We hadn't driven long before turning around, so we reached the Temple quickly, though it wasn't quite fast enough. A small army of monsters was making its way across the full parking lot towards and up the multitude of stairs leading to the main doors. An enormous barrier covered the face of the Temple, flashing as some of the monsters bashed their rudimentary weapons against it. Still, Zelda and I could both sense that it was straining after days of assault. We had to get rid of the monsters fast.
I pulled the Master Sword from its sheath on the frame of the Master Cycle, brandishing its glowing length and decapitating three small pig demons as we flew past them. Zelda jumped off, power radiating off her as she soared into the air, the golden wings she had showed Felia manifesting, keeping her far off the ground. Turns out they weren't just for show. She floated above the crowd of monsters for a moment before spears of divine power rained down, killing some of the monsters and sending the rest into disarray.
With Zelda providing covering fire, I was able to easily make my approach unchallenged. Ramping the Master Cycle off of another small pig demon, I jumped into the air, springing off the bike as it dissolved back into energy for a little extra height. Conveniently, I ended up right in the face of a tall monster with a long snout and a single horn on its head. With a quick yell and two slices, the monster was blind and then dead. Sliding down its collapsing corpse, I jumped again and plunged down, impaling a lizard-creature through the head.
From there on, I was a blur of divine steel and speed. The Master Sword cut through the monsters like the dust they crumbled into. I was unstoppable, no doubt thanks to the power of the Triforce I could feel radiating from my hand. With Courage, I could dive between attacks, for all intents and purposes appearing behind monsters before they knew what had happened. Wisdom showed me openings in clusters of enemies and where to attack them to down them quickly or cause collateral damage. I even managed to get another of the tall monsters to crush a group of its smaller friends.
There were also a number of creatures I hadn't seen before, everything ranging from bulbous centipede type things that only died when I hit them in the tail to fearsome, one-eyed ogres. Some were trickier than other, particularly a collection of laser-shooting turrets that required Zelda's tremendous firepower to destroy. On the other hand, the crowd of small imps that rushed me with pitchforks were wiped out with one glittering beam from my sword.
We had almost gone through all the monsters when I felt a pulse from both Triforce pieces in my hand. Instinctively, I threw my shield up, covering my head just in time to deflect a heavy strike that sent me sprawling, only barely avoiding what would have been a killing blow. Facing me were two massive knights, dressed in formidable black armor and carrying heavy dark blades. One also sported a buckler on one arm like my own, the other armed with a larger, two-handed blade. They both approached me cautiously, going in opposite directions to try and encircle me.
Fortunately, they weren't the only ones fighting as a pair. A massive lance of light came screaming down from the sky, aimed straight at the back of the one with the shield. The black knight spun with surprising speed for his size, raising his black shield, which the spear slammed against and crackled ineffectively before sputtering out.
"No? Then how about you try this?" Zelda's voice rang out, resonant with divine power. A sharp crack pierced the night air as chaotic lightning gathered in her palm and jumped down to impact the knight's shield, the electricity coursing through the metal and into the heavy armor. Not missing an opportunity, I jumped forward, wedging my sword between two pieces of armor and causing as much damage as I could before the broadsword wielding knight forced me to move again. It worked though, leaving the towering knight with a couple missing chunks of armor, though he didn't seem to be physically injured.
'Probably not hylian then, just fancy monsters,' I rationalized, my mindset shifting from incapacitate to decapitate. Luckily, the demon knights had grouped themselves together again, and with the help of Zelda's lightning, I managed to keep them together, leaving them unable to use their massive weapons as effectively and giving me more opportunities to sneak in under their guard and chip away at their thick armor.
Not that the fight was easy, of course. The knights were still massive, and dodging both of their attacks was nerve wracking. One mistake and there'd be nothing to scrape up but a smear. Combined with the grunts that still insisted on being impaled on my sword, I barely had a chance to breathe. Zelda helped, wielding her scepter with deadly efficiency and clearing out a lot of the big groups of monsters, but without the two pieces of the Triforce and my supernatural senses, I'd be very, incredibly, unbelievably dead.
