Chapter 37
Link and Zayna tumbled down the shaft, the rush of wind tugging at their hair. A blast of heat struck them as the duct opened out into a large room, layered with platforms bobbing up and down on bubbling magma. They landed, the shock vibrating in their bones, before the platform they were on started to push downwards. Trying to find a grip on the smooth surface, Zayna scrambled with her arms, but the platform dipped further and she starting slipping towards the fiery liquid.
Link pushed with his back, hoping to act as a counterweight, his eyes beginning to water from the shimmering air that stank so much like charcoal. It worked, and the platform righted itself, Zayna hugging it in relief. The Hero smiled at her, while his eyes scanned the room. He did not know what type of material the platforms or the walls were made from but they were clearly resistant to the magma, despite the deep scorch marks that ringed the entire area.
Behind them, built into a wall, was a flight of stairs. Beneath the stairway was a long, fixed platform, the only stable safe haven he could see. He hoped that they led up to the Chamber of Joining. He felt the tide of uneasy panic rise within his soul. He could no longer sense Zelda's thoughts and feelings. Their connection, though, was not broken, only smothered somewhat. Her presence was still there behind whatever heavy blanket was blocking them, and so he knew she was still alive. It was enough, for now.
He looked out across the expanse of red and orange liquid and he spotted Chalance Vance, his nose bent, standing on a platform ahead of them. Like lightening, the sorcerer's eyes flickered with anger and his body was tense with frustration. With grim satisfaction, Link realised that the only way Vance could get to the Chamber was by going through him and Zayna. Drawing his sword, Link decided that that was a wholly acceptable proposal.
Vance stood straight, his staff gripped in his right hand. "It seems I made a mistake," he called, his words directed at the Hero. "I should have killed you when I had the chance."
"You're right," Link replied, his voice calm. "You should have. Now that our roles are reversed, I won't be making the same mistake."
The sorcerer snarled, his mouth curling. "So arrogant," he spat. "It seems you are in need of being taught a lesson."
Link laughed. "Arrogant," he said. "Strange that you of all people should accuse me of that." He felt his eyes narrow as anger took him. "You, who think that other people are your personal playthings to do with as you will. You sicken me. Like a tumour you need to be cut out from this world so that she can be healthy once more."
Their eyes locked across the room, their mutual hatred of each other a shared bond. "No," Vance replied, raising his staff. Link tensed, gripping the hilt of his sword harder. He saw Zayna draw her own weapon out the corner of his eye. "It is not me that is the poison. It is the world itself. It is only fitting that I be the one that remakes it. And I will start by wiping you out and then all your descendents."
Link sucked in a breath as reality rippled. The Demon Riders appeared at Chalance Vance's side as his mouth split into a toothy grin. Jagged forks of energy arched out from the staff before they swirled into a crackling sphere of dark energy. Before Link could even think what to do next the sphere hurtled in towards them and one of the Riders leapt in the air, tendrils of despair cutting through the atmosphere and into the Hero's heart. He fought it, trying not to be submerged by the memories of their initial encounter.
Teacher and apprentice dived, Zayna cartwheeling onto a platform on the right, while Link landed with a roll onto a platform on the left. The sphere careened into the spot where they had just been standing, crushing the floating structure into dust. The Rider touched down on Zayna's platform and she swung a sword at him with a scream of rage.
Link instinctively shot out a hand, desperately reaching out to try and help. It was a useless gesture, he knew, but he was already distracted as another sphere of sparking energy formed in the air like a whirlpool. With Zayna occupied, he knew this would be coming for him, and he swung round to face it, sword at the ready. The globe engulfed his vision as it started cutting through the air towards him. He saw the swirling light within it and he had to fight to keep his head from spinning.
Closer and closer it came and he felt his skin prickle, catching the scent of burning in the air. He saw it reflected in his sword now, a dance of fury and light. Gritting his teeth, he held firm, despite the fact that his legs screamed at him to flee.
A hair's breath closer.
Now.
He somersaulted into the air and the sphere shattered the platform with a crack, sending a plume of magma floating slowly upwards. Just before he began to plummet downwards, Link swung his hand down, flipped his hookshot up from his belt and fired. The spike snaked outwards, embedding itself into the far wall behind his enemies and, with a wrench that threatened to tear his arm from his socket, he swung in towards Chalance Vance and the remaining Rider.
