Labrynna, two weeks ago
Just days before, Labrynna lost her queen while under Imperial attack. In that fall, her prince returned and rose to the occasion, leading the risky attack that would not just give Labrynna the victory, but fully inspire the rest of the world that the Imperials are beatable. Just a few hours ago, a young prince assembled the largest fighting force in history to unleash against Hyrule's ruling army. As amazing as it was, a prince cannot lead an army of that size. That is the job of a king, and a king of Labrynna shall lead the world against Vaati.
"Raphael Dmitri Ambi the Second, do you pledge to protect and lead Labrynna as a just man, to elevate it to greatness rather than ruin, to rule it alongside the teachings of the gods?"
Ralph, kneeling at the foot of the Great Maku Tree, looks at the faced plant and answers it with a nod. "I pledge myself to it."
The Maku Tree smiles. "Very well. Oracle of Seasons, do you accept his pledge? If so, lay down the Rod of Seasons in front of him."
Din steps up to Ralph, dropping her rod in front of the prince. As she rises up, she faces the prince and winks at him. Ralph, used not only to Din's mannerisms but being a retired womanizer himself, smiles and plays along with Din's flirtatious side. Holodrum's Oracle turns to the Maku Tree, gesturing towards the prince. "Holodrum accepts Prince Ralph as her king."
"Oracle of Ages, if you accept his pledge, place before him the Harp of Ages."
Next walks up Nayru, placing the harp down with much more decorum. She rises with a smile before turning to the Maku Tree. "Labrynna accepts Prince Ralph as the next king."
"Lastly, the Book of Secrets. Lady Farore, if you may." Ralph spots the smallest of the Oracle, a child-size lady with as much green on her as there are leaves on the Maku Tree. Being rooted in Labrynna, Ralph sees Nayru on a near-daily basis. Din has her duties in Holodrum but she does visit the castle often. Farore, however, is the recluse of the Oracles. Being the Oracle of Secrets, she protects the greatest secrets not just of Ralph's kingdom but of the world. Her seclusion helps to protect such knowledge, yet when she visits the kingdom it is a joyous occasion.
She sets the book (a symbolic imitation of the book actually) between the harp and the rod and turns to the Maku Tree. "Maku Tree, I dub Prince Ralph the protector of my secrets."
"Very well. Prince Raphael, I now dub thee King Raphael II, King of Labrynna and Holodrum. You may now rise." Ralph rises, standing to the applause of the three Oracles. He takes the book, harp, and rod in his arms and hands them to their respective beings. As he hands the Harp of Ages to Nayru, a spark ignites in his head. Maybe it is just being in the moment or maybe it is the way fate should be, Ralph plans to seize the opportunity.
He turns to the Maku Tree. "Thank you for the quick coronation, Lady Maku. But...can I ask you one more thing?"
The Maku Tree quizzically looks at the king then follows his mind to the Oracle of Ages. She smiles knowingly, closing her eyes in happiness. "That's not up to me, Your Majesty."
Nayru blinks in confusion. "Ralph, what is it that you are thinking?"
Ralph turns back to Nayru. He takes both her hands in his and steps close to her. "Become the Queen of Labrynna."
Darunia Town, Ralph
The twilight hour clouds Hyrule. The world silently mourns the hundreds wiped by the Triforce two nights ago. Their souls ripped by divine power, leaving nothing behind. No bodies to bury, no belongings, if they were alive when the wish was made, all traces of their existence were erased.
Link and Zelda were lucky to be able to bury Impa and Spryte. Yesterday they held a service for the Sheikah and fairy, an emotional one for five of the six rebels that remain in the town. One decided to not attend, as he had his own dead to cremate.
As fire begins to crackle on the wooden pyre, King Raphael Ambi II of Holodrum and Labrynna sets the body of Din, his Oracle of Seasons, on it beside his longtime companion Moosh. After arranging her gently on the pyre, Ralph steps back. He didn't wrap them, instead preserving them with magic until he was ready for their final rites. Their wounds were mended by Oren, though it took some time for her to repair dead tissue. Nevertheless, besides her tattered clothing, Moosh and Din's appearance are as Ralph last saw them before the battle of Rauru.
He points his fingers at the pyre, ready to engulf it in flames, yet a momentary lapse in his mind stops him. He sighs as his hand drops. "I guess I should say something before I incinerate you, huh?" Something within tells him Din would tell him that if he doesn't she'll haunt him for the rest of his days at the worst of times. "Alright, well… I better deliver."
Ralph turns towards the inner city, where his friends occupy themselves. It has been two days, and the six of them have not talked about the next move. How could they? When the fighting was over, Zelda stood tall while Vaati laid on his back. She had him beat, they had won. But for the other five, Link, Hilda, Ravio, Oren, and Ralph, it was their weakness that forced Zelda to surrender the Triforce of Wisdom. It infuriates him as a human that she chose to save them over killing the Wind Mage right then and there, but as royalty himself he understands. When Veran faced him in Nayru's body, he too hesitated to attack in fear of permanently hurting Nayru. But still...if they had stayed away and not tried to help Zelda, it would be over. The world would have been said, the Imperials defeated.
