The Constellation King widened his mouth in another one of his intimidating grins. "I am pleased to see you finally made it. Humans were such dull prey when we fought them years ago. They were so weak and worthless, and the few with power avoided battle rather than confronting it. I don't know the origin of your power, but I will relish this fight. There may be none like you after you are gone."
The dark aura was still thick in the air, but it seemed to strengthen Link's resolve all the more. To his right, Zelda had turned pale. The Triforce of Wisdom probably protected her from most of the aura's effects, but Link's Triforce of Courage seemed to do a better job of it. He had to be fearless if he was going up against something this ugly.
The room they'd walked into was the biggest they'd seen in the nest yet. It was perfectly circular in shape and arched up into a dome above them. The top of the dome was about a thousand feet above them and meticulously carved without a single bump, unlike the majority of the nest. A full mile seemed to stretch from wall to wall. That was as far as Link could tell; the room would be pitch black if not for Zelda lighting part of it up.
"However," the King rumbled, lowering his head, "I must say I am disappointed in your treachery. I have been contemplating releasing my kin on your race even as you approached."
"Treachery?" Link repeated. "I've kept my end of the bargain. You can't just go back on yours."
"Then answer me," the King demanded, "why you brought your soft leader here."
"Did you tell me not to?" Link asked, reminding himself of a misbehaving child.
The King growled, shaking the room. "I will tell you what you are planning. The leader does not believe you will defeat me, and rightfully so. When the battle does not go in your favor, she will use her magic to seal me again in order to buy her race time. We love bloodshed, but we only appreciate it when it is properly given. This is treachery indeed."
Link's heart beat faster as he realized they may have doomed Hyrule by violating the King's personal code of honor. "Well, the fact remains that neither of us have broken our promises. You can't be the first to toss away your part of the bargain."
"I understand," the King said, "and so I will refrain from annihilating your race early. I will battle you one on one, and your leader will not interfere. Not before..." Squelching sounds approached Zelda from behind. She looked back, gasping as black strands began wrapping around her legs. "Not after."
"What are you doing?" Link yelled. "You can't do that!"
"Did you tell me not to?" the King responded in a low voice.
The black strands worked up to Zelda's hips, completely immobilizing her legs, and started dragging her away. Link extended his arm to her, intending to cut her loose and pull her back. He had to protect Zelda on his terms, not on the King's. Anything could happen to her then.
Zelda grabbed Link's hand and pulled him to her. Before he could regain his balance, she tapped him on the forehead with two outstretched fingers. A horrifying shriek filled the room, and Link saw Zelda lying on the ground, covered in blood, an arrow sticking out of her stomach. The image was gone just as quickly as it had appeared. The real Zelda smiled sadly as the black strands enveloped her body and took her farther away.
Link slowly retracted his arm and held it in front of his face. A Triforce glowed on the back of his left fist, lighting up the room just like Zelda's piece. Golden flames burst to life on his arm, searing across his body until he was covered in the Courage Fire. Small green fireballs whipped through the flames, lending Link's connection to the goddess Farore.
"You can do it," Zelda whispered. The strands closed over her face and dragged her to the edge of the room. With the light emanating from Link, he could see everything in the room clearly.
"Don't worry," the King said, stomping closer to Link. "I'll make sure nothing happens to her during our fight. Afterwards, however, she is mine. If you want to save her..." He reared up into his semi-standing position and spread his wings. "...Then you had better fight with everything you have."
Link drew the Moon Sword from his back and channeled his energy into it, lighting it ablaze. The edges of his tunic flapped wildly from the excessive power and the room lit up brighter. He didn't need to say anything special before the fight. He just had to kill the King before the Courage Fire used too much of his life force.
Zelda was a shiny black lump at the corner of the room. She'd be out of the way. Link felt as if he could use every one of his abilities without worrying about her.
Link swung his sword and produced a giant, bright white Moon Disk at the King's head. Moving quicker than Link had expected, the King shifted his body to the side and let the disk pass, glaring at his enemy as the disk exploded into the side of the room and showered rocks on them. The King jabbed his tail at Link repeatedly - though with the speed and ferocity of the attack, it reminded Link of the Constellation Queen's needle barrage. The Moon Sword reacted on its own to every jab, blocking the tail or deflecting it in time to save Link. On the last jab, Link realized the tail was glowing with purple fire. Before he could make any meaningful conclusions, the flaming tail plunged into his sword and sent him flying backwards. He hit the wall a few seconds later and saw stars burst in his vision.
Solar's advice came back to him: the Constellation King had received most of Solar's star magic, making him one of the only Constellation to be able to use magic. The King had used it to pound through Link's defense and knock him off his feet. He'd have to be more careful in the future.
