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Lingering Will VS Hero's Shade is a What-If? Death Battle featuring the Lingering Will from Kingdom Hearts and the Hero's Shade from The Legend of Zelda. This page was created by Timpack and is his fiftysecond written Death Battle. The next battle is Fiona (Forever After) VS Tawna (It's About Time) while the previous one was Disco Wing VS Bernadette the Chicken.

Lingering Will VS Hero's Shade
Season 4
Season Episode 7
Air date September 04, 2024
Written by Timpack
Episode guide
Previous
Disco Wing VS Bernadette the Chicken
Next
Fiona (Forever After) VS Tawna (It's About Time)

Description[]

Kingdom Hearts VS The Legend of Zelda! Death is what awaits most living creatures. What remains of these great heroes of light can’t be described as dead however. Their bodies might be gone but their spirits still lingers on to accomplish what they could not do in life. The armor containing Terras indominable will and the ethereal skeletal husk of the hero of time shall on this day show that even remnants of great combatants are more than enough to take on the next generation of light wielders.

Intro[]

Wiz: What awaits the greatest of heroes at the end of their life? Is it a heavenly afterlife for everything righteous done in the past or are they sent down into hell to undergo everlasting torture? The answer to this question varies depending on what universe a hero hail from.

Boomstick: For Terra and the hero of time, nether of what Wiz described occurred due to these great heroes of light both dying….and remaining alive at the same time when faced with the end. How did this happen you ask? Don’t ask me or analyze the headache inducing lore of Kingdom Hearts and Zelda. I promise you will regret it. Do however look up what these heroic remains can do in their new state of existence and be floored by their awesomeness.

Wiz: It is exactly as Boomstick said. They may not be fully human anymore in their state between life and death but they are certainly still as powerful as they were in life when dressed in mighty armor. Until they manage to complete the one task that can set them free to rest in peace, they will roam this world and challenge those they see as worthy challengers in optional encounters with today’s generation of heroes.

Boomstick: The Lingering Will, The Reanimated Armor of Terra.

Z Intro Lingering Will

Wiz: and The Hero's Shade, The Hero Of Times Skeletal Spirit.

Z Intro Hero’s Shade

Boomstick: He’s Wiz and I’m Boomstick!

Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win a Death Battle.

Lingering Will[]

Wiz: If asked, what would you say a persons will is defined as in your own words Boomstick?

Boomstick: That’s easy. It’s the mental capacity to stay firm and refuse to be your guineapig Wiz. At least most of time. This however is not how you would describe a strong will right?

Wiz: Correctly deduced. In my opinion, a person’s will to accomplish something is evidence of said persons strength and resilience. This is especially true when face to face with all kinds of problems in one’s daily life. One could even say that a person’s will linger on after death due to the impact it may have imprinted on the world or someone’s memories.

Boomstick: ………..Please stop being so melodramatic and get to the point already. There is no need to introduce Kingdoms Hearts most famous superboss in this way when just one look of this suit of armor is enough to determine its worth and deduce that it must have gone through quiet the number of harsh situations to be reduced to its current state.

Wiz: Would you rather have me get into the inner complexity of the franchises timeline?……. I thought as much. What I said does contain things vital to understanding the Lingering Will standing deadly still in the Keyblade Graveyard for over 10 years.

Boomstick: Regardless of whether this is true or not, lets properly introduce the first of today’s combatants for the people not familiar with Kingdom Hearts wacky lore. The Lingering Will is basically what remains of a former keblade wielder who fell to darkness in battle. To be more specific, this name describes the keyblade armor discarded after said battle and what remained inside of it. What is inside it you ask? Its………..something that annoyingly proves Wiz right.

Wiz: Not the first time and won’t be the last time either. Inside the armor is the discarded remnants of its former wielder’s thoughts, wishes, and emotions held together by insanely strong willpower. Said willpower won’t vanish until a certain man has been slain. As for the identity of this armor’s wielder and the man it desires to kill, let’s not speak of them right away and instead……

Boomstick: ……….talk in detail about the Lingering Wills terrific arsenal so we can delay talking about the complex insane Kingdom Hearts lore for as long as possible. The franchise is awesome and bonkers in the best ways but that does not mean it doesn’t cause us headaches every time we have to analyze it.

Wiz: Not how I would have said it even if you are correct Boomstick. The fact that the Lingering Will is simply an animated suit of gold and red armor probably makes a lot of visitors to the Keyblade Graveyard think that it is not something to be worried about. This is a dangerous assumption to make however as I agree with Boomstick about this suit of armors capabilities.

Boomstick: Can I be the one to start reading of this list of cool magical abilities and insane keyblade transformations Wiz? That is unless there is something we need to mention before all this like its air dash attacks for example?

Wiz: You may do so once I have explained what keyblades and keyblade armors actually are for those that have not watched our previous episodes featuring a character from Kingdom Hearts. The armor used by keyblade wielders are designed to protect them from harm for example. What its most resistant towards however is darkness therefore making suits of armors like this great for protecting oneself from being affected by dark powers. Keyblades, on the other hand, are weapons of light that allows their wielders to cast magic, hurt both physical and spiritual creatures, open gates to other dimensions, and transform their weapons into a variety of different tools and weapons.

Boomstick: Speaking of keyblades, the Lingering Will can wield its former owners keyblade called Ends of the Earth due to the suit of armor containing what remains of him. Kinda sad when you think about it so I won’t do that and instead first talk about the Lingering Wills impressive arsenal of magic. If some of the lesser magic in this superboss bag of tricks are spells like Blizzaga for shooting chunks of magical ice and Magnega for creating an electromagnetic field that drags foes towards it, both us and our dear audience are going to have a great watch today.

Wiz: Don’t forget my personal favorite magical ability of the suit of armor. Summoning drone-like objects capable of firing beams of what’s either lights or some kind of plasma sound extremely fascinating. I would love to replicate these things in my lab tonight.

Boomstick: I would have if you didn’t interrupt me Wiz. My favorite magical ability is the Will Cage AKA a magical chain-based orange force field that both serves as a great final boss arena and the perfect way to prevent weak-willed enemies from making tactical retreats. This isn’t the most impressive example of magic performed by the Lingering Will which is fortunate for us.

Wiz: That would be the Command Seal ability. By slamming its keyblade into the ground, a magical circle is created that summons magical orbs which either seal an opponent’s capability to physically attack or use magic. If one wants to no longer be affected by this powerful spell, the foe has to destroy the magical cubes hovering around the Lingering Will that keeps the spell active.

Boomstick: Only one magical ability left to be mentioned and that is teleporting all around the battlefield to give opponents a hard time getting a hit in. Know what’s better and surpasses all of this magic however? The previously mentioned keyblades ability to morph is the correct answer in our opinion.

