Hey guys! I hope you're ready, this chapter is a long one! Not much to add, so enjoy!
-Joost
The Fierce God Given Life
Chapter 4: Blinded by Desire
Link was heading through the bizarre effigy of the Snowhead Temple. Within the moon, Link in his Goron form raced through the course, bouncing on chests until he finally made it to the door. He opened it and was greeted by the Moon Child wearing the remains of Goht on their head.
After gifting them the masks they desired, Link prepared to head back to that mysterious field, but he was again stopped by the peculiar child.
"Um… Can I ask… a question?" They said plainly, Tatl still spooked by their lack of emotion while talking.
Link nodded, and the Moon Child continued. "You… What makes you… happy?"
The young man was taken aback by the question.
"I wonder… What makes you happy… Does it make… others happy too?"
And with that, Link was sent back to the field again. This time, he just stood in the clearing, thinking about what the Moon Child said. He pondered on what truly makes him happy. When he finally snapped out of his prolonged thought, he concluded that it was the nature of his quest that made him happy. He then started walking towards the tree, not giving it a second thought.
Link was woken from his sleep with a pillow to the face. He grunted and shot up off the hay he was laying on, in a defensive position. But Romani just giggled.
"Grasshopper! Wake up!" She said in a sing-song voice. It was morning, and Cremia was at the kitchen counter preparing breakfast.
"Morning, sleepyhead! Breakfast is almost ready." Cremia told Link as he rubbed his eyes.
"Oh… you didn't have to." Link said, his voice almost a whisper as Romani pulled up a chair for him and sat down at the table on hers just beside it.
"Nonsense! You're our guest! It's the least we can do." Cremia protested with a smile. She was happy to make breakfast for their visitor, but food was already running low for the ranch sisters. She'd need to make another stop in Clock Town after the wedding to pick up supplies.
"Here you go." Cremia plated the food, a blend of eggs, bacon, and the Romani Ranch milk so loved by the patrons of the Milk Bar.
After the trio ate, Cremia headed off to Clock Town for Anju and Kafei's wedding. Although it pained her to see Kafei, the man she used to have a crush on marry her best friend, Cremia didn't want to miss it for the world. She was happy for both of them.
"Bye Sister!" Romani yelled, still waving goodbye to the carriage. When she finally stopped, she was just about to go to Link and ask what he wanted to do that day when she saw he was gone. For a minute she was afraid he had already left, until she spotted the trademark green tunic sitting on the roof of the house.
"Grasshopper!" Romani said as she made it up the ladder to the roof. "What are you doing up here?"
Link didn't respond at first, he was too entranced by the view of the entire ranch from where he was. When he finally did speak up, Romani sat down next to him on the roof. "Just… enjoying this."
Link gestured towards the distance, and Romani's face was gleamed with confusion.
"It just looks nice." Link noticed the puzzled look on his redheaded friend and did his best to explain.
"Well, Romani wants to do something! Together!" Romani said, taking Links hand and leading him back to the ladder.
For the next few hours, Link and Romani simply hung out, doing whatever they wanted. Throwing horseshoes, practicing with their bows, playing tag with Romani's pup. Link did consider going to the wedding, but he figured he would just be a bother. After all, he was 12, and the rest of the people there were adults.
After the two used up all their arrows during target practice, they didn't have much in the way to do while they waited. Sitting in the grass by the fence, the two kids just enjoyed the nice breeze.
"How did you get so good with a bow, Grasshopper?" Romani asked, playing with her own bow, making the string do a fun 'twang' sound.
Link didn't answer immediately. After all, how was he supposed to tell her that he was nearly killed by hands emerging from the ceiling of a mansion just to get his first bow?
"… just practice." He stated. It was a simple answer, but it was for the most part true.
Smiling at his modesty, Romani stood up and put her hands on her hips.
"Well, what should we do now, Grasshopper?" She looked around at the field, somewhat imitating how Link would look stoically into the distance at times. She looked back at her friend, but he didn't do the same.
"Hmmm…" Link put his hand to his chin for a minute. He was happy now, and the realization brought him back to that Moon Child's question. He brushed it off. "Want to ride Epona with me?"
Romani was startled a bit by the offer. When Epona wandered into the ranch and the sisters took her in, she hardly let any saddle enter her sight before throwing a fit. Up until Link arrived, she was hard to work with. Without even a moment to hesitate, the ranch girl nodded her head.
Link smiled and then summoned the horse with her song. Climbing onto the mare, Link extended his hand towards Romani, a look of earnesty spreading across his face as Romani took his hand and steadied herself behind Link, arms wrapped around his torso.
