I can't even express how happy I am to finally be able to share this chapter with you all. This-the final chapter of Part Two. I've been planning this since the beginning, and I am thrilled with how it turned out. I am sorry for the cliffhanger, though! That was a tad bit mean-spirited of me. But the reaction I got in the comments was great. I think that was not only my most commented chapter, but I also got more hits on Sunday than any single day prior.

Now, before I talk any comments, I'm going to make a quick announcement for the way forward from here. On Saturday, I will post the next Side Quests chapter, aptly named Side Quests II. After that, I'm going to take that next Wednesday off and then I'll post the first chapter of Part Three that Saturday. That's all I'll say for now, but there may be more announcements to come. The good news, however, is that I can definitely guarantee you beyond all question that this novel will be finished...

Klynnw: It was tough to hold off on that memory for so long! It's one of my favorites, and one thing that I haven't discussed yet is the fact that I write as I go. Some people do things like write the ending first or write major scenes. I don't do that. So I wrote that memory when I finally reached Chapter 35. There was a lot of excitement when I finally wrote it! And then I had to wait to share it, since I got it written a couple months ago... Glad to finally be able to share it now, and I can't wait to share some of the other stuff I have coming up.

iCards: I love the Heirloom quest so much, and I knew I wanted to incorporate it somehow. I'm glad this all worked out in such a way that I was able to do so. Also, it was a blast exploring the Sheikah shadow side of Paya. That wasn't in the game, I will fully admit, but I felt it wasn't too much of a stretch to give her that training. And it took me a while to figure out how to do that memory without taking Link to the desert. When I originally planned this chapter's sequence, I actually had Link remembering while in the Gerudo Desert, because I planned to save the Rito sequence for last. It wasn't until after I finished writing the Goron sequence that I felt I needed to swap between the Gerudo and Rito (fun fact: in the original conversation with Yunobo, Link told him he was going to the desert next, and I almost missed changing it for posting).

Michy: I love Skyward Sword's story and the dynamic between Link and Zelda. And I love that Zelda has her own quest in that game that isn't dependent on Link! That game has definitely been an inspiration for me in writing their dynamic in this novel. I'm actually about to start another playthrough of that game here pretty soon.

All right, no more replies. On with the chapter! I'll talk to you all again on Saturday-I'm sure there will be some... reactions. Please read and enjoy!

Chapter Thirty-Six

Somewhere, deep within Link's being, he knew that he wasn't in his right mind. He'd gone mad. No Divine Beasts. No Master Sword. No plan. No hope. But none of that mattered anymore. The primal beast that had been suppressed by his lack of memory would not be held captive again.

Red lightning forked overhead, and even the full moon seemed to shine with an eerie red cast this close to the castle. The feeling of Malice was far stronger here. What he experienced in the Divine Beasts had only been but a taste of what Ganon's consolidated power was truly like. Here, so close to the creature of rage and destruction, the air grew red with haze, and the oppressive feeling of his presence was far more palpable.

Even without a plan, however, he knew what he was going to do. Where he would go. The castle's front entrance swarmed with Guardians, as did the ruins of the city that once stood before the gates. As mad as he was, Link knew he could not storm the gates and hope to survive.

But there were other ways into the castle. Others still entered the castle through secret means, from what Boldon told him. And coming here had sparked a memory in his mind of one of them.

He glanced up, hiding under the overhang of one of the massive stone columns that had erupted around the castle when Ganon emerged, waiting for the flying Guardian to pass, its eye seeking out targets. The thing terrified Link, but the thought of his princess forced to remain in this place even a moment longer terrified him more.

Once it passed, he leaped from the short ledge and into the murky water below. The moat's current immediately began to try to push him downstream, but he swam with it, using techniques that Mipha taught him so many years ago. His time was short—if he were still in the water when the Guardian returned, he would be defenseless.

He reached the opposite bank quickly and pulled himself up, crouching low behind large rock as the Guardian passed once again. He could hear its propellers spinning and the whir of its eye as it gazed around.

When it was gone, Link stood up straighter, looking around in the dark for what he knew was there—assuming it hadn't collapsed in the intervening years.

"Father, why would the castle have secret entrances? Wouldn't that make it easier for assassins and thieves to get in?"

"Only if we don't know about them, Link. However, if we know about them, they can become powerful tools—even better if those assassins and thieves don't know that we know."

Memories flashed through his mind as he felt along the wall. How old had he been when his father brought him here? Only a boy, to be certain. Likely not even yet a squire. Did he live in the castle then? Or had he been visiting from his family's lands around Hateno Village?

The darkness pressed all around him as he searched. Here, under the shadow of Hyrule Castle, he couldn't even see the moon any longer. The stars were obscured by the red haze, which seemed to absorb light while giving off no light of its own. Finally, he felt it. The crack in the wall. Too small for a large man, but Link thought that he could still fit.

He removed the sword and sheathe from his back, holding it out to the side so as not to catch on the rock. Then he began to ease himself into the small crevice. It was a tight fit. He couldn't duck down because of how narrow it was, but his head barely even squeezed through turned to the side. When he finally emerged on the other side, his arms and face were both scraped bloody.

The other side was pitch-black. No lights shone in the chamber beyond, which only heightened Link's sense of foreboding. He slipped the sheathe back onto his back and pulled the Ancient sword from his belt, activating it. Its blue glow revealed a small cave within the rock, and a passage that led deeper into the rock foundations of the castle.

