CHAPTER 16

Aria sunk into the previously-poisoned pool that Koifa purified, eyes peeled for any sign of danger. The patch of moss she plucked from before was her only source of light aside from the cenote's sparse sunlight.

They would have to act fast. If the sun started going down, visibility would only further diminish. In a network of caves full of water, Aria knew not what could be lurking further in the depths, and had a feeling that the Octorok was only a taste of things to come.

The light of her moss fell on the floor of the pool and she actually recoiled at what resided there. It looked like a flower, but if it was made of some kind of fleshy substance with wormlike tentacles in place of flowers. The water around it was steadily turning a familiar and toxic shade of purple, leaving Aria to conclude that this thing was what poisoned the pool. Not wanting anyone to fall victim to it, Aria took her knife from her belt and pushed it right into the "flower's" core. It writhed and flexed, making her flinch, but fell limp and remained motionless after a few seconds. It was disgusting to watch, but at least it would hopefully not face any further poisoning.

She was of a mind to return to the surface when she turned to look away from the gross mass of tentacles and flesh, seeing something she'd not noticed in the gloom. On a further wall just outside of the light's glow, was a tunnel. Swimming over to its threshold, she held out a hand and tried to illuminate its insides with the patch of glowing moss. It was too deep and too dark for its light to fully light up.

Aria knew what she had to do and swam back to the surface of the pool, breaking the surface and clambering back onto solid ground. She did not have long to wait, for heads started breaching the surface of other surrounding pools.

"Anyone find something?" Link inquired.

"Well, I found this." Grupa said, holding up his hand and revealing he had seized a round-bodied creature writhing a multitude of limbs and large pincers in a futile effort to break free. He looked at it with hungry eyes, then said, "Well, I haven't had anything since this morning, so…" He then opened his mouth, bit down on the creature's shell and seemed to pry off the top part. The creature twitched, then fell limp as Grupa spat the shell out, then bit back into it, pulling out strands of slimy flesh.

Aria could taste bile in her mouth as she looked away, trying to keep her stomach's contents down. She averted her eyes as Grupa feasted on the creature, using it as a good excuse to get Thya's attention.

"I found a tunnel." she told her. Not long after, she could feel all eyes fall on her. She pointed to the pool she just emerged from, "In there. Right at the bottom."

Tossing aside the emptied husk of the creature, Grupa inquired, "Was there anything down there?"

"Some strange…poisonous-looking thing. But it's dead now. I made sure of that."

As they gathered by the pool in single-file, Koifa was actually the first to enter, diving in. She re-emerged a minute later, dangling the dead mass of flesh and tentacles from her hand.

"Poisonous anemone." she said, tossing it aside, "I thought the poison tasted familiar. Unsuspecting Zoras often make the mistake of eating them."

"That was one time, sis!" Grupa piped up, "I was hungry and I didn't know better!"

Koifa giggled at her brother's reaction, then retreated back into the water with Grupa diving in after her. The other four dove in after them, Link holding onto Thya's shoulders and Aria trailing behind Marlo with a strong grip on his hand.

For a time, the only light in the darkness was the faint glow of their moss clumps. Then, something happened. At first, Aria thought it was a trick of the eye, but she began to notice that the cave was getting darker and darker. She glanced down at her own moss clump in confusion.

Her worst fear was confirmed. She noticed the light was dimmer than it was before, and fading steadily-but-surely. It would likely be pitch-dark in a matter of minutes. Fortunately, it seemed she was not the only one who noticed. The Zoras all glanced at their patches, then quickened their pace through the water. The cave was far deeper than they thought, and despite their best efforts, the light faded as Aria could only look on in both dread and fascination. The light in her hand continued to fade, fade, and fade, until darkness enveloped them.

For several seconds, all that encompassed their party was darkness and the ambient silence that came with being underwater. The only thing they could do was keep swimming forward and hope they found something before Aria and her father fell under risk of drowning.

A dim light suddenly appeared and, casting a glance up, Aria saw it shimmering on the surface. It was neither the glowing moss nor the sun above. It was a strange, bluish hue, almost akin to an evening sky–one the sun had not quite touched yet. She broke from Marlo's grip and headed for the surface, then felt something plant itself beneath her feet. Glancing down, she saw it was Marlo. He had planted the soles of Aria's boots on his shoulders and was kicking fast with his feet to propel her to the surface. Behind him, Link and the other Zora siblings trailed behind.

Aria's head broke the surface of the water, and she took a long and heavy breath of cool air. The light they had been drawn to was luminous enough to give them an idea of their surroundings, but not fully illuminate the area. From the low, distant light, it was a long tunnel carved into the rock. Faint, blue light emanated from around a turn in the path, lighting up the distant walls. Strangely enough, the light seemed to fade in and out. A few seconds of bright blue, then a few seconds of darkness.

Amid the fades in and out, Aria could make out paintings on the stone walls. They were crude and the lighting was dim, but she could make out what they were. Spear-bearing figures of what appeared to be Zoras, oftentimes battled a strange, tentacled being stretched a good while down the wall. Further down, however, it began to change. The Zoras seemed to tentatively walk ashore, meet with what she could only assume were Hylians, then intermingle with them–shaking hands, holding ceremonies, and aiding them across the waters in various means. After that point, the artwork got scarcer and scarcer until there was nary a sketch on the wall.