"Our hope was founded. Zelda beat Vaati. Yet, because her heart is...admirably different from my own, she gave up Wisdom to save us. We won the battle, but he won the war...well Zelda is convinced something else happened. The facts are present around me: Link, Ganondorf, us Sages, we're all that's left. The Resistance, all their allies, they're gone...but as for the citizens of our home, thankfully they're alive. Only the soldiers were taken, which...is better than the alternative, I guess."
Ralph lowers himself to the ground, wrapping his arms around his legs, his blue eyes drawn to the flickering flames. He keeps them low, away from the two corpses. "Vaati has given us seven days. Tonight is the second night. I don't know what we are going to do in the remaining five. We are lost. We are powerless. We are afraid. It hurts to even admit that we don't know what to do. With the Triforce at his disposal, Vaati will beat Zelda and Ganondorf easily. If they fall, what chance do we have? I do not think Link has a chance, and the heroes have faced similar adversities in the past."
"If there is a way to beat Vaati at the state he's in, I will do anything and everything to find it. My main target is not him, however. I want Veran. She took Nayru's body and made it her plaything, yet worse is that she uses Nayru's abilities of time manipulation. The only person who can fight that is Zelda, but this is my fight. Not because I am Labrynnian and Veran once terrorized my land, but because it was my ancestor, the first King Ralph, that stood against her to save his friend, the Oracle of Ages of the era. I have my own to save. So...even if it costs me my life, Din, Moosh, I will avenge you both. I will save Nayru. I will kill Veran." Ralph snaps his fingers and the flames go wild on the pyre. He stays seated as they dance and engulf the bear and the Oracle of Seasons. His eyes coat themselves with the orange and yellow hues not just from the flames in front of him, but of the twilight in the sky.
It is in this moment that Ralph forms an idea. No one is unbeatable, even if they're invincible. If he wants to beat Veran and save Nayru, he must overcome her time abilities or, the better option, expel Veran from Nayru without harming the Oracle. He will not find the answers in Hyrule, not anymore. "Din, in order to save Nayru, I must go to Farore."
Midna
"Little sister," Zant says softly, "do you remember the nickname I gave you when we were children?"
"You called me 'little wolf.'"
"Indeed I did. When I was a child, back in the Twilight Realm, our grandmother told me a story. That one day, when the worlds of light and shadows begin to merge, a wolf will emerge. That wolf will either unite both sides forever or keep both sides of the coin separated for the rest of time. It is an interesting tale...yet it is in this moment it comes true." Pressing the side of his collar to collapse the mask, Zant turns around to face Midna. He holds up the third shard of the mirror. "With these three pieces, we decide the fate of how out two worlds interact. I wish to rule the shadows while serving the king of the light, while you wish to liberate the light and have some purpose for the shadows. I do not care to know your desire. But I wish to know your resolve. Could you kill me, little sister, for this little shard? Do you have it in you to end your brother's life just to return home?"
The first sensation she feels is her head exploding. Like she was slammed forcefully into a wall, the sensation within her skull comes back and forth like a pendulum, her head ringing like a grandfather's clock. She could barely move, the headache immobilizing her. However, even with its severity, the headache is nothing to the shooting pain in Midna's abdomen.
"And that is why, Midna, I need you. Not just for me, but for our people. I need your power. Lend it to me."
"...No. I will never betray Hyrule. I will never betray Auru. I will never betray Mother's wishes."
"Very well." Zant telekinetically raises Midna's sword, sending it towards her abdomen. Midna cries out as the sword impales her, but it falls on deaf ears as Zant walks toward the open door.
Memories flash in her head, scrambled but distinct enough to tell a story. Midna reaches down to her lower torso, feeling a thin scar vertically lining her body. The pain on her head and abdomen lessens to some degree, enough for Midna to roll on the surface she lays on. As she gets on her belly, she opens her eyes for the first time in what seems like centuries. Darkness surrounds her like a butterfly in a cocoon. At first, she believes it to be her eyesight adjusting to being exposed for the first time in...some time, yet as time passes, she comes to the conclusion that wherever she is, it is made to be dark. Since her headache hadn't totally subsided (slightly amplified with her eyes receiving the little light provided), Midna closes her eyes again.
"No one may enter until someone's blood is presented to the door. Only then will the seal break."
"Fine by me." Quick as a stroke of lightning, Midna's hair forms a large tendril and zips towards Zant. Despite being caught off guard, Zant dodges perfectly at the last second by moving his shoulder. A moment later, he would have been skewered. As Midna's hair retreats, he stands in place, deciding not to engage her. "Impressive. The abilities you had as an imp really have improved in your normal form. You can thank me for that."
"Like hell I will." Midna forms a ball of light in her hands and throws it at Zant. He brandishes one of his scimitars and swipes the ball towards a wall. Once again he decides not to engage Midna.