Wiz: Bladed whips designed to slice groups of foes multiple times in a row, a giant version of itself, drills to end its three-hit combos, and bows capable of ending an entire battle with just one light-based projectile are all weapons Ends of the Earth can Formchange into. Said bow mentioned can accomplish this since being hit by this light arrow creates a seal all around the opponent. It is a seal that both keeps them from using their abilities and saps away their health extremely quickly.

Boomstick: Unless one breaks out of this seal, it’s basically game over. Turning the keyblade into a Keyblade Glider, AKA a cool jet-powered bike-like vehicle, in order to turn people into roadkill or travel between dimensions is not as super effective as the bow but it’s definitely a lot more fun.

Wiz: The fact that a keyblade can change into many different things really makes me want to figure out the limit of this ability. If I could gain a keyblade to test on, perhaps I could try and turn one into an airplane or maybe a house or a giant roller coaster or maybe even a….

Boomstick: Calm down Wiz. We have an episode to finish remember. Let’s brainstorm our own keyblade Formchanges at a later date. We have a couple more things to mention after all like the Lingering Wills ability to fly like a bird, Ends of the Earth being a strength-based keyblade, and….

Wiz: …..the armors desperation move unleashed when on the verge of defeat. When using this move, the Lingering Will enters a berserk state that does not just increase its already impressive strength and speed but also generates another couple of deadly effects like its whole body emitting a bright red aura. It also allows the armor to split its keyblade in two for a ferocious series of attacks by changing into a spinning-cog like weapon spinning with deadly efficiency around it.

Boomstick: I will say this once again; do not interrupt me when I am mentioning something awesome. I will allow it this time due to that description being 100% correct and it meaning your earlier tangent no longer extending this episode’s length.

Wiz: Guess my plan to try and see if a keyblade can turn into a beer-based weapon will have to be indefinitely delayed since you clearly do not want to be in my good graces anymore Boomstick.

Boomstick: …Of course I was just joking right now. Anyway, isn’t Lingering Will awesome based on everything mentioned about this boss? It has earned its status as one of Kingdom Heart all-time best bosses multiple times. Its time however to do what we have delayed long enough at this point which is talking in detail about Terra AKA the Lingering Wills true identity.

Wiz: Terra’s story is both complicated and tragic which is unfortunately to be expected of characters from this franchise. This extremely skilled keyblade wielder could have become a keyblade master but due to his inability to control the darkness within and being a bit too naïve at times; someone came up with a plan that both altered Terras and his closest friends lives for the worse.

Boomstick: If one knows Kingdom Hearts, you already probably knew that the culprit was Master Xehanort AKA an evil bald man obsessed with recreating the keyblade war for research purposes. Being old as hell would have made this dream impossible so the big bad of Kingdom Hearts just manipulated the younger Terra into becoming the perfect vessel to transfer his heart into…..This sounds really wrong out of context.

Wiz: Luckily for us, this kind of behavior was punished big time. Xehanort would survive to wreck havoc on several worlds in multiple different shapes and forms throughout the years to come but that did not save him from the remains of Terras mind which possessed his discarded armor. Giving the body snatcher a beatdown intense enough to cause Xehanort to have memory troubles for over a decade hopefully really hurt baldy’s pride.

Boomstick: The best part of this is actually getting to play as the armor at the end of Terras story campaign in Birth by sleep. Getting to control the superboss that once kicked one’s ass is very fun to do. I guess I should note though that due to Lingering Will inheriting all the skills, Shotlocks, and Command Styles customized onto Terra by the player; we will only give the suit of armor access to the moves and abilities shown during cutscenes as well as its boss fight.

Wiz: It is fair to give the Lingering Will the Ultima Cannon however which is Terras Ultimate Shotlock skill. This formchange is one of the few skills that both Terra and his reanimated suit of armor has used in battle.

Boomstick: Guess we forgot to mention one keyblade transformation in our excitement talking about them before. It’s one that transforms the key sword into a huge cannon capable of firing of large spheres of light energy or huge light lasers of destruction.

Wiz: That’s your fault for interrupting me earlier which is karma in some ways now that I think about it. Ultima Cannon isn’t a perfect skill either as its spheres of energy can be reflected back onto the Lingering Will if it isn’t careful.

Boomstick: I am going to ignore that comment and instead speak of the many powerful figures the superboss of a suit scale to. We might only have seen it fight Terra-Xehanort and Sora but this tells more than enough information for us to come up with quiet a few conclusions.

Wiz: Sora has sliced through large buildings, defeated Hercules and Hades which means it can be argued that the kid scales to Zeus who can move stars, kept up with Roxas AKA someone capable of traveling at speeds faster than light from one word to the next, and defeated noteworthy seekers of darkness like Ansem and Xemnas who are capable of multiversal level of power. This was all before Kingdom Hearts 3 mind you which can be argued that Lingering Will also scales to. Kingdom Hearts 3 Sora fought Maste Xehanort who controlled the namesake of the franchise of all worlds.

Boomstick: The reason for scaling KH3 Sora to Lingering Will is kind of bonkers so strap in for some insane events. Due to Xehanorts makeshift keyblade war happening in the Keyblade Graveyard, it was obvious that the suit of armor would sense the body snatchers presence and therefore go to give Terra-Xehanort a second spanking of a beatdown. This foe proved unfortunately to be much stronger than during their last bout so despite Lingering Will managing to give the thief a good run for his money; it still got itself broken into pieces even with a Post KH3 Sora traveling back in time to give the armor some assistance………I told you it was bonkers.

Wiz: Putting up a great fight against a foe that defeated a time traveling Sora hopefully makes it clear that the Lingering Wills overwhelming strength, speed, and durability is nothing to scoff at.

Boomstick: If they don’ buy this scaling, they have to accept that scaling the suit of armor to its original self is something which can’t be refuted. Terra might be too trusting of obviously evil old men just like a certain Skywalker but his skill with a keyblade certainly rivals that of his friend Aqua and teacher Eraqus who are both excellent keyblade masters.

Wiz: Do you know what our readers and fans of the Lingering Will also has to accept Boomstick? The answer should become clear once I say that it is something fans of this character won’t like at all.

Boomstick: If the answer is the Lingering Will having some huge exploitable flaws, my opinion of this boss armor remains steadfast. Its vulnerability to combos of multiple attacks in quick succession and a single-minded mindset of revenge that can mistake other keyblade wielders for Xehanort are not massive flaws in my opinion.

Wiz: I was going to say that the Lingering Will probably won’t appear again as its destruction along with Terra-Xehanorts defeat resulted in Terra getting a second chance at life. Your answer also works though.

Boomstick: Oh……At least we will get to still see it somewhat whenever Terra uses his keyblade armor in the future and it definitely will be used. Going into the void between worlds is not recommended unless you have a gummi ship, stylish black robes, or sweet looking armor.