The sorcerer's mouth dropped open as he saw what was about to happen. Link roared in rage, swinging his sword until the momentum made it blur. The world screamed past him at a terrifying rate, and the Hero saw the edge of his blade fly in closer towards Vance's neck. At the very last instant the sorcerer dived, and Link's glittering emerald blade struck the Demon Rider. Caught more by surprise than pain, the Rider stepped backwards, slipped, and fell into the molten liquid, his body rippling like a group of bats in flight. He did not cry out, nor scream. He could not have even if he had wanted to. The magma swallowed him whole.
Link rolled again as he landed, his eyes quickly catching a glimpse of Zayna as she fell back from the other Rider's blows, her face haggard. Again, the Hero had to fight the urge to jump over to her.
A hiss caught his attention and he turned to Chalance Vance, seeing another orb of dark energy hovering above the sorcerer's head. Something pricked at Link's mind, a memory, something overlooked. As the sphere screamed in towards him with a screeching howl, Link realised how similar this battle was to his encounter with Ganondorf in the other timeline.
Another sphere followed the first one in rapid fire, but Link was ready. With one last glance over at Zayna's platform, the Hero of Time positioned himself, shifting his feet and raising his blade. He swung, a long, powerful arc, catching the first sphere and sending it flying over towards his apprentice. Twirling with the momentum, he swung again, this time curving his sword slightly so that he could propel the ball of energy in a different direction. Directly towards Chalance Vance.
"Zayna!" he shouted. "Drop!"
She did and the sphere struck the Rider directly in his chest. His body flared up in a bright orange glow as his armour burned away and searing energy ripped through him.
Vance was quicker. Seeing the attack coming, he raised his staff, protective energy snaking out from the orb. It was not enough. The ball of energy collided into him, though not with the same intensity as it had hit the Rider, and he was thrown back, his neck snapping back as his mouth opened to let loose a gurgling scream.
He rammed into the wall above the fixed platform, hanging there for a heartbeat, before sliding down slowly and coming to a stop, unmoving.
Link fixed his eyes on him for a moment, his fingers flexing. Satisfied that the sorcerer would not be stirring any more, he jumped over the final few platforms, pausing once as one wobbled too violently, and reached his apprentice.
"Are you hurt?" he said, holding out his hand.
She was on her knees, shivering. Link felt a twinge in his heart. He knew how unsettling it could be to face the Demon Riders.
Taking his hand, she pulled herself up. "No," she breathed. "Not really." She added a smile. "Let's go. We have to help Zelda."
He nodded, his heart trembling at the mention of his wife's name. They turned together; ready to leap ahead to the stairway.
With a thwip, a shimmering band of green light snaked out from the darkness and curled around Zayna's hands. Surprised into inaction, Link could only gawp as she was tugged into the air with a yelp. The cord wrapped itself around the ceiling of the room, and Zayna hung there, swinging. Slowly, the light solidified itself into a brown rope. A rope that was gradually disintegrating, little by little.
"Look familiar, Hero?" Chalance Vance's voice echoed out, dripping with smugness. He crawled out into the light, one hand still clutching his staff, his robe in tatters. Blood trickled down his cheek. Slowly, he made his way to the staircase, his staff emitting a bubble of protective energy. "You don't have much time, Hero. What is it going to be? Save the girl or stop me?"
Link looked up, seeing Zayna's panicked wide eyes staring at the rope as it slowly faded away. If she fell, she would plunge straight into the magma. Link looked back to the sorcerer and saw his triumphant smile.
His heart pounding, the Hero of Time reached back for his bow.
*
Cyle and Zelda scattered as the Emperor galloped towards them. Pressing his back against a wall, the King's eyes sought out his former wife and found her crouching in one corner, her sword at the ready. Her hair hanging limply and her eyes sparkling with resolve, Cyle still thought she looked beautiful. His heart turned in pain and love. She looked up, catching him looking at her.
"Why, Cyle, why?" she shouted, her eyes darting back and forth between him and the Emperor who was turning around for another charge.
"Why what?" he replied, confused.
Her answer was drowned out by the Emperor's bellow, the creature's hooves thundering against the floor as he dashed towards her. She held her ground, and for a heart-stopping moment, Cyle thought she would slay the beast herself and then proceed to the Joining. He was still unsure as to how the prophecy worked. If it was Zelda that killed the Emperor and not him, would she be able to be Joined by virtue of still being the Queen of Hyrule?
Deciding he did not want to wait to find out, he darted out and placed himself in front of the onrushing minotaur, his sword swinging. Zelda was not relying on Cyle, however, and she rolled out of harm's way, jumping to her feet as the Emperor passed her, and slicing a thin line across his hide with her sword.
