by N Felts
the back of his hand against his eye, the inverted Triforce glows brightly, turning his palm transparent and revealing a radically different setting. An entire spectrum of objects comes into view, glowing ever so slightly from the magical power of Mai’s lens. From where he stands, a series of large steps descend toward the entrance of a segmented castle. Each of the many rooms floats in the air upon a hovering slab of earth, arrayed in the distance like a dark, cloud kingdom. Primarily silver in color, the structure is like no architecture he has ever seen, the roofs of the oddly fashioned buildings shaped like teardrops. Hopping down the massive individual steps, Rift reaches the base of the floating island, suspended by some unknown force. Across a gargantuan gap, he finds a suitable spot on the building for a portal. After dropping through, he stares at the building, shimmering dimly from the unnatural light it emanates. Quickly finding it difficult to maneuver with his hand pressed against his face, the boy lowers his arm for the moment. Much to his surprise, the structure remains visible even without the assistance of his hand. Permanently pulled into the visible spectrum, the building continues to glow faintly, serving to slightly illuminate his surroundings. Trotting up a short staircase, he pulls the large doors open, and enters the temple.
The initial room is massive, but aside from the small ledge just inside the doorway, it is void of any features or obstacles. The plain silver walls are segmented in long, rectangular bricks, encircling the entire room. At first glance, Rift assumed the structure to be circular, but now he can clearly see he is standing at the approximate halfway point of an octagonal cylinder, high above the floor, yet still a significant distance from the ceiling. With nowhere to go, he presses his knuckles against the bridge of his nose in order to shed some light on the illusion. The moment Mai’s power reveals the true nature of the room, the boy immediately jerks his hand away from his eye. Unfortunately, the brief glimpse of a nightmare remains solely where he revealed it. At the center of the room is a column of earth and stone serving as a nexus point for the eight paths spreading in all directions from its hollow center. Wrapped around the intersection, barbed wire randomly spreads away, vanishing into the nothingness as Rift failed to reveal the remainder of the area. Saturated with blood, the wire drips the dark red liquid consistently, a steady stream tracing its way down the line from unknown sources. Backing toward the door, the boy’s bravery is called into question, and rightfully so.
“What’s wrong?” Mai asks, coldly ignoring the small portion of the room that has been exposed.
“Are you serious? Can’t you see that?” Rift responds, pulling his hood over his head and reaching into his tunic to grasp his precious music box. In times of fear and doubt, the trinket has always seen him through to safety. He needs the nostalgic sense of security now more than ever.
“Hey,” she starts, taking a warmer tone. “This temple is meant to scare away the faint of heart. Everything we’ll find in here is a test of bravery and determination. I’m right here with you. Don’t be afraid. We’ve come too far to turn back now,” she explains, attempting to motivate him.
“I don’t like this place,” he asserts, shuddering briefly. “There’s something here,” he expresses, not quite able to put the sensation into words. “Something bad.”
“Well it better hope it doesn’t run into us, right?” She encourages, eager to continue.
“Right,” he agrees, significantly less confident than she had hoped. Anxiously lifting his hand once again, Rift looks all around the room, painting a grotesque portrait with his eye. Eight paths are revealed, entangled in the spider webs of bloody wire stretched throughout the room. Tangled bits of flesh and entrails dangle from the tightly wound wires at random points. Though rusted and brown in sections, the coils of metal remain deadly sharp. Three of the routes emerging from the central point lead downward at an angle, while three more ascend up toward the ceiling. Each path meets a door against the outer walls of the disgusting room, and from where he is standing, the boy can clearly see the door directly in front of him is covered with chains. Finally working up the courage to look down, he sees a teeming mass of flesh, the humanoid forms writhing and pushing against each other in the grotesque pit below. With no doors or ladders leading out, the zombie-covered base of the room is an inescapable death-trap. The husks of muscle take notice of the visitor, attempting to converge on one side of the room, but ultimately moving very little. A rapidly repeating influx of air sounds from the pit, and suddenly, a chorus of horrifying screams blasts up from the swarm of ghouls. Continuously taking short, wet breaths, the ReDeads endlessly cry blood-curdling screams at the boy, quickly growing deafeningly distracting.
