Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in so long uwu; Just a quick warning, this chapter has some violence!
Ghirahim looked at Link "…Be on your guard." Link looked up at the demon, noting the serious expression on his face. He must have an idea about what was up ahead. Link nodded slowly. He wasn't sure what would happen once they crossed into the threshold of the large room. This would be a true test of whether or not he could trust Ghirahim.
Link chanced a glace back at Hester, who smiled encouragingly. He stood up straighter. He was the hero who had slain demise. Of course he could face something like this. Link stepped into the room, followed by Ghirahim. Once they had taken a few steps in, the doors swung closed behind them, with an eerie sort of finality.
The room was silent, save for the sounds of gently babbling water as link took in the surroundings. They were in a large chamber, with carvings of an ancient language etched into the walls and floor of the room, which were black like obsidian. The carvings gave off a soft blue glow, slowly pulsing duller and brighter. The glow gave the room a mostly blue tint, and was the only light source. There was water running down the two side walls, settling in large pools along the edge of the room. The water gave off the babbling sound; which was the only other sound in the room, save for links beating heart, which for some reason was slowly becoming louder in his ears as he looked around.
Across the large room was a glowing blue door. He assumed that was where the gem was. Link knew better than to go carelessly running across the room to get to it. That could never end well. After not seeing an immediate threat, he stepped forward with caution. He noticed a puddle in the center of the room. It only struck him as odd because of the unusual position of the water. There wasn't any source of water anywhere near it, so it shouldn't—
Links thoughts were interrupted as a droplet of water hit him on the nose. His head snapped up as his hand went to the hilt of his sword. The ceiling was high, and full of shadows. Through the darkness though, Link saw a single green eye staring down at him, bemused. He just barely caught the glimmer of a blade, and jumped out of the way. A large knife embedded itself in the spot he was only just standing in.
Ghirahim stepped forward and narrowed his eyes, smiling. "Of course it's you. Who else would it be? Stop being a coward and show your ugly snaggled-toothed face." The green eye narrowed, but then appeared amused again. A woman's voice echoed through the room then, sounding bitter and condescending. "Oh Ghirahim. Still the charmer I see…" The assailant finally jumped down and landed in front of Ghirahim. Illuminated in blue, Link took the woman in.
She had darker skin, a warm mocha color. Her hair was white, but not as white as Ghirahim's. A more slate grey color. Her hair was similar in style to Ghirahim's too; shoulder length and covering the right eye, but her hair was wavy and more natural looking. Her exposed eye was a shining green, that was almost iridescent. Her teeth were indeed snaggled, some overlapping her bottom lip, others jutting out onto her top lip. Pointed ears stuck out from both sides of her head, with three piercings along their lengths. She wore a forest green and black outfit of sorts, with the same green color for heeled boots.
She was attractive, but her aura was almost sickening. If he had thought Ghirahim was cavalier and haughty, his aura didn't hold a candle to what this woman was giving off. Waves of pure malice rolled off her as well, giving an uneasy feeling.
Brown was locked with green in a loathing stare down. Link almost shivered at the intensity of the malice and promise of pain in the two demons irises. The woman broke the intense glare and looked right Link. He stood straight, his blue eyes looking into hers with as much intensity as he could muster. After a moment she smirked some "The goddesses chosen hero…Meeting you in person, I see its indeed true how you are but a young boy. To think that you could have beaten Demise…" Her eye swept back over to Ghirahim "And to think the most faithful of all would betray his master and kin, and side with the goddess…"
Ghirahim's eyes narrowed "If anyone was betrayed, it was I! You betrayed me. If you had let me stay, I would never have joined him. To clarify, I haven't joined the 'goddess'. I've joined Link. To be frank, the goddess still makes my very being shudder in disgust. I'm still a demon after all. Do not lower me to such mortal standards! " The woman snorted and turned her attention back to Link again. "I'm sorry, hero. I haven't introduced myself. I am Sable, one of the elite demons who serve the king directly in his castle. My associates and I worked alongside your little sword for many eons. If you're wondering, yes. He's always been this much of an insufferable pompous failure, whose bark is one hundred times worse than his meager bite. Why he was Demise's favorite, I'll never know..!"
