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Entry 9;
The Lost Woods:
"This is it..."
In a rather obscured forest far away from anywhere, a forest feared for its dense fog and narrow roads where many a man had lost their way and thus their lives before, two men were seen traveling. One of them rather bulked up and clad in armor, the other more light on his feet. The one with the lighter outfit had dark short-trimmed hair, a nice built figure, and a far more determined face than anyone in the land of chaos had had in ages. He was dressed in a green attire and he was probably somewhere in his early 20s. His name was Levi, and although he had always been a somewhat arrogant fellow, he had more than enough skills to back it up with. In a way, he was a ladies' man, but there were few more deadly with a blade than him. Which made it the perfect contrast.
"So we're finally here huh, are you certain Levi?"
"Positive, have I ever been wrong?"
"Uhm, of course not Levi..."
Approaching what seemed to be some sort of a shrine, the two men stopped for a brief moment to catch their breath.
"Why do you have to have all this armor on you anyways? It's not like we are going to get attacked all out here."
"Forces of evil are lurking in every corner these days, you never know when they decide to strike. Many a man has lost their lives in this forest for unexplained reasons, so let's not take any chances..."
"Ahh, whatever, let's go already, it's right up ahead if I'm not wrong. That's what I was told at least. It better damn well be here because this forest is creeping me out."
Leading the way, Levi finally came before what he was looking for. Up ahead in front of him stood an old platform surrounded by trees on all sides, and on top of it, rested an old blade, stuck deep into the iron platform below it. Looking back, he noticed that his companion was lagging behind, but there was no time to lose nor any way he could get lost now, so he approached the sword. Just as he did, a barrier shot up around him as what seemed to be two guardians emerged from the ground behind him.
"Watch out Levi!!"
Quickly turning around at the voice of his friend, Levi managed to spot two large stone-swords coming in his way as he dodged between them and drew a sword of his own, holding it with a reversed grip, a battle style he was very famed for among allies and enemies alike. Charging in, Levi tried to break through the Stone Warriors in front of him but to no use. He needed something stronger to break through, but what? Coming up with a strategy, Levi barely dodged between another strike as he was knocked away by the backside of one of the Stone Warriors' free hands, sending him flying through the air and crashing into the barrier beside the sleeping blade, falling face down on the platform. Looking panic-struck from the outside, his friend started banging on the barrier to try to draw their attention towards him to buy Levi enough time to get back up to his feet but to no use. The Stone Warriors had one goal, and that was to eliminate anyone approaching the sleeping Legendary Blade. Regaining his composure, Levi shot up just in time to dodge a blast as he landed on his feet with his back faced towards the barrier-wall. About to ready his defense in an attempt to counter however, Levi realized that he had lost the grip of his own sword as he was sent flying earlier, spotting it on the other side, right beside where his friend stood.
"What is this, I can't possibly lose to two walking stones?! The great Levi won't go down that easily!!"
Trying to gain some space, Levi jumped to the side but was quickly caught on as one of the Stone Warriors grabbed onto his left foot and sent him swinging around before letting loose. Crashing face first into the barrier right in front of his friend, who took a step back thinking he would come crashing through, Levi quickly shook his head to regain his focus. Spotting his sword he quickly lifted it up and just in time too. Getting his defense up however, Levi's sword was cut straight through, just avoiding contact with his body as it did.
"Damn there's no way through these guys?! Think Levi, think!! You are better than this!!"
"Behind you!"
Almost losing confidence, Levi managed to let his eyes slip away from one of the guardians who came charging into him, knocking him over. Forcing himself up to his feet, Levi wiped away some blood that was coming from his nose as he looked up all disorientated.
"This can't be happening... Gonmah, what do I do?!"
The Stone Warriors showed no way of backing down, almost as if having been instructed to guard the Legendary Blade and kill anyone who attempted to draw it. But who could place such foul magic upon it? Surely no one with good intentions...
"Go for the sword Levi!! It's your only chance!!"
Jumping up and down as he pointed the sword's way, Gonmah seemed to realize that it was the only way Levi could break through the two guards, and understanding what he meant, Levi quickly rolled over as he made his way for the sword, with the two guardians closing in right behind him.
"Thanks Gonmah! Why didn't I think about that?! This has to work, come on, come on!!"
Placing his hands on the sword, Levi used all his might trying to pull it out but it seemed like it was no use as one of the guards swung his sword towards his head, in which Levi barely managed to dodge almost falling to his knees in the process, still with his grip on the sword.
"If I die now after making it this far, there's no way this land can ever be free!! Get lose you stupid sword so that I can beat these two and vanquish all evil, noooow!!"
