AN: fourth chapter... hope you all like it
Dungeon of the castle vault
Link emerged from the stairs, and into a room heavily carpeted with grass. It smelled like the thick perfume of too many flowers in stagnant water. At the walls, vines and trees grew, clinging to the brick. Higher up were spindly wall spiders, their abdomens white and eerily skull-shaped. Link decided not to waste his time, and headed forward, deeper into the room. Ahead of him was a door, and he went in. "Nothing frightening." said Karavi, to comfort him. Link's tense muscles had made the hair on the back of his neck stand up, and the shortest ones pricked her arms. "Nothing yet." he murmured in reply. To escape the pricking hairs, Karavi floated out ahead of him again. He looked around in the next room, much the same, and blinked, seeing a mammoth treasure chest right ahead. He rushed forward, opening it and withdrawing his bow and arrow quiver, sighing in relief. "I have 30 arrows, right Karavi?" The fairy counted the feathers, nodding. Link also nodded to reassure himself, and touched the door beyond the chest. It felt warm. He briefly furrowed his eyebrows, before heading in. A blast of hot air struck his face, stinging his eyes. Link gasped, shutting them tight and slowly walking in. Sweat immediately began to form and evaporate on his skin. "At this rate I'll dehydrate in seconds!" Karavi whimpered, flumping on his shoulder weakly. Link looked around, the air shining with heat. "It's as if they took each of the old temples and made them into dungeon rooms..." He started to take a breath, the hot air nearly searing his windpipe, making him cough fitfully. "Come on, Link! We have to go! Now!" Link nodded, not trusting his throat. He walked to the edge of hard brown rock, looking down into a mammoth pool of lava. Karavi screamed weakly. He stepped back several feet, then ran and jumped. Karavi screamed again, Link landing with a hard thump onto a rocky platform in the pool. The heat became worse than ever. There were two more rocks, and then a rickety ladder going up the rock wall across from him. Link jumped onto the next rock, then the last, Karavi enacting a death grip on the collar of his tunic. He tensed his legs, narrowing his eyes, before throwing his entire self towards the ladder, grasping the rungs tightly. The old wood gave a little shift downwards. Link immediately rushed up, the wood starting to pull away from his sudden weight and years of heat. He clutched the edge of the rock cliff, hoisting himself up as the ladder shuddered and tugged away, sliding down. It burned before even touching the lava, and the ashes simply seemed to disappear. Link shuddered, seeing this happen from the edge of the cliff. Karavi clutched him tightly. He looked around, seeing a new door, and instantly strode through it. The next room wasn't nearly as hot, and the two could breathe. There was another chest before them, and Link cautiously approached it. "What's wrong?" Karavi murmured quietly. "It's too weird. Nothing's come after me. The castle has heavy security.. so it doesn't make sense for me to be unapproached." He pushed the chest open, smiling some as he pulled out the gargantuan Megaton Hammer. "Finally. Something for close-range combat." Karavi flitted as she looked around, moving towards him. "I'm getting scared, Link..." Link nodded, looking around. Nothing. He sighed, before swinging the hammer up and pounding the ground with it. The tool was as powerful as ever; vibrations from the steel rang through his nerves. He hooked it onto his belt, going to the only other door in the room and reaching for the handle. When he got too close, Karavi screamed- the door came alive, wobbling, and fell. Link leaped out of the way, noting that behind the fake door was a rusty switch. He pulled the hammer free, and swung it hard at the fake door once it was up again. The force of the blow splintered the enemy's core, and it seemed to blow apart, falling onto the ground. Link stepped carefully through the splinters, striking the switch with the hammer. A loud grinding sound started up, and the room started rotating counterclockwise. It moved 90 degrees, and in the hole was a new switch. Link struck that as well, crying out as the floor fell away. He plummeted down into the darkness, Karavi shooting down after him. His landing wasn't as hard as it could have been- he was plunged into icy cold water, sinking several feet, unable to see a thing. He only hoped there were no beasts here. Karavi remained above the water, trembling slightly. Her tiny point of light aided Link as he put the hammer back. He burst through the water, sucking in a deep breath of air, coughing heavily and putting a hand to his throat. Karavi shimmered before him, illuminating only a tiny portion of the water, and nothing of walls or a ceiling. He started to swim, kicking with his feet