Although momentarily stunned, Link wasn't hurt. He kicked himself off the hole he'd left in the wall and dove at the King's chest, sword raised. The King grabbed the Moon Sword with two of his eight hands and began pushing Link away. Link released a burst of energy through his sword and sliced down, freeing his blade. The King glanced at the miniscule cut on one of his hands like it was an annoying housefly.
Link seized the opportunity and swung his sword at the King's hand, using the force to pull himself forward. The King made a small circular motion with his hand, grabbed Link's wrist as his sword whizzed by, and threw him into the air. Link noticed the tail lunging at him from the corner of his eye and raised the Moon Sword to protect himself. The tail looped through the air, proving itself to be more flexible than Link had guessed, and smashed into Link from the side, sending him down to the King's back. A purple shockwave blasted from the King, flinging Link back into the air in front of the giant Constellatia. On impulse, Link released a Moon Disk and flipped, creating his own vertical shockwave. The wave narrowly missed the King and cut into the dome. Link landed hard on the ground a second later.
Even with my Courage Fire, I can barely keep up with him, Link thought, jumping to his feet. He was hurt this time, but he was far from finished.
"Well," the King said, "you're certainly more interesting a foe than the average warrior of your race, but you're not nearly as challenging as I expected. Show me your best, or you'll die very soon. I've barely tapped into my full potential."
What else did Solar tell Link about the King? He'd said there was a weak point behind the King's crest, which was small and hard to hit. With what he'd seen so far, he didn't think there was any way he was getting close enough for a clear hit there, even with the Courage Fire. If instincts didn't work, he'd have to rely on his brain.
He dashed behind the King, appearing to teleport, and waited to see the King's reaction. The King swept his tail at Link, scraping gouges into the floor. Link jumped over it, performing another energy-backed slicing flip to the tail, and skid to a halt on the King's left. As soon as the King made another move, Link reacted to it, dashing to another part of the room. To his relief, the King couldn't quite keep up with him.
This continued for several seconds, though Link wasn't getting anything more than a few nicks on the King. They probably amounted to paper cuts for the average person. He was constantly depleting his magic, too, and if he used his Courage Fire too much longer he might die when he came out of it. He needed to up the ante if he was going to win.
Link stopped and plunged the Moon Sword into the ground. Tendrils of light spread through the cavern floor, and a column of energy surrounded him. The King lashed at Link with his tail, putting a crack in the light column. Before the King could attack again, Link summoned for the tendrils in the ground to burst to the surface, illuminating the room completely. The tendrils thickened out and swarmed at the King like guided lightning bolts. The King dodged the first few, then slipped up and let a tendril ram him in the side. The other bolts followed soon afterwards, searing into various points in the King's body. The final one got him in the chest and flung him backward. Link zipped forward and channeled the column around him into his sword, slicing the King down the face.
The room shook with the King's loud growling. Black blood dripped down his face - it looked like writing ink was oozing out of his head. Looked like Link was finally getting somewhere. His last stunt had used up a lot of magic, though, so he didn't know how long his gaining streak was going to go for.
"There's more in you," the King rumbled, standing up straighter, "but not much more. I can sense your life force, and it is slowly draining. I, meanwhile, have yet to show my full power. You cannot win this."
He raised the four large wings on his back. Purple fire began coursing through the wing veins, lighting them up like some sort of freak entertainment show. The points in the King's body extended with the sound of metal sliding on metal. He lifted his head and opened his jaws, generating the flames from his mouth and blank eyes. With the transformation complete, he stood the top half of his body up and flexed his front four arms out.
"Behold," he shouted, "the face of ruin!"
Yeah, behold my sword, Link thought, racing in again. The King certainly had a thing for the theatrical.
A wall of purple flames spread toward Link, warding off his attack. Link cut through the flames and was greeted by the King's fiery face. As the hero moved to unleash another attack, the King shot a fireball into his stomach, carrying Link with it. Five seconds later, he came to a crashing halt in the side of the dome.
He'd put a crater in the wall deep enough for him to stand in without bumping his head on anything. It felt like somebody was poking needles all over his body, courtesy of the King's fireball. He glanced below him and noticed an inconsistency in the immaculate dome wall. It was Zelda, still tethered up in the black strands. He'd landed right above her. Right now, that was the worst possible place he could have wound up.
The King flew at him, wings fully outstretched. Still aching from the impact, Link pushed off the wall and met the King in midair. Link created a rounded barrier covering his small part of the dome, a Triforce emblem holding it together in the center. The two of them slammed into the barrier and hung off of it for a split second. The King reared a fist and punched through it, shattering it like glass.
