Twenty-seven
As I slept, I felt the featherlight touch of immortality and agelessness that marked a god or goddess. Age notwithstanding, there are some feeling impossible to forget, and that sensation is one of them. But it was a gentle touch, not meant to alarm, and it whispered words into my mind, instructions. While I had sent the components and instructions to make the Sols so long ago, it had been the Twili that had put them together, had powered the initial magic. It was the Twili who truly knew how to use them.
Now, gods and goddesses are a strange conception. There are those who simply are, like the three who created Hyrule. They were before the beginning, they made the world, and they stepped out of it after a time, leaving only gifts and memories. Then there are those who come into being by the collective will of a people. Whether they have been and were just waiting, or were spontaneously created, I cannot say, nor do I have the desire to speculate.
When I woke, I knew what had to be done next, though I was loathe to actually do it. Borrowing the power of the Sols would help us defeat Zant, but the transfer of power only worked one way. We could not 'put them back' as I had done with the Dominion Rod, after we had used the power, it would be forever locked into the blade. And we could not leave the Master Sword behind.
The reassurance pattered over my psyche like raindrops, but I impatiently brushed it aside; Link was still sleeping, so I quietly put my bedroll away, and walked down to the Sols so that I could speak my piece without waking him.
The plaza was deserted, but there was that sense of ponderous watching and waiting, the taste of fear, and the strong undercurrent of hope; the Twili might not be showing themselves now that they were returned to normal, but they were very much there.
"This isn't a good idea," I said quietly. "If we take the power of the Sols, what's going to keep this world alive? I may regret that it came about, but I do not want to kill this place. It deserves to live as much as Hyrule, if not more."
The silence stretched for several long, tense minutes, and then slowly, a shape began to form. Feminine, and tall, made of a mix of shadow and light. She didn't solidify, but I had little doubts that this was one of the guardian gods of this world that had come into being because of the Twili.
You worry for them muchly, great one.
"I'm not great," I replied tartly. "And of course I do. They're like this because of me. I want them to keep living."
This we know.
"Then why are you telling me to take the Sols power into the Master Sword?"
The False King can be defeated by nothing less than that power, she breathed. Until our True Ruler can recover the lost magics he stole from her.
"Why can't I use the Light Medallion?"
It, they, the artifacts you carry, are too powerful in light. The world would be blinded, blotted, and fall apart. The softer power of your Sols will be safer, tempered and house in the sword of Evil's Bane.
I frowned a little; I didn't like the answer, but I could see the logic of it.
"Yes, okay, fine. But what about the people? Midna said the Sols bring life, and I can sense the hope their reemergence has brought."
You fear they will be lost, and this world will drift to its death, and I got the sensation of a smile from her, though I could make out no features on her face. Your kindness brought life and safety to the world. The power will not vanish from it. The Sols are merely the outward shell; the container can be remade, and when the True Ruler returns, all will be as it ought.
"That's still not entirely reassuring," I grumbled.
You gave us the means to live, great one. What once was, no longer is, and the Sols power is not just laid here. They can be recreated, and this will will live on.
I grimaced at being called 'great one' again. By their terms, I was their creator goddess, though I suppose I could also have been considered the instrument of their downfall. Mythology is confusing at the best of times...
The news that Midna, once restored to her true form, could recreate the Sols was only slightly more comforting, but I sighed, and bowed my head a little.
"All right... I don't like it one bit, but all right."
The misty dark-light form gave me the brief impression that I was being laughed at, even as it faded away, and I turned my mind to wondering just how I was going to convince Link to go through with this as well. And Midna. After a long, discomforting moment, I elected to say nothing, and walked up to the portal exit to wait for the hero to wake up.
It didn't take too terribly long after my return, at least. After eating and cleaning up, we walked in determined silence back down to the plaza; Link followed me without thinking about it, even as I braced myself to walk between the Sols. I felt the sizzle of energy as a hidden third glowing pattern blossomed into life under Link's feet, and the two Sols abruptly vanished. Link yelped, and spun in distress, hand going to his sword and drawing it in anticipation of an attack.