Wiz: It won’t be the same though but I don’t think the Lingering Will itself would want a different end. It might just have been a tiny part of Terra but even a tiny ember of this keyblade wielder was able to feel compassion to its former friends and chosen successors. Being destroyed gave Terra the chance to reunite with them all so the Lingering Will did get its happy ending in a sense.

Boomstick: Don’t you mean it and us getting a happy ending? Him being restored back to normal and us players getting an awesome boss fight with Rage Awakened as the soundtrack sounds like a win for everyone involved. Like I said earlier, Kingdom Hearts is bonkers in the best way.

Wiz: Not badly said at all Boomstick. Beware when attempting this boss fight however. Whether it is your first or hundredth time facing the Lingering Will, be vigilante. It is said to be one of the toughest fights in Kingdom Hearts for good reason.

Terra- Xehanort: Your body submits. Your heart succumbs. So why does your mind resist?

Lingering Will stands up and unsheathes his keyblade out of the ground before facing Terra-Xehanort.

Hero's Shade[]

Wiz: When someone sees a glowing golden wolf howling in the distance, one……

Boomstick: …either goes home and tries to get sober or call animal protection services to tell them that they found an animal having taken a bath in dangerous radiation right? Anyone that says any different is probably an escape from an insane asylum.

Wiz: Perhaps in real life but in the Twilight Princess era of Hyrule; it means the person in question is about to be visited by a spectral creature from beyond the grave. This is exactly what happened to the Link of this era and who he encountered as a result was not someone he ever expected to meet.

Boomstick: Being transported into an ethereal dimension and then greeted by an armored skeletal warrior closely resembling a Stalfos is not something anyone could have predicted indeed. I certainly would also not be able to predict what happened next as after saying hello by trying to kill the young hero; it………decided to be his unofficial mentor?

Wiz: This entity known as either the Hero's Shade or Hero's Spirit looks intimidating with the bright red eye in one of its eye sockets so the confusion you’re feeling is natural Boomstick. Link didn’t really expect this spiritual warrior to offer and teach seven deadly skills with a blade either.

Boomstick: Okay saying no to an offer like this is much dumber than my ideas when running into its golden wolf form which it can change back and from at will. Link in any era is a certified badass but Twilight Link accepting this offer only increased his badass creed. Especially when taught by a spirit wielding a rusting sword and shield which can freaking parry the Master Sword AKA a sword forged by a Goddess.

Wiz: That makes sense though since it was designed to destroy evil. The Shades intention to pass on its sword skills to a worthy successor before ascending to a higher place is hardly evil. There is another reason but let’s mention that one after describing these 7 skills taught to Link.

Boomstick: Let’s not make our readers wait as it is quiet a mind-blowing revelation. There is the Ending Blow in which the Shade jump through the air to downward stab fallen foes, the Shield Attack which predictably can be used to either reflect projectiles or smash ones shield so hard into the poor opponent that they are stunned, the Back Slice where the wielder barrel rolls to the side and then counterattacks with a nasty sword attack from behind,…..

Wiz: ..the Helm Splitter that when used after a Shield Attacks allows the Shade to slash the foes head as it flips over them, the Jump Strike perfect for striking multiple opponent by first charging up ones sword and then doing a jump attack that ends with a shockwave being generated when the sword hits the ground, the Great Spin that is basically an sword spinning move empowered by how healthy the user is and soon to be demonstrated along with the other moves by my latest robotic creation,..

Boomstick: …and lastly there is the Mortal Draw which is an almost guaranteed instant-kill attack. By basically sheathing ones sword and then unsheathing it just as the poor foe is about to make a move, a devastating counterattack is unleashed that is as deadly as it so….wait what did you say?

Wiz: I said my robotic knight is about to demonstrate these skills on you for science. It can’t replicate the Hero's Shade magical abilities like creating 2 magical clones and firing balls of magic from the tip of its sword but the sword skills should be fine to replicate.

Boomstick screams as the robotic knight proceeds to demonstrate each skill. Due to Boomstick showing surprising agility, each move was dodged or ducked under which continued until every skill had been used.

Boomstick: You do know I am not as impervious to attacks as the shade is when purposely using itself as a training dummy for Link to abuse? I certainly can’t survive its magic projectiles being reflected back onto it. The Shade both being able to use all these moves and survive them with ease really should make Link feel lucky that it is on his side.

Wiz: There is actually no luck involved at all which brings us back to the second reason for why the master sword could not hurt the Hero's Shade. It is a former chosen wielder of the legendary weapon after all and that probably is all I need to say to make its true identity clear.

Boomstick: You may ignore what I told you but our viewers better not as many of their hypothesis are probably half-correct. This isn’t just a previous holder of the Triforce of Courage. The Hero's Shade is the legendary Hero of Time……I swear I am not kidding.

Wiz: It might be a bit hard to believe but the spirits vague mentions of the past and paragraphs written in the official Zelda encyclopedia Hyrule Historia do collaborate this conclusion. Don’t mistake this for us saying that the Shade has access to all the abilities and equipment he had in life however. It is possible for him to still possess all of this but since he obviously does not have the master sword anymore and only has a small connection with his former Triforce Piece now for example; its more appropriate to only give the Shade what he demonstrated during Twilight Princess.

Boomstick: If one thinks the remains of this once great hero not being able to use overpowered weapons, supernatural masks, magic songs, and much more is kind of sad, this is nothing compared to how this past version of Link spent his years after taking part in world-saving adventures. After saving the future and then traveling back to the present to prevent it from occurring in the first place, all his exploits of heroism was forgotten due to the headache-inducing complexity of time travel. This was something that the hero lamented for the rest of his days. It got even worse as he died before teaching the next generation the lessons he had learned as a hero. Not exactly the happy ending one was expecting for a Link eh?

Wiz: He still wishes to help Hyrule though so despite acting somewhat somber and impatient at times; the Hero's Shade still bears the same heroic will he had in life. I do believe some of our dear viewers are still rather skeptical of this revelation however. There are some arguments that can be used to say this is incorrect……..if one have not read the official Twilight Princess manga that is.

Boomstick: Yeah you read that right. In the manga adaption for this game, the whole Hero's Shade-hero of time connection is a major recurring plot point instead of just being hinted at.

Wiz: Looks like the capability to read books triumphs over videogames once again. What proves this true are some especially impressive manga feats that makes the Shade arguably the most powerful version of Link yet to be seen in Zeldas numerous timelines.

Boomstick: I second that. In this pretty good manga adaptation, The Hero's Shade casually says that he can travel freely across time, space and dimensions whenever he wants. Evidence supports parts of this statement as sending someone to his Eter pocket dimension and breaking into Zant’s void of darkness needs no more explanation. As for the time travel part, well……its complicated so ask Wiz instead?

