Gerik stood at the entrance to the Gerudo Valley, water dripping down from his now rain soaked hair. He stood there silent, and unmoving. He was just staring out at the total carnage that was Hyrule Field. The smell of burning timber and corpses, as well as the smell of blood, was thick in the air. The constant flashes of lightening only served to reveal an even bigger disaster than could be seen in the darkness, and the subsequent thunder wasn't nearly loud enough to drone out the sounds of battle, and death. Gerik had known that this war would be terrible, but he never expected it to be like this.
Behind Gerik, all sitting on horseback and staring out at the same bloodbath Gerik was, were 800 Gerudo warriors. The reddish armor they wore gleamed in the light of the torches they brought and cast a pale glow in the darkness of the night. They all had a sword hanging from their sides, but half of them were also wielding a bow and still others were holding spears. Though the Gerudo all sat there expressionless, inside they were filled with disgust and shock. At just one glance each and every Gerudo warrior knew that they had made the right decision to come to Hyrule's aid.
Lord Arcana just stood there staring at the Gerudo Army situated toward the West. In all of his scenarios he never guessed that the Gerudo would come to Hyrule's aid. This was a totally unexpected surprise, and while most would consider it bad Lord Arcana considered it a joyous surprise. Lord Arcana had all intentions of destroying the Gerudo after finishing with Hyrule, but now that they had come to the battle he could destroy them all now. He could wipe out all resistance within Hyrule in just one fell swoop. Things were going better than he could have ever imagined.
The thousands of Arcanites still awaiting their chance to enter Hyrule Market saw the Gerudo Army and readied themselves. They formed several lines facing the Gerudos and stood ready for their charge. The Wizzrobes meanwhile continued to harass the several Gorons that had decided to remain out in the field so they did not disrupt the Arcanite lines. With nearly all the Gorons still out in Hyrule Field frozen though, the Gorons were more concerned with saving their own lives than attacking the enemy.
Gerik watched as the Arcanites formed their ranks, but wasn't concerned with them. He instead turned his attention toward the South, where he knew the man responsible for all this death and destruction, Lord Arcana, stood waiting. It was Lord Arcana that Gerik wanted, and he would kill any who got between them. As he was looking for the figure of Lord Arcana, another flash of lightening revealed out of the corner of his eyes two silhouettes standing on top of the now decrepit wall. Though he was too far away to truly know who they were, somehow he knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was Link and Zelda standing there. He was glad that they were still alive, but he wondered why Navi wasn't up there as well.
Pushing all negative thoughts about Navi's condition out of his head, Gerik turned his attention back toward Hyrule Field and drew both of his swords. The Gerudos not wielding a bow or spear followed suit and drew their swords. Then, without moving or turning around, Gerik raised his right arm into the air. The same high pitched horns from before sounded again. The time to raze the enemy siege was at hand.
"Charge!" Gerik yelled so loud that even Link and Zelda could hear it on top of the wall.
The horns stopped and were replaced by the thundering stampede of the Gerudos' horses. They charged straight for the Arcanite lines. As they charged the mounted archers fired arrow after arrow while those wielding spears tossed them into the waiting enemy. Despite the onslaught and the approaching charge of horses, the Arcanites held their lines. Arcanite archers formed ranks behind the others and returned fire back to the Gerudos, aiming for both Gerudo and horse.
Gerudo after Gerudo fell to the barrage of enemy arrows, but still they charged on without a second thought. As the Gerudo got ever closer to the Arcanite ranks, the front line broke and the Arcanites scattered to the back. The next row of Arcanites rushed forward with pikes in their hands and pointed them toward the approaching Gerudos. The rows of Arcanites behind them pulled out pikes from seemingly thin air as well and pointed them forward. It had been a trap, and the Gerudos fell for it. The Arcanites had kept the pikes hidden until the last moment, when they knew the Gerudo couldn't stop their advance.
