Chapter 10

Link groaned as they lifted their body over the cliff of Death Mountain. The climb up had been far more physically taxing than the walk through the desert, yet Link did not feel as tired and hopeless. It was as if, for now at least, a heavy cloak of misery had been lifted from their shoulders, and they could now proceed unencumbered.

Link lied down on the cliff, their chest rising and falling as they catch their breath. They then turned their head to the side to look upon the mighty Tower of Hera. This was it, atop this tower resided the last pendant, the Pendant of Wisdom. Scanning up and down the stone structure, Link began to notice something odd. There were strange punctures in the stone that spiraled upwards around the tower. The building was old, so some surface damage was to be expected. But all of these seemed recent, as if whatever did this was still around, skulking in the shadows of the mountain, waiting to attack.

SCREEEEEEEEEEE!

Link jolted up, their heart pounding and their body shaking. They looked up the tower and noticed that some thing was crawling it's way to the top. It looked sort of like the Lanmola that they'd just fought in the Desert Palace, but much bigger. It had a rigid yellow exoskeleton, hundreds of insectoid legs, and two bulging red eyes. Link had heard tale of this creature, but they didn't think it was real. Or, at least, they hoped that it wasn't real. This was the devil of Death Mountain, the Moldorm.

Just crawling up and down the tower caused parts of it to collapse, cascading to the ground below. If it wasn't stopped soon, the whole tower would come down and threaten the lives of the Hylians below. Link had to put a stop to it, but the only way to get to it was by climbing the tower. Time was of the essence, there was not a second to lose. This was it. Before they knew it, Link was at the entrance. A large rock fell over the doorway, sealing them inside. No turning back now. They rushed up the staircase, leaping over chasms, dodging falling debris, and bravely enduring all of the danger laid out before them.

Finally, they'd reached the top, where the Moldorm was wreaking it's havok. It turned to look at the small child. Could this be the being if its downfall or it's next meal? Link unsheathed their sword and readied themselves.

"Just another bug" They said calmly before rushing in to attack the beast.

The Moldorm quickly scuttled at Link, hunger in its eyes, wriggling it's sectional body unnaturally. Link raised their sword far above their head and struck the creature right between it's disgusting red eyes. But it was all for not as the blade merely bounced off the monster's thick outer shell. This action caused Link to be thrown off balance. The Moldorm then swung it's centipede like body, delivering a massive blow to Link's chest. Link was nearly thrown off the edge of the tower. Luckily, they managed to catch themselves just before going over the edge. Link was now hanging onto the structure with one hand, their sword in the other, the sharp cliffs of Death Mountain below them, the bloodthirsty leviathan above them, clinging to life by a spider's thread.

Link mustered up all of the power, courage, and wisdom within their very soul and swung themselves back on top of the tower. The Moldorm continued to thrash about violently and the sacred tower's supports began to give way. Attacking it's head wouldn't work, nor would any of the parts covered by it's natural armor. There had to be some part of it that could be hurt. The Moldorm was no longer paying any attention to Link, likely assuming that they'd fallen to their death. It was then that Link noticed that the very end of the creature's tail had been exposed. Whether this was normal for the moldorm or it had been hurt in some way didn't matter, what mattered was that is was an easily exploitable weakness. Everything in this world, from the largest Lionells of the north to the tiny Tektites of the south, had a weakness. It was all a matter of having the wisdom to know what needed to be done, the power to take action, and the courage to do what's right.

Link picked up a small rock and tossed it at the beast. While it bounced of it's thick hide, this did manage to get the Moldorm's attention.

"Hey! I'm still here! Why don't you try doing that again you overgrown octorok!" Link shouted at the monster, knowing full well that it likely couldn't understand them.

The Moldorm once again began speeding towards Link, preparing to strike them with it's massive body. Before the monster could bash into their body, Link ducked below and just when it's exposed tail was above their head thrusted their sword upwards, piercing the fleshy orb at the end of its body. The Moldorm let out one final high pitched screech before crumbling to the ground far below the Tower of Hera.

Link stopped to catch their breath. The tower was safe for now, but they still needed the Pendant of Wisdom. They hoped that the Moldorm hadn't eaten it, as there was no way they were going to get it after that. Suddenly, Link noticed a bright blue light glowing from underneath some rubble. Link lifted the rocks to find the last pendant, the Pendant of Wisdom. Was it there the whole time? Or was it waiting for one to prove their own wisdom and defeat the beast with mind over body? The answers escaped Link, but what they did know was that they'd gotten all three pendants. All they needed now was the Master Sword. They stared off in the distance at Hyrule castle, looming in the horizon.

