The Doom Slayer was slowly becoming aware of himself. His memories of killing Davoth were coming to him, clear as day, as well as his passing out soon after. As well his resealing in the sarcophagus. I finally did it. But he was also becoming aware of other things. First, wherever he was, certainly didn't feel like that accursed stone box. He was laying on something MUCH softer, far softer than anything he thought he had ever laid upon, and he had known a nice bed during his time as King of the Sentinels. Though he could also tell he wasn't getting the full experience, encased in his armor. He could also see it wasn't completely dark, as it seemed sunlight was streaming through his closed eyelids. He could also feel a slight breeze around his face, and the lack of buffeting told him a window must be open, as opposed to a fan blowing air at him. It also informed him that while most of his body was still encased in his Praetor Suit, he wasn't wearing his helmet. Well, time to get up, and see what's what.
He opened his eyes and sat up, surveying the room. It was quite fancy, he had to admit. Lots of flowers everywhere, as well as some gold trim on some of the furniture. Well whoever lives here is certainly rich. What kind of person has THIS kind of cash to gold trim the furniture? He exhaled a sigh of relief as on a nearby dresser, he saw his helmet. Well at least THAT is accounted for. There were 2 doors, one leading out to a balcony or patio it seemed, he couldn't tell which. And another that clearly led deeper into this place. The bed he had just gotten up off of was also of high quality, now he got a good look. Large, with a small canopy above it, with hints of gold and silver, as well as flower prints. He almost hated it. Whoever these people are, they better not be hoping I'm going to be their lapdog.
But one thing of note was some of the designs on the wallpaper, full of triangles, a design of 3 triangles arranged to form a larger triangle with a hole in the center. Also the colors were of note, full of red, green, and blue. Ah, someone likes the primary colors of light.
Also of note was what wasn't present. There were candles and oil lamps everywhere, but no sign of anything more modern than 1800's Earth or so. No light switches on the wall, nor any lightbulbs period. Well, the Sentinels mixed it up. After all, they could have one soldier walking next to another soldier with a sword.
But another thing that grabbed his attention was a glowing rock on the nightstand next to him. Though that didn't hold his attention for long, as the door burst open, and three women poured into the room. Women that when the Slayer looked properly, were among the most gorgeous women he had ever seen.
The first one to enter looked just as much a warrior as he was. Tanned skin covered well defined muscles, at least those not hiding behind a summer dress of red, yellow, and gold, with plenty of the same golden triangle symbols, but in all cases, the top one was...glowing? The rest of the dress possessed a firey theme to it as well, hiding a muscled body with feminine curves, all right in the Goldilocks zone between super curvy and flat, and the Slayer thought he actually DID feel heat coming from the dress. But her bare arms certainly did not lack for muscle. From the neck up her face was one of a warrior as well, but with a feminine softness. Red eyes threatened to piece daggers into him, conveying power and authority, yet the Slayer wasn't intimidated in the slightest. Wait, do I see the ghost of fear in her eyes? Of particular note were her ears, full of piercings and coming to distinct half-elven points. And atop it all was blood red hair down to the small of her back. Someone's favorite color is red, the Slayer thought with a huff as the woman kept trying to stare him down, even as she let the others in.
The second woman was far less muscular, but there was still definition, making the Slayer think more of a swimmer's body, not as curvy as the redhead. She was also in a dress, but this one went to her ankles, blue and flowing around her slim body like water. This dress also featured the same triangle symbols, only it was the lower left one that glowed in all these cases. She was far paler, but not so pale she didn't get any sun. Like the first woman, she also had half-elven points on her ears, with simple earrings. Her face was far softer and kinder than the redhead, but her sky blue eyes conveyed wisdom, peering at him through oval glasses that had no lenses, glancing up and down at the Slayer as if he was a puzzle to be understood, but he could also see fear in them. Topping it all was ocean blue hair that went to just past her shoulders. Well, I see you ladies have a color thing going on. And that appears to be a natural blue. All of MY travels, and I've never met a bluenette. Based on the colors going on around here, I would bet my helmet the third girl's going to have a green theme, in dress, hair and eyes. Oh, and that she'll have the same triangle symbol, but it'll be the lower right one that glows.
