The orange, cotton-like clouds of twilight began to darken as they filled with corrupted energy. The darkness filled the sky as magenta flames and purple smoke began to circle in the green fields. Mechanical machines that roamed the grasslands came crashing to a halt in the dirt, their spider-like legs collapsing as the malice escaped from their bodies, flying towards the large storm cloud building in the center of the kingdom's fields. The malice filled clouds began to compress. It wasn't long before a purple, sludge looking hoof formed; followed soon after by tusks. Eventually, an enormous boar-like creature had taken shape, its pink flaming mane illuminating the dark sky. With a violent rumble, the beast crashed to the ground, shaking even the castle sitting a distance away. It began to rear its head, its snout pointed towards the corrupted sky as it gave a fierce, deafening battle cry as it prepared to decimate anything in its newfound wake. However, the castle sized beast wasn't the only one who was preparing.
Landing in the same grassy field, a knight in a bright blue and white accented tunic formed from a descending ball of gold light. He drew his long sword from his gold and blue sheath, its blade sparkling with an ancient light. Its purple hilt shined in his hand as Link looked around for the demon, however his eyes filled with surprise once he turned around to see the wretched creation of malice now crushing anything and everything beneath its hooves. He watched as the beast turned its large, castle sized body towards him, staring the blue-eyed knight down with beady pink, glowing eyes. Calamity Ganon, who had given up on a mechanical body, now relied on its anger and hatred to form the abomination that he now had to face: the physical embodiment of malice.
While courage still filled his spirit, common sense had told him that this was a losing battle. His sword's limited power was beginning to wane as the blade had noticeably begun to flicker, and it seemed as though the boar seemed to be growing larger with each passing moment. He took a step back, worry suddenly filling his heart as he began to process the immensely powerful enemy that raged before him, lowering his sword as he racked his brain for any solution. However, before his heart was completely consumed, a light began to form in the dark sky just above him.
Link, you may not have recovered all your memories from before... however your courage will allow you to see this through, because courage can never be forgotten... take the bow of light! I from inside the best will guide you arrows. Fight Link... Fight, a voice began to echo as the light shone brighter. Link smiled as he looked up at the hovering power as it began to take the shape of a sharply edged bow. The weapon slowly began to descend the moment it fully formed. Link's face became stone faced once again as he brought his fingers to his lips. With a strong breath, he blew a whistle that could be heard even through the stormy winds of the field. It wasn't long before a white-maned, brown horse came into view, hurting its powerful legs as she dashed towards her owner. The moment the horse had stopped, Link jumped onto her back, at the same time reaching up to take the descending legendary bow in hand. With the bow now at the ready, Link faced the beast once again, his blue eyes filled with new found confidence as he stared directly into the viscous pink eyes.
I don't want to imagine how you feel, trapped inside of that foul creature and forced to continue fighting, he thought as he gripped the reins of the horse. But don't worry. I'll get you out. I promise.
With a kick to its sides, Link spurred the horse forward, galloping towards the now moving calamity. He rode his horse closer to the abomination until they arrived within shooting distance. However, he did not expect the tusked beast to attack as it did. A pink ball of condensed energy had begun to form between the tusks. The boar lowered its snout, aiming the ball directly at the oncoming knight. It felt as though gravity was increasing as a weight began to push down on the land, the weight of an enraged power now corrupting even the air around them. Link, feeling the effects, covered his mouth with his elbow as he furrowed his eyes, allowing a split second of wonder before realizing the scale of which the attack would be.
Jerking violently on the horse's reins, he veered it to the side, narrowly avoiding the explosive ray of bright, pure malice that shot from the boar's tusk. He watched the beam of fire, incinerating everything in its path, leaving the grasslands scorched and burning with pink flames that turned orange the longer they burned. Link frowned, taking note of the attack as he faced forward on his horse, now riding now next to the beast's mush-looking side. Looking down at the bow in hand as he rode, he lifted it up for inspection and frowned. It felt like any other bow; the only difference being that it felt a bit lighter than even a Swallows Bow. What was he supposed to do with this?