Cyle thrust his sword upward, but the creature screamed, knocking the King of Hyrule out of his path with his arm, like someone swatting a fly. Cyle slid across the floor, his skin burning from the traction. He snapped his head up. Zelda was before him.
"Why all this destruction?" she demanded, her eyes aflame. "Why the pain? Why? You had everything – why?" She was shrieking now, her body trembling. They heard the patter of the Emperor's hooves, but could not see him. Evidently, the creature had decided to fall back awhile to recover from Zelda's strike. Her eyes were still on him and, finally, a dam broke inside and he decided to her that which he had kept locked away in his heart.
"I did not have everything," he bit back. "I had my pain, my destruction." His heart welled up as the words started to flow. "I had my hands thrust against hot stoves just because I made a simple mistake in my chores. I was beaten until my bones broke when my words were misunderstood. Once, just once, I saw a travelling troupe of entertainers. I thought, I desperately thought, that this was something I could enjoy with my family. A day where, for once in my miserable life, we could share happiness and smiles just like all the other normal families in the world." Tears were pouring down his face like a child, but he did not care. Zelda continued to watch him, her expression stony. "But all they did when I asked was to tie me upside down with hot coals on my feet, slapping me until I would admit that I was too worthless for something like that." His throat was raw now and he felt the muscles in his face tighten so hard it hurt. "Worthless, they called me. Worthless."
Zelda stood, unmoved, a look of disbelief in her eyes. "Who did this to you?" she asked softly.
"Who do you think?" he spat.
They remained there for a heartbeat, looking at each other.
"You never told me."
Cyle let loose a short, harsh laugh. "How could I? Everytime I saw you gazing out of a window I knew who were thinking of. Everytime you went silent, and said you were 'too busy', I know what was going on in your mind. How could I ever tell you when all you ever thought of was him?"
Her eyes widened. "Cyle, that's not true," she said. "I cared about you. I married you, not Link. I cared."
"Lie!" His voice was rising further, almost getting hysterical.
He saw something dawn on her face. "All this," she whispered. "All this just because you were hurt as a child?" Her voice took an incredulous edge and Cyle felt his ire rise. "You were going to inflict pain just because you received it? Are you truly a man or did you never leave your childhood?"
He flinched at her last words, but did not rise to reply directly to them. "No one will feel any pain, my dear," he said, grinning insanely. "Except for the pain in their souls. Their hearts will be filled with so much love and adoration for me that they will think they will burst." He paused, trying to gain breath. He could almost taste it now. "Everyone. Especially you and Link."
"Oh, Cyle, no" she said softly. He saw something new in her eyes now. Something he did not want to see there. He saw her pity. "This isn't the way. Not like this, Cyle, not like this."
Before he could reply, the Emperor pounced from the shadows, his fists swinging. Cyle ducked the first blow and saw Zelda out of the corner of his eye, pulling her arm back as she prepared to throw her weapon. The King of Hyrule snarled, not wanting any help from his Queen. The minotaur took his eyes of off Cyle for a moment, seeing the danger that Zelda posed. The Queen stood steady, her face a mask of steely determination. It was all the distraction Cyle needed.
As the Emperor of the Sacred Realm charged, the King of Hyrule dived straight for the creature's hooves. He felt them crack into his body, racking his body with pain. He ignored it, looking up. There was only the briefest of moments left to act. Seeing his chance, Cyle swung his sword up and thrust it deep into the beast's torso.
The Emperor howled, a bloodcurdling scream, his limbs jerking out of his control. Cyle was flung away from the minotaur, his blade tearing free. He looked up, his head groggy, as the Emperor took one step back, the light in his green eyes fading, then toppled onto his side, dead. The floor split with hairline cracks and golden magma seeped out of the ground as the room started to shake.
Cyle grunted in satisfaction. There was but one thing left to do. His eyes found the lit platform at the centre of the room. All he had to do was step up onto it to gain his final victory. His eyes and thoughts focused on that one thing, and he pulled himself shakily to his feet, ignoring the vibrations all around him. A tear rolled down his face. So close.
He stepped up into the light, his gaze tracing the circular platform before him.
A flicker of movement caught his eyes, and he spun as Zelda leapt at him, her sword curving in for an attack. Once more he ducked, feeling the blade slice the air above his head. She had put too much force into her attack and she could not stop the momentum. Grinning, Cyle curled his own blade up, slicing through her wrist and severing her sword-free hand.