Link seized the moment, dropped to the ground, and dashed underneath the King's body. He had to draw the villain's attention well away from Zelda. It only partially worked; the King filled his fist with fire, grabbed a chunk of the crater Link had left, and threw it at him. Dust and rocks fell on Zelda's mass as Link dodged his own incoming meteor. The boulder exploded into purple flames, singing Link's right side.
The huge dome was getting messed up. A giant crack had appeared near the top of the room above Zelda, a result of the King's last tactic. With the battle being this fierce, there was a good chance it would crumble. More and more, Link was aware he had to finish the battle quickly.
The King turned and flew at Link again, claws stretched toward him. Link spun around the first arm and swung at the King's chest, hoping to rend it open with a Moon Disk. His attack was blocked by another one of the King's arms, covered with fire. Link's golden flames and the King's purple version swirled together, refusing to mix. Link pressed his attack and sliced his sword at every vulnerable part he could find, only to have it deflected by the King's hands. He could have sword a hind leg blocked one of them.
Every time Link evaded a slash from the King, the purple flames would burn him. It felt like someone was waving a massive torch at him. His enemy's power was steadily increasing, as if the King's anger was fueling his magic. Link was basically treading water now. Was there some card he had yet to play? Anything that could help him?
The image of a woman crossed his mind. Long green hair, shining wings, and...no top. It was the Great Fairy. She'd given him some words of wisdom and encouragement before he left. That was right before he killed the Constellation Queen.
Link parried another attack from the King and tried to remember. She'd given him a bottle of Great Fairy's Tears specifically for this fight. He couldn't win without it. Link wondered if he'd ever find a moment long enough to catch his breath and drink the Tears. Heck, the bottle had probably shattered at this point.
He developed a short-term plan in his head. He'd unleash a large portion of his magic to throw the King off, then use his newfound speed to whip the bottle out (if it still existed in any useable form) and drink the contents. The Great Fairy'd sure had a lot of confidence her Tears would win this.
As Link prepared to execute his plan, another comment from the Great Fairy entered his conscience: Use your spare Great Fairy's Tears wisely. In the end, choosing who drinks it will seal your victory.
The crack in the dome above Zelda widened with every pound the King made. Part of the roof began to cave in. If this went on too much longer, the crack would burst open, and Zelda would be crushed. She had power of her own, and she'd come here solely so she could seal the King if things went south. The Great Fairy's Tears would augment her power and allow her to help. Freeing her would make her open game to the King, though.
Link's great decision essentially boiled down into two basic choices: himself or Zelda. The roof above Zelda sunk even further, taking the shape of a gargantuan spear-headed boulder. Him or her? He had to make his decision in the next few seconds.
An answer solidified itself in Link's mind. Zelda always had all kinds of "hunches," but now Link had one of his own. If his plan backfired, they were all doomed.
Link had been worn down near the other end of the dome. He sliced the Moon Sword upward, creating a bright flash of light and a shockwave. The King recoiled for a second, which was all Link needed. He dove around the King and dashed for Zelda's position nearly a mile away. The shaking of the ground told him the King was giving chase. That was just what he'd planned on.
With a sweep of his sword, Link produced a tall barrier between himself and his enemy. He let the bottom center part of the barrier fade away as if his magic was disappearing as well. The King jabbed his tail through the opening, nearly running Link through in the process. Link looked back worriedly at Zelda. The King knew he'd do anything to protect her.
Link smiled to himself grimly. This next part might hurt.
The King bent down and opened his mouth in preparation for another fireball. The attack would be aimed straight at Zelda, causing Link to do something careless and get himself killed. Link had been counting on the King opening his jaws up.
He dissolved the first barrier and created a second one in front of Zelda to protect her from the fireball in case his plan went awry. As the King launched his attack, Link summoned energy into the Moon Sword and leaped into the wave of fire, cutting through the barrage. The familiar sensation of needles jabbing into him returned. He released his energy into the King's mouth, keeping it open, and reached into his tunic. The bottle of Great Fairy's Tears was still intact. He didn't know how it happened, but he was glad it did. He threw the bottle into the King's mouth and backed away to watch the effects.
Neither of them were concerned about the King chewing on glass, but the fighting stopped on both ends as the Great Fairy's Tears slid down the monster's throat. Link panted and continued backing up. If his plan didn't work, he needed a lot of space to come up with something new.
"I didn't sense this," the King muttered. "You had another object filled with light magic. What did you do to me?"
"I have no idea," Link said quietly. "We'll see in a moment."
Silence passed for several seconds. Even the King was hesitant to try anything with this turn of events. Link hoped he hadn't wasted one of the only things that would help him win.
