Chapter 8
The door of the Desert Palace opened slowly and with a loud, drawn out creek as the sand in the hinges scraped across the metal. Through the portal stepped Link, awake and refreshed. The teen Hylian raised their lantern as they slithered into the temple. They had come in search of the Pendant of Power, but all they found was an empty space, the floor covered wall to wall with sand. Sand, sand, and more sand. Appropriate for a Desert Palace, but Link had become sick of the barren sight. If only there was a small patch of grass or even some dirt, then Link could have a small break from this endless sea of tan.
Link stepped further into the temple, praying to the three goddesses that they wouldn't have to dig for the pendant. They stepped into the center of the room and placed their hand on the ground, swiping away the particles in an attempt to uncover something, anything, that would lead to the pendant.
Just then, Link began to feel something, a soft vibration coming from under the ground. They pressed their palm down, feeling the rumbling grow more and more violent with each passing second, as if something was moving down there, getting closer and closer until finally…
BOOM!
A massive insectoid creature burst from the ground, causing Link to stumble backwards and fall on their rear. Rock particles rained down on them as they strained their eyes to get a closer look at this monster. It looked like an overgrown centipede, with a thick green exoskeleton, hundreds of legs squirming and contorting in every direction. It's head featured two bulbus, sectional eyes, along with deadly pincers. The creature roared an unnatural roar, high pitched and shaky, yet terrifying nonetheless. Link had heard legends of this creature, Demon of the Desert, the Lanmola!
The Lanmola lunged towards Link, narrowly missing them as they tumbled out of the monster's path. The behemoth then spiraled up out of the soil, crawling through the air just as easily as it could dig through dirt. It then attempted another jab in Link's direction. Link managed to only narrowly avoid it this time, flopping on their stomach, scraping their chin on the rough floor.
The Lanmola had now crawled back under ground, yet the vibration from the floor let link know that it was still there, and still after them. Before it could resurface, Link pulled out their Sheikah bow and readied an arrow. They then surveyed the area, trying to find the exact spot that the brutish bug would arise from. Unfortunately, Link's mind was not quick enough and the fiend emerged from the ground underneath them, knocking the young archer into the air.
Whilst airborne, Link attempted to strike the desert demon with an arrow, but it was no use as they couldn't get the missile in the bow before hitting the ground. The Lanmola cried out its devilish cry once again, as if it knew that it was about to be victorious in slaying Hyrule's hero. Link once again tried to fire an arrow at the beast, but the constant rumbling of the ground made it hard to keep a steady aim and they ended up missing entirely. The Lanmola then charged towards Link as they were fiddling with their bow, trying in vain to get it to work for them. It felt as if a cannonball struck Link right in the chest and they were knocked into the wall behind them, the air escaping their lunges as they made impact. The bow had now been knocked clean out of Link's hand. Thinking quick, Link then drew their sword. It would be hard to hit a moving target with such a short range weapon, but at this point they had no other option.
The monster began to rush towards Link, twitching it's pincers, preparing for the final attack. Link then jumped up in the air, eliminating the chances of the shaking ground causing them to miss again, and swiped their sword at the devilish incest, slicing it's head off in one final blow.
The head and body continued to twitch as the life began to drain from the monster. Finally, the wriggling ceased and the Demon of the Desert no longer posed a threat. A few seconds of silence followed before the ground began to shake again. Link's heart began to race as they anticipated another fierce battle. Instead, however, they were met with a pedestal rising from the ground. And on top rested the Pendant of Power. Link took it and placed it in his bag along with the Pendant of Courage. Two down, one to go. Now, it was off to the Tower of Hera.