The red horse carried its proportionally sized rider across the tall, green grass: grass that had been touched by Majon's hand. After a mere three days, the field was lifeless. All the insects that lived in harmony under the earth were dying from the poison seeping through the land. It would take three more days before the poison contaminated the grass, turning it yellow and brittle and then the wind would blow it into oblivion. A barren wasteland would remain.
Gerud knew that it was happening: he could feel it. And he knew there was nothing he could do about it. Though he possessed some magical skills, they were nothing compared to that of Link's and Majon. He knew of no antidote to rid the world of the poison, except kill the one that poured it into the earth. Which was why Link had to survive.
While he was riding, Gerud held the bag tightly in one hand. Loosening his grip, the bag opened to allow Gerud a look inside. There were seven masks inside. The zora mask lay on top of the others. Underneath it was a broad mask, painted brown with two small eyeholes. Gerud identified it as a goron mask. There was also a mask, the same shape as the goron mask, but it was made of wood. It had a tube-shape mouth that protruded from the mask. Gerud had never seen this species during his stay in Termina. Then there was the ridiculous, yet cute, bunny mask. Made to sit on a person's head, its long, yellow ears and beady, black eyes made the giant laugh when he pictured it on Link's head.
Then there were two masks made of stone. One was long and narrow, with triangular eyes and jagged lines across its high forehead and mouth. The other was a strange. The two eyeholes were of different size. It was almost a square but the lines were not straight. The purpose of these two masks escaped Gerud.
Shifting the bag, his eyes fell upon the final mask. When Gerud saw it, he gasped. Why, he did not know. Something about the white hair, the blue, v-shaped markings on the forehead and the red lines that were painted just above and below the eyes, triggered a sensation within Gerud. It was a mixture of fear and hope. He had never felt something like it before.
He ignored the feeling and shook the bag. The mask moved to the side and revealed several bottles containing mostly a red or green liquid, but there were two bottles with a blue liquid in it. The last bottle had a little light glowing inside it. Looking at it closely, Gerud saw that it was moving with little wings.
"Now, what could ye be?" Gerud asked out loud. Shrugging his shoulders, he closed the bag and urged the horse on. He knew he had little time.
When Gerud rode through Magol's gate, he saw sad faces. The soldiers lowered their eyes as Gerud dismounted. At first, he did not understand. It was when one soldier had the courage to look Gerud in the eyes that he knew. He ran for the hospital.
He crashed through the door, unable to stop in time. The noise frightened the nurses, but once they saw who it was, they stepped aside. Where Link lay, a white sheet covered his face. Gerud did not say or move for a few seconds. When he fully grasped that Hesra's one hope of freedom had been destroyed, he dropped the bag and punched through the wall.
"That won't help." A voice, clear and strong, said. Gerud looked outside and saw an elderly man dressed in golden robes. His face was wrinkled, his hair grizzled, but his baby-blue eyes radiated with strength and vitality. He stood tall and proudly, even in these grim times.
"Lord Cyran," Gerud rose to his full height, then bowed slightly.
"Ye did all ye could Gerud," Cyran said, "Now, ye must focus your thoughts on our future."
"What future?" Gerud cried, "Our only hope of redemption is dead."
"And even if he were alive, he could not help us." Cyran said calmly.
"What?"
"I felt his power last night, even from the temple of light." Cyran explained, "I set out right after the battle was over. I arrived minutes after ye left. I found him on that bed, in great pain. I tried everything to heal him. Useless. He died, saying 'Fairy'."
"Fairy?" Gerud asked.
"Yes, do ye know what that means?"
"I do know." A thought struck Gerud. He opened the bag and found the bottle with the flying light. After pulling the sheet off of Link's pale face, Gerud opened the bottle. The fairy floated above Link's body awhile before circling his chest. It did this three times before it disappeared.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then Gerud noticed Link's hand twitching. From his lips came his breath, in gasps, but he was alive. Gerud cheered, attracting many by-standers. They began to cheer as well. Even Cyran applauded.
"Blue." Link gasped, barely audible above the cheering. Gerud's hearing though was very sensitive and he heard his friend's word. Picking up the bag again, he took one of the bottles containing a blue liquid. He popped the cork off and held it to Link's lips. The Hylian took the bottle from Gerud and gulped the entire contents. Its effects were instantaneous. Link's breathing became regular again and soon enough, he was on his feet.
"Welcome back." Gerud said, hugging the smaller man. Link laughed, hugging the giant back. Cyran came forward and shook the Hylian's hand when Gerud had released him.
"Your land's potions and magic are far more powerful than that of Hesra's." Cyran complimented.
"Indeed they are." He went for his bag, "but some of your past warriors are very powerful." He showed the fierce deity mask.
"Oni." Cyran said. Everyone fell silent upon hearing the name.
"Is that what you call him?" Link asked, "All I know is that he came from here. And that I learned recently through my final dream."
"How did you come across this mask?" Cyran asked. Link gave a brief recount of his time traveling against Majora's mask. Fifteen minutes later, after many interruptions and tangents, Link stopped. He could tell everything he said was hard to swallow. But they were swallowing it.
"A fantastic tale." Cyran said. Many people agreed with the lord. "But I believe it."
"Now, a question of my own." Link said, "Who is Oni?"
"Oni was, as ye said, a powerful warrior." Cyran explained, "Some believed he was a demy-god, he was so strong. When Majora first appeared, he led the first attack. We nearly defeated Majora on the first try. But the demon has many faces: he transformed into an even more powerful warrior and destroyed our armies. Oni was mortally wounded. We did not have the skill to heal such wounds back then. We did know of a way to preserve him, which would also allow him to assist us in the next attacks against Majora."