Furrowing his eyebrows, he looked towards the beast side. With instinct leading him on, he raised the bow towards the boar. Placing his ancient sword on his back before reaching towards the string. He had intended to pass it, heading towards the normal arrows that sat in his quiver, however, the moment his fingers passed the bowstring, a faint light appeared in the bow's center. With a quizzical look, he aimed his fingers towards the bowstring again. The closer his fingers became, the brighter the bow would glow. Curious, Link grabbed the string and pulled back. The moment the bow was at a full draw, a bright arrow formed at the ready, radiating mythical power. The bow no longer felt light as immense power coursed through Link's body. He stared down in awe, unable to comprehend the sudden immeasurable power in his grasp. He couldn't help but question how this could possibly be the lights weakened power. However, pushing the ever-growing list of questions to the back of his mind, his eyes moved from the glowing arrow tip to the side of the beast, which now had glowing targets revealing weak spots. He grinned as he properly began to take aim.
I wish you would've told me that, Zelda, Link said internally before releasing his arrow. The powerful light shot through the air before piercing the boar's body. The arrow burst apart upon impact, causing an injured grumble from the boar's throat. It began to move its legs, its hooves shaking the ground with each step as it turned its body and head, however the small horse was too fast for it to keep track of. Angered by the attack, and the continuous others that soon followed from the Bow of Light as Link continued to fire, the beast collected energy in its tusks before firing another continuous beam of malice against the lands once again.
The ground shuttered from the large-scale attack, almost throwing Link off the slightly stumbling horse. However, with immense guidance and incredible leg strength he stayed in the saddle. He looked around at the destruction, watching as the boar raised its head as it continued to fire the beam. It wasn't long before the attack slammed into a mountain that seemed to be split into two. Link could see the debris from the field he rode in, furrowing his eyes with concern. He had to finish this before anything else was hit, however the odds were beginning to turn against him.
Rain had begun to fall, and the horses' hooves started to slip on the grass. Link gripped onto the reins, trying to guide his partner through the rains, however the beast had begun to grumble once again. Finally able to lock on to its tiny attacker, its tusks began to light up once again as energy built up between them. With its snout locked on to the sliding horse and its rider, the beam was fired once again. In an act of quick thinking, Link jumped from the horse in a back flip. Time seemed to slow as he glanced at the oncoming beam, his hand quickly went towards the blue and silver shield on his back as he continued to fall towards the ground. The moment his toes touched the grass, time returned to normal as he brought the shield up just as the large beam impacted.
Steaming with heat, Link remained standing, his body seared with pain. He winced as he glanced down at his arms and legs. Black burns and welts had appeared, bringing him to his knees. With heavy breaths, Link looked around before spotting his horse still running around seemingly unscathed. With relief filling his mind, he glanced back up at the beast, which had now begun to stomp its way slowly towards him. The golden targets had disappeared, a possible sign that Link had hit them all. Gritting his teeth, he placed the ancient bow on his back before sliding the purple sword from its sheath. He attempted to push himself up in order to face the abomination once again, however his knees buckled once again.
Link... please, the voice urged him. You must fight on...
The sweet, yet urgent tones in the girl's voice resonated in his heart as rain water fell down his face. Pushing through the pain, ignoring his drenched clothing as he shook his head, flicking wet hair from his eyes, he stood to face the ferocious boar once again. The beast cried out once again, the air vibrating as it did so the energy began to build up once again. Link gritted his teeth, looking down at the shield, the red bird emblem scorched from the previous attack, debating if it could handle another of its kind. However, a different, much more emotionally distant voice began to speak: raise me skyward.
