Thunderclouds billowed around the top of the massive structure. It was a giant stone pyramid-like structure with stairs that led to a dark entrance at the top. The entire area reeked of an undeniably hideous magic that grabbed the samurai by his very bones.

Dogura stared up at the black entrance at the top. It's gaping maw, which begged for his ascent inside, was accompanied by two statues of Ganon himself, one on each side. He'd made up his mind. He'd come this far- there was no turning back now. He began ascending the stone structure, and with each and every step he took, he remembered why he hated this place so much. The darkness seemed to grab him and pull him further in- the evil was nearly unbearable. After several minutes, he stood at the top. The entrance was dark, but strangely welcoming.

Several thoughts raced through his head. It wasn't too late to turn and run- or maybe it truly was. He slowly made his way inside the demonic temple- it was time to get what he came for.

* * *

Inside, it was darker than he remembered. There were torches set up all along the descending staircase. As he followed it down into the depths of the earth, his anticipation grew. After following the stairs for what seemed like an eternity, he came to the bottom. It was an absolutely morbid sight, and it was all he could do to not wretch his insides all over the floor.

Many people were stuffed into tiny cages which hung over boiling pits of lava. Moblins operated the cranks which dipped them repeatedly. Their disgusting laughter combined with the screams of the victims was the default background noise of this horrible place. Dogura's eye swept across the room. One man was being stretched by ropes- he screamed and screamed, but the Moblins showed no sign of giving way. He tried to keep his eyes forward as he walked- but it was all so intense. The scream of a woman pierced his ears as he couldn't help but glance to his left. She was being pushed down onto a large triangle-like object, much like one would make orange juice with a juicer. The samurai winced and continued forward deeper and deeper. They hadn't seemed to notice him yet- but he dearly wished now that he wasn't here.

It was all he could do not to help the poor woman. Whatever she got damned for, she didn't deserve that. He heard more screaming, and moved his eye to his right, where a gang of the nasty monsters were having their way with a screaming woman. Dogura cried inside- he wanted to help her- to cut down Ganon's minions one by one. But he was here for another reason. He decided that this would be easier if he didn't have to watch where he was going. He dipped into a shadow, and shadowmelded the rest of the way across the room. As fast as he could, he propelled himself through the shadows, not wanting to hear the horrible screaming any longer. Finally, he passed under the giant door and into the next room.

Carefully surfacing from the shadows, Dogura glanced around. Stone walls lined with torches led high up around a winding staircase. It was dark, but towards the top, a red glow was being cast off of an unseen source. The samurai gathered his wits, and whilst ignoring the screams from the previous room, ascended the winding stairs. He ran his hand along the stone wall as he went; it was cold and rough, unlike the previous room which was hot and musky. When he came to the top, he was faced with another set of double doors. He knew what lay on the other side- an insidious magic that made his hair stand on end waited in the next room. There was no mistaking a monstrous aura like this- it was Ganon. He took a breath, and pushed the doors open. The room had a lower ceiling than the rooms thus far- still high, but low in comparison to what he'd seen thus far.

The room was light enough by torches, but dark enough to cover all contents in shadow. Dogura stared at the beast in the center of the room. A hulking dark mass, which was unmistakably Ganon's, stood on the other side of a table, which was surrounded by four other Moblins. They seemed to be studying a map of Hyrule when they all turned to stare at the intruder. Immediately the four Moblins raced towards Dogura, who quickly drew his sword. He wasn't expecting to be greeted without hostility. He was prepared for a fight, and he was just about to meet their lances when a deep monstrous voice made a single command very clear.

"Stop."

The creatures stopped in their tracks, each of them disgusted that they were forced to spare the samurai. Dogura stared coldly at the monsters. He had a lot of pent up aggression towards their species, and he was just as irked at the call to seize combat. The monsters simply returned to Ganon's side, all them carefully eying Dogura. The samurai kept his sword tightly in hand; he wasn't sure what to expect from Ganon, Lord of Darkness.

"I knew you would come."

The beast stated, his form still almost entirely cloaked in shadow. Dogura could make out his entire form, and light slightly shed on his hog-like nose. His eyes glowed ominously in the darkness that surrounded him, and his tusks gleamed slightly as the light from the flames flickered upon him.

"Leave us."