Link gave Epona a gentle kick, and that was all she needed to start off on a trot. Romani was a little scared, but one look at the boy she adored gave her confidence. Link soon urged Epona into a canter and soon a full gallop. Link's golden locks and Romani's fiery hair were flowing in the wind until Epona slowed down on her own, conveniently as Cremia's carriage came into view from the road. It's like she knew.
"Sister!" Romani hollered, as Link hopped off his horse and helped his best friend to the ground.
"Hey, you two!" Cremia said as she disembarked from the carriage when it was put in its usual place. She walked up to the kids and gave them a hug. Link froze at the contact, unused to something like that.
"So, what have you two been up to?" Cremia said, walking with Romani back to the house.
"Oh, Romani and Grasshopper got to ride Epona! We shot arrows with our bows! And we played horseshoes together! Romani kicked his butt!" Romani exclaimed, hands on her hips in pride, almost running out of breath when she finished her sentence.
"Sounds fun." Cremia replied sweetly. While she had no idea how to do things like use a bow, she was nonetheless interested in what the two children did while she was gone.
Before they entered the house, Link piped up. "I'm going to be leaving soon."
Romani was almost hurt by his statement.
"Huh?! Grasshopper, you can't! We still have so much to do!" She pleaded. In truth, she had no idea what to do next. They had exhausted their options, but she didn't want to see her little hero leave.
"S-Sorry, Romani. I have some things I need to do. I plan on staying at the Stock Pot Inn for a while." Link said meekly. He didn't want to leave either, but his thoughts on a certain mask that was still in his possession were starting to catch up to him, his need for answers growing with every passing minute. Link collected his gear and strapped it on.
"Alright…" Romani whispered, defeated. "But be sure to visit again!"
"I won't forget." Link got up onto Epona and gave the sisters a thumbs up, and then he was off.
Cremia just watched as Romani waved goodbye, even though when she finally stopped waving, Link had been out of sight for about a minute. She simply chuckled at her little sister as they went inside.
Link urged Epona into a gallop. He hadn't seen Tatl, Tael, or Skull Kid since last night, so he first went to Clock Town. The remnants of the wedding party were still out by the West Clock Town entrance. However, the Carnival of Time was still going strong.
Getting off Epona by the West gate, he entered town. Pushing through crowds, he finally found his friends by the Archery building on the other side of town.
"Link! There you are!" Skull Kid chirped, happy to see the boy in green again. He was still wearing the yellow and orange mask Link gifted him the other day.
"About time you showed up." Tatl said, crossing her arms. Tael elbowed her, remembering how the night before, Tatl was actually pretty concerned for how Link was doing, wherever he was.
Link only chuckled at Tatl and Tael's interaction, and just made sure to check up on them.
Next, he went to Stock Pot Inn. Opening the door, the place was almost as crowded as the outside. Weaving his was through the building, he found who he was looking for, Anju. She was in the kitchen, her attention on the pot of soup in front of her. She noticed the green clad boy out of the corner of her eye.
"Link!" Anju nearly yelled his name, surprised to see him. "How are you?" She asked as she put down her utensils from the soup pot.
"I'm fine…" Link told her, a hint of nervousness lined his words. "H-How's Kafei?"
"He's amazing. I… I never did get to properly give my thanks, Link." Anju knelt to meet Link's height and pulled him in for a hug, Link freezing in place, unsure what to do with his arms. He was far too unused to hugs.
"If you need anything, just ask us." Anju said as she got back up. Link only nodded in response, and then left, completely forgetting to ask to stay for a few days. He was only focused on one thing, and it blinded his judgement. Anju went to the front desk as watched the boy leave, a worried expression on her face.
Link bid farewell to his trio of friends and left. He didn't want to get them wrapped up in what he was going to do. Leaving Clock Town from whence he came, he mounted Epona and rode off to Ikana Canyon.
Avoiding the Bombchu's on the way, he began thinking about Majora's appearance during their battle. The pattern of her skin. He was sure they reminded him of one thing. Stone Tower Temple. He recalled seeing paintings lining the walls of the tower when he first ventured there, but he was so caught up in his mission he didn't pay them any mind. Once he got to the cliff where the tree was, he got off Epona and urged her to leave the canyon. All the Bombchus would certainly bother her if she didn't leave.
Deploying his hookshot, he rappelled up to the cliff and started on foot from there. It was strangely quiet. No warped creatures resembling Gorons, no Sakon to ogle at his gear. Zipping up to where the Owl Statue stood, he looked around. Everything looked suspiciously normal.
Link considered knocking on the door to the Music Box House, but he chose to leave Pamela and her father some more space. They were probably still recovering from the mess only two days prior. He soon got to the entrance to Stone Tower.