And finally the third girl entered, confirming the Slayer's bet with himself, causing an inward smirk that meant he got to keep his helmet, even though the bet was with himself. The last girl was certainly curvier than the others, almost more womanly than the others, but in between them in the sense that she wasn't as pale as the bluenette nor as tanned as the redhead. As the Slayer had predicted, she wore a green dress, this time with a leafy pattern, as well as flowers. And of course, the same golden triangle symbol, the lower right one glowing. Her face was also more motherly than the others, emerald green eyes staring out at him with determination and FAR less fear than the other 2. She also possessed the same half-elven pointed ears, and green hair long enough for her to sit on, flowers of all types adorning her hair. Well you give off a Mother Nature vibe. But now that all 3 were in the room, he noticed a few other things about them all, mainly that each of them gave off a golden aura, and also that various features were shared between them, enough for the Slayer to suspect, are you three sisters? Three beautiful sisters that want me for something. Well, as the old meme goes, "A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one." All things considered there are FAR worse ways to wake up.
Meanwhile the goddesses were all eyeing up the Slayer. Sure, they had seen him before, while he slept. But now they got to see him awake, see how he carried himself, and as they had all suspected, he stood, and walked, with a confidence born of being at the top of the food chain, every move of of his made with the precision of an artist. But what really got to them, what really took them aback, were his eyes. Din could sense the power lurking behind his eyes, a green that matched his armor and promised a violent and painful death to all who crossed him, and had done so on many, many, occasions before. Nayru meanwhile could also see that his eyes were not those of a mere brutish, unthinking killer, but that his greens silently spoke of wisdom beyond what a mortal would normally possess, a wisdom born of a life far longer than Nayru could imagine, having had far more experiences than Nayru could even hope to count. And Farore could see plenty of courage in those eyes that were a slightly duller green than her own. No that wasn't right, it was more like she saw NO fear in his eyes. Even the various Links have often known fear of one form or another, but were able to push past that. This man had almost forgotten what fear was, at least for himself. But she could also see how he inspired fear in others, even his allies.
Nayru was the first to break the mutual spell. "Slept well?" She asked him, to which the Slayer only replied with a grunt. He's the strong silent type it seems, the goddesses thought in unison, as well as to each other. Good thing we're used to that. Thirteen Links and counting, across many millennia. "Well, you're probably confused about everything right now, so I'll get to the point you're probably wondering. Yes, we do need you for something. But first..." Nayru says to the Slayer, a question forming in her mind, one that her sisters were already nodding yes to. "We would like to test you to make sure you're what we've read about." This caused the Doom Slayer's eyebrow to raise, which the goddesses found curious. "Follow us," she orders, and the Slayer grabs his helmet, slipping it on as he follows them.
"Woah woah, we're being rude, aren't we?" Farore says as they were about to leave. "We haven't introduced ourselves." She turns fully to face the Doom Slayer. "I'm Farore, Goddess of Courage and Nature," she introduces herself, with a small curtsy, which made both of the Slayer's eyebrows raise now, though he didn't bow, but did nod respectively.
"I'm Nayru, Goddess of Wisdom and Time," Nayru goes next, once again getting a respectful nod. Well, he is called the Unchained Predator for a reason. Likely not used to having people above him, they all thought. But Nayru could sense that already there was understanding forming within his eyes, as he took a cursory glance around the room before settling back on the goddesses. Oh, I get it! Our palace is likely far more luxurious than anything he's used to. And our status as goddesses means it makes sense now to him, she realized.
"And I'm Din, Goddess of Power and the Seasons," Din finishes, also earning a respectful nod. Most would've been punished for their lack of respect, Din especially was prone to do so with her temper. But they figured the Slayer was their guest, so it didn't matter as long as he did what he was supposed to do. Not to mention the man's reputation meant that punishing him was probably hazardous to their health.