He commanded to his guards, who promptly exited the room. They didn't seem happy about it either, but then again, Moblins never really seemed happy to begin with. The samurai stood there in awkward silence for what seemed like an eternity before speaking hesitantly. "I... Your offer... Um..." He stammered nervously. Dogura feared no man in Hyrule to the point of speechlessness. He feared no beast to the point of shaking. Ganon however... He was less than a man, and more than a beast. He was a monster, and his sinister aura gripped Dogura's fears, and chilled him to his very core. The samurai struggled to get a hold of himself. He took a deep a breath, and tried again. "You made an offer to me a while back..." Dogura stated calmly as he could.

"Indeed I did."

The beast stated once again in the deep rumbling that comprised the tones in his monstrous voice. Dogura swallowed hard before asking the next question. "Does it still stand?" He asked, gripping his sword so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. There was a long pause. A very long, almost murderous pause, before Ganon moved for the first time since they began speaking. He folded his hands on the table, and closed his glowing eyes for a moment before reopening them with increased intensity.

"Indeed it does."

Dogura was able to stop his legs from shaking, and he was happy to hear that Ganon wasn't going to outright kill him. He nodded, and looked the beast directly in the eyes. "I'm willing... I'm willing to accept your deal." Ganon nodded slowly, quite pleased with the samurai's return. "However..." He spoke again. "I want what was promised to me up front." This a bold statement. He almost felt like he should have worded it differently. It was then that Ganon spoke more than one sentence. His eyes narrowed, and looked as if they were flaring with anger.

"You asked for your life. I granted your wish with a deal. You didn't uphold your end of the deal, samurai."

Dogura's mind began racing. He wasn't going to get his arm and eye back without capturing a thousand souls. He need a counter-argument; but the last thing he wanted was to anger Ganon himself.

"And here you have the audacity to demand your reward up front. How dare you enter my domain and ask me to trust you as I did before. I ought to rip your heart out and eat it raw right here..."

Dogura kept his cool, and simply replied, "You're in desperate need of a reaper. I know- I helped kill your last one." There was pause before Ganon replied.

"I am in need of a reaper, you have a point. Very well- you shall receive my blessing up front."

The lone Vagabond's heart jumped a beat. It was good news.

"However... Beware, Dogura... If you go back on your word this time, I'll personally hunt you down myself. I'll drag you kicking and screaming back to hell, and have you tortured for all eternity in the darkest of ways..."

Dogura couldn't help but feel the fear well up in his heart. He knew from the beginning that there would be no going back- but hearing it straight from Ganon's mouth put it in perspective for him just how real this was. Suddenly, Ganon's arm extended towards Dogura, and a dark blast of energy erupted from his opened palm. What!? Shit! There was no time to react- it happened fast. The samurai couldn't tell where he'd went wrong, but there was nothing he could do to escape the massive blast of energy headed in his direction. Dogura could only hold his arms up and close his eye, bracing for impact. However, the impact never came. Dogura slowly lowered his arms and opened his eye. Ganon remained in the same position across the room. There had been no pain- no impact. But now, the beast was entirely visible. In fact, it looked as if the entire room had lit up.

"It is done."

The beast rumbled, lowering his arm back to the table. Dogura looked down at his arm, which was once again of flesh and bone. He smiled as he ran his fingers along his old familiar arm. He was absolutely overjoyed at this, so much so that he ignored how frightening Ganon looked without the cloak of shadows. That was the other thing- where had the shadows gone? He looked up at Ganon again, and suddenly realized what the difference was. He slowly reached up and removed the eye patch.

I can see again...

Dogura looked around in wonderment. Depth perception was absolutely grand. Ganon chuckled a deep rumbling laugh. He snapped his fingers, and a black rimmed mirror appeared in front of Dogura. The samurai was absolutely astonished at what he saw.

Peer into the Mirror...

He drew closer to the image in the mirror, and couldn't believe what he was seeing. Not only did he have brand new eyes... But he was young again. The samurai was absolutely speechless.

"Meet your new eyes. They cut through the darkness, making you 100% more efficient when fighting in dark areas. With these eyes, you'll not only be able to see great distances at will, but they'll also never lose their edge as age sets in. Your eyes also hold... Other attributes."

Dogura was less focused on his new and improved eyes, but more of his youthful appearance. "I'm... I'm..." He stammered, running his hands across his face.

"I also made you 25 again. My studies indicate that you were at your most potent during your mid twenties..."

The samurai didn't know how to feel at the moment. He was happier than he had been in 15 long years. A tear rolled out of his new right eye, as he smiled at himself in the mirror. "Is this... Is this really possible?" He asked to the open room. He turned to look at Ganon. Thank you couldn't express his gratitude. He'd expected to reemerge whole again... But he never expected this.

