Luminescence

In The End

The Fused Shadows didn't vanish, but clattered to the ground with their shattered brethren. Only two remained now, and they looked pitiful. She no longer looked twisted, angry, or hateful. She just looked surprised.

Her long legs buckled. No longer throbbing with courage, no long empowered by a glowing sign on his hand, Link caught her and dropped to the ground with her. Something or someone was screaming in his head. He, however, was silent. Midna blinked at him, stunned. But then she simply didn't blink again. The moment he took a breath her body dissolved in his hands, turning to bits of ash and squares and who knew what else. She didn't fly up into the sky, but trickled through his fingers.

The walls of twilight were in Hyrule Field now. Link just stared at his hands, his sword forgotten on the ground and speckled with ash.

A bit aways the sun shakingly got to his hands and knees. The black dagger had vanished from his chest and he fought for breath. His skin brightened ever so slightly. The dagger in Link's shoulder also vanished without his notice.

Luna landed across from him, her feathers scattering a small bit of the ash. Her white hands very lightly touched his cheek and his gaze flittered to her face. Whatever she saw made her turn away and tears were shining like pearls on her silvery cheeks. Silvery? Yes, she was no longer just pale, but growing brighter and brighter by the second. Even as he looked on he soon could barely see her through her light.

The night erupted into sound. Birds began to twitter, a few chipmunks squeaked, and the wind once more began to blow. Somewhere, unbeknownst to the two immortals and the broken hero, a squirrel watched and heaved a sigh of relief.

Luna put a hand to his bleeding shoulder. In a rush of warmth which he never noticed, the wound knitted itself up as though it had never occurred. Her hand fell to his side and his ribs mended together.

"I need to take my brother back or he will die." she said.

He said nothing. Just sat there. The screaming inside him now wanted to run and run until he simply died from exhaustion. The other half of him wanted to reach up for the pureness before him and beg to be wrapped in her embrace; to be comforted like a child by his mother. He wanted to be held. He wanted to be alone. He didn't know what he wanted.

Luna put a hand to her mouth, eyes overwhelmed by tears.

"This is not what you deserve."

Deserve? When had this ever been a question of what he deserved?

By the time he came to focus again, Luna and her brother had disappeared. Now he was completely alone. His hands were dyed with ash. The stars twinkled down at him, uncaring. He thought of Jasmeen and hated them. He stood up and screamed at them and shook his fist at the sky. He cursed those bastard stars. He cursed the goddesses. He cursed himself.

Fit to bursting with agony and hate, he whipped his sword back up from the ground, but didn't sheath it. Instead he set out across the field, not caring where he was going, but hoping wherever it was it had copious amounts of rabid monsters. The goddesses must have heard him, however, for not a monster crossed his path, where before he would have at least met two on a night like this.

The walls of twilight didn't move, but kept their strange golden light to themselves.

He wandered like this for how long he didn't care to count. The night went on forever without moon or dawn. The sun did not rise when he thought it should. But he kept walking, swinging his sword into grasses and bushes. At one point his blade met tree trunks and he relished yanking out his sword and seeing the deep cream cut he had made.