Feeling himself tense up, his "Hero mode" returning to him, he put on the Goron mask and rolled up the steep hill. Once he got to the top, he pulled out his Ocarina and went through the tunnel.
After some time and lot of song playing, he reached the top of the tower. He witnessed the Guays fly by, and the temple's face met his. The gleaming jewel that flipped his world upside down shining bright in the still early morning sun.
Entering the temple, he set out to search for paintings. In the central area of the temple, he finally noticed the peculiar stone carving with the eye switch on left. He stared at the monument for a second and turned his attention to the walls.
Even though the Canyon had been cleansed of the darkness, he still felt weary. Considering readying his sword and shield, he peered through the first door to the right and into the hallway to led to. The walls showed nothing of use to him yet. It wasn't until he found his way the room with the mirrors did he find something interesting.
The walls showed depictions of builders. People constructing the very tower he was on. Reaching towards the heavens, the visual of the tower leading towards three orbs of light. He had a realization. This place… was meant to reach the gods. But this made Link ponder the reason for the flip. Why did the entire place turn upside down when hit with the light of the gods?
Going back outside the temple, Link sat down. Looking at the jewel and back down to the light arrow in his hands, he lost himself in his thoughts. His mind began racing, thinking only about the gods. Din, Farore, and Nayru. But then his mind wandered to the one with the nameless name.
"The Goddess of Time is protecting you. If you play the song of Time, she will aid you…" Link remembered his last conversation with the princess of Hyrule. Zelda.
The Goddess of Time. Link looked up at the sun, then back down to the light arrow in his hand. He got up, pulled out his bow, and readied himself. Releasing his hand, the arrow hit the gemstone. The world around him rumbled and the temple was flipped over.
Catching himself on part of the upper walkway, Link saved himself from the fall and reentered the temple. He thought why only the Goddess of Time would help him during his quest in Termina. Walking out into the inverted courtyard, he looked up. And that's when he finally saw it.
Majora's Mask, if only in effigy.
The strange stone monument he paid no mind to earlier was an inverted statue of the mask of chaos. The switch on what would be the eye making all too much sense now.
Startled, Link backed away from the image of the infernal demon and returned outside. He remembered the face of the temple, the weird design of the spires alongside it the face. When he checked them, his suspicions were confirmed. There was a hand, pointing to the sky, or at least was. Now it was pointed down, to what should've been the ground.
Something clicked in his head. The light arrows, the weapon of the Hylian Goddesses, making the tower created to reach the heavens invert. Link suddenly felt dirty standing on the tower.
Link swallowed his fear and walked into the temple once again. Staring at the monument dedicated to the author of all his pain, he remembered all the symbols laid about across her lair. Symbols that reminded him of the sun. The very place she detached from at the start of their battle being the same symbol on the floor, now ceiling, of the Stone Tower Temple.
Perhaps there were still gods in this land that remain to be discovered. After all, the entire reason he was here was still in his bag, its own name proving his theory. Pressing on through the temple, Link aimed to find more of the things that could be inverted. Singular rooms, those mysterious living statues, whatever he could.
When he came across that room, he remembered the tedious task he and his companion endured just to get to the door. He groaned. After several minutes of flipping the room and pushing a single block, Link sighed in relief as he got to the door.
When Link went through the empty room where he fought that wizard, he felt a sense of dread loom over him. Like the moon was back in the sky. He hookshotted up to the chest above and left. Next was the room with all the Poes. Link equipped the Deku mask and used the Deku flowers. Thankfully, he didn't fall while on his petal-copter, but he was glad to be on the other side of the next door.
However, that door led right to the other fellow he was looking for. Those statues. Link investigated them without getting too close. They bore the same kind of jewel the outside of the temple had.
Making his way through the corridor, he got to another Deku flower and launched himself to the other side of the area. Link was getting tired of just going through doors. This time, however, he was met with the Bubbles, the little floating skulls he despised, all for their curse of limiting his sword.
Taking them out with arrows, he walked to the end of the hallway, and went through the door. He was within a chamber. A chamber he recognized. There was nothing to note of, so the hero turned to leave.
But then the bars came down and blocked the door.
A huge gust of wind appeared, even though he was inside a sealed room.
Link shuddered at the squeal of bats as he turned around. Before him was a figure taking shape. It's cloak concealing a green sphere, the creature enveloped by the swarm.
Gomess.
The unholy being reeled at the sight of Link, recalling when he was defeated the first time, even though that was in another cycle entirely. His scythe materialized in a similar manner to the double-helix blade, and he plunged it into the ground, bits of rock breaking off and flying away.
