Chapter 21 - Testament

Link knew trouble when he saw it, and Ganondorf was the epitome of the word.

The King of Evil wasn't one for speed, but he hit with the force of a boulder, their blades sparking with each violent meeting as the rains beat down upon them. Back and forth, their weapons clashed in aggressive strikes, and Link could feel his entire body vibrating from the blows.

Nevertheless, the Hylian didn't back down, retaliating with a swift strike to his enemy's side. Yet Ganondorf stepped back, easily avoiding his attack with a low laugh, and somehow, the simple movement gave Link the feeling that the false king was merely toying with him.

Considering the amount of power he possessed, their fight thus far was simply too … basic to think otherwise.

This couldn't be all the King of Evil was capable of doing.

Adding to it the fact that he evidently didn't wish to kill Link before he could deliver a message to Zelda, and it seemed clear that Ganondorf was holding back.

Yet, as he had the thought, the battle grew much more intense.

When the false king made another strike, Link jumped backwards to evade his weapon and began charging his own blade in midair. Once enough power had gathered, he thrust his arm at a downwards arc to send out a beam of energy toward his nemesis if only to keep him off balance.

Ganondorf seemed to anticipate it, however, drawing his cape across his chest just as the beam was about to hit before throwing his arm out. Doing so, he unleashed three dark orbs of energy, the first of which consumed Link's beam just before it could smash into his body.

As for the other two, they followed Link into the air and then down to the ground.

Throwing up his shield to block one as he landed, the enhancement provided by the Zora caused the dark projectile to go sailing in a random direction on impact. But Link hardly had time to focus on where it was going as the last projectile was about to strike. Instead, he brought his sword around, dragging the blade across it to send flying back toward his enemy.

The moment it touched the Master Sword, the black orb turned white, moving at a higher rate of speed—right toward Ganondorf.

Sneering, the false king lifted his arm, swiping at the traveling projectile to once again send it back to the Hylian. On impact, it changed colors to black, gaining even more speed than before.

Sailing toward Link with Ganondorf's laughter trailing behind it, the orb was moving much too quickly to allow him to respond any other way than by jumping out of its path.

Landing on the dirt road nearby, the projectile slammed into a home behind him with a blast that sent dirt and debris high into the air. As it fell back down with the pouring rain, he shielded his face until it settled, then finally looked up in time to notice a shadow engulfing his body in the dim light of the evening.

It was just enough warning to allow him to roll aside as a heavy boot came down with the intentions of planting itself into his back.

Having missed, Ganondorf instantly turned to draw his blade around in a downward arc, meeting it to Link's shield with a loud metal ping.

Now on his back beneath his shield with his enemy's blade pressing down upon it, Link knocked the weapon aside with a grunt of effort and drew his own blade up, catching Ganondorf's cheek with the tip of the Master Sword. It certainly wasn't a fatal wound, but it was enough to knock the false king off balance, providing Link the chance to sweep his foot behind Ganondorf's leg and send him stumbling backwards.

And the movement left him open.

Pushing forward, Link lunged to take advantage, thrusting his arm forward to impale the King of Evil through the chest. Yet Ganondorf recovered from his stumble mere seconds before the blow could land—and his retaliation was swift.

Turning to avoid the Master Sword, he reached out with his free hand and clasped Link's throat. Squeezing tightly enough to cut off his air supply, he quickly lifted the Hylian with little effort, then turned and threw his enemy toward the opposing end of the junction.

Watching him sail through the air, the landing turned out to be a surprise. Strangely, instead of crashing into a wall or simply hitting the muddy ground and sliding to a stop, Link wound up flying right into the back of a wooden cart filled to the brim with soft hay.

Ganondorf quirked a brow at the result of his throw, then scoffed, supposing he'd have to make the impact a little more detrimental to the Hylian's health. So he raised a hand and drew in his power, sending a dark orb of energy into the side of the cart behind Link.