as best he could, his left leg getting sore quite fast from the weight of the hammer. He let it drag, his other leg kicking faster, but to no avail. Link couldn't tell how far he'd gone- it seemed the world was endless. Karavi reached down, seeing him lag, and tugged on the collar of his shirt. "Link! Come on! Keep up with me! I see land!" The cold of the water was numbing his legs, and he was starting to feel weak from the exertion. "Karavi... do- do you... think I... can die?" He seemed to smile sadly, and she started to scream, tugging on his collar harder, and ripping the material. He paused in the water, as if resting, his arms sinking into the water. One hand brushed over another pouch, and he noticed with drugged surprise that it was full of something it hadn't had before. He reached in, sinking in to his chin, and producing the water medallion. "But you were absorbed.." he murmured softly. It glinted in response, shining from inside itself, before the whole thing took on a bright blue, shimmering into dust once more, and seeping back into his arm. His body itself took on a blue shine, and a loud roar came from behind him. He turned in shock, gasping as a mammoth wave of water rushed him, pushing him forward at an incredible rate. Though the wave was moving so fast, it was not pooling around in front of him. It was only carrying him to a shore dimly visible, lights shining down from above onto the pale sand. It set him down gently, receding with the quietest whisper. Link looked back at the still waters, before starting to walk, removing his hat and wringing it out, before putting it back on his head. Karavi floated along ahead of him, the lights only on the beach. They ended at a new tunnel entrance, Karavi's dim light showing off another pool of water. She floated farther over it, looking it over. Under her, in the water, Link could clearly see vortices swirling in the water pocketed throughout. The fairy made it to the other side, revealing to him a waterfall. Above the waterfall was a golden eye switch. She hovered around it, Link taking out an arrow and his bow. Now that he was on safe land, he felt better, not so morbid. Perhaps it was something the water had been tainted with, to discourage thieves. Link abandoned his wonderings, firing the arrow into the dead center of the eye. The switch was unlocked, and the waterfall dried up, along with the vortices. Link immediately dove in, swimming across to a ledge behind the waterfall, opening into a dark tunnel. He climbed up as fast as possible, pulling himself onto the ground as the switch clicked again, the waterfall bursting forth and the vortices starting up with renewed strength. Link headed forward, seeing a chest at the end of the tunnel. His boots thunked on hard tile, and water dripped from him continually. He opened the chest, able to pull out his water tunic. Karavi turned away, glowing pink, and Link changed into the dry clothing. He looked at Karavi, who turned around slowly, making sure he was dressed. Past the chest was a door, which he immediately went to and opened. He stepped through, gasping as he landed on nothing- falling into icy water. The cold sensations were annoyingly familiar by now. He was sucked into a wicked vortex, and trying to paddle out was tiring him. Karavi screamed, flying to him and ducking into his hat, holding onto him tight as best she could. The vortex took over their frail bodies, sucking them down.
Link could breathe- thank the goddesses he'd changed- and the water around him was nothing but dark black. They seemed to travel in this manner for hours, until Link felt the pull receding, dropping them down out of the water. Link felt his body plummet through a hole and land heavily onto warm tiles. He lay there for a few minutes in a cold wet pile, coughing. As used to breathing through the water tunic as he should have been, it was something new to kick him in the back. Link finally managed to regain his breath, standing up. Karavi bobbed up and down, looking him over. "Are you alright?" Link nodded. "Yeah, just a little wet. This tunic helps me to breathe underwater." He pulled off his now-blue cap again, wringing out the water and running his fingers through his hair to clear out as much water as possible, but it didn't help much- his pale hair had taken on a darker shade. He wrung out as much of his tunic as possible, emptied his boots of water, did all he could. Then he started walking. He was moving into another long blue tunnel, about halfway through fading into yellow limestone. The sand he was walking on became hotter, but not as bad as the heat room. And the wafts of warm air helped to dry him off. Karavi led him along quietly, her wings flittering gently, her body the only glow. About halfway down, the ceiling above them rumbled. Link stopped, looking up, as did Karavi. They waited for several tense moments.