The blade of the Master Sword gleamed golden, spilling fragments of soft light down to the stone below.
"The power of the Sols... have been transferred to the sword," Midna said in soft awe. "The guardian deities of my world are on our side as well! If it wasn't proved before, this will definitely do it; you are the chosen one, Link... a true hero."
He flushed a little in embarrassment and pleasure.
"With the power in that sword, you should be able to repel anything that Zant can throw at you," and her smile turned just slightly feral and dark. "Let's go get him."
Link nodded, sheathing the sword again after another long minute of staring at it, then glanced at me, looking proud and hopeful. I nodded a little—there was no point in trying to make myself smile when I worried that this wouldn't end well, no matter what the goddess I'd spoken to had said—and we turned to continue to the main palace, where we would finally face Zant.
Making a rough estimate of time, I believe reaching him took us about six hours. Zant had settled in, fortifying his defenses, and booby-trapping practically every hall and doorway that led to him. We faced shadow kargarok, baba, and more of his ridiculous armored heads that spat balls of magic; Link used his sword to cut through gold-black mists that barred our path, and strike down the shadow beasts that came calling without remorse.
When we stood before the throne room at long last, the final thing that blocked the way in was a complex spell, that I admit I could not make sense of. Midna, however, took one look at it, and snapped her fingers, exerting her own abilities; it crumbled into nothingness, and at her touch, the door slid aside.
The throne room was a far cry from impressive; beyond the glowing blue mural on the wall behind the throne itself, this room was empty and almost bleak; no windows opened to the outside, despite being on the highest level of the castle, and there was a sense of fury, and grief that blanketed the air.
Zant sat on the throne as we approached, seemingly unconcerned; with the new robes, I couldn't see if his wounds had healed, but given the amount of time that had passed, it as likely that they had. Midna's own anger was almost a living thing and she floated ahead, eyes focused and determined. Link and I flanked her to the left and right, and the bared Master Sword gleamed in threat.
"Zant," Midna said shortly.
The pretender king of the Twili only raised the lower half of his helment so that we could see his smug, superior smile.
"Isn't this ironic?" Midna continued, her voice shifting from angry to a semi-smug condescension. "Here we are, thanks to that dark magic curse you tried to place on Link, and the 'sorceress' who didn't care about us."
A smirk flitted across her face as she spoke, and the taste of anger in the air grew stronger, and more potent.
"You speak of magic?" he hissed, slowly rising to his feet. "Still your tongue a moment, whelp, and I will tell you of both magic, and the oppression of ages..."
The helmet drew back completely, revealing for the first time, Zant's full face. Unlike Midna, his eyes were completely golden, and the burned with both magic and malice.
"The people of our tribe, a tribe that has mastered the arts of magic, were locked away in this world, like insects in a cage. In these shadows, we regressed so much that we soon knew neither hatred nor anger... nor the faintest bloom of desire." He began twisting and contorting himself about, as if trying to unnerve us by the display. "And all of it was the fault of a useless, do-nothing royal family that had resigned itself to this miserable half-existence!"
Abruptly he unwound, and yelled angrily, hopping up and down much like a toddler throwing a tantrum. I was somewhere between unimpressed and amused... and maybe slightly relieved that this particular brand of blame wasn't being laid at my feet, though I could certainly call him on his bullshit.
I did not, because for the moment, this was between Midna and Zant; if she wanted my interference, she would let me know.
"I had served and endured in that depraved household for far too long, my impudent princess," he hissed.
He lunged forward then, leaping from the top of the throne's dais to flash towards us; he was fast, I was faster. My sword was protecting Midna before he was in Link's face. Link, however was startled enough to jerk back and raise his sword defensively, but before he could strike, Zant flashed off to the side, then to our backs, whirling himself in circles like a top.