The King's eyes widened in surprise. His toothy grin reappeared, happier than it had ever been. "I feel power surging through me. It is like I haven't battled at all. My energy is back!" To Link's horror, the bleeding gash on the King's face began to close up. The King raised his arms in exhilaration. "I don't know what this is, but I thank you for giving it to me. If you weren't such a threat to me and my kind, I would even let you live for this revelation."
Link cursed himself mentally. He made the wrong choice. He supposed there was a reason Zelda's hunches always turned out more accurate than his. Now the King was not only restored to full health, but he would fight even better than he had...and Link could barely keep up with him then.
The King stomped forward, front body lifted into the air. Link went through attack scenarios in his head. The best thing to do would be to resume his usual form of fighting and see how the King reacted.
The King stopped suddenly, and the grin faded just as quickly. He lowered his arms. "Something is not right. This new power is changing me. Now what is happening?"
Light seeped from the King's joints, replacing the purple fire. The King straightened up, spread his arms out, and roared. The light grew, turning the King into some kind of twisted beacon. Link didn't know what was happening either, but he knew he needed to act before his chance was wasted. He jumped onto the King's head, bounced off the spikes, and stopped behind the crest. Summoning almost all of his remaining magic, he slashed at the exposed point in the King's neck repeatedly, unleashing the energy with each swing. Light poured from the King's wound, shooting into the ceiling. Link turned his sword upside down, shouted, and stabbed the blade into the shining wound. A pillar of energy blasted from the strike, reaching the top and bottom of the room. A sharp gale filled the dome, billowing Link's tunic.
The boulder hanging above Zelda dropped. Link kicked off the King's back, landed on the ground in front of him, and flashed his sword in a web-like pattern in the air. The boulder splintered into pieces, leaving Zelda's worst injury a smattering of dust.
"You are not normal," the King wheezed. Link looked behind him. The Constellation King had sagged to his feet, breathing heavily. "The world is full of impossibilities, but I never thought I would meet one quite like you. You win, Starless." The King collapsed to his chest. "This age of darkness is not over. Your race is forever enslaved to the curse of hatred. Beings such as I can sense it. Beings such as I have brought it." His voice lowered to a whisper. "Enjoy the time of peace while you have it. It will not last."
The light from the King's body covered him. A sizzling noise emanated from the monster's corpse. The Constellation King was dead. And with him, the threat of the Constellation had ended.
Link's final blow had opened a wide hole in the top of the dome. Sun rays shone in, lighting up a circle in the middle of the room. For just a moment, Link stood and enjoyed the feeling of the wind.
The black strands keeping Zelda prisoner writhed and fell into pieces. She dropped to her hands, coughed, and staggered to Link. Link watched a cloud go by.
"That's it, then," Zelda said, standing beside him.
"Yup. That's the end of it. For now."
"Yes, I heard that part." Zelda brushed off her left gauntlet. "I don't fully know what he means, but we must accept it as the truth. For now."
"None of this really struck me as coincidence, anyway," Link said, sheathing his sword. "The ancient heroes and the dark villains and whatnot. I thought my role ended with Ganondorf, but..."
The ground began to shake. Black vegetation sprouting on the walls began convulsing and withering, loosening the rock and dirt around them. A piece of the ceiling fell off to Link's left. The entire cave network was collapsing.
"Link, we can talk about this later!" Zelda yelled. "We have to get out of - "
"One step ahead of you," Link grunted. He grabbed Zelda, hoisted her under his arm, and sprung for the hole in the ceiling, using the remnants of his magic to power his jump. He came to a rest on the surface and looked around. Fissures spread throughout the grass, threatening to destroy everything around them. If Link wasn't in his Courage Fire, they would never make it.
Link saw Hyrule Castle and made a run for it. The terrain blew by him as he directed all he had into sprinting. Behind him, most of Hyrule Field started imploding. The carnage quickly caught up to him, making running more difficult. Link ducked under a falling tree and focused on setting his feet on the next most stable section of ground.
As the field gave way beneath him, he used his energy to perform one last jump, taking him all the way to the bridge to Castle Town. The implosion stopped short about a hundred feet away. Link grimaced to himself as he realized what he'd indirectly done. Hyrule now had a crater large enough to turn the moon red with envy. It was better than being bug food, though.
"I suspect they're waiting for us at the castle," Zelda said.
Link nodded. "We have a lot to explain." He shifted his attention down to her, hanging by his right side. "You remember what happens when I use my Courage Fire for too long, right?"
"Yes, I do. We are perfectly ready, willing, and able to assist you."
"I may be out for a few more days. Let me know how things go until then."
Link continued his run to the castle. He didn't know whether or not he'd survive this next ordeal, but he would be entirely content if he failed. He'd saved the world twice in around a year's time. He'd done some good in his life. And he no longer had so much to worry about. Relief overwhelmed all his other senses as Hyrule Castle came closer and closer into view.