Chapter 9: An Underground Cavern

Ganondorf walked up the steps in a strange underground temple. He passed many statues of robed sorcerers of many endless centuries ago. Everything was lit in a dim blue light, making everything barely visible. As Ganondorf continued walking up the steps, a massive archway leading up to a massive room loomed in the dense fog of the cavern. He entered the room, which was much vaster and better lit than the previous room. He walked along the carpet path to a mysterious, floating object. The object turned around looking at Ganondorf. The floating object was heart-shaped with spikes around it, wide open eyes, very colorful, and complete with bizarre ritual markings around it. A set of tentacles drop to its side.

"I have killed him, Majora" Ganon said with a smirk.

"Have you? That's quite satisfying," Majora said, in a hallow voice. "But what about the other boy?"

"What!?" Ganon asked, caught off guard.

"I assume you have killed the younger child?" Majora continued.

"That wasn't part of our deal. I was supposed to kill the hero and be allowed to keep my second life," Ganon spoke angrily.

"The deal was that you kill both of them and then would be promised to keep your life." Majora said flatly. "But you didn't do that did you?"

Ganondorf's face was red with anger, apparent that he had been backstabbed by Majora.

"It's a shame I don't believe in second chances," Majora began to laugh.

Before Ganon could react, one of Majora's sharp tentacles lifted and shot at Ganon's chest, hitting him directly. Ganon gasped, and his eyes grew wide. The tentacle abruptly pulled out of his chest, and Ganon fell back, landing with a large thud.

Majora turned over to his side. "You, over here."

A young shadow adult stepped forward.

"We are going to the surface soon, and I need you to…help me accomplish our goal up there."

Majora then began to hysterically shriek with laughter, its sound haunting through the temple and caverns themselves.

East Castle Town

Kino entered the town, trying the avoid looking at anyone as he carried the Master Sword in its scabbard. People began to take notice of what Kino was carrying under his left arm, and every single person fell silent as Kino walked briskly by them. As Kino walked through the even more crowded central section of town, people fell silent there too. Their faces were filled with disbelief, as seeing the Master Sword without its wielder brought a depressing omen of things to come.

Kino entered the castle without any delay; the guards simply stood out of his way. As Kino made his way into the throne room, Zelda stood up from her chair, relieved to see Kino, and anxious to hear the outcome of the Eastern Hyrule Field battle. When Kino stood in front of Zelda, she gave him an affectionate hug. Kino took his right hand and patted her back.

"Thank the Goddesses you're alright," Zelda cried. "Where's Link?"

Zelda released her hug. Kino slowly took the scabbard holding the Master Sword, and held it out to Zelda. Slowly, tears began to come to her eyes.

"He's…dead?" She asked quietly, trying to prevent her voice from shaking.

"We…We don't know," Kino answered faintly. "The best we can say is he disappeared."

"What?" Zelda's eyes lit up.

"Ganon stabbed him, and Ganon fled. I went to get help but when we came back Link disappeared. There were no traces of blood, or anything to show Link had moved or been moved," Kino explained. "It's like he vanished."

There was silence for the next moment.

"I must be going now," Kino said sighed, handing Zelda the Master Sword. He then turned around and began to walk out of the room.

"Wait," Zelda called.

Kino stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"Meet me in my chamber at midnight tonight," Zelda requested. "Come alone, there is something I want to show you."

Kino nodded, and left the room.

When night came, and the full moon rose to its peak, Kino walked up the long spiral staircase to Zelda's private chambers. As Kino entered the room, it was surprisingly dark, with the exception of the moonlight and a lit candle on a desk near where Zelda stood. Zelda appeared to be praying, then turned around and walked up to Kino.

"Follow me," she whispered.

Kino followed Zelda down the many stairways of the castle, and through rooms Kino had never gone through. They continued down into the underground levels of the castle. Upon reaching the third underground level of the castle, they stopped in the middle of a dimly lit and dusty hallway. Zelda pushed a brick on the stone wall and slowly the stones retreated to form a passageway. Zelda grabbed Kino's left hand and led him into the passageway, the wall behind them sealing.