Hyrule Castle had long ago been built upon a mountain. Rather than transport stone from other locations throughout the nation, its builders had, instead, used the very stone of the mountain to build the castle. Like many mountains, the one upon which the castle had been built had a small network of caves running throughout it. Most had been intentionally collapsed, but some—like this one—were either left intentionally or were not discovered until centuries later.

Link pressed forward through the darkness, holding his shining sword over his head. It illuminated bare stone walls for a time, but as he moved further into the darkness, he began to see patches of dark ooze coating parts of the walls and floor. Malice.

What kind of creatures inhabit this place? he wondered as he stared at one patch of Malice that stretched from the ceiling to the floor in a web of dark strands. I have no more arrows. I don't even have a bow.

Yet he pressed on. He couldn't turn back—not when he was so close to his princess. He would save her.

In time, the passage began to slope upwards. He passed several other branches in the cave, but he ignored them. He had no memory of this place, but his heart seemed to know the right direction to take.

Link entered a larger chamber. Part of the floor was full of water that gave off a haze of steam—a natural spring of sorts. The path looped around the spring, forming a ramp that led up to another passage twenty feet or so above the water. He began towards that, but then stopped, looking at the opposite wall. The stone on it seemed different somehow.

What?

Link approached, holding his sword high to provide light. His sword's light soon illuminated a smooth, rounded section of the wall. Sheikah patterns stood out on it. It looked like…

Link gasped, stumbling back. There, in the wall, was the partially buried form of a Guardian. Only a small portion of it had been uncovered, yet its design was unmistakable. He hesitantly reached out, placing his hand against the smooth curvature of its rotating head. It was not alive, as the ones above the surface were.

He removed his hand and walked along the wall, spotting more partially-uncovered Guardians. From the gouges and cracks in the wall, he suspected that these had still been in the process of being exhumed when the Calamity befell the castle.

Shuddering, Link turned his back on the machines and continued up the slope to the higher level. Here, the passage changed. Though the walls were still rock, wooden beams stood to the sides and overhead to provide additional support and prevent tunnel collapses. He continued further, trying to ignore the growing amount of Malice that coated much of the tunnel's surface.

The end of the passage arrived suddenly. As he continued on, his sword's light suddenly fell on the remains of a brick wall that had long since collapsed. The wall had once been a secret doorway—Link could still see the ancient tracks that it had once swung in on.

Now that Link saw it, he remembered what could have been a fatal flaw in his use of this passage. This fake wall was only supposed to open from the inside, swinging out into the cave, in order to prevent it being used to sneak into the castle. However, the wall was little more than a pile of old bricks on the floor of the castle now.

Link wondered what had eventually broken into the castle through this passage. Had it been the treasure hunters and adventurers that Boldon told Link about, or was it something worse?

Pushing such worries aside, he continued in through the broken wall, setting foot inside Hyrule Castle for the first time in over one hundred years.

He slowly waved his sword, casting its light around him. Nearby, hanging off a brick wall, the rusted remains of an old chain glinted in the blue light. He inspected the chain, finding a pair of iron shackles at either end. Frowning, Link crept forward until his light revealed the iron bars of a prison cell. The secret passage, it would seem, led into Hyrule Castle's dungeon.

Link continued on. The dungeon was extensive, containing multiple cells on either side. There were other rooms as well—rooms with broken doors and dark interiors. Link ignored those. Most of them were likely just guard chambers, while others were interrogation rooms.

As he made his way through the dungeon, he soon found that not all of the cells were empty. Some contained sets of old bones, a few still hanging from chains on the walls, the skeletons held together by the barest remains of old sinew. Others had piles of filthy rags, in which their former occupants had likely huddled as they waited for the slow death of dehydration.

Link did his best to ignore such things, pressing forward, but one such bundle of rags eventually caught his eye. After all, it was moving.

He paused by the cell, looking in horror as a huddled figure shifted under the brown rags. Though the smell given off by Malice nearly overwhelmed his senses by now, now that he focused on it, he could smell the unmistakable scent of rot and filth.

How could anyone still be alive down here? How long has he been in this prison? Did someone lock him up recently?

The figure slowly lifted its head, but the sword's light did little to pierce the darkness beneath its hood. The light glinted off a pair of dark eyes, however.

Slowly, the person inside rose. The rags fell away, revealing a naked body underneath, far thinner and more desiccated than Link thought a living person could have. The prisoner shuffled forward, and Link could do little else but watch as he slowly approached the beacon of light.

Link's confusion gave way to horror as the figure finally entered the light fully. Its face was a mask of sunken flesh that stretched tight over its skull. It had no lips, revealing brown teeth and a tongue-less mouth. The skin on its body was papery thin and simply not there in places, revealing rotten muscle and bone underneath. It lacked several fingers, and the fingers that it did have had no fingernails. One of its legs ended in a stump, giving it an unsteady hobble as it approached him.

The creature inside the cell groaned, reaching one of its rotten hands forward. One of its fingers ended in bone, the flesh long since eaten away. It reached through the bars of the cell for him, and Link stepped back, eyes widening. The creature opened its mouth and released a shriek unlike any other that Link had ever heard.

Every nerve in Link's body fired, every muscle tensed, and every thought in his head was replaced by that of purest terror. He couldn't move. He couldn't think. He could only watch as the terrible creature, once man, but now something far less, tried to reach for him, its fingers only inches from his tunic.

Somewhere down the hall, from where Link had just come, he heard another creature moan. And then another. To Link's horror, through one of the cells that had a broken door, a shuffling creature just like the one in the cell in front of him stepped out.

The creature before him stretched out its hand, moaning, desperately clawing the air for Link. Its soulless eyes were black, reflecting the light of his sword. The tip of one of its bony fingers just barely brushed his tunic.