“We need to move! Rift!” Mai calls as he falls to his knees and covers his ears. Over and over again the terrifying shrieks echo throughout the large room. Clinging to his music box, the boy finally climbs to his feet and sprints across the narrow path to the center of the room. Uncaring as to which particular path he takes, he ascends a ramp to his left, hurdling over and crawling under the entangling wires littering the route. Reaching the door, he wastes no time tearing it open and dashing through. Outside once again, the structure floating in the distance is the only feasible destination, the ledge the boy stands upon leading nowhere but down. Another portal is utilized and in seconds he is pulling open the door and strolling into the building filled with worry. Expecting yet another elaborate puzzle, the boy is shocked to find a small room with a treasure chest at the center. Certain it must be some sort of trap, he sends Mai over to investigate. Materializing halfway to the chest, Mai glances around the small room before squatting next to the wooden box. After knocking on the top, she turns back to Rift and shrugs her shoulders, the simple act of obtaining the treasure seemingly legitimate. Crossing the room with caution just the same, the boy jumps back a step when a ghostly figure appears atop the treasure.
“Greetings, young man,” the figure proclaims, sitting atop the chest with his back strait and arms crossed. Clearly some sort of scout during his life, the man wears a tightly fitting jumpsuit and a long bandana tied around his forehead. Upon his chest, the very symbol of the Sheikah Rift recalls seeing upon the blonde ninja, a red eye with a single tear falling. With a generally jolly demeanor, the man continues. “You have entered our sacred temple, and if you wish to possess the treasure we defend, you must pass a series of tests,” he explains, holding up a single finger while making the point.
“What kind of test?” Rift asks, checking his footing and growing defensive.
“Calm yourself. They are tests of the mind,” he smiles, his otherworldly voice carrying oddly well. “In each room you will hear a riddle. Solve the riddle and receive a key. Guess incorrectly and,” he pauses, shrugging his shoulders and growing mildly serious. “Not so lucky.” Taking a moment to consider what he is implying, the boy decides he has little choice in the matter.
“Alright then, let’s hear it,” he concedes, crossing his arms and concentrating.
“What can be kept only after it’s been given?” The ghost offers, grinning at the confused face before him. His heart sinking instantly, Rift is blindsided by the simple riddle. Unable to work out any sort of meaningful answer, his thoughts are overrun with possibilities of what the ghost intends to do when he hears the wrong solution. Straining to focus on the question once again, he decides the answer must be some sort of clever play on words, as most riddles tend to be. Even so, the answer eludes him as he prepares to admit defeat to the smug spirit.
“Your word,” Mai suddenly blurts out, having just worked out the answer herself. “You know, like a promise.”
“Your w-word,” Rift mumbles, the answer making too much sense to be wrong.
“Very good,” the phantom nods, back-flipping off the chest and vanishing into thin air.
“How did you know that?” The boy asks, his breaths full of relief.
“Oh, you know,” she starts, clearly pleased with
herself. “I am a genius,” she points out, emphasizing the second word as her ego grows even larger.
“Well I hope you can do it five more times,” he sighs, kicking the chest open and retrieving the small, silver key from within. Returning to the central room, Rift’s spine twitches when the shrieks and screams resume from below. Trying to focus his thoughts on fonder memories, he clutches his music box and races through the room as quickly as possible. Deciding to take one of the lower paths this time around, he breathes a sigh of relief once he is outside again. Another distant structure prompts him to attempt a portal, but the lack of a suitable wall on the uneven architecture leaves Mai unable to complete the request. Thinking for a moment, Rift presses his hand to his brow and reveals an intricate series of floating rock chunks creating a makeshift bridge encircling their destination. With an agitated sigh, the boy makes his way across the weaving and dipping path with a couple helpful hands from his companion, finally reaching an ideal spot to line up a shot. The portal sticks this time around, and once again, the door is opened to reveal a small room with a chest at the center.