Her eyes narrowed in satisfaction as Ghirahim clenched his teeth and seethed. The whole room took on an oppressive feel as Ghirahim pointed a finger at her "WRECHED WENCH! Do you forget your place? I've always been stronger than you! Even if I'm not wielded by Demise, I easily out class you! You are nothing but the scum at the bottom of a murky swamp, you vile bitch! I had a feeling you would show up; which is why I picked the place best suited for you first… I wanted to start with the easiest trash to take care of!" Sable's face scrunched up in anger as she snarled at the barrage of insults.
She barred her snaggled teeth "….It's a shame you didn't drown in that whirlpool I sent up to greet you. It's also a shame you didn't die by that siren I re-animated and possessed. Because now, you'll die by me" She pulled out a sword "And I can assure you, you'll regret not dying sooner." Ghirahim gave a mirthful laugh and teleported back, so he was next to link.
He rested his hands on Links shoulders like that time before in the fire sanctuary, only this time Link didn't jerk away. Ghirahim leaned in slowly, so his lips were close to Links ear, and whispered. "Her name is indeed Sable. She fights best in the water element, seeing as to how her true form is a lowly crocodile demon. She's not as fast, but she's accurate. You have to make her angry so she dissolves into her true form. When in that form, she's heavily scaled and guarded over most of her body…Most. "
Link only understood parts of that, but he got the gist. He nodded as Ghirahim disappeared back into the sword. The sword began to glow and pulse. He could feel Ghirahim's anger and bloodlust through the hilt of the sword. It began to cloud his mind and all he could imagine for a few moments was ripping Sable to shreds, and spilling her thick blood all over the walls, the metallic smell almost choking him with its intensity.. Link shook his head vigorously. He tightened his grip on the hilt, as if telling Ghirahim to relax. One fought best when they had a clear head after all. The spike of bloodlust only diminished just enough so that link could concentrate.
Sable sneered "Come on little hero.. I want to see your strength for myself. Perhaps if I beat you I can take over the demon world.." Fueled by her own delusions, she aimed her sword at link. Link moved in a circle around her slowly, pointing his sword at her as he quickly analyzed her and put together a strategy. He mulled over Ghirahim's words in his mind. Her movements were slow, but accurate he had said. He needed to beat her with his superior speed then, if that were the case.
He dashed forward and slashed at her. She blocked, her snaggle-toothed grin broadening. Link retaliated to this snarky gesture by side stepping and diving around her, stabbing at her back. She hissed as his strike hit, the snarky grin dissolving into a cringe of pain and a snarl. She jumped back and glared at the hero clad in green. She let out a hiss, her pupils dilating into slits. Link began to circle around her again, locking eyes with her. This time, she followed his movements. It almost felt like a dance; a sinister tango of two foes, both striving for victory.
Sable caught on fast to his technique of hitting her from behind, as he only got one more slice in before she came up with a way to counter it. The cogs in links mind whirred as he quickly put together new attacks and strategies. Ghirahim could feel the adrenaline coursing through Links body, and sense how his mind was racing and strategizing. The boy was a tactical genius! His mind took in every detail and every piece of information to help formulate a battle plan.
Link went for his dive move again. He watched as Sable's eyes narrowed and her lips twitched into a grin as she readied her counter. He faked her out quickly and got a good slash at her side. She hissed and teleported back away from him, to the other side of the room. Sable readied her sword and her eyes began to glow. Link felt a sudden urgency pull at his mind that he had to move. Nothing happened for a moment. Her mouth opened and a reptilian hiss echoed through the room… she was on him in a flash. Luckily, Link had tensed his muscles in preparation and just barely dived out of the way of a crushing blow. Her sword slammed into the ground and caused the smooth black stone to splinter and crack. Water seeped slowly from the crack as she jerked at her sword to free it.
