The weakness still hadn't faded when they reappeared in a gray stone room. The walls reminded him of Skyview temple minus the various fungi growing along the walls. The smell was different too. Where Skyview had smelled as decayed and wet as it looked, this room smelled of an odd mixture of things Link couldn't hope to identify.
He wanted to fight the demon holding him, but it seemed that the moment Zelda had taken the Triforce from him she had also taken all his strength. All he could do when Ghirahim dropped him on the cold floor was lie there like a boneless bag of flesh.
"Now I need you to wait quietly like a good boy while I prepare a little concoction. It's not particularly complicated but the timing must be exact. Since your strength could return to you at any moment and I wouldn't dare to dream that you would behave yourself and wait patiently, I do believe it would be best to restrain you first and foremost."
Even if he'd been able to respond there wouldn't have been time as Link felt his body lifted up by Ghirahim's magic before being held against one of the cold walls. He felt more than saw as his gauntlets, boots, tunic, and chainmail disappeared from his body leaving him in only his undershirt and pants. "There now we won't have any extra space for you to use to worm your way free with," Ghirahim muttered more to himself than to Link. The next thing Link felt were unforgiving metal restraints appear across his wrists, stomach, chest, ankles, and forehead. Others also appeared just above his elbows and knees leaving his arms in an 'L' position with his hands even with the top of his head while his feet were just barely touching the ground. It was an incredibly uncomfortable position and it didn't take long before his body began to ache from both the cold wall and awkward position.
Ghirahim didn't seem to be bothered by Link's discomfort in the slightest, and was in fact already turned away from him while he explained exactly what he had in store for the hero. "The suspense of my plans for you is torture I'm sure, and while I'm loathe to end that torture I do believe knowing what is in stake for you would be a far greater torment to your psyche." The demon turned to smirk at the captured, licking his lips and flipping his hair as he usually did when he was enjoying the moment.
"You see dear boy, with Demise gone and no longer able to take the title of Demon King. Among the demons the King of Demons is always the strongest demon, and at any time during their reign the ruler may be challenged in a duel to the death. The winner will either become or remain the ruler of our realm. I would've challenged Demise centuries ago if I'd been able, but alas due to the nature of my being the tyrant was able to force me into his service so I had little choice in the matter. Even after Hylia sealed him his power remained enough to force me to do his bidding. However, after you destroyed him in the present era his hold on me was severed. Should I have gone back through the gate it would've been reestablished. But with the destruction of the last gate there is no way for him to be reborn, thus in a way you set me free. This of course does not abolish the absolute nuisance you made of yourself, however it did mean I owed you a debt. Which is why I got you away from that horrid Goddess of yours. I can promise you boy you'll be far better off being my servant than hers. Which is precisely what you are going to be for me. I cannot trust another demon to serve me, and in truth it will be far more entertaining having the Hero of Hylia jump to serve my every need."
The way he said the last two words made Link's skin crawl. It took a bit of effort but he managed to get out a few words. "Sick bastard…I'll-I'll kill you." It had taken everything he had and he felt completely drained, but at least it meant he was gaining some strength.
The white-haired demon merely chuckled at his hostage. "I'm afraid boy your chances of destroying me ended the moment you lost your sword. You alone are nowhere near powerful enough to take me on. Besides I would imagine after I finish with this potion you'll be feeling quite indebted to me. You see while I do intend to have you as my personal servant for the rest of your days I'm also aware that you humans age. And if my memory serves me correctly age is not particularly kind to your species. Since I refuse to surround myself by any form of ugliness for a longer time then I have to I choose to remedy your eventual aging. This potion I'm creating will keep you looking as you are now for the rest of your days. You will still age internally of course, with your bodily functions aging as well, but your outer body will forever remain as youthful as you are now. Isn't that just fabulous!"
Link wasn't sure what part of that was supposed to be 'fabulous'. With each passing year he'd grow older and older, but continue to look like a seventeen year old kid. Trapped here with Ghirahim the years were sure to pass by without his notice and no way to tell in his face. Eventually his body would ache and fail him until his inevitable death where he would be buried looking forever as he did now. He knew plenty of people who wished for their youth to last forever, but he was pretty sure they didn't mean like this.
It seemed to take the Demon Lord ages to complete the potion. The time was filled with Ghirahim's taunts towards Link and his boasts about his own greatness. Link sorely wished he had the Master Sword just to shut him up, but even if he did it wasn't like he could move. The only indication he had of the time passing was the shifting light across the floor from the window that was out of his range of vision. It wasn't until the shadows had grown long and the room was dim that Ghirahim declared he was finished.
"There all the potion needs is time. I shall see you in the morning boy, sleep well." With that the Demon Lord left leaving Link bound to the wall and shivering thanks to the cold stone seeping through his thin shirt. The fire that was still lit beneath the cauldron was so small any heat it would've provided was lost before it ever reached the poor hero.