Link yelled and swung his sword down, slicing right through the arm with no resistance whatsoever. The appendage fell to the ground with a sickening sound, yet the creature was not even phased. It reached its other arm through, trying again to grasp Link, despite only having two fingers remaining on this hand.

The other shambling corpse made its way down the hall towards Link, hands outstretched, mouth open wide. It lacked part of its side, revealing its rib cage.

Feeling nothing but terror, Link turned and ran. He passed other undead corpses, all of which seemed to have awakened with the first one's scream. As one stumbled out of a cell, opening its mouth wide to release its terrible shriek, he swung his sword, decapitating it. The body collapsed.

He heard more of the shrieks behind him and glanced back, horrified to see at least half a dozen of the creatures in the hall now, not counting the one he dispatched. He had passed so many of them on the way through the dungeon!

Finally, as he rounded another corner, he found a doorway that led up to a staircase. The old door remained, though it hung pitifully on a single rusty hinge. Link closed the door, wincing at the awful metallic screech it made as he did so. He found the old wooden bar used to secure the door lying next to it, and he slid the rotten wood into place, hoping that would stop the creatures from following him.

He turned and hurried up the stairs, emerging out of an old building onto a patch of grass inside the castle's outer walls, very low on the mountain that the castle had been built upon. The castle towers rose far above him, their peaks shadowy in the night sky. Red haze settled down around him like a thin fog, leaving the air feeling hot and unpleasant to his lungs. The color seemed to have been drained of everything around him. The grass was ashen grey and the trees looked petrified, devoid of all leaves.

Everything is dead.

Setting his jaw and sparing one more glance for the shadowy door beneath, Link slunk out onto the castle grounds, casting wary glances about for Guardians.

She became aware of his presence at the same time that the Calamity grew curious of the new being to enter the castle. It was not the first time a stranger made his way into the castle, and the Calamity was usually content to let them be. Looters did not concern him. But something about this new person intrigued him.

She was curious, too. She knew his presence. She knew this man. She… she knew that he shouldn't be here.

Like a drowning woman coming up for air, Zelda was suddenly aware of who she was again. She watched with horror as Link crossed the castle grounds, narrowly avoiding detection by one of the roaming Guardians that patrolled the outer walls. She watched as he pressed his back to the wall as the Guardian walked above him, its cylindrical head spinning this way and that. She watched as he continued on once it passed, soon finding an entrance into the castle itself.

And she watched as Ganon grew close, his curiosity growing. She could feel his thoughts. His wonder. Who is this boy, he wondered, that seems so familiar? He reminded him of…

Zelda slammed her power against Ganon, pushing him down. He raged against her, forgetting about the intruder as he pushed back. So strong. When had he become so strong? It was nearly enough to overwhelm her power—so much so that she had to pull her awareness away from everywhere else around her. She could no longer look at Link or even hope to speak to him, to warn him away—it took everything she had to form the seal of power that kept Ganon at bay. That kept him blinded.

He mustn't know. He can't find out.

Link slipped inside the dark corridor, pressing his back to the wall as he sidestepped the dark, reflective mass of Malice on the floor by his feet. He used his Ancient sword to push it back some—it reacted much like the Malice had on Medoh, pulling back slightly from the sword, though it did so more sluggishly. Once past this past, Link sighed with relief and raised his sword, illuminating the corridor.

A thick coating of dust covered the entire floor, undisturbed for years. Perhaps this entrance was never used by the treasure hunters that Link heard about. Ancient sconces lined the walls, their torches having long since been put out. The wall was made of unadorned stone.

Servant's entrance, he thought, frowning. So close to the dungeons, perhaps even a soldier's entrance. Continuing further down, he found that his second guess was right. He soon came to the ramshackle remains of an old soldier's practice hall. It appeared to have been untouched for one hundred years, other than for the Malice that coated much of things.

Link stepped into the hall, and suddenly, he was back in the past. Sparring against other squires had been a popular way of releasing tension and settling arguments. He always won. No squire had been a match for Link's skill with the sword, spear, or quarterstaff. Though some of the larger ones were quite adept at beating him in wrestling.

Those squires had been his friends once, though many of them refused to even speak to him after he pulled the Master Sword. Too intimidated, perhaps, or jealous of his sudden meteoric rise to importance.

I never wanted to be so important, he thought, frowning. Not truly.

It didn't matter now, of course. That was over a century ago. He became important. Destined. The Hero.

Link pressed on into the bowels of the castle. Malice only grew thicker as he continued. In places, it dripped from the ceiling in large globs or formed solid black pillars. He found entire hallways blocked off by large masses. He brushed against it multiple times, and each encounter left his exposed flesh red and angry.

The castle was like a maze, and despite his limited memories, he found himself getting turned around in its winding halls. Several sections were either so completely covered by Malice or outright collapsed that he had to find alternate paths. His Sheikah Slate provided him no help either—it showed that he was in the castle, but nothing else.

He found a series of rooms that had been ransacked. These must have been servants' quarters—they had no windows and were small. He found dressers with the drawers pulled out, all clothing removed. Chests that had been broken open. This part of the castle had been visited by the treasure hunters looking for valuables, so there must have been another entrance nearby—he didn't think that they had come in the same way he did.

He stepped into another hallway and came face to face with a Guardian Scout.

Swearing, Link ducked back around the corner just as it fired off a shot that would have taken him in the face. He waited for it to approach, its legs making clicking sounds on the stone floor. When it reached him, he thrust out his sword, plunging its blue blade into its eye.