Gomess pointed towards the Hero of Termina, making a guttural cry. Link unsheathed his sword and prepared his shield. The voice of Gomess was only audible for a few seconds, but its sound sent chills down Link's spine just as Majora did.
"It's been some time…" Gomess stated. He saw something in the boy that he hadn't before. Something different. It frightened him. He removed his weapon from the stone floor and clutched it with pride.
"You're the one who banished me to this… prison." Gomess continued, venom lining his voice. Link looked puzzled for a moment, but it didn't last long. A swarm of bats rushed towards the boy, causing him to shield his face with his arms until they dissipated. Only when he got his vision back, he was greeted with a mighty swing.
Gomess swatted the hero like a bug, launching him right into the wall. The stone he made impact with visibly cracked as he crumpled to the ground.
"Tatl!" Link yelled, but there was no response. He inwardly scolded himself for not bringing Tatl along and protected himself from another strike from the reaper with his mirror shield. The effort to block the attack nearly tore the shield from its arm straps. He didn't remember Gomess being this strong, or brutal.
He spun himself around, orange energy from his quick spin attack taking out a number of the bats surrounding Gomess. Link lunged his sword at the orb in his opponent's chest, causing the creature to faulter. Link smirked, but the expression was replaced by worry as the bats reformed out of thin air.
Link did however remember Gomess's weakness. He readied a Light arrow and fired it without hesitation. The bats surrounding the form of the reaper dispersed, but before Link could attack, they swarmed him instead. Feeling their sharp teeth dig into his skin, Link spun again to drive them away.
The hero was left with a number of bloodied marks on his arms and face, but he pushed through the pain and dashed towards Gomess, pummeling the orb with the hilt of his sword. The act caused a burning sensation to engulf Link's arm, the sphere incredibly hot.
Gomess groaned and looked Link in the eye. The hero recognized that kind of look. His enemy longed to kill him, a notion many of Link's adversaries shared. Gohma, King Dodongo, Phantom Ganon, Odolwa, and Majora herself shared that look of sadistic desire.
Standing firm, Link met Gomess's swing of his scythe with his sword. The raw strength caused the Gilded Sword to chip, the impact created sparks which fluttered to the ground were the warriors stood.
In a fit of rage, Gomess clawed at his target while they had blades locked. The left sleeve of Link's tunic tore, and the razor-sharp claws drew blood from the hero's elbow. It wasn't until the reaper grabbed Link's torso did the blades separate, the scythe slashing Link and tearing the center of his tunic open. Gomess picked up the hero and threw him into the wall of the arena, which Link then crashed through and sailed through the open air for a full second.
Suddenly, Gomess caught Link before he could fall into the abyss. But, if he did fall, it would've been an act of mercy. Rushing towards the nearest wall, the two combatants crashed through again and again. Link would finally be freed from the other's grasp when he sliced Gomess's hand with his sword.
Link, battered and bruised, cuts riddling his arm, legs, chest, and face, flew through the final wall and landed in the central courtyard. He slid towards the edge of the walkway, taking hold of the last available space and holding on for dear life. The only thing he could see was the inverted monument, and an approaching Gomess.
Pulling himself up, he did his best to crawl his way to the entrance, but the living shadow seized his right arm. Looking Link in the eyes again, he chucked the hero down the tunnel, and the boy landed outside, right in view of the temple's jewel.
Before Gomess could leave the temple, Link shakily got out a light arrow and shot it at the gemstone. His aim was terrible, but he hit his mark.
The world around them rumbled, and Link fell.
The Hero of Termina experienced traveling on the edge of reality as the entire tower shifted. He hit several platforms of the tower during his fall until finally getting to ground level, the entrance to the tower feet away. He tried to breathe, hard with several ribs broken. His arms and legs ached, many of the bones fractured. Soon he started slowly crawling out of the tower. He forgot about the steep slope and tumbled all the way down. After a moment, Link forced himself to stand. He stumbled to his feet, only to get a look at his chest. A terrible slash was present, and his tunic was a shade of dark red. He tried in vain to walk, but after a few meters he collapsed. Unable to move, Link closed his eyes and accepted his fate.
Until he heard a neigh.
Link struggled to raise his head, but when he finally did, he was shocked to see Epona galloping towards him. He didn't know how she got up here, but he nearly cried when she approached.
Link used the last of his strength to climb on top of Epona, and without orders, she dashed all the way to the ravine, in which Epona jumped both without problem. He had no time to order his loyal steed, overwhelmed by misery. It was his own desire for answers that led to this, but he did his best to speak.
"Cl-Clock… Town…" Link sputtered, and he lost consciousness. Epona didn't waste any time and started her race back to town.