Wiz: Hmm let me think a bit before giving a satisfying answer. The Hero's Shade is the Hero of Time so it is reasonable to think that his time travel adventures in life should mean he can do it at will now as a spirit. We have never seen the Shade use any time techniques however unless you count him accelerating time when training Link which as a consequence shortened his trainees’ lifespan.

Boomstick: No need to say any more or notice me moving closer to your mechanical marvel as that answer is probably correct. OP time and space hopping aren’t the only abilities the hero gained upon becoming an undead specter. There is also a kind of supernatural awareness which allows the Shade to sense when dark creatures are nearby and gain random premonitions of the future.

Wiz: It is also highly hinted that the Shade was the one that once teleported Link and Midna out of the reach of Zant and then telepathically directed them to find Zelda to heal the Twilis wounded state. Also why are you approaching my robot?

Boomstick: No reason. Don’t you want to talk instead about the spirits shapeshifting ability that allows for more than just a golden wolf like his past adult-self or a certain situation his premonitions lead him to interfere in that I believe is in our interest to mention?

Wiz: You are referring to the day when Links entire hometown was sucked into the Twilight Realm by him accidentally. If the Hero's Shade had not arrived and held onto him, there would have been no Hero of Twilight to save Hyrule in the future. A force capable of vacuuming an entire town was unable to move this mighty heroic spirit even an inch.

Boomstick: What a ghostly badass the Shade is! Link would not see it this way as the entire situation mentally scarred him for years until the truth of the spirit trying to help him was revealed. What he also discovered during their first meeting in the manga was that trying to kill something that’s already dead is kind of pointless in retrospect.

Wiz: Neither cleaving him into pieces with the master sword or disintegrating him with dark magic is able to stop this spirit from doing what he can to save his former home indeed. Reforming the body he uses to interact with the material world is an interesting ghostly ability to study on a rainy day.

Boomstick: That’s not what you should take away from this Wiz. Zant was empowered by Ganondorf’s magic during his attempted takeover of the Twilight Realm and Hyrule correct? Said magic was not enough to disintegrate and stop the Shade from sending the guy running like a crybaby when breaking into his pocket dimension. What you should have taken away from this is…

Wiz: ………the Hero's Shade probably scaling or is superior to the Gerudo king which is something that I thought was obvious enough to not need mention. Having bested the Zelda universe main villain in life probably means he could give the evil sorcerer an even better fight now.

Boomstick: Want something less obvious eh? That would be Ganondorf’s power level that the former hero has probably surpassed by now. One might remember that we kind of raised an eyebrow at the evil sorcerer’s planet level strength in past death battles. The Triforce of Power he is so proud showing off contain the essence of the Goddess Din said to have created the entire planet which Hyrule is located on top of. Decent argument I guess for those that believe this even if the big bad has never been shown destroying all of Hyrule One Punch style.

Wiz: A good hypothesis but someone we can scale the Hero's Shade to with much more certainty is his past self and future descendant funnily enough. By the first part of this statement, I refer to the Hero's Shade when he was alive and could block strikes from creatures capable of destroying bridges, throw huge pillars of rock with enough force to shatter them, and hurt building size monsters.

Boomstick: Wait a second! Is this descendant Link from the Twilight Princess era? Did the Hero's Shade not already admit to them not being blood related to each other? I could have sworn reading this in the manga.

Wiz: It is stated to be like this in the manga but in the Hyrule Historia; it is explicitly mentioned that both the Hero's Shade and the Hero of Twilight is of the same bloodline. Regardless of which is true, the former Hero of Time could not have found a better student.

Boomstick: Okay that makes sense. Speaking of the hero of Twilight, both his manga and videogame counterparts are kind of badasses just like their ghostly mentor. They both share similarities with their mentor in terms of certain feats and whopping Ganondorf but for some more unique feats; the game version has dodged lasers while manga Link has trained in the way of the sword since childhood and can fight fast enough to perceive enemies in slow motion.

Wiz: Focusing just on their stats when it comes to scaling these versions of Link together does not seem right to me. One should also compare their intellects as all versions of Link throughout many different timelines are known to be highly adaptive geniuses in combat. Using their excellent puzzle-solving mind to search for weaknesses and patterns to exploit is not something a pure strength-based fighter could ever accomplish.

Boomstick: It certainly helps being strong though as without OP power on his side; the Hero's Shade would not have been able to help out his junior against Ganondorf in the manga. He literally showed up to block one of the sorcerers strikes and then quickly did a combo attack on his nemesis with Link before dipping out and saying Link could do the rest of beatdown without him. Talk about giving the ultimate middle finger to Ganondorf.

Wiz: Ganondorf deserved it frankly and Midna, the queen of the Twili that the sorcerer helped depose through Zant, thankfully also got what she deserved. Not only was the spirit using his time to observe and prepare a new hero as well as search for signs of his old enemies return. He also accompanied the queen since childhood in order to become her friend and assist when the inevitable return of Ganondorf occurred.

Boomstick: That’s…..really sweet. I have no sarcastic comment for this. Midna needed a friend due to loneliness that comes with being head honcho of the Twilight realm and Link needed help to get over his PTSD and inferiority complex so instead of just doing his duty to Hyrule; The shade proved he is a kind warrior that goes out of the way to always helps those in need. I am not kind enough to let earlier transgressions go unpunished however with the upgrades I added to your robot.

Wiz: Uh-oh! I’d better run for the remote control in my lab right Boomstick? Does not mean I regret me getting you back for your latest prank.

Boomstick: My answer is yes. Especially after that comment of yours. It’s time to do an encore performance on my dear co-host while I steal his ending section of this analysis! Go robot!

The robotic knight goes on the warpath towards Wiz who quickly flees into his lab with the pursuer quickly following suit. Boomstick can’t help but laugh as he witnesses this.

Boomstick: While Wiz is busy with surviving, let me say one last thing. If you ever see a golden wolf approach you, don’t do what I recommended before. The warrior you meet shortly afterwards will be stern but if you push through and understand his fair nature; the reward will be worth it.

Hero's Shade: A sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage. Remember those words.

Intermission[]

Intermission Lingering Will VS Hero's Shade

Wiz: All right, the combatants are set, it's time to end this debate once and for all!

Boomstick: It's time for a DEATH BATTLE!

Death Battle![]

Keyblade Graveyard:

Like always, no sign of life could be found within the Keyblade Graveyard on this day. In fact, there had not been anything alive here for years upon years. What could be found all over the place however was what gave this place its namesake.

Keyblades upon keyblades in all direction left behind by their wielders upon their deaths.

No sane person would ever come to this place and walk on the soil made up of the dust of dead children. This was a place of death and regret that made other battlegrounds of war look feeble in retrospect. Said keyblades weren’t alone here however as something had joined them 10 years ago when the mountainous and sandy graveyard had been disturbed by a battle that could have ended the universe.

