Ghirahim paced the Sealed Grounds, silently musing. His thoughts were on the pesky little goddess and her guard dog. How they kept eluding his grasp he would never guess. It was a blight that weighed heavier and heavier on him with each passing day. He glanced over at the sealing tome in the center of the grounds.

My poor master. Forgive me my shortcomings. I will have you free of that foul rock yet.

He uttered a dramatic sigh, drawing his brows together.

I really must try to think of something more uplifting.

His thoughts turned to the skyling and a smile stretched across his face. Ah, yes, the skyling brat. No doubt he was meeting his end at that very moment in time. Ghirahim's only regret was that he couldn't deliver the sky brat's retribution himself.

Of course, if I did, Ari wouldn't learn her lesson, would she?

Ariarose. She'd come a long way, hadn't she? She'd gone from a blubbering girl lost in the woods to a fearsome fighter. The transformation had been sensational to watch. As her memories had returned, she had become more skilled, more confident. It was something Ghirahim had enjoyed immensely since it meant he didn't have to keep coaxing the girl to lift a blade against him. He rolled his eyes at the memory.

The nuisance dared to treat ME as if I was fragile when I could bowl her over with a single hit.

But that phase had passed quickly enough. From there, he had watched as her sweet, delicate persona had ebbed away bit by bit, replaced by a toughened subordinate ready to do whatever he asked of her.

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No doubt that was due to my excellent training. Though I suppose it may have had something to do with her memories as well...

Try as she might, Ari couldn't seem to conjure any solid idea from her past, aside from her combat abilities. Every now and then she would get a faraway look in her eyes. In all honesty, Ghirahim hated it; it broke her concentration and quite frankly wasted too much of his time.

I suppose it's worth it though. The girl is quite the talent.

It was clear to him now that the girl was indeed a sword spirit. There could be no doubt about it as he had watched her powers mimic his time and time again, her aura growing more powerful by the day. At first the idea had not sat too well with him, and he had tried to explain it away by suggesting that she was some sort of creature that could copy the powers of others. Of course, he knew of no such creature and had eventually had to concede that the only explanation was that Ari was a sword spirit.

Where on earth could she have come from? he had asked himself repeatedly, only to come up blank each time.

Only someone with god-like power could forge a sword spirit, he knew that well enough. Though there were times when he wondered if perhaps she was a creation of Hylia. He hadn't missed the looks Ari got whenever the goddess' name was mentioned. But why on earth would the goddess need another sword spirit? Fi had seemed to suffice.

Ah, the little blue bird, Fi. His counterpart, opposite to him in every way.

She could've done better than the sky brat.

Well, there was nothing he could do about it. Sword spirits were known for their unwavering loyalty. They were forged with ultimate purpose and nothing could deter them from it.

It was a perplexing thought sometimes, especially since Ghirahim didn't know what Ari's purpose was.

Oh well. For now she was a useful pawn and he was determined to make the most of her.

Speaking of which, shouldn't she have been back by now?