Link saw his chance. He didn't want to get too close however, so he quickly grabbed his bow. Just as Sable jerked her sword free, she heard the sound of an incoming arrow too late. Her eyes widened as an arrow dug into the back of her shoulder. She snarled in pain but did not turn around. She reached her hand back and ripped the arrow from her shoulder. The wound dripped with an inhumanly dark color of blood. She sneered at Link.
Link moved in a circle as she aimed her sword at him again. She watched him, tensing her muscles to strike. He was ready for her when she came. Their swords collided and they were locked in a heated glare as they both pushed up against the others blade. For a moment, Sable over powered him. He deflected her sword to the side, just before she could slam the blade down into his shoulder. He used his leg to sweep her feet out from under her before she could counter. She got a slash to her face before she could teleport herself across the room. She sneered and wiped the blood off the gash on her face, looking at it meaningfully. "Well hero.. You're better than I expected… However, I've barely even shown any of my power…"
As the words escaped her mouth, the ground began to shake. A dark smoke encompassed Sable and a murderous hiss erupted into the air as her form grew four times as large as it was before. Link backed up to the wall, unsure of what would come out. The first thing to appear from the smoke was a large, scaled snout, littered with sharp fangs and a black, razor sharp forked tongue. Sable was now a large reptile, ivory colored scales littering her quadrupedal body. Her tail was long, harboring sharp spines all along its width, ready to slice any unfortunate prey that lurked near. Ghirahim had referred to her as a… crocodile? Link had never come into contact with such a creature, but if this is what one was, he could only pray to the goddesses he never would again.
He backed up and looked her over quickly. He noted her sides weren't covered with the scales, appearing fleshy and soft. He knew then that was where he had to strike. Before he could think on the matter any further, she jerked back to attack. A large wave of water formed around her. Link knew there was no easy way to dodge; it was going to encompass the whole room with deadly force. His eyes dashed around for escape until he remembered the rafter like ceiling. It was so high he couldn't see it that well, but it had to do.
He grabbed out his claw shots just as she unleashed the wave of water. He aimed quickly and shot it at the ceiling, praying he would hit something. He was jerked toward the ceiling just in time as the water hit the wall with crushing force that surely would have hurt him. He landed among the rafters. Sable looked around for him, snarling. Link could hit her sides from here, he was sure. He reached into his pouch and grabbed the first thing he felt, which happened to be the trident. He raised and aimed….He threw it toward her side with as much force as he could muster.
The tridents sharp barbs sliced into her side as she screeched in pain. She shook her body and freed the trident from her side, knocking it across the room. She slammed her body into the wall, making the rafters tremble, which in turn caused link slip and fall. He managed to land in one of the pools of water on the side of the room, scarcely avoiding serious injury. He crawled from the pool quickly and scooped up the trident, sliding it back into his pouch. He turned back to see an eerie sight.
Sable just sat there, unmoving; Her mouth gaped open. Link cautiously edged closer to attack. He realized too late however, that was just what she wanted. She snapped forward, catching the edge of tunic in her huge teeth. As Link struggled free, she began to roll, pulling link with her. He managed to pull himself free after an agonizing while, but not without consequence. He had not only ripped his tunic, her teeth had ripped a wound in his side. It wasn't serious, but it stung and bled badly. Sable licked the blood from her front teeth, with a smirk.
Link panted and backed up as far as he could, holding the wound on his side. He could work through it, he'd had worse. Sable decided now was a good time to use her wave attack again. She readied it, and link got out his claw shots yet again. If he was stuck in the water with her wounded like this. he'd surely die. He shot up to the rafters as she released the wave again. She looked up to the rafters and readied herself to hit the wall. Link knew he wouldn't have time to hit her side, so he came up with a quick back up plan. As her body made contact with the wall, he jumped off the rafters, and landed on her head. A shocked snarl ripped from the crocodile, but before she could buck him off, Link stabbed his sword into her right eye. She screeched in pain as link ripped his sword free. Her whole body writhed in pain, but she managed to smack Link off with her tail.
