The Shrine was dark as he stepped off of the platform. Sure the overhead ceiling still glowed, but it was never strong enough to reach the floor. The usual blue stones were mostly extinguished, leaving only a few patches of light here and there. In the distance he could make out the blue curtain that housed the monk.

It was kind of funny; he’d unlocked the Shrine by lighting four torches, and it turns out the place was coated in darkness. Link’s ears twitched as he took in every simple noise that penetrated the stillness; the soft hum of the platform, the gradual shifting of the water.

A Blessing Shrine, and thank Din for that. Sure the actual challenge was pretty tame in his opinion. Hell, he’d already killed the Molduga earlier, meaning all he had left was to shoot four torches with arrows. Sure it wasn’t anything big like scaling Gut Check Rock, or bashing down a giant stone door to find a leviathan’s fossil. But hey, he’d take what was offered to him.

Still, the differences were certainly piling up. Ignoring the lack of light, there was also the absence of the monk’s ethereal voice acknowledging his worth. It wasn’t so much of an egotistical boost, but rather a sign that he was allowed to let down his guard for just the briefest moment before accepting the monk’s gift. A quick glance confirmed his suspicions that the usual treasure that would be between himself and the monk was also gone. Every instinct and discipline that had been piled into the Hylian was screaming for him to leave.

Still, he needed the monk’s gift, so with that in mind Link cautiously made his way up to the monk’s pedestal. As he passed the few functional lights, he made out small disruptions and breaks in the tiles. Perhaps the rampaging Molduga above had disrupted the Shrine? It was a possibility, at least the one he was most likely to accept.

He reached the monk’s enclosure with only a few delays thanks to his frayed nerves compelling him to halt. It looked to be in perfect order; an uninterrupted curtain of blue light that separated them. The figure inside looked similar enough to the other monks; emaciated and withered. Link reached his hand to touch the light wall, an action that he’d repeated many times now. But there was something that caught his eyes just as his finger made contact; the eye tattooed on the monks forehead, or more specifically how it was reversed.

Link couldn’t recall a time he’d reacted so quickly, least of all back flipping of all things. His hands were already on the Frostspear that had been keeping him alive in the desert; ready to lunge forward as soon as he landed. What he wasn’t prepared for was the terrifying wail that assaulted him and caused his body to seize in fear. Scant few times had the Hylian been confronted with such a foe, and this one was proving to be among the most harrowing yet without even knowing what he was facing. Without control of his muscles, his backflip ended with him impacting and crumpling to the ground.

The monk rose from its pedestal, no longer needing to feign stillness. Link watched in silent dread as the false wall shattered like glass. Without a barrier between them, the now-hostile…thing, shambled into the gap of darkness before him. The Hylian desperately struggled to free himself from the icy terror that was holding his body hostage, finally succeeding just in time to scramble away as the withered creature came into the stilted light.

As he’d feared, the monk’s forehead did indeed carry the inverted eye: the mark of the Yiga Clan. Its emaciated body did little to hinder its movements. While the imposter monk was not as agile as say, the Yiga footsolider, there was still an unnerving degree of control in its movement. The constant sounds of its bones creaking and popping were also not helping. Slowly, it opened it’s shriveled eyes, revealing hollow sockets and the thin red slits within.

Link didn’t fear the undead. Stalkoblins were more humorous than anything, Stalmoblins were only intimidating in terms of their size difference, and Stalizafos had the advantage of being alarmingly fast. Even the mighty Stalnox would only give him slight pause before he’d confront it. But this thing… By Hylia, the fact that such an abomination could exist would haunt him until his final days.

The Hylian 1uickly weighed his options. It seemed fairly obvious that its voice was the source of his petrification. If he could keep it from wailing, he should be in the clear. So when he saw the Yiga specter’s jaw open, Link didn’t hesitate to let strike.

The elder caught his lunge with the flat of its palm. Even having the enchanted spear lodged in its hand didn’t phase the Malicious foe, much less freeze it like he’d hoped. Worse, it seemed like his weapon was withering before his very eyes, forcing Link to wrench it free. The blade, once pristine and with few flaws, was now practically covered in a spiders web of cracks and chips. It clearly wouldn’t last much longer, least of all against this monster. His distraction cost him as his foe let out another petrifying wail.

