Chapter 19: The Darkness Inside

Link

With one last scream, a dark sludge-like mist poured out of my mouth and onto the floor, where it slithered on top of my shadow. When the mist had finally stopped, my shadow began to rise from the ground, gaining form until it was a black copy of me. Its eyes opened, glowing red and pupiless as it stared down at me.

Quickly, I got back on my feet, grabbing my sword as I did. The dark figure did nothing but stare at me as I moved. What was this thing?The Hero of the Sky gave me my first clue.

"To once more prove to yourself and others that you are a true hero and are ready to conquer your enemy, you must first conquer the enemy within yourself."

Conquer the enemy within myself? So, this thing was inside me? Was I supposed to fight it? Why does it actually make me feel… scared?

Readying my shield, I pointed my sword at my dark self, waiting for its move. It drew its own blade and readied its shield then swung at my head.

Taken off guard, I quickly brought my blade up to block it. It shifted its stance and struck again with expert precision. And so this continued, me doing my best to block its moves as it continued to attack me without mercy or restraint.

A new blade suddenly entered the fray as Revali tried to assist me, only for his eyes to widen in shock as his sword phased through my opponent when he got a clean hit.

"You can't help him that way", the Hero of Sky said.

Revali's eyes narrowed into a glare.

"Call it off! It'll kill him!"

"I can't, and no, it won't, it's a part of him after all. To kill him will result in it dying as well. But if he loses, it will consume him."

"Enough with the riddles, Mr. Out-of-Touch! What is that thing!?"

"I already told you all you need to know. Just support him as a brother should, and you will be able to help him."

I didn't know what he was talking about either, but whatever this thing was, it didn't like to be ignored as it attacked me in anger for listening to the conversation rather than facing it. As I continued to desperately fight off its continued onslaught, I thought about what was said. The truth about how to defeat it had to be there somewhere.

Let's see, it came from inside me before it took form. When I laid eyes on it I felt fear, frustration, and doubt, the same feelings that… suddenly it clicked. With one decisive blow, I drove my darker half back.

Sorry Ghirahim, but you're not going to make me defeat myself that easily. Not this time. Not ever.

With another blow, I seemed to wound it again as it staggered back further. With a confident smirk on his face, Revali watched me block another enraged blow from my shadow. He didn't say anything, but in this case he didn't need to.

With a smile of my own, I turned back to the fight as I continued to push the shadow back with every technique in my arsenal. Though it tried to fight back, its moves became slower and sloppier as it seemed to lose energy. I was winning this fight, both inside and out.

Yes, I was supposed to seal Calamity Ganon; but how could we have known know how cunning he really was? Attacking us with the very things that were supposed to save us before we could reach our full potential. He only won because we weren't ready and couldn't have predicted his attack plan. Was part of that on me? Yes! Was it all on me? No!

I landed another blow as I came to this conclusion.

None of what was happening was directly my fault! Did I come up short a few times? Yes! Was I tricked or beaten a few times? Yes! But I'm certain that all of my past selves have had their fair share of failure.

As I entertained this thought, I began to see visions. A giant bird lifting me up into the air. A Gerudo version of Ganon laughing at me. Zelda's panicked voice as she was taken away. Then my death at the hands of a guardian, Zelda's close encounter with death, and Revali's injury on Vah Ruta which nearly claimed his life.

It was amazing how many times I had supposedly failed across not just this but one but all my lives. And yet… I saw my success in multiple lives as well. Me as a young boy, plunging the Master Sword into Gerudo Ganon's head. Destroying him with a silver arrow. My own memories of battling Ganon in Hyrule field and Hyrule castle and the ultimate sealing twice that resulted.

It became clear once more that a hand truly did not hold any strength unless the hand that holds it has it had courage. I had fear and despair, but you know what? So did everyone else! And I would overcome them the way I always did. With power, wisdom, and courage.

When the flashbacks finally stopped, I had my blade embedded deep in my shadow's chest. With an inhuman roar of anger, it dissipated, turning back into my ordinary shadow. With my foe defeated, I took a step back.

"He's back." Revali said.

Yes, yes, I was.