The effect was instantaneous. Its red lights began to flicker, and Link could have sworn that he saw a cloud of Malice erupt out of its body. He ran back down the hall, knowing what would come next. Behind him, the diminutive Guardian exploded, sending shrapnel flying in every direction.

The castle rumbled under his feet. Link pressed his hand to the wall to steady himself as the ground shook. Ganon. Echoing down the halls, he thought that he could hear a distant roar.

The shaking subsided. The roar faded. The hall grew silent again, save for the soft humming of his sword. Link stepped forward, looking down at the remains of the Guardian, similar to those he had encountered in the shrines. It had glowed red, corrupted by Ganon's power, just as Robbie said.

I shouldn't be here, he thought, nudging one of the Guardian's legs with his foot. This was a mistake. Yet…

Link pushed aside his doubts and set his jaw. He had to save her.

Ganon roared, and Zelda fought. Hylia, give me strength! Though her power was immense, Ganon's power was, in many ways, her equal. Her power was that of a goddess—eternal and unchanging. Ganon's was one formed of rage and malice, and it grew in strength as his hatred grew.

And Zelda was tired. She was so tired. Her power had been once far greater, but her spirit had been flayed after a century of battle against this creature of Demise. Her mind, a tattered shadow of what it once was. How often had she thought of giving up? How many times had she nearly accepted death at this creature's hands?

No.

No, she would not give in now. Not after so long. Not now that they were so close!

Ganon pressed against her, his power like a thousand knives that stabbed at her very soul. Zelda screamed, but she did not give in. She did not give up. She was the incarnation of a goddess. No, she was a goddess. She was Hylia. She pressed Ganon's power down, into the depths beneath the mountain. She silenced his roared. She broke the threads that would allow him to see into the castle. She blinded him. She rendered him powerless. And she prayed. She prayed that Link would leave. For not even a goddess could hold out forever.

Link ran his sword into the black eye that watched him, and it died, shriveling and puffing away. As it did, some of the Malice that obscured the hallway retreated, leaving Link a path through. He stepped through, entering into a grand dining hall. Many of the tables were broken, their legs collapsing due to the rotting brought on by Malice.

The walls were covered with the tattered remains of old tapestries. Reliefs had been carved into the walls—depictions of the Goddess Hylia, of heroic battles, and royal victories. Yet even the stone seemed more worn down than it should have been after one hundred years.

He could remember what the hall had once looked like, though. Beautiful banners, noblemen and women seated at the tables, and the royal family seated at the head table. Link sat there with them the night that he saved Princess Zelda's life from the Guardian. After that, he more often stood behind the princess as she ate.

She didn't often eat here, though, Link thought, reaching out and placing a hand against the remains of the head table. She avoided it when she could. Preferred to have servants bring her meals to her chambers.

He could remember. Her father hadn't objected to her desire to remain out of sight.

Link turned, preparing to leave the dining hall, when something new caught his eye. Upon the wall behind the royal table, between reliefs of the goddesses, was a shield. Painted blue and bearing the royal sigil of a red bird with outstretched wings beneath a golden trio of triangles forming a larger triangle, it stood out. It appeared to be the only object in the room untouched by Ganon's corruptive influence.

Carefully, Link climbed atop the massive hearth and reached up to the shield. It came free easily, its wooden mounting having rotted. He climbed back down and turned the shield over in his hands.

Untainted. No rust. Other metal I've seen has been rusted over—why is this any different?

The leather strap on its back bore the signs of age, but it was still functional as Link slipped it on over his right arm. He moved his arm around and found that he liked the feel of the shield. It was light-weight, despite its size, and fit Link's arm without any adjustments to the strap needed. Link left the dining hall with the shield a comfortable weight on his arm.

The hall he emerged into bore the remains of an old, red carpet. Old paintings lined the walls, each too faded or destroyed to make out its contents. It was… familiar to him. If he closed his eyes to the destruction and pools of Malice, he could almost see what the hall once looked like, resplendent in its beauty.

As the castle rumbled around him again, he was brought back out of his reverie. The memories were hard to ignore here, but he had no choice. This was far more dangerous than even the Divine Beasts. Ganon was here.

He continued, making his way down the hall. As he did so, he passed by several rooms, though they were larger and more widely spread out here than they were in the servants' hallways. Windows lined the opposite walls, their glass having long broken. A glance outside sent shivers down Link's spine. Guardians, of both the walking and flying varieties, patrolled all over the castle grounds just outside of this hall, barely visible save for their red lights and glowing blue eyes. If any one of them saw him, he would die.

Once more, he wondered if he should just leave—use the Sheikah Slate to teleport away—but he dismissed it. That was the coward's way out. He had a duty, and he would see it complete. Even if it meant facing the cold fingers of death once again.

He moved away from the windows and deactivated his sword, fearing that its light would give him away. This plunged the hall into darkness, and Link waited, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness before continuing.

As he continued through the dark hall, he soon came to another chamber, easily as large, if not larger, than the dining hall. Link stepped through the large doorway, out onto a balcony. He was on the third level of a massive room with an arched ceiling and what appeared to be shelves lining the walls.

Looking warily around first for any threats, Link reactivated his sword and carefully made his way down to the second level, walking towards the shelves. He lifted his sword, using its light to illuminate their contents.

Books. Rows and rows of books. Many of them were destroyed beyond recognition, their spines crumbling, yet others remained, still standing upright, despite the century of neglect.