With just barely a glance in the sword's direction, Link raised the flickering blade high as he faced down the growing energy attack building between the boar's tusks. Blue energy began to fill the blade, from the tip down to the guard. With a pulse of light, the sword signaled its preparedness. The boar lowered its head, firing its deadly ray once again. Link brought the sword down, firing the blue energy from the sword as a circular disc of spiraling power flew from it. The attacks collided, the force sending the little Hylian away. Landing on his back, Link pushed himself up, facing down the beast once again. The boar raised its snout, preparing for another beam to be fired. He looked down at the sword, noticing its blade had dulled. Its energy had reached its limits.
"The Master Sword is empty, and the targets have disappeared," Link said into the winds, the crackling of fire burning the grass around him filling his ears as he watched the boar prepare its final attack. "I don't know what other options I have here, Zelda..."
The eye, the familiar sweet voice of Zelda rang once again. Above its head, the final shot...
Link furrowed his brow, squinting his eyes in order to see through the rain and fire. Sure enough, there sitting on top of the beast's upper back between its bright, pink flaming mane, a large orange light could barely be seen. Link closed his eyes, bringing his head down as he felt his knees begin to give way. It wasn't possible. In his condition, there was no way he could make the shot. However, as he began to fall, he could feel four different pressures on his back. One a simple hand, the other a webbed one, the third a feathered bunch, and the final felt like one gigantic finger.
Gathering the last of his strength, Link flung one of his legs forward, saving his fall by landing in a kneeling position. He placed his fist into the muddy ground as an orange aura began to circle around him. Winds began to course around his body, his wet hair now flinging in all directions. With a leap, he flew into the air, a powerful updraft forcing him skyward with his paraglider in hand.
Now high in the sky, with the beast still locked on preparing to fire its death ray, Link pulled the bow from his back. With a deep breath, and the last of his energy, he pulled the Bow of Light's string back as the light arrows began to form. His eyes locked onto the now visible eye on the beast back. It was grotesque, its yellow eye and dark red iris unnatural as it seemed to be staring directly back into Link's ocean blue ones. With a final breath, Link released the arrow, allowing time to continue once again.
In a golden streak, it flew downwards before striking the eye right in its center. In a flash of light, brighter than any of the other arrows had been, the beast reared its head in pain as its back now filled with the powerful light. The energy Calamity Ganon had built in its tusks shot up into the sky, piercing the clouds as it traveled higher, as if signaling the world of its destruction. The pig reared on its hindlegs with a powerful roar, its back continuing to glow with the light of the Goddess as its beam continuously fired into the air as Link landed on the mud, collapsing on his front as he splashed down. After what seemed like an eternity, the energy beam dissipated as the boar fell onto its belly, its body beginning to deform.
The light on the defeated beast's back continued to shine brighter before it condensed into a singular ball of light. The light rose from the boar's back, traveling away from its captor before landing just in front of its nose as it remained laid out on the ground. The light pulsed before expanding once again. Link watched from a distance, only able to push himself up into a sitting position, as the light formed a familiar figure.
The figure became much more vibrant as her long hair began to fall down her back, she was dressed in a white, yet dirty dress that went to her ankles which were protected only by the brown stringy sandals she wore on her soles. Fully formed, the girl opened her green eyes, looking up with confidence as she stared down the pink eyes of the Calamity's melting body. She raised her hand, her unearthly aura beginning to form around her once again as an even brighter light formed on the back of her hand, however the beast grumbled with resistance.
Abandoning its physical malice representation and rising from its remains, a dark cloud appeared as it began to take shape in the sky. A boar's head now took shape, its jaw now larger than ever and its eyes now shining yellow as its smokey body flew through the sky, giving off an ear-piercing wail. The dark clouds in the sky began to be sucked into the Calamity's cloudy body, the twilight sky now visible once again, however the orange light of twilight didn't last long.
The sky had begun to turn red as an unnatural bloodshot moon began to rise. Link's eyes filled with urgency as he tried to push himself up, realizing what the now cloudy Calamity was trying to do. A final Blood Moon; a final resort. If it was going to end here, it planned to take Zelda with him.