Unable to stop their charge, the Gerudo just bit down and continued onward. They readied their swords and charged into the waiting Arcanites at full speed. Both horse and Gerudo fell to the deadly pikes, but the front line of the Arcanite ranks was completely decimated by the charge. For the Gerudo who got through they both trampled and slashed at the Arcanites in the rear rows. The mounted archers didn't fully charge with the others, but stopped before the Arcanite ranks and fired into the enemy trying to reduce their numbers as much as possible. Both sides suffered heavy losses.
About one quarter of the Gerudo forces were now dead, and dozens more were wounded. Of those surviving about half were now reduced to fighting on foot with the loss of their horses. The surviving Arcanites now regrouped, drew their swords and engaged the Gerudos. The Wizzrobes, now basically bored with taunting the few Gorons left, turned their attention to the Gerudo as well. They aimed for those Gerudo still on horseback, which for the most part consisted of the mounted archers.
While the Gerudo and Arcanites fought to the death, Gerik was making his way toward Lord Arcana. If he could stop Lord Arcana here and now then maybe this war would stop without any further loss of life. As he approached the entrance to the Kokiri Forest he could see several thousand heavily armed and armored troops. They just stood there motionless, staring toward Hyrule Market, their blue armor making them nearly invisible in the darkness of the night. Gerik guessed that these guys were the Darknuts that Navi had told them about, the most elite soldiers of Lord Arcana's army.
Standing toward the middle of the Darknuts was a man who towered above them all. Gerik knew at once that it was Lord Arcana. Though unable to see any details at the distance he was at, Gerik was at least finally laying eyes on Lord Arcana. Without hesitation Gerik tightened his grip on his swords and charged forward at full speed. Gerik's approach didn't go unnoticed though, and several Darknuts moved forward to intercept him. The movement of his Darknuts intrigued Lord Arcana, so he turned to watch what was happening.
The Darknuts took several steps toward Gerik and then stopped. They stood shoulder to shoulder and formed a line to block Gerik's advance. Remembering what Navi had told him about these guys, Gerik stopped his charge. He wasn't going to be foolish enough to take on more than one of these guys at a time, at least not until he found out how powerful they truly were. Their faces were completely covered by their helms, so Gerik was unable to read any sort of expression from them. The Darknuts just stood there staring at Gerik, and Gerik returned their icy gaze with one of his own as he tightened his grip on his swords.
Finally, one of the Darknuts stepped forward. As he stepped forward he threw away the shield that he had been holding and drew one of the most vicious looking swords Gerik had ever seen. The blade was easily three-fourths the size of the Darknut, and was serrated in several places. The blade gleamed in the darkness, and Gerik could tell that it was extremely sharp. Gripped in his right hand, the Darknut swung the blade in the air a few times before grabbing hold of it with both hands and standing in a defensive stance. Gerik had been wondering how cocky this guy was at throwing his shield away, but after seeing the Darknut swing that big and heavy blade around with just one hand he knew that there was nothing cocky about this guy.
Gerik didn't have to wait long for the Darknut to make his move. Sword still gripped in both hands, the Darknut took off in a sprint straight for Gerik. Despite wearing all that heavy armor, the Darknut ran as if he wasn't wearing any armor at all. Gerik was caught off guard by the speed with which the Darknut could move and was barely able to raise his swords to defend himself. Gerik was pushed back by the impact the Darknut's attack, and before the Darknut could follow through with another strike Gerik did a few back flips to put some distance between themselves.
Gerik came out of the back flips with both swords held ready. He didn't think it was physically possible for someone to move that fast wearing all that heavy armor. Without all that armor, Gerik believed that the Darknut would be able to run as fast as, or maybe even faster, than himself. Giving Gerik only a second to catch his breath, the Darknut charged again. Gerik was ready this time as he braced his feet into the ground and readied his swords. Upon reaching Gerik the Darknut swung down and Gerik blocked. He was able to prevent the Darknut from bringing his sword down any closer to himself, but he couldn't push him back. It was like the Darknut was pure strength.
