Link and Sheik, the two combatants, were instantly surrounded by a ring of bright flame, keeping Zelda and Ganondorf, and their magic, out of the fray. Link readied himself and Sheik flexed his fingers, as though itching to place them around the throat of the Hero of Time.
Immediately Link ran at Sheik, his Kokiri sword poised to strike, but Sheik was ready. He jumped into the air and came down with a blow that, had it connected, would have broken Link's spine, killing him instantly. But Link had rolled to the side at the last second and the blow struck the ground. Link responded with a horizontal slash intended to wound Sheik's knees, crippling him, but Sheik leapt backward in a handspring and prepared to send his fists into Link's torso. Link sidestepped the blow and brought his sword down to cleave Sheik in two but was nearly struck instead by Sheik's right foot which had swung around to deliver a blow to Link's head. Link ducked and did a back flip to get some distance between him and his opponent, then jumped forward with his sword above his head, ready to bring it down, but a well-aimed kick by Sheik sent Link toppling backward.
The blow momentarily knocked the wind out of Link and Sheik took advantage of the moment and ran at him, gleaming steel spikes in his clenched fist yearning to sink themselves into Link's neck, and swiped at the stunned hero. Link recovered just in time and swung his sword upward in a counter slash that caught Sheik in his right shoulder. The spikes dropped to the ground in a pile at Sheik's feet and Link spin kicked his opponent backward. Link then leaped into the air and brought his sword down in the place where Sheik's head would have been had he not rolled aside to dodge the attack. He countered by spinning on his hands, twirling his feet around in the air around him, and caught Link in the head, dazing him as he fell.
Outside the ring, Zelda was anxiously watching the fight, willing Link to get up and keep fighting and mentally cheering for him. Ganondorf felt empowered by the fight and his strength soared as he watched his nemesis take a severe beating. He laughed out loud and yelled in amusement as his companion knocked around his worst enemy like a rag doll.
Link stood up and placed his sword behind his back, pointing away from him, in preparation for Sheik's next assault. Sheik promptly ran again at Link and, anticipating another aerial attack, stopped abruptly and waited for his opponent to do as he planned. Link, however, left foot firmly planted on the ground, spun quickly in a blazing spin attack that slashed Sheik's chest as his blade danced around him. The attack did more damage to Sheik than Link had thought it would. In fact, the man seemed to be weakening with every passing second the battle lasted. If he could just keep Sheik from doing too much damage, Link could win!
Sheik rose to release a fury of attacks at Link, but Link, instead of counterattacking, merely dodged them all. He hoped to wear Sheik down enough so that the man couldn't keep up the fight. It seemed to be working, Sheik was slowing down. After several more minutes of failed attacks made by Sheik, he fell to one knee, gasping for breath. Link stood facing him, both his sword and shield lowered, and waited for Sheik to admit defeat. He was shocked to hear Sheik laughing.
"You have no idea…what you've brought upon this world by fighting me," Sheik said between ragged breaths. "This world is doomed now…because of your righteousness. Because of your need for vengeance, your thirst…for my death, Hyrule is doomed! My powers have not diminished for nothing, they were being…transferred. Ha ha ha…" Sheik laughed. Link ran forward and seized Sheik's robes and forced his head to his own.
"What are you talking about? Who were your powers transferred to?!" Link yelled, shaking Sheik as he did so.
"Heh heh heh…you think I freed Ganondorf for nothing? My powers have been going to him since I acquired the Deku Stone from that weak little sprout…you fool. I needed to free Ganondorf to complete the destruction of Hyrule…but first I needed to destroy the Gorons…and the Zoras as well…the Gerudos were also…unnecessary," Sheik's voice was growing fainter as he spoke. "Now there is only one thing left to do…" Sheik raised a hand to the outside of the ring and pointed at Ganondorf.
"What are you doing you fool? Why destroy me if you have reinforced my powers? What was the point of it all?!" Ganondorf demanded of the dying man. Sheik responded weakly,
"The time has not yet come…" The energy building in his hand shot at Ganondorf. A blinding flash cause Link and Zelda to look away, and when they looked back Ganondorf was encased in crystal, frozen, and defeated. Sheik waved his hand and the prison flew into the lava below them and vanished from sight. It was Sheik's last action, as he fell to the ground dead in a heap at Link's feet.
"The fool, why would he kill Ganondorf just as he himself was about to die?" Zelda asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.
"I don't suppose it matters now, they're both gone and Hyrule is safe," He responded. They both left the crater and headed for Hyrule Castle.