*It lacked a respiratory system like most of the beings inhabiting this land, true. But a part of the being- for all its wicked, terrible powers- was feeling genuinely fatigued by the level of fury the giant was able to put forth towards making good on its threats. They were not exactly irreplaceable, to be sure; time and some particularly-powerful magic could- and had in the past- replenished such losses suffered by its minions. But even for a being like Majora, noticing literally every survivor from its force assembled to crush Ikana once and for all to be smashed, mangled, dismembered and otherwise lying dead on the field, the site of its greatest triumph in centuries, gave the demon at least some pause. The distant-but-audible roars of its fellows however, made the fact that this was no longer any mere game very apparent to it. Damned human-loving dolts!

Even without the presence of its three companions, the fourth giant gave a great wailing roar as it prepared to turn its assault onto the master instead of its puppets. "Alright, you damned fool." Majora vocalized, coiling its entire being back, aimed at the giant's rapidly-closing midsection to strike as though it were a cobra. "Sycophant for that uppity wench?! You've had this coming for ages!"*

All of her star charts, all of her rituals, all of her prayers had been done correctly. She had double- triple- quadruple-checked all of them, even going so far as to get input from Lord Ugayafukiaezu's personal astronomer about the positions of the constellations. But for a certain diviner, her readings about the fate of the infant princess were most...unusual, to say the least.

"This...should be impossible!" she protested. "From the stars' positions, to my readings- all of it!"

"Why is that?" inquired one of the junior diviners.

"Look at these charts! Destinies are tied together all the time! But with two people?!"

"Oh. That...is impossible. Or, it should be, anyway."

"And these constellations! Since when are the Wolf and Boar facing opposite each other?"

"I've never heard of that. Hell, even if grandmother had, she would have mentioned it- it should be impossible, after all."

"My point exactly."

Then again, had the diviners the inclination or authority to look for it, the key to the mystery lay in a very unassuming place. Namely, the golden, triangular mark on the left hand of the Ugayafukiaezu's infant daughter, lying under her index finger. Said two other individuals and two other individuals alone in the world possessed such marks.

Precisely as his lady had told him, for a certain war god (or at least, being revered as one by the people of this world), traveling between worlds, even by only projecting one's spirit, is something of an uncertain affair. After bidding his apprentice and his endangered world farewell, he'd actually found himself sequestered away in a cave once he'd awakened, his own survival instincts certainly moving his body to a place where it would not be molested.

Then again, once he'd emerged from the cave, there were a number of troubling things he'd noticed about the world in his absence, not least of which were the dried, massive pools of some liquid or another intermittently dotting the landscape. He'd set foot on enough battlefields- suffered enough wounds- tasted that telltale coppery scent to not recognize it. Nonetheless, in all his years, there was still something...unusual about the substance that would have prevented him from identifying it immediately as blood.

Of course, there were other occasions which required considerably less deductive reasoning on his part- despite how the people revered him, he was neither omniscient nor omnipotent- until a certain point following his spirit's return from the faraway world, he'd had only his lady's dire warning about the return of his ancient nemesis.

"Did you hear about Ikana?" replied a certain postman, still jogging in place. "Poor bastards. From what the refugees to the city were saying, they were preparing to fight like a wounded, cornered beast, but realistically...? They didn't stand a chance."

Needless to say, it was a demoralizing shock to even the man most regarded as utterly unflappable, but the sequence of events was no great mystery to decipher- his archenemy- the ancient, demonic general of terrifying power- had its zealot followers somehow weaken the seal he and his lady had placed upon its prison centuries ago, mustered once again its unholy legions for a campaign of vengeance against the world that had rejected its "generous" offer to be its deity ages ago.

Swearing to himself, without another word, over the letter carrier's protests, he snatched a roll of parchment from his bag, and, lacking any and all ink, nicked the tip of his finger with his knife before scribbling a note in his own blood. After a good half a minute of the postman hovering around him in concern, he pulled a bottle of medicinal potion from his belt, handing off the note to the courier. "I'm going into the city. Get this to the king of the swamplands, even if it kills you." he commanded. "It's a matter of the highest urgency."

