Link stared ahead down the long, narrow, arched corridor before him. Navi was already at the other end, stepping into the bright light of the room beyond. Even had she waited it wouldn't have mattered much. The tightness of the walls left very little extra room, meaning they would have had to walk single file. In fact, as Link looked around him he figured that a fully armored Darknut would just barely be able to squeeze through.
As Link slowly began to advance he noticed that the narrowness of the corridor made it a perfect bottleneck. It was the perfect defense. An invading army would be forced to enter the tower single file and enter the room beyond, which Link surmised was quite spacious, where the defending army would be ready and waiting to easily pick them off one by one. The bottleneck was, however, a double-edged sword. If the defending army had to leave the tower they would run into the same problem if the enemy were waiting right outside to strike. Still, Navi had passed into the next room without any sounds of battle echoing back to him, so the coast must have been clear.
It was hard for Link to see that for himself. The narrowness of the corridor didn't allow much light from the next room to enter, leaving Link able to see only a bright light at the end of it. Only torches placed along the walls allowed Link to see his surroundings, and even then their light bounced dully off the smooth, glossy, black walls.
Two niches, one on either side of the corridor, caught Link's attention up ahead. They were large enough for a person to hide in, and the perfect place to lie in wait to attack someone. Readying his sword and shield, Link approached the niches cautiously. There was a cool, almost dank, breeze wafting from the niches signaling that they were actually passageways, but that didn't mean they were any less dangerous. Link pressed himself tightly up against the wall and began to slink ever closer, peering into first one, then the other to make sure the coast was clear.
The niches weren't actually passageways, but rather stairwells, both of which led down deep underground in a spiral like pattern. Link had little doubt in his mind that both led down to the dungeons of the Black Tower. At the bottom of those stairs were the surviving Kokiri, Saria, and possibly even Zelda. Link had to resist the urge to go down though. Lord Arcana was his main concern at the moment. He didn't have time to waste. There would be time to rescue them later, not to mention Darunia and the others would be rescuing them once they finished with the Darknuts outside.
With Minerva's words of keeping his mind and heart on the mission at hand to bolster his resolve, Link turned from the stairwells and continued on toward the next room. As he crossed the threshold Link shielded his eyes against the bright light of the next room, but once inside he lowered his arm and was able to see quite easily. The room was indeed quite spacious as Link had guessed. In fact, it was downright cavernous. The room had to have taken up three-fourths of the tower's diameter, and it's ceiling was at least fifty feet above Link's head.
Despite its size, the room was far from elaborate. Actually, it was rather quite simple. The walls, floor, and even the ceiling were all the same black stone of the tower. It looked almost as if the room had simply been carved out. No decorations adorned the room at all save for the extensive number of candelabras along the walls that provided light. Only a few alcoves along the walls which led to the myriad of passageways of the tower offered any change to the monotony of it all.
Link was a little surprised at the simplicity of it all and the straightforwardness of the Black Tower. He was expecting something a little more from someone of Lord Arcana's caliber, but perhaps all his dealings with Ganondorf had made him expectant of such things. Still, since this tower was designed for a period of war, Link had to wonder whether Lord Arcana would remain in something so simple or move into much grander accommodations if he were to win.
"Hey Link," Navi called out to him, "over there!"
Link looked over toward Navi, who was standing in the middle of the room. From the looks of it she and him were the only ones in the room. Navi was pointing over toward the far wall, where Link could see a stairwell along the wall gently sloping up to the ceiling and beyond. Link nodded and sprinted over to the stairs as did Navi. Once there they both began to climb, Link taking the lead with Navi only a few steps behind.
When they were about halfway up the wall, there came the low whooshing sound of an object flying through the air. With no time to react, a staff slammed into the wall right behind Link and right in front of Navi, jamming itself into the wall. Navi paused in her walk and stared at the staff while Link turned around to see what had just happened, and as both their eyes fell upon the staff they instantly recognized it. Link and Navi both then turned their attention over the side of the stairs and down into the room where Gerik stood in its center, a malicious grin on his face.