He followed them as Nayru continued to fill him in. "We are in our palace, as I'm sure you've guessed, located in the Sacred Realm. From here, we can look down upon our world, Hyrule," she explains, as the 3 goddesses took a glance downwards. "Oh...you don't have our sight. We'll find you a good view later," she explains. "As for why you're here? There is...well, I'm not sure what he is anymore. I'd say a man, but he's about as much a beast as he is a man, named Ganondorf. Though lately he's known as Calamity Ganon. And he has been a plague upon Hyrule for countless millennia. Now, he hasn't always been active. Our chosen champions have defeated him, time and time again. But they've never been able to kill him. Only seal him away. Not to mention how other odd evils have arisen, now and then. All because of one man, so, so long ago, named Demise, cursing Hyrule to suffer from his hatred. A curse even we cannot break." The Slayer nodded in understanding, hands clenching up into fists. He was harder to read, now that his face was obscured behind his strange helmet, but his expression seemed to be one of acceptance, and even respect which was surprising.
"These battles have in the past, rent the very fabric of time asunder," Farore adds. "There were once THREE timelines, all happening at once. But a great merger happened now, so we're back to just the one unified timeline. The things we had to do to save our people from Ganondorf have been extreme, when there was no hero to enact our will. For example in one of those timelines? We had to flood the world, to trap the Gerudo beneath the waves. Though we gave instructions to the people to seek refuge on the mountaintops. And the people survived, in what became known as the Great Sea."
"We've had our ways to stop him. All to varying degrees of success," Din also comments. "As strong as we are, without are champions, we're powerless to act. And our best champions can still only do so much. But we read about you in a book yesterday. We believe you can break the cycle for good, and bring everlasting peace to Hyrule."
The Slayer was listening as the goddesses filled him in. Many things were making sense now. Sure, there was the fact a palace this fancy and beautiful was inhabited by goddesses, that made sense. Almost fits some definitions of Heaven. Or at least the common depiction. And while they were explaining everything to him, he was checking things internally. His armor was still intact, all systems were green. Equipment Launcher and Doom Blade were online, the safeties on, but the Slayer armed them both. Here's hoping I don't hurt them too badly. After all, he still had a rule to not harm innocents. The Pocket Dimension Drive, or PDD, was also online, and as he scanned its contents, he saw all his weapons were present and accounted for. Even things like the Crucible's hilt and the stone he used to sharpen the Doom Blade were there, among a few other things. Ammo was on the low side however, due to the fight with Davoth. No matter, this is just a demonstration. And it's likely a good warmup for this Ganon.
Now they were in a large sparring hall, with various practice weapons everywhere on racks, as well as targets and mannequins. Curiously, he noticed all the weapons were medieval in origin, with no sign that they were used to anything more advanced than a crossbow. It made the Slayer wonder. This place has demonstrated no technology beyond the Middle Ages. Do they not even know what black powder is?
"So, do we gang up on him, or one at a time?" Farore asks as they all look at the Slayer.
"I'd say one at a time," Din responds. "But you two should get ready. I know I'm the fighter here, but hey...you two aren't slouches either." She looks at the Slayer. "So that means we must prepare, and change into our battle clothes," she tells him, already starting to magic away her dress. Curiously, the Slayer turned away when parts of her dress were beginning to fade. Is...is he being a gentleman? Din asked in her mind, her sisters also curious and taking the same opportunity to magically change. So simple an action, yet so surprising, as the book of him painted a picture that made him out to be a Beast in human form. Yet now the goddesses got the first glimpse that his humanity was more than just his physical body.