There wasn't enough power in the orb to kill him, but it would certainly cause damage, the blast exploding against the cart on impact, knocking bits of hay and wood into the air.

Smirking, Ganondorf strolled toward the container, remarking idly, "Like swatting a fly."

Coming to a stop next to it, he prepared to reach into the pile when the words, "Swat this," hit his ears.

The comment was punctuated by a loud boom as the door of a nearby shop erupted, flying off its hinges in the false king's direction.

Having crawled out of the cart's open door facing a broken down shop moments before Ganondorf's orb hit, Link moved inside the building through the busted front wall under the cover of debris, then used the silver gauntlets to launch the door at his enemy. Sending it sailing, Ganondorf had no time to react as the hard wooden plank slammed into him, breaking against his frame moments before Link rushed in.

With a vicious swing, the Master Sword cleaved through the front of Ganondorf's armor, then back against his torso. Both blows landed, sending Ganondorf sprawling back before he managed to draw up his own blade to meet Link's with an enraged growl.

And neither were playing games any longer.

As the skies grew darker overhead, lightning streaked across the clouds as if to mimic each strike of their blades. Darkness and light sparked between them, each moving around the other while issuing relentless attacks in their bid to emerge the victor.

Sadly, things weren't even, and hadn't been from the beginning.

Even if Link hadn't just fought his way through a ruined town filled with Jackals, and even if Ganondorf had no wish to end him that night, the King of Evil's power was simply too much. He tried to pace himself, to use this as an opportunity to learn his opponent's strengths and weaknesses, and in some capacity, he was successful. But each blow Ganondorf delivered stole a little more of his strength while every effort to dodge an attack made it harder to regain his footing.

In comparison, his own successful attacks didn't seem to cause Ganondorf even half the amount of trouble, and because of that, he soon gained the upper hand.

Thunder exploded in the distance as the false king delivered a blow to the Master Sword, locking his broadsword in place with the enchanted blade, which held above Link's head as he struggled to fight. Despite his own fatigue, the Master Sword was unyielding as the Hylian's blue eyes glared coldly up into Ganondorf's menacing ochre stare.

Yet a physical contest was pointless, and as he bared down on his enemy with laughter erupting from his throat, his strength forced Link onto a knee.

Fighting to push back with a sneer as blood trailed down the side of his face and into his soaked hair, he grunted as Ganondorf mocked him for what could possibly be the last time that night.

"It's time to end this, Hero."

Holding Link in place while raising his arm above his head, dark energies gathered around his fist with a low whir building beneath the clouds sparking above.

The flashes of lightning illuminated the subdued Hylian's face as he watched the King of Evil prepare to deliver the final blow. Yet Link was unwilling to bend, refused to give up no matter how bleak the situation had become. He simply couldn't allow Ganondorf to win if there was an ounce of breath left in his body.

Something deep within his soul clamored at the very thought of failure, some long buried part of himself he'd instinctively known was there all along—and as it roused, Link's eyes flashed white just as the Master Sword began glowing the same color.

The sensation lent him strength in turn, Link's teeth bared as he used every bit of energy he had left to push himself off of his knee, standing up to his enemy as their grinding swords sparked.

Seeing this, Ganondorf sneered in confusion, but didn't hesitate. With his dark power gathered, he threw his arm down, releasing the blast upon Link just as the Hylian finally managed to knock the false king's sword aside.

As a result, a burst of light energy arced from the glowing Master Sword, meeting Ganondorf's dark blast, the two opposing forces slamming into one another with all of the force of an explosion.

For a brief moment in time, the entire junction was lit more brightly than any lightning could've accomplished, the sound of the blast echoing out around them as Link and Ganondorf were knocked several yards apart.

As if the disturbance had reached River Town, Zelda's eyes opened, the Princess sitting forward in bed with a loud gasp. Having dozed off a few moments beforehand, she now stared at the door of her room with wide eyes, waiting just long enough to gain her bearings before shoving the blankets aside and hurrying to the window.

