Chapter 26

We travel through the woods in silence, slowly approaching the castle. As we enter Hyrule field, I see Dharkin foot soldiers stalking the premises, acting as lookouts for the castle. Me and Jaden dart behind a tree, hiding us from their vision. Hesitantly, I look up at Ezlo and ask, "Is there any way we could hide from them?"

"Hmm. There is a spell that renders someone mostly invisible, though it's very, very challenging to cast on oneself, let alone clothing and other people," he replies.

"Tell me how to do it," I instruct.

"You know, just because you're an adult again doesn't mean you need to get all bossy with me," Ezlo says grumplily.

"Just tell me!" I whisper harshly.

"Okay, okay. Draw the symbol for flesh, the symbol for light, the symbol for diminishment and the symbol for infinity, then connect each of them together with streams of light. This will cause light to have no effect for you, allowing you to blend into the darkness," Ezlo explains.

I nod, and do as he says. But when I get to the symbol for diminishment, I hesitate. Somehow, this spell seems incomplete. And then I realize one, simple thing. This spell was created by the minish, who can only use light magic, and it allows only the light to ignore you. In reality, it's only half of an invisibility spell.

Acting on instinct, I access my dark magic and use it to draw a completely unfamiliar symbol, in lines of darkness. Ezlo gasps at seeing it, and looks down at me with surprise. I ignore him and continue, drawing the symbol for diminishment and the symbol for infinity. Then, focusing, I connect all the symbols with lines of both light and darkness, and I apply the symbols to myself and my clothes. It takes a lot of effort, but finally, with a gentle burst of magic, the spell takes. I look around, but nothing seems to have changed.

"Dad? Are you still there?" Jaden asks hesitantly.

"Yeah, I'm right here," I reply, confused. He jumps at hearing my voice.

"You're invisible!" He whispers excitedly. Frowning, I look down at myself. But there's nothing there. I hold up my hand, yet I see nothing. Even though I can still touch things, it's like I've completely vanished.

"Here, let me cast it on you now," I whisper, moving over to him. I put my hand on his shoulder, and he jumps again. He rubs my fingers, his hand pressed up against what looks like empty air.

"That's so weird. I can feel your hand, but it's not there."

"Shh," I whisper, trying to focus. He nods, and allows me to sketch the sequence of symbols. Focusing hard, I apply the symbols to Jaden, and before my eyes, he disappears.

"Did it work?" He asks hesitantly.

"See for yourself," I reply.

"I'm invisible!" He exclaims, after a moment of silence.

I nod, and then remember that he can't see me. Clearing my throat, I say, "Yes."

"This is so weird, Dad. It's like I'm gone, but I'm not gone."

"Just be careful. They can still hear us. Perhaps it's best for us to communicate mentally from this point on."

"Agreed," Jaden says in my mind. "We should get going. It's really dark out, which makes it easier for them to miss our footsteps. I'll just follow you," he adds, grabbing onto my hand. I smile, and, completely unseen, I lead Jaden through hyrule field. None of the Dharkin footsoldiers so much as look in our direction. As we come to the drawbridge, I carefully walk across it, cringing every time the stupid thing squeaks. Thankfully, the soldiers at the front gates don't seem to notice. We make our way unseen through the dark town, filled with walking corpses and familiar faces, all who bear cold, black eyes. I could swear that they're looking at us, but none of them give even the slightest indication that they can see us.

"This is scary, Dad," Jaden says, his mental voice trembling.

I squeeze his invisible hand in reassurance, and reply, "It'll be okay, son. I've saved the kingdom from the Dharkin before, I can do it again."

"I know," he replies, sounding a bit more confident.

We make our way into the courtyard. There, I see the king of the Dharkin, my father, lounging on a black, lavish throne, made out of pure magic. He's surrounded by a ring of Dharkin dressed in fine armor, looking almost human. As we tiptoe by, he turns, and his eyes follow us. "Stop!" He shouts, pointing a finger at me and Jaden. We keep walking, trying desperately not to make any noise.