Pushing the Darknut's sword to the side, Gerik quickly sidestepped out of the way. Gerik immediately turned so that he could strike the Darknut in his side, but upon turning he saw the Darknut's sword heading straight for him again. He had barely enough time to raise his own sword to block the attack, and as a result Gerik was tossed several feet away by the impact. Quickly getting up off the ground, Gerik was amazed by the speed with which the Darknut wielded his sword. For a sword that size, the speed was incredible. As far as Gerik was concerned, there shouldn't have been a man alive that could wield a sword that big as fast as the Darknut was.
The Darknut charged him again and Gerik readied himself. The Darknut swung his blade repeatedly, forcing Gerik to stay on the defensive. Gerik had to use both swords to prevent himself from being hit by the repeated attacks. Quickly raising his sword in the air, the Darknut now brought it down with full strength. Gerik formed a V with his swords and blocked the attack. The Darknut held his blade there though, trying to force Gerik to his knees. Gerik was trying his hardest to stop him, but slowly the Darknut's sword was getting closer to Gerik's head.
Summoning all the strength in his body, Gerik pushed the Darknut's sword all the way back and immediately went on the offensive before the Darknut could react. Gerik slashed at the Darknut repeatedly, aiming for both chest and head. As his momentum began to decrease, Gerik jumped and drop kicked the Darknut. The Darknut didn't fall to the ground, but he did stagger backward from the blow. As Gerik caught his breath he looked to see what damage he had done. He was aghast when he saw that the Darknut's armor didn't even have a scratch on it.
The Darknut just laughed as he rushed forward with his sword pointed straight ahead of him. Gerik jumped out of the way and rolled to his feet as quickly as he could. He then turned around only to be met with the hilt of the Darknut's sword in his head. Gerik didn't fall, but he was holding his head as he staggered backward. The Darknut now tried a horizontal swing and Gerik barely managed to block with the sword in his right hand. Unfortunately, the impact of the hit caused Gerik's sword to break sending small metal shards all over the place, and Gerik fell flat on his back. The Darknut then stood over him with his sword held high ready to finish Gerik off.
"Gerik, catch!" he heard Link's voice yell.
As Gerik tried to figure out where the voice had come from, a large object slammed into the ground nearby. Not even bothering to see what it was, Gerik rolled toward it and grabbed a hold of it as the Darknut brought his sword down. When Gerik stood up he looked to see what the object in his hands was. It was the Megaton Hammer. Gerik didn't realize it, but during his fight he had been pushed back almost to the wall. He looked up to see Link standing on top of the wall and gave a nod.
Turning back to the Darknut, Gerik quickly rushed toward him with the Megaton Hammer held tightly in both hands while the Darknut was lifting his sword out of the ground. Gerik quickly swung the hammer, but the Darknut just barely got his sword out of the ground in time to block. Unfortunately for the Darknut, the impact sent the sword flying out of his hands and the Darknut straight to the ground. With a smile Gerik raised the Megaton Hammer into the air and brought it down with all his might. The Darknut's armor was crushed from the impact, and so was his chest. With the Darknut now dead, Gerik headed back toward Lord Arcana.
Having thrown Gerik the Megaton Hammer and seeing him kill the Darknut, Link now turned to look at the fighting still going on within Hyrule Market. Even though there were no longer any more Arcanites flooding into the city since they were occupied with the Gerudo, Hyrule Market was still swamped with Arcanites. They easily outnumbered the combined forces of the Hylians, Zoras, and Gorons by a margin of at least ten to one. Placing his hand on Zelda's shoulder and giving her a weak smile, Link readied his sword and shield and headed back down to the battle.
Things weren't looking that much better for the Gerudo. All of the Gorons that stayed behind in Hyrule Field were now all frozen, leaving the Gerudo to fend for themselves against the full might of the Arcanites and Wizzrobes. Fighting hand to hand with the Arcanites wasn't that bad. The Gerudo were far better warriors. The problem was the Wizzrobes and their ability to disappear and reappear anyway on the battlefield. They took out Gerudo after Gerudo, and in some cases several at a time, while the Gerudo couldn't even land a single blow on them. Luckily for the Gerudo, they had Zelda helping them out from on top of the wall.