Staring off in the direction of Lake Hylia, she couldn't make out the vast body of water due to the mountains, but could still see the dark clouds gathered over the distant area—and the sight of them drew only one thought to mind.

Something was terribly wrong.

Having heard Zelda's gasp, Lyonel immediately opened the door and entered her chamber under the assumption that she was in danger. Yet he only spied her getting out of bed and heading to the window, following her there just as she reached it.

That's when he noticed the distant clouds, his brows narrowing with a concern that only grew stronger when Zelda uttered a single word.

"Link … ."

In the junction, Link and Ganondorf landed in the mud, sliding to a stop with their weapons nearby, each wounded by the skill the other possessed. Everything grew silent in turn, with only the sound of rain and thunder mixing around them, the clouds now fully blotting out what rays of evening sunlight still shined over the horizon.

Several motionless moments passed following their landing, both unconscious as the rains tapped down upon their bodies, and it nearly appeared that they'd remain so for quite some time. Yet fingers finally twitched as a sign of awakening, yellow eyes opening, and slowly, Ganondorf pushed himself up.

Across the junction, Link continued lying there, caught within a waking nightmare, his eyes darting back and forth beneath his lids as he tried to pry them open. With some effort, they finally parted to the sight of Ganondorf's blurred visage across the way, his heavy breathing coming through clearly above the rain and thunder.

The raspy sound proved he'd been injured just as badly, though he was recovering much more swiftly—and he was far from done with their confrontation.

"It's time to show you the true meaning of suffering."

Ganondorf's menacing words hit Link's ears just as he realized he was still lying upon the ground without his sword. In response, he pushed himself up on his arm to realize his blade was a few feet away. Reaching for it, he looked back when a muffled eruption hit his ears, the sound reminiscent of something emerging from the ground.

At the same time, a barbed vine twisted its way around his torso.

Grunting as he was abruptly jerked back, the spiky thorns dug into his chainmail, growing larger until it punctured the flesh beneath. Hissing in pain, Link quickly reached for his sword again to cut the twisting limbs away. But just as his fingers made contact with the hilt, another vine wrapped around his arm, dragging it out of reach as his body was lifted from the ground.

Another vine wrapped around his leg, each tightening their grip as he struggled, blood beginning to soak his clothing as laughter filled the air.

Across the junction, Ganondorf mounted his horse, glancing back at Link with a smirk as the Hylian struggled to escape the barbs—but it was futile. The thorns dug in too deep, and he finally sent a glare at his nemesis, unwilling to show his pain.

Yet the agony caused by the vines winding around him wasn't the only affliction he had to endure—the barbs were also poisoned, and as the substance they secreted began flowing through his veins, the pain redoubled until it felt as if his very blood was on fire within him.

His breathing increased, teeth gritting together until finally, Link let a sharp cry of agony as his enemy looked on, mercilessly smirking at the sight.

If he'd only been stronger, if he hadn't just spent the day fighting, he would've been able to rise from his unconscious state sooner to avoid this torment. Yet he'd been fatigued, their meeting premature, and the last thought to pass through his mind before the pain consumed him was a vow.

When next they met, he'd be strong enough to erase this abomination from the face of the world.

As Link's agonized cry filled the air, Ganondorf remarked, "And so Zelda shall see, as the rest of Hyrule, exactly how vulnerable it truly is with your broken body left standing here as testament. But have no doubts, you will survive past tonight. You will survive to bring to me that which I need to conquer the realms of this world and beyond it—and I will be waiting for you to fulfill that destiny for me, Hero of Legend."

With a menacing smirk, Ganondorf turned his horse's reins and departed the ruined town of Engleton, leaving the Hero of Legend to suffer within a tangle of merciless barbs as redead rose up to stand sentinel in the darkness. Their presence was a silent promise that Link would be forced to feel the burn of his blood until dawn, and any who tried to save him beforehand would perish in their clutches.