part Five
endgame
Chapter XII
The man who had to be Rasoginim laughed. It wasn't friendly, good laughter—it was horrible, only able to be produced by someone as evil as him.
He smiled, after the laughter.
"How about a little fun? I know you came here to stop me, but I think I should get a little enjoyment too, don't you?"
Suddenly, they were no longer in the tower. They were in what had to be a gladiatorial arena, rare in civilized lands. Blade and Hakiej were standing in the circles marked on the ground to indicate the starting position for each fighter. Rasoginim was seated in the seat reserved for a king or someone similar, a grand throne in the first row.
"I had fun watching you fight my guards, but how about you each get a real challenge? How about, say, each other?"
Blade suddenly felt a bubbling rage inside him, but not at Rasoginim.
At Hakiej.
Blade ran forward, at the same time as Hakiej. Blade drew his bow quickly, snapping off four shots, only one of which hit Hakiej. He put it away and took out his sword and shield. They exchanged blows, Blade coming off slightly the better. Hakiej kicked Blade's shield off his arm. Blade stabbed Hakiej quickly, and ran back. While Hakiej, about a hundred yards or so away now, recovered, Blade cupped his hands. The fireball grew as large as Blade dared, almost six inches. It shot out at Hakiej, travelling slowly because of its size.
Hakiej's blood boiled while the fireball was still twenty feet away. As a result, he was dead before the fireball even hit him. It served as cremation.
Rasoginim clapped. Through some magic or other, it came out as a whole stadium's applause.
"Good. Very good. I now will let you fight me. If you win, your prizes." He pointed to the Darksphere and the Triforce, which must have been teleported to the arena. "Right now, I will make them neutral. They will turn to the alignment of the next person who touches them." As he spoke, they went to a sort of grayish color.
"And if I win," he continued, "you will give me the promise that no one will ever resist me."
"I can't promise that. Besides, what good is a dead man's promise?" Blade replied.
Rasoginim pulled out a small box. "This is a thing of the High Magic. It is above good and evil, light and dark."
The box spoke, somehow—or rather, a voice came from the box. "The High Magic recognizes the prizes of this battle.
"If the champion of Hyrule, Gyrdia, Termina, and their surrounding lands, is victorious, the Darksphere and the Triforce will become good, and they will be awarded to him.
"If the champion of the Dark, is victorious, the Triforce and the Darksphere will remain evil, and in his possession. In addition, anyone attempting to resist him or his forces will be magically incapable of doing so.
"Let the battle begin."
Blade healed himself while Rasoginim walked to his circle.
As soon as he was in his circle, Rasoginim made an odd gesture. Blade felt a sudden pressure on his throat. He grasped at it…
He tried to heal himself, but realized that the potion's duration had run out.
The pressure continued. If only…
Rasoginim stopped. Blade felt his face burn.
"I think you should have more of a chance. It would be more fun for everyone, I think."
Blade heard sudden noises of a large crowd. He glanced at the stands behind Rasoginim, and saw they were suddenly full. He recognized Gyrdians, Gorons, Zora, Silvetria, Falcore, half-dragons, and countless other races.
"Why not have everyone affected able to watch?"
Shoot. He doesn't have to worry about accidentally hurting the crowd, but I do…
Before he finished that thought, Blade drew his bow and snapped off a quick flurry of five arrows.
As the arrows approached Rasoginim, he held up his hands. Lightning shot out from each fingertip. The bolts hit, two to an arrow. The arrows were turned into harmless dust. Archery, apparently, was pointless.
An uncharged fireball, this time. He had to be careful with these, because they could easily hit the crowd.
Rasoginim sidestepped the fireball. It continued on, but it luckily hit the wall without doing any damage.
The stadium seemed darker, suddenly. Blade noticed Rasoginim's hands above his head. He was gathering energy for some kind of attack, obviously.
It looked like it would take a while.
Blade ran up, his crystal sword at the ready. An instant before he hit Rasoginim, the attack hit him full-force.
Agony beyond anything he had ever imagined.
And then nothing.
Here is what a nearby spectator saw:
The good guy, the one with a crystal sword, ran toward the bad guy, the one charging something magic.
Just before the good guy's sword hit the bad guy, the bad guy hit him with the magic lightning ball thing. The good guy fell to the ground, writhing in pain. And then he stopped, his only movements the slight jerking of his dead body.
Just then, there was a terrific flash of light. A green-clad figure appeared upon a red-brown flash—a galloping horse. A sword glinted—
"Challenge! Link should not be involved in this battle! I have rightfully won! A challenge!"
And time froze.