[EDITING] The Legend of Zelda: Goddess of Secrecy

Dungeon Chapter 67 - Spectacle

...only to be met with the sensation of being in a tunnel, like he had been on the way down. This time though, he was standing, though the sensation of falling still chased the edges of his senses.

When there was still no collision, Link opened his eyes to see where they were. Stone hurdled by them, opening and closing tunnels as they ascended. Ryo had found a steady rhythm for his kicks, which propelled them along the tunnels as Hira opened paths for them to return back up to higher levels the way they'd come.

After a few minutes, the slab of stone came to a halt at the opening in the shrine chamber. At the sight of Ryo and Hira, Ritsu lit up. He ran to tackle his brother in a bear hug, to which Ryo held him back at arm's length with visible frustration, somewhat tempered it seemed for the moment.

Insen ran to Hira and pulled him into a firm embrace. Hira squeezed Insen around the shoulders in return, the two standing off to the side for a moment to have a private conversation.

When Link jumped off the platform, his legs shook a little. It took a moment for the sensation of solid ground to come back to him, at which point he wobble-walked his way over to Endeavor.

"You are safe then," Endeavor remarked, nodding as her face relaxed with relief. "And you rescued the young Sage."

"Those tunnels go pretty deep," Link replied, looking back over his shoulder towards the tunnel entrance. "There was a massive cave system at the bottom."

"I know there are caves further in the earth than the Temple, but you seem surprised by this," Endeavor commented.

Link shrugged. "I didn't think there would be anything that deep underground."

"The period of time you were gone would suggest significant depth indeed." Endeavor thought on this for a moment, before she briefly glanced beyond their conversation at the collection of Sages. "I am curious why these Sages were imprisoned the way they were. It is...unlike the Demon Lord to do so."

"What do you mean?"

"Our enemy has kept Sages alive to corrupt them for his means or because they were not awakened," Endeavor went on, resting a finger to her chin. "I do not see a reason to keep seven Earth Sages alive as he has unless he had a purpose for them."

"Is there something underground he'd want?" Link asked, glancing at the Sages they'd found so far.

Endeavor took a long time to answer. Link imagined there was either a lot of history to sort through or something she wanted to hide, but he couldn't tell which when she answered, "Not as far as I know."

Hira broke away from Insen's side and into the center of the party. He motioned for Endeavor and Link to join as he started talking, "Alright, next steps is to get the twins out of here."

"No," Ryo countered quickly.

"No way, Hira! You can't make us leave!" Ritsu shouted in agreement.

"You're not fighting that monster," Hira replied.

"You need us, we're Sages too," Ryo said, folding his arms and glaring up at Hira.

"As much as I dislike asking children to fight—("We're not kids!")—I agree with them," Endeavor stated, brushing off the twins' interjections. "They are Sages, and we will need them here to restore the Temple."

"I'm not risking their lives," Hira said with a bit of frustration undercutting his tone.

"We do not need to risk their lives, but we can still use their help. As a whole, we are stronger. And collectively, the four of you together would do more to prevent either of us—" She stopped to motion between her and Link. "—from being petrified by the creature. Not to mention more easily progress and restore the Temple."