Something was different, I looked down at myself to see that my old Champion's tunic had now been magically changed out or changed into my own familiar green tunic as The Master Sword was once more glowing a familiar blue much to Revali's confusion.
"I… I… thought it was supposed to be glowing gold," he said.
"Not anymore, for as the Three Swords have been truly bonded to it as has Link, it is now The Ultimate Master Sword not the level Three Master Sword as The Hero of Legend called it many years ago," the Hero of Twilight said.
"It feels like, it's a part of me…" I said.
"In a way it is, as one who carries the spirit of the Hero, you are bound to it, as you are bound to us." The Hero of the Winds said, drawing his sword and raising it to the sky as the others followed with their own blades, standing in a circle of Heroic Sword-wielding spirits, which I completed with my own blade before the other Hero's suddenly faded away, leaving me alone with the Champions, that was until I realized that The Hero of the Sky had stayed a little bit longer as I turned around to face him after sheathing my blade.

"Link, Hero of the Wild, in conquering the enemy inside of yourself, you have proven that you will be able to conquer any enemy, and just in the nick of time too…"

What did he mean by that? I visibly gave The Hero of Sky my attention as he continued to speak.

"Ghirahim has been busy using the Triforce of Power that he has acquired to strengthen his forces, re-corrupting the guardians, creating even more powerful monsters."

"What of the Yiga Clan?" I asked.

"The Yiga clan was always one of the weakest in alliance terms of Ganon's forces and Ghirahim knows it. Don't expect to run into them, but don't drop your guard either."

"I'm assuming that the Divine Beasts are safe considering all four of us Champions are still standing here though, right?" Revali said.

The hero nodded.

"So what exactly does he intend to do with this army?" Zelda asked.

"He obviously still wants the rest of The Triforce, the Triforce of Power alone won't undo the seal on his precious master." Revali said with a huff.

"You are once more correct Master Revali, and should he succeed, that means that not only will he have what he wants, but Ganon will have exactly what he wants as well. Demise, Ganon's truest form, will return and have the golden power he has lusted for so long, and if it is not stopped, Hyrule will truly be laid to ruin and when the next hero is born, there will be next to nothing left to save."

Revali scoffed, "No pressure or anything."

I closed my eyes in thought as the Hero of the Sky finished,

"I know that is a lot on your shoulders, but you can do it, we all know you can. You are us after all, and in recovering from failure, we find more satisfying victory. You have more Power, Wisdom, and Courage than you think you do."

"You're Link," Revali cut them off, "And because of that, Ganon won't stand a chance."

I opened my eyes, my expression burning with determination. Yes, we would fight our hardest and we would win, but only a fool would dare take on an army of that magnitude alone.

"How long will it take to mobilize the United Army of Hyrule for a siege on Hyrule Castle?" I said.

"I'd imagine a day or two." Zelda said.

"Then let's get to work."

"Would you mind dropping Mipha and I off at Rito Village first? There's some personal business I need to take care of there before we attack." Revali said.

I raised an eyebrow at him. Rarely, if ever, did Revali ever have any "personal business" unless you counted his training. Maybe that's what he was talking about, maybe he wanted to be ready for next time he faced Ghirahim. But if that was the case, then why was he being so secretive? Despite him acting suspicious, I nodded.

"Very well," I consented, "Urbosa, Daruk, you're with me and Zelda, we'll head to Rito Village first to drop Revali and Mipha off and start mobilizing the Rito, then we'll head to Zora's Domain, Urbosa and Zelda will then head to Gerudo Town, while Daruk and I take care of matters in Goron Town. We'll Rendezvous in Rito Village afterward."

I sighed as I suddenly got even more serious.

"This is it, our opportunity to prevent another Calamity from even happening, that being said, Ganon is Stronger than ever, there is no guarantee that all of us will come out of this alive. So, for what it's worth, it was great to fight alongside you all again."

"Don't say that. We'll see each other again, I promise," Revali said.

I would have told him to not make a promise he couldn't keep, but I knew that in his case assuming his Wish still held, it actually would be true.

What lifetime that was in was another matter.