practical stranger and so rude to him. Though, to be fair he was also practically a stranger and he had accused her of attacking the Queen and knocked the wind out of her within the first five minutes of their meeting.

“Good. I will do the research as I had promised. Be careful when absorbing those creatures, Izzy. The price you have to pay for such magic could be anything and until I figure out exactly what the price is, you are at risk.” Tenameru bowed his head.

“You’re not coming with us?” Link interrupted Izzy before she could respond and was elbowed in the ribs in response to it. He nudged her back in kind.

“I travel through shadow. It’s faster and safer for me given my affliction. I will have met the Queen of this land long before you arrive at the castle. I promise though, to keep an eye on you… through the shadows.” Tenameru closed his peculiarly black eyes and bowed his head once more gratefully. Turning away from them in farewell, he stepped into the shadows of the Woods that he’d emerged from and disappeared entirely.

“That’s weird.” Izzy leaned her head to the side curiously.

“Trust me, you get used to it.” Link sighed, shaking his head. “After the first few weird disappearances people make you stop being surprised when they suddenly poof out of existence.” Link shrugged and turned around, pocketing the piece of charred rock they’d recovered from the monster.

“Let’s get out of these woods, hero.” Izzy started along the path they’d once walked upon, fully prepared to be done with this quest entirely.

“Gladly.”