Link sent word to Zelda from one of the stables. He could have stopped in on his way to forest but he didn't want to waste any time, this felt like divine beckoning and a Goddess wasn't one to keep waiting.
There was another reason he did not want to go back to the castle just yet and it had to do with the new scars that now marred his chest. The princess would want to see the images on the tablet. The thought of the look that would pass over her face when she saw the whole ordeal was too much for him to bare.
He did not feel sorry for himself, nor did he regret his decisions, but if ever the Princess looked at him like some wounded animal to be pitied, he was sure he would die inside.
Selecting a sleek, black mare from the stables he paid the fee and took to the roads.
Only pausing to rescue a few citizens under attack from monsters he made his way at a swift pace. Getting a fresh horse from Riverside stable than another at the Wetland stable.
Finally, he arrived at the Woodland stable. He thanked his steed silently, slipping her an apple before heading north on foot.
The slate was no help as he walked, nothing registered in this area, but he felt an invisible force pulling him farther. Mist pushed in around him, making it hard to see even five feet in front.
Link jolts to a stop, an old crumbling archway stands before him as if it had leapt from the ground. A single burning torch sits in an iron holder.
The logistics behind the flame is not known, but Link trusts that whatever is pulling him, would have the means to produce a simple torch when needed.
Careful not to walk so fast as to extinguish the flame the teen moves on, every creak, every rustle making his ears perk. Oddly the force he is feeling is pulling more then just him to the destination. He can see the flicker of flame pointing forwards instead of back from his movement.
Curious.
After zigzagging through the mist for what seemed like an eternity, he gave a start as he stepped out into a clearing. The mist could be seen clinging to edges but the clearing itself was bright and sunny.
The torch goes out with a puff and Link is left standing there, staring dumbly at the cold stick.
A tingle in the back of his neck alerts him to the fact there is someone watching him. A tiny green being with a leaf over his face is peeking out from behind a log. Upon closer inspection Link sees there is more then one. They are everywhere!
His attention is pulled elsewhere as a glimmer of metal flashes to the North of where he stands. Careful not to startle the creatures the young warrior moves forward. A round stone platform can just be made out under a layer of moss and vines. In the center a pillar of green. The metal is underneath.
This is what is pulling him. He can feel the aura of whatever lies beneath, and it is powerful.
His chest suddenly throbs, sending a wave of pain over every inch of him. Gritting his teeth, he starts to pull away the growth to uncover the artifact. Searing heat stabs the wounds, a couple burst open as if the blood needs to escape. The spot where the black blade had entered his shoulder burns, the wound starts to reopen, melting away flesh.
His fingers tremble as he pulls with greater urgency. More wounds reopen, staining the flora red. The blade can be seen, he reaches for the hilt just as his chest cavity cracks open for a second time. He is dying.
"You must have great courage to come here. To trust your life into the hands of the Goddess. You have been through so much already and still you fight. Foolishly perhaps…" The ground rumbles with each word, Link hasn't the strength to look up. His life's blood is almost spent, and a peaceful numbness is setting in. "You can rest. Close your eyes. Hylia will welcome you with unwavering arms and love."
A vision of Zelda flashes through the youth's mind. The deep voice is still talking, and his body is limp on the ground, but his hand remains on the hilt. It's not just Zelda that stirs his thoughts, every person, animal, tree, sunset, and waterfall flashes before him. The energy of the earth itself wills him to move.
Through pain and torment he uses his hand to pull himself to his knees grabbing the hilt firmly with both hands he drags his numb feet beneath him. He doesn't know how he stays standing but with a grunt of effort he pulls. The force sends out a spray of blood from his chest just as the blade slides free.
In an instant the pain is gone. The same gold light the healed him at the cave is filling him up again, it knits together the wounds instantly and Link is renewed.
Glancing at the smooth skin Link wonders what the Goddess is playing at. Why heal him without question at the cave, just to make him live through that torture again?
A sudden pulse of energy brings his eyes back to his hands where the most magnificent sword he ever seen rests. Its blade glows blue much like his own Hylian sword but the energy from this steel is so much more powerful. The Hylian blade is a shadow of this new sword, an imitation crafted by mortal hands.
"Your will is strong, young one."
Link needed a moment to a process that the huge tree is now talking to him. Slowly he looks up, unsure to believe it, maybe he did die?
"She needed to be sure it was your choice to continue on, she would weep if she thought she forced you into the role of Champion."
Not much of a choice. Fight or die. But that was life in a nutshell.
Link stood and gave the sword a couple swings to feel the perfect balance before facing the tree.
"There is no time to spare young warrior. The last piece rests in the mountain of fire. Dark forces are already moving towards it. Make haste and take with you my own blessing. This will aid you and keep you safe."
A mini hoard of green-leaf beings stumbles forward with a folded, red tunic. Carefully, Link opens the tunic to see the light fabric is infused with a shiny metal fabric that despite his best efforts does not tear or rip.
A plum of dark smoke can be seen furrowing over top of the forest to the North East. That is his destination. As if guided by the hand of a dozen fallen warriors, Link holds the sword skyward for a moment then unleashes a power the lays bare a direct path straight from the forest towards the mountain. Even the mist shies away from the swords will.
Link slides the sword away with ease, and with a nod to the tree he sprints forward, prepared to fulfill his duty.
The volcano is stifling, and one wrong step would lead to doom, but Link has managed to make it not only into the mountain but past the scores of Yiga tribesman and monsters scouring the place, looking for the golden power.
Thankfully the armour awarded him by the talking tree, he still hadn't wrapped his head around that one yet, keeps him from burning up as he delves deeper into the mountain.
Monster numbers increase the farther he goes, because the Yiga are still men. They would die under normal circumstances, the toxic air, the immense heat would wipe them out in moments.
It is in the last chamber, the heart of the volcano that Link feels the pull of the tri-force. It is here, but it is hidden.
Carefully the young warrior peeks around the stalagmite to get a better idea what odds he is facing. The room is massive, he can't even see the other side through the rising heat and fumes. A large platform floats on a pool of magma in the middle.
Of course, the chest he wants had to be there. He still couldn't see it, but it was the most open, dangerous spot in the whole place so naturally that was it.
He knew the chest was there, but that same gut-feeling also told him someone or something else was down there as well.
Knowing that once he stepped out, he would be vulnerable Link prepared himself the best he could. The Master sword, which he knew it was called somehow, was poised ready in his left hand, in his right a metal shield that would not burn. He took a deep breath to steady his nerve before he straightened.
With the confidence of a seasoned Warrior he strode forward without hesitation. Easily leaping the gap to stand on the swaying island.
His blue eyes scanned his surroundings continuously, but it was not his eyes, but his ears that alerted him to the incoming threat. He dove forward swiftly, twisting back once on his feet again to see the massive spiked ball embedded where he had been standing.
Following the chain from the ball to the bottom of a massive axe, Link now understood his predicament. General Onox.
Three times his size, and decked out in golden armour, he was a sight to behold. But Link remained unimpressed and stood his ground.
"Little one!" The General bellows. "You live! Ghirahim swore he snuffed out your light. Master Ganondorf was not pleased to hear it either, he so wishes to meet you again. He thinks you will be a great pet!"
Link is unmoved on the outside, but the Demon Lords name makes him shutter inside, and to hear Ganondorf wants to make him a pet doesn't make him feel much better.
"Don't you worry though. You an' me? We are gonna to have a proper go at this! I can't very well kill a boy that's already dead, now can I?"
The stage is set, and the prize is more then the tri-force.
Link has no intention of dying a third time in that many days.