"The Constellation King?" said Kain. "The leader of the Constellation we were talking about? Already?"

"It appears so. I didn't think he would be coming so soon." She stared into Kain's eyes. "All of our soldiers out there are in grave danger. We need to get them inside. Now."

She formed a full connection with Byron's consciousness, somewhat stunning him with the force. Byron, order all the outside troops to retreat inside the barrier as fast as they can. Spread the word.

What -

The Constellation King has arrived. We can't do anything until we've at least seen what he's capable of, and I don't want half of our troops obliterated when that happens.

There was a small pause as Byron probably swore to himself. Uh, yeah, I'll get right on that.

He relinquished his link with her. Zelda stood up and cleared her throat. All the mages (that hadn't passed out) turned to her, worry written on their faces. "As you've probably sensed, the Constellation King has just breached the surface of Hyrule. When I give the order, solidy the two weak spots in the barrier and pour everything you have into strengthening it. We can take no chances with this enemy."

The mages nodded and promptly resumed their work. Zelda tapped Kain on the arm, turned around, and strode away. Kain followed her, trying to fight off the feeling of dread the Constellation King was pressing on all of them. They entered through the doorway to the tower stairs, walked up the stairwell, and came to the barrier blocking off the way to the watchtower. Zelda erased the barrier with her hand and didn't bother letting Kain through first to protect her. Most of the Constellation were still acting like nuts, anyway.

Zelda could sense the King moving toward Castle Town. She ran to the edge of the watchtower and placed her hands on top of the wall acting as a guard. Kain slowly stopped behind her. At the outer parts of the city, soldiers were filing through the now-open holes in the barrier, fleeing from the Constellation who were too busy partying to notice or care. Around half of the soldiers had already made it in. In less than a minute, the King would arrive at the barrier.

"Do we have any plan to battle the Constellation King?" Kain asked.

Zelda tensed her arms. "None. We have very little information to go off of, and I'm afraid what we do learn may be lost here. Let's hope all the stories of the Constellation King were exaggerated, but I don't think they were." Three-quarters of the soldiers had reentered Castle Town. The King was about thirty seconds away. Zelda's heart beat faster. "Kain, go down to the throneroom and order the mages to seal the holes and strengthen the barrier. All the soldiers will be in by then."

Kain blinked in surprise. "And leave you?"

"Yes, Kain. Go!"

Sighing, Kain took off through the doorway behind her. She covered her eyes with her hand as Kain's footsteps faded away. She tried to remember Kain's encouragement, but it was hard to be optimistic when little hope was in sight.

On the horizon, the presence of the Constellation King came into view. With the distance and barrier blurring appearances, Zelda couldn't tell what he looked like. The soldiers, now seeing the monstrosity for themselves, shouted and quickened their pace. All the while, the Constellation's happiness kept growing.

The last soldier entered Castle Town. The two groups stopped when they were a safe distance from the edge of the barrier. A few seconds later, the holes they had retreated through closed up. The barrier was now complete and solid.

The form of the Constellation King came to a halt as he reached the north side of Castle Town. Behind her, Kain ran back through the doorway, panting. He stood beside her and followed her gaze to the dark form of the King.

"How long do you think we have before he breaks in?" Kain asked, wiping the sweat off his face.

"I don't know. We'll see."

The King stood in front of the barrier for several seconds. Zelda watched his form intently. How she proceeded through the battle depended on what he did next.

What looked like a tail arched over the King's back. Zelda ducked and covered her head as light enveloped Castle Town and an extremely loud crashing sound rent the air. Beside her, Kain crouched and gritted his teeth. Looking up, she saw the barrier shattering like golden glass, the pieces fizzing out of existence a second later. The wind began to blow.

When the commotion was over, Zelda cautiously stood up and looked around. The barrier was completely gone. Just like that, the King had demolished it. With the King in front, he slowly started forward, leading the smaller Constellation behind him. From her vantage point, Zelda still couldn't tell what he looked like, but he appeared to be about the size of a medium-scale ship.