The mounted Archers were basically the only Gerudo's still on horseback, and the task of taking out the Wizzrobes fell on their shoulders. The other Gerudo by this time had either already lost their horse or dismounted to spare their horse's life. The job of killing the Wizzrobes fell upon the mounted archers since they had the best chances of anyone, even though their chances were still slim, of actually killing the Wizzrobes. The problem was that by the time the archers fired their arrows the Wizzrobes had already fired their magic attack and disappeared. It was only by chance that a Wizzrobe would appear within an archer's line of sight that they could quickly fire off a shot and kill them.
The battle within Hyrule Market was beginning to get desperate. The fighting had now spilled out into every corner of the devastated city. Some of the combatants were actually fighting right next to one of the many raging fires within the city, the extreme heat coming from them causing the soldiers on all sides to suffer, and still others had now become cut off from everyone else as the fires surrounded and eventually engulfed them. Within the city, all anyone knew about the storm still overhead was that it was drizzling. The lightening was eclipsed by the raging fires, and the thunder was masked by the now all to common sounds of swords clashing, fire crackling, and wails of agony and death.
With his remaining sword in one hand and the Megaton Hammer in the other, Gerik had almost reached Lord Arcana again. He knew that there would be several Darknuts there waiting for him, but now that he knew how to kill them there shouldn't be any problem, unless they all attacked him at once. He was now glad that Navi had yelled at him several days before when he so easily brushed off the Darknuts as wusses. As he got closer he saw a group of five Darknuts standing there with swords drawn and ready to fight. Gerik stopped several feet away from them and got into a defensive stance.
"Don't touch him!" yelled Lord Arcana from behind the Darknuts. "This warrior is very skilled to have killed one of my Darknuts. He doesn't deserve just any death, but an honorable death by my hands."
"Phfff, you're the one who's going to die today Lord Arcana," replied Gerik as the Darknuts stepped out of the way. "You're going to pay for all the death you've caused."
"Such cockiness. Reminds me a lot about my son."
"How dare you compare me to that bastard!"
Gerik drops the Megaton Hammer knowing that it will only slow him down in this battle, and rushes forward with his sword held out in front of him. He was running at full speed, and Lord Arcana had yet to draw his sword yet. Just as Gerik was about to reach him though, Lord Arcana held out his hand and shot a huge fireball at Gerik. Gerik quickly leapt out of the way, but the fireball managed to singe his left leg. Gerik rolled when he hit the ground so he could quickly get up, but when he turned around he saw Lord Arcana, sword drawn, running straight toward him.
Lord Arcana's speed was no where near as fast as Gerik, but that was the only advantage Gerik had. After blocking just the first swing Lord Arcana made at him, Gerik could tell that he was at least ten times stronger than the Darknut he had faced. Not only that, but just as Navi had said he was an extremely skilled warrior. To Gerik it looked like Lord Arcana was performing sleight of hand tricks with his sword, some of which almost allowed Lord Arcana to connect his sword with Gerik. Gerik was being forced to use every skill in his arsenal just to stay alive, but it looked like Lord Arcana wasn't even breaking a sweat. Gerik wished he still had his other sword with him.
Lord Arcana went for an underarm strike, but Gerik sidestepped out of the way and quickly rushed forward to make a strike of his own. Gerik was about to stab Lord Arcana in the side, but just before his sword hit Lord Arcana disappeared. Gerik quickly circled trying to find out where Lord Arcana had reappeared and was met with a fireball in the chest. Gerik luckily blocked the full blast with his sword, but the little of the blast that did get through hit him square in the chest and sent him flying straight to the ground. Gerik hit the ground hard, and his chest was now burning.