"Seize them!" He shouts, looking to the Dharkin guards. They just look around in confusion, clearly unable to see us.

He sighs, and waves his arm in our direction. A huge cloud of darkness washes over us. Rather than harming us, it becomes a thin, sticky substance that sticks to our skin and clothing, giving us a solid outline. Almost immediately, the invisibility spell fades. The Dharkin guards run up to us, but as I draw my sword, they back away. I'm guessing that these people recognize me, from the time where I singlehandedly slaughtered one of their hordes. It can't have been a pleasant experience for them.

"Impressive, Great Destroyer," he says, sounding bored. "But I'm afraid you cannot fool my eyes. I have all of the magic of the Dharkin race within my possession. Your power is nothing in comparison."

Instead of replying, I slowly back away, and the Dharkin soldiers draw closer. Soon, they have me and Jaden pinned up against the wall, and we climb up onto the bench next to me, getting a bit more distance on them.

"These soldiers have tasted of death, and been granted power. You have no chance of overcoming them. Do you have any last words?" He asks, smiling cruelly.

I nod. "I have one thing to say to you. Bye!" With that, I access the power of the portal directly below me and I create a blinding flash of light. In a split second, I transform Jaden and me into minish, and we fall through the small gap in the bench. As the light fades, I find myself standing on top of an oversized mushroom.

"Find him!" The king shouts. The soldiers immediately begin looking in every direction. Amazingly, not one of them thinks to look a few feet below the bench.

"Come on," I whisper, knowing that my voice is far too small for any of them to hear. Jaden nods, and we jump off of the mushroom, landing on the dirt. Carefully, we enter into what looks like a mouse hole in the wall. Praying that there aren't any actual mice in the small space, I use a bit of magic to close up the hole, plunging us in darkness. Carefully, I create two glowing spheres, and hand one to Jaden.

"Thanks Dad," he says, holding onto the sphere. I nod, and we move further through the tunnel. It's actually a pretty decent size, and as we keep going, I see a door on the lefthand side. Hesitantly, I knock on it.

A minish who looks startlingly human with sharp features and gentle, green eyes opens up the door. "Link?" He asks, looking up at me.

"Yeah," I reply. "Sorry, I don't have much time to talk. I was wondering if you knew a way for me and my son to get to the vault unseen."

"These tunnels can lead you anywhere in Hyrule, but they're very hard to navigate. Follow me," The minish instructs. I nod, and follow the man silently. In complete silence, he leads me through a long sequence of tunnels, turning in several directions and going up and down sets of stairs, and even climbing up the wall at one point. Needless to say, I get very, very lost very quickly, hoping that this minish knows where he's going. He leads me for a long time, until finally, I find myself at the doorway to the castle vault.

"Thanks, I can take it from here," I say gratefully.

"I'd best come with you. I'm guessing that whatever you're doing in there is pretty important," The man replies, smiling. I shudder at a sudden chill in the air, then nod.

We continue through the vault, the journey taking a long, long time at such a small size. After hours of travel, we finally enter into the chest that the Sword of Salvation was stabbed through. We continue through the tunnel and finally, we enter into the Sanctuary.

I move towards the sword, but the sound of laughter stops me in my tracks. Fearfully, I turn back, and see the man from before, throwing his head back and laughing, the sound cold, and cruel, and far too familiar. After a few seconds, his features morph, and his clothing changes, transforming him into the last person I wanted to see.

My father.

"Thank you, Great Destroyer. It would've taken me years to find this sanctuary alone. But thanks to you, I can use not only the power of the sanctuary, but the power of the essences themselves to assert Dharkin superiority," He says, smiling coldly.

"There's only one thing capable of containing the power of the gems. And with it, I will slaughter every last one of you," I reply firmly.

