"Why did you help us beat that thing?" Midna bristled as she gazed at Zant, who's fury seemed to be cooling. Link was inching closer to her so, if the tyrant snapped, he could use himself to shield her. He wasn't in much condition to fight anymore, the light from the sols within his sword was now dimly glowing. His left arm was sending waves of pain up his arm and nearly useless. Link only hopped that he would at least give Midna the chance to run for it if the need arose.
When Zant finally turned to look at the two of them, his cracked helmet broke apart as it tried to recede back into his ruined armor. The bits that remained, stuck jaggedly out of his shoulders as the rest bounced nosily on the floor. his eyes were cold and his voice was bitter. How could he not have seen that such a creature was tricking him? The answer was simple, and it fueled the icy fire that was burning with him.
"I do not need the tainted power of a false god, nor do I need that menace alive in this realm or any other."
"False god? Did you honestly believe that such a thing was a god?" Midna asked disbelieving. She knew Zant was an idiot but that was well beyond her ability to understand.
"Do you recall, dear Midna," Zant sneered, his head tilting up to look down at her. "The day of your coronation? The day you stole away my throne?"
Midna bared her fangs at him, knowing full well that day and annoyed at him for even assuming that he had any right to the throne. However, before she could interject into his rant, he continued on.
"I was the one meant to be the next ruler, but would those old fools recognize me as their king? No. And as such I was denied the magic powers befitting our ruler."
Zant turned his gaze to the ceiling, recalling that day now with disdain. The day he thought he had found a savior to help him answer the call of his destiny.
"On that day I was flung into a fit of despair and hatred for everyone and everything. Within those thralls of emotion, while I gazed up towards the heavens I found... a god."
The false king practically spat the words as he crushed the pile of ash that remained on the floor beneath his foot.
"He gifted me his power, promising that it would be able to grant me anything I desired. As I tested the limit of the powers I was given, I started to devise a plan to take what should have rightfully been mine. Drunk off of power and everything I ever wished for within my grasp, I was unable to see him for what he truly was. I should have known something was off when he told me his price, he merely asked, that I merge both worlds together. Something that I was already planning on."
Shaking his head at his own foolishness, Zant turned his back on the two hero's, he knew they were in no condition to fight any longer.
"Now that I am free of his power I can see clearer now. The bitterness is still present from that time but I can understand things I was never able to grasp before. And I know now what needs to be done."
Link hadn't loosened a muscle but his body was beginning to lock in place which was why when Zant made his move, the hero was caught off guard.
Midna was just as shocked when Zant flung around, a sleeved arm outstretched as a large disembodied hand shot forward and grasped her tight. She let out a squeak of protest as the hands' fingers forcefully removed the fused shadow she wore as a mask.
As she struggled to keep it on, using her hair as a hand of her own to keep it in place the hand continued squeezing until she couldn't breathe. Unable to keep up her strength she lost the battle and the fused shadow popped off her head and flew over to zant to join the others that he had produced.
The hand dropped Midna hard on the ground and she sucked in a deep breath of air, coughing all the while.
"It was arrogant of me to toss you out into the world knowing full well you had a piece of our tribes old magic." Zant mocked as the rest of his ruined armor fell from him and the fused shadows moved to take their place, forming new armor. "I thought it stood no chance against the power I was wielding but I understand now. Part of the true magic of the twili is that which was sealed away. As a thank you for gathering them for me I'll let you go once more. See how far you get in the world without any power this time!"
With a deep rumbling laugh Zant took his leave disappearing from view and leaving Midna to crawl over to link who had fallen over and was working on gathering is strength to get back up.
"Link." She wheezed, "We need to stop him, that power corrupts everything, and if he unleashes it upon this land or yours it would take years to return things to normal. We need to find him-"
Before she could finish getting the words out, there was a deep rumbling and the sky outside darkened, bathing the entire world in darkness.
Link haphazardly stumbled to his feet and moved to the window. All the twili that had been purified by the sol and returned to their normal form were now disfigured more than they had been before. Brutish monstrosities lumbered towards the stone monolith that worked the portal into the world of light.
The hero felt his heart sink as he realized Zant was leading this new army of monsters through to his world to once again engulf it in darkness. He turned to Midna who too was shakily getting to her feet and didn't need him to say a word. His face always spoke volumes to her.
"It's bad isn't it?" She muttered moving to him. With a simple nod from Link she continued on, "We need to get back to your world..."
As she finished, she collapsed, link diving down to catch her. He sheathed his word awkwardly with his right and he picked up his friend and carried her out of the palace. Zant and his monsters had already left by the time the hero was able to re-traverse the castles many layers and stood a moment at the portal, gazing into the swirling designs that seemed to tunnel into the face of the chained stone.
This wasn't how the battle was supposed to end, and Link couldn't help but feel that it was only the beginning of the new challenges that laid ahead of him.
