The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Warriors

Chapter 14: Remnant of Twilight

Chapter 14: Remnant of Twilight

The Goddess Butterfly had led them to the Twilight Realm.

It was a place unlike any of them had ever seen before, save for Midna, who was its sovereign. Lana had only seen small glimpses of it from gazing at it in the flow of time, but even then she had never seen it up close. As for Agitha, the Resistance, and the Hylian soldiers, the so-called realm of shadows was an entirely new sight.

Instead of blue, the skies of the Twilight Realm were a wide array of contrasting pigments and shades of violet, pink, gold, black, and orange, reminiscent of the colors of a Hyrulian dusk sky. Flecks of dark Twilight rained gently through the air, their substance weightless and without physical form. The air itself felt calm and still in a way that was both comforting and unnerving, for no winds blew in the Twilight Realm at all. The land of the realm itself was suspended in this eternal dusk upon stone outcroppings, many of which were connected via bridges and platforms. It was clear that the group, upon stepping through the temporary Mirror of Twilight that Midna had created, that they were in the heart of the Twilight Realm itself, the home of its royal family and the seat of its government, the Palace of Twilight. Its architecture was formal and unglamorous, rising high into the ever changing sky as its varying buildings gave of an air of power and foreboding. And, what only made this eerie feeling worse were the unnatural cries of monsters echoing through the courtyards, the clatter of beasts invading upon a place in which they did not belong.

The Hyrulian forces only had but a few moments to take in the drastic change of their surroundings before the Twilight Princess herself glided to the front of the pack, a look of dismay written all over her face as she took in the damage done to her domain. Midna had been present for the first battle that had been waged here but a few days ago, in which Cia had ripped not only her famed beauty, but her throne from her all in one fell swoop. And in that battle, many of her dear people, people she was sworn to protect, had fallen. Those who had survived were left to an uncertain fate, one that the Twilight Princess could only hope had been merciful. Since then however, her home had been battered brutally by the dark forces roosted away inside of it; parts of the newly-renovated palace were crumbling, and even the serene beauty of the place seemed to be diminished by the darkness flowing throughout the area. Midna let out a sorrowful sigh as she saw it, knowing that even if Cia had been the instigator of all this destruction, the Twilight Princess was the one to blame for letting it go so far. In all her rage towards the black witch for cursing her once more, Midna had chased her into the world of light, completely setting the plight of her already doomed world aside for revenge instead. But now, the Twilight Princess knew that she could not let her kingdom down again, especially not after the first time she had abandoned it. And so, Midna let out along sigh, clenching her tiny fists at her sides as she mentally prepared herself for the battle ahead.

The fight for the Twilight Realm was about to begin.

"Alright, listen up, everyone!" Midna said authoritatively as she spun around to face the entire legion behind her. Fortunately, Lana had managed to make peace between the Twilight Princess and the rest of her allies, and so the transition of trust had not been so awkward, especially as the group had gotten to know each other a little better during their trek to the Twilight Realm. "I know for certain the Gate of Souls is in the throne room near the back of the palace."

"She's right!" Agitha confirmed cheerfully, grinning at the Goddess Butterfly flittering above her palm. "Li'l Butterfly really wants to head that way!"

"Good," Lana said with a confident nod. "The sooner we close the Gate of Souls, the sooner things will go back to normal."

"And the sooner my realm will be free from all these pests!" Midna said, her tone disgruntled as she crossed her arms.