WARNING
Major spoilers for the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild ahead! Please reconsider reading this story if you are yet to finish the game. You have been warned!
A/N: Sorry for the delayed update! I had some urgent business yesterday and couldn't update in time. Sorry!
Well then, now that's off my chest, welcome to chapter four!
I hope you enjoy it!
~ ミ(o*・ω・)ノ
The Divine Beast Vah Rudania clumped on the edges of Death Mountain mightily, its gigantic legs and robotic body moving fluently through the rocks, those huge feet catching fire from the heat. Hyrule zoomed past Link as he looked out to the distance, every village suddenly small and tiny now that he was on the tallest mountain in the country. Hot, blazing wind tossed Link's hair around playfully. He wondered how much longer he will have until the fireproof potion wears off—hopefully long enough, but the effects are already starting to come off. He could feel the heat starting to get to him…He gulped nervously.
"Yeah!" Daruk cheered loudly next to Link, startling him. "I think I'm finally getting the hang of controlling this Divine Beast!" Rudania let out a sharp, ear-piercing roar, making Link wince in advance. So far after interacting with so many champions, he still has no idea just how they pilot it; to him, Daruk was just standing there, his eyes focused intensely on the road in front of him…that's all he was doing. How is he even controlling it at all?
"I tell you what…" Daruk stretched his muscular arms while Link stared at him awkwardly, "sure is a blast piloting a toy like this around." He straightened his face like an ancient professor. "Let those other champions know, they better eat their gravel if they wanna keep up with Daruk." Link almost didn't stop himself from reminding the Goron that he was a champion too, standing right next to him as he casually bragged. Thankfully, that same line shut him up. Unapproachable, cold, emotionless.
Daruk turned away from him, his somewhat blue eyes loving all of a sudden. "Speaking of which, can you believe this view?" Link tried to make himself agree with the fellow champion, but staring at those plain brown rocks gave him nothing but a strange desire to return back to the princess, and…maybe grab another fireproof potion in case he starts burning up. But he wondered what the princess was doing, why she made him come all this way, just to have a chitchat with Daruk….She seemed angry with him all the time, but no matter how hard he thinks, how hard he recollects, he did nothing wrong to hurt the princess. But if he did in some way, though, he wondered if he would ever be able to forgive himself.
"Just look at all those delectable rocks sprinkled on those mountains…" Link swore Daruk, of all people, could write a thousand-word, A, beautifully decorated essay on how delicious rocks are. Can't relate, by all honesty. "Mighty tasty." Yep, can't relate even more.
Link frowned at the sunlight as they both studied the lava oozing out of the center of Death Mountain. "I may not know a whole lot about this Calamity Ganon thing…" He turned back to the Hylian knight. Link reluctantly peeled his gaze away from the view, eyeing the big Goron, "but mark my words, I'll protect this land of ours to the death!"
Link smiled faintly at his effort and the unwavering loyalism in his voice. He's right. Anything to protect this beautiful land of ours…!
"Right, little guy?" Uh-oh- Daruk raised his thick arms in the air, his hands wide as if he's just about ready to strike, a mischievous grin on his face. Oh no. Oh no. Please no. Wait, Daruk, don't-!
Something like a thousand tons of bricks hit Link as Daruk clapped him on the back, sending him stumbling a few dozen steps forward, a tight, pained gasp escaping his lips. Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow- That had seriously hurt, and Link spends his everyday life being cut by swords or beaten to the death by monsters. Never thought the Gorons had so much power in them; With fear, Link silently accepted the fact that he was probably only using a quarter - or maybe even less - of his strength. Is that a friendly pat to him or something?! Attempting to straighten his numb back, he glared at Daruk hatefully. At least be gentler next time, for Hylia's sake…
Daruk let out a series of laughs, as if he was proud for nearly breaking several of Link's bones. "Hey, by the way….congrats on becoming the princess's appointed knight." For some reason, Link felt like he was hit by another ton of bricks, only this time right at his heart. Yeah, right. It's a real treat, being hated by the person you love most in this world, despite your efforts in protecting her…The sentence seemed to have appeared automatically inside his brain, full of sarcasm as his own very voice pronounced it with hate. Link suddenly felt vitally afraid. Why on earth would he think like that? He should be happy enough being able to protect the princess like in his dreams, already…
"That's a really big deal! Protecting the king's daughter…" A really big deal…? Link never actually thought that way…when he first got the job, all he was feeling was an unsettling happiness, endless nervousness, and a dark, deep feeling of dread that he was still trying to battle over to this day. Now that he thinks about it, maybe the entire country knows him now, for resorting the princess from here to there…this set a nervous bomb inside his stomach. A really big deal…
Wait! Daruk was raising his hands again! Link, having learned his lesson, readied himself for the devastating blow of hands, that red pain when his friend "pats him on the back"- yet all he did was to clasp him gently on the shoulder. Oh, thank the Goddesses…He wondered if his nerves would still be connected if the Goron hits him again. "No pressure!" The Goron laughed easily. A faint blush painted across Link's face as those two words made their way to his ears. Why in the world does Daruk sound like he knows something?