It was a library. A royal library, full of thousands of texts. Full of history, science, philosophy, religion, and wonder. Link reached up, gently running his finger along the spine of one particularly thick tome. He couldn't read the letters on the spine.

"Such a wealth of knowledge, and yet nothing of use."

He turned and saw her. Princess Zelda. Staring at a tall shelf with her hands on her hips, glaring at the bookshelf, as if daring it to produce for her the exact tome needed. It was late. Far past the time that it would have been particularly appropriate for them to be in the library, but she didn't care. She hadn't been able to sleep.

So she insisted he come with her to the library. He didn't really know why. She didn't carry a torch, nor did she even have her Sheikah Slate, which she used for light some nights when out in the wild with him. Moonlight streamed into the library through several windows, but it was hardly appropriate to read by. Perhaps she wanted to find a book and take it back to her room?

"Princess?"

She reached out, taking a book and opening to its first page. She bent low, squinting at the words upon it. Finally, she snapped it back closed and carefully placed it back on the shelf. Her hand lingered upon it for a time.

"I fear that there is no book in existence that will help me with my powers." She didn't look at him as she spoke, still staring at the shadowy books. "It seems absurd, doesn't it? Millions—perhaps billions—of books have been written throughout history. Surely one of them was written to detail the process of awakening the royal families' abilities. Did they truly expect all princesses to just… understand?"

He frowned. Of course, he should not have been surprised that the summer festivities would cause such dark thoughts. He wondered what he could say—what kind of comfort could he offer?

"Perhaps… perhaps they all understood that the powers would awaken only when the time was right?"

She looked at him then, her expression difficult to read in the darkness. "My mother had the power. She didn't… need it, yet she had it. As did her grandmother. Yet I…"

She stepped back from the bookshelf until she leaned back against the banister, looking up towards the windows overhead. "When you pulled the Master Sword, did you… know? Did you know that it would come free?"

"No."

"Then why did you even try?"

"I…"

She faded. The moonlight faded. Malice covered most of the windows, except for one spot further down into the room where part of the roof had collapsed. He removed his hand from the spine of the book, shuddering. Then he grabbed the book off the shelf, turning and throwing it. It fell to the first level, landing with a heavy thud.

Link's hands dropped to his side, and he lowered his head. "What am I doing here?"

It was futile. He couldn't defeat Ganon. Not now. Not without the sword. Not without the final Divine Beast. He couldn't save her. She would remain trapped in this castle with the beast with no way out.

"Princess, can you hear me?"

He received no answer. Even this close, she still would not or could not answer him. He wished he could speak to her again, just to hear her voice. Just to know that she was all right.

Please go, Link, Zelda silently begged. Her power strained, stretched to its limit. And she knew that Ganon had been able to catch glimpses of Link. He didn't know yet—he didn't recognize the man. Perhaps he wouldn't, without the Master Sword upon Link's back.

But Ganon was suspicious. Why did she fight against him so strong now? Why did she work so hard to ensure his Guardians did not venture close to this stranger? Why did she seek to blind him so completely?

The Calamity was no longer a creature of reason and rational. His mind had long since broken far more completely than Zelda's. Yet even he occasionally had moments of clarity, just as she did. If he realized who he was, the result could be disastrous.

She needed to tell him to leave, but she knew that the moment she did, Ganon would know. He would see Link for who he truly was. She feared that his rage would be so great, that even Hylia would be powerless to stop him.

Ganon pressed again, and she countered. He attacked, and she blocked. She enfolded him within her power, trying her best to shut him out, yet he constantly pierced her, trying to escape. Trying to see.

Who is he? Ganon rumbled. She slammed him back down with her power, trying rend his mind. But this time, Ganon did not roar. He wondered. And Zelda feared that it would soon be too late.

Link found the hallway that he had hoped to find. Ever since he'd caught glimpses of memory—of walking a darkened hall behind the princess in the direction of the library. The trek deeper into Hyrule Castle took him up more flights of stairs, higher and higher. He knew that he was just a short distance away from the sanctum now, where the Champion's ceremony had been held in his memory.

Somehow, he knew what he would find there.

But that wasn't what he searched for now. Not yet. Instead, he made his way around the back of the castle, using more servants' passages. The main hall was destroyed, forcing Link to find an alternate route. But he eventually came out into another carpeted hall.

He made his way through the hall, keeping an eye out for any signs of the smaller Guardian Scouts. He had encountered more than one on his trip through the castle, each dispatched as the first had been. Nothing moved in this hall, however, except for the slightly pulsating Malice.

Link found the door not long after emerging into this hall. It was the opposite side of the castle from the library, not actually that far from where he originally entered the castle, though far higher up.

One of the thick double doors to Princess Zelda's room lay on the ground, coated with dust and a fair amount of Malice. The other hung by a single rusty hinge, ready to fall at any time. Link hesitated as he looked into the dark room. Would she be in there?

He gripped his sword tightly and stepped into the princess's room.

Zelda screamed. She screamed, and she fought. She could no longer completely blind him, so she tried to redirect him. To give him the ability to see other things, but not Link. Anything but Link.

But the Calamity knew that she was hiding something important from him. He knew, and he suspected. The Calamity pushed again. Pierced her. Her power weakened.

Memories blossomed in Link's mind as he shined his sword around the room. Her bed—a massive four-poster bed draped with white curtains—lay broken and collapsed, its hangings long since removed. Her small table was broken, and the chair's upholstery had been cut away—he could remember her sitting in that chair at that table, drinking a cup of tea. Her dresser drawers had been opened, their contents removed. Her dressing curtain lay on its side, trampled upon and broken. Her mirror was gone. Her desk, always so neat, was in a state of disarray, loose pages strewn about and shredded.