She stepped back, her eyes wide with horror and pain. Her shriek cut through him and he ached for her, resisting the instinct to rush to her side. He pushed her away with a kick and she rolled along the floor.
Cyle Narawan, King of Hyrule, turned back to the small, spherical platform, blood pumping in his ears as he prepared himself to be Joined.
*
Link was calm and confident as he hooked two arrows into his bowstring. No longer did he have to agonise over difficult decisions. No longer was he the somewhat hesitant Hero, who needed to be pushed before he made the right choice. Everything was now clear. He had left Chizan to die outside Jaroga because he knew that that was the only way they would reach the city without being slaughtered. His former self may have turned back and wasted their chance. His former self would still be wallowing in guilt over it now.
He raised the bow.
Chalance Vance's laugh floated over to him. "The girl it is," he taunted. "I bid you farewell. It will be a joy to finally rid myself of you when I am Joined." He turned towards the stairs.
Link's eyes shifted to the sorcerer and his mouth curled into a grin. "Chalance Vance," he called, making the other man freeze and turn back. "Haven't you learned not to underestimate me yet?"
The Hero of Time leapt into the air, spinning the bow towards Vance and releasing the arrows. One missed, but the other sliced through the sorcerer's robe, pinning him to the wall. Link landed on the platform ahead, his weight pushing the front end into the air. This, in turn, knocked another platform that collided into another and made yet another spin into the middle of the molten liquid. Where it came to rest directly under the apprentice.
Zayna's rope snapped and she fell with a yell. Hitting the platform with a sharp exhalation of pain, she looked up, glaring.
Realising that she was unharmed, Link hookshotted across to the sorcerer. Vance tore his robe from the wall, his staff igniting into flame.
Link twirled his sword up as the sorcerer arced the staff downwards. The weapons crossed in the air and Link felt the heat roll off onto his hands. Vance did not wait for another attack, shoving the Hero with a kick to the chest. He backed off, the orb atop his staff crackling.
Link dodged and weaved as the blasts came one by one, tearing into the ground and throwing dirt into his eyes. He dropped back, his sword feeling heavy in his hands, the debris stinging his eyes. Another step back, and the bolts of energy continued to rain in around him. He cast a cautious glance back over his shoulder. He was being herded towards the edge, where the magma was waiting with its fiery embrace.
He tried swinging his sword ahead of him, hoping he might deflect the shots, but thick, black smoke was churning now, covering his vision and making him cough. In the din he heard Vance howling with laughter, a maniacal sound that rung in his head. He was sick and tired of hearing the sorcerer's voice. One blast caught his shoulder, burning it. Another made his thigh jerk and he felt blood trickle down his leg. The memory of his torture filled his mind, and Link dug his heels into the dirt, determined not to give.
There was a brief lull and the smoke began to dissipate. Link waited, wondering what was happening.
"Do you know what I really enjoyed, Hero?" Vance's voice hung in the air, as though it were clinging to the gloom. The staff was no longer alight, though the orb still glowed faintly. Link's eyes caught something in the wall next to him. Two small outcroppings, staggered one above the other. "No answer? Then I shall tell you. What I really enjoyed was the farmgirl's hot blood pouring into my hands as her pretty little innocent face faded away into the next world." He paused. "Simply delicious."
Link lunged, feigning an attack. Vance brought his staff up, ready. At the last instant, the Hero changed direction, stepping up onto the first outcropping, and then the second. Using the forward momentum, he launched himself into the air, spinning upside down for a heartbeat, before landing in front of Chalance Vance. The sorcerer's face reeled with shock. The Hero of Time grinned.
One swipe of Link's sword splintered the staff in two, and the second drove straight through the sorcerer's neck.
There was a hiss, like the sound of air escaping and then, finally, Chalance Vance's body collapsed in on itself and withered away until there was nothing but a wisp of purple smoke.
*
Zelda whimpered as she pushed her ruined arm into the seeping magma, cauterising the wound. The acrid smell of burnt flesh assaulted her senses and she almost retched. She tore a strip from her tunic and wrapped it around the blackened stump, the pain sending shockwaves up her arm. Dizzy, she searched the floor with her other hand, trying to locate her sword.
She looked up.
Cyle reached forward, his hand hovering over the platform. A pillar of blue light sprung up, bathing his face with soft light. The chamber shook even harder and a few blocks of masonry fell from the roof. Cyle's hand started to glow gold, and he turned it slowly in fascination. She could see his body shaking as he laughed. Waves of pain vibrated through her, chilling her soul and making her bones tremble.
