The First Room
The next time I noted my surroundings, I realized I was standing in front of a large crowd. They jeered at me. This greatly angered me as I reached for my sword. I felt a strong grip on my arm as I tried to grab it. I spun around to see Dor'Khaz, the ancient plague lord who had challenged me long ago. I had struck him down and killed him, so it puzzled me to see him here.
"Link. I shall prepare you for your great cremation." I nearly spat on him.
"What the fucking hell are you talking about?" I retorted very coldly.
"Why, the crowd wants you cremated, so I shall do so."
The Plague Lord then grabbed his wand and shouted an angry-sounding spell. I felt a burning sensation in my lower body. It soon became a full-fledged burn as my abs lit ablaze and the fire rose all the way up to my nipples. I bled from the tore flesh on my chest and I screamed in agony. The burnt flesh slowly floated to my feet. I knelt down and sobbed slowly while cursing under my breath to the Plague Lord. I had no will at all to fight back.
Dor'Khaz continued. He slashed my face and tore open a large gash in my cheek. He then pulled a tablature of salt out of his robe and packed the salt deep into my wounds. I winced and screamed in the terror I was in. Once he stopped massaging the salt into my deep cuts, I finally felt the urge to fight. I grabbed my sword and engaged combat with Dor'Khaz. I made a few quick jabs, but my burns forbade any follow-through thrusts. The Plague Lord swiveled his body around and returned combat with a lighting spell. I barely ducked and went in for the strike.
Dor'Khaz lifted his staff for a defensive move, but his staff was snapped in no real work. My blade hit home and vanquished the Plague Lord. He kneeled down, blood pouring from his wound and vomited. He then spoke his last words for the second time.
"These people will bring you down. You cannot escape. Only if you reach the city's main tower..." with that, he hacked up blood and collapsed on the ground.
I heard angry screams from behind. I hazed behind to see an enraged group of people heading towards me with axe, maces, and other random weapons. I began to run towards the city gates, which were closed. Being burned and badly damaged, I was unable to run very quickly. When I reached the gate, I pulled out my hammer and blew it down with one terrific swing. I ran into the streets and followed the signs leading to the main tower. I hacked through angry villagers that opposed me along the way. I recognized some of them as soldiers I had wasted in the past. It was as if all the ones I feel guilty of killing had come back to haunt me.
I recalled the first time I had killed the Plague Lord Dor'Khaz. He was kneeling before me, weakened and bleeding. He begged me for all the forgiveness in the world. I was pretty sure he was even crying. We had been fighting on the top of a large tower in the ruins of Toadmourn. He had been teleporting atop the ruins as I had been using Farore's Wind to teleport. A well-aimed arrow had caused him to be at my mercy. I went with my arrogant instinct to kill all evil. Yet I could tell he was extremely sorry. That moment had been haunting me since the day I committed murder of the Dor'Khaz.
I dashed up the ruined streets of the town, looking for a central tower. As I destroyed a violent citizen to my side, I gazed up around and scanned around for a large tower. Eventually, my sight had caught it. It wasn't particularly large, but it stood out. It was surrounded by three large turret towers. I began to run towards it, killing all who began to come at me.
As I approached the large turrets, they aimed at me to attack. I took out my megaton hammer and took a defiant might swing at the first one. It left such an indent that the amo began to spill out of its hull. I took one other swing and it and the entire tower collapsed in on itself. It was about that time when the second turret took fire at me. I had no time to think before I was crushed beneath its gigantic missiles.
The great pressure on my horrendous burns on my body made me scream out in agony. The militia gathered around me prepared to kill me. But right before my moment of death, with my golden gauntlets I lifted the giant boulder of my chest and lashed out at my attackers. The turret prepared to launch another boulder at me, but I cast upon a powerful charge of din's fire and the turret burned down.
I was taking damage badly, and my burned chest slowed me down even further. If I stopped, I knew I would be killed by the soldiers surrounding me, so I stood tall and continued to slash apart my foes while beginning to enter the central tower.
As soon as I entered the immense building, I was jumped upon by many predecessors. I quickly swung my shield upward to knock them upward and out of my way, but more continued to pile up. I slowly sank beneath the weight of my enemies. I fumbled in my pocket for my Nayru's Love crystal so I could make it out alive. I slowly felt knives dive into my backside. I was too out of breath to scream and I eventually collapsed in a bloody puddle on the floor.
I woke up some time later with a very sore backside. My burns had also developed into flesh wounds. I could hardly move. I looked around my surroundings to find I was in a stark jail cell. I slowly leaned my head back against the stone wall and began to weep quietly. Where the fuck was I? I had already been questioning the worthiness of living any longer and now I was being put through sheer hell.