It was this newcomer that yet another new arrival was eying from afar from where he stood on a mountainous peak looking down at the field of keyblades bellow. It wasn’t the eyes of someone alive however. This eye looking down at a certain spot was ethereal in nature.

At the exact spot in the sea of keyblades where this newcomer was gazing at, the Lingering Will sat on its knees and holding onto its keyblade engraved in the ground. It’s the position it had been unmoving in for the latest 10 years. Not a single inch had moved since the event that had created it had taken place. Thoughts of getting revenge on a certain man was all that occupied the spiritual remains inside the armor and they would continue to do so until this had become reality.

This obsession however tuned out everything else. In fact, it was only once the new arrival was within striking distance that the Lingering Will caught onto that it was no longer alone in this world of death.

Standing before it was a wolf with red glowing eyes. The Lingering Will might not have been whole for a long time but even it knew that this wolf was anything but normal. A sensation of light could be felt all around the newcomer. The creature could have been mistaken for that of a keyblade wielder if it were not for the fact that the power to wield one was something the armor could not sense.

The second feeling the wolf gave off was something that made the suit of armor question this conclusion however. Miniscule amounts of darkness could also be sensed due to the wolf spectral nature. It wasn’t a ghost that the Lingering Wills scattered thoughts turned to first. Those tiny specks of darkness reminded the suit of armor of the man it had sworn to defeat.

Lingering Will: ................Xehanort……..Is that you?

Not soon after the living armor spoke its first words in 10 years, the wolf pounced onto it. The Lingering Will would have gotten up and defended itself if a sudden bright light had not appeared and turned the world white. When the world became visible once again, the keyblade graveyard was nowhere to be seen.

A white void surrounded the Lingering Will from all sides where it still sat unmoving like a statue. It wouldn’t sit still for much longer due to a voice echoing across the void.

Hero's Shade: A sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage.

Where the wolf had once stood was now the deceased and armored form of the hero of time; the Hero's Shade. His red glowing eye observed the armor from top to bottom before continuing to speak. The Lingering Will did nothing to stop him as it could tell now that this was not an enemy or Xehanort from the way of speech alone. All words spoke so far had been filled with such reverence that the suit of armor felt compelled to hear the newcomer out before deciding on what to do next.

Hero's Shade: The figure before me doesn’t lack courage or strength of mind. You in the past lacked these qualities however. Even those who learned their lessons may walk into the same pitfalls when out of practice and its therefore that I have appeared before you brave warrior.

It was at this point that the Lingering Will finally stood up to look the Hero's Shade right in the eye with its nonexistent ones. What the offer actually entailed was obvious based on tone of voice and sword held high in one of the Shades skeletal hands.

Hero's Shade: Spar with me and I promise you will both become more than ready for the upcoming showdown with the foe you are destined to duel and learn sacred skills that will be extremely helpful for this exact moment. What say you?

Ends of the Earth being unearthed and then pointed at the Hero's Shade was all he needed to witness to receive the Lingering Wills answer. In response, the Shade held his sword high as well and had the weapon touch the keyblades tip. It might look weird to an outsider but for these two; this was a handshake that would herald a glorious battle.

Hero's Shade: Fair warning! This training may cut your remaining lifespan in half. Do you still accept what I am about to teach with this in mind?

The tip of the keyblade glowing with magic signaled that the Lingering Will would gladly accept the risk to get an advantage on Xehanort. This didn’t surprise the Shade however. He had expected this answer and had therefore given the unwhole entity an out as a sign of respect.

A premonition was once again responsible for the former hero of time getting involved in a major crisis. Unlike the glimpses of Link and Midna’s futures however, this premonition had lead him outside of Hyrule and into another world entirely. He had done what he had set out to do with the young hero and twilight princess so letting them end the reign of Ganondorf was something he would put his trust in. What remained of Terra needed his urgent assistance now more than they did.

Magic started gathering within the Hero's Shade sword as well only a few second after Ends of the Earth started to glow. A war between darkness and light would soon make the keyblade graveyard a battleground once again and the Lingering Will would need any help it could receive to finally rejoin its other half. The Hero's Shade would make sure of this or die trying.

Hero's Shade: Let the duel begin then warrior who has suffered and remained alone for far too long. As a sign of respect, I shall unleash my full might. I hope you will show me the same courtesy.

Both weapons magical prowess was unleashed at the same time and because of this; the Lingering Will and Hero's Shade slid backwards to opposite ends of the white void. None of them appeared to be annoyed by this development as the battle was finally about to begin for real.

With a small respectful bow of their heads, both combatants launched themselves forward with weapons raised not to kill but spar with a worthy opponent.

FIGHT!

Ends of the Earth transformed into the Ultima Cannon as the Lingering Will dashed forward to unleash the battles first attack. The Hero's Shade noticed the huge sphere of energy fired in his direction but did nothing except raising his shield as he continued to run forward as well. Shield and light sphere collided resulting in a large explosion.

Said explosion did not envelop the shade however as he swatted the sphere into the air with a Shield Attack and then readied the shield for the incoming air dashing Lingering Will. The suit of armors dash forward to smite the opponent failed due to yet another Shield Attack slamming into its keyblade. Impacting with the shield caused the now regularly-shaped keyblade to fly out of the amors grasp and therefor leaving the Lingering Will dazed and open for a follow-up attack.

An experienced swordsman like the Hero's Shade took notice of this opening immediately. He first struck the Lingering Wills helmet as he flipped over it and the second sword swing sliced it in the back as he landed. As a result, the Lingering Will was sent helmet-first onto the ground. No follow-up attack was unleashed and that was a smart decision on the Hero's Shade part due to keyblade reappearing in its grasp and several drone-like objects materializing all around the fallen suit of armor.

Hero's Shade: …Shield Attack…Helm Splitter… Back Slice…These are the skills I used. 4 more will be demonstrated during this duel. Remember them well as before this duel comes to an end; use some of them in combination with your own strength to complete this training. Do you understand?

None of the drones fired a single shot as the Lingering Will got up on its feet however. It instead listened to armored specters words before then speaking itself. Anything which could give it an edge in protecting its friends and defeating Xehanort was worth taking part in.

Lingering Will: …I understand. Aqua and Vens safety depends on this battle’s outcome…

The Lingering Wills words finally caused the multiple drones around it to take action and fire a hail of bullets at the Hero's Shade. Every single of the fired light bullets were swatted aside or redirected back at the suit of armor thanks to the skilled use of his shield. Thanks to Ends of the Earth formchanging once again, its bladed whip shape sliced through each bullet headed its way with ease.

Changing the keyblade into a whip had not been just for destroying the incoming projectiles however. Latching onto and then dragging the shield out of the former hero’s grasp had also been intended from the start. Without a shield, at least one skill of the spirit was out of reach.