He landed on his back some feet away from the writhing reptile. He got to his feet as quickly as he could. His body was moving on pure instinct now, as his shaking hands griped for the trident in his pouch. He ran at her, ignoring the pain in his side. In her reared up position, she was vulnerable. He stabbed the trident into her stomach. She screeched in pain and rage. She teleported to the opposite side of the room, and the scales on her form began to flake away. She shrank down to her previous form, one arm wrapped around her waist, the other cupping her eye.
Ghirahim appeared from the sword, looking positively smarmy with victory. "It's over. She no longer has the power to maintain her true form in this world." Sable glowered up at Ghirahim with her good eye. Her form convulsed in pain, as well as hate "You despicable… piece of cur… I will end you... You've always been a thorn in my side.. Always..!" Ghirahim chuckled and raised the blood covered sword that pierced Sables eye. He slowly licked the blood off, chuckling at the pathetic form of the woman before him. While Link looked on in repulsion, Sable snarled at Ghirahim and made her escape from the room by teleporting out.
The whole room took on a lighter feel, the oppression gone. Link breathed out a sigh of relief and headed to the door that had the gem behind it. Behind said door was a chamber that glowed a soft blue. In the center of the room was pedestal made of stone, that had a large blue gem propped up on it. The pedestal was surrounded by water on three sides, and had smooth black stairs leading up to it. Link climbed those stairs, albeit a bit off balance. The gem was very beautiful; it had swirls and ripples going through it, almost like water, yet it looked dry to the touch. It was smooth and reflected links face back at him.
Ghirahim entered the room and walked up to the pedestal. "What are you waiting for? Grab the gem..!" Link placed his hands on the smooth gem and lifted it from the pedestal. A soft light pulsed around the room, and before Link knew it, he was back outside the boss door, in the main hall of the temple. Hester squeaked in surprise of Link and Ghirahim's sudden materialization in front of her. "You're back.. and you got the gem!" She smiled, but that smile faded as she saw blood drip onto the floor from link's wound. "You're hurt!" Link looked down at his side. He had forgotten actually. But now that the adrenaline was wearing down, it really started to hurt.
Hester went and looked at the wound "Looks like a bad gash.. Here.. Lift up your shirt." Not really feeling well enough to refuse, Link lifted his tunic, chainmail and shirt. She pulled a small sea shell from her top and opened it. She applied some balm to the wound. It stung at first, but then almost immediately numbed the pain. The bleeding seemed to slow as well. Hester smiled "There… That's a healing balm the sirens used.. It should heal up really soon!" Link smiled and thanked her as he took out some bandages and quickly wrapped his wound to help it clean. After he fixed his clothes, Ghirahim tapped his foot "We should get going to the gate, Sky child.." Link nodded and gave a wave to Hester. As he turned, Hester bit her lip "Wait…!"
Link turned back to look at her "Yes?" She hesitated "…While you were gone I noticed that.. The time shift stone was on outside.. I thought that was pretty weird at first.. I mean.. Why would the temple still be here if they were on? But then… I realized. This... is the past. So I realized all the ramifications and… Are all the Sirens…?" Links face held a pitied look. He had known all along, after all. There defiantly wern't any sirens swimming around in the sand. He nodded slowly "The sea is now.. all sand. It's a wasteland.."
Hester looked down and nodded slowly "Well.. my time's been up I guess.. Thank you for telling me.. but.. I have one request. Can you.. take me to the other Sirens? The village is only a short bit away… I don't want to be here alone." As link nodded, Ghirahim sighed, heavily annoyed "I know you're going to do it, Sky child. So I won't even try to stop you. Just hurry up, will you?" With that, He disappeared into the sword, grumbling about empathy and wasting time with dead creatures.
Whew! That chapter was alot to write! Hester isn't going to be a re-curring character, I just felt bad leaving her in the temple alone, and leaving the question or what ever happened to her. Ghirahim of course doesn't care at all and just wants to get a move on. Thank you guys for all the support! I'll probably be uploading some pictures of Sable onto my DeviantArt sometime soon c: Reviews are appreciated!