"Well, well, well," Gerik said in a mocking tone, "Link and Navi off on another adventure just like the good old days."
"You bastard!" shouted Link as he whipped out his bow and aimed an arrow at Gerik faster than he had ever done in his life.
"Ah, so I take it you know what happened between me and Zelda. She put up a good fight, but in the end she just wasn't up to snuff."
"You're a dead man you traitorous dog."
"And who's going to kill me? You? Cause I seem to remember you never having been able to defeat me."
Link's face was as stone. His fingers were just about to release the shaft of his arrow when Navi reached over and grabbed his bow, pushing it down and stopping Link from shooting. Link's head snapped in her direction, a mixture of shock and fury on his face. Navi just stared straight back, her own face serious, but with a certain gentleness as well.
"It's a trick," she said. "He's just goading you, trying to buy more time. Lord Arcana's your target. You need stop him before it's too late. Just forget about Gerik."
"But?" Link protested.
"You're the only one who can defeat Arcana. It has to be you. Now go. I'll take care of Gerik."
As soon as those words left her mouth, a semi-translucent bubble like shield formed between the two of them. The shield effectively cut Link off from Navi and covered the railings as well. Link pressed his hands against it, but it was as solid as stone. Looking back up at Navi, she simply just stared back at him silently before taking hold of the railing and leaping back down to the room below. She landed deftly on her feet and then slowly proceeded to walk in Gerik's direction. Link, with no other recourse due to Navi's force field, turned and continued climbing up into the Black Tower's heights.
"Aw, little Navi has come out to play," Gerik said in his mocking tone as Navi approached. "Very bold of you girl, but we all know you can't defeat me. Even if given the chance, you could never bring yourself to kill your lover. We're going to win, you already know this. Join Lord Arcana and me Navi, and in victory we can be together once more."
The cheesy grin plastered on Gerik's face vanished instantly as Navi's reply came in the form of a fireball streaming toward him at full speed. Gerik sidestepped it easily enough, the heat radiating off the attack enough to make Gerik's face glow as it flew past, and he watched as it sped past slamming into the wall behind him before turning back to look at Navi, smoke still rising her hand.
"You're an abomination, a disgrace to the real Gerik's memory," Navi spat, her voice seething with venom. "I will destroy you and the lies you represent. You may look like the man I once loved, but that is where the similarities end, as shall you."
"Guess you'll just have to learn the truth the hard way, as Zelda had to," Gerik replied, his tone turning more serious, as he reached over unsheathing his sword and assuming a battle stance. "Now let's see how powerful you truly are, Guardian."
Navi drew her blade and charged forward as Gerik readied his sword and lunged forth as well. Their blades soon clashed, sparks shooting forth from the force of the impact, and locked as did their gazes, Navi's eyes full of hatred and loathing while Gerik's eyes were full of smugness and contempt. It was now a contest of strength as each one pushed with all their might against their blade trying to push the other back, but it was a stalemate. Their swords were firmly locked and feet firmly planted upon the ground.
Navi soon noticed Gerik reach behind him with his free hand and promptly broke off the engagement, pushing both swords off to the side, and jumped back out of striking distance. It wasn't far enough for a ranged attack, however, and as Navi landed on her feet she saw Gerik fling his hand out from behind him. Without hesitation she put up a shield around her and watched as the surface of the shield rippled from several impacts. Looking down Navi saw a small pile of long, thin needles with the smallest traces of liquid on the tips of them lying at the base of the shield.
Looking back up, she saw that Gerik had vanished. Navi quickly scanned the area all around her searching for him, but there was no sign. Noticing the shadow beneath her suddenly growing larger, Navi looked up and saw Gerik flying down at her with his sword ready to cleave her skull in two. Navi was forced to roll out of the way, Gerik simply pulling back his attack and landing nimbly on his feet. As Navi came out of her roll she quickly fired two fireballs at Gerik in quick succession, but Gerik deftly sidestepped one and flipped over the second, tossing a dagger at Navi as he came out of the flip. Navi saw the dagger and deflected it with her blade before getting back on her feet and charging Gerik.