"Zelda, I'm almost there. Just hold out a little longer. I can do this".

Princess Zelda sat next to the lake behind the sanctuary, peacefully and softly singing the song that had been passed down through the royal family, a lullaby that brought peace to those who heard it's divine melody. Part way through her singing, a small squirrel scurried up beside her.

"Oh, hello".

The creature cocked its head to one side, staring at the princess.

"Are you lost?" Zelda asked.
The squirrel then looked over at the lake, and in a move that confused Zelda, jumped right in.

"Oh no! Don't do that!"

Zelda knelt over the water, trying to find the poor creature so that she could keep it from drowning. As she looked down, however, something was strange. She couldn't see her reflection on the water's surface. In fact, she couldn't see anything, it was just a dark void.

Just then, a hand splashed out from under the water and pulled Zelda underneath, dragging her whole body into the void in a matter of seconds. The Princess then founder herself being pulled out of a fountain in the courtyard of Hyrule Castle where she met eyes with the man who had reached through space to grab her. He wore long robes with the Sheikah eye symbol adorning the cloth. Around his head was a scarlet sorcerers head wrap, covering his whole face save for his bright red eyes.

"I finally have you." Aganihm said in a low booming voice.

"You are a clever girl, you should've known that you couldn't hide from me forever".

Two guards then came from behind Zelda and apprehended her.

"Wh...why are you doing this? My family gave you everything! You had everything you ever wanted!" screamed the Princess.

"Your family? Your family!? Girl, your family sits atop a throne of deceit! They have failed this land for generations with no consequences! And why? Because you've fooled Hyrule into thinking that you all are somehow blood related to the mortal reincarnation of the Goddess Hylia! And what proof do you have of this!? Legends! All you have are legends of how the princesses of your family, with their holy blood have saved them all so long ago that no one can even remember it! You are not special, you are not gods! You are nothing but pretenders to the throne!"

"So you're going to bring back Ganon? The demon king?"

"Ganon is the only one who truly deserves to rule. He has obtained all three pieces of the Triforce! That should make him the ruler of this land alone. He has earned dominion over this land! Ganon has actual power! All you have is your silly little stories. Ganon was sealed away by your family because they knew that he was the true ruler and that as long as he remained in this world that the throne would belong to him. So they gathered their wisemen, their sheep, and banished our true king into the realm of shadows! I am merely returning this land to its rightful owner!"

"You're wrong! Ganon is using you! Can't you see that?"

"And what of your little pink haired pet? Are you not using them to keep your power? Are you not stringing them along to do your bidding? Tell me, girl, how is what you're doing any different from what Ganon is doing? You know that they're only on this quest for the same reason I am on mine, honor and a prestigious life after our masters obtain their goals".

"Link is nothing like you! If the Triforce were right in front of them they would use it only for good because there is not a single selfish bone in their body!"

Aganihm slammed his fist onto the stone wall next to it, cracking it.

"Link is the Hylian embodiment of failure and wasted potential! That child comes from a long line of Knights of Hyrule! With the advantages laid out to them they should be head of the royal guard by now! Even before their mothers died they were such a crybaby, unable to even lift a sword! I offered to take them under my wing and train them where their mothers left off, but they were too much of an emotional wreck to take my offer! So what did they do!? Nothing! They spent the rest of their life sitting in that shack moping around about how much of a pathetic waste of space they are! That child is not a hero, they're just your broken toy that you're still trying to play with!"

Tears welled up in Zelda's eyes.

"You're wrong...they're not like that...they...they…"

Aganhim removed his fist from the wall.

"They could've been right here by my side. Third in command under Ganon's rule. But they were too weak. I suppose killing Lavenna and Mitsuko was just a waste of effort".

"You! You monster! How could you!?"

"They couldn't see where I was coming from and would only be a hindrance. So I put them out of their misery. Everything was according to his plan".

Zelda thrashed about, attempting to free herself from the guards.

"You'll pay for this Aganihm! You'll never win!" she shouted.

"I don't even know why I thought you'd understand. Take her way! Prepare her for the sacrifice".

The guards effortlessly dragged Princess Zelda out of the room and to the castle dungeon. Soon, the rightful king would once again grace these lands. The only obstacle now standing between Aganihm and his goals was a lost, broken, lonely Hylian child in a green hat.