"As soon as we get to the castle, you stay outside!" Link ordered.
Overhead, the sky thundered, still disturbed by the unnatural clouds. The people of Castle Town screamed and ran every which way. They scrambled to get ready to evacuate. The Princess followed her knight as he cut through the chaos. Link nearly tripped on an overturned crate of apples. The beast still stormed around the spires of the castle, roaring triumphantly. More of the magenta lightning streaked from it.
Finally, they reached the gates. Their path was clearer now, shared only by a troop of soldiers who joined them in their rush to the castle.
Link looked back at Zelda. She was frightened and breathing heavily, but there was a determination in her eyes.
As they climbed, the monster glanced at the approaching forces and flew inside the Sanctum. Link couldn't tell whether the thing was scared or preparing to ambush them. Either way, he left Zelda with one of the soldiers outside before going inside.
Floating against the ceiling was a cloud of darkness. The darkness writhed, becoming solid and turning into an acrid-smelling goop. It started to drip down the walls. Malice. He looked around for a shadowed figure. Something he could at least fight against. There was nothing but the sludge.
"So. The little hero has come to play."
Link gasped as the gravelly voice pierced his mind. He looked around at the soldiers. They didn't seem to hear it.
"You show true courage. Sadly, it is in vain. You have no power to stop my Calamity. You will fail!"
A stabbing pain shot through his head. With it came dark images that were not his. The king, consumed in an explosion. Zelda screaming his name. He saw himself, lying motionless on the ground. Burning flames. Pain and destruction. Malice and death. The pain subsided. Link came to, crouching near the ground and holding his head in his hands. One of the soldiers leaned over him, shouting something. He stood, drawing the Master Sword. Its blade shone with a pure, blue glow. The mere sight of it seemed to give the soldiers strength.
The malice oozed to the floor on the edges of the sanctum. It made a low gurgling sound. For the moment, it was still. One of the soldiers leaned over it with a disgusted look on his face. He prodded the substance with the butt of his halberd. The Malice grabbed the soldier, sucking him in. He screamed and writhed. Within seconds, nothing was left but a bulge in the malice and a single boot.
Another soldier screamed, then another, as they were grabbed by tentacles of malice. Each met the same fate as the first.
We have to get out of here! Link dodged between a panicking ally and a malice tentacle, then slashed at it. The Master Sword severed the tentacle. The end fell with a squelch and disintegrated into particles that floated in the air. The rest of the malice let out a high-pitched screech and recoiled. Link dashed to the nearest exit and slashed down at the body of malice. It shrieked again and pulled back from the blade as if in pain. It created a clear path for him and the soldiers to escape.
"Yes. Run, little hero!" The bone-chilling voice laughed.
Link followed the frightened soldiers out of the Sanctum and looked back as the malice made its move.
It exploded.
Link flinched, expecting the blown apart chunks to hit him and the others. Instead, they flew far past. He watched in confusion as they- No. No!
The chunks of malice landed right where the research team had been testing the ancient Sheikah Guardians. Link stood, rooted to the spot in disbelief. It couldn't be. Moments later, a flexible metal leg dug its claws into the stone before them. Then another. A machine pulled itself up on the ledge. The Guardian was not its usual gold. It glowed the color of malice. It aimed its sights right at Link's chest.
Link snapped to action. He deflected the blinding laser beam with the edge of his blade. The blast hit the nearest tower. Shingles and stones showered the roadway below. He slashed at the Guardian's nearest leg. His sword bounced off the first time, but with another slash it severed, stunning the mechanical monster. It was distracted long enough for Link to cut through the other legs until it tumbled back down and fell with an explosion of broken parts and thick goop.
Before he could celebrate his victory, the ground quaked violently. From where he was, he could see three massive pillars burst out of the ground, glowing with malice. Guardians swarmed out of the tops of the pillars like dozens of spiders crawling out of their egg sac.
Link felt his heart hit the ground in dread. The soldiers around him gasped in horror.
"Zelda!" he screamed. "Zelda! Where are you?!"