Zelda continued attacking the enemy forces out in Hyrule Field. Her main targets were the Wizzrobes since they were the ones slaughtering the Gerudos. The Gerudos were already down to half strength, and they had hardly been fighting an hour yet. As Zelda killed another Wizzrobe, five Wizzrobes teleported right next to her on top of the wall. Zelda immediately put up a shield as the fire Wizzrobes fired magic beams at her. The Wizzrobes held their attack, pumping all the magic in their bodies into bringing down Zelda's shield.
Zelda still had plenty of magic to spare, but the Wizzrobes' attack against her shield was beginning to build up. The wall itself was starting to tremble under the stress of the magical energy. Then, in a huge flash of light, the pressure from the magic attacks was released in a huge explosion that killed all five Wizzrobes and sent Zelda flying down into Hyrule Market. Zelda had hit the ground hard, but she knew that she had to stand up quickly or be killed. Struggling against the immense pain her body was in, Zelda slowly but surely stood up. Since going back on top of the wall was out of the question, Zelda decided to attack the enemies within Hyrule Market.
Link had seen the explosion on top of the wall and worried for Zelda's safety. He quickly killed the Arcanite that he was battling with and turned to see if he could find Zelda. He had turned just in time to see her smoking body fly through the air and crash into the city. Link wanted to rush to her side, but there were hundreds of combatants fighting between where he was and Zelda had landed. He knew he'd never get over there, but was relieved when he saw her stand up. Seeing her also begin to attack the Arcanites gave him hope as well since the battle within Hyrule Market had turned even darker than before. They were on the verge of losing. Link just hoped the Gerudos were having better luck.
With Zelda now gone, the task of killing the Wizzrobes fell once again upon the mounted archers. By this time though, most were either dead or had run out of arrows. The Wizzrobes had realized what a threat they posed, and focused all their attacks on eliminating them while the Arcanites took care of the other Gerudos. Except for the fact that they were outnumbered though, the Gerudos were still holding their own despite all their setbacks.
Gerik's left leg and chest burned him, and he now had several cuts along his back to add to the pain he was in. His body having been thrown around and slammed into the ground several times wasn't lessening the pain either. In the face of all this though, Gerik continued to fight Lord Arcana. He was determined to kill Lord Arcana or die trying. Right now though Lord Arcana was holding Gerik by the front of his shirt and was about to run him through. Before he could strike though, Gerik swung and kicked off of Lord Arcana's chest, freeing himself from his grasp.
As Gerik flew through the air he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a Deku Nut. He then tossed it at Lord Arcana, who without realizing what it was tried to bat it away with his sword. Upon hitting his sword though, the Deku Nut exploded in a bright light blinding Lord Arcana. Gerik used this opportunity to rebound off of a nearby rock and fly straight through the air toward Lord Arcana. With his sword held ready, Gerik was ready to land a killing blow. Unfortunately, Lord Arcana recovered faster than he should have and put up a shield before Gerik could strike.
Gerik slammed into the shield, and at once his body was writhing in pain. Gerik's body felt like it was being electrocuted. After touching the shield for what seemed like minutes, even though it was actually seconds, Gerik was thrown backward. Once again Gerik was on his back, but this time he wasn't sure if he could get back up. His eyes were hazy, and his ears were ringing with the sounds of swords clashing and people dying nearby.
"Impressive," stated Lord Arcana. "Never has anyone lasted this long against me. You certainly are an extraordinary warrior Sheikah. It's a good thing your race is all but extinct; otherwise I might actually lose this war. Maybe it's time I stop going so easy on you."
"I thought you were going a little easy on me," replied Gerik with a smirk as he slowly raised himself up off the ground. "You're going to regret not killing me when you had the chance. I've still got a few more tricks up my sleeve. Come on boy, bring all you've got."
