Bellum

Bellum is the primary antagonist of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. Bellum is an evil being that drains other beings of their life energy, being the one responsible for the draining effects of the Ghost Ship and the Temple of the Ocean King. He, as well as his Phantom army, can only be defeated with the Phantom Sword.

In addition to having an appetite for life force, Bellum created the Phantoms using his power, making them as invulnerable as himself to weapons except the Phantom Sword. Bellum's motives are never touched upon, other than sating its hunger for souls and destruction. His eyes bear a striking resemblance to those of Majora's Mask and Vaati. Oshus states that Bellum is the one that created the Phantoms that prowl the Temple of the Ocean King as well as many other evil creatures.

Biography
Later in the game, Oshus reveals to Link the monster known as Bellum. It is revealed that Bellum was an evil so powerful that he forced Oshus from the form of the Ocean King by feasting upon his life force until he was too weak to fight, and had to split his soul apart from his real body. It is also revealed that Ciela was split in two in order to protect her from Bellum who had taken upon himself to capture the Spirits, and was Bellum himself who was responsible for the terror of the Ghost Ship.

Bellum is revealed to be nesting under the Temple of the Ocean King, feeding off of the Ocean King's soul, causing earthquakes and growing underneath the earth and preying upon those who dare enter, as well as the victims of the Ghost Ship. After obtaining the Phantom Sword, Link delved into the deepest depths of the temple in order to face Bellum and save the Ocean King.

Battle
Bellum has three main forms, the first of which is his normal squid like appearance. He first grabs onto pillars with his tentacles, which Link must shoot with his arrows to make Bellum fall into a purple pool. Link then uses the Grappling Hook to draw Bellum closer so he can slash his central eye. After a while, Ciela regains her power from Bellum, so she can now help Link stop time. Bellum then flies around the purple pool and Link must stop time in order to damage Bellum and defeat his first form.

The second form is where he is fused together with the Ghost Ship, where the player must use the S.S. Linebeck's Cannon to destroy all of the eyes that appear on the Ship's surface.

The last form is where he possesses Linebeck, transforming him into a large, phantom-like creature. He uses a sword. Again, Link must stop time in order to reach the eye on Bellumbeck's back. He eventually traps Ciela and she keeps an eye on Bellumbeck's weak spot. Link strikes a hit on him in order for Ciela to quickly give Link the ability to freeze time, but now Link needs to make sure Bellumbeck's eye is open before he freezes time. After a few more hits, Bellum is finally defeated. He flies up in the air and (like every Phantom Hourglass boss) turns into Sand of Hours. Instead of being absorbing into the Phantom Hourglass, however, he leaves it to scatter across the ocean.

Etymology
Bellum is Latin (accusative singular, second declension) for "War"