Din was now in her Gerudo inspired outfit, a scimitar in each hand, each starting to catch fire. Nayru was dressed in chainmail armor with a slim sword and shield. And Farore was now dressed in a green tunic, similar in fashion to some of the tunics Link had worn throughout his incarnations. Din stepped up, asking, "Are you ready to begin?" The Slayer gave a quick look over his shoulder, but then turned to face them fully, with a curious weapon materializing in his hands, one hand around a trigger mechanism with his finger just outside the guard, and his other hand on a mechanism he pumped in answer, the sound of it echoing off the sparring hall's walls as it moved whatever internal mechanisms within. Well that sounds ominous, they all had to admit, curious about what the weapon would do. They also realized that he likely had far more weapons at his disposal, which was also a concept they were familiar with, as the various Links all had to have pocket dimensions of some sort to carry all of their equipment. Even more ominous, and strange, was music starting to fill the room, strange instruments they didn't recognize, until Nayru realized it sounded like a guitar, but with a lower pitch. So he even has a way to play his own music? This man is full of surprises, they all thought. Din cleared her throat, feeling the ghost of color rise to her cheeks. "Before we begin however...thank you, for not looking earlier. That was...unexpected." The Slayer responded with a nod, and the goddesses thought they saw the faintest smile through his helmet. "And now..." Nayru goes over to a bell, giving it a ring. "Begin."
Din rushed forward to close the distance, but fire erupted from the Slayer's feet, pushing him out of the way before she could reach him. At the same time he also fired his weapon, creating a loud sound that echoed off the walls. Din didn't see anything leave his barrel, but now she felt as if a dozen white hot bees stung her all at once. Fuck, that hurts. But she wasn't going down that easily, and charged at him again. Again and again did he dodge and shoot her, but she got in a lucky slash, a slash that barely scratched his armor. Since her current strategy wasn't working, she went for a new one, punching the ground as flames erupted from all sides of her. Yet the Slayer jumped into the air, more fire from his feet propelling him into a second jump, followed by more fire dashing him away as he fired at her. Though Din wasn't surprised by this, now reshaping her fire into a ball to hurl at him. He dashed away, but in a direction she anticipated, meeting him with a firey punch. But energy built around his own fist as he punched as well, a shockwave of energy radiating outwards from their combined fists. The strange device on his shoulder now activated, raising forwards at her and firing something that once it hit her, felt COLD, freezing her in place. She was able to break free, but he had changed weapons, a massive tube that sat on his shoulder, some mechanisms within activating. Before she could contemplate what it was, she saw 3 projectiles race at her, following her before she could get out of the way, each exploding in her chest and face. This guy has the equivalent of fast bomb arrows. Fuck! She thought. On and on they went, doing a fair amount of damage to the sparring hall as they fought. Some of her best attacks meant NOTHING to him, so she had one more trick up her sleeve. She rushed forward with blinding speed, scimitars each charged with a combo of fire as hot as Death Mountain's lava on one, and the bitter chill of winter in Hebra, which was already cold as it is even at the best of times. But the Slayer dashed away, a glowing hammer materializing in his hands, which he brought down upon her. Din was left stunned, and while she probably could've kept fighting, thought she'd had enough, as he had made his point.
Nayru rang the bell to signify the end of the match. They could see the Slayer was giving a concerned look through his helmet, some of it at the damage done to the sparring hall, but mainly at Din. "Don't worry, I'll be fine," Din told him, smiling in spite of the pain she had inflicted. "You...worry about hurting us I take it?" She asks him, and he nods, even as he gives her a quick look over to make sure she's fine. "Well aren't you sweet," she says, even patting his helmet with a smile, right where his cheek would be. He just smiled at her, as Din took her place by the bell, and Nayru stepped up, swinging her sword and hefting her shield.
"I won't be so easy," Nayru tells him confidently. "Sure, Din's the strongest of us, but with wisdom comes battle strategy. And I'm the one who's studied you the longest, be it in your book, or just now. I know how you work," she tells him, readying a defensive stance. "Let's see if you can break MY defenses."