Almost as if jumping upwards, Levi sought to get the sword loose with an upward thrust, and to his surprise, it finally worked as he quickly turned around to face the two guardians. Just as he did however, the only thing he could see in one moment was complete darkness as if having closed his eyes or been blindfolded, but as he soon realized, it was because he came face to face with the stone-sword of one of the warriors as he took a step back to gain some perspective on the situation. Instead of knocking his head off however, the Stone Warriors had stopped in their tracks and just in time too. Realizing this, Levi let out a deep sigh as the two guardians then crumbled to stones with the barrier around him doing the same. Landing on his butt, Levi sat down in relief as he was still holding on to the Master Sword with his right hand. Looking at it for a brief moment, he then turned it around in his usual reversed grip fashion, but immediately felt that it was more comfortable to hold it like normal. Before he managed to think more about the situation or to holster the sword however, Gonmah was all over him as he was almost crushed under his heavy body and armor.
"Gonmah-... I-... Can't-... Bre-..."
"Oh?!!"
Noticing that he was almost crushing Levi to death, Gonmah let off his excitement of seeing Levi still alive as he sat down beside him and gave him a pat on the shoulder.
"That wasn't so hard was it?"
He mockingly asked.
"Not really no... Not that you would expect otherwise when it comes to me. This sword must surely be powerful if the legends are to be true."
Holding it up in the air, a powerful feeling surged through him, as if the sword had a mind of its own.
"But you were a bit scared there, weren't you??"
Gonmah followed up.
"What the heck are you talking about? Me, scared?! Hah! Don't make me laugh. Nothing makes me scared."
"But you were crying for help there for a moment, weren't you??"
Pressing further, Gonmah couldn't help laughing, much to Levi's resentment. However, even he couldn't be that stubborn, and as he thought about it, he too started laughing; something Gonmah couldn't even remember seeing him do before. Shooting up to his feet, it was as if a newfound inspiration beamed inside of Levi. Pointing the blade up high towards the air, he then said:
"With this sword, the Blade of Evil's Bane, we shall finally bring an end to the chaos and bring Ganondorf to justice. And I shall be the one to claim his life by plunging the Master Sword into his heart!"
"Then you'll be the hero you always dreamt of, won't you?"
Exclaiming in excitement, Gonmah seemed to share his passion.
"Dream huh..."
Slowly putting the sword down, Levi then holstered it in his hilt hanging from his side as he remained quiet for a bit. A smile then formed on his face as he spoke.
"Not without you of course Gonmah! Only together can we become heroes, don't forget that!"
Reaching out for him, Levi then helped Gonmah up as well as the both of them had regained their confidence.
"Maybe even you will win the princess over, eh, Gonmah!"
Forming a big grin on his face, Levi couldn't help getting Gonmah to laugh as well.
"If only, but I am not as strong nor handsome as you, Levi..."
"Don't you worry, any hero will kindle the spirit of a woman in need! Come, my good friend, let's get out of here before we really get lost."
Making their way out of the enclosed area, the two men tracked back the way they had come from and not long after, they were back in the field of Hyrule. Someone had to rise to oppose Ganondorf, the Great King of Evil, and after having passed the 6 Trials of Courage, defeating all sorts of powerful creatures not long ago, Levi felt more ready than ever before. This was what he wanted, his destiny. The one thing he had been preparing for almost all his life, ever since that day when he was younger, encountering that strange man in the forest near his home. Recollecting their horses, the two men rode towards what would very much likely, be their final battle...
Indeed. The story of Levi comes to an end as the Great King of Evil fell upon his blade, the Master Sword. Sadly, Levi could not get through the battle alive as his good friend Gonmah grieved his death for years to come. However, he knew Levi had given his life for a great cause as peace did once again manifest in the land, a peace that lasted for 3000 years to come, until a new war and a new wielder was on the rise. In fact, Ganondorf was truly never killed in his battle with Levi, as he once more returned only this time, to be put away for good, being turned completely into stone. Not all wielders of the Master Sword had a happy ending, nor were they meant to, but one thing was certain, Uzumaki Naruto grieved all their deaths. Remembered as the heroes they were, their adventures and heroic deeds were remembered for generations to come, inspiring upcoming generations to walk in their steps. The Master Sword was returned to the rebuilt Temple of Time decades after the events of Levi's heroic journey, in which it rested until the next destined wielder would rise... However, even if Ganondorf ultimately met his demise later in a battle against the 5th wielder Link, there was in fact one certain Demon, a Dark Lord bearing the name Demise itself, that had yet to be truly vanquished. Surviving his battle against Revan and Naruto, and ultimately finding a way to keep himself alive after his war with Ganondorf, Demise remained in the shadows until he one day could return to full strength. Making his home in a peculiar place, Demise awaited his time until the fateful day came. A new wielder would finally oppose him, but would it be enough to finally bring an end to the Dark Lord? Only the future knows...
The End.
Author's Note:
1: The story of Levi presented here, unlike the story of Aragon presented in the previous entry, was never something I had been thinking about doing. Everything present in this chapter was made up from scratch as I went about to do it while Aragon's story was made from memories of ideas I'd had about a potential story of him almost a year ago. I hope you enjoyed these three additional entries shedding more light on the life and death of the 8 wielders of the Master Sword.