A simple detail clicked itself into place in Zelda's mind. Without knowing why, she knew what she had to do in order to preserve the lives of her soldiers. She connected her telepathy to every leader in the army down below and shouted, Pull all the troops back to the castle! You can't beat this enemy. Everyone pull back to the castle!

She turned to Kain. "Kain, come with me. We're going to talk to the Constellation King."

Kain looked at her as if she'd suggested strapping a live bomb to her chest just for fun. "You want to talk to the Constellation King? You can't - Does he even speak our language?"

"I don't know," Zelda repeated. "It's another hunch. You'll just have to trust me."

Kain looked back down at the city. The King nonchalantly kicked over a nearby house, crumbling it within seconds. He swallowed. "Alright, if you say so. But remember that my first priority is to protect you, and I can't do that down there."

Zelda turned and strode back into the castle. "Time is of the essence, Kain. If we don't do this quickly, we'll lose a lot more soldiers than we should."

While descending the stairs, Zelda focused her senses on the soldiers moving toward the castle. With the Constellation army (which now very much looked like an army) closing in on them, they had picked up their pace and were moving as fast as they could down Castle Town's battered streets.

Several dozen faces turned towards her as she entered the throneroom. Without stopping, she said, "As you are probably aware, the Constellation King has just arrived and destroyed the barrier. Don't panic, because I have a plan. The King will not make it here. But don't venture beyond the throneroom. Stay safe. I will return shortly."

As they left a room of bewildered faces, Kain walked closer to her and muttered, "Would you like to tell me exactly what this plan of yours is?"

"If I tell you," Zelda responded, "it might create false hope. I'm not even entirely sure I'm right. But my hunch says I am."

Clearly annoyed, Kain pressed, "So what is your hunch?"

"Please just trust me, Kain. You'll see when we arrive."

As they turned went down a staircase, Zelda contacted Byron again. Byron? Are you alright?

Yes, but I'm having the crap scared out me! came the loud reply. The Constellation King really means business, and boy is he ugly! I shot an arrow at his head, and it just bounced off like it didn't do anything. We're in some deep trouble here.

I'm sorry, but we'll have to scare you a bit longer. I want you to meet me in front of Hyrule Castle. You, Kain and I are going to confront the Constellation King personally.

Byron paused. You're either making a very bad joke, or you're deadly serious. I take it this is another one of your hunches?

Mostly. You'll see when we get there.

"Mostly"?

To avoid answering more of his questions, Zelda severed the link between them. She changed her fast walk into a jog. If the Constellation King reached Hyrule Castle before she reached him, it was all over.

As they reached the lobby, they found some of the soldiers milling around, several of them high-ranking. One of them raised his hand to ask her some questions, but she raised her hand in return to cancel them. "I can't explain now," she told them, "but I'll be back shortly. Have the men take up a defensive stance around Hyrule Castle, but the Constellation shouldn't get that far."

They exited the castle and were instantly greeted by a sea of soldiers. The normally green and pleasant courtyard was filled with shining silver and the occasional blood dripping from wounds. Out of the crowd, something else with green on top stepped up the stairs.

"Are you alright, princess?" Byron demanded.

She nodded. "Come with us quickly. We have no time to waste."

The high-ranking soldiers they'd met in the lobby began to issue new orders as Zelda, Kain, and Byron wormed their way through the crowd. The soldiers parted when they saw the princess to allow her to step through. The giant iron doors leading out of the castle grounds, which had been opened so the final retreating soldiers could flee in, hung on either side of the giant stone opening to Castle Town. Before the guards manning them decided to close them, the three ran through the opening and stopped.

From her new viewpoint, Zelda could now see something she thought no other person should have to see. The Constellation King brought up the vanguard of his army, slowly marching toward Hyrule Castle and bloodshed. The dark vibe intensified as he drew closer. Zelda got the feeling the common person would lose their mind at this point.