They had to be getting close to something. Aria could feel it in her stomach. She and everyone else behind her ventured down the stone corridor.

When they turned the next corner they stumbled across, they were met with a bizarre sight. It was a great gateway that had been built so long ago. Past the threshold they went and a towering, cylindrical building awaited them–carved from black stone and adorned with strange symbols that looked like nothing Aria had ever seen. Neither Standard nor Ancient Hylian, it looked far, far older.

"First, the Sacred Cenote and now this?!" Marlo said, rushing ahead of them, stopping to take in the sight, almost in reverent awe, "We are reliving all sorts of history and legend, aren't we?"

"What is this place?" Link had taken the words right out of Aria's mouth.

"Something from deep in Zora history." Thya answered, "The Shrine of Water."

Aria looked at the structure again, its symbols lighting back up with blue light, then she looked ahead and threw an arm out, catching Marlo by surprise. Before he could utter a single indignant accusation, his eyes fell downward and he saw a patch of pulsating dark matter lined with crimson.

Malice. Here.

The mere sight of it was enough to send a chill down the spine of everyone. This sacred ground, of great historic and symbolic invaluability, had been touched by evil. How deep did this all run?

Not wanting to waste another second, they looked to the shrine ahead and made their way towards it. They tread carefully, but swiftly, expertly stepping over or around any patches of malice that lay within their path until they found a vast door, not unlike the gate they found at the start of their journey into the Cenote. Only difference was it was a solid slab of metal, not a grate.

Glancing to and fro, Grupa shrugged. "Well, I don't see any other way in." he said, then rolled his shoulder, "Let's see what I can do…" Walking up to the doorway, he reached down and felt around for any grip he could make use of. After a few seconds, Aria overheard him comment about how it was "tighter than the stubbornest clam" before he apparently found enough room to slip his fingers under.

He set to lifting, but after some heaves and strains that Aria could have sworn almost sent him on his back, he had made very little progress, maybe an inch or two. "C'mon," he strained through his teeth, "C'mon… Just enough for them…"

Without thinking, Aria rushed to Grupa's side, put her hands under the door right next to him, and started pulling with all her might too. It did not accomplish much, to Grupa's confusion, but before he could ask an inevitable question, Link joined in right next to Aria and began lifting with all the strength he could. Slowly but surely, the gate began to rise a little bit faster.

Then Thya arrived, clasping another segment of it next to her brother.
Then Koifa.
Then Marlo.

All six of them strained and heaved as they offered what strength they had. Aria chanced a look at Grupa, who returned it, grinning his gratitude to her before returning to his task. Inch by inch, the door slowly rose, seeming to get heavier and heavier the further up it traveled.

Two feet off the ground…
Good. Now they could put their leg muscles to better work.
Three feet off the ground…
Just a little more and they could get under it if they were quick on their feet.
Four feet…
Aria's muscles were burning in protest, but they were so close. They could not stop now!
Finally, with a surprise push and a roar from Grupa, it rose high enough for a person to slip under. Should one abandon the gate, though, it would likely come slamming back down to the ground.

"Okay, everyone…" Grupa said through grit teeth and a voice so strained it was barely comprehensible, "On three, we move." And without waiting for their consent, he said, "One… Two… Three!"

They all moved at once, slipping under the doorway before releasing their grip a split-second later. The door came down with a "clang" that echoed through the stone walls, causing them all to cover their ears as they fell to their knees from exhaustion.

"That… That took…" Grupa gasped as he lay on his back, "A lot…outta me." He craned his neck to look at Aria, smiling at her. "Thanks, all of you."

"Don't… Don't mention it." Aria panted, managing a smile as she sat to catch her breath.

While everyone sought means to catch their breath, Link had moved to stand a bit off from the group, his eyes darting around warily. The room they had entered, again, flashed and faded with a strange blue light. He turned this way and that, as though trying to find something lost. After a while he paused, a low, concerned hum escaping his throat.

Aria, her breath caught, stood back up and eyed Link curiously. "Is something wrong, father?"

For a second, her father was silent. When she approached, he said, "It's quiet. Too quiet."

Aria almost asked what that was supposed to mean, but as the light flared back up, she began to see what he had seen. The room they had arrived in was large and circular, with one long path leading to a circular platform in the middle of a vast pool of water. Along the walls were similar runes to those outside the shrine, illuminating the pool which reflected the light and illuminated the room.

As well as silhouettes of dark patches on the water's surface–malice's unmistakable darkness had reached inside the shrine as well, in amounts that Aria had not seen before.

"Malice?!" Marlo said in shock, "Here?! But…there was no sign of forced entry! How can it-"

"Doors cannot stop something that acts as water." Link answered, "Even something as titanic as the one that needed all of us to move."

Link's gaze shifted to the center of the platform in the water, where there was a small, risen piece of elegantly-carved stone. Aria followed his gaze and pieces started to fit in her mind. The risen stone had to have housed something at some point.

So, where was it?

There came a noise. A small shifting noise that was subtle, but audible enough to cause all heads to turn in surprise. All focused on where it had come from, but nothing appeared.

Then a much more noticeable noise sounded and the once-tired Zoras were quickly back on their feet. Thya and Koifa were visibly trembling while Marlo and Grupa had pulled out their respective spear and club.

The noise in question was the sound of rock brushing against rock. A boulder rolling across another, bigger boulder, and from below the waves.

As they were soon to find out…
They were not alone.