Link ran up the winding staircase, climbing ever higher into the tower's heights. Behind him he could still vaguely hear the dwindling sounds of Gerik and Navi battling as he rose higher and higher. Lord Arcana was his target. He was the one behind everything, and the one who captured Zelda. Link kept that as his focus, using it to push himself onward.
Link kept the Master Sword and Mirror Shield held at the ready at all times, despite the lack of any enemies or traps. Still, he kept an eye out just the same. As he climbed, Link couldn't held but notice the irony of the situation. He had found himself in just this same predicament in the alternate time line, and the fact that he was climbing up into the enemy's tower brought back so many memories. Link actually half expected to find Lord Arcana playing a giant pipe organ when he finally ran into him.
The sounds down below had all but ceased now, the only sounds remaining those of Link's boots upon the stone staircase. He didn't know how high he had climbed by now, but knew he had to be approaching at least the halfway point where he hoped he'd find Lord Arcana. It wasn't long before the stairs began to grow less steep finally ending at a large arch which led to a small hallway that at the end appeared to open into a room much the same size as the one Navi and Gerik were currently fighting in.
As Link stepped off the stairs and into the hallway he held his sword and shield much closer to his body for a much more defensive stance. He treaded down the hallway slowly and lightly, his footsteps barely making a sound. As he continued on, Link could see what looked like a rather large, stone throne resting in the middle of the room, and if this were the throne room then Link was positive Lord Arcana would be here. He definitely hoped it as he had no desire to climb all the way to the roof and engage Lord Arcana up there as he had several nights back.
"Come on in," came Lord Arcana's deep voice, echoing throughout the room, as Link neared the end of the hallway and began almost tiptoeing to try and get a good look into the room without being seen. "We've been expecting you."
Knowing there was no point in trying to hide, Link simply walked into the room. Despite Lord Arcana being evil, Link knew he was an honorable man and wouldn't ambush him or try some other underhanded trick and so he walked into the room with his sword and shield held loosely down by his sides. After all, there was no need to exert any extra energy keeping his guard up when there was no point in doing so. Link knew he would need all the energy he could muster against Lord Arcana.
Lord Arcana's second statement caught Link's attention and he immediately peered at Lord Arcana. His eyes didn't rest long on the man as Lord Arcana waved his arm open as he said his comment and Link's eyes followed where it pointed over at the far wall. Hanging there like some ornament was Zelda, her arms and legs chained to the wall with magical, glowing bindings. Her hair was a disheveled mess, and she was still wearing her battle outfit from her fight with Gerik, the fierceness of their fight quite to apparent to Link from how tattered and damaged the outfit was. Zelda's head had been lowered when Link first entered the room, but at Lord Arcana's words she looked up.
"Link," Zelda said slightly louder than a whisper as if she were staring at a mirage, but luckily the expanse of the room allowed her voice to carry over.
"Zelda!" Link cried out, but held back and kept his restraint. Lord Arcana was too powerful and Link couldn't afford to give him even the slightest upper hand.
"You really are quite the fool, aren't you?" Lord Arcana mused, turning Link's attention back toward him. "But then again, Gerik did call all three of your weaknesses. Zelda has already been taken care of, Gerik himself will soon dispose of the Guardian, and I get to face you once again. I may have spared your life last time, but this time you won't be so lucky. I don't even know why you bothered to return anyway. You can't defeat me without the Master Sword, not so long as I have Dragonflame."
"You mean this," Link said smugly, holding the Master Sword in front of him allowing Lord Arcana a good view of it.
"So the blade has been reforged," Lord Arcana replied almost nonchalantly. There was no anger, no surprise, no shock, not even the slightest movement in his stance that Link had been hoping for. It was if this news didn't even bother Lord Arcana in the slightest. "I was not aware that was even possible. No matter, you still stand no chance against me."
"Is that so?" Link said defiantly as he assumed a battle stance. "Well let's see if you can back up those words."