Whatever you say bluenette Athena, the Slayer thought in answer. Din was strong, but the Slayer could sense the Power goddess relied too much on attempting to overpower him, and lacked the discipline to know when to hold back, or when to trap. Granted, she was fighting an unknown enemy, he thought as the bell was rung for the second match, and pulled out his heavy cannon. True, he probably could've kept using his other weapons. But there were 2 reasons for variety. The first was ammo conservation, which was ALWAYS a reason for variety. But the second was that they summoned him. Which, in itself, is a surprise. I can be summoned now? Is this my life now? Summoned by others to slay the evils they can't? Am I fancy, glorified pest control? Well I guess it's not SO bad. I get to save more people from evil. And...nobody can deny I'm good at it. But shoving all of those thoughts aside, the fact he had...well, clients now, and was working FOR people, meant he wanted to show them what he could do, and that wasn't done by using the same techniques over and over again. Imp's Song was still playing, as he didn't want to hit them with the heavy metal just yet. Might scare them. And from what they've told me? Most of what it'd take to play such music hasn't been invented yet here. This world seems closer to a Tolkien-esque fantasy, than what I'm used to.
Nayru and the Slayer were each waiting for the other to make the first move. Until the Slayer attacked first, Nayru holding up her shield to block his bullets. To his surprise, none got through, so he activated the micro missiles and fired some. Nayru then made a hand motion, and the Slayer noticed the missiles all slowed down as a bubble formed around herself and them, and she stepped out of the way, leaving them to explode harmlessly (for her), on the wall behind her. Ah, of course. Goddess of Time. Temporal manipulation. So he switched to his rocket launcher with the remote detonator mod, firing a rocket when the bubble disappated. She stepped out of the way again, a smirk on her face, but right when the rocket was close enough for the flare to activate, he hit the detonator, which surprised her as well as sending her away a bit, clearly dazed, but not done yet. Now she made more hand motions, and a blue, diamond-esque energy shield materialized around her. Energy huh? Then let's try this! He thinks, swapping the rocket launcher for the plasma rifle, firing some bolts of plasma at her, all being absorbed by the shield. But meanwhile she attacks with her sword, the Slayer parrying each strike with his own arms, aggressively diverting her sword each time. The blue barrier dissapated, so the Slayer fired more plasma. But Nayru summoned the shield again, but in a special quick version, spinning it around herself, which reflected the plasma bolts back. Reflect this! He thought as he hit her with the microwave beam, stunning her, and draining her until she yells "Enough!" and Din hits the bell again.
Sorry Bluethena, I've been at this WAY too long. And something tells me that you may not completely know how to fight. Those lenseless glasses say "bookworm." He thought, even as he examined Nayru for injuries. "Well, that's a new one," Nayru says to him, looking at his plasma rifle. "Even through Nayru's Love, I could sense the heat from those little blue balls. And that beam thing! That was something else," she adds, sitting with Din, as Farore takes her turn, a bow in hand, as fairy wings appear behind her. "I don't scare easily. And as you can see...I too have range," she says as she takes to the air. Well, I've got something special for flyers, The Slayer thinks as he pulls out his ballista.
When the bell was rung, Farore fired multiple arrows at the Slayer, many of which he dodge, but others just seemed to bounce off his armor harmlessly. Meanwhile the shots from his strange weapon were finding her, and they HURT, no matter how much she tried to fly around. But then she noticed that there was one shot from it that didn't hurt as much when her feet touched the ground. So that weapon works best on flying enemies huh? So she stuck to the ground, but kept firing arrows, this time using shock arrows. They managed to stun for a while, but the Slayer powered past them, moving even when electricity coursed through his body. He swapped to another weapon of his, this one he carried, rather than held, with the main part of the weapon starting to spin. Hot bees rapidly stung her, and she retaliated with bomb arrows as she used Farore's Wind to teleport about, only for the weapon to project a shield in front of him, upon which the arrows detonated harmlessly. And then the shield FLEW at her, projected forward somehow in a manner Farore didn't understand. She changed arrows again, using ice arrows to attempt to freeze him. But he changed weapons too, to something engraved, with a claw underneath. As the Slayer fired, MANY white hot bees stung her, and while she was wincing, the Slayer moved the twin barrels down, as 2 red things she suspected had to be ammunition of some sort ejected, and the Slayer put 2 more in as he fixed up his weapon. That actually made Farore realize that for all his weapons, the Slayer had never reloaded, he just fired again and again. Even she had to reach into her quiver for arrows. She backed up again, but the claw fired out, latching into her and dragging the Slayer forward, even as it burned her in intense fire she thought only Din could manage. So that weapon of his has a clawshot attachment of sorts? What CAN'T he do? When he got close, he punched, but Farore caught his hand, dragging his fist away with much effort. But then the blade alongside his hand extended, slicing into her arm, and she recoiled away in intense pain. "OK, OK, I give in!" She shouts, as the bell is rung.