When nothing happened, Link looked at Karavi in confusion. She shrugged, and they continued on down the labyrinthine pathway, having to double back from time to time. Link finally grew sick of walking in circles, taking out the megaton hammer and smashing it on the floor to the entrance of each choice he took. Karavi mumbled as they moved, having given up on flying ahead of Link and resting on his shoulder. Link fanned himself from the heat. The water was starting to sound good again. He came to another fork in the path, taking the left and walking a little ways. Link pitched forward violently as if something had grabbed him- but in actuality he had slipped into heavy quicksand. Karavi realised partially how much trouble she was going to have being his fairy. The sand sucked powerfully at his knees even as Link kicked and struggled against it. Karavi grabbed onto his shirt sleeve, tugging hard on it to no avail.
Soft padded footsteps sounded over the ground behind them. Karavi panicked, and ducked under Link's hat without turning around. The steps paused behind the Hylian, and a dark shadow covered him and projected onto the sand before him. He recognized the figure for a few minutes, and it vanished, strong hands grabbing him under the arms and hefting him out, setting him on sturdier ground. Link turned to thank his savior. In his peripheral vision he caught a flash of red eye and dark clothes- before a brilliant light engulfed the figure. After blinking hard, his eyes watering, Link could see again. But the figure was gone. Link put his hand on the hilt of a sword he did not yet have. It was starting to irritate him, but he would fight. His hand dropped to the bag where he had placed the deku nuts. When nothing approached him, he turned back the way he had been going and started walking, Karavi staying in his hat.
"Karavi." The tiny figure climbed to his shoulder to perch at his ear. "Yes?" Link swallowed to himself. "When did the princess die?" Karavi tilted her head. "The Deku princess?" Link shook his head. "No. The Hylian Princess." "It's Queen Aeve now." Link looked at the fairy in confusion. "N.. no- I mean Zelda." "-OH-." Karavi blushed, feeling foolish for having misunderstood. "Queen Zelda... she died about... 90 or so years ago." Link nodded slowly, wondering quietly to himself if the Goddesses had brought Zelda back. Karavi looked at him, tilting her head curiously. "Why?" Link shrugged, watching the floor. "Just wondering how long it has been." They continued on their path, Link taking a few more turns before coming upon a door with a grin. "Finally!" He ran through it, Karavi remaining not far behind as they went into the next room. From an alcove in the wall, hidden by a wall illusion, the mystery figure was watching him. It waited until the door was shut, then headed down the hidden tunnel. It sighed, tired, not used to fighting that much, and not used to being alive again. To rest, the shadow figure leaned against a wall- which was a mistake. Under it's back, a switch was triggered, sliding inwards. The figure whipped around quickly, staring at the switch. On top of it was the figure of a snake. There was a terrific grinding sound, and the ceiling of the labyrinth was being pulled back, opening up into a dark tunnel. From the tunnel, a mammoth black serpent seemed to pour out into the labyrinth. It hissed quietly, a blood red tongue flickering to taste the air. On its forehead was an upside triforce, well-known as a sign of disrespect to Hyrule and the Royal Family. The shadow made sure that Link was gone, before jumping down and running up to the creature, withdrawing a long, black sword. The snake hissed with an open mouth, revealing long sharp fangs, seeming to drip with hot green venom. It looked at the shadow with black glittering eyes, and lunged. The battle began.