He just laughs, and sends a massive cloud of darkness at me. I summon darkness of my own and shove it up against his, but in seconds, the cloud overcomes me. I can feel it literally ripping my flesh off of my bones, but somehow, I don't die. My whole body is being ripped apart by the darkness, but the something else puts it back together again, so quickly that I don't have time to even feel pain. My father drops the darkness, looking very confused. Hesitantly, I turn, and see Jaden standing behind me, his hands on my back. I can feel raw, light magic emenating from him, all focused on healing my body from the wounds the darkness inflicted.

"Told you I needed to come," He pants, dropping the white magic. My dad just looks at him in complete shock, unable to comprehend the fact that my thirteen year old son was able to beat his magic. Jaden grins, and throws his hands at my father, sending a huge bolt of lightning at him. He gets thrown up against the wall, and he crumples to the floor, dazed.

"Fix the sword Dad!" Jaden instructs. He takes one last look at me then passes out.

As fast as humanly (or whatever it is that I am) possible, I run up to the last socket, and place the element of air into it. I wait for the gems to send power at the sword, for them to fill it with strength, but they don't. Nothing noticeable happens.

"Did it work?" I ask, looking up at Ezlo.

"It had to," he replies. "Now grab the sword!"

I run over to the Sword of Salvation and I pull it off of the pedestool. Right when I have it firmly gripped in my hands, my father stands upright and looks at me, smiling.

"You've failed," I say, holding the sword up threateningly.

He just shakes his head. "You have seen the Sword of Salvation, Great Destroyer, and that is not it. This is just an empty shell, devoid of all power. This sword is nothing!" He points at it, and dark magic surrounds the sword, causing it to crumble into dust. I stare at the tiny particles, unable to believe the evidence of my eyes.

"I… I did everything I was supposed to," I whisper, looking up at Ezlo. "I gathered all of the elements and brought them here, and they did nothing. I don't understand."

"Let me put it simply. You were wrong. The elements are too powerful for you to even comprehend. The represent the very forces that hold this earth together. The triforce, which was created out of the core of each of the three species, gives rise to four elemental essences once every thousand years. And the Sword of Salvation was the only thing in existence that could hold both ends of their magic, that could hold the entirety of the power of all three races. With it gone, you will never gain access to that power. And you will fall under the power of the Dharkin, the power that I possess." He smiles at me, his eyes alight with excitement. "On this day, I shall destroy the Great Destroyer."

"You're wrong," I whisper, suddenly filled with understanding. "There is one other thing that can contain the entire span of magic. One other vessel that comes from the world of the humans, the world of the Minish and the world of the Dharkin." As I speak, I can feel an incredible force awaken within myself. An incredible power that I've had all this time, just waiting for the moment in which I acknowledge it.

I smile at my father, and say, "One secret to topple the world, and rewrite reality itself. Get ready, Dad. I am born of the Minish, and of the Dharkin, and I have lived among humans my entire life. I am the manifestation of every race. And I have reaped the entirety of magic itself."

I close my eyes and focus on the power of the Elements that rests inside of me. I can feel each individual one; earth, air, fire and water. And as I bring the strength to the surface, I can feel each one manifest itself. I open my eyes, and see four glowing orbs floating around me, each one representing one of the elements.

"You can't be," He whispers, looking at me with terror.

"I am the Great Destroyer. And I am the very Triforce itself," I reply, my voice echoing with impossible power. Shamelessly, my father flees from me, hoping that running will somehow preserve him. But he brought me into this world as a creature of destruction. He made me the Great Destroyer. And it will cost him everything.

I access a tiny portion of the power and use it to cocoon my son, surrounding him with a protective shield so strong that nothing will break through. Content with the knowledge that he's safe, I run after my father, following him all the way out of the sanctuary. When he gets to the open room, he uses darkness to grow himself into a full sized Dharkin, and I do the same. He gasps, and continues running, out into the courtyard again.

"Kill him!" He shouts at the soldiers. Immediately, they all rush at me, swords made of pure darkness poised to kill me. I wave my arm, and a huge gust of wind throws them all into the air with such force that they fly all the way out of hyrule, thrown such a great distance that the fall alone will kill them.