The Constellation King looked nothing like the beasts he had under his command. Eight legs sprouted from a long, tube-like body, giving him the appearance of a short (but still massive) centipede at first glance. Each leg ended in a human-like hand with five claws. The King's huge body was black, like the rest of the Constellation, but was composed of large scales that often stuck out from its body. His tail was about twice the length of his body, three times as thick as a tree trunk, and ended in a huge arrow-like dagger that glistened blue in the sunlight. His head was shaped like the black skull of a lizard's and had several spikes protruding from the back of it, which was almost the only thing about him that didn't look bug-like. Perhaps most intimidating, however, were the four giant, leathery wings expanded on his back, which took up a full block of Castle Town on their own. The second-place winner was his big, bulbous white eyes, which contrasted starkly with his underlings. All these features on a body around fifty feet long (not counting the tail) made him the most terrifying thing Zelda had ever seen.

The Constellation King emitted a deep grunt. The army behind him stopped as he continued forward. Zelda motioned for Kain and Byron to follow her as she proceeded toward the King. The dark vibe was clearly affecting their minds; if not for their proven bravery and loyalty to her, they probably would have turned back by now. Grateful for their faith, Zelda came to a halt when the Constellation King paused fifteen feet away from her.

The front half of the King's body straightened up, towering over Castle Town and spreading his wings further open. It looked as if his torso was standing on a living pedestal. He opened his mouth, which was full of dark, knife-like teeth, and spoke. His voice was deep to the point of creating shockwaves with each word. "You are the one who rules over this land?"

Zelda held his gaze. "I am."

The King extended his mouth to reveal more of his teeth in a disturbing grin. "This surely proves the weakness of the human race. You are all little creatures of soft flesh and nothing more. I was expecting their leader to be someone great and terrifying, but instead, you are smaller and softer than all the others."

Zelda cocked her head to the side slightly. "Would you care to explain, then, how my soldiers have defeated many of your monsters in a battle when the odds are against them? You underestimate the courage and determination of the little creatures of soft flesh. One day, that will be your undoing."

"You boast much for one who is about to die. You are in no place to backtalk your imminent ruler." He walked forward, gradually closing the distance between them. "My children, whom our creator named the Constellation, are the offspring of several hundred generations. Their power compared to mine is like comparing a bonfire to a star. It took me longer than them to dig my way up through the earth, but my strength remains unchanged, even after two thousand years. The only thing your kind could do to me was seal me away. I was careless then, but I am not so careless now."

"I have no intention of sealing you away," Zelda stated. "My intention is to kill you, and we have the power to do it. Don't think we do not."

The King laughed, shaking the entire city. "Does the termite threaten the dragon? Your perspective on my race must have changed with time. When we were created long ago, we blazed across the country, leaving scars, fires, and craters in our wake. We were unstoppable. Being a newborn, I was arrogant, and thus caught and sealed by five old humans. But I am no less invincible. That has not changed, even with time."

He stopped a short distance away from her. "I will offer you a choice," he announced. "Flee from this place and preserve your lives for a short time, or attempt to fight us and perish. We would much rather you flee. Unmoving prey is tedious."

"I don't think he's giving up," Kain muttered. "Are you sure this was the right idea?"

Zelda gently touched his arm to show she was listening, but ignored his question. "We will stay here and fight. Hyrule is ours."

The King grinned again. "That makes me upset, but I will grant your final desire. If you all want to die at once, I can arrange that. I shall start with you."

The glistening tail of the King arched itself over his back with surprising speed. Kain and Byron attempted to jump in front of Zelda, but everything seemed to move in slow motion compared to the speed of the King. With the tip aimed for Zelda's head, the tail stabbed forward faster than anyone could track. Zelda closed her eyes in preparation.

The sound of two giant metal objects clanging together filled the city and created the largest shockwave they'd felt yet. Zelda slowly opened her eyes and looked past her two bodyguards standing in front of her. Beneath the King's tail, a shining figure was holding it up with the sharp edge of his sword. While vaguely familiar, the figure was distorted by the golden fire enveloping his body. Small green fireballs occasionally swirled through the cloak of light. On the back of the figure's left fist, a Triforce shone brighter than the fire around it.

"Sorry I took so long," Link grunted.