"Seems you have a grip on the powers of the Light Sage. I guess which path you will take as the wolf is chosen. You seek to unite. Light and shadow, perfectly balanced as all things should be." Zant's mask recovers his head, and he reveals the second of the twin scimitars. "I cannot allow that, sister. I do not wish to kill you either. I want you to see our homeworld, to rule it with me. We shall reclaim the birthright our mother took from us."
"How is that so, Zant? What makes you think I care about ruling? Our mother had a reason to run, a reason to trust me with her knowledge, a reason to set me on this journey instead of you. I will find that reason. As for me and you, you are not my brother. Despite all he did to me those years ago, the Zant Twilight I loved died in the fires of Rauru Town eight years ago. You are just a ghost that I must put to rest." She launches a pair of tendrils at Zant this time, which the man blocks with both swords easily. He casts them aside, and for the third time, Zant doesn't engage Midna. This time, it enrages Midna. "Why do you stand there? Fight me!"
Zant doesn't have an answer. He just chuckles.
She hears a sound, a first in the quiet darkness. She opens her eyes again, her sight more adjusted to the darkness. Her vision in the dark, thanks to her Twili blood, is more natural than it is in light, so her surroundings are quite visible. She takes note of her surroundings, ignoring the sound that she determines is distant to pay attention to.
She is in a prison cell, large enough for four people maximum. There is only a bed for furnishing and a...place for ridding of waste. She turns away from that corner and looks at the walls. She sits with her back to one, and it is the smoothest wall she's ever been upon. The others are just as sleek and are just as black. Matter of fact, everything she can see is black. Black bed, black floor, black walls, black bars, blue light...wait, blue light? Midna focuses on the light on the wall outside the cell, noticing the highlights glow on the wall. There is a pattern to them, though while foreign to Midna, she swears something about them is familiar. As it comes to her, more of this place is familiar to her.
Once it was a dream.
She stood up, and assessed herself, noticing the scanty robe she wore on her body, and two braids falling down to her upper chest, tied in a neat knot. Moving forward, she noticed that the darkness around her shift as well, and uncovered a large building, sleek in design, made with a dark material. Various red markings highlighted the dark building material, giving the building a menacing glow, but Midna didn't know unreasonable fear. Curious, she marched forward, up to a large staircase leading up to the doors of the building, feeling the cold stone against her feet.
Another time, she was there herself.
So it was to Midna's glee when she spotted a building rising out the side of the murky banks. "Over there! Look!" Zelda and Hilda gazed at the building in awe (Zelda) and confusion (Hilda). It was a small palace, towering above the treeline but bowing to the distant mountains. A dark, sleek material made up the exterior, smooth as a freshly crafted blade yet unnatural. As they approached the building, Midna slowly began to falter behind. Something about this building was quite familiar to her...Above the palace's doorway, a red hue glowed, displaying a sort of foreign symbol. It was right then and there that Midna realized where she had seen this place before.
Eight years ago, this place was a dream. Not too long ago, she had visited it. This had to be Midoro Palace...Zant's palace. Fear and anger clouding her mind, Midna draws her powers, only to feel nothing come from her. Again and again, she attempts to muster her mana to action, yet it seems her well is dry. No, that cannot be the case, or she would draw from her soul, a painful experience she is told. She would be exhausted as well, yet the only exhaustion comes from her waking up. Her body is fine. The prison itself, she suspects, restricts her use of power.
It doesn't take much thinking to trust the idea that Zant has the Fused Shadow. Only an idiot would imprison someone with that extreme power and not take it for makes Midna wonder what the hell he has planned for it. Then there are the fragments of the mirror. Zant should have claimed those as well. What did he do with them?
The voices become more distinct, Midna now able to discern that the speakers are in fact a foreign entity. Zant speaks Hylian, as well as the Moblins (she herself have heard few speak Hylian, though it is limited) yet this language is definitely not of Hyrule and not even monster tongue. It is a coherent language of civilized people.
One of those people just stepped up to Midna's cell. At first, she thought it was Zant, but a quick examination told her otherwise. While the person did look similar to her brother, his eyes are red like Midna's and his frame is slightly taller. His face is slightly darker too. Instead of Zant's robes, the man wears armor, possibly a knight's armor based on the weapon strapped to his side.
"Won ekawa era uoy. Pan ecin a dah uoy epoh i. Em dnatsrednu uoy od?"
Midna recognizes the language, shuddering in surprise. She turns to the knight, nodding in acknowledgment of his words. "Uoy dnatsrednu i. Enif ma i. Hcum yrev uoy knaht." Midna stands up, walking up to the bars. With the new evidence presenting itself, Midna has a burning question on her mind, one that, if true, will scare her just as much as it shocks her. "I ma erehw?"
"Ereh eb ot detcepxe uoy em sllet ecaf ruoy no noitazilaer fo kool eht. Towairaito, ti llac ew ereh?" The denizens of this place, in their original native language hundreds of thousands of years ago, called it Towairaito. But to her, there's a different name for the world that, only sometime before, she learned of its existence.
She had returned home to the Twilight Realm.