He gasps, and sends darkness at me. I respond by sending a massive wave of water after him. The darkness devours a bit of the water, but the rest just flows mercilessly onwards. He barely manages to teleport himself to the other side of the water, then, trembling, he calls out to his people in a voice magnified by his power.

"Soldiers, assemble in the courtyard and face the Great Destroyer!" He shouts. Immediately, dozens of Dharkin begin streaming inside. I growl, and summon a wave of pure, devastating fire. It descends on them, and the heat is so intense that it just instantly transforms them into piles of ash and molten metal. The others stop dead in their tracks, looking at me with fear.

"Kill him!" The king shouts.

"No," I reply, looking at the Dharkin. "Do not obey him. Ignore his every word, or I will kill you. Flee from my presence, or you will die," I instruct coldly. To my amazement, the Dharkin do as I say, running away.

"Come back!" He shouts, looking around desperately. Coldly, I throw a spear of ice at him, stabbing him through the heart. He gasps, and falls to the ground, quite dead. A ball of darkness rises up out of his chest, and after a few moments, the power within it forms him a new body, identical to his last one. Trembling, he tries to run, but I clench my fist at him, and the earth rises up and grabs hold of him. Spires of rock shoot out from the ground and impale him, killing him once more.

But the darkness rises up from him again, and reforms his body once more. "You can't kill me," He says, wheezing. "I will never die. Dharkin only die when there is no hope, when they know that their life is over, and mine will never be over! I am the leader of the Dharkin, the ruler of this world! I will never die!"

I growl, and surround him in fire. His body melts, and a new one forms. "I will never die!" He repeats. I use the air to crush his body, snapping his bones like twigs. Darkness rises out, and a new body forms. "You can't kill me! I will never die!"

I crush him using air, using water, using fire and using earth. I kill him ten times, then twenty, then thirty, then forty. And every time, his body reforms. But I never tire. I never stop. I never show even the slightest level of mercy. Because I know, deep down, that in order for there to be peace, this man must die.

"You'll never kill me Link!" He shouts, sending yet another wave of darkness at me. I brush it aside using air, then crush his body again. He comes alive, and then says, "You can't take away my hope! I know that I will live!"

I look at him for a few moments. Then, deliberately, I walk up to him. Bringing my face very, very close to his, I make the darkest promise I've ever made.

"I will never stop killing you," I whisper. "I will hound you forever and ever. I will hunt you with every bit of power I have. I will kill you perpetually, so that your only life will be a cycle of life and death repeating every few seconds for all eternity. No matter what you do, no matter what you say, you will never escape me. I am the Great Destroyer, and even when the world crumbles away, I will still hunt you down. I will be cold and unfeeling, and I will be merciless in killing you over and over and over again. I am undying, just like you, and I will never cease in killing you. Every second of every day, you will die. This I swear to you, father. I will devote everything I am to making sure that every second of every day, you are in a state of fear, pain and death. I will be ruthless, I will be patient, and I will be driven by rage and destruction just like you."

"No," he whispers, a look of complete fear on his face. "I won't die. I can't die."

"All things must end. And all things must die," I reply. I coat my hand in black magic, and then I reach into his chest and crush his heart. He collapses to the ground, and once again, dark specks rise up out of his body. But rather than moving on, they just fade away.

I close my eyes, and even though it's childish, I give a moment of silence to my father. He lived in torment. And now, his torment is over.

His corpse glows black, and slowly, the darkness streams into me. I feel a strange sense of power come into my system, though I'm filled with such vast power from the elements that it's not really too noticeable. Hesitantly, I look down at myself, but nothing's changed. I'm still me. I smile in relief, then enter the vault and retrieve my son. He's still unconscious, so I sling him over my shoulder once more, carrying him easily.

When I enter the town again, I see all of the Dharkin just standing still, looking at me. Then, one by one, they drop into low bows. I turn to see who they're bowing at, but there's no one there. Abruptly, I realize that it's me. They're bowing at me.