Hero's Shade: Well done. You may not have mastered my hidden skills yet but by disarming my shield; you have shown enough understanding of how one of them works.

One skill having been taught successfully made the Shade glad. Didn’t mean that he could not reflect projectiles anymore. A Great Spin of his sword made this clear as day resulting in a swing of the Lingering Wills whip being parried and all projectiles getting redirected back towards their respective drones. Each drone exploded into energy all around the 2 combatants due to this.

Hero's Shade: A shield is just a tool however. What it is capable of can be accomplished with another tool. That keyshaped weapon however………..

An Blizzaga spell impacting the shades sword froze both it and the wielder in a large cube of ice. Having cast this magic at the same exact time as it swung its whip silenced the shade immediately. Not only was he unable to finish his words of wisdom but the entirety of the former hero’s body was also shot point blank with a giant beam of energy from the newly reformed Ultima Cannon.

What remained of the specter upon the beam dispersing was nothing but his lower region still standing on 2 legs. Upon seeing the remains of its opponent however, the Lingering Will was not convinced that this battle was over. The spirit was too skilled and honorable for the battle to end like this.

Hero's Shade: ….is not an ordinary tool. Even so, don’t become too reliant on the magical abilities it holds. Trust your swordsmanship and mind equally as much as ones magic.

A familiar disembodied voice finished the sentence as the top part of the Hero's Shade reformed itself into existence. If the helmet of the Lingering Will could have shown emotion, it would not be fear or shock but respect and thankfulness for a worthy opponent to keep it company. Said respect made the suit of armor instantly go on the offensive once again.

No magic or formchanges were used in this offensive. The strength and speed of its keyblade was used instead to try out what the spirit had suggested. Whether it was due to the fact that reforming meant the shade wasn’t fast enough to properly counterattack or the Lingering Will actually overwhelming his defenses, what happened next was the same.

Successfully using one of its armored fists for a makeshift Shield Attack and then doing a Helm Splitter overhead got the desired result. A Back Slice from behind never hit its intended target due to the Hero's Shade rolling to the side to hit Lingering Will with his own Back Slice.

Hero's Shade: Excellent. It appears you are certainly capable of performing my lost arts.

A split decision made by the Lingering Wills caused its keyblade to formchange yet again as the suit of armor fell helmet first to the ground a second time. Ends of the Earth transformed into a bow and shot a light arrow at the Hyrulian specter. The projectile did not impact with the target unfortunately as it hit nothing but empty air where the opponent had been a few milliseconds ago.

After resurfacing quiet a distance away from the now standing keyblade armor thanks to the use of teleportation, the former hero of time noticed something peculiar. Said peculiar thing occurred again and again whenever the Lingering Will shot a new arrow his way which was easily avoided with a teleport to another part of the arena. Each light arrow seemingly did no damage wherever they landed so there had to be some special effect with these projectiles that guaranteed victory.

A hypothesis on how to use this to his advantage formed in the Hero's Shades mind. In order to buy some time to prepare a certain technique, a ball of magical energy was fired from the specter’s sword. Instead of dodging, Lingering Will used the bow for a makeshift Great Spin that sent the attack back towards sender before then shooting a light arrow closely following the projectile.

Hero's Shade: Combining your own powers with that of my hidden skills is an ingenious strategy for someone like you whose mind is fragmented.

If this hit him, his defeat at this warrior’s key-shaped weapon was guaranteed. There were still more skills to demonstrate though so yielding was not an option to consider at the moment. Based on the Lingering Wills perspective however, the Hero's Shade was hit in the ribcage with a light arrow and therefore had his entire body sealed in energy bindings and drained of vitality.

Things were not often what they looked like at first glance and a stabbing sensation in the Lingering Wills armored backside revealed the truth. Standing behind the suit of armor was yet another Hero's Shade.

Hero's Shade: What do you do though when that strategy fails or more than one opponent challenges you?

The Jump Strike from behind was quickly followed up with the Shade jumping up into the air to do an Ending Blow. Said skill of the sword was stopped dead in its tracks due to the Lingering Will turning around to grab the spirit by the face and then taking flight into the air. It was time to see if the student could teach the supposed master a couple of tricks as well starting with a lesson in flight.

Lingering Will: ….Got you now…

Before the Lingering Will could start its flight lesson, the Hero's Shade simply dissolved into millions specks of magical particles. The one trapped in the seal on the ground also vanished in a similar way reveling someone standing behind the seal hidden from view until now. The clones had done a good job of assisting in revealing a couple more of the suit of armors abilities so the real Hero's Shade decided now was the time to reenter the fray with this new information in mind.

A weaker-minded combatant would have gotten annoyed by this new development. The Lingering Will was not weak in mind or will fortunately and therefore responded to the vast volley of magical projectiles heading towards it by casting Magnega.

Lingering Will: …You’re not one of the keyblades chosen ones but yet I can sense a similar power of light and the skills of a master within you….Who are you?.......

To say the Lingering Will was astonished by its opponent skill and willpower was an understatement. Perhaps that was why it asked the question as all the projectiles were drawn past it and towards the Magnega field in the sky. Wanting to know more about the person offering them salvation was not a weird thing to want to know after all.

Hero's Shade: All you need to know is that I am someone who helps warriors in need like you to get where they are supposed to be.

No more needed to be said as the Lingering Will understood the spirits intent. A response in the shape of another formchange was required in turn when the Hero's Shade teleported up into the air to destroy the Magnega field instead of waiting to be affected by it on the ground. The formchange chosen was one ready to ram the airborne opponent with the speed of a jet engine.

Witnessing the suit of armor ride a keyblade glider in his direction did not get even an inch of an emotional response from the Hyrulian spirit. Upon seeing the vehicle approach, the Hero's Shade calmly put his sword back in its sheath as gravity started to pull him down towards the ground. Said sword was only unleased when the Lingering Will was a few inches away from him. The Mortal Draw hit the keyblade armor with enough force to launch it of the glider.

Things didn’t go as smoothly as planned though which became evident when the keyblade glider hit the Hero's Shade with enough force to crack large parts of his medieval armor before resurfacing back to normal in the keyblade armors grasp. Even so, neither combatant was undeterred by these developments. With a quick air dash and teleport respectively, the Lingering Will and Hero's Shade clashed swords once again not caring that they were rapidly descending.

Lingering Will: …Thank you. I am grateful for this opportunity to grow….Master…..

Hero's Shade: We are both masters young warrior. Your old mentor knew this to be true and so do I. Not since my battle with the mask of legend long long ago have I fought someone of your caliber.

Striking each other with their weapons. Parrying and counterattacking. Armor cracking slightly in multiple places. The battle between the 2 falling combatants was so intense that the shockwaves from their attacks started to create small dimensional rifts throughout the white void. What was brought about from the final clash of weapons made every other rift look tiny in retrospect.

