AN: Ten reviews! I've never had a story consistently pull in this many. I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed and/or answered my question. I have made my choice, as you will see this chapter. Just a reminder I only respond to questions, or something I want to point out or comment about.

Responses:

Outofstategrl: Hmm… I have a habit of just making up interesting (I think) monsters, and never explaining a thing about them. I guess that's how it is here, too. So I guess you can just assume the Earth Spirit thing was put there to test the hero, and anything else is up to you. Thanks for reviewing.

HaltiOvi: Actually, Link never had the Master Sword. It's in the castle. He just had some generic sword, so there won't be two Master Swords. I can't give anything way about the triforce of courage, but hopefully it will all make sense to you when the time comes. Thanks for the review!

Lil Fang: I try putting in the funny stuff, but it doesn't work. For example, the statue explosion just seemed silly and stupid without actually getting to see it all. I usually end up editing out some of the physical humour. I too, love the game, I just can't do the humour properly here.

ZombieDragon: Ha, that's kind of funny, bit of an odd coincidence… By the way, I don't mind you sounding like a broken record as long as its compliments you're repeating. Thanks for reviewing!

HeroofTimes: Oh, Ok. I'm looking around the site now, I'm always on the lookout for another Zelda site. The Sword of Earth is something new, and the Kokiri sword was what he gave Naito. I forgot it became the gilded sword though… umm… it got magically ungilded when he got back to Hyrule…?

"You have done well to find your way to me, O chosen one of the goddesses."

So spoke a deep voice as Naito entered a large, dim chamber of smooth gray stone. After leaving the room with the Earth Spirit, it had been a short jog up an outdoor ramp to this room. The voice seemed to be coming from a large head statue on the opposite wall, in between two hand statues.

Suddenly the eyes of the statue began to glow a bright red colour, and it pulled free from the wall. Naito quickly checked out the room as he had seen Link do, getting a feel for the environment. He was on a circular platform the filled most of the room, but at the edge you could fall into a green floor which seemed to be sparkling with energy. Best not to fall down there.

The head was now floating above him, with blue glowing lines spreading all over it. Link noticed a discoloured spot on the top of its head. The hands were getting the same blue lines as they too pulled free from the wall. A red glowing circle appeared on each palm, looking a lot like its eyes. It floated to the end of the room, looking at Link. It then closed his eyes, speaking once more: "My name is Gohdan, and I am the master of this tower. Accept this final test."

Then, the battle began. Gohdan shot bright blue beams from his finger tips, which Naito dodged easily. He focused on the red spots on its hands, which he was sure were eyes. It was the only way he could see him with this real eyes closed. He drew his bow instead of his sword, jumping back to avoid a slap as he nocked an arrow. The hand had spun to face him, and he loosed the arrow, which hit the red spot. There was a glass shattering sound, and the light faded. The hand floated uselessly, fingers dangling, palm facing the ground.

Link tried to ready another arrow, but missed the string and the second hand got him with a small slap. It was enough to bat him off his feet, rolling almost off the edge. It tried to flick him off, but he rolled out of the way and got to his feet, readying an arrow. The hand turned around and he took a close range shot, pegging the second "eye." The hand also dangled useless.

The head then opened its real eyes, looking at Link. It opened its mouth, and fired bursts of flame that exploded on impact at an extremely quick rate. Naito dove to the side as they pounded the floor in front of him and almost took him out. He ran for it, with the blasts hitting the floor right behind him. He readied an arrow on the go, turning and shooting. He missed the eye, but it hit the cheek and Gohdan stopped shooting at him.

The head charged at him, trying to ram him. He shot the eye, and it stopped short barely a foot away, pulling back. Without warning, it slammed down onto the ground, creating a rumbling that knocked Naito off of his feet. It slid across the ground at him, pushing him right off the edge.

He hit the ground and was met with excruciating pain. He screamed as a current of lightning passed through him. Almost blinded by the pain, he blindly stood and jumped. His hand caught the edge of the platform, and he pulled himself up on pure adrenaline. The pain was subsiding, although he knew he had burns all over his body. His vision was blurry, but he chanced a shot at Gohdan, and to his surprise he hit the eye.

