It didn't take long to find a dungeon entrance, but it took longer to find one that hadn't collapsed. When he finally did, it was one that he rarely entered due to respect for the dead. Hyrule Castle's Royal Tomb, because of course it was. The castle shook with another tremor, careening him into a statue.
"Sorry," he mumbled, not really thinking about it. Regaining his footing, he made his way to the grave with the passage way. The empty coffin, he'd discovered.
After doing some research, it turned out that one of the coffins in the tomb didn't have a body in it, as that king had been lost at sea. Wild guess as to which coffin had the passage way then. The puzzle had been straight forward too.
He slid the lid to the side and stared into the darkness. He wished he'd thought to grab one of Impa's electronic torches, but when in the lab his mind had been elsewhere.
A normal torch was fine enough and it had the added bonus of being a weapon should he run into any monsters. There usually weren't any beyond the odd keese, but with Ganon basically out, there were sure to be more serious things spawning. Down the stairs he descended until he was met with a door. It was solid wood and locked. Link didn't have time for that, and kicked near the door handle, bursting the door open. It slammed against the wall on the other side, the stale air of the dungeon wafting towards him and extinguishing his torch.
Great.
It was silent, save a distant dripping, and Link was unsure which way to go. It struck him that Ganon was down there with him, possibly waiting in the shadows. He drew the master sword and found it glowing.
Right. Magic sword.
He ventured further into the room, the sword glowed brighter, and then dimmed as he passed an empty cell. Walking the perimeter of the room, the sword only glowed when near that one cell. He entered the cell, the door creaking on its rusted hinges. It still looked empty, only a crate in one corner, but when he kicked the crate aside it revealed a crawl space.
Secret passage, of course.
Which meant it might be a yet discovered part of the subterranean level. It wouldn't surprise Link. He'd mapped out a large area, but he remembered Zelda telling him it was only about 80% of the known dungeons. Hyrule Castle was a very ancient piece of architecture, though most of the upper levels were relatively new. It had been destroyed many times in its past, but the dungeons were usually preserved and only added to. As such, there was a maze of tunnels and cells that were for all intents and purposes abandoned.
He quietly groaned at the prospect of crawling into danger, but sheathed the sword and crouched to do it anyway. Link never cared for closed-in spaces, and without the light of the sword he was now in complete darkness. When he came to the other side and was able to unsheathe the sword it illuminated a large room filled with cobwebs.
Just as he was able to get his bearings, clicking sounds echoed throughout the room as a monstrous spider scuttled into view. It was a Skulltula, and a large one at that. It hissed at him, and Link raised his sword. He hated spiders.
It lunged, and he was able to dodge out of the way. The fight was short, as with a few well placed strikes, and the power of the holy sword he was able to dispatch the beast. As the corpse was disintegrating into black miasma, Link noticed a chest in the corner and was tempted to open it. He strode past it, there wasn't time for treasure hunting, he could come back later.
He followed the light of the sword in a high stakes game of hot and cold. Like a dowsing rod detecting water, Link hoped the sword was bringing him closer to Ganon. It was leading him to more complicated puzzles and more powerful monsters. Three more Skulltulas, more than a dozen bokoblins, two moblins, and he didn't even try to keep track of the keese and chuchus. He found keys to doors, and hidden stairways, tunnels, and antechambers. Tirelessly he strode forward, until he was led to an empty room.
It was just a dusty old room of medium size. He could tell from the stone that it was made from that it was ancient, but besides that very nondescript. The sword glowed the brightest it had, and it was a dead end. He'd searched all the tunnels and passageways, but had gotten the glow no brighter than it was in the room. Frustrated, he swung his sword in a spinning slash, releasing some of its power.
The wall glowed in the symbol of the triforce, and Link realized it was yet another puzzle. Not a complicated puzzle to be sure, as he already had the key in hand. He concentrated on building the power in the sword and was still for a few moments of meditation.
In a fluid movement he released the energy into the wall, igniting the symbol and causing the wall to dematerialized before his eyes. Just poof, gone.
He walked into the room lit by phantom flames in braziers. The ceilings were tall and vaulted, the walls lined by statues that loomed menacing. In the center was a casket with dark smoke leaking from it.
That was where he was, Link realized.
There lay the prison of Ganon.