She had to do something, but all her body begged her to do was to close her eyes and release herself from the hurt.
Her mind whirled, thinking. Huge sparks were flashing around the King now, his arm fully enveloped by the swirling pillar of light. Images danced in the air. She saw Cyle's parents as he saw them, ogre-like, with sagging faces and cold eyes. Other visions came and she did not recognise them all. Some surprised her. A whirl of light revealed a young, sleeping girl. Her face was covered with cobwebs and her dress was coated with dust. She would have thought the girl dead, if she did not catch the slow rising and falling of her chest. What surprised Zelda the most was the fact that the sleeping girl looked so very much like her.
There was no time to ponder. She had to distract him.
"Cyle," she croaked, pain making her voice waver. He did not hear her.
She swallowed, forcing her throat muscles to work. "Cyle!" She added a coat of strength to the word.
He flinched. She had his attention.
"There's something you have to know," she said. He waited, unmoving. She fixed her gaze on him. Her heart thudded. "I remarried."
He spun away from the pillar and the light faded. He watched her with wide eyes. "What?" he whispered. "Who?" The fear in his eyes told her that he knew what the answer would be.
"To Link," she replied, struggling to keep her voice stable. "I love him."
"No."
"Yes," she barked. "I love him. I love Link."
"Please, no." He stepped down from the platform, walking slowly towards her. Frantically, her hand scrambled along the ground, desperate to find her blade. "No!" He was running now, his face contorted in pain and rage. Her fingers curled around the hilt of the sword and she sagged in relief. Zelda watched him approach, his scarred face twitching, his hand raising his sword.
"NO!" It was a bellow, almost animal like in its sound. He was before her now and she saw the tears on his face. An image flicked into her mind. An image of Cyle, young, romantic, full of hope and promise. A well of sadness opened in her heart.
With a scream that shook her body, she swung her blade upwards, light catching on its polished surface, before she plunged it into his chest.
Her trembling hand let go and he took a step back.
"But," he gasped, a trickle of blood rolling down his chin. His face seemed to melt into a childlike expression. Lost, lonely, pleading. It was an image that would be seared into her mind for the rest of her life. He took another step back. In Zelda's mind, the shaking and the noise all faded. All that she could hear was the weight of silence funnelling around Cyle's echoing voice.
"All I ever wanted." He fell to his knees, his eyes rolling.
"Was your love." Cyle's head hit the floor, his face taking on a look of serenity as his life left him.
Zelda's face crumpled in grief, and her body shuddered with sobs as she wept and wept and wept.
*
Link ran up the stairway, Zayna closely behind him. They skidded into the chamber, shocked to see it shaking itself apart and magma pooling on the floor. He spied the body of the Emperor, lying still. He could feel Zelda now in his mind, but something was wrong with her and it filled him with dread. He tried to caress her mind, tried to soothe whatever wound she was experiencing, but she pushed him away with a violence that surprised him.
"There she is," Zayna said, pointing.
Zelda was kneeling in front of Cyle's fallen form, her eyes and face red with tears. Link's eyes fell to the bandage on her arm and he felt a cold weight in his stomach. He was relieved too. Somehow, she had managed to stop Cyle from being Joined. He felt a surge of pride, but when he probed her, he realised that she did not share in his satisfaction.
They ran up to her and Link pulled her to her feet and into his arms. She did not resist.
"We have to get out of here," Zayna said as more stone fell from the ceiling, smashing into dust as it hit the floor.
Something swirled in the air in front of them, and a portal opened. He peered in, seeing Hyrule Field on the other side. He looked at Zayna, a question in his eyes, but she responded with a shrug.
'Go,' a voice said in his mind. At first he thought it was Zelda, but then realised that it belonged to another woman. A woman whose voice he had not heard in a long time.
"Malon?" he whispered, his heart quaking with awe.
'Go,' she repeated. 'Remember I love you all.'
Without another moment's hesitation, Link, pulling Zelda along in his arms, stepped through.
Zayna paused, looking back. She had no words to say, but she felt her heart lift, finally being set free. Turning back, she jumped through the gateway home.
The portal swirled away into nothingness as the shaking grew. Malon felt her consciousness dissipate and she fell back into Death's embrace.
With a final lurch, the Chamber of the Joining caved in, burying Cyle, Chalance Vance and the Emperor forever.
NEXT: The final chapter! Waa!