The air became much cooler, near the point of being cold. They emerged out of the passageway and into a moderately-sized dark room. The room had a height that extended into darkness, the floors were a dark marble, and room was next to lit at all, with a dark blue hue. On the wall opposite of where Kino was standing, there were grand statues of the Goddesses similar to the ones Kino saw in the castle's throne room, but these were much older, yet somehow fought against the forces of aging. The statues were lit with a strange spotlight effect in a dark blue color.

Most dominating was a pedestal in the center of the room, which was lit by the rays of the moon through a distant window from far above. Planted in the pedestal was a rather massive dark two-handed sword. The blade bore a width slightly wider than most two-handed swords. The powerful hilt was a sharp w-shape, with a red gem embedded in the hilt between the handle and blade, and a look that demands respect. Kino felt a strange temptation and a slight headache as he approached the sword with Zelda.

"Think of this sword as the Master Sword's dark counterpart," Zelda began. "It once belonged to a fierce warrior of the darkness. He was cursed into the darkness since birth, but he was never evil. The darkness gave him this sword, and he used this power to defend the Triforce from those who sought it. Those who fought him died. However, he was defeated and slain by a sorcerer wielding a dark mask used in hexing rituals. When soldiers arrived, the warrior's body disappeared, and all was left was this dark sword.

"Some say a small part of the warrior's spirit or a spirit of the darkness lives on in this blade. The sword allowed the sages of the time to strike down the blade on this pedestal, and the sword waits for the day one worthy of its power arrives. Those who have tried to claim it have died. To this day, the only one who has wielded this sword and lived would be the fierce warrior himself."

Zelda remained silent for the next moment, while Kino was sorting out the story in his head.

"Where did the warrior disappear to?" Kino asked.

"We don't know," Zelda answered. "Some say he never died. Others say since the fierce warrior's power was from the darkness, he was taken to an underworld of sorts, but we will never truly know."

"Did that sorcerer succeed in claiming the Triforce?"

"No. His tribe saw him as selfish. The tribe sealed the mask far away where nobody will ever find it and killed the sorcerer. However, since the fierce warrior who protected the Triforce was dead, it meant the tribe of sorcerers was free to take the Triforce. They killed anybody in their way, including armies, but when they were about to claim it, the Spirits of Light intervened and sealed them away to another realm. The Triforce itself was sealed away into another realm, where nobody would gain access to it. However, many centuries later, someone did gain access to that realm, but that is another long story."

"What was that mask the sorcerer used?" Kino slightly bit his lip.

"It was Majora's mask," Zelda answered shortly.

"What?" Kino's eyes widened. "Ah crap, we're screwed." He lifted his left hand up to his chin.

Zelda remained silent, her blue eyes continued to look at the sword.

"This is a forgotten legend that only an extreme few know. I thought I would tell it to you since Link's disappearance is somewhat similar," Zelda explained. "Link did disappear without a trace, correct?"

"Yes."

"And the Master Sword was the only thing left behind?"

"Yeah."

Kino and Zelda looked at each other.

"I, uh, don't think Link's disappearance relates much to what you just told me," Kino expressed his thoughts.

Zelda looked back at the dark sword. "You're probably right. We better be going now."

Come…

Kino suddenly stood upright, quickly looking around.

"Kino, is everything fine?" Zelda asked curiously.

Kino remained silent, continuing to look around the room. "I thought I heard something."

Zelda looked slightly puzzled. "I didn't hear anything."

"Yeah, let's just leave." Kino left the room with Zelda, but a small part of him strangely wants to remain in there, wanting to do something.

Kino continued to follow Zelda up the underground levels until they reached the familiar deserted hallways lit by the light of the full moon. Zelda turned around, her blue eyes meeting Kino's darker blue ones.

"I had this strange feeling when you first came back. I had this need to show you that sword. I'm not sure why, but I thought I should let you know," Zelda explained.

Kino looked to his side and out the window. "I don't think it would help us much though."

Outside the window was a nicely trimmed lawn with a stone fountain in the middle. The moonlight lit the water like they were crystals.

"Good night Kino," Zelda smiled.

Kino looked back at Zelda and smiled back. Zelda turned around and went back to her private chambers.

