[EDITING] The Legend of Zelda: Goddess of Secrecy

Dungeon Chapter 14 - Another Hourglass Puzzle

...and through the door on the other side. Like the previous room, it dropped off shortly on the other side of the door. In her hurry, Zelda took a step over the edge of the ledge. Link grabbed her by the arm, and quickly pulled her back to safety. A pebble fell down as they skid to a halt at the edge of the platform, and Link heard the clanking of heavy, metal armor. There was at least one darknut down there.

Suddenly, Link looked back and realized he was still holding Zelda. He tried to laugh as he let go, though very little sound actually came out, and he watched her cheeks turn pink. Zelda pushed herself back a bit, and then looked over the edge. "Thanks...for that..."

"So, how does this one work then...Endeavor?" Zelda asked, looking back over her shoulder, a little quick to pull away. Link turned around and noticed that Endeavor wasn't there. Zelda said, "I'm sure they'll catch up. Besides, we can figure this out ourselves."

Link looked up at the ceiling. There was another hourglass hanging from the ceiling, teetering back and forth on a pair of chains. Link saw a spark come from on top of the hourglass. Link looked down at the darknuts below, then back up at the hourglass. "This isn't going to be easy..." he muttered.

"What?" Zelda asked. Link pointed up at the top of the hourglass. A yellow chu slunk down over the top and dangled over the side. "Oh..." She unslung her bow. "So, do you have a plan?"

"Maybe. Stay up here and shoot the chus," Link answered. "I'll handle the darknuts."

"I can fight darknuts too, you know," Zelda replied, the flush still on her face.

Link said, "I think there's going to be more than just a few chus up there." He had a funny feeling about the chus on that hourglass. "If I'm wrong—"

"If you're wrong, I know what to do," Zelda said, a mix of emotions. "Get down there, Hero."

Not wanting to dig his way any deeper, Link slid down the ladder to the darknuts. There were three. They were half the size as the darknut in the last room, but still quite imposing. They brandished their swords at Link, and then raised their shields at him.

Link charged, and began his attack, switching from darknut to darknut as they responded. It was hard focusing on all three, but he could manage for the most part to keep them all at bay.

From above, yellow chu jelly showered down on the lower end of the chamber. He looked up at Zelda, whose confidence seemed to have returned now that they were in the thick of it. One of the darknuts tossed its shield, and it shattered into sand. The golden beads swirled up into the hourglass.

Zelda cheered at the success, and was about to come down when another chu dropped from the ceiling. Link looked at the hourglass as another chu formed out of the sand. Zelda recovered from her descent, quick to get back to returning fire above.

Link's focus was not bent on the darknuts and their defeats key to progressing. When Zelda could spare it, she would target one of the darknuts as well, but her attention was mainly on the chus to keep the sand where it had been sent. Eventually, one darknut fell, and then the last staggering to its knees not long after as Link's targets narrowed. Even with the chus coming out, the weight of the sand began to sink down towards the ground.

A shadow loomed over Link as he squared off with the remaining darknut. The last of the second darknut joined the sand in the hourglass. He heard something creak, and looked up. The weight in the hourglass was too much for the chains, and it was going to fall any moment.

He looked at it a bit too long, because he missed the darknut raising its sword to strike at him. Link managed to raise his shield, but it was at such an awkward angle that the impact of the attack sent him tumbling off to the side of the room.

Link leaned up on his forearm. The darknut came forward a step, and as soon as he did, the hourglass dropped on top of it. Sand scattered everywhere, before merging with the sand in the hourglass. There was a chime, and something moved outside the room. Zelda dropped down to the floor Link was on as he began to prop himself up with his shield.

"Are you alright?" Zelda asked. Link nodded, ignoring the pain in his side that had hit the wall. Zelda looked around. "Where is Endeavor?" She helped Link up to his feet, and said, "Come on, we need to find them."

The two of them returned to the floor above. Link gripped his shield, and tried not to limp. They walked across the upper level of the temple, and looked down at the raised circular platform. It had come up another small step.

In the middle was a golden Triforce. In the empty part of the symbol, stood Endeavor. Zelda called down, "Endeavor, where have you been? We could really have used your help back there with those darknuts, you know."

"Oh," Endeavor replied. "Apologies."

A chill ran down Link's spine. He had a bad feeling about this. Link took a step down the stairs towards them. "That is far enough," Endeavor replied. "You need not come any further. Not yet."

Link stopped. This was not Endeavor, or at least, not their true self. Endeavor turned to face Link, their sword drawn. Link adjust his grip on his hilt, regretting the hit he taken from the darknut. He definitely had a bad feeling about this. He continued down the stairs until he was on the same level as Endeavor.

Endeavor flourished their sword at Link, something goldenshining from beneath their left glove. "Very well then. Let us dance." Withthat, they charged Link...