Lord Arcana just smirked as he simply raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. In an instant four figures materialized around Link: one in front of him, one behind him, and one on either side. The being before Link took the form of a crackling thundercloud in the shape of a large human torso, on top of which was a demon-like head with two glowing yellow orbs for eyes. Two columns of mist extended from the torso like arms and ended in clawlike fingers. It's lower body was that of a swirling tornado.
The being to Link's left was that of a muscular humanoid, save that it was completely engulfed in searing hot flames. On his right was a being made purely of water. Standing as a column of water with two dark blue glowing eyes upon a featureless head, it had two hefty arms extending from its torso area while its lower half trailed off into a tail that ended in a vestigial whirlpool upon the ground. Though unable to see the creature behind him save for the towering shadow of it upon the ground, Link knew exactly what the creature looked like. It was a hulking mass of rock that bore a humanoid torso, a flat head with glowing eyes, and two muscular stone arms and legs made entirely of stone.
They were Elemental Warriors, the highest level of Elemental Magic. Though not having much of an aptitude for magic himself save for what was bestowed upon him by the Great Fairies and such, Link had done some research into the art. Save for Holy and Dark Magic, magic was primarily elemental: Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. It's the basis for all magic, and the ones studied by all mages. While all mages dabble in the basics of all four elements, most choose to master only one. That's because it takes a lifetime to master one of the Elemental Magics, and even then very few ever achieve such a status as the ability to summon an Elemental Warrior. But Lord Arcana was able to summon all four warriors at the same time, with just the snap of his fingers and not even any raw materials around to help create them. It was truly a testament to how powerful and skilled Lord Arcana truly was.
Link swallowed hard, but otherwise remained calm. It was going to take all his cunning to get through this in one piece. Before Link had time to think, the Fire Elemental fired a stream of fire from the palms of its hands at the same time the Water Elemental fired a torrent of water from its hands. Link quickly dived out of the way as the two attacks collided at the spot he had just leapt from, canceling each other out and filling the area with steam. Link was then forced to quickly roll out of the way as the Earth Elemental's massive stone foot came crashing down with enough force to crack the marble floor right in the exact spot Link's head had been mere seconds before.
Link stopped rolling several feet away and got to one knee, but before he could react further he spotted the Air Elemental speeding toward him. Though doubting it would work, Link was left with little choice and took a swipe at the Elemental with the Master Sword. The sword passed harmlessly through the cloudlike body and the Air Elemental barreled straight into Link, catching him within its tornado and flinging him across the room. He hit the ground hard, but was grateful at least that he had been tossed away from the other Elemental Warriors rather than towards.
Link struggled a bit to his feet, but all his senses snapped to attention as he watched the Air Elemental coming around for another pass. Link once again dove out of the way as the Air Elemental took a swipe at him with its clawlike fingers. Link knew he would have to take out the Air Elemental first. Of all the Elemental Warriors, they were the most agile. The problem though, was that virtually all physical attacks were pointless against Elemental warriors. They passed right through the Air and Water Elementals with ease, the Earth Elementals could take all but the heaviest of blows, and even getting close to a Fire Elemental was like suicide.
As Link tried to figure out what to do, he was forced to raise the Mirror Shield to block several incoming flaming missiles shot by the Fire Elemental. While he was busy with that, the Water Elemental melted itself into a pool of water upon the ground and slithered its way over to his feet. Link saw the pool of water weaving its way toward him and knew he could not allow it to get beneath him, but with the Fire Elemental pressing the attack and the Air Elemental coming around for another pass, he didn't have much in the way of escape.
Useless at the moment, Link sheathed the Master Sword and then reinforced the Mirror Shield with his now extra free hand. Instead of blocking the fireballs he was now deflecting the shots by batting them aside, all the while keeping one eye on the Water Elemental and one on the Air Elemental. When the Water Elemental was only a few feet away, Link batted aside one last fireball and then tossed the Mirror Shield down on top of the Water Elemental. Before the shield even landed Link had jumped after it, landing on it and using the momentum from the jump and slickness of the Water Elemental to slide across the smooth, polished, stone floor to safety.