“Hello,” a stern woman greets, her ghostly figure resembling the one before. Standing tall in front of the wooden box, she stares down at Rift with an angry expression. “You’ve come to attempt my test,” she states more than asks, waiting impatiently for a response.
“Yes, I would hear your riddle,” the boy asserts with a little more confidence.
“Very well,” she nods, her harsh demeanor not affecting the ritual of the temple. “What is so fragile, simply speaking its name will break it?” Again, Rift finds himself at a total loss for words. He has heard dozens of riddles before, but never has he gained an appreciation or understanding of them. Shaking his head to free his thoughts and focus, he hears a subtle giggle from his companion.
“Come on, this is an easy one,” Mai points out, not wanting to give him the answer right away. Quickly feeling frustrated and stupid, the boy thinks of every fragile object he can imagine. He attempts to conceive what word could be spoken to break anything at all, but ends up where he started. Clueless. “It’s silence,” Mai reveals, waiting for the answer to mesh with his thoughts.
“Silence,” he says aloud, prompting the female ninja to simply nod before crouching down and leaping up through the ceiling as she vanishes. Letting his frustrations slip away, Rift decides having Mai with him is more important than being smart enough to solve these dumb riddles as he snatches up his second key. She has done the thinking while he does the fighting since the beginning. He cannot produce a reason why the established method should change now. Able to simply teleport back to the central spire, Rift skips the mess of platforming blocks that led him to the riddle room, dropping right back where he started. Before he even touches the door knob leading back into the zombie-pit room, he already has his music box clutched tightly in his hand.
“Wait,” Mai blurts out, appearing next to her chosen. “I need to ask something,” she starts, moving closer as Rift steps away from the door.
“What is it?” He asks, subconsciously moving his precious toy out of view.
“It’s that,” she sighs, pointing at his arm, slightly hidden behind his back. “I need it,” she reveals, quickly deciding to alter her wording. “I want you to let it go.”
“W-what? Why?” Rift stammers in a growing panic, hopping back a step.
“Easy,” Mai cautions, not wanting him to accidentally trip off the ledge into the endless darkness below. With both arms extended in a calming gesture, she ceases her advance for the time being. “Listen. I know how difficult things have been. Every time I think you won’t be strong enough, or fast enough to go on, you amaze me,” she smiles as the boy calms down and simply listens. “The thing is, any time you really get yourself into trouble, I’ve been able to help you. You know why?”
“Because you’re strength’s returning? After being locked up so long?” Rift responds, suddenly unsure about the source of Mai’s power.
“Not exactly,” she admits, looking to the ground with an expression that begs for sympathy. “The truth is, you’re my strength. Everything I can do in this world is because of you. If you would just trust me, I could be even stronger.”
“I do trust you,” he half-whines, taking a step closer and turning a hand over. Simply eyeing his music box, Mai manages to question his beliefs without saying a word. “This is,” he starts, lifting it into view. “This is the only thing I have from my mother. It’s all I have to remember her by.”
“I’m here for you now,” she interjects a little more harshly than intended. “We’ve come so far, but if you can’t rely on me to keep you safe, I don’t know how much further we can go,” she points out, stepping closer and taking his spare hand while they both stare at the tiny trinket. He has done everything she has asked of him, and now Rift feels that Mai is going too far. Still, clinging to a toy for all these years has done nothing to help him mature. His goddess’s hair tumbles over his shoulder as she rests her head upon it. Her hand squeezes his tightly, and the warmer her grip feels on his palm, the colder the object of his obsession becomes. The memory of his mother’s embrace suddenly eclipses his senses, and he releases Mai’s hand, giving the metallic crank a full twist. Relying on the melody to remind him where his heart truly lies, he knows he cannot discard the box on the whim of his companion. Just as the music starts to play, the gorgeous goddess steps into his vision, grabbing the back of his neck with both hands and flipping his hood back in the process. Her eyes appear betrayed, as if Rift has just chosen another woman over her. Certain she is about to inflict some sort of violence upon him, her tense muscles relax as she stares into his eyes. Gradually, the anger leaves her visage, and a look the boy does not recognize creeps onto her face. It is not rage, or joy, or sorrow, but an immense urge pushing her into an imminent action. The impossibly soft skin of her arms brushing against his cheeks coupled with her fingers slowly spreading through his hair triggers an instinct Rift did not realize he even had. A single arm touches her hip, and it is the final push she needed to pull the boy into a passionate kiss.