"A final order of business..."

Ganon raised both of his hands into the air, and shadows began swirling around Dogura's feet. They began to run up along the length of his body. It was a bit painful, but he could endure it easily. It was a familiar long forgotten pain- and it was welcomed. Dogura gritted his teeth as the shadows completely consumed his body, and closed around the top of his head. A deep purple glow emanated from within the shadows before they disappeared. Dogura stood motionless, his eyes towards the ground.

"I thought you two might have missed each other... I did you a favor, and granted you some of my own power in order to better control that demon of yours..."

Dogura smirked, the power rising inside of him. This was everything he wanted, and more. He turned around, his back to Ganon. "A list?" He asked before suddenly jumping in shock. He was staring at words in front of him.

"One of the aforementioned attributes of your eyes... There are a number of commands you'll learn as you use them. LIST allows you to see the name and location of the next man or woman who is to die."

The name, Samuel Weathers appeared before him, along with the location: Deku Woods. Dogura watched as the words faded from view, and eventually disappeared. He didn't know if he was going to like avoiding certain words. He wasn't a man of very many words to begin with- but it was still a bit annoying. The samurai was on cloud nine at the moment however, and it seemed that nothing would bother him right now- not even Burlo, who'd perfected the craft.

"You're prepared to leave now. I expect one soul every week. You may leave though the door to your left. It's a quick way out from up here."

Dogura nodded to Ganon. "Thank you. Thank you very much." He added. He turned and began walking towards the new door.

"There are guards through that door. I've informed them to kill you on sight. Have fun.."

Dogura smiled, amused by the creature's game. He likely wanted to see what the samurai was capable of. That was just fine with Dogura; he was itching for a fight. He nodded, and walked towards the doors. He paused for a moment before pushing them open. It was a long and massive hallway, guarded by many of the foul pigs known as Moblins. A light could be seen at the end. Many Moblins turned and stared at him. He simply smiled, and placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.

[Music= Descent into Darkness]

His eyes seemed far colder than the original four had remembered. They shouted at one another in Moblinish as they surrounded the samurai. They held their spears towards him, each of them wanting a piece of the vagabond. He simply stared, an evil aura of darkness pouring out of him. The creatures knew something was wrong- but nothing could have prepared them for what they were about to face. Dogura simply fell into the shadow that lay beneath him. As if he'd fallen through a portal, he fell directly out of the ceiling, burying his sword deep within the head of his first victim. Two Moblins immediately took a swipe at him, but he jumped high into the air. He then threw both of his arms down at the crowd of Moblins, and a fire larger than life spouted down towards them. They screamed and baked within the hellfire. There were more of them still however, down the hallway a bit. After he'd finished consuming the beasts within the inferno, he dropped to the ground, and landed lightly on his feet, his back to the crowd.

His sword gripped tightly in his hand, he turned around to stare at the remaining Moblins. There were probably 50 of them still.

"The more the merrier." Dogura stated as he turned around to face them. They were visibly shaken up by his power. Suddenly, he snapped into a full sprint, running at a breakneck speed towards his enemies. He was nearly impossible to track, as he weaved in and out of the crowd. Moblins began dropping like flies as random lacerations opened up all over their bodies. Manacle laughter could be heard echoing throughout the cave as the samurai cut them down by the dozens. The dying shrieked loudly, and the living dropped their weapons in a panicked frenzied escape attempt. Dogura laughed at their attempted escape, and dropped into a shadow. The creatures ran for the light at the end... But a figure melded up out of the ground. A savage silhouette of a darkened man stood before them and their escape. His eyes glowed ominously like Ganon's had previously.

The Moblins, not knowing what to do next, simply dropped to the ground in surrender. They placed their hands out in front of them, and cried loudly. Dogura's lips twisted up into a demented smile as he turned and jumped out of the structure, and out of sight. Ganon stood at the end of the hall smiling madly.

"Good work... Gooooood work..."

OOC: So there ya have it! I posted a topic one square south of here. If anyone had tried to convince Dogura to stay away from Ganon, he would have taken the path of the righteous, and met his father(as well as some other influential figures) in the Temple Quarter. If nobody responded, he would have (and did) succumb to the power he desired. In short: Inactivity = Evil.

Hope you enjoyed reading it (I enjoyed writing it),and feel free to leave a comment if you like. I want to know what you thought about it. Thanks for reading!