Phantom Sphere

Phantom Spheres, items from, are sacred, gold orbs produced and provided to Link by Ciela and used to temporarily freeze time, an ability that is imperative to defeating Bellum.

Background
The Phantom Sphere first appears after the first half of Link's battle against Bellum within the Temple of the Ocean King. After Link has fought the monster on the third floor of its lair, Bellum will regurgitate a large, glowing orb. According to Oshus, this orbs contains the last of Ciela's lost memories, taken by Bellum when Ciela was attacked. She will regain her memories after making contact with the orb and realize her true role as the Spirit of Time and Courage. She will then acquire the ability to spawn Phantom Spheres, which take the same gold and round appearance that her memories took moment before.

Using the Phantom Sphere
After Link receives a Phantom Sphere, the use of one is employed through pressing the Phantom Hourglass icon on the bottom of the touch screen before drawing a figure-eight, a shape meant to be reminiscent of the Phantom Hourglass. Link can hold up to nine Phantom Spheres during the battle, but cannot use more than one at a time. Every time Link activates a Phantom Sphere, the game screen becomes devoid of color, all motion stops, save for Link, Ciela, and Bellum's eye. A fast timer begins to count down from 200, but it only last about seven seconds. In this short time window, Link must attempt to inflict as much damage as possible on Bellum with the Phantom Sword. Because Bellum incorporates flight, erratic, unpredictable movements, and only opens its eye for short periods of time, use of the Phantom Sphere is the only way to capture Bellum when it is most vulnerable: frozen, with its eye wide open. The use of the Phantom Sphere will be necessary again in the second fight against Bellum, during which Ciela will be captured by Bellumbeck and can only provide Phantom Spheres when the grip of Bellum's tentacle is loose enough. This can be managed if Link lowers Bellum's defense by clashing swords with him.