Even if he was once again caught in the icy bonds of terror, Link could still claim a small victory. He noticed that as the Elder’s shriek to through his body, the very air seemed to ripple in response. But more importantly, he saw that the ripples only spread so far. Meaning that there was indeed a range to it’s wail. With this new information, the Hylian doubled his efforts to overcome the shackles of fear as the corpse made a handsign in front of him. He’d seen the Clan’s footsoliders make similar signs, and could only wonder what it would entail for him…

The stone spike impacted into his chest, knocking the wind out of him and sending the knight flying back. Thankfully, his armor took the brunt of the attack, leaving him with only a small bruise and a shortness of breath at worst. More than that, it knocked him free of his petrification and allowed him to quickly scramble to his feet,

With the brief respite his range permitted, the shaken knight withdrew his bow and nocked one of his precious few Fire Arrows. Even as he let it fly, he knew it would prove an ultimately fruitless endeavor.

Like the mighty Lynel, the Elder seemed immune to elements. Fire wouldn’t phase it, and switching to shock arrows likewise had no impact. He was getting ready to try a bomb arrow when he dodged back from yet another piercing cry. It was then that he noticed the flash of an opportunity. The way the corpse’s inverted eye glowed whenever it screamed… what would happen if he fired an arrow at just the right time? With a plan in mind he nocked a simple arrow and combated his frayed nerves to wait for just the right moment…

His shot rang true, as it had done hundreds of times before. With the beast felled, Link quickly unsheathed his nearly-broken Frostspear and wailed on the imposter monk until the blade finally snapped. If his discipline still ran his actions, the former Knight would’ve leapt back and waited for a new chance to present itself. But such thoughts were not in the half-crazed Hylian’s head as he pulled out his next weapon: a Moonlight Scimitar. If only he’d had the foresight to pay attention, he would’ve seen the corpse’s third eye open…

Sloppy; such brazen antics had cost him dearly in the past, and this time was no exception. As the unholy shriek of the Yiga corpse pierced his ears, he felt his body once again seize up; powerless in the face of the shambling Malicious construct. The Hylian was ready to take another spike of earth, nearly confident that even with the state he was in, he’d survive long enough to down a quick elixir. But few times did his plans work the way he’d expect, and the Yiga elder wouldn’t break that trend.

Link willed his body to react as he felt the cold hands of the undead wrap around his throat. A quick glance into its magically-laced eyes revealed that the originally red pinpricks had been replaced by an insane mix of yellow and purple. His other sense quickly left him as the iron grip of the corpse crushed down on his windpipe. His armor was proving useless, not when his foe was already latched onto his vulnerable neck. With vision blurred, he only barely noticed the scimitar drop from his hands…

The familiar sight of a blue-tinted ghostly Zora brought him back. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been down; enough for his foe to release its grip on his neck and let out a foul shriek in victory. He had a scant moment’s reprieve to scramble back, flashing his Stasis Rune on the beast for good measure.

He didn’t bother with the scimitar, instead opting to get more distance before drawing his bow. But he wouldn’t bother with any old arrows; nor fire, shock, or ice. Instead, he’d go for overkill, because he was NOT getting near that thing again. So when the yellow glow of the Stasis broke and the Yiga realized what had transpired, Link had already nocked a bomb arrow, and let it fly…

Another.

Three.

Six.

Eight.

His bow snapped in his hands.

Link barely held himself together as the smoke cleared. It was still standing, but noticeably singed and wounded. That was good; it meant he was making progress. He had no earthly clue how close or far he as, but he’d take visual testament for what little comfort it could offer. So taking what little time remained of his respite to recover his scimitar, he was nearly ready to make his next move…only to find his body once more beyond his control.

How in Din’s name?! He was certain that the Elder was out of range! With his body surging with adrenaline [revise], he managed to break free much faster this time. Electing to get more distance, Link stumbled halfway down the steps to the platform that once carried the treasure before turning back to his foe. Only then did he see the compressed tunnel of rippling air that caught him square in the chest.

