Legend of Zelda

Ascendant Legacy

Chapter 2

Apex Shadow

(come on... I had to make it interesting)

In a dark, damp, and sickening place in the bowels of the earth, a place no human would ever venture, there stirred two masses, both pure malice. The first "thing" moved the way a reptile does, slithering with a tremendous movement, but also raising up on strong, muscled, scaled legs. The second, instead of moving in the same grotesque way, who was considerably smaller, levitated and hovered in the depths of the darkness.

"Why do we have to wait here, Zariux?" The first one said, his voice deep, gravely, and putrid sounding. His voice carried with it a certain annoyance, and as he finished the question from his disgusting maw of sharp, jagged teeth, the very cave around them shook with his malicious nature.

"Because, Sarkoth, the master has commanded it. Patience..." The second voice replied calmly. Unlike his counterpart, his tone was relatively normal compared to human standards. While slightly feminine, it was easily distinguished as something different. As it spoke the word "patience", its tone drastically changed, like that of a serpents, but many and all of them speaking at once.

"Don't lecture me on patience! For an eon I have waited, cast to the darkness, feeding off of lesser filth and all the putrid remains of the dead. I fought for my existence in that 'prison', and now that I am here, this green world, so lush and vulnerable. Who protects it? Pitiful little creatures with sticks and rocks? We should be ruling this realm, feasting on the flesh of the weak-"

"I KNOW!" The very roof of the cave threatened to collapse with the force of rage that Zariux cast towards the dark, slithering being that was Sarkoth. The reptilian being, as massive as he was cowered for a moment, the way an animal does when they are threatened by another of its species... the leader of its kind. But, the outburst did not last, and the smaller, floating thing regained its composure. "I know... Sarkoth, but the master has ordered it so, and he is no creature with a stick. Remember who freed us, that took a considerable amount of power... do you really think you can oppose that kind of raw strength."

There was a long pause between the two, water that was corrupted and filthy dripped and fell onto the slime covered floor.

"I know... I hate waiting too. I see this world, and I see gluttony and spoils. These people have no idea what true ruin is. They are weak and worthless. In our world, all this would be dust and ash. But now, we have a chance to forget that. In time, we will put this world to the flame and we will gorge ourselves on the blood and souls of the poor little lost sheep. And no one can stop us..."

"Oh really?" Came a voice, strong and confident. "And why is that?"

"Master." The two beings in the cave said and bowed low.

"This world has its defenders... and if you are ignorant enough to think that the little villages and fairies are the only ones this realm has to stop you, you are sorely mistaken."

"But master, the forest folk will burn and fall, no mater how old they are or the magic they harbor, the Gorons hide in their citadel, which will be their down fall despite their strength, the Zoras will not pose any threat with my abilities. And the Gerudo care nothing for those outside of their own... and-"

"It will not matter, my lord, I will crush the Gorons to dust, I will break the fish men's bodies upon the shore, and if the Gerudo oppose us, I will melt them to glass with their precious desert. But the humans and Hylans... they will die all the same."

"You are both fools. Do you think if it were just these pitiful mortals I would not have already taken this world and pillaged it. The problem is that the Triforce isn't there anymore! So, as you can see, there is no reason to move yet. The golden power is gone to its guardians, or have you forgotten that? Not to mention the sages, clinging to their elemental power." The voice, sure sounding and calculated, cut both Sarkoth and Zariux off.

"But isn't your power more than enough for the sages?" Zariux asked desperately.

"You're just as stupid as your compatriot..." the voice, cloaked in shadow, replied. "The sages are nothing apart, but together they command the very essence of existence. And it is not the sages that pose the problem, but the princess is the real threat."

"Her powers are nothing compared to ours. The Triforce of Wisdom can only delay our plans. Without the sages to back her power she can only slow us down." Zariux said.

"Good, Zariux... you've gaged Zelda and her sage's power. But, as I said, you are an idiot, and you forgot the weapon she possess. The arrow."

"But..." Zariux said brashly.

"No buts! There is nothing we can do about that... if you or Sarkoth were stupid enough to assault her directly, then you would be undone by the light of her attack. And now that I have explained these little complications, there is the matter of the hero..."

"He's dead." Sarkoth said, gruffly. "My bet is his bones are rotting at the bottom of the sea." He laughed shortly. But before his enjoyment was fulfilled, he began to choke and cough putrid black blood.

"Your arrogance and stupidity are beginning to annoy me. He's not dead. I can feel it. Nothing as trivial as a journey on the sea or a falling moon can kill him. No, he is not gone. And you should never assume so. Should we attack and prevail, she will call him. And like a fool, he will answer. He will come, and if he should, then things will get... complicated."

"Let him come! I will crush him! I will kill him! And when I am done, I will put his head on a pike and I will rip the Triforce from his spirit and cast it to our world for the demons to rip and shred." Sarkoth smashed his spiked, scaled tail down on the cave's floor.

"You can't kill him, no one can, that's the point!" The voice echoed with anger. "I fought him. You can't win. With that damned Master Sword, no one can kill him. His idiotic crusade to save his princess and his skill with that sword make him unstoppable. A fool with a cause..." The voice paused with bitter hatred. "If we eliminate the sages, and capture the Zelda, we will have to deal with him. He won't let anything happen to his 'beloved'... and then what? I shall not fall by the tip of his sword again, and you will if try and oppose him."

"Master..." Zariux stepped forth. "If I may."

"What?" The voice asked angrily.

"If his power is the sword... then why don't we deny him that power." Zariux smiled a charming, devious smile.

"What would you suggest, then?" The voice, wrapped in darkness began to tinker the thought in his head.

"Why not set a trap at the sword. I know that we can't take the blade ourselves, as it can only be wielded by righteous hands... but if we take the obstacle down before he can take the blade..." Zariux stopped.

"He will pose no threat..." The voice finished. "Hmmm... You're proving your worth more and more Zariux. And you Sarkoth..." The voice said as the reptilian monstrosity looked up.

"You will prove your value as well, my vile associate."

"How can I prove my worth, my dark liege?" Sarkoth, in his corrupt, nauseating tone asked.

"By doing what you do best," The owner of the voice smiled and his eyes glimmered with dark ambitions and a plan. "By burning everything to the ground and feasting on the ashes."

In the dark of the cave, a large dark purple crystal pulsated with dim light, briefly illuminating the triad of evil. Inside the crystal, what looked like a man stirred inside very slightly, and then was still.

"How's his progress?" The maleficent voice asked. "Is he up to my standards yet?"

"He's still taking a while. There wasn't much of him left to be honest, my lord. But, he's is progressing faster than expected. He will be ready."

"Why do we even need him, my liege? My power is more than enough." Sarkoth roared

"Now, now Sarkoth. Everyone deserves a second chance. Our plan must be flawless, and he is the key to it all..." The voice's tone lowered with malice. "Besides, there's someone I know he's dying to see..."

The voice laughed low and to himself... plotting the fall of all who stood against him, hidden in the shadows.