Treasure hunters had found this room, and they had destroyed it.

Link's throat tightened as he gazed around, taking in the pitiful sight. It broke his heart to see the room so completely destroyed. It felt like a far greater crime than anything else that he had seen since entering.

She deserves better. All the other inhabitants of the castle are dead, but not her. She's still alive.

He stepped through the room and approached the opposite side, where a stone staircase rounded a pillar up to the upper level. Feeling a strange apprehension, Link hesitantly climbed the stairs. He emerged in another, smaller room with a hole in its center to accommodate the staircase.

On one side of the room was a door that appeared to once have led back into the castle, but now the hall beyond lay collapsed. The other side also held a door—this one led outside onto a bridge that crossed to a stone tower.

He knew that bridge. He knew that tower. He knew this place.

Link stepped outside onto the bridge, looking warily for Guardians. He could see one of the fliers nearby, but it was flying away from him. As he crossed the bridge, he looked around, recognizing where he was even better. He could see the courtyard below—the courtyard where he'd saved the princess from the Guardian and where he'd spoken to Daruk following the Champion's ceremony. But more importantly, the tower.

The door to the tower was open, and Link could already tell that the room within had been ransacked. Yet while the room was in disarray, he didn't think much had actually been taken. What interest did treasure hunters have in a scientist's notes and sketches?

Princess Zelda's study was a testament to the woman's passions. A large desk sat on one side of the hexagonal room, covered in scattered pages and several books. Every wall but the one with the entrance had multiple shelves.

While much of the shelves' contents had been disturbed, much remained. More sketches, more books, as well as models made with painstaking detail. Pieces of Guardians. Pieces of Sheikah tech. Other things too—one shelf contained a board with several different types of butterflies preserved upon it. Another had a telescope just like the ones that Purah and Robbie had, only miniature.

He could remember this room from before. He could remember leaning against a wall, smiling slightly as the princess spoke excitedly about a new discovery she'd made, or a theory that Purah told her about. Elsewhere, she was burdened by her future, but here, she was happy. She found joy in her study, in inspecting the Sheikah Slate, in researching ancient Sheikah texts to learn more about the Divine Beasts.

She knew everything about them, Link thought as he looked up at an expertly sketched depiction of Divine Beast Vah Ruta. She must have coated it with some kind of sealing agent, because the sketch remained clear, even one hundred years later.

As he looked around the room in wonder, his eyes fell on something out of place. Something that he didn't recognize from before. A flower.

A simple, yet beautiful flower. Five petals, each blue nearer the stem, but white at their edges. It sat on the floor, surrounded by dirt. It looked as though it had once been in a pot, but the pot had been smashed. Somehow, the flower survived, though, growing tall from the mound of dirt left behind.

Link knelt by the simple flower, setting his shield down and reaching out, gently touching its soft petal. It seemed so familiar to him. He knew this flower, yet… he couldn't place it. He couldn't remember it.

How did it grow here? Link thought. Everything else around the castle is dead. The grass, the plants, the trees. This shouldn't have been able to survive, yet… it has.

The ground rumbled underneath him again, and Link stood up. His time was short. He turned to the desk, looking over it. He didn't know why, but…

He saw it. A small book, bound in leather. It bore no title upon the spine. He pulled the leather cover back and saw a name written on the first page in neat, swooping hand-writing. Zelda Bosphoramus. He turned to a page within, seeing more of her handwriting.

"Today, I met with Impa of the Sheikah tribe and began my research into the ancient technology in earnest."

He didn't read it all, flipping several pages.

"We did it. We were finally able to restore some functionality to the Sheikah Slate. We have discovered that this stone slate is capable of producing...images. Perfect likenesses of the things you point it at. Unlike normal pictures drawn by hand, this requires no artist to capture anything in perfect detail."

Smiling, Link thought of how excited she must have been to make such a discovery. She'd certainly taken a lot of photographs with the Sheikah Slate after doing so. He flipped to another page, and his smile faded.

"I spoke with Purah about the Shrine of Resurrection we discovered earlier. As we speculated, this particular shrine is, in fact, a medical facility with the power to heal. It also has a long-term stasis function that can be activated and maintained until healing is complete. In the war against the Calamity ten thousand years ago, were the injuries so great as to necessitate such a facility? If so, I will remain uneasy until we have made all adjustments necessary to restore it to full working order. I can only pray that even if Calamity Ganon returns, our battle will not require the Shrine of Resurrection's power."

Link let the journal close, exhaling slowly. "I wish we didn't have to learn just how necessary it would be," he said, softly. After another moment's hesitation, he picked up the journal and tucked it into his pocket. He was about to turn when another, similar book caught his eye.

This one had been in a drawer, which now sat open. The book had clearly been rifled through but was ultimately left by whomever had been here before. Several of its pages were loose, scattered in the drawer. He shined his sword over the book, reaching to grab it, when a word on one of the pages caught his eye. His name.

He picked up the page, holding it up to his light to read.

"His name is Link. He's the son of Arn, my father's guard. I've seen him around before, of course, but I cannot ever recall speaking to him before yesterday. But now, what can I do? He has the sword. It's just as the prophecy said—the signs of Calamity Ganon's return are becoming clearer and clearer and now the Master Sword has been drawn. I have dreaded this day for my entire life. Does he even know what events he has set into motion? Does he know the burden upon his back? Will he be crushed be it, as I often feel it crushes me? Likely not. He, after all, has already completed the first step of his calling. He probably thinks that the rest of his destiny will be as easy as drawing the Master Sword was. Father has already spoken of knighting him.

