Chapter 38: Completion
"Navi!" Link called, looking around the forest. "Navi, where have you gone?"
She is dead, Wirlin answered.
"No," Link spoke. "That can't be true."
She sacrificed her life so that you could come back. That is the truth.
Link felt the tears run down his face. "She did that for me? Navi?"
You humans are so compassionate. And yet you ignore what is truly important.
Link was holding the sword in his two hands, and now finally noticed what he possessed. But how could it be? Had Ganondorf brought this with him when he left Hyrule?
But the truth no longer mattered. Only the present was of importance, and the problem at hand.
He wiped away the tears, in his mind paying his last respects to Navi. In the end, she had fulfilled her promise. She had protected Link from harm, even if it had cost her life. So determined to repay him for his deeds, she was.
"Wirlin, I need you to take me back to Death Mountain."
A rumbling laughter echoed through the forest. How many times do you have to die before you learn?
"Just once," Link answered, ignoring the rhetoric. "You will bring me to Death Mountain. I will slay the Phantom. You know it to be true."
Wirlin sensed a new life within Link. Very well, but this is your last chance. If you return to my forest again without succeeding in your quest, I will kill you. Just know that.
"Don't worry," Link assured. "This time I know. I have accepted what I am, what I have become. I can look forward again."
I can only take you as far as the woods reach. You will have to make the jump to the mountain yourself.
An enormous bird twice the size of Link appeared and came rustling through the forest. The bird was as black as night, with eyes as large as Link's head. It outstretched its wings, and they spanned farther than Link thought possible. The Hero of Winds jumped atop the bird and prepared the flight to Death Mountain.
They battled all through the night, fiercely exploiting every weakness of one another, every false move. In the air, they fought against each other as if the night would never end, unleashing spell after spell, flying for cover, and confronting each other. When the sun finally rose at the peak of dawn, the Phantom's slow but effective tactics had paid off. Maple was drained to the point where she fought only because she knew the Phantom's next attack could be the one to end her.
Her dreary eyes lost sight of him, and she flew franticly, her wand raised. She felt the broom under her collapse, and as she fell through the sky, she saw the Phantom's menacing smile above her. She tried to use her magic to save herself, but by the time the words came to her lips, the ground met her. The Phantom dropped her broom, and it fell to the earth beside her. Yet it did not crack; the wood did not bend or break.
With Maple gone, it was a simple matter for the Phantom to disarm Wade and finally knock him to the ground with a surge of magic.
"That took you long enough," said a voice from behind him. The Phantom did not let the other notice his surprise. He waited a moment –just a moment. Then he turned and propelled a spiral of energy from where the voice had come from.
The man did not move from where he stood. He merely held out his twin blades, waited for the light to come to him, and split it in two, sending both masses of energy hurtling into the sky.
"Don't you even know who I am?" the man asked. "I am Ganondorf, the King of Darkness. Such a petty attack could never pierce me."
The Phantom floated back, his mind racing. "You are stronger than I am," he admitted reluctantly.
Ganondorf smiled, stepping closer, holding the dual blades out.
"But how could it be you? The Hero of Winds had killed you."
"The details matter not. I owe my freedom to Link's lack of vision and Hyrule's refusal to end what it begins. Sunken at the bottom of the ocean, it has been hibernating -asleep. But it is not just Hyrule. These people here are asleep as well. I am here to take what I have won, and claim my right as the ruler of this new world."
"And yet," the Phantom interjected, "you know there is more. You can see the Phantom Hourglass in the center of the pit, and you know that I did not stay here merely to kill these two fools." His words came jumbled now, the fear in him finally expressed as he saw Ganondorf edging closer, his face as stern and bold as ever. "You know that I am not the true enemy here –that I serve another. And without my help, you can never reach him until it is too late –until the swarms of monsters come thrashing through the Hourglass. You want to reach that place before it is too late." Ganondorf was inches away from him now, and the Phantom could see that he was contemplating whether to kill him or not. The King of Darkness held his blades just above the Phantom's neck, and he could see his reflection in the metal.
The blades finally lowered, and Ganondorf said, "If you wish your life to be spared, then bring me to that place now." The Phantom was already ready. He wrapped his arms around himself and closed his eyes. They did not wait long. Soon the world turned as black as night, and all color drifted away like before, drawn towards the Phantom in a rainbow of light. The space between them went hazy, rippling like water. A fissure in the air opened up a doorway composed of shadows.
"Step through," the Phantom said, "and you will meet him."
Ganondorf took a step into the pool of darkness, taking one last glance at the Phantom. Finally, he stepped through and disappeared completely, enshrouded in the shadows. "Fool," Ganondorf heard the Phantom say, but it was too late to go back.