Again I began to muse with the thought of suicide. I felt more desperate than ever and I had no desire to continue on with the misery I was experiencing. Again I felt around for my sword. I pulled it carefully out its sheath and began swinging it around. As I was about to follow-through with stabbing myself, I remembered Malon. I loved her so much. I then dropped my sword. I couldn't do it knowing Malon was out there somewhere. And I vowed to get through this strange land to get back to her.
I slowly stood up and approached the cell door. I grabbed my megaton hammer and blasted right through it. The guards on the other side blew to splinters from the force pushed behind the door. I ran out into the jail halls. As I climbed the stairs into the main chamber, I recognized the place to be the great tower. I had been sleeping in its dungeons for the last time being.
Again I was jumped upon, but this time I flipped backwards and casted a large dome of Din's Fire onto the heap. They all began to burn under the great heat as I ran up the spiral staircase leading upward to a door at the top some 40 feet upward. It was a tall tower. I was in no condition to continue to run, but perseverance pushed me forward. I had great satisfaction killing things and the feeling of plunging my sword into these citizens of the strange land was akin to that of almost sexual pleasure. I had no time to ponder these strange feelings at the moment.
At last, I reached the top of the tower. Waiting for me was a large Iron Knuckle. It swung its battle axe in my direction. I quickly parried it wit my shield, but the swing was so formidable, I staggered back a few steps. The Iron Knuckle went in for another swipe, this time cutting me upward under the chin and throwing me down the stairs. I felt something crack in my left arm and I screamed in sheer agony. My chin was bleeding, my jaw bone was bent out of position, and I had just broken my left arm. A few tears escaped my eyes.
The Iron Knuckle clumsily lumbered down the stairs to go in for the kill. I rolled out of the way of its axe and delivered a sharp kick to its chest. It staggered back and I gave it a more definite kick with all my remaining energy. It tumbled down the staircase, the weight of its armor impacting its fall until it slipped off the staircase completely and plunged downward a good 30 feet until I heard a large crash, which I knew had taken its life.
My head throbbed and I was expecting to go unconscious at any moment then. I thought of Malon again and the thoughts of her kept me awake. I almost wanted to get her off my mind so I could end this pain. Instead, I was compelled to stand.
Dropping my Hylian shield, I left my left arm dangle as I started up to the door at the top of the spiral staircase. I threw my right arm's hand onto the doorknob and twisted slowly. I kicked the door open to see a throne room. There was only one person in it.
"Link. You have come." I immediately recognized the voice to be the voice of my good friend Princess Ruto of the Zoras. And it was her. This was puzzling to see a friendly face in the lands of people who had been trying to kill me.
"What are you doing here?" I asked with my voice, which was a mere murmur at this point.
She paced the floor a bit and answered "I am a mere tester to see if you truly value your life." This was not the princess. I could tell that pretty easily, but I said nothing of it.
Instead, I answered "Oh really? Why have I been sent upon here?"
"The great Ga..." she caught herself. "My great leader has been suspecting that you do not value your life and if you fail to complete these tests, you shall die."
"I sure as fuck do value my life. Liberate me from this area at once."
As soon as I had raised my voice, she drew a dagger from her pocket. My weakened mind saw this as an opportunity to kill her and free myself from this world. I quickly drew my sword and stabbed her with my master sword. She choked, coughed up blood and knelt on the ground.
"Link...!"
In my haste and anger, I delivered another blow to her side. Between gasps, she spoke.
"...Link... there are things... you must... know!"
I froze. Was this the princess? Surely this was a land of nonsense for I had earlier seen Dor'Khaz, the plaguelord I had befallen. Nevertheless, I knelt beside her. "What is it I should know?"
"...My leader... he's no ordinary... man... he will destroy you... you cannot be as... hasty as you've been... the next room... will be... tougher! You must know... thi-" With that, her eyes turned red and rolled to the back of her head. She was dead.
The next thing I knew I was back in the house of the four doors and the staircase. A light beckoned from the door across from the first one I had entered. I was still puzzled by what the strange illusion had tried to warn me of.
My Farore's wind bottle had just vibrated. I had received word from someone. I took the jar off my belt, pulled out the cork and put my ear to the end of it to see what news had reached me.
Halfway through the message, I dropped the bottle and fell to my knees. It was the Zora king, telling me Princess Ruto had just died. I collapsed onto my broken arm and wept. Something very strange was going on.