"Meanwhile, I continue to seek my destiny. Father insisted I increase the amount of time I devote to prayer—as if I don't already spend more time in prayer than any priest I have ever known! He is right, of course, though I loath such an admission. I have to awaken my sealing power before it is too late."

Why do you hide him so? Ganon said to her. Zelda tried to ignore his vile voice. He rarely spoke to her—his mind was far too fragile for conscious thought more often than not. Yet now, at the worst of times, he seemed to be lucid and aware of his surroundings.

She slammed him with her power again, but he retaliated with a spear of Malice, opening a window out into the world from which he could peer. She tried to close it, to blind him again.

He seems so familiar, Ganon mused. Why is that?

Please go, Zelda begged, though she didn't know if it was directed towards Link or the Calamity. She was tired. She was so tired. The Calamity must have been as well, she knew, but he had the advantage. Zelda spread her power so thin to prevent him from engaging with anything outside of this realm, but he could gather himself and consolidate his power in one place.

No… This is not an ordinary person, is it? Zelda felt something building. She could feel him gathering his power, preparing another assault. And then it happened—pain flared through her mind and soul, nearly tearing her mind to shreds and leaving her with nothing but the power. She barely maintained self-awareness, but she could not stop Ganon from seeing.

And this time, he understood.

The castle shook violently beneath Link's feet, and he stumbled, grasping the desk for support. Overhead, he heard a roar—a terrible sound that penetrated his very being and left him cold inside. The Calamity. He grabbed the second book, shoving it into his pocket, and ran to the door, looking up.

Outside, the haze gathered and formed a great, shadowy figure in the sky above the castle. Calamity Ganon rose, nearly as large as the castle itself, into the sky, circling. Two eyes shone yellow above his terrible maw. And those eyes looked down upon Link. They saw Link. Ganon roared again and flew down, opening his maw. The tower trembled and parts of the stone bridge fell away. He held his sword and shield, yet what could he do? They seemed such pitiful weapons against such an entity.

And suddenly, with a burst of white light, she was there.

Resplendent in her white dress and shining with the light of day, Princess Zelda stood before him. She raised a hand to the beast, fixing her eyes upon it with an expression of determination. The beast roared in fury, yet it stopped, its form breaking apart once again., the red haze sinking back down to the castle.

But though it was gone, the castle still shook. He could still hear its terrible roar echoing through its halls. Link knew that it was far from over.

"What do I do?" he asked, looking at the princess. She looked more like a goddess than a real person, even though he recognized the white dress she wore as the same one from the Spring of Power.

She turned to him. He saw pain in her eyes. And fury. "You fool! Why did you come here? Do you have any idea what you have done?"

Link stumbled back, eyes widening at the outburst. Even the princess seemed surprised, as her expression showed a hint of regret. When she spoke, it was quieter, though her words still held hardness. "He knows that you're alive. Don't you understand? All this time, he thought you were dead, but now he knows. He's already so close to breaking free—I fear what this knowledge will do to his resolve."

"Princess, I…" Link faltered, staring into her eyes. What could he say? "I came to free you. As I have the other Champions and Divine Beasts. I thought that I…" He trailed off. What a fool he had been. Overwhelmed by the emotions of his memories, he'd acted so brazenly. Stupidly. He didn't have a plan or backup. He hadn't even told Impa where he was going!

"Free me? Free me?" She had a dangerous glint in her eyes. "Oh, Link. I am not a prisoner in this place. He is. I hold him captive, just as I have done for the last one hundred years."

Link's heart sank. Even his intentions had been backwards. He'd thought to save her, yet she didn't need saving. She just needed him to complete his mission. And he had been so close to doing just that.

She looked at him, and he saw pity there, yet there was something else. Compassion. "I know." She stepped forward and reached out, placing one of her hands against his cheek. He could feel the palm of her hand, warm and soft, as real as any other. Not a spirit. "You could never bear to think of me in danger. Even after everything that has happened, you haven't changed."

"I'm sorry," he said. "I thought that I could somehow… get you out of this place. That we could complete this together."

"We are," she said, pulling her hand away and stepping back. "And we will. But, Link, you need to go. Ganon's Guardians—they're coming. I couldn't keep him from taking control of them again—it's all I can do to even keep him at breaking completely free now. You need to leave."

"Princess—"

"Zelda. There are no titles between us."

"Zelda."

A faint smile passed over her lips, and she nodded. Then she turned, and the golden halo of light around her increased in intensity.

"Go, Link. I will do what I can, but he is… His rage is very great. You are not supposed to be alive—your being here means that he can still be defeated, and he knows it." She looked at him, and her forehead was creased in concentration. "You must free Urbosa—all four Divine Beasts will be needed in the coming battle. And get the Master Sword."

Link began to move, leaving the tower and walking out onto the bridge to stand beside the princess. Zelda. "Where is the sword?"

She looked at him, confused. And then a look of understanding passed over her face. "Where it has always been, Link. Where you pulled it free the first time—to the north, in the heart of the forest."

A Guardian climbed into view beneath them and rose up on its legs, looking up at them with its pulsating blue eye. It fired, and Zelda reached out her hand. The lance of energy splashed against a barrier of light, dissipating harmlessly. Link saw her flinch, however.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," he said.

"I know you will." She looked at him one last time, meeting his eyes.

Link turned and ran.

Down the spiral staircase, into Zelda's old room. Out into the hall. Overhead, Ganon roared in fury, and dust and pieces of stone rained down on Link's head as he sprinted down the hall.