"Understood, sir. But you know how those swamp dwellers are-"

"Show them the goddess' seal and mention who it's from; they'll let you pass."

"At once!"

**Having his marching orders, the postman set out for the swamp and its reclusive ruler at a brisk pace. The legendary hero, was also given to an increasing anxiety as he'd noticed the deep red splotches on the ground becoming more and more common as the city came into focus on the horizon. Damnnit, was he already too late? Had the bloodletting begun in earnest, he wondered to himself? His lady had already mentioned the demon's return- no, he'd been on enough battlefields to notice the telltale signs- no broken bodies piled like cordwood, no desolated, ravaged countryside- he mouthed a thanks to the goddess for small favors, at least.

The people of the land, he adored, but for all of his veneration, he genuinely did not care for the hero's welcome that awaited his reappearance after any period of time. He was on an urgent, crucial mission for his lady and he made this fact clear to the travelers, traders and laborers outside the city. However, a conversation with a guard at the city gates saw him catch wind of a series of small earthquakes the other night, said guard claiming the epicenter to be somewhere to the south of the city center.

Following his hunter's instinct south, he noticed that the crimson splotches dotting the landscape became more and more apparent along the path to the great temple complex due south of the city center. Naturally following the droplets of blood to the ancient temple, the hero located the distressing situation to which he was assigned. In the temple's sanctum, in addition to their companion- a worried-looking imp-like creature- three of the land's guardian deities stood watch over their fellow resting in the sacred spring, moaning and roaring weakly, the obvious culprit the purple, sickly-looking wound on its upper abdomen, the goddess humming that very peculiar song as she tended to the giant's wound.

Looking up, her expression, while still very troubled, was nonetheless heartened. "Oh, thank goodness! You've returned!" she remarked.

Approaching his old brother-in-arms, the hero approached the giant for a closer look at his wound, being made slightly sick at the sheer toxic darkness emanating from it. He swore to himself. "And not a moment too soon. How-?"

One of the trio bellowed mournfully, gesturing in the direction of the canyon. "Ikana...we...were...too late." the hero translated. "Our friend...fight."

Stomping the marble in impotent frustration, he cursed to himself once again. "So the rumors were true?! Damn!"

Momentarily retreating from the giant's wound, the goddess took notice of her champion and his distress. "What's the point? What's the point of having all this power if I'm not here to protect the people?!"

Clasping his cheek in her hand, the goddess gave him a sorrowful smile. "No, you've done nothing wrong, my champion." she insisted sadly. "You merely followed my command. If anyone, the fault lies with me."

"I should have ended this ages ago- instead of just sealing it in that damnable tower."

"No, you acted correctly there, as well The fiend had spread its wicked tentacles into the souls- indeed, the very life force- of far too many. It would have taken far too many lives."

Waddling up to what would have otherwise been a rather intimate moment, the imp gazed up at the war god in awe. "Yeah, Mr. Hero!" he remarked reverently. "You've always said you're here to protect the people, not hurt them!"

While nonetheless having the endorsement of two of his closest companions for his past actions, the grizzled warrior clenched his fist in rage. Without a further word said, everyone knew what his next actions would- and would necessarily- entail.

Another of the giants gestured in the direction of the swamp with a somewhat belligerent bellow. "The...demon...march...to the swamp..." the goddess translated. "Another army..."**

"Then that's where I will go as well." he said resolutely.

"Oh, I implore you, my champion!" begged the goddess. "At least allow yourself some rest first-"

Amid the audible screams of terror from the populace and sounds of destruction, there suddenly occurred a great earthquake. A number of recurring aftershocks told all gathered that this was no natural happening, but an indication of some great beast or another. "I sense...incredible power and darkness! Coming from the city!" warned the goddess. "All of you, remain on your guard!"

Needless to say, one of the giants, sensing their nemesis' army as well, roared with rage before the hero spoke up. "Wait." he instructed. "Return to the swamp, mountain, and ocean. Your peoples need you. I'll deal with these vermin."