"You preserved his spirit in this mask." Link said.
"Yes." Cyran replied, "Only the strongest warriors were able to wear Oni's mask. It took several attempts to weaken Majora enough to lock him into his mask."
"Okay, now I'm starting to understand." Link said, "Now, what is Majora exactly?"
"Majora used to be a man. He was the one who found the orbs and discovered many of their secrets."
"What happened?" Link asked.
"We are not sure." Cyran answered, "All we know is that he was experimenting with the orb of light. A dark energy escaped from the temple, turning half the land of light into the land of shadow. Majora was drawn to it and left the light forever. He built a temple there and we believe he constructed a shadow orb as well. Then, using dark magic, he became more powerful. His body changed to suit his new character."
"And once he was ready," said Link, "He built his army and tried to control Hesra." Cyran nodded.
"How does this help?" Gerud asked, annoyed slightly from all the talking.
"It helps with my decision." Link replied.
"What decision?"
"Whether to fuse with Oni or not."
"That is what ye do when ye wear the mask." Cyran said.
"Yes, but even when I was young, I hid whatever power I had from him."
"Why?" Cyran and Gerud asked.
"He wants it a little too much." Link explained, "He's power hungry. I'm afraid if I show him all my powers, he will never let me go." He paused, "But I see the danger we are in. I see the danger that I'm in. Without the mask, I cannot survive here."
"The choice is obvious then." Cyran said.
"Not much of a choice."
Link decided that he should put the mask on outside of the town's walls. Cyran agreed with him. They felt that something violent would happen and they did not want the town to be affected.
Gerud offered to ride Link far away from the town, which the Hylian accepted. They rode for a few minutes before Link said that they were far enough. Then he forced Gerud to leave him alone, alone on a hill that gave him a clear view of Magol and of Fernand. Alone in the doing on what might be his undoing. Link wished Zelda were here, for her to hold him and tell him not to do what he was about to do. For Link did not think that Oni would not let him go; he knew. Link would be gone forever and some super-warrior would take his place.
"Forgive me Zelda," he whispered, "but I have to end this once and for all."
He held the mask in two hands and brought it to his face slowly. The clouds above him darkened and thundered. As the mask drew closer to his face, the wind picked up and the ground trembled. Lightning struck the ground repeatedly, but it did not harm Link. The mask was inches from his face now. Closing his eyes, he pushed it to his face.
The world around him exploded. The wind reached hurricane speeds. Great cracks appeared in the earth. Lightning struck the ground every second. The thunder was deafening.
But above all that was one sound. Link, screaming in fear and pain. At first, the scream sounded of his voice: clear and high-pitched. But then it changed to a dark and rumbling sound.
His body also went through a metamorphosis. Link's small and lean frame began to grow in every direction, especially at the shoulders. His arms and legs exploded in size. His muscles bulged and were better defined. His hands tripled in size, as well as his feet. His neck thickened and grew longer.
Link's dirty-blond hair and blue eyes were gone. White hair now covered Link's scalp. His eyes paled until they were completely white. The oddly shaped, blue V grew on his broad forehead. The jagged red lines took their place around his white eyes. His pointy ears became sharper and longer. His nose, cheeks and chin became larger. His tanned skin paled like his hair and eyes had done.
Once his body had been redefined, his armor that came apart during the transformation was replaced. It was the same color as before, but it now fitted Link's new bulk. It was also much tougher but surprisingly light: for him anyway. What was different was the symbol on his breastplate. The golden triforce was still there, but now five circles formed a pentagram around it.
His armor replaced, his body changed, the storm stopped. The new warrior floated down to the ground. He stretched his new muscles before checking his weaponry. All he had was a sword. : the shield, the bow, the bombs, all that was gone. All he had was a sword, shorter than him, but bigger than Gerud. Its design was very simple: a long hilt for the warrior's hand with a very long, ten-inch wide, double-edged (very sharp edges) blade. It was twice the Goron blade in every regard, from size to strength. He returned it to its sheath.
He stood still for a few more minutes, feeling the power surge through him. Then he decided to test his power. It was a simple test. He wanted to see how fast he could run. The warrior took off, igniting the grass behind him. The sailors from Fernand were just arriving. They had seen the arrival of this warrior. Now, they were seeing, or at least trying to see him run. What they saw was an image of him. Where they thought he was, was actually a hundred yards behind from his actual position. The only way they were able to tell this was from the fire. They were able to tell his position from the fire that was following a trail.
When the fire reached Magol, it stopped. The image of the warrior finally caught up to its producer. The fire was starting to spread now. But with a twitch from Link's brow and the flames were extinguished. He smiled as on-lookers stared in awe at him.
The sailors came rushing up to meet this new warrior. When Teri finally reached him, she knew somehow that calling him Link would not grab his attention. So, she asked.
"What is your name?" The warrior slowly turned his head towards her. His colorless eyes looked into her chestnut eyes. And then in a dark, slightly threatening tone, he said:
"I am Oni Link."
Zelda sat up in her bed, gasping for air. She had felt it: the power, the incredible power. It was nothing like she had ever felt before. But there was something else, something that frightened her greatly.
During the past two nights, she had a dream of a white warrior leading an army of Black warriors in Hyrule. Immediately, she thought back to the dream Link had told her about, the one where he was leading that army. After the second night, Zelda feared that it would come true.
And on the third night, her nightmares came true. Link would save Hesra, only to destroy it himself. And then he would destroy all that he loved.