Gohdan grunted, and fell to the ground, with his mouth hanging open. Naito ran over, his mind blocking out the residual pain. He drew a bomb, and threw it into the mouth, somehow knowing that was what he had to do. It exploded, and the head bounced, falling backward. He ran around it, remembering the odd spot on its head. He saw it was a place with no stone, revealing a blue, skin-like substance. He plunged his sword into it, and it instantly rose up, almost taking him with it. There was no blood, but somehow he knew he had wounded it.

A second too late, he realized the hands were back in action. One punched him from behind, belting him forward. All of his pains were reawakened, and he twitched, almost losing consciousness. He struggled to his feet with a superhuman effort, blotting out the pain again. Plenty of time to worry about that AFTER. He drew his bow and shot an eye on a nearby hand, ducking as another sailed overhead. It came again, and he shot it point blank as it approached. He spun to face the head, which was charging a giant fireball in its mouth. Link back flipped as it was launched at him, but he was hit by the explosion and hurled to the edge again. Again, he almost lost consciousness. He managed to get to his feet, and noticed a new problem. The hands were still dangling uselessly, but Gohdan had closed his eyes again, attempting to fight blindly.

Link stayed quiet, as Gohdan charge around randomly. The hands moved with him, still useless, one close to the ground and one a bit higher up. Naito got a crazy idea, but he knew it was the only way. He ran forward, ignoring the pain. Adrenaline took over as he leaped onto the first hand, putting all his momentum into his knees as he landed and springing over to the other, an eight foot jump. He landed perfectly, sliding to the edge. He spun, took a powerful step forward and launched himself at the head. He fell short, grabbing it with his hands and forcing his elbows up. Gohdan began to flail around, but he would not be denied. He scrambled with his feet to get on top, drawing his sword.

Gohdan began to flip upside down. He scrambled over to the exposed section on his knees, uphill. He raised his sword as he began to slide backward off, plunging it down with all his strength…

Meanwhile, back outside, Link was starting to worry.

"Should I go in after him?" He asked the King of Red Lions.

The boat shook his head. "It is his test, not your. He must complete it himself."

If Link had sufficient room, he would be pacing. To keep himself busy, he drew the tower on his chart, not seeing any fish. It was simple enough. When he finished, he was thinking about going in anyway when a bell rang out. He snapped his head up to the top of the tower, which was the source of the sound. He could faintly make out a big bell, and he though he saw some speck swinging below it. He wished Naito wasn't carrying the telescope around with him, or he would have used it.

On the third ring, a circle of light appeared in front of them. It looked just like the one that had brought Link above the surface, and he had no doubt it would take them back down. He noticed the bell had stopped ringing, so he looked back up there…

He felt a sudden wind, and Naito materialized in the boat. He was covered in red burns, which were actually scabbed in some places. One of his eyes was black, and he had big bruises. He was bleeding slightly out the back of his head, and he was barely conscious.

"Damn it!" The boat shouted, looking back. "How is he?"

"Can't tell. He took a beating. I'll see what I can do." Link said bluntly. He was carrying some red potion, which he made Naito drink. The bruises faded, and he stopped bleeding. The burns were still an issue however, but he thought he might be able to treat those. He was in no way an accomplished healer like Zelda, but he had been able to heal himself quickly with magic, and Zelda had taught him to do the same to others.

He raised his hand over Naito, willing his magic power down his arm. He forced it to jump to Naito, and a green aura emanated from his fingers and Naito. He visualized whatever part of his head access to magic flaring to life and feeding the flow of healing. As usual, he could see a meter of sorts in his mind, being depleted.

Naito's eyes fluttered open. His scabs faded, and his skin lost its bright red hue. Link was almost out of magic again, but Naito was able to sit up.

"Whoa… what happened?" He asked thickly.

The boat answered him, "We don't know. You appeared here, injured, but Link healed you. What happened to you?"

Naito started to look more alert. "It was that stupid head thing!" He burst out, before telling them the story, although he edited out his missed shots.

"So then I rang the bell, and then I fell off and… here I am." He finished.