"Your king is dead. You no longer have to obey him," I say hesitantly. "You're free now." They just stay still in that position, almost like robots. Looking at them, they seem strangely… mindless. Like their minds are just empty now. Suddenly, I understand. They were being controlled by my father through the shared memory. And now, no one's controlling them. So they are simply empty shells, dwelling in the depths of the shared memory with no instruction.

"I speak to the part of you that still holds any level of what you once were," I say loudly. "I speak not to give instruction, but council. The shared memory is not necessary. It is not your burden to bear. You do not have to follow its precepts. So long as you accept this, you may be free of it. Cast it aside, and let yourselves be free."

For a long, long while, they're all just still. Then, slowly, one of them raises itself out of their bow. Amazingly, it's just a Dharkin footsoldier. It growls a few times, trying to talk, but it can't. Feeling an incredible amount of pity for the poor thing, I try to use the power from the elements to make it normal. But instead, I access a different power; the power that entered my system when I killed my father. With no effort, the power transforms him into a Dharkin man of the highest tier. He suddenly looks very human, and strangely immodest only wearing a loin cloth, but he still grins.

"It's gone!" he shouts, looking around. "The shared memory is gone!"

Soon, another Dharkin rises out of their bow, and then another, and another. Every time one does, I turn them into normal Dharkin, so that they don't have to deal with weak minds or bodies. Soon, the town is filled with Dharkin who are all talking happily with eachother, exultant to be free from the darkness of the shared memory.

The first man who freed himself suddenly drops into a bow again, and the entire town does the same. "Hail the king of the Dharkin!" He shouts, looking my way. The entire town echoes the same words, filling the world with the loud noise of Dharkin shouting their praises. It makes me feel more than a little uncomfortable.

"I'm not a king, okay?" I say loudly. "I just killed my father, so that you could be free of him."

"You were his son," the man says. "You inherited his birthright. You inherited his control. Only our king can choose which form we take. And even now that we are free, only he can command us with authority."

"But I don't want to be your king!" I shout.

"You are regardless," the man replies.

"Fine," I mutter. "I have but one command for you. As of this moment, the violence ends. You are no longer at war with the humans or the minish. You are to become a peaceful people. You are to use your magic only to bring about prosperity and peace, like your ancestors who very first entered this world. You may make whatever you want of yourselves, but the Dharkin will no longer spill any more blood, innocent or otherwise."

The Dharkin all bow to me once more, and shout, "All hail the king!"

I shake my head, and then look at them again. "One more command. You are to find yourselves homes, whether in the minish world or the human world, or even in the unoccupied areas of the world. You won't steal homes, you will find them. You will find yourselves lives, and be happy within them. And from this point on, you will not bow to me, you will not address me as 'king' and you will let me live my life in peace."

The Dharkin all immediately move out of their bows, and begin moving around purposely. Some of them actually start repairing the extensive damage done to the city, others move over to portals and begin turning themselves minish, and others grab supplies and walk out of the town, leaving to find a home elsewhere. I smile to myself, and then begin walking towards the forest.

"Wait," the Dharkin man who escaped the memory first says. Sighing, I turn and look at him. "I know you said to let you live in peace, but I just wanted to say… thank you. For so long, we've been controlled, and forced to be a dark, violent people. I think, now that we're free, we could be peaceful once more. And it's all thanks to you."

"I'm just a soldier, doing my duty," I reply, smiling.

"Well, whatever you are, you're nothing like your father. And for what it's worth, I think you would've made a good king."

"Thanks. But I have no desire to become king. There are some people who are noble enough to die for others. And there are some people who are important enough for others to die for. I will always count myself among the noble ones, not the important ones," I say, looking at the unconscious form of my son.

"And I thank you for that nobility. Farewell, Great Destroyer."

"Farewell," I reply. With that, I set a brisk pace back to the Minish woods, to bring the inhabitants of Hyrule Castle home.