Chapter 14

When Link placed the Moon Pearl on the mirror, before they could even react, they were on the other side. They looked around them to find that they were standing alone in a church, but not the church they had just been in. It was decrepit and run down, clear that no one has worshiped within these walls in some time. Link couldn't quite explain it, but the whole place just felt...wrong.

"Outside...now!" a low, whispery voice called out to Link.

Link jolted, turning their head to either side trying to find the source of the mysterious voice.

"Hello? Who's there?" they asked.

"Pathetic. Don't you want to find your friend? Outside! Now!"

Without questioning further, Link quickly but carefully, walked outside.

As they exited the church, Link held out their hand above their eyes, expecting the sunlight to pierce through. However, the outside seemed unusually dark and cold. They lowered their hand to examine the realm around them. First at the reddish, orange sky spotted with ominous black clouds. In the center, where the sun should have been, rested a moon shaped like a skull, some sort of gray mist pouring from the eye and nose holes. Next, Link's eyes fell upon the tall, craggly mountains surrounding this once sacred place. Their peaks stretched long and tall, almost as if they were bars of a cage surrounding Link. Finally, Link surveyed the ground, where all the flora and fauna seemed to be in an odd twilight between life and death. Small animals had exposed rib cages with rotting flesh dripping off. Link gagged at the sight of this, almost vomiting in the process. The plant life appeared to be in a similar state as all the grass had become brown and dry, yet it clinged to life with the little light they were able to bask in.

"Are you done sightseeing? Don't you have a mission?" the voice called out to Link once again.

Link realized now that the voice seemed to come from nowhere, similar to how Zelda was able to communicate with them telepathically. Link drew their sword and took up a battle stance.

"Stupid child! That won't do you any good now". The voice remarked.

"Who are you?! What do you want with me!?" Link said while quickly turning their body, trying in vain to find this invisible entity.

"I am here to help you. Clearly you cannot fend for yourself in this world".

"Alright but who are you though!? What is your name!?" Link asked, still moving about ready to strike.

"I think you know. We've met before. But enough of this, you have a job to do and clearly no direction. Look to your right".

Link lowered their weapon and did as the voice said. Off in the distance Link spotted a palace, similar in silhouette to the Eastern Palace in Hyrule. But, like many things in this world, it was off. It was darker, like a towering monolith above the land.

"That is the Fortress of Darkness. There I sense multiple entities not of this realm. Perhaps one is your friend. Go there now and make haste. Time is of the essence".

Link began to make their way towards the fortress, scanning their head side to side, trying to make sense of this strange land.

"Admiring my kingdom?" the voice asked.

"This...this place used to be a holy realm, right?" Link asked.

"Yes, but the power of the Triforce caused it to become the wasteland you see now, a bastardization of the once flourishing Hyrule. I wish to see my kingdom whole again".

This remark drove Link into further confusion. This being that seemed to be helping them, was it a native to these lands? Was it a new friend or an old foe. The answers escaped Link...their sword, however, remembered.

"We are here" the voice said rather bluntly.

Link stopped just before the doorway to the fortress. They had been so lost in thought that they hardly noticed how much distance they'd traveled or for how long. They thought it may have been good that this voice had been guiding them. Perhaps this was a benevolent force. However, Link could not quite bring themselves to trust him totally. They hadn't noticed it until now but from the moment the voice began speaking to them, their grip on the Master Sword grew tighter and tighter. The voice had said that they'd met before, but when? An anxiety was welling up within Link to the point where they wanted to run. But from what? And could they possibly get away? This nameless fear began to sink itself within Link's heart.

The Dark Palace was, well, dark. But "Palace" didn't seem to be the right word for the structure. From a distance, the silhouette resembled the Eastern Palace but up close it didn't look that different from a silhouette. The entire building was a matted black with no reflective surface anywhere as if light went in but never bounced back into the eye. The shape was very blocky and cube like, following the same plans as the Eastern Palace, but much more simplified. The simple geometric nature of the palace oppressed the desolate rocky nature around it. An air of evil permeated the dark realm, but all that darkness seemed to concentrate here.

Link stepped into the rectangular doorway of the palace.

"Who goessssssss there!" A high pitched voice echoed through the blank walls".

Link could see nothing within the walls of the palace. Light had no home here.

"I...I'm here for my friend" Link replied with a nervous stutter.

"Issss she one of the bright beingsssss from the upper realm?" The screechy voice replied.

"I believe so...can you take me to her?"

