Dark Body, Light Soul (Or the Tale of the Stalfos)

by Garino

42: The Price You Must Pay, Part 3

Chatper 42: The Price You Must Pay, Part 3

I’m not sure how long I was out of it. All I know is I awoke with a start. Both Olman and Margaret were there, and both showed a bit of concern for me. Margaret was the first to speak.

“Are you well? If you do not wish to make a choice now, you have time. You may stay and ponder your choice here in the Velvet Room as long as is necessary,” she said.

I shook my head. “No...I just had to think on my choice, and I believe, with what I’ve seen...I will make the right one.” I placed my hand on the card and, hesitating for a moment, flipped it face-up.

I heard the door behind me slam shut. Olman smiled as he held out his hand. “Then I officially welcome you to the game, and express my delight in having you as my champion.”

“Same here, Olman,” I responded.

“Ah, about that...it is time I revealed my true name,” he remarked. A bright light enveloped the room, and I had to look away and squint just to make sure I didn’t go blind. When it finally dimmed enough for me to see again, I was shocked. Gone was the gentleman in the tweed suit, gone was the hat, gone was the cane. In place of all that was a man with slender arms and legs, a long nose (probably the most distinct feature), and a bald head with white hair encircling it, almost like a kappa. His clothes were still fancy, a black suit with a white undershirt, white gloves and shiny black dress shoes. Opening his eyes, they were bloodshot, and it seemed to be only black dots for irises.

“My name is Igor,” the creature responded, in the same voice as Olman. “and I am the Master of the Velvet Room.”

I could only blink in response. “Wow...uh, just...wow. Pleasure to meet you again...Igor.” I had to catch myself from calling him Olman again. Margaret opened the book in her hands.

“As our guest," she recited, "we shall allow you the use of our powers. However, unlike most of our guests, who have the power of the Wild Card, your Arcana is already defined, as shown by the card.” As she spoke, the card showed a picture: a crescent moon. Above it rested a scorpion...or a lobster, it was hard to tell, honestly. Below were letters. The Roman Numeral for eighteen: XVIII.

“Creativity. Inspiration. Dreams. Madness. Illusion. Fear. Fantasy. Trickery. When someone speaks of those born under the Arcana of the Moon, these are the words that describe them best. I wonder which of these words describes you the best,” Margaret wondered aloud. The card floated to me and rested on my chest before seeming to sink into it.

“Although you cannot personify all of these aspects,” Igor said, “you may form bonds with others that represent these aspects. One with a creative mind, one that rules the realm of dreams, one who relishes in madness, one who hides in illusions, one who instills fear, one who lives in a fantasy, and one who persuades through trickery. The bonds you form with them, shall give you the ability to use the powers of the Moon to its fullest.”

“That...sounds like a lot of work, honestly,” I admitted. An alarm rang in my head. “Wait, I think you missed one. What about ‘the one who inspires’ or something similar?”

Igor chuckled at the question. “Daniel...you cannot personify ALL of the aspects of the Moon...but you can at least personify ONE. Your time in Necro City...you aided her citizens in a time of despair, and inspired them to work together instead of hide in fear, waiting for the inevitable. You embody the Moon’s Inspiration.”

I felt something move inside of me; from my heart, to my left shoulder, and down to my wrist. A silver bracelet formed on my wrist, with a sapphire embedded in the top of it. Simply wearing it felt like I was given power to take on the world. Igor continued speaking, “Your first power is something that cannot be learned naturally by those of the Moon. But I feel you can put it to great use. When an ally needs a push, you can inspire them to push themselves further than they could go alone. You may also push yourself over your own limits. But be careful; everyone has limits for a reason, and to push yourself too far may cause more damage than you think.”

“The bracelet allows you to channel this power to others, and as you grow closer to others, it will give you more abilities that can help turn the tide of battle,” Margaret added. “It also serves as a key to come back to the Velvet Room. When you are unsure where to go, the bracelet will show you the way to us.”

I examined the bracelet as they spoke. It was amazing how much promise one little trinket could hold. “And the price to use this is simply to do as you ask?” I confirmed.

Igor waved his hand, producing a parchment and a pen. The contract. “The powers we give you, and those you gain because of it, are yours to keep, from now until the end of time. The only two things we ask are responsibility and...a personal favor, shall we say.” Igor seemed to chuckle at the addendum. I recognized the first part; as part of contracts I’ve seen, the choices I make are ones I must make myself, and like it or not, I will see my choices through.

The second part, however… “A...favor? I thought I was doing that already?”

Margaret held a finger to silence whatever other objections I may have thought of. “This favor will be told in due time. We will not leave you in the dark, but now is not the time to reveal it. Just yet…”

I looked over the contract. Bracelet contains power, all powers kept until end of time, take responsibility for any choices, and a personal favor done will ensure the residents vouch for me if questioned by other gods. That didn’t seem too bad...and I double-checked to make sure there wasn’t any fine print. With nothing else on the contract, and nothing else to lose, I signed my name. This is it. No turning back now, even if you wanted to. Let’s make that difference.

