Blighted Memories

Chapter 34. A Hero's Duty

   Link opened his eyes and found himself in darkness once the fog had subsided. For a few seconds, he had absolutely no clue where exactly he was. It was too dark to see his own hands in front of his face, much less see his surroundings.

   First, he listened for anything that could potentially be hiding in the darkness. He didn't want to reveal his location if he'd been warped into hostile territory. He listened for footsteps, breathing, a voice, anything. Something he could use to assess any potential threats nearby.

   He heard nothing. Everything was quiet.

   Link was hesitant and on guard, but he felt for his newly strengthened sword and unsheathed it. The light coming from the blade was bright enough to cut through the dark veil that covered everything around him, but its range wasn't enough to see much. It would have to do for now.

   Link remained still for a moment, waiting to see if anything would be attracted to the light his sword gave off. He paused for about twenty seconds, listening for something.

   Silence.

   Link was wary, but for now it was safe. With his sword still raised so that he could see where he was going, he began walking. The injuries he'd sustained during his battle with Urbosa, his father, and the Blighted horde still stung him, some of the injuries still bleeding, though thankfully it was at a minimal rate. The muscle strain he'd endured from the two Flurry Rushes he executed were beginning to take their toll as well. He moved carefully and slowly, trying to give his body a break and a chance to recover.

   His steps echoed as he stepped along the stone floor, the sound carrying itself through the darkness as though it were traveling along the walls and ceiling with him. Link was uncomfortable with how loud his steps were and tried taking lighter and smaller steps. Even his quieter steps sounded deafening in this silence. The narrow passageways he found himself traveling through did little to comfort him. He traveled in a constant fighting stance, ready to pounce at any instant.

   Link wasn't sure how much he needed to be on guard, but wanted to play it safe. With the death of that tree in Dark Link's realm, the Blighted should've been eradicated completely. Yet Revali had mentioned something about minions directly under Dark Link's command. Link wanted to know just how many of his minions were left, and how elite they were for Dark Link himself to control them personally. Surely he'd gotten rid of the majority of them, yet that fact did little to quell the dread arising in his heart.

   Link kept walking until his foot collided with something on the floor, accidentally kicking it. The metallic sound it produced was sharp and grating in the oppressive silence, which caused the hero to flinch for an instant. The object he'd hit clattered across the passageway, and came to rest on the wall to his left.

   He knelt down to examine what he'd hit.

   It was a lantern that had been simply laying in the middle of the passage. There was still plenty of oil in it too. On one hand, it was a stroke of luck finding it. Link now had a better light source than his sword. But on the other hand, he doubted it was just simply placed where it was. He couldn't see anything or anyone else nearby, so he assumed that whoever was carrying it had carelessly dropped it. At least, that's what he was hoping had happened.

   Link collected the lantern and stood up. He produced a fire arrow from his quiver, and used the tip to light it. The fire sprung to life within, illuminating his surroundings more effectively with an orange and yellow glow. He could see better, though the flickering small flame within the lantern's globe could only push back against so much darkness at a time. But it was enough. Link pressed onward down the passageway, clutching his sword in his other hand in defense against anything that could spring out of the gloom.