Well, that's not true. Everyone sounds like they know something lately, and they all would look at him weirdly with a tiny smile on their lips. It could 100% be his imagination, but wherever he goes, everyone just looks at him that way…And it really, really embarrasses him.
"Seriously, though." Daruk removed his hand from Link's shoulder, relieving him. "The princess is a strong personality—so strong that she can't quite see the range of the peaks." He scratched his head lightly, a confused expression on his face. "Remember that, and you'll be fine."
Link tilted his head to the side for a moment or two, not quite understanding his words. Remember what? That the princess has a strong personality? He chuckled internally. He knew that better than anyone else.
Before Link could think of anything else, the ground beneath him started shuddering violently, snapping his nerves back to action. Daruk let out a confused grunt next to him. Alarmed, Link lifted his head to find the source of the sound, and, with panic, realized the large boulders raining down to mountains, right towards Divine Beast Vah Rudania.
Fear seized him. Will this be the end? The Master Sword was shining on his back, as if telling him to be brave. This can't be the end - Link braced himself for impact, just as he learned during his knight training, as the boulders approached the him and Daruk at an alarming speed, thumping his heart against his ribs painfully.
With a mighty shout, Daruk placed himself in front of Link, raising his arms to the sides protectively. Link only had a millisecond of thinking how this reminds him of him protecting the princess, and, with a massive pang of guilt and more panic, how he should be doing that right now, before the boulders hit the Divine Beast. The thundering sounds crashed his ears and filled his insides with fear while he prepared himself for the painful shout as the rocks breaks his spine and twists his bones.
Dirt was flying everywhere, igniting the air with dust and smoke. The echoing sound of something…advanced? Technological? Magic? -Played near Link's ears, sending a confused gasp up his throat. What's happening?! The boulders have rolled off the Beast, and the dirt was clearing. How is he alive…? Link had remembered how a massively large boulder was dropping straight down at him and Daruk, so large that it's definite they'll perish for sure. Then how are they…is it because of the Divine Beast?
As the smoke around him completely cleared, Link snapped his head up urgently, trying to find out what had saved him from the blast. Around Daruk and him was a polygon-shaped orange ball, its powerful glow slowly fading as Daruk released his arms from his sides. Wait; This was Daruk's legendary power everyone was talking about! It seemed spiritual and misty, but…if this was what had protected them from their doom, it must be solid enough to bounce the boulder away, all the way off the Divine Beast.
The light of the shield melted away, and Daruk turned back to the young knight, who was still trying to regain his composure. "All right, so what was I saying…" He trailed off distractedly, as he turned back, looking up at the mountains where the boulders came from. "That was a little strange…" Link was thankful for this sentence; if Daruk just continued on their previous conversation about the princess, he would have thought he lost his mind or something. "As far as I know, Death Mountain has been quiet for decades." Link looked up as well, his mind drifting off the the source of that distortion just now. "But if the mountain is shivering enough to send down a bunch of boulders of that size then—" With a tiny sigh Daruk looked down and shook his head. "Never mind. Forget I said anything."
The Goron studied the peaks of the mountains warily, the small guard next to him copying his move. Worry stirred in Link's heart; those boulders seemed to have rolled down to mountain towards the city, where Zelda interviewed the Gorons about their technologies. He wondered: will she be alright on her own?
NEXT UPDATE: August/29
A/N: I love Daruk asdjdjdkahdj
He's so dorky and so friendly and always so good to everyone and he's always this happy and laughing and smiling proudly and his Divine Beast trial was the best and he and Link were Goron brothers before the Calamity which is just adorable so in conclusion I love him lots thank you for coming to my ted talk.
I wonder what he was thinking before he said "Never mind. Forget I said anything"...This memory leaves me confused but it could just be my low intelligence again ahahahahah that's not funny at all.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Thank you for reading!
Please have a good day!
(Edit: The next chapter will consist of horses, so can y'all please leave your opinions in the replies of Link and Zelda's horse names? Should I stick with Epona for Link or should I change it? Any ideas? Thanks!)
~ ミ(o*・ω・)ノ