Both of the warriors landed back on the ethereal ground and almost immediately lost their balance as their final clash had brought about giant rifts that spit out huge structures like mountains and skyscrapers throughout the bright pocket dimension.

Hero's Shade: There is no need to worry. The Ethers stability is of no consequence when compared to your training. Let’s see however what this change in battlefield can bring forth for us shall we!

Unfortunately, this was easier said than done as the large variety of structures exiting the rifts threatened to collide with the armored fighters from all sides. While the Hero's Shade managed to avoid the worst of it by teleporting to safety, the Lingering Will just barely escaped being turned into mush by using its keyblades glider-form to smash through an incoming building.

The large amounts of debris resulting from this gave the keyblade armor an idea. By first changing Ends of the Earth into its whip form to smash a nearby mountain into pieces and then using Magnega to collect all the pieces of the mountain above it, the Lingering Will had the perfect method to counter what it witnessed the opponent doing in the distance.

What it saw only cause the keyblade armors respect and reverence for the shade to grow. Incoming was a huge skyscraper that had been thrown with impeccable strength and standing on top of it as if he was surfing on the side of the building was the Hero's Shade. He was equally as impressed when he saw the huge pieces of debris being unleashed upon him with a single swipe of Ends of the Earth.

Hero's Shade: Replicating my lost arts. Learning to rely more on swordsmanship and cunning. Using the environment to your advantage...There is no more for me to teach you now.

A sharp piece of debris slashed the skyscraper in half but the ones that would have slammed into the former hero of time were the ones to get slashed in 2 instead. Hiding behind one such piece of debris was the Lingering Will and by using this to its advantage; it charged onto the spirit with tremendous force and it was only due to him teleporting right as he was about to be pushed of the building that the Hero's Shade was able to escape.

Hero's Shade: Only one thing remains for you to accomplish and that would be to defeat me here. Now is the time to unleash our true strength of heart and mind.

If the experienced warriors could have smiled, they would have when the Hero's Shade reappeared on the ground quickly followed by the Lingering Will as the building not long afterwards crashed into a gigantic mountain appearing out of nowhere. The rain of fiery debris created as a result was a fitting set piece for what both knew would be the final round.

The Lingering Will quickly shuffled through various formchanges and unleashed a large variety of destructive attacks. The Hero's Shade created 2 clones that then joined him in rapidly teleporting around the area and fire a multitude of balls of magic in every direction. Being surrounded by a large amount of powerful magic made it extremely difficult for the keyblade armor to avoid being bombarded from all sides while the Hyrulian spirit and his clones had to contend with everything ranging from giant keyblades and whips to bows and drills being sent their way every time one of them reappeared.

One method was proving more effective and unfortunately for the Lingering Will; the opponent’s quick method of getting around was making it extremely difficult for any attack to land. All of this would soon change upon a certain technique being unleashed. The benevolent spirit wanted to see its true strength after all.

Lingering Will: …As you wish…

Lightning hit the ground and the Hero's Shade knew to prepare himself by just one glance at this and the magic circle that appeared under the Linger Will the second the bolt of lightning struck it. Both of the clones understood this as well and went on the offensive as a result. What they were confronted with upon teleporting above the suit of armor in Ending Blow formations was a red glowing opponent and the now split in two keyblade forming a spinning cog energy construct all around their wielder. It didn’t take long for the clones to be shredded into particles of magic.

Using teleporting to retreat and analyze this strange power failed spectacularly as the second the Hero's Shade disappeared and reappeared; the Lingering Will teleported right in front of him and slashed a reformed Ends of the Earth with enough power to completely shred the spirits armor into scrap. The next strike was parried with great difficulty while the second knocked it out of the former hero’s grasp. Reclaiming the weapon with a well-executed roll and then following this up with a Jump Strike was barely able to be executed due to the increased speed of the keyblade armor.

Sword hitting the Lingering Wills sturdy body did even less damage than usual because of the energy construct still acting like a defensive barrier that also sliced of the spirit’s right leg. No more action needed to be taken to understand that attacking at the moment was a waste of time and that is why the Hero's Shade teleported his lost shield back into his possession.

The shield managed to withstand several impacts before being cleaved in half but its purpose had already been fulfilled by then. It had managed to outlast the rage modes time limit and the second the red glow and construct started to dissipate; the sword of the Hero's Shade shoot forward and stabbed the Lingering Wills armor causing the chest plate to crack wide open.

Hero's Shade: Astounding technique of magic and raw physical strength that was! Wasn’t enough to make me yield this duel unfourt…. 

A kick to the face sending him right in the path of a huge piece of raining debris and the damage received from this was barely felt by the shade who was preoccupied with something else entirely. Said thing would be the inability of him to use magic therefore forcing him to slice his way free instead of teleporting. What could be theorized from his words made it clear that the Hero's Shade wasn’t disappointed in the slightest by this new development. In fact, this was a golden opportunity for him to prove his earlier points.

Hero's Shade: Hahaha! Neutralized my magic you have done and therefore limited my next moves eh? I do not need this to fight however so what say you? Let the next clash of our weapons be our last.

Broken pieces of armor fell to the floor revealing a large hole where the chest plate had once been. The Lingering Will knew that its strength was evaporating at a fast rate. Whether this was due to damage taken or the strange sensation it had felt upon itself from the beginning did not matter. This battle was seconds away from concluding and with this in mind; the suit of armor knew exactly what should be done.

It stabbing Ends of the Earh into the spectral ground at the same time as the Hero's Shade sheathed his sword was a sign of reverence for the opponent. Using the skill taught that it had been most impressed by was exactly how a spar like this should end. A clash of Mortal Draws would decide the victor of this battle and the Wills cage generated around them served as the perfect backdrop.

Lingering Will: …Aqua..Ven..Give me strength….

Hero's Shade: Triforce; lend me aid one last time to end this battle!

Despite the craziness of falling debris and dimensional rifts around them, none of this mattered to the combatants. Neither of their severe injuries were thought of as well. It was as if time was moving in slow-motion to them. At least until the rest of the building came crashing down on the Will cage.

The Lingering Will unearthed its keyblade.

The Hero's Shade unsheathed his sword.

What happened next was too fast for a normal person to perceive but the ending result of this clash was clear to see. Not only were they standing at the exact same spot their opponent had been moments ago, they were also looking no worse for wear.

The Lingering Will and Hero's Shade dematerializing and sheathing their respective weapons along with a couple of magic sealing cubes in pieces dropping onto the ground told a different story however. One not soon afterwards fell to their knees not able to fight anymore.

KO!

Hero's Shade: Congratulations. I am no longer able to continue this fight. You are now ready.