With a swipe of his hands, Igor dispelled the contract and pen, leaving the empty table. “Although your journey began before the signing, the real adventure starts here. While your body is being repaired, you may stay here in the Velvet Room, or wander your dreams and hone what has been lost,” Igor said. “When we meet again, your body will be complete, and our favor will be revealed.”

The door clicked behind me. Turning, I saw a small opening in the door. Guess it was time for me to take the first step. I got up and stopped at the door, but I didn’t bother to look at the denizens. “Igor, Margaret. Thank you both. I may not be the best choice, or your first, but I promise not to make you regret your decision to choose me.” I left the Velvet Room, making sure to close the door behind me.

---

Stepping into the void, my foot stepped on something solid. Looking down, I realized it was a stained glass platform, big enough to support me. Before I took another step, I felt a sudden force lift myself and the platform up. Higher, higher, into the void. Suddenly, a quick turn to the left. Then a curve to the right. Moving this quickly made my stomach churn, or it would’ve had I been in the real world. ...actually, I don’t think it mattered, because I was feeling sick from this roller coaster ride. My salvation came in the form of a stained glass circle, in the distance. That salvation turned into fear as my platform increased in speed towards it.

I flew towards the platform at such high speeds that the sudden stop sent me flying onto the circular platform, landing on the other side with a *thump!* facing the black sky. I groaned and laid there, waiting for everything to stop spinning. When it did, I rolled to my stomach and pushed myself up gently, examining the stained glass a bit more. On it seemed to be a snake with eight heads, each one looking in a different direction, no doubt menacingly. What concerned me was I could only tell there were eight heads because there were eight necks; seven of the heads were shrouded in darkness. The eighth, the one I could see, was the only one that wasn’t darkened.

Curiosity got the better of me as I went to examine it. I remembered the legend of the eight-headed snake: Yamato-No-Orochi, a demon that demanded a maiden for a sacrifice. When a warrior’s loved one was chosen to be a sacrifice, he challenged and defeated the scaly monster. But why was the image here? What purpose did it serve? Looking at the head, I realized one fang was jutted out further than the other, and a bit...less glassy. I grabbed the ‘fang’ and pulled, losing my balance and hitting my head against the floor as I pulled it out.

“Ow...that smarts…” I muttered. Looking at the fang, I realized it was a familiar hilt. If that was true...a button should be on the guard. As suspected, pressing the button made a pink energy beam emit from the hilt. “Nice! I found my Beam Sword again.” Clicking the button again to turn it off and placing it in my pocket, I turned around to look for a way out. A path of stained glass platforms rose to another circular area. I could follow it and see what I can find there. I ran up the path, not paying any mind what may lie ahead, nor that the path behind me disappeared so I couldn’t go back. At the top, the platform’s image...threw me for a loop. On it were two faces; one of them my own. It stared at the other, as if challenging it to a fight. The other, while similar, seemed to ebb with darkness, its eyes a bright yellow. What could it mean?

“Well, if isn’t Daniel. That IS what you’re calling yourself these days, right?” a familiar voice called out. I quickly turned to the voice, hilt revealed and thumb on the button. What I saw caught me off-guard, far more than the glass I stood on. Across stood an exact replica of me, except I could see dark energy seep from his body. His eyes were a bright yellow; just like the glass, I thought.

“...what’s the matter, Daniel? Aren’t you going to say ‘hi’ to your old self?”

Author's Note:

What's this? Two chapters in two days? Are you trying to make up for lost time, you ask?

.........yes. Yes, I am.

Comments

[Cades]

Not working. Still dead.

[SafariJohn]

Stained glass = Kingdom Hearts reference? Only place I've seen such a landscape.

[ultra1437]

3756169
I thought much the same myself. I don't distinctly remember any of the designs on those stained glass platforms, but i remember them.

[Ron_Gamer]

3756169
3756596 I think anyone who played Kingdom Hearts would think of that. I know that's the first thing that poped in to my head when I read that. (can't wait for Kingdom Hearts 3)

[Romalisk]

3756928 So much yes.

[magemagics]

You. Are. Awesome!

[Lucien Chance]

We forgive you for your completely excusable lateness.

[LakieLegion]

Everypony's favorite Stalfos is back!!!1one11eleventyone!!! Welcome back mein author

[Yasahiro]

It will take time before I reread the previous chapters to remember everything.... But what Beam Sword? I thought Daniel simply held a normal sword he could charge with magic.

Unless I made correct connection and you just gave him Omega Sword from Megaman Zero

[Black--Soul]

Cant say i envy his god or form/race given But it will have to do it