Fortunately, I was making progress. With a loud 'Hyah!', I tore another large piece of armor off the knight with the shield. I backed up quickly, avoiding another swipe from the enormous sword of the other knight and chopping a few small monsters that got in my way. I spun to intercept the last of the club wielding bokoblins when a blur of metal did the job for me, chopping the monster and its friend in half, both of which immediately disintegrated. The familiar sword of the shield knight, for that was what it was, was imbedded nearly a foot into the pavement thirty feet away. Turning again, I barely had a second to throw my shield up before a much smaller sword crashed into it.
Peering around the metallic edge of the Hylian Shield, I saw that the demon whose armor I had destroyed had shed the last, ruined pieces and discarded his shield and sword, the latter of which he had lobbed in my direction. Still clad in a layer of chainmail, he had pulled a smaller one-handed sword from somewhere and was now pressing his assault with it, much faster without the extra armor holding him back. Unfortunately, that made it that much harder for me to anticipate and dodge his attacks. All the while the smaller monsters and the still armored knight with the two-handed sword kept advancing on me.
"Zelda, stop him until I can deal with this guy!" I yelled, deflecting a powerful thrust with the flat of the Master Sword, my arms feeling heavier with every blocked strike.
"I'll do my best, but there's still a lot of other monsters around. I'm trying to hold them all off too." Her voice resounded through the area, though she sounded slightly out of breath. She was tiring too, and while the horde had definitely shrunk, there were still too many monsters to ignore. My reactions were getting slower, even with the help of Courage, and even with her incredible pool of magic, Zelda could only keep up her incredible barrage for so long. We needed an ace, and we were running short on options.
"Zelda, I'm going to try something, back me up," I yelled, steeling myself to do something stupid. But before I had a chance to close the distance between my agile foe, a blinding blue and gold flash lit the parking lot. A large sphere of pulsing blue energy clobbered the knight, knocking him away from the temple.
"Hero of Hyrule, you do not stand alone!" the voice of Maz Koshia said, his normally soft-spoken tone elevated to a boom that rattled my ears. "Our power is not great, but it will suffice to handle the chaff. Strike down your opponents and know the belief of the people of Hyrule rests in you!" More pulsing waves of blue power, tinged with gold, washed out of the temple, instantly disintegrating the smaller monsters and eliminating 80 percent of the remaining horde. All that was left was a few of the larger monster, which quickly met their end, impaled by lances of brilliant light from Zelda's hands, leaving only the two fearsome knights. Reinvigorated by the sudden turn in the battle, I threw myself back at the weakened knight, trading a few more blows before I landed a critical hit and the creature fell to the ground, slowly disintegrating into ash.
Eager to end the fight, I cautiously approached the last remaining foe. The light from the temple had died down, leaving the parking lot covered in darkness except for the radiance from Zelda's golden wings and the few lampposts that had survived the monster attack. The armored knight and I circled around each other, watching for any opening.
"What do you want me to do?" Zelda asked from inside my mind, making me jump a little. I had forgotten she was practicing telepathy as we drove around the country.
"I want to end this quickly," I thought back. "Hit him as hard as you can in the head, try to blow his helmet off. I'll get you an opening." Quick as I could, I pushed forward, trying to get the knight to focus entirely on me so that he couldn't block a strike from Zelda. A minute later, Zelda threw a massive bolt of crackling light when I managed to dodge a massive overhead strike, the heavy sword carrying through where I had been standing and embedding itself in the pavement. I threw myself out of range just as it hit the knight's horned helmet, making the metal flex and distort before exploding violently, pelting the area and my shield with bits of shrapnel.
Peeking around my shield, I saw that Zelda had indeed done her job. The knight's helmet was completely gone, as well as portions of his breastplate and a good amount of the chainmail suit he wore underneath. His head was exposed, revealing the fearsome monster underneath. It was some combination of dog and man, blood red eyes peering out from a black, molted face that had half a dog's snout and pointed ears. It breathed heavily, partially crouched down as it recovered.
Without a second thought, I bolted towards it, sword raised high in a two-handed grip. The monster saw me coming and tried to intercept my blow, but its own massive sword was still embedded in the asphalt. It looked down at the massive blade and back at me just as my sword came down, cleaving its head from its shoulders. Hatred boiled in its eyes as it fell to the ground, crumbling back into dust.