Gerik's ploy to frustrate Lord Arcana worked. Lord Arcana rushed forward in a fit of rage and Gerik readied himself. As Lord Arcana went for a horizontal cut designed to take off Gerik's head, Gerik quickly ducked and performed a leg sweep. Lord Arcana got caught in the back of his legs and began to fall. Before he had fallen all the way, Gerik quickly brought his sword around to slam into Lord Arcana's chest. Gerik used both hands to drive his sword down, but Lord Arcana's chest plate deflected most of the strike. Gerik was only able to punch an inch of his sword through the chest plate, but he was at least glad that he had finally drawn blood.
Lord Arcana was anything but happy at the moment. Nobody had ever made him bleed before. Clenching his right hand into a tight fist, he punched Gerik right in the face. As Gerik reeled in pain, Lord Arcana got up off the ground and took Gerik's sword out of his chest. He then threw the sword with all his might at Gerik, but Gerik caught his sword and charged straight at him. Lord Arcana readied his own sword as Gerik began his attack.
All six Sages were sprawled out upon their pedestals, completely drained of all energy. They were barely alive, but still they were pumping what strength they had left into the seal on the Evil Realm. Occasionally, the Sage Room would shake from the battle outside. Though located in a different dimension, all the sounds of death and destruction from the war outside was leaking through. The Sages could hear and feel everything that was happening.
As the Sages lied there, they all opened their eyes wide at the exact same moment as they all felt a powerful presence. Summoning what strength they still had hidden, they all rose up off the ground and looked at one another. They all had the same worried expression on their faces as a bright light began to form in the middle of the room.
"Oh no!" exclaimed Ruto. "The seal, it's. . .it's. . .it's breaking. We've failed."
"No we haven't!" yelled Rauru. "As long as we still draw breath we have not failed. When that seal breaks, I want you all to attack Ganon with everything you have left. We must not allow him to escape."
"But we're too weak," piped in Saria. "Our powers are drained. We're nothing but shells of our former selves."
"Do not talk like that," said Darunia in a stern voice. "Brother Link is out there fighting against a larger and more superior army, yet he has not given up. He still fights on, as do the Hylians, Gorons, Zoras, and Gerudo. If they can fight and die for something that they believe in, then so can we. We will not abandon Hyrule."
"At the very least we must weaken Ganon," added Nabooru. "We might not have the strength to defeat him, but at the very least we can weaken him so that he is not as much a threat."
"Get ready everyone," said Impa. "The seal is about to break."
The light that had formed in the middle of the room was getting bigger and brighter every second. Just as Impa had uttered her last few words, the light exploded in a brilliant flash that sent shockwaves into the waiting Sages who were sent flying across the room. As they recovered from the blast, they saw Ganon standing there, a wicked smile on his face as he stared at the weakened Sages.
"I'm free," he shouted. "I knew I would escape that damn seal, but I never knew it would be so soon. Now I can get my revenge on those responsible for sealing me away. Hey, what's that noise."
As Ganon tried to determine what the sounds of the war were, all six Sages charged him. Darunia got to him first and got him in a big bear hug. As he was squeezing the life from Ganon, the other Sages summoned what magic they could and focused it into one giant blast aimed directly at Ganon. Ganon was taken aback by all of this. In his excitement of having escaped the Evil Realm he didn't notice that the Sages were in the room with him. Darunia kept Ganon from escaping as the blast headed directly for Ganon and hit him at full strength.
When the smoke from the blast had cleared, the Sages all looked to see if they had succeeded. What they saw was a completely unharmed and laughing Ganon, who was still being held tightly in Darunia's grasp. In a sudden show of strength, Ganon easily broke out of Darunia's grasp and then elbowed him hard in the face. As Darunia flew across the room, the other Sages, who no longer had any magic left within them, charged Ganon. Ganon, seeing how weak they were, didn't even bother to draw his sword as they charged.
Nabooru reached him first. She tried to do a roundhouse kick, but Ganon caught her leg in midair and pulled her toward him getting her into a headlock. He then snapped her neck as Saria and Ruto tried double teaming him. With his hands now free he grabbed both of them by the neck and choked the life out of them, dropping their limp bodies to the floor once they were dead. Seeing three of her fellow Sages dead, Impa became enraged and used her Sheikah speed to get by Ganon and deliver a flurry of quick punches and kicks.