Link and Karavi stopped where they were and looked at the door they had just come from. Karavi whimpered, grasping Link's tunic. "What is that?" Link shook his head. "I don't know." They waited for several tense moments, Link's hand on the bag with deku nuts. When nothing came after them, he slowly relaxed, and turned back to the room ahead of them. The area smelled of mildew, and it was dark and cold. "The Shadow Temple... We might almost be done." Karavi nodded, starting to fly around him again. He came into a room with black tile, mold covering the mortar in between, and narrowly avoided being beheaded by a morbid fan just above the entrance- a bust of death, the fan blades his scythe. They continued into the room, and Link ended up splashing into a deep puddle. "Hell.." he grumbled quietly, going into it, and realising it was not a puddle, but a lake. And the room was still very, very dark. Link waded in until he was up to his shoulders, and started swimming. Karavi floated a few feet ahead of him, illuminating a small area. Her light was strong enough to keep the photosensitive piranha at bay. He kept swimming, his teeth gritted and face determined. Karavi spied something in the distance, and looked at it for a while until she was sure of what it was. "Link! There's a pier over there!" He turned towards it immediately, swimming over, soon able to see it himself. He climbed up onto the pier, nearly gagging. His body reeked of sewage from the water, and he hoped it would not be permanent. Karavi kept a bit of a distance, not that he could blame her. Connected to the pier by a badly-frayed rope was a rickety little shell of a boat with one seat and no steering or oars. Link looked at Karavi, who gulped. "Do you think it's safe?" Link sighed. "We'll just have to see." He climbed in carefully, swearing he could feel the water and serpentine fish underneath the boat. He sat down slowly, the boat rocking some, but steadying gently. He reached up, unhooking the decaying rope from the pier, and set it down in the boat. At once it glided along effortlessly, following a path only it knew. It edged around vortices, piranha fish sliding by and snapping at the boat. Link swallowed hard, Karavi hiding under his hat after a half-hearted leap by one of the fish. The boat stopped at another pier, and Link climbed out, hefting himself up. Afterwards, the boat sank, piranha fish snapping at it and tearing the rotting wood into splinters. Ahead was another tunnel, which they immediately traveled down, Link keeping one hand on his bow. Ahead was a little room lit by torches, which he immediately entered. There were several chests, some of which were opened. Link opened the others, gaining the Lens of Truth, the Mirror shield, and- bombchus. He looked around. Beyond the chests was another door that looked kicked in, dark shapes seen just beyond it. Swords could be heard striking each other.
Link rushed to the door, Karavi right behind him. There was a warrior's cry, something Link himself had shouted many times before, and a thunderous thud, followed by something dissipating. Link paused, looking at Karavi, then opened the door. Nothing was there, just a swirling blue warp point. He stared at it in surprise, then looked around again. A golden chest had appeared. Karavi kept a look out for Link as he approached it slowly, pushing it open and reaching in. Inside the chest was a long black sword, its hilt wrapped with bandages for grip, metal crisscrossed at the base of the blade as if wrapping it in. Karavi gasped when she saw it, as did Link. The powerful weapon seemed to hold no weight whatsoever. He swung it through the air, the metal whistling.
"Link-" Karavi barely dared to whisper, staring at it. "This is the legendary Dark Elf sword." Link twirled it, before taking out the sheath and putting it on, replacing the blade. The sheath was solid black as well, with intricate curls carved into the leather. Karavi sat down on his shoulder. "They say the sword is so powerful, it can cut through shadows. But very few can truly wield it." Link looked at Karavi, and then towards the warp. Its light was warm and relaxing, and a soft humming seemed to emanate from it as he got closer. He stepped into it, and the noise rose in volume to a high-pitched trill. A blue fog poured upwards and out from under his feet, swirling around him and forming a chrysalis. He rose in the air steadily, the entire area fading beyond his sight.