Chapter 10: Three Separate Paths
Link awoke Sir Marcus, his face drawn with anxiety. Sir Marcus was shocked by Link's story, and together, they woke the Koroks. They grabbed their equipment, and scoured the forest, searching for any trace of Ereb. But no matter how long they looked, he was no where to be found.
No one noticed the disappearance of Makar until that afternoon.
A young Korok, wanting to talk to Makar, could not find him anywhere, and when the subject was brought up to the other Koroks, they soon realized that no one had seen him since the night before. Panic struck the tribe, and soon, everyone was once again wandering throughout the forest, shouting Makar's name, searching for him.
But Makar, the reason for Ereb's nightmare, was not in the forest anymore.
Zelda's vision slowly cleared as she came back to her senses. She looked around her, hoping the last week had been naught but a bad dream, but as she gazed about her, she knew that her hopes were folly. She was still in the large stone room, in the comfortable bed, across from the colossal red doors. The curtains were shut now, as if Ganondorf had checked on her again.
She shook her head, but refused to weep. Something had to be done. She had to try to escape, even though she would most likely fail. She slipped out of the bed, and then got an idea. She took a few of the pillows, and quickly shaped them beneath the blankets as if she still lay there... There. That would buy her some time, if very little.
She closed the curtain again, and sneaked out of the massive room as silently as she could. She looked around to make sure the coast was clear, and then ran off into the maze of passages.
Majora's Mask shone brightly as Ereb tumbled into the shadows. He suddenly saw light rushing up to meet him, and landed softly on a strange, enormous flower. The Mask made him stand, and he decided to give up the struggle. It hurt him. He walked across a bizarre round room, up to a wall. The wall slid away as he approached, and he walked through the large opening. He found himself in a hallway, decorated with strange, colorful designs. He made his way through the passage, and another wall slid open.
He looked around. Nothing was there. Nothing was alive, or dead, or even in existence. There was just... Nothing. But the mask had other plans than to wander pointlessly through darkness, no, it had to do something.
And what it did, Ereb was shocked at. The mask raised him into the air, shaking, and a bright light erupted out of nowhere.
Ereb dropped to the ground painfully, and the mask forced him to stand. He would have gasped if he could...
He was in some sort of building, surrounded by gears and levers...
Link tore through the forest, frantically searching for Ereb. Tears were in his eyes and with every second that went by, he grew more and more anxious. What had happened to Ereb? Was he safe? Was he hurt? Was he frightened?
Ereb had been like a brother to Link when they had met as Squires, and ever since then, they had been fast friends. It can't just end this way... Not like this! Link thought, and wiping away a tear, he stopped in his tracks.
The familiar light of the Ghost King was shining behind him...
Zelda wandered through the vast corridors of Ganondorf's tower, frightened and worried. Her heart jumped at the slightest sound, and at every turn she would hear the sound of approaching footsteps... Or was that just her imagination? She didn't know. All she knew for certain right now was that she had to escape the tower quickly.
Suddenly, she heard the approaching of many creatures.
"Perhaps I am just imagining it again." She thought for a moment, but as they came nearer, the fact was terribly clear that it was more than imagination...
She truly was being followed.
Zelda broke out into a run, turning randomly at entrances to different hallways. Surprisingly, she found that she was actually making her way towards the gate. She could see the light of the desert sun peeping through the great doorway, but as she ran toward it, a spear impacted just inches from her head, thudding into the wall next to her. She looked back.
Behind her ran dozens of Moblins: Pig like creatures that used spears in battle, and walked on two heavy hoofed legs. They shouted curses at her in their deep voices, and the Moblins nearly overtook her, but stopped in their tracks. Zelda saw opportunity knocking, and whirled around, sprinting toward the door. But just as she stepped forward, she slammed into something large and black. She stumbled backwards, falling over. She looked up, and gasped, fear in her eyes.
Ganondorf was standing in front of her. She had run into him.
"Good afternoon, Princess Zelda. I trust you slept well?" Ganondorf asked, laughing wickedly.
Link stood stiff as the light flooded the forest around him. He spun around, and saw that sure enough, there was the Ghost King. He shone as brightly as always, and no emotion showed on his glowing face.
"Hero. I had not planned on meeting with you again so soon, but I must. Ereb has fallen."
Link staggered back, unable to believe his ears. "Fallen? Do you mean he is dead?" He demanded, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"No, he still lives, but in a horrible way. Majora's Mask is controlling him."
"How?" Link asked, more relieved at Ereb's living than worried about Majora's Mask at the moment.
"A young Korok put it on him as a jest, but it was a jest that turned terribly wrong. That mask is cursed with black arts. It has wicked powers beyond anything that even I could predict, though I did know of its corruption."
Link clenched his fists against his fears. "You knew? You knew that it was cursed... And you still told us to deliver it for Old Majora?"
The Ghost King gave no sign. "It was your fate to take the mask with you, whether or not I had interfered. It was Ereb's path to be the mask's first victim, just as it will be his path to defeat it."
Link shook his head. "I should have listened to him... I should have known!" He shouted, and his voice echoed throughout the forest.
The Ghost King brightened. "Hero... I was cursed as well. I was cursed by the same being that cursed the mask... Never to rest until the Hero had completed his quest."
"What? You were cursed...? Who? Who did all of this? Ganondorf. Ganondorf! He must have!"
"No. This is one evil the Gueredo King did not commit. There are far more evil and more powerful things in Hyrule than merely Ganondorf. This was done by the Oracle."
"Oracle?" Link asked, confused now as much as he was infuriated.
"Yes. He was here when the first tree blossomed, and shall remain when the final sea dries up. He is the Oracle of Doom, a beast of terrible evil power. He cursed Majora's Mask from afar, and it seems that he desires for you to succeed in your quest at the same time. I do not understand his motives, though I knew of his hand in this."
"Wait... The Oracle of Doom... I know that name." Link muttered, and then remembered.
"The Oracle of Doom! Of course! There was a mural of the Hero of Light destroying him a thousand years ago! How has he returned?"
"As I told you, Hero, he will be the last to die before Hyrule fades. As for Ereb, he cannot be found in Hyrule. The mask is working its evil in another dimension, where you cannot go. For now, you must seek out the Shiekah." The Ghost King said, and then the light died out.