As the night wore on, Kino spent his time on the balcony outside his room. He sat on the bench, watching the moon slowly move across the sky. He sighed, thinking about the legend Zelda had told him. More troublesome was the strange temptation he had standing next to the dark sword, and the voice that he heard but Zelda couldn't.

Kino suddenly began to feel woozy, but it wasn't normal. His vision was becoming blurred, his breathing and heart rate slowing. Kino lied down on the bench and lost consciousness.

A young man sat in a dark alleyway, watching life move around Castle Town. He bore a strong resemblance to Link, but his hair was a slivery white, his eyes were a dark bloodshot red, and his face maintained a persistent determination. He wore full dark grey heavy armor, with the appearance that they had gone through numerous, endless battles. Sheathed on his back was a rather large two-handed sword, with a slightly wide dark blade and a sharp w-shaped black hilt with an embedded red gem. The warrior stood up, revealing his above average height. He walked through the alleyways with a powerful stance. He avoided contact with the people of the town, as he made his way to a gate leading out of town. Within moments, he approached a grand and massive stone temple in a small grass plain. He remained outside the temple, leaning against the wall beside the double door entrance.

Suddenly he began to look up. He didn't even budge as he saw a robed sorcerer walk towards him. The sorcerer stopped about ten feet from the warrior. Without even exchanging words, the sorcerer began throw spheres of magic at the warrior. The warrior without hesitation unsheathed his large sword and easily deflected them. He slammed the sword onto the ground, creating a massive wave of power towards the sorcerer. The sorcerer maintained his ground, but his hood went down, revealing a mask on his face. The mask had a bizarre appearance. It was heart-shaped, colorful, had wide-open eyes, and surrounded with spikes.

"You really think that will help," the warrior spoke, revealing his dark, intimidating voice.

"I do actually," the sorcerer chuckled in a slightly high pitched voice.

The sorcerer lifted his arms and suddenly, pink tentacles with iron spikes shot out of the ground and quickly shot towards the warrior. The warrior dodged them at blinding speed. Soon, tentacles were shooting out of the ground everywhere, but the warrior was able to react quickly in order to block or defect the spikes. Suddenly, one caught him in the back, and came out right through the warriors left chest, where his heart was. He stood there, grunting in pain, with his breathing becoming shallow. The sorcerer walked over to the warrior and turned its head sideways to observe the wound. The warrior slowly looked up, revealing his anger. His eyes were now a pupil-less white.

"Damn you," the warrior shot angrily with utmost hatred.

The sorcerer lifted his right hand and clenched it. Suddenly, a massive evil energy surged though the warrior's body, a purple aura surrounding him. He yelled in pain, his voice carrying on for a distance. The aura disappeared, and the warrior slumped forward. The spike violently pulled out, and the warrior collapsed forward onto the ground. A pool of dark red blood formed beneath his body, and he wasn't breathing.

"That was fun," the sorcerer remarked. "We should play some time in the future. I'll even let you play bad guy."

The sorcerer laughed, and then faded away.

Soldiers under the Hyrule flag appeared a moment later, running towards where the warrior fell. When they arrived, the warrior's body had disappeared, with no traces that it had moved or been moved. All that remained was the blood, and the dark sword next to it.

Kino opened his eyes, only to find himself standing, and suffering from a massive headache. He looked forward with his blurry vision and noticed a sword. His headache prevented him from observing it. He felt a strange pull as he limped over to the sword, until he stood right in front of it.. He was staring at the hilt, but couldn't see it clearly.

Take it…

Kino lifted his left hand and was about to close around the hilt, but he hesitated.

Take it…

The shallow voice became more urgent. Kino's left hand began to tremble slightly, as he fought the great temptation within him to obey the voice echoing in his head.

Take it!

Kino closed his left hand around the hilt. Immediately, he felt a great force of energy travel up his arm and pierced right into his mind. Kino grunted in pain as his headache exploded into unimaginable pain. Without realizing it, both of his hands were on the hilt, and he began to subconsciously pull the sword upwards. He felt energy gather around his feet as the sword slowly came out of its pedestal.

When the sword left the pedestal, Kino stumbled backwards, lost balance, and fell on his back. Kino's headache was gone, but it was replaced with great fatigue. He quickly lost consciousness again, only realizing that he was gripping something in his left hand.