Impa finished off with a strong kick to Ganon's midsection, using all her remaining strength to do so. It wasn't enough though, and all Ganon did was keel over slightly. Impa was about to get out of Ganon's reach, but before she could Ganon grabbed the back of her hair and pulled her to the ground. Ganon then used his free hand to create a dark energy ball and slammed the magic attack into Impa's chest, killing her. Darunia was now on his feet again, and he was charging straight for Ganon. Just before he could tackle Ganon from behind though, Ganon drew his sword and sliced Darunia's head cleanly off of his body.
Ganon just laughed as he put his sword away and stared at the dead bodies of the Sages. It then dawned on him that there were only five dead bodies laying at his feet. There was one Sage still missing. Before Ganon could turn around to look though, Rauru grabbed him from behind and grasped him just as Darunia had done earlier. Ganon couldn't break free this time though, and when he looked down at Rauru's arms wrapped around his chest he saw that they were glowing. A look of fear spread across Ganon's face as he realized what was happening.
"You fool!" Ganon shouted. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Taking you out one way or another," Rauru replied, "and if that means sacrificing myself to do it then so be it. Escape this you tyrant!"
Rauru's body began to glow brighter and brighter. Ganon struggled as hard as he could, but he couldn't escape Rauru's grasp. Then, just as Rauru's body got so bright that it was like looking into the sun, Rauru's body exploded into a giant explosion that not only engulfed Ganon, but the entire Sage Room as well.
Zelda had been slowly making her way toward the exit of Hyrule Market as she continued firing off her magic attacks against the Arcanites. She couldn't help but wonder how the Gerudo were faring without her being there to fend off the Wizzrobes. If what was happening inside Hyrule Market was any indication, then the Gerudo were being slaughtered. Her thoughts then jumped to Gerik, who she knew was headstrong and foolish. She wondered if he was even still alive considering that she had seen him go after Lord Arcana herself.
As Zelda was contemplating whether or not to tell Link to sound the retreat, the Temple of Time, the only structure within Hyrule Market still standing, exploded in a huge fireball that sent debris flying to every corner of Hyrule Market, and even over the wall to Hyrule Field. Everyone in Hyrule Market, both good and bad, stopped fighting and turned to look at what was going on. As they stared at the wreckage they saw Ganon fly out of the smoke and hover in the air, laughing as he did so.
Everyone stood there in shock as they looked at Ganon hovering in the air, but both Link and Zelda were aghast. They couldn't believe that Ganon was once again free. Now not only did they have to deal with Lord Arcana, but also Ganon, the one who wants revenge against them. Navi was the worst off though. She was simply horrified at seeing Ganon because she knew that for him to be floating there then the Sages were all dead.
The initial shock by Ganon's appearance soon went away as the fighting resumed. Nobody seemed to know how big a threat Ganon was not did they care. Zelda knew though, and she also knew that they had no choice but to retreat now. They needed to regroup their forces and come up with a plan. She just hoped that Link realized this also. The only problem was preventing more loss of life while they retreated. Zelda then knew what she had to do.
Link and Zelda cautiously made their way through the now open door to the Triforce Room in the Temple of Light. As they entered, magical torches ignited to reveal a medium sized room within. In the room were statues of the 3 goddesses, one on each wall. Farore was on the wall to their left, Din on the wall in front of them, and Naryu on the wall to their right. As Link and Zelda looked around the room, the statue of Naryu began to glow faintly blue.
"Zelda," the statue began to say, "the Sage of Wisdom, wielder of the Triforce of Wisdom. . .it is time to unlock that which hides within you; your hidden potential. Place your hands upon mine, and I shall release the wealth of latent energy within you."
