Hoping by the slimmest of threads, Link asked, "Is there any way that this thing can be defeated."
Zelda turned away for a moment, ashamed. When she finally responded to Link, she said, "I wish I could say I knew if there is a way to defeat this thing. The only one who truly knows that is Ganondorf."
Link quickly gritted his teeth, yelling, "Then what's the point? Ganondorf is sealed away, and if he's the only one who knows anything really about this thing that's blacked out the sun, then what hope is there?"
Impulsively, Zelda quickly slapped Link powerfully across the cheek. "Shut up!" she yelled, ironically showing herself to be the one with more fortitude than the one who was supposedly the most courageous individual in all of Hyrule. "Just because Ganondorf is the only one who knows much about this thing doesn't mean that you can't defeat it. Remember when you ventured into all of Hyrule's temples, scouring them for the Sages' medallions so you could attempt to undo Ganondorf's terror? You didn't know anything about what you were going through, but you faced it anyways. You know you're a hero; act like it."
Shaking his head for a moment, Link's head began to clear as he slowly understood what Zelda was trying to tell him. Closing his left hand into a fist of determination, he said, "You're right, Zelda. My only question is what we're going to do."
"That's no problem. You're going to lose your precious princess," a booming and powerful voice proclaimed as a new figure entered the courtyard where princess and hero were gathered. "Nothing can stop me," he pompously said. Still, there was something about this figure that made it seem as if its words were true. The figure stood slightly taller than Link, looking as physically powerful as Ganondorf, but one thing about him struck fear into even Link: his presence was simply overwhelming.
In vain, Link drew a simple sword to try and defend Zelda. As he got into his fighting stance, the figure simply smirked and moved its hand to one side, telekinetically sending Link over to the far wall of the courtyard. As Link crumpled into a heap against the wall, the figure strode over to Zelda. Before he took Zelda away with him, she cried out to Link, who somehow just managed to catch a last glimpse of Zelda before she vanished to wherever this figure took her.
Once he realized what exactly had taken place, Link swore loudly and banged his head against his fist, feeling he had failed his princess. Once he was able to calm himself, however, Link thought of his one remaining hope: Ganondorf. Though it would be risky and flat out world-threatening, Link felt that the only way to be able to handle something as powerful as that figure that came and took Zelda would be to ally himself with the most powerful being in all of Hyrule. Undisputedly, Ganondorf was the only one who fit that description. His only concern was how he would get into the Sacred Realm where Ganondorf was.
Once an idea of where to go clicked, Link rushed over to the Temple of Time. Once inside the massive edifice, the beauty and solemn mood of the temple came back to him. In a brief moment of nostalgia, Link stopped at the Altar of Time and looked to see where he had placed the three spiritual stones when he first allied himself with Princess Zelda. However, Link quickly kept moving further on, eventually reaching the empty back room behind the Door of Time. The silence and solitary light seemed to contain an atmosphere of some fleeting hope in the despair that had just befallen Hyrule. Maybe there could be something good to come of it.
Just as Link hoped, the Master Sword was again seated in the Pedestal of Time. Ascending the white marble steps, Link grasped the hilt of the blade that had, at one time, been almost like another limb to him. Pulling the mystical blade from its resting place, Link felt a great righteous power flow through his veins. With such power against the forces of darkness under his belt, Link, for a moment, forgot the immediacy of the quest he was on.
When he remembered, Link called out for the first sage he had encountered (that he knew was a sage), Rauru. In a pale, transparent form, the ancient sage appeared before Link yet again. The rotund man definitely bore signs of age, as he had no hair upon his face and his great mustache was definitely snow white; in addition, his faded orange robes seemed to be from a period several centuries before Link's birth.
Upon seeing Link, the ancient sage suddenly acquired an expression of shock, saying, "Hero of Time, is that you?"
Link merely nodded in response. Before Rauru could ask another question, Link asked, "Rauru, do you know how I could get into the Sacred Realm?"
"The Sacred Realm…" Rauru was shocked. He thought no one, especially Link, would want to enter there since Ganondorf was imprisoned there. "Link, don't you know that Ganondorf is locked away inside there?"
Determinedly, Link said, "Yes, Rauru, I know he's in there. That's why I need to go into the Sacred Realm. I need him."
Trying to avoid the risky situation at hand, Rauru implored Link, "Why do you need the King of Evil. Ever since he acquired the Triforce of Power, he has been bent on the destruction of Hyrule. I don't think that his time imprisoned within the Sacred Realm has allowed that desire to wane. Instead, he has started to build up an empire within the Sacred Realm, readying to escape."
"Rauru, I know you are no stupid man, especially since you are a sage. Haven't you felt the new darkness within our land of Hyrule? You know as well as I that that darkness in the air is a result of something other than Ganondorf, something more powerful."
"Indeed, I have felt the new presence, but I did not want to acknowledge it as much more than a mere nuisance to one such as you."
"Trust me; this thing is much more powerful than I am on my own. His power is enough to strike fear into even my heart. I alone, even with the aid of the sages and the Master Sword, stand no chance against him. Ganondorf knows of this evil, and I believe he is the only one who can help me stop it."
"Are you sure you want to go through with this, Link?"
"I am. This thing must be defeated to save Hyrule and our Princess Zelda."