I looked around cautiously, not wanting to let my guard down, but the horde of monsters had been completely eradicated, leaving nothing but a few cobbled together weapons and a ruined parking lot. Zelda floated down, landing heavily next to me and immediately grabbing hold of my shoulder. I crouched down slightly so she could lean on me more. Her small smile was all the thanks I needed.
"I cannot say it was the wisest choice, but I am deeply thankful for your help," Maz Koshia said, descending the steps of the temple.
"We had no choice," Zelda said, slightly out of breath. "Saving Hyrule itself isn't any good if there's no one left to live in it. Plus," Zelda said, looking up at me with a soft smile. "What kind of heroes would we be if we didn't help those in need?" I couldn't help but grin back at her.
"What was that wave of magic? I thought the Temple's defenses were weakening," I asked, remembering the blast of power that had let us win. Monk Koshia actually split into a wide smile at my words.
"They were indeed, but the Temple is a special place. Hylians have worshiped the gods here for countless generations. I do not know whether it is the cause or the effect, but this temple, this land, is steeped in the power of belief. And inside this temple are people, scared and desperate. They heard of your fight outside to protect them and had faith in you, their heroes. That power was their faith made manifest, helped along slightly by Sheikah magic. Without your heroism, such a feat would have never been possible."
Zelda and I were in shock, almost unable to believe that our actions could inspire such confidence in the people. "Can…can we see them?" Zelda asked, slowly recovering her strength. Maz nodded.
"I had hoped you would. It would inspire much confidence in such a troubling time. It will only be for a minute though, you two must return to your task." He turned and walked back up the stairs to the Temple of Time, Zelda and I close behind.
The three of us stepped through the open doors of the temple, Zelda and I surprised at the sheer number of people inside. Elderly, children, families, friends, Zoras, Gorons, even a few Gerudo filled the great hall. The pews that had been in the middle of the temple had been pushed to the side, clearing room for sleeping bags and piles of backpacks. People were clustered together, tension filling the air. Zelda and I watched the fluctuating crowd, people moving back and forth, priestesses going from group to group and making sure everyone had what they needed and comforting those who needed it.
"It's her!" a cry suddenly erupted. The three of us looked to see an older woman, probably in her mid-fifties, pointing at us. "The Goddess and her Chosen Hero have come and saved us!" Her call echoed through the temple, drawing the attention of every person in the building to us. Silence reigned for a second before the tension of the atmosphere broke and voices called out to us, people pushing against each other as they rushed towards us.
Before we knew what was happening, we were surrounded by Sheikah monks, who were holding the joyous crowd back. The people reached their hands past the barring arms of the monks, as if we were celebrities. Though I suppose, having just destroyed a horde of monsters that would have almost certainly overcome the Temple's defenses, we kind of were. Zelda and I cautiously took a few hands, allowing the people to grasp our fingers with gratitude. We tried to reach as many people as we could, though there was no way we could get to everyone.
"Thank you for this," Maz said from beside us. "This will give them more hope than you know. And with their faith renewed, we will have enough power to hold off any other assaults. The barriers will hold, you need not worry about us any longer."
"It shouldn't be much longer anyways. We only have one piece of the Triforce left to find and then we just have to figure out where Ruin is hiding. This will all be over in a few days," I said, grabbing hold of Zelda's hand. Maz nodded.
"Indeed. You have of everyone here with you. We will pray for your victory." Zelda and I thanked him and turned to leave, the Sheikah holding the reaching crowd back. Somewhere in the back, a group had started to chant an old song.
I recognized the words from my history class, the phrases older than Ancient Hylian and their meaning lost long ago. It was supposedly a song dedicated to the Hero, passed down through the ages. And now, with the Master Sword in my hand, I knew it was true, the words resounding in my bones. The old part of me knew that the words weren't quite right, distorted by time and countless repetition, but it was still the same song.
Small tears pricked in my eyes, moved to emotion by the gratitude and devotion of the people. Gripping Zelda's hand tighter, I stopped and pulled the Master Sword from its sheath on my back, the blessed steel shining. I raised the sword over my head, the blade responding. Gold light flickered along the metal, stemming from the purple hilt. The shouts of the people died now, more and more voices joining the chant as everyone stared at the Master Sword and the golden illumination grew.