The fear the temple had injected into her chosen’s veins is decimated by explosions of bliss. In the heat of the moment, Rift drops his music box, still playing his favorite song, onto the dark ground as he wraps both arms around his goddess’s form. After what seems like an eternity, the simple kiss ends as neither of the companions want to back away. Seeing stars, the boy is at a complete loss concerning what to do next, standing uncomfortably before the blushing woman. After a moment, both of them laugh simultaneously, though the awkwardness remains even afterward. Clearing his throat, Rift is the one to finally break away, motioning toward the door in an effort to point out the task at hand. Simply staring at him fondly, Mai clasps her hands behind her back, apparently humbled by the emotion a mere mortal has generated within her. With a deep breath, she subtly kicks the still-playing music box off the ledge, the twang of thin metal fading into the darkness below.
“You coming?” Rift asks with a smile, his hand already wrapped around the door knob as he turns to look back.
“Y-yeah,” she mumbles, gracelessly jogging over and taking his hand. Leading the boy back through the horrible room, Mai keeps a firm grip of his hand as the screams consistently cause his muscles to seize up. The disturbing sound intended to paralyze prey with fear. Another door swings open, and another vast chasm is crossed with relative ease. Approaching the small chest of another identical room, Rift simply takes a seat on the ground when the Sheikah ghost appears. Larger than the preceding two, the ninja seems depressed, leaning forward whilst sitting upon the small chest. With one hand clasped in the other, he stares at the floor, making no attempt to greet the boy.
“Umm,” the boy starts, suddenly uncomfortable. “D-did you have a riddle, too?”
“Feed me, and I will live,” the phantom suddenly declares. “Give me
water, and I will die.”
“Fire,” Mai declares without missing a beat. “Seriously, all these ghosts do is sit around and think up riddles? You’d think they’d have better ones.”
“You are fire,” Rift announces proudly. With nothing but a sigh in response, the ghost looks to his left, and fades away where he sits. Curiously glancing about the room, Rift marches over and claims yet another key. After teleporting back and taking Mai’s hand, the boy smiles gleefully at his companion, overwhelmed with joy when he considers her feelings toward him. Turning back and matching his smile, she plants another brief kiss on his lips, letting her hand rest on his cheek for a moment before charging through the door. Practically skipping through the disgusting chamber of carnage, the duo have reached yet another room in no time. Much younger than the previous Sheikah, this particular man is much more energetic, balancing atop the treasure chest on a single palm while his other hand clasps his elbow to maintain balance.
“A fourth key is what you desire? Well first you’ll have to answer to me!” He practically shouts, his excitement the polar opposite of the previous ninja.
“Let’s see what you’ve got,” Rift taunts, smirking at the ghost.
“I can pull a tear from your eye. So long as you live, I shall never die. I cannot be seen, and I leave not a trace. I can put a smile on your very face,” the man rants with a chipper tone. Not bothering to even attempt to make sense of the gibberish, the boy waits for Mai to deliver the obvious answer. Moments pass, and he finds himself standing in silence. The spirited ninja switches arms, beginning to do one handed pushups as he waits for the solution.
“I-I uhh,” Mai mumbles, finding herself unable to answer. “I don’t know,” she finally admits, feeling the same panic that is taking hold of her chosen. Grinning widely, the phantom continues his workout routine just the same, his duty requiring him to wait for an answer before taking any action. “I really don’t know,” she repeats, a sincere empathy in her tone. “Take a guess.”
“Th-the wind?” Rift finally asks, extraordinarily unconfident with his assumption. Instantly becoming stoic, the ghost drops off the chest, taking a knee before the boy.
“I am sorry,” he declares just before a sudden shockwave of energy blasts out of his form. The thick,