"And why, you might ask?" he cried as he spun. "Because I believed that I would be the next to rule our people. That is why!"
He moved back swiftly, out of range of both blades, then took a brief pose as if to say 'ta-da' before once more bending backwards to look directly up. I took a half-step forward—I and not an honorable fighter, and I will take every advantage—but Midna stopped me with an outstretched arm. I grimaced a little, but stayed still; it wasn't hard to see that she wanted to know what drove Zant to make his bargain with Ganondorf.
"But would they acknowledge me as their king? No!" he cried, still looking directly up at the ceiling. "And as such, I was denied the magic powers befitting our ruler! It was then, in the thrall of hatred and despair, that I turned my eyes heavenward... and found a god."
"I'm sure he's pleased to know you think of him like that," I muttered sourly. "He's always wanted to be a god."
I heard both Midna and Link snort just slightly.
"He housed his power in me," Zant said dreamily. "Anything I wanted, so did he. And my god wanted only one thing."
He yanked himself back to his feet abruptly, the helmet clacking back into place as he vanished, then reappeared by the throne.
"To merge shadow and light, and create darkness."
"...that's so not how it works," I sighed. "Midna, can I stab him yet?"
"Please."
Zant, it seemed, was done talking anyways; with a flare of power, the room around us vanished, to be replaced by the poisoned air and water that we had found at the Old One's base. An illusion, but an astoundingly good one; while it could not affect me, since I knew how to defeat illusions, I knew Link would not be so lucky. Which meant that I too had to treat it as though it was real, to prevent him from trying to 'rescue' me from peril.
We suffered through a handful of these; after dropping him into the poisoned water three times, he swapped us to the Goron mines. I kicked him into the lava twice, and apparently he himself suffered the illusiory power, as his robe lit on fire both time, the sleeves burning all the way to the wrist before he could put them out. He also lost part of his tabard.
As if in retaliation for his ruined robe, he swapped us into water, the room in which we had faced the giant Morpha-like fish. There was little time to switch to full Zora armor, but in this case, Link needed only the facemask. This time, Zant was finally stabbed, twice, and the illusion was dropped in favor of returning us to the room where we had faced the leader of the monkeys who lived in the Old One. Knocking him onto his ass was heavily satisfying.
The final illusion was the result of Zant completely losing his temper, and control of the spell itself; he dropped us in the fields of Hyrule, before the blockaded castle. There were no lethal disadvantages here, just a barrier that blocked us from getting to far—the edges of the room, I assumed.
From the ruins of his sleeves, Zant produced two swords, and came lunging at both Link and myself in his fury. We split, and he hurtled uselessly into the space between us. I half-expected him to go after Link, so when he turned and lunged in my direction I was surprised, but not off-guard.
Zant's sword fighting was... uninspired. His overhand strikes were telegraphed, and while he was not weak, he was not at a strength that would have challenged me. He speed was impressive, but there was no hints of either Gerudo or Sheikah-styled skill. But I kept him occupied while Link worked his way around and pulled one of my move; he stabbed Zant through the back.
He howled in pain, and collapsed, the illusion shattering like a soap bubble to reveal that we had never left the throne room. Nor was it the only spell he lost control of; the Fused Shadows had been straining to return to Midna ever since we'd walked into the room. With his collapse, the broke free of his bindings, and went to her of their own accord, ancient magic reuniting in a second with the one who could truly command their power.
The curse on her, however, did not vanish. But thanks to being forewarned, she was only disappointed, not in despair, and clenched her hands tightly for a long moment.
"Y-you... traitor," Zant gasped out, having somehow hauled himself back into the throne.
"Traitor? Hah!" Midna's voice was filled with anger and scorn. "You know why none would call you king, Zant?! It was your eyes. All could see the lust for power in them! Did you think we'd forget that our ancestors lost a king to that same greed?"