The statue then went silent, but the blue glow stayed. Slowly, Zelda reached her hands out and placed them upon the statue's outstretched hands. She didn't know what was going to happen, but she had to trust that it would only help her in the end. As soon as Zelda's hands were placed on the statue's, she was engulfed in a blue glow. Zelda seemed to hover slightly in the air as her body became brighter and brighter. Then, in one big flash of light, Zelda was back on her feet, the glow was gone, and Zelda was taking her hands off of the statue's hands.
"It is done," said the statue. "Your magical powers are now nearly limitless. You have also been given the knowledge of all magical spells, including the Heavens' Light. This is the most powerful spell a mortal can wield, but be warned; it is also the most dangerous. This attack will create an aura of light around you that will extend and destroy all you wish destroyed. When it reaches its limit it will stand as a barrier allowing only those you wish to pass through unharmed. The barrier will stand as long as you have magical energy, but even though your magic is nearly limitless it will be consumed quickly, after which your body will collapse from exhaustion. You may be tempted to tap into your life energy, but don't. It will kill you. Use this as a last result only, when all hope seems lost."
Focusing all of her energy, Zelda closed her eyes and slammed her hands together in front of her. Her body began to glow in the same golden color as Link's Light Arrows. Then, thrusting her arms outward, an aura of golden light spread out and began to engulf Hyrule Market. Upon touching it all Arcanites were instantly vaporized, but everyone else was left unharmed. The aura continued to grow and finally stopped extending several feet beyond the wall.
Ganon, who saw the aura killing all the Arcanites and heading straight for him prepared himself. He extended his arms outward and tried to block the attack with his hands. The aura didn't kill Ganon, but Ganon wasn't blocking the attack either. He was being pushed back by it. Upon reaching it's full length Ganon tried to pass through, but he was unable to. He punched and kicked the barrier, but it was to no avail.
As everyone within Hyrule Market was wondering what was going on, Link grabbed his bow and readied three arrows in it. Since Zelda was using the Heavens' Light, he knew what she wanted him to do. He transformed one of the three arrows into a Fire Arrow, one into an Ice Arrow, and the third into a Light Arrow, and fired all three straight up into the air. Upon flying as high as they could go, all three arrows exploded into their respective colors, sending out bright rays of red, blue, and gold across all of Hyrule Field. Link had signaled the retreat.
Everyone in Hyrule Market began flooding out of the city, carrying any wounded they found with them. Link stood by the exit coordinating the retreat. So far Zelda's barrier was still up, but he didn't know for how much longer it would last. As everyone retreated to Hyrule Castle, Link stayed behind to catch Zelda when she collapsed. He just hoped that she wouldn't be foolish enough to tap into her life energy.
The Gerudo, even they were never told what the retreat signal would be, knew that the signal to retreat had been given. They quickly slew whoever they had been fighting and ran with all their strength to the golden barrier that was still extending out from the wall. There were no wounded Gerudos to rescue, so the surviving Gerudos only had to make sure that they made it through the barrier.
Gerik and Lord Arcana were at a standstill. They were currently circling each other, watching one another very closely. Lord Arcana had no new wounds to speak of, but Gerik was sporting several more cuts on his arms and legs. Neither one of them had noticed the Heavens' Light attack, but the red, blue, and gold rays of light had caught both their attentions.
"Well," said Gerik with a sigh, "it looks like play time is over. I have to go back home now."
"Quitting already," mocked Lord Arcana. "I thought I was facing a warrior, not a coward. Just because the rest of your pathetic army is running with their tails between their legs doesn't mean you have to. Stay and fight. Let's finish this."
"Yeah, I'm going to stay out here and fight you while your army is the only one on the field. What kind of a fool do you take me for. There is nothing cowardice about a tactical retreat. Mark my words; we will finish this, and I will kill you."
With those parting words Gerik tossed another Deku Nut. Lord Arcana was ready this time and shielded his eyes from the blast, but when he looked he saw that Gerik was gone, as were the Gerudos. Lord Arcana just smiled. His army had taken the field, and now it was time to take Hyrule.