"Are you really that stupid, kid?" The voice in Link's mind replied.

"Hmmmm" the creature replied from within the darkness "That sword...that shield...that bow...that innocence...I take it you're a heeeerrooo from the upper realm?"

Link was confused.

"You...how can you see me? It's so dark in here".

"Hehehehe! That'ssss the thing about darknesssss, once you let it into your sssssssoul it cccccceasssses to become a problem".

Link gulped.

"I wassss once like you. I came to the lower realm in sssssearch of adventure and richesssss. But the power of the realm changed me. I ssssee that you have not changed shape yet. Don't worry child, as ssssoon as you accept your fate in the dark realm, your body will match your heart and give you imenccce power...like me".

Link reached for their lantern on the side of their belt and went to light it.

"I'm not like you!" Link said as they lit the lantern.

As they did, they finally got a good look at the creature's face. It looked like some sort of hylian scorpion hybrid, with a thick red exoskeleton and pincers for a mouth. It's exoskeleton was coated in an oily sheen that glistened in the lantern light. It had six mangled up horns surrounding its head, creating a demonic looking crown. Just behind it, Link could see a long scorpion tail with a sharp barb at the end, twisting and flicking, ready to strike.

"Oh, you will be"

The monster's stinger stabbed its way towards Link. The hylian teen managed to jump out of the way relatively unharmed, but the shock caused them to drop their lantern. Link raised their sword, trying their best to adjust their eyes to this low light. In the dim, Link could just barely make out the red blur of the monster rushing past them. They began to swipe wildly at the air, hoping that one of the blows would make contact with this insectoid creature.

"Blind slashing will get you nowhere!" the voice chimed in "Whatever light is in here is being oppressed by the dark soul of this beast! The princess is necessary to my plan, vanquish this creature at once!"

Link narrowed their eyes, focusing on the slowing dulling light of the lantern.

It's coming after me, Link thought. If I get closer to the light, I'll be able to see it better. But I can't make it too obvious.

Forming a plan, Link began pretending to stumble towards where the lantern lay on the dark ground.

"How pattttthhhhhhetic! The heeeeeeeero can't even sssssstand in ptch darknesssssss!" The monster screamed.

To anyone able to see, Link looked like a clumsy idiot, but each move was calculated. The sloshed ever so closer to the precious lantern, still swiping at the air to make the performance more believable. Finally, they found themselves in a space where they had decent light, and could now see the monster fairly well.

Finally, Link could see the monster charging after them head first. They held the Master Sword outwards, preparing for the monster to run into it.

Link closed their eyes as they felt their blade pierce through something hard in front of them. They opened their eyes to see the creature now convulsing as the sword had punctured through its head. The beast attempted to say something in its last moments, but all that came out of its mouth was a slimy black substance. The beast slid off the sword and hit the ground with a loud crunch as it's chitinous exoskeleton cracked against the hard stone floor.

Before Link could even clean off their sword, seven dancing lights swirled around them, illuminating this once dark palace.

"Thank you, Link," a delicate voice whispered.

"Who-who are you?" Link asked.

"We are the seven maidens Aganihm sacrificed to open a doorway to this dark world" another voice answered.

"Our spirits were trapped here, kept imprisoned by the darkness within the Helmasaur's heart" a third voice replied.

"But with its defeat, we are free," the fourth maiden added.

"But, what about Zelda? Is she here too?" Link inquired.

"The one you seek walks through this world, but as to where, we do not know" informed the fifth maiden.

"Go now to the Skull Woods. It was once a holy place before Ganon's influence. It now houses the last bit of divine magic in this realm" added the sixth maiden.

"May the goddesses protect you on your journey, hero of legend" stated the final maiden.

The spirits of the seven maidens then swirled around Link once again, filling the once dark temple with a dazzling display of color and light, before they eventually disappeared, leaving Link behind in the darkness once again.

Link stopped for a moment to catch their breath, taking in the moment.

"Quit wasting time! Get to the Skull Woods now!" the familiar voice rang out in their head.

"Wait! Not just yet! What are you and what do you want from me?" Link demanded.

"I told you, I want the same thing you want. I need you to find the Princess so that my destiny can finally be fulfilled!"

Link thought about this for a moment before realizing that they'd heard this voice before...in a dream. There was only one other being in Hyrule who would be after Zelda in this dark realm. Link didn't want to say it, but they knew exactly who this voice talking to them telepathically was.

"You're...Ganon"