That, I knew, had to come from the Gerudo heritage. It seemed almost ironic, really...
"You... foolish princess," he spat through his labored breathing. "That curse you're under can't be broken! It was placed upon you by the power of my god, and you will never regain the power you held as leader of the Twilight!"
She glanced at me, and I rolled my eyes. Again, we had already known that it was Ganondorf's curse, so his words, meant to inflame anger, only created cold contempt instead.
But that contempt was enough to stir the power she now carried, power that was old and ancient, and responded to strong emotions rather than directly to willpower.
"He has already been reborn into the world," he continued, and mad giggling began, "and as long as my master Ganon survives, he will resurrect me again, and again, and a-"
Midna's patience abruptly vanished, and the power of the Fused Shadows flowed without command or control. Her hair, already flame-like, lashed out in spikes of power that impaled Zant to the throne. He howled in agony as the power pulsed through him, then burst him like he was nothing more than a balloon.
Link stared in stunned silence as Midna's emotions shifted abruptly from rage to horror; she curled up in the air, visible eye wide, and shuddering with the after-effects of the magic.
"I... I used a fraction of the power that's in me now," she breathed, her skin about three shades paler. "I d-did that with only a fraction of my ancestors' magic?!"
"Midna. Midna, breathe," I said, reached out and laying my hands on her shoulders. "The Fused Shadows can be commanded and controlled. They respond to strong emotions, but also to strong will. Just breathe."
"I w-w-wanted t-to.. I-I..."
"Shhhh... I know," I hesitated a moment, then drew the shaking ruler to me in a loose hug. "I know. But you're strong, Midna. You're powerful, and you're brave, and you're wiser now than you were at the start. You can do this." I huffed a little in amusement, and smiled, though she couldn't see it. "I wouldn't have given you the Fused Shadows if I didn't think you could tame their power."
Slowly, her breathing evened out; once I was sure she wasn't going to hyperventilate, I let her go, and we turned to survey the now empty room. Of Zant, there was no sign, and I knew there never would be—he had served his use as Ganondorf's tool, and now he was discarded like a broken one.
Midna's jaw firmed, and she turned to us.
"Now is the time," she said. "We must save Zelda. I might not have been able to take Zant's power from him, but I still have the power of my ancestors... and with it, I can returned the cherished gift that Zelda gave to me."
She studied her hands for a long moment, before looking up at Link, then me. Determination and nobility shone in her visible eye, and again I reflected on just how far she had come from the self-centered, manipulative little princess she had once been.
"We must save her," she repeated.
"Now's probably the best time," I agreed. "We're ready, the last of our enemies has fallen, and we have the strength. Are you ready hero?"
I slanted him a sidelong look, and he nodded firmly.
"Yeah!"
Midna smiled at both of us, then flitted back into Link's shadow as we turned to make our way out of the Palace of Twilight.
When we stepped back into the open air, the silence had changed; no longer was it fearful, the hope had eclipsed all else. The watchful eyes seemed kind, and almost as if they were calling encouragement; though no words were actively heard, the sense of it straightened Link's shoulders, and gave his steps a new, firmer purpose. We were going to save both worlds, come hells or high water.
Ganondorf was the last challenge that stood in our way, and after all these months, I knew it would soon be time.
I couldn't help the excitement that tingled along my spine; it had nothing to do with the upcoming challenge of fighting Ganondorf, and everything to do with the fact that soon—so I believed—I would be free.
"So Zant really was a puppet for Ganondorf," Midna said as we stepped into the blazing sunlight of mid-morning in the desert.
"You had doubts?" I asked dryly.
"Well... I wasn't sure like you were," she admitted. "I thought he really might be resurrected right there..."
"Ganondorf uses people like tissues, and throws them aside when he's done with them," I said, shaking my head a little. "That's the trouble with absolute power; it lets you think you can do anything you want and not face any consequences. Why don't we go... disabuse him of this notion?"
"Right!"
