Julius wandered around the cavern, a lantern swaying in his left hand. He wasn't clad in any of his usual gear-- no, he was dressed far more casually. What had been an ordinary bout of cave exploration quickly turned into something that would have deadly for nearly any other man. In fact, were it not for the raiment he was still, fortunately, wearing... Well, he just might be dead. That wasn't the worst of it, though. What made it worse was that that the ever-mysterious, ever-opportunistic Twister had somehow wormed his way into Julius' life yet again. He wanted to do many things-- turn around, and never look back at that thing, curse its name and its existence and attempt to slay it... But Julius knew that the Twister shamelessly enjoyed the suffering of those around him. It was why he had cursed him so last time. That had to be it. That had to be why. He also knew that, if he wanted to properly survive this place, the Twister's power could be more than useful. Necessary, perhaps. As though reading Julius' mind, the faceless face grew a grin most mischievous. He knew what the being desired from him-- it wanted him to play his 'game' again. "Fine. I'm assuming it's the usual... seven, right? I guess it doesn't matter; not to you, at least. What use do you have for mortal currency, anyways?" Maybe there was power associated with whatever number of rupees you gave him. That was how Julius rationalized it, at least. "Might as well make it thirteen." Julius wondered what he should even offer this time. He knew he could offer physical items, or more.. abstract articles of knowledge. Well, if there was one thing he could offer to the Twister... While it wasn't necessarily the smartest move he could make, it could turn out the best for him, depending on how the wheel spun. Of course, deep down, Julius knew the Twister would do as he liked regardless. That was what he believed, at least. "This time," he recalled his prior experiences, "I'm going to offer up my blade. It was the first I ever made using my own hands-- and it's served me well for decades. It... almost pains me, to part with it like this. It's just as much a piece of me as any knowledge I could possibly offer to you." He set it upon the creature's meticulously carved desk. For an instant, he considered drawing his Lens of Truth, and seeing if it could properly pierce this creature's illusions. If they were truly illusions, at least. And with that, he took a deep breath, grasping the roulette reel attached to the desk. With a deep breath to steel his nerved, he swung it with what seemed to be confidence-- courage-- in his decision. This time would turn out better than the last.
"What use?" Unseen lips moved, and from them came the giggling voices of a dozen children, all in a mocking tone. "You have learned little. The only thing you have of 'use' to me is simple: sacrifice. Tribute. The pain of loss in the desperate hope of something worthwhile." Tiny hands clasped together upon the wooden desk, so tightly the knuckles grew pale. Upon this oddly-placed table did Julius lay down his blade, announcing his gamble and clasping the wheel. To this, the boy gave no visible response. The wheel spun, and in an instant Julius beheld his sword shatter into countless grains of silvery sand--a material he so vaguely remembered as the Mirror Silver he crafted into his blade so many years ago. There game the sound of these grains rolling off the table, hitting the cavern floor with booming echoes that seemed deafening, yet painfully hollow. Yet, the wheel continued to spin. A whirl of countless colors spun before him, and before Julius even saw or comprehended it, the boy behind the desk was gone--leaving only the table, the wheel, and the silver sand. A white noise, not unlike a harsh winter wind rang through the air, growing louder and louder as the wheel continued to rush by--before, finally, it halted, and the booming wind fell into abrupt silence. The Hylian felt a cold sensation around his fingers--and in a start, he lifted them to see the silver powder swirling slowly around his hand, orbiting it ominously. Slowly, more and more of the powder wrapped around his hand in this fashion, hovering in orbital patterns only a couple inches beyond his palm. The powder... it was... not Mirror Silver anymore. It was... icy, cold, like highly-reflective snowflakes. As Julius flexed his hand, he felt a familiar grip form into it--the exact shape of the sword he once wielded, albeit chilly to the touch. Slowly, the ice particles formed and shaped themselves into the exact shape of his sword--as if formed from an ice as solid as steel. Julius glanced up towards the carnival wheel, finding its face to be entirely a pale blue hue--save for one tiny yellow sliver. Upon this sliver was etched what appeared to be an arrow, as if fired from a bow. It was upon this sliver that the wheel, immobile, now pointed... In ways he did not fathom, Julius knew the meaning behind what transpired--and what his weapon had become. It still functioned as if containing Mirror Silver, yet, also was of magical ice--with the same effect of three Ice Gems, despite the fact these normally could not be combined with Mirror Silver. Any projectiles the blade reflected would be touched as if by an Ice Enchantment. With time, Julius might even realize that if he used the blade as the conduit for his Summon Keese spell, the creature spawned forth would be its Ice variant. "If this blade for some reason does not suit you... Take it to the forge. When you aim to strike the first blow, you will find nothing remaining of this sword, with only a chunk of mere Mirror Silver in its place."