One of the smaller Guardians stepped into view, and Link raised his shield just in time. The Guardian's blast ricocheted off of the shield, striking the wall and leaving a small crater. Link thrust his sword into its eye as he passed.

As he ran down the hall, he heard sounds from outside. Sounds of Guardian fire striking the castle and of multi-legged machines crawling around the side of the castle. Link passed by a window and saw a blue eye peering in at him. It fired, and the hallway behind Link burst into flame.

He turned down another hall, away from the exterior windows of the castle, so that the only light came from his sword as he ran. He stepped into a puddle of Malice, which sucked at his boot and nearly sent him sprawling onto the floor. He was able to rip the boot free of the pool, however, but the hall was filled with an acrid, burnt smell. His boot felt strange, as if the Malice had eaten through part of its sole.

Link turned down another hallway, only to find it blocked by a collapsed section. He turned and ran down another length of hall, finding a staircase that led him down. Behind him, he heard the sounds of skittering legs—more of the Guardian Scouts searching for him.

He burst into a large room with a massive vaulted ceiling overhead. The library! He was on the ground floor. And he wasn't alone. Three of the Guardian Scouts were in the room, each wielding a different weapon.

Link swore and leaped back as the first of the Guardians charged at him, thrusting a spear at his heart. The next came at him from the side with an axe, which he deflected with his shield. Before he could retaliate, however, the third Guardian's eye flashed. Link was forced to run as it fired small lances of energy at him. He threw himself behind an overturned table. The table burst into flames when struck.

The second Guardian came again, swinging its axe in wide motions, but Link deflected it and thrust his sword in, scoring a direct hit. And then he felt the spear cut his side, searing the flesh under his tunic. He cried out in pain.

He spun, slamming his sword into the spear haft, knocking it to the ground. He saw the third Guardian preparing to fire again and lunged forward, ducking behind the Guardian in front of him. The blasts struck it just as the axe-wielding Guardian exploded.

The explosion blew Link back, and he struck the floor, rolling. The light of his sword went out as part of it snapped off. He stood back up and threw the broken sword away, getting his shield out in front of him just in time to deflect another of the lances of energy, which shot off to the side.

The Guardian prepared to fire again, and Link waited. The eye flashed white, and he swung his shield. This time, he struck the blast just as it reached him, sending it back towards it source. It struck the Guardian Scout right in the eye, causing its lights to flicker madly before it burst, leaving him in darkness.

Link breathed heavily, reaching a hand down to his side, where the spear had cut him. He was bleeding, but it wasn't too bad. He needed to keep going, but without his sword, he had no light source. Maybe one of the fallen Guardians' weapons—

Suddenly, pieces of wood and debris began to fall from above. He looked up to see the hole in the roof had grown in size as two massive Guardian arms peeled the wood back. His eyes widened, and he ran. Behind him, he heard a crash as the Guardian fell into the library. It fired at him a second later, and the blast passed just overhead, slamming into the stairway that led up to the exit. Part of the stone stairwell collapsed, but Link leaped over the broken section, taking the stairs three at a time.

The Guardian advanced through the library, its claws ripping up the tile flooring as it crossed towards him. Its blue eye followed Link as he climbed the stairs, preparing another blast of energy. It fired again as he reached the top floor, striking the balcony. The explosion sent him careening into the hallway beyond. He rolled to his feet and continued into the darkness.

Without the light of his sword, Link could do little more than run with his hands outstretched. He cried out in pain each time his hands plunged into a pool of Malice, but he continued.

More Guardian Scouts emerged into the hall in front of him, their lights suddenly bright in the dark hallway. At least four of them piled out into the hallway. Link kept running and vaulted over them, just as two of them fired. One of the blasts hit his shoulder, slamming him into the wall, but he didn't stop running.

He turned down another side passage, and suddenly, there was no floor beneath him. He fell down the staircase, landing at the bottom in a heap. Link's vision swam, and he groaned, looking up as the Guardians filled the narrow passage. The narrow confines and the stairs slowed them, but they were coming.

Link heaved himself back to his feet and stumbled down the hall, feeling dazed. He must have hit his head when falling down the stairs. One of his ankles hurt terribly too—twisted. But adrenaline kept him moving until, finally, he burst out onto the castle grounds through a hole in a wall.

The moon shone overhead, and everything was bathed in a red hue. Malice haze swirled around Link as he stumbled forward towards… where? He was near the back of the castle—there was no way down from here. Just a sheer cliff into the moat, far below.

He turned and saw the Guardians coming. Dozens of them. They poured out of the castle through windows and doorways, they flew through the air, and they climbed over spires and walls. Blue eyes, all focused on Link, preparing to fire.

He wavered, vision fuzzing, as he stared at his doom. And then a thought occurred to him. Why hadn't he thought of it before? In the haste and confusion, he hadn't even considered it. With trembling hands, Link pulled the Sheikah Slate from his belt, activating the map and finding the nearest Sheikah Shrine. He looked up at the oncoming Guardians as they prepared to fire, their eyes flashing.

Nothing happened.

No! He stared down at the Sheikah Slate with disbelieving eyes. He pressed it again, but still nothing happened. He couldn't teleport away. He was trapped.

Link looked up again and raised his shield, but it was too late. The nearest Guardian's lance of energy took him in the chest, sending him over the edge of the cliff. The Sheikah Slate spun away from him. He watched it disappear into the night with despair, even as he felt his own death approaching. He crashed down into the river below the castle.

Everything went black.

END OF PART TWO