"Hmm… I'm sorry to have sent you there, but it was the only way. We must enter that ring of light." The King of Red Lions said, cruising forward.

As they entered, they submerged slowly. Link breathed normally, knowing he could breathe, although Naito held his breath for as long as he could. Link peered over the edge of the boat, eager to be back at in Hyrule. He saw the castle, and realized this was the same place he had risen from.

They eventually just left the water, floating down through air. They were instantly dry, oddly enough. Naito looked around avidly as they touched the shallow water below, floating there.

"You two must enter the castle. There may be something of use." The boat said, eyeing Link. Link may have been concerned, but he wasn't paying much attention, instead drinking in the familiar, albeit colourless, land.

He and Naito hopped out of the boat, walking toward the castle's front door. It was wide open, and Naito ran in excitedly. Link rolled his eyes, at least he knew there was no monster in here. He was about to follow when the great door slammed shut, keeping him out.

Naito looked back in surprise and fear. He was left alone. He also saw several enemies, darknuts and moblins. None of them were moving at all, and as soon as he deemed it safe he began to look around. He kept his sword drawn, just in case. The room was large, although partly destroyed. There was a statue in the middle, of a man in a tunic. The hero from the legend. This must have been the fabled land of Hyrule. Naito was in awe.

Suddenly a voice sounded from the stone in his back pocket, the one Tetra gave him. It was the boat.

"Naito? Are you alright? Don't worry; the area is frozen in time. The monsters cannot attack you. Forget about Link now; he would actually try and stop you from what you are about to do. After everything he's been through… I don't blame him. But forget about that. You must solve a puzzle in this room. There is a treasure below, something you need to defeat Ganon. Look at the statue." He said.

Naito walked over to it, examining it. It was set on a large, square stone base. On the front of this base were three triangles, randomly scattered across the surface it seemed. He reached out and touched one, and to his great surprise it turned gold and moved slightly. He touched it again, realizing he could manipulate it at will, sliding it across the surface. He brought the three triangles close together. He had to make a pattern of some sort it seemed. But what?

But he knew what. It was a symbol he had never noticed, but it was everywhere. It was on the doors at his island, the entrance to this castle, emblazoned on some boats, carved in the Forsaken Fortress… he realized it was everywhere, but he had never wondered why. He arranged the tree triangles to make one triangle with no center, and a chime rang out. He jumped back as the statue began to rumble, and move. It slid back, revealing a staircase leading down. He headed down without hesitating.

Link felt the rumble from outside the doors, where he was waiting. A minute later, the door opened and he rushed in. He saw the statue, which seemed to be a bit far back… He gasped.

"No!" he yelled, running for the stairs.

Naito approached the sword in the pedestal. The room was oddly bright, and decorated with mosaics on the wall. There was a raised platform in the middle, where the sword was. The raised platform was surrounded by giant knight statues, holding their stone swords up.

The sword itself had a blue hilt, with tiny stubs for a cross guard. There was a dull, black gem where the hilt met the blade. The blade started thin, but got thicker a few inches up. That triangle symbol was carved into the bottom of the blade. It was the only colourful object in the room.

He reached his arms out, grabbing the hilt with both hands. He gave a sudden tug, and the blade slid free. It felt pleasant in his hands, a whole lot lighter than it looked. In fact, it was a perfect weight for him. He gave it three short swings, raising it up to the light.

Link was halfway to the stairs when he realized he was too late. Colour began to return to everything, starting with the stairs and spreading all over. He drew his sword and shield.

"No…" He breathed, unable to believe this could happen. Didn't anyone know what the Master Sword was holding back? He had a faint hope earlier that the sword would have rejected Naito, but he had known deep down that it wouldn't.

The monsters began to move. The one he had stabbed when he awoke suddenly had a wound in its stomach, and collapsed as soon as it had awoken. The rest however, were still as tough as they were a thousand years ago. Link randomly found himself realizing he was over a thousand years old, as he crouched into a fighting stance.

AN: There we are! Naito was almost unanimously voted for and I have to say I agree. I'd also like to point out that this is longer than my past few chapters. Well, please review!