His senses had been unable to keep up with the keyblade wielders speed. Accelerating time had not affected the opponent’s lifespan as much as expected. Lost is what the Hero's shade had done and the spirit could not have lost to a more fitting warrior in his opinion.

Hero's Shade: Ready to reclaim both your body and loved ones from the jaws of the forces of darkness.

Gratefulness for learning new skills and besting a worthy foe is what the Lingering Will should have felt as it approached the fallen spirit. Regret was the feeling coursing through the armor instead. The opponent’s ethereal body was slowly dissolving into nothing from all the damage taken and this time it was evident that the spirt would not be able to reform itself. Fortunately, the former hero of time noticed the distress hidden from view.

Hero's Shade: Don’t feel too bad. I have no more regrets keeping me in this world now. My descendant helped me to pass on my legacy and skills, The Twilight Princess gave me a purpose during the long years waiting for my nemesis return, and….

In order to get his point fully across, the Hero's Shade struggled greatly to stand up on the one remaining leg to face the opponent now standing only a few inches away. No eyes and ears could be made out on the armor but he knew that it did not need these to understand him completely.

Hero's Shade: ….you gave me the opportunity to take part in the most spectacular battle of my life. Goodbye! We may not be blood kin but let me say this nonetheless; Go forth boldy my child!

No more was said afterwards because no more was required. What had been set out to do had been accomplished and therefore it was time to move on. Closing his eyes and allowing himself to fade from existence is what the Lingering Will witnessed happening next. A bow of its head as a sign of respect was the last thing the Hero's Shade saw before vanishing completely.

Images of a blond girl in a white dress suddenly took shape in the Lingering Wills metaphysical head and then disappeared as suddenly as they had appeared a few seconds later. What had been received was a parting gift from the former hero of time in the form of a glimpse into the future.

The message was clear as day. Once this girl appeared before it, the return of Xehanort to the graveyard was imminent. It would wait until this day arrived and then use what had been taught from this bout. Thanking the spirit for all he had done was out of reach now so the Lingering Will said something that hopefully would reach the Hero's Shade wherever he ended up beyond death.

Lingering Will: …May your heart be your guiding key…

- A poral opens in the Keyblade Graveyard and out steps the Lingering Will who proceeds to go back to its usual sitting position.

- An image of the Triforce of Courage shimmers into existence above where the Hero's Shade perished as if it was paying respect to an old friend.

Results[]

Boomstick: Do you see the tears running down my face Wiz? These are tears of pure bliss because this was freaking awesome. Two honorable warriors filled with regret walked into our arena and while only one exited; both of them won in my mind.

Wiz: Said combatant escaping our arena of death was the Lingering Will though that does not mean this was a walk in the park for the suit of armor. The Hero's Shade certainly put up hell of a fight and with how honorable these specters of the past are; it really shouldn’t be much of a surprise why I also found myself slightly teary-eyed just like you Boomstick.

Boomstick: Despite the tears flowing down my face, I can say that the one that had the better arsenal of magic was obviously the keyblade armor. Doesn’t mean this turned into a stomp for Will though as Wiz just stated. This arsenal of spells and keyblade transformations did give the suit of armor an important advantage so it’s not like they didn’t help with brining victory over the undead hero but on the other hand;…...

Wiz: The Hero's Shade is known for having excellent puzzle-solving skills, highly adaptive fighting style, and a knack for analyzing and finding weak point in an opponent’s defenses. Only possesing a few magical abilities like clones and teleportation for example to use is not really a problem for a combat genius like the former hero of time a majority of the time as these abilities can be used to avoid a lot of Ends of the Earths formchanges like the bow and glider transformations.

Boomstick: Of course abilities like a teleporting rage mode and spells capable of either sealing away physical attacks or magic would force the undead hero to think fast on his feet. That’s what I expect of a highly skilled undead swordsman of sane mind though unlike the remnant of an easily fooled person stuck in a metal suit and not actually having a fully functional brain. It might be mean to say but this is the truth regardless of how much I don’t like talking thrash about the cool boss.

Wiz: A good balance of Intelligence and stats often result in combatants that wreck most foes and the Hero's Shade is indeed a good example of this. Against an absurd amount of raw physical talent, even a warrior like this can’t do anything but delay the inevitable unfortunately. Having a big brain doesn’t always guarantee that one is better as much as I would like to say the contrary.

Boomstick: Your ears heard that correctly. What won the Lingering Will this death battle wasn’t clever strategies or a cool arsenal of magic but overwhelming stats. Multiversal or star-levels of power and durability as well as faster than light speed to be more accurate if the scaling to Sora, Roxas, Xehanort, and Xehanort inside Terra is correct…….Still very much sounds wrong.

Wiz: Know what also sounds wrong? Quick thinking and Ganondorf-planet level scaling being enough to take down the Lingering Will who probably only needed a few swings of its keyblade to end this quickly. Another example is Boomstick over here thinking I will still make him a beer-based keyblade after messing with my robot.

Boomstick: Speaking of premonitions I will bug you about until it becomes reality, random glimpses of the future and supernatural senses can only close the gap in speed between laser dodging and instant world traversal quickness a tiny bit. Another time technique might though have had a greater effect on the result of this battle……..if we actually understood how it worked.

Wiz: Time travel is a complicated endeavor to talk about and it would therefore be unfair to give the Hero's Shade access to this ability despite him mentioning being capable of this. The lack of actually traveling through time does this specter no favors.

Boomstick: What also doesn’t really affect this bout of honorable awesomeness is the spirits ability to heal and reform himself when severely injured. It’s kind of useless when faced with a weapon like a keyblade that can harm non-physical entities. Add the scaling’s of the Lingering Will into the mix and you have a weapon that can exorcise the shade from reality.

Wiz: We can truly say this was a battle of brain vs brawn now that the smoke of battle has ceased. We could also bring up the fact that the Lingering Will has better battlefield control with its flight or that it should be an almost master-level keyblade wielder by scaling to Terra therefore lessening the gap in intelligence somewhat. This is no longer necessary though seeing as we have already made it clear why the Lingering Will eventually will triumph over the Hero's Shade in most scenarios.

Boomstick: This show is fun and all but sometimes I hate throwing honorable characters like this filled with regret where death is inevitable for one of them. A glorious death is a great way to go out however and since these two eventually got a happy ending in their respective series, perhaps I am not hating this job at all now that I think about it.

Wiz: Researching the intricates of fighters like these is indeed why we won’t stop hosting this show for a long time. The Lingering Will and the Hero's Shade are characters worthy to take part in a death battle. In battles of spirit and will, the sentient keyblade armors overwhelming stats and unique weapon won this duel against a former hero’s expert swordsmanship and tactics.

Boomstick: Guess the Hero's Shade did not possess enough will of spirit to come out on top when faced with the opponents strong armored heart.

Wiz: The winner is the Lingering Will.

X Winner Lingering Will
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