He ran around the outskirts of the Sanctum to find the terrified Princess. Seizing her hand, he tugged her along behind him down the roadway. There were not three, not four, but five pillars surrounding the castle.
"Link! What's happening?!"
"The Guardians are attacking!"
"They're fighting the Calamity?"
"No! It possessed them!"
Sure enough, as they descended toward Castle Town, laser beams lit up the streets. Burning flames. Pain and destruction. Malice and death.
Metallic claws scraped the stone behind them. Link turned to fight, but someone else was there. A broad figure, hefting a royal broadsword. Yes, it was none other than the King himself, accompanied by his guardsmen. Link started toward them, reaching up to his sword's hilt.
"No! As the King, I order you to fulfill your duty!"
He locked eyes with the King. He saw understanding in His Majesty's eyes. Zelda's father knew it was the last time he would see his daughter.
Link cut off all his emotions and grabbed Zelda's hand again. She looked back in horror as her father charged the beast. They rounded the corner. They didn't see the blast, but it shook the ground. Cries rang through the air. Zelda screamed hysterically and tried to wrench her hand away, but Link refused to let go. He couldn't. The future of Hyrule all depended on the dormant power hidden within the hand he gripped with his. If she fell, all hope was lost. He had to keep her safe, no matter the cost.
He pulled her through Castle Town, ducking and dodging as Guardians stormed the streets, destroying everything in their paths. Buildings collapsed. Rooftops exploded. Debris pelted the ground around them. Townsfolk wailed as their families were torn apart. Scattered people fell prey to beams of light and never moved again.
Somehow, miraculously, the two made it out alive. As they were passing the fountain, however, a stray Guardian surprised them. It slammed into them with one of its legs, sending them tumbling through the mud. Link finished it quickly with a stab to the eye, and they ran for their lives. He didn't know where he was going or how far they would have to flee. He just ran and ran and ran. The only landmark he recognized in his haste was the Hylia river. They ran south along its bank.
Suddenly, a sound shook the air. A colossal trump of an elephant. He felt his burden ease slightly. The champions were doing their part. But as he looked toward Zora's Domain, the lights in the Divine Beast's eyes changed. Mipha had fallen. Emotions threatened to surface, but Link couldn't let the pain distract him. Instead, his tears came not from his eyes but from the sky. Hyrule itself began to mourn. The rain picked up quickly with a rumble of thunder.
As they ran, the other Divine Beasts cried out from the distant corners of Hyrule, announcing the fall of their champions in turn. Mipha. Urbosa. Revali. Daruk.
Link buried his pain deep down.
Zelda couldn't keep up anymore. Her hand slipped free. Link stumbled forward with a grunt, looking back. Zelda glanced back toward her old life. It burned.
"Princess! We must keep going!"
She knelt on the ground, trying to catch her breath.
Link jogged back to her.
"How...?"
He sheathed the Master Sword and crouched down in front of her.
"How did it come to this?" she breathed. "The Divine Beasts... the Guardians, they all turned against us. Ganon turned them all against us!" She looked up at her knight, her voice hushed as if she feared being overheard. "And everyone-Mipha, Urbosa, Revali and Daruk-they're all trapped inside those things." She paused, then buried her face in her hands. "It's all my fault!" she cried. "Our only hope for defeating Ganon is lost, all because I couldn't harness this cursed power!"
He blinked. She'd never referred to her power like that.
"Everything... everything I've done up until now... it was all for nothing." She looked him in the eye again. "So I really am just a failure! All my friends, the entire kingdom, my father, most of all... I tried, and I failed them all." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I left them... all to die."
At that, the Princess could no longer contain her grief. .
Link caught her as she pitched forward, sobbing. He held her close and rocked her gently. He felt his chest tighten with empathy for her. Her entire life had revolved around stopping the Calamity, and now it had killed everyone she knew and loved. They were all gone. And he couldn't find a single word that would help. There was nothing he could do but hold Zelda as her entire world came crashing down in the rain. He was useless. Useless against the Calamity. He couldn't even comfort her. He could only hope that she would live through the night.