"Zelda!" Link cried out. He tried to push himself up, but only resulted in him stumbling forward, landing on his knees once again. He desperately looked around before noticing the Master Sword sitting in the mud near him, He reached over, grabbing the green strapped handle before pulling it in. Link raised the sword skyward once again, but its blade remained dull, the sword's energy completely depleted.
"No!" he yelled, looking helpless at Zelda's figure once again as the Calamity had begun to fly faster as it circled higher in the air. Everything began to burn, the embers of malice swirling around Zelda's figure signaling the beast's target.
With a final mighty roar, the cloudy menace dived back down towards the ground, its large jaw now opened wide ready to swallow the girl whole. However, Zelda simply raised her hand even higher as she looked into Calamity's yellow eyes. Energy began to build up in her hand, the emblem on the back of it shining bright. The beast flew in close, its jaws ready to snap, however just as its open mouth prepared to close down on Zelda's head, the power building up in her palm erupted. In a burst of unbelievable golden power, a dome formed around her, growing larger and larger as the golden light consumed everything in its wake. The Calamity tried to fly away, trying to escape the golden glow, however, the light soon consumed it.
Link watched in awe as the force of Zelda's power pushed past him. His hair flew back as the powerful winds pressed against his body. The embers of malice blew away, the grass laid flat, and any fires that remained burning instantly blew out simply from the wind pressure coming from Zelda's attack.
Standing just outside the dome's barrier, Zelda raised her open hand high before balling her fingers. At the speed of light, the castle sized dome shrank to the size of her fist. With a snap of Zelda's fingers, the ball dissipated into nothingness. The moment it disappeared, the blood red of the sky vanished, finally returning to its original twilight color. The blood moon disappeared, leaving nothing but the setting sun, and any remains of the physical malice body the Calamity had left behind had vanished as well.
Still sitting on his knees, Link sighed with relief as he relaxed his body. He looked down at the hilt of the purple winged sword in hand, now resting peacefully at his side.
"Thank you," Link whispered to the sword. In surprise, the handle gave the faintest of glows before going silent once again. After staring at it for a moment in admiration, he raised it up once again before lowering it into its sheath on his back.
Link took a deep breath before looking back towards where Zelda had sealed the beast. Sure enough, she remained standing in the same place, as if waiting for his arrival. Taking in another deep breath of air, Link prepared himself before attempting to push himself to his feet, pain searing through him as he did so. His muscles ached, and his welts burned, his clothes felt uncomfortable due to the blood, rain, and sweat. However, with every ounce of his being he walked forward, determined to greet her.
"I've been trying my best to keep watch over you, since the day you were put in the chamber," Zelda began to say as soon as Link came within earshot. "I watched every battle with the blights and any trial or hardship I could see. I wasn't there, but I tried to be with you as best I could. I always thought -no- always believed that you would come out on top against Ganon."
She turned, her hair flowing behind her as she faced Link with a perfect smile.
"May I ask, do you really remember me?"
Link stared blankly at her before giving a slight frown.
"I think I do remember something," he began. "I think I remember that I really hated that fake smile of yours."
Tears began to form in the girl's eyes as her breaths became uneven. She brought a hand to her mouth, gathering herself before swallowing, giving Link a much wider smile. Seeing Zelda's real smile, Link's frown turned into a grin of his own.
"Now that's a smile I remember," he said as his eyes began to droop. "Sorry Zelda, I wish I could talk more, but-"
"But what?" Zelda asked, her smile fading and her tone becoming more worried. "What's wrong, link? Oh no, look at you, I didn't realize how injured you are!"
"Yeah, I don't think I can stay awake... much..." Link began, however his eyes felt increasingly heavy before they came to a close. He felt his body lean back, the sound of Zelda calling his name beginning to fade in the darkness.
...