2: And another thing, curiously enough, one of my original ideas for my Zelda One-Shot was actually something similar to what takes place here. In the story of Levi, it follows The Legend of Zelda games more accurately, and that was something I wanted to do. I did however choose to focus on a war-story and thus, the Zelda One-Shot came to be as it is. If there is one story I could potentially write if all else fails (mind the expression), it would be the full story of Levi and how he went through the 6 Trials of Courage with his good friend Gonmah. Perhaps if I decide to do a comeback on the Base 3 years from now, maybe I'll make that story my focus, haha. The 8th chapter of The Legendary Sage of Six Paths is definitely up next, so be sure to stay tuned for it!
3: For the heck of it, I decided to further the meaning of the post I left on Chapter 6 of TLSoSP in response to Trea's question regarding the entire timeline year by year, and thus I quickly threw together a rather "easy" illustration as shown below, and as you will see, I didn't really put much time or effort in it to make it look "pretty." The point is however to give you guys a quick look on the more or less confirmed overview of the main events of the Master Timeline, and with that, Recollection of the Past comes to and end. The only thing remaining now, are 9 chapters of The Legendary Sage of Six Paths before this entire Timeline is complete!!
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Now... Most of you would think I would leave you with that, huh? Well, since my next release probably won't happen in three weeks' time, I thought I would leave you guys with a preview of my next release. Yes, you guessed it right, my next release is in fact chapter 8 of TLSoSP, so hope you'll enjoy this "preview" version. Be advised that I might change it up a bit like I did the scene I previewed of chapter 7 at chapter 6.
So without further ado, here's the Preview:
The Legendary Sage of Six Paths, Chapter 8;
The Tower of Death Part 1; A Test of Power, Courage & Wisdom - The Game Begins!:
'So have I made everything clear to you, oh brave samurai warriors? You agree upon the rules I've laid out and the risks of this challenge, am I right? This will be the last chance to turn back, so do not regret it as there are no safe-words here, no turning back! Either you die, or you complete this challenge, understood??' The gatekeeper boasted. 'Perfectly.' I added. As I did, the steel doors in front of us suddenly began to open up inwards as a shocking view met us. All three of us stepped within the entrance as the doors began to close equally as fast as they had opened. Before they closed completely behind us however, the gatekeeper shouted out one last thing...
'Then I welcome thee to the Tower of Death, brave young men, and to a Game of Death!!'
As we stepped onto the dojo mat stretching across the entire room in front of us, the doors behind us shut close tightly with a loud noise. There was no turning back now, we had to work together to get through this despite the fact that none us us knew nothing of the other. In front of us a wide-spread fight was raging on as ten men dressed in white training gear were fighting two men who seemed heavily outnumbered and completely tired out of the battle that by now must indeed have dragged on. A little further to the left of us, a third man laid on the ground seemingly knocked out. This was indeed not some sort of a show-off mock battle that took place in front of us in what seemed to be some type of dojo arena. They were indeed the three challengers the gatekeeper had told us about that arrived about half an hour before us, and the ten men dressed in white, were indeed the guardians of the first floor. The three of us remained silent at first, observing the ongoing fight before the man in the yellow jumpsuit standing on my right finally spoke once more. He said; 'So should we help them out or wait until their fight is finished? If they can tire the opponents out for us, we shouldn't have much trouble dealing with them afterwards. That is if you two want to cooperate together that is?' I didn't even manage to think of a response before the man with the pale eyes, standing on my left answered. 'I agree with the latter part of your questioning, however, we should join them to even out the numbers a bit. That way, we can end this fight sooner and progress to the next level without much trouble.' The man in the yellow jumpsuit nodded back at him, and before I knew it, both of them charged ahead to join the fray. I waited patiently as I watched them smash through the ranks. I couldn't help think that there was something familiar with these two men, something I at the time couldn't put my finger on. As I was pondering about the fact, I looked up towards the ceiling as I discovered that the first floor indeed took up a lot of space. About as far away from the floor as from the ceiling, a platform made up of wood was seen hanging, acting as some type of a middle floor connecting the two floors. It was about half the size of the ground floor in length and width, and it was only held up by some pillars reaching down from the ceiling that was connected with each of the four corners of the platform to keep it from falling towards the ground. I quickly realized that it didn't have anything around the edges to keep people from falling off except from where the staircase lead up to it from the ground floor on one side, and another one the other side leading up to what truly was the second floor. 'The boss of the first floor as the gatekeeper had talked about surly waited up on that middle-floor, and any fight that took place up there was not without the risk of falling off and thus breaking any bones in your body below.' I thought to myself. Despite that fact, we could not falter, we just had to get passed anyone down here first...
The staircase leading up to that middle-floor had some sort of a fence-gate blocking the access to it, and it would probably not open before the ground level was cleared. Looking back at the fight in front of me, I noticed that three of the men dressed in white had already been taken care off within seconds of those two men I arrived with had joined the fray. I instantly realized that these two surely weren't any ordinary men as I had come to expect at first. Maybe something about them was actually more than a feeling? There was only one way to find out. I decided to join the fray as I leaped forward. It was time to put everything I had learned into practice...