But then everyone noticed the gash in her arm, which was bleeding profusely. None of the goddesses had ever been physically truly hurt before, and now the Slayer had done so. "What. Have. You. DONE?!" Din asks him enraged, her arms catching fire, ready to murder him.
Only to be met with a bigger surprise. "Oh SHIT! I'm so sorry! I'll stop the bleeding!" They heard him shout, in a deep, slightly gravely voice. The book Nayru had found had mentioned his usual silence, so hearing him talk on its own was shocking enough. Let alone that it was an apology. But strange behavior didn't stop there. He reextended the blade along his arm, holding it up to his shoulder. The device on it emitted a burst of flame, which heated the blade up to a dull red, and the Slayer pressed it into Farore's arm. Farore winced in pain, and Din was about to stop him, but Nayru interrupted her. "I've seen soldiers do this in the field. It's called cauterization, and stops the bleeding," Nayru explains. But even after that, he wasn't done. Retracting the blade, he then tore strips of cloth off of Farore's tunic, wrapping them in a tight bandage around her arm. "There, that should stop the bleeding. Forgive me Farore," he says to her, bowing his head apologetically, as he heads out of the room.
The goddesses were in shock for a bit, as Farore examines her arm. Din was the first to speak up. "I'm still going to kill him," she said angrily, but the fire around her arms had clearly cooled.
"Din, he didn't mean to hurt me," Farore says, looking down at her torn tunic. More of her legs were exposed due to the missing fabric, and had he gone any higher up on the tunic he would've seen that part of the goddesses' bodies which was most forbidden for mortals to see, even if there would've been one final layer of fabric to hide it from his eyes. "I know that had any mortal torn my tunic like that, he'd be sent to the Dark World without hesitation. But when he was attending to me, I didn't get that vibe from him. He had no lewd intentions, he only wanted to help, and didn't care about my modesty, so long as I was OK," she explains as she gets up, and heads over to her sisters. "If I understand how he thinks...he may have a penchant for destruction, yes," the girls all look around the sparring hall, which now had holes in places. "But in his mind, so long as people are OK, he's fine with it. Imagine a burning house. He would punch through a weakened wall to rescue the people inside, if that was the fastest option to get them out, even if such an action would ultimately destroy the house. So I don't think we have to worry about him harming the innocents of Hyrule," she continues. "What's more? I sensed pain in him too, like he was hurt as much mentally, if not more, as I was physically. Like, I can't state how much he REALLY, doesn't want to harm innocents," she finishes to her sisters.
"Although...we've already gotten that," Nayru adds. "With Din and I's fights, he didn't seem to care about the damage to the sparring hall, but was concerned with our well-being. So, the fact he did what he did to help you...I'm willing to forgive."
Din was calm now, the flames around her arms fully died down. "OK, maybe I don't kill him. But I will admit...he's NOTHING like we expected. That book made him out to be a beast, in the body of a man. It spoke NOTHING of his humanity. And it painted him a picture as the strong silent type, enough I'm sure you two, like me, were wondering if he could. But now we know he's human under there after all. And the the caring type as well. And resourceful. He didn't even HESITATE, to fix you up, Farore," she continues, as she and Nayru inspect her arm. "And he did a good job too. Our divine healing should do the rest soon."
"Oh yes, the Slayer is quite an enigma now, isn't he?" Nayru adds with a chuckle. "With layers to him. I for one, would NOT mind getting to see more of his human side. Meet the man within the beast within the man." Her sisters chuckle slightly, but couldn't help but agree with Nayru's wisdom in this regard.