The hours passed slowly with Link only getting a few fitful hours of sleep. Anytime he managed to doze off he a violent shiver would course through his body or the aches and pains from his battle to get the Triforce would throb. He wished he'd given himself time to recuperate before make his wish but his only thought had been to finally end his nightmare. Little did he realize, the nightmare had only begun at that point. By the time the first rays of light began dancing along the floor Link was exhausted, stiff, and in immense pain. It didn't help matters when his tormentor returned with a promise that was sure to make his situation that much worse.
"Ah what a wonderful morning it is. Don't you agree dear boy? I do hope you slept well because I can promise this next step will be incredibly unpleasant for you." Link had no idea how things could get worse, but if there was one thing he knew about the Demon Lord it was that he wasn't a liar.
He wasn't given the chance to dwell on the ominous words for long though, because within second of his appearance the pale demon made the bonds holding Link to the wall vanish. Even if he'd been prepared for his sudden release there would've been no way for Link's aching and battered body to hold him up. It was only as he hit the cold floor that the hero realized it wasn't only his bonds that had been removed. He now laid in a naked heap on the floor, and though he tried to move his body to defend or cover himself he found his limbs were too slow to respond.
As if reading his mind the cruel demon spoke above him while gripping his hair tightly and pulling him toward the large cauldron. "Now there's no need to be concerned with modesty. I simply removed your clothes because if I'd left them on they would've become permanently affixed to your body, and of course we wouldn't want that now would we?"
The ominous chuckle did nothing to help quell his nerves. If anything it only made the trepidation he felt increase tenfold as the demon dragged him over to the still simmering cauldron. Surely Ghirahim couldn't mean to do what it appeared he was doing. The fire may have been low but the contents would still be hot enough to cook him alive if the demon were to throw him into the liquid. With the little bit of strength left to him Link began to struggle even as he felt himself being lifted into the air.
"Quit fighting me boy. Regrettably this process is relatively pain free, if not a bit uncomfortable. The worst part is being forced to go without air for twenty-four hours."
Link felt his heart stop and his stomach drop. Even if by some miracle the molten liquid didn't burn him alive he'd drown long before Ghirahim would free him from the potion. Link did his best to increase his struggles, managing to gasp out a single word in his panicked state. "Air!"
The barely audible word seemed to work though as the demon did pause in his efforts to lift the blonde into the cauldron. "Oh dear that's right you humans aren't able to go without air but for a few minutes. Even that abhorrent Water Dragon's scale wouldn't allow you to stay submerged for so long. Hmm, what could I do that would allow you to breathe for so long without worry of it looking atrocious on you?"
Link felt the tug on his hair release a second before he saw Ghirahim move towards one of the many tables in the room. Oddly his body remained aloft, likely by some spell the demon had used. While the demon was distracted Link attempted to move down to the floor or 'swim' in the air towards the door. All he managed to do though was flip himself around repeatedly until he was as dizzier then he was after a spiral charge. All the while he could hear Ghirahim muttering in the background, not paying him the least bit of attention.
"Hm, I suppose this will have to do though I'm not fond of the idea at least you'll always be able to breath underwater which could serve me quite well." Link glared at the demon as he hung upside down in midair. He tried to resist as Ghirahim reached a hand towards him, but as with earlier he couldn't in fact move away from where he hung in the air. Within seconds he felt something clamp along his right nostril constricting it slightly.
"There we are," Ghirahim said cheerfully, "now into the pot with you."
Link had no further warning as the magic holding him up was removed and he fell unceremoniously into the pot of liquid. Panic gripped him immediately as he worked to right himself and get out of the pot before it could harm him. He wasn't fast enough though because the second he move to shoot out of the only opening a heavy dark lid came down on him, blocking his escape and leaving him without even an inch of air above him.
The lid must have been magically sealed on because no amount of pushing budge it from above him. It was as the realization sunk in that he was truly trapped within the pot that he realized it wasn't as hot as he expected it to be. In fact the liquid surrounding him was quite cool. The cool sensation was slightly numbing yet it also caused every inch of his skin to tingle slightly. He didn't know what to make of it, but in truth there was little he could do considering he was crouched uncomfortably in the belly of an inescapable cauldron filled to the brim with a potion that was in essence supposed to preserve him like someone might do to a special trinket they didn't want to lose. With fear beginning to take root in his heart Link sat and waited for whatever was to come next.
Hey everyone, what do ya know I found a way to continue this one-shot. I'm not entirely sure where I'm going to take this yet, but I can promise it won't be the same thing as waiting. Now as a heads up I do promise I'll keep working on this but my life currently leaves very little writing time. I'll do my best to get the chapters done but there won't be any set schedule to it. Thank you everyone for the encouragement on this and your patience. I'll see talk to you with the next chapter!