Chapter Four
Destiny in blades
Translation notes, for you who don't know KAITENGIRI means spinning/whirling blade
The roof of the cave was covered in stalactites of frozen red ice. The rancid stench of death and decay wafted through the cave. Link covered his mouth with the end of his hat to try and mask the smell. He couldn't even dream of what could make such an awful stench but somehow it seemed painfully familiar.
He stopped for a second and peered in to the darkness ahead, he could make out faint flickering movements in the dark, probably Keese. Link turned and looked around, the place seemed to be already hollowed before Yamato arrived. From what he could see the walls were lined with brown bricks and chains that hung down. This was probably an old dungeon that ran beneath Hyrule, maybe from the war, long forgotten.
Suddenly he heard a shuffling sound and his attention was drawn to the walls before him. He drew his blade and walked slowly forward. To his surprise, all he saw were corpses in the dark. He retracted his blade and went over for a closer look. The smell again. He covered his mouth as he drew closer. Then the sound he had dreaded, clink, clink, clink, the sound of rusted chains dragging along the hard frozen floor. "Gibdos!" he exclaimed in fright. He watched in terror as the shambling husks that lay lifeless before him began to stir. He turned to run but there was no way out, they came from every side.
"This is it," Link muttered "There's no way out." He backed up against the freezing wall. "This isn't like you! Pull yourself together!" he spat "Have courage, go out fighting. It's the only way!" Link laughed at the corpses. "You want to fight?" he called drawing his blade "just try it!"
He yelled and ran into the oncoming hordes of monsters. Slice! His sword flew through their bodies like they were air, but they kept on coming wave after wave from the darkness. "Damn it!" he spat in anger as he slashed at the blundering cadavers. All of a sudden he felt something clutch at his leg! It was the severed hand of one of those beasts he thought he'd killed! He shook his leg to try to get it off, but he was grabbed from behind!
He was pulled to the floor as the beasts crowded around him, all trying to grab his clothes with their filthy hands. His sword and shield span along the icy floor away from him. He reached for them but he was pulled back by the rotting monsters. He smacked one in the face with his elbow and continued to reach for the sword. He was pulled to his feet and strangled by one, he kicked its legs out from under it and they both fell on to the cold ice. He grabbed at the sword and severed the head of the one behind him.
This went on for quite some time, but the monsters kept on coming and coming. Endless rows upon rows of filthy rotting beasts. He was slowly tiring; this had to end soon.
He fell to the ground in exhaustion. His energy was spent. But as he contemplated death, his hand fell to his belt where sat the Sheikah ocarina! This was it!
As the beasts snatched and grabbed at his tunic, he put the instrument to his lips.
The sun's song!
All of a sudden the monsters were incased in a thick binding of light. They were totally frozen in place. Perfect. Link drew his blade for the ultimate attack, the Kaitengiri. His blade sliced through their stone-solid flesh as if it was butter. Pieces of the monsters lay strewn along the cave floor but their stench still lingered in the air. Exhausted, he fell back against to white walls, panting and laughing in the same breath; fatigue had taken him down. It would not be long before more of them came, and he would be done for then.
As his eyes slowly fluttered shut, he was awoken by a warming glow dancing before his eyes. Blue fire! It fell in a small stream from somewhere in between the tangled mesh of crimson icicles. He grinned and bottled some up, it could be useful for later, but his luck was about to run out.
Abruptly the fire stopped, A snarl, and the flaming eyes slowly eased open. Two curved, sickle like stalactites began to move, and shook off their frosty red coat, leaving a blue mess of flesh and scales, sprouting a blade-like thumb from somewhere within. The fingers were visible now, long and cruel with hooked talons. Link gasped and tried to get away. The beast let out an ear-shattering cry and leapt down from its nest, shedding its coat of ice. The piercing red eyes layered within the blue of its scales, The beak hooked and barbed, the body armored and slender, the two sets of mantis-like wings that shot up from its back, The long spiny tail, the heavily clawed feet, and worst, the deadly scythes that replaced its thumbs reflected from every surface. He was in trouble.