Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with Nintendo, I have no claim to any of the characters in the story below (except for the name Zartaris). Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo own the Legend of Zelda series, not me.
When I arrived, it was nearing midnight. I had definitely spent a significant amount of time reminiscing, I thought, for I had arrived at noon, and it was nearing midnight. However, it had been a very fruitful use of all that time; in eleven and three quarter hours, I had just remembered more spells and enchantments than anyone could learn in a lifetime. The secrets of the universe of Termina were now open to me. I could now challenge Majora, and perhaps win, for my hatred and lies no longer blinded me.
Using a teleport spell, I traveled to the location of Cremia and Romani. I was standing next to them on the roof of the Stock Pot Inn; it was no surprise that they were here, for they were friends with Anju, the owner of the Inn, and the view was excellent. In fact, not only were they here, but so was Anju and a child; however, with my magic I ascertained immediately that he was under the influence of a spell of Majora, and that he was actually Anju's fiancée, Kafei.
Cremia had actually witnessed my teleport. Fortunately, she knew I had a significant amount of magical potential, and was not too surprised to see me appear, though I could see she had been slightly startled. She recovered nearly instantly.
Cremia introduced me to Anju. "Oh, Anju, this is Zartaris, our new ranch hand."
"It is a pleasure meeting you, ma'am," I said humbly. Though a god, I had always felt respect should be a mutual thing; if I wanted to be respected by my people, I should also respect them.
"Likewise, Zartaris," smiled Anju. "Oh, I'm sorry, this is Kafei, my boyfriend."
"Zartaris," said Kafei, who extended his hand.
I shook it. "Glad to meet you."
"Zartaris is my friend, and a wizard, too," interjected Romani.
Cremia had obviously not mentioned my 'talent' to Anju or Kafei, probably for the same reason that I hadn't yet removed the enchantment on Kafei. As someone who had received training in white magic, Cremia probably knew that the sort of spell Majora had used could only be undone by someone with more power than the mask, or by the mask's destruction. There was nothing I could do for him now.
However, that didn't necessarily mean that Anju and Kafei knew that fact. They were immediately hopeful.
"You're a wizard, Zartaris?"
Anju's question was innocent enough, but I knew precisely why she asked.
"Yes, I am." No reason to lie about it.
"Could you dispel the enchantment on me?"
I closed my eyes for a moment. "I cannot. The sorcerer who cast this enchantment is superior in power. Who was the wizard who did this?"
Anju and Kafei were very disappointed, as was Romani. As for Cremia, she looked disappointed, but I could tell it was a front for the fact that she had known I could not undo the enchantment.
Kafei spoke, bitterness in his voice. "It was a mask."
"Majora…" I had known it was the mask that had cast the spell, but I didn't want them to know that. To become a god again, I had to gain followers who would have faith in me. "That mask you speak of is the Mask of Majora."
"Link mentioned it once. What is it?"
"The Mask of Majora, Anju, is a mask with a demon driving it. It is a possessed object with immense powers. In fact, it is almost a god. It was created thousands of years ago to be the blight of this land, but was neutralized by the four giants. Now, it has come again."
"But Link destroyed it, didn't…" Anju trailed off.
"He did destroy it. But the demon within it survived, and called the mask back into being. However, there is hope yet."
"What hope?"
"That demon is my greatest enemy; more powerful than I, Kafei. I intend to destroy it, even if it costs me everything."
"You'd destroy yourself to rid me of this?"
"And to do more. More than even I comprehend; that mask is the source of most of the calamities that befall us; the poison of the swamps, the endless winters of the mountains, even the rain of fire we had not too long ago, when I first met Cremia and Romani."
The clock tower tolled, interrupting Kafei before he had even started to speak. Fireworks shot into the sky, blazing streaks of light, flowering blooms of color, and thunderclaps of sound.
The moment the clock tolled midnight, I felt an evil worse than any other consume the land. Termina was suddenly plunged into darkness by the foul entity.
"The Mask! It is Majora!"
Romani, Cremia, Anju, and Kafei were paralyzed with fear. I stood boldly and turned towards the clock tower.
Majora's Mask appeared, glowing with a strange darkness that acted like light, yet was definitely evil.
"Hello, my slaves. And of course, a special greeting to the imbecile standing on top of the Inn.
"I am your new god, understood? Looters, thieves, and other such criminals, rejoice!"
Everyone was silent.
Majora's eyes lit up, firing a beam of fire just above the crowds.
"I said, looters, thieves, and criminals, rejoice! Those are the things I will reward. Evil is the way of life, now!"
A large proportion of the crowd, in utter fear for their lives, celebrated.
"Good. Reap your first reward!" Fiery drops rained from the sky; just before they would have caused harm, I extended my arms and cast a shield spell.
"Are you crazy? It'll kill you!" gasped Cremia.
"Then I die for nobility, and the sake of others. My friends, please have faith in me, this once, this one time!"
I could not let Majora do worse than he had already tried to do. Admittedly, I had few followers, but I was willing to risk all for their sakes, even if there was a good possibility they would not be faithful. I teleported in front of Majora.
"Zartaris! You protected those worthless people? You cast that spell to aid them?"
I had had more than enough of this being. "I did, you foul Mask! I am the one who protected them!"
"And what do you intend to do now?"
The crowd was silent. Glancing at them, I noticed that in just a few seconds, Cremia, Romani, Anju, and Kafei had managed to push their way to the front of the crowd. They were watching me, wondering what I would do. My people were supporting me! Only great faith and hope in me could have allowed them to break the paralyzing fear they were under.
"I intend to destroy you. Utterly. Totally. Finally. I want to free all from you, and your evil deeds."
I glanced at the crowd again. My fellow gods had muscled to the front row, and were looking at me.
*Please Zartaris, in spite of our intrigues and plots against you, fight for us! We are nothing against him. However, we still have some power, and we will try to help you. Most importantly, we believe you can deliver us!* Farore said telepathically.
"And how do you intend to do this? I am a god now, you fool! I am immortal!"
Viscen had advanced to the front of the crowd, and he looked at me. The look clearly registered in my mind; it said that he not only knew that Majora was evil, but that I was the best qualified to fight him. He drew his sword slightly and raised his shield. In a second, I realized what he was going to do. He was waiting for a signal.
"I know everyone wants you gone. Everyone feels your evil even now. For them, I fight!"
I quickly nodded towards Viscen; he threw the sword and shield to me, and I grabbed them tightly. He, a person who I hadn't known for more than an hour, had put his life at risk because he had faith in me. My family had come to support me. Cremia and Romani, people who had seen me injured, had conquered their fear to support me. Finally, Anju and Kafei, two people I hadn't known for fifteen minutes, had faith that I could, somehow, help them.
Never again. I would not fail. Not this time. If destiny had my doom planned out, `I would fight and win against the odds; somehow I would fight and win for my people.