In His Shadow Prologue - The Goddess of Time

Sweet, encompassing coolness filled the hall; a welcome contrast to the burning world outside the temple. Impossibly, it was undamaged by the fires just outside its stone walls, resisting all the world’s evils.

The heavy door closing behind him, he dropped to his knees, the pain blinding. He didn’t have much time, but he couldn’t stop his lungs from taking great heaving breaths, or his body from shaking.

He knew the Demon would make chase soon, after it discovered what had been done to its pet. Glancing down at his spoils from his encounter with the beast, he felt a small satisfaction. A large chunk of its deep blue, armor-like hide and its twin, curving tusks had scattered to the floor. Suitable trophies, he thought.

Struggling upwards with great difficulty, he placed gauntleted hands on his own head, gripping his helmet. He lifted it free, tossing it to the ground with the other objects. The clanging sound of it landing echoed in the hall as he stepped forward. Movement was difficult; the heavy armor saw to that. He was unused to it.

Reaching the antechamber after several long moments, he spotted the shrine: a cylindrical glass case, opaque so that it shielded its contents from viewers, standing tall on a raised platform. Climbing the stairs was agony in every step. Left behind was evidence of his injuries—droplets of blood fell and stained each step.

At his approach, the opaque shield shimmered, its surface coming to life as if struck by light. The walls around him simply vanished as if they were never there. Alarm coursed through his battle-hardened body at the sight of the fires. The destructive element had already consumed most of the forest. Only the clearing where he stood was untouched, still green and alive.

The cylinder was emitting a faint, silvery light. It shone on his breastplate, reflecting the image of the sun emblazoned there. The golden armor was redder now, slick with blood and scratched from his battles. On his chest the sun image glowed with new life, renewing his strength. For what he had to do, he would need it.

Ripping off his gauntlets, he reached out and brushed his forefinger over the opaque surface. It shivered and dissolved before his eyes, and then he saw it, dark red and pulsating feebly. The heart of the world.
There was no time left. The Demon’s cries could be heard, far off in the chaos. It knew it had lost.

Quickly, he unsheathed the sword at his hip, raising it high. With a roar, he brought it down, striking the crystal.
It shattered.

He didn’t notice the high-pitched ringing in his ears until he opened his eyes again. Seeing only whiteness, he was certain he had gone blind. Shards of the crystal must have pierced his eyes.

“The Demon has been Sealed. You have done well, fierce warrior.”

He recognized that voice. “Goddess of Time,” he said, his voice betraying his pain, his grief.

A face appeared in his vision; so he was not blind after all. “Do not feel guilt over your actions. You performed the act I requested of you,” she said.

The face above him came into focus. Hers was the most beautiful face he had ever laid his eyes on. The face of divinity.

“But…the world will come to an end.”

“Yes.”

“What happens now?” he asked quietly. Looking down, he saw the emblem on his chest, its gold image dull. He wondered then if he would lay eyes on the sun again.

She reached out for him, keeping his consciousness focused on her lovely face, even as he felt the heavy weight of his body be left behind.

“The world is reborn.”
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Partly inspired by the Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask manga