Chapter 9: Ereb and the Mask
That night, a great feast was held in the Hero's honor. Though Link tried to bring up the subject of Old Majora's nephew several times, the conversation was swiftly changed before he could ask about the man's whereabouts.
There was food, and singing, and dancing, and games, but for some reason, Ereb did not feel like having a good time. He felt the Mask's evil surrounding him, devouring his strength. He felt weary and sick again, and he had to sleep. He dozed off in his chair during the meal, and the Koroks gave him a large (by their standards), bed of wood and straw. He slept lightly, tossing and turning.
Very late, after the moon had risen high in the black skies, dark clouds shrouded the stars behind a veil of silvery blackness, and no sounds were heard save for the deep breathing of the sleeping Knights. But someone was stirring.
A young Korok, named Makar, had seen Majora's Mask in Link's bag during the party.
When the Knights were sleeping, he sneaked into their hut, and slipped Majora's Mask out, to take a look out of curiosity. But then, seeing Ereb, he had a mischievous idea. He silently tiptoed to Ereb's cot, and carefully put the mask onto his face. Makar giggled quietly, and Ereb stirred, touching his face with his hand, and not knowing it, he pressed the mask on. In his sleep, he did not know what had happened, but his dreams shifted to a small Korok sneaking around his tent…
Makar sneaked out of the hut giggling about his prank, and after a while, he decided to go back in and put the mask back into Link's bag. He tiptoed in, and approached Ereb. He looked one last time at him before taking the mask off, but something about Ereb startled him now.
The giant, frightening eyes of the mask were glowing faintly. Something evil had happened. Makar's small heart skipped a beat, and fear filled him. Something had happened to Ereb because of the mask. Makar gathered his courage, and reached out to take it off of Ereb, but suddenly, Ereb's hand shot out, and grabbed Makar. Makar squirmed in the tight grip, and managed to slip away. Ereb rose, the eyes of the mask shining brightly now. A strange light surrounded him, changing its ghostly color every moment, and flowing through the room like calm water lapping at the shore.
Ereb walked out of the hut, and stood outside, Majora's Mask shining in the darkness. The eyes peered around, searching for something...
And then, Ereb, or Majora's Mask, or perhaps both, saw Makar. He was tearing through the brush, fleeing for his life. Ereb laughed wickedly. A strange voice laughed for him. The eyes shone like bright spotlights. The evil lights surrounding him reached out, brightening the entire area.
Somewhere in the hut, Link stirred. The horrible laughter had awoken him. He scrambled out of his cot, and snatched his sword and shield. He ran outside, and saw a strange figure glowing before him.
It was laughing evilly, in a way that reminded him of the monster in the Sacred Chamber. The figure shone like a many colored star, evil and terrifying. Link approached slowly, sword in hand. With a sudden motion, he grabbed the glowing creature's shirt, and whirled it around. Link staggered back in surprise.
"What? Ereb? The Mask! What happened?"
Before Link could finish his question, though, Ereb punched Link in the stomach with incredible strength, far beyond anything Link could have expected. Majora's Mask shone like the sun, and slowly, the light faded, and the mask disappeared, taking Ereb with it.
Link, shocked at Ereb's disappearance, could only stare at the ground. His stomach still hurt from Ereb's punch. The mask... That mask! It had done something to Ereb... And now, he was gone, again. Link shook his head. Where could he be? No places came to mind. Something had to be done. Ereb had to be saved from Majora's Mask. Link turned around, and ran into the hut.
Zelda awoke in a large, soft, comfortable bed. Her head was resting on a feather pillow, and heavy, warm blankets covered her. Surprised, she sat up and looked around, but nothing made sense to her. The last thing she had known before falling into that strange, dreamless sleep was seeing Ganondorf open the door of his tower. Everything had gone black, and now, she had awoken in a huge, beautiful bed. The blankets had intricate designs and vibrant colors sewn into them, and a pink curtain surrounded her. She could not see anything beyond it. But then, she heard a noise... Footsteps, yes that was it. She quietly lay back down, and pretended to still be sleeping.
Ganondorf walked up, and drew back the curtain. "Blast. She is still asleep." He said to himself. The sound of footsteps started again, and slowly faded as he walked away.
Only several minutes later did Zelda dare to open her eyes. Now that the curtain was drawn, she could see where she was. It was a vast stone room, with three windows allowing light inside far above. The bed she was in was against the wall, and two large red doors stood proudly within the wall across the room. That was all. She rubbed her eyes, still full of sleepiness, and for a moment, almost tried to get up. But as soon as she had set her feet onto the floor, she suddenly felt horribly tired again... So sleepy she might just lie down again and... Sleep...
Zelda lay back down, pulled the covers back over herself, and decided to take advantage of Ganondorf's kindness, even though it was probably his fault that she was so exhausted. Sleep found her again, and she saw no more.
Someone has put the mask on me. The thought was alarming, and yet he knew it was true, knew it to his core. The mask had no power to move on its own.
But Ereb could move! He tried to, but to his terror, could not. And yet he was moving!
He found himself in a world of darkness and terror. Something outside of his own will was commanding his movements somehow, guiding his feet to take him places he did not want to walk. He found himself staring down a deep hole, endless it seemed, with strange lights far below. He struggled against Majora's Mask's dark will, fighting its powers with all of his strength.
"No! No!" He tried to shout, but his voice was lost in the noise of the Mask's voice, screaming in his head.
"They cursed me... They cursed me... ASHI coMblante... They cursed me..." It wailed, piercing Ereb's will, torturing his mind.
Ereb stepped forward, and felt no ground. Unable to stop Majora's Mask, he found himself falling into the abyss.