Fear. Fear was not a foreign concept to Link. But never could he claim to have been this wracked with terror. Not even the sight of the Guardians locked onto him could bring him to this level of fright. It wasn’t even directed at anything, not even his current foe. No, it was as if the very concept of fear replaced every sense and instinct that made him.

With great difficulty, he noticed the Elder limping towards him, ignorant to its many wounds. Not even it’s knees giving out and resorting to crawling could keep it from shambling forward. He willed his body to break free of the shell of terror he was encased in. His hand twitched towards his Slate and swiped a single rune. The blue light didn’t even touch the ground before he forced his palm onto the Slate once more…

Link was flung back by the bomb’s blast, but he didn’t care. If anything the extra distance was a blessing, even if it carved off a good chink of his restored health. He rolled down to the base of the steps and came to a rest in front of the raised dais that would’ve held the Shrine’s treasure chest. Not for the first time, he’d love nothing more than to just lay there and let the world go by… but such a luxury was not for him, and dutifully he willed his battered self to rise.

He couldn’t see the corpse anymore. The Hylian honestly couldn’t decide if that was a comfort or not. Still, he fought every instinct of his screaming to run in favor of tightening the grip on his scimitar and taking cautious step after step forward. There, to the right of the monk’s platform. Throwing caution t the wind, Link chucked his blade right at the downed beast and watched with baited shaky breath as the body twitched on impact before sliding further back.

It wasn’t moving. The Yiga Elder’s eyes were smothered out, and the inverted eye on its forehead had been caved in. Both of its legs were splayed out at unnatural angles that would make a lesser man sick and it’s left arm was missing past the elbow. Still, the amnesiac Knight wouldn’t drop his guard until long after the body had dissolved into Malice. Only when the last speck had flickered out did he finally let out a strangled cry of relief and collapsed with his back to the right column that framed the monk’s pedestal. As he listened to the gradual steadying of his breath, a voice echoed out from within the darkness of the shrine; a pattern that he was quite familiar with now, even if the circumstances were radically distinct.

Oh Hero chosen by the Goddess. You have done well to reach this shrine. Moreso, you have done me a great service.

Tiredly, Link glanced around for any sign of the monk; only to find that he was well and truly alone in the defiled shrine. As the Hylian leaned his head back to rest against the cool stone, he listened to the disembodied voice.

Long did I wait for your arrival, ready to acknowledge your worth. Alas, the fallen clan found my Shrine first and desecrated it.

While Goddess Hylia’s blessings sustained me for many centuries, I fear that the Calamity’s mark proved too powerful, and my body was destroyed.

That explained why the monk was nowhere to be found. It also offered a reason that the chest was gone; the Clan probably raided it or more likely broke whatever gift was awaiting him.

I can see no reason to honor your struggles, even moreso now. In the name of Goddess Hylia, I bestow upon you this Spirit Orb.

From one of the dark pools of water, a familiar glow came forth. Link turned his weary head just in time to make out the welcoming sight of a Goddess Orb hovering towards him. As he felt the intangible sphere enter his chest, the exhausted Knight let out a long, bliss-filled sigh. Like every other time, he felt his body grow strong as the divine gift worked to undo the horrors his being had suffered. Still, there was little doubting that he would have another new scar to add to the plethora that littered his being. He only hoped that the marks on his neck would be wiped away, so that he wouldn’t be constantly reminded of the foul Elder’s icy grip.

Be wary, Hero Chosen by the Goddess. I fear this will not be your last encounter with one of the fallen Elders. Rest now, and may the Goddess smile upon you.

With that final cryptic warning, the voice echoed no more, and Link once again found himself alone in the darkened Shrine. He wouldn’t rest long; a few hours at most and then he would resume his arduous quest to right the wrongs of Hyrule. The Yiga’s hideout couldn’t be too far, and he would be more than ready to face whatever vile sort controlled the Clan…

Beware the Eye of the Yiga...