I could actually feel the blade of my sword resonating with the souls of the people, the magical steel responding to my own emotions and theirs. Zelda squeezed my hand in her own, smiling softly. She raised her empty hand and I felt her power flow into the Master Sword. The blade flashed brilliantly, light and power shooting out of its tip, a bird with spread wings and the Triforce at its head appearing, forming the shining crest of Hyrule. The song swelled as it climaxed and the crest glowed brighter, fueled by the devotion of every person in the temple. Slowly, the chant ended, the crest flaring brighter for a moment before dissolving into golden particles. I quickly sheathed the Master Sword, giving it a fancy flourish before slamming the blade home.
The crowd of people immediately erupted into cheers, their voices following us out the wide doors of the Temple and a good way down the stairs. I felt Zelda's hand shaking in mine and turned to see her trembling with laughter.
"Oh my gosh, they're going to be talking about that for the rest of their lives. I just hope not everyone saw our faces, or else we'll never be able to step foot in there again," she said, still laughing despite my confused look. "Sorry, sorry," she gasped out, slowly getting laughter under control. "It's not that funny, I guess. I'm just really tired. Anything is funny when you're tired enough."
"I got it," I said, leading her slightly. I rematerialized the Master Cycle and fed it a few scattered monster parts to top it off, before helping Zelda on. I fit the helmet over her blonde hair, watching as her eyelids already started to droop. "Sleep if you want, I'll wake you if I need anything."
"Thanks…" she said with a fading smile. I joined her on the bike and immediately felt her head rest on my back and her arms wrap around my waist. By the time I pulled out of the ruined parking lot and started towards the Gerudo Desert, Zelda was fast asleep, leaving me to drive quietly with the breaking dawn.
Greetings one and all, I have returned once more with a new chapter for you all to enjoy while you're probably quarantined. To be fair, it's not all bad. I am in fact currently at work, just kind of sitting around and writing to my heart's content. Sure, I have to do stuff occasionally, but its quick and then I'm back to writing! It's been great, plus I'm getting paid to entertain you all! Who wouldn't love that?! As usual, I'm sorry about how long this took to write, but I had to do a bit of a writing cleanse by working some other stuff. It worked, and I'm prepared to write and write until I finish this damn thing. I'm really close, I promise!
For reviews, this is going to be pretty quick (in theory). Twilit Lord, don't worry, it was only a few. I actually added them because you said something, so congratulations, you've become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Careful not to accidentally marry your mother (little Oedipus reference for you). Oracle, I attribute it to 'something something magic powers'. I know I sure wouldn't be happy if I had to forego sleep for that long. You'll get your spoilers before long, probably next chapter or the one after that. It's nothing major, so don't be too expectant. Glad you enjoy those scenes, I always get a laugh out of writing them. It's mostly a 'what the hell am I doing with myself' laugh, but whatever. Silverblood, you already got your response, but I'll give an abbreviated version here. So true, I could almost hear it myself, glad to make Link and Zelda still adorable, so happy that you like my writing. Username came from my first Terraria play-through when I named my character. Purely made up, but I liked it, so I stuck with it.
That was...at least somewhat quick. Cannot help but be a little sad though. Foopuff, Sand Seal, Nightwing, and others, I miss you all. Please come back and give me the gratification that I might deserve. Whether I do or not, that's for you to decide. Perhaps you're lurking, that's okay. Just know you hurt my feelings. And if you are a lurker and have been itching to leave a word (or haven't but want to anyways), go ahead and drop a quick word. I do appreciate every single review I receive. That said, your views are enough. Just enjoy the story. As long as you do that, I have no complaints.
On the topic of enjoying stories, I just started posting a new one, called 'Shared Wings'. It's a 'Darling in the Franxx' story (it's anime, sorry if that offends you sensibilities), if you like the romance and more character-driven stuff you see here, I'd say check it out. You don't necessarily have to know the original to enjoy it, but I would recommend it. At least, most of it. Anyways, good story, both the original and mine. Give it a check if you want. There's drama~~... I'm sure that's incentive for at least a few of you.
Anyways, I'm really hoping to get a lot more of this written soon, so keep your eyes peeled, either here or on your inbox if you follow the story. Stay safe during mass quarantine and if push comes to shove, make sure you push and shove with spears. Very effective at keeping the hordes at bay. So until then, don't cough on anyone and make sure you eat your fruits and veggies. And tomatoes, because what the fuck is with tomatoes? Cheers!
~Aro