As Link slid across the floor, the Water Elemental formed several tentacles and sent them after Link. Looking back Link spotted the tentacles, drew the Master Sword, and while continuing to slide he sliced all the tentacles that attempted to grab him. When the Water Elemental finally gave up its attack, Link faced forward only to find he was headed straight for the Earth Elemental. The Earth Elemental made the motion of cracking its knuckles before holding its hands out ready to grab hold of Link as he passed by. Link waited till he was almost upon the Elemental before ducking as low as he could, the Earth Elemental's hands grabbing nothing but empty air as Link slid safely beneath its legs.
The Mirror Shield finally slid to a halt just behind the Earth Elemental. Link wasted no time in getting off the shield, picking it up in one swift motion, and running to the opposite side of the room to put as much distance between him and the Elemental Warriors as possible. He needed time to think, to figure out a way to take these things down. Taking a quick glance behind him, however, Link spotted the Air Elemental coming up fast on his heels. Link silently cursed, but kept running just the same as he had no other option at the moment.
The Air Elemental was just too fast. If Link could at least slow it down somewhat it wouldn't be such a problem. It then occurred to Link; cold. Cold slowed things down. If he could freeze the air around the Elemental, then he could hopefully stop it dead in its tracks, maybe even make it physical enough to attack and destroy with his sword. There was only one option open to him, the Ice Arrows. It was a long shot he knew, but at the moment it was the only chance he had of taking out the Air Elemental.
Still running, Link put away his sword and shield and grabbed a hold of his bow and three arrows, as he doubted just one arrow would be enough. Link notched the arrows upon the bow and quickly began to pump his magic into the arrows, transforming them. The arrowheads became encased in solid ice, a blue aura of freezing cold surrounding them. The Ice Arrows were ready, but still Link poured magic into them, making the auras bigger and colder. He knew the arrows themselves would pass right through the Air Elemental, so his only hope was to freeze the air the arrows passed through enough to freeze the Elemental.
Link's own hands were beginning to freeze, his gloves no longer offering any protection. His fingers were going beyond numb now, extreme pain shooting up through them and up his arms. Link was beginning to wonder whether he'd actually be able to move his fingers enough to release the arrows when the time came. Unable to stand it any longer, Link whipped his body around and planted his feet firmly upon the ground as he raised his bow and drew the arrows back. The Air Elemental was almost upon him as Link released the bowstring and let loose the arrows.
The three arrows flew straight and true, the very air they passed through becoming dry and frozen. The arrows flew right through the Air Elemental's body just as Link had guessed, but even before they had reached it he noticed a significant decrease in it's speed. The icy auras crystallized the Air Elemental's body as they passed through, making it physical. It's outstretched hand, with its clawlike fingers ready to tear the flesh off Link's face, stopped frozen in air mere inches away from their target. Link breathed a sigh of relief that his idea had worked, and without hesitation drew his blade and deftly made two diagonal slices across the Air Elemental's frozen body, its four pieces crashing to the ground and shattering upon impact. One elemental down; just three more to go.
Link was not allowed a moment of rest, however, as a molten stream of fire was launched his way. Link rolled out of the way, dropping his sword as he did so, and came out of the roll with the Mirror Shield up just in time to block as the Fire Elemental noticed him dodge and continued the attack at his new location. The stream of fire pressed hard against the shield. It was all Link could do to hold back the attack with both hands, using all the strength he could muster. Link was just thankful that the Mirror Shield would absorb the heat, otherwise the shield would've eventually become to hot to hold on to.
Unlike the Fire Elemental, Link knew his energy was exhaustible. He couldn't hold on forever, and even if he could there were still two other Elemental Warriors out for his blood. As he thought this Link spotted the Water Elemental, now returned to its original form, transform its arms into tentacles and launch them at Link. As they flew through the air the tips of the tentacles became thinner and more pointed and would easily pierce through Link's flesh. He would have to time it perfectly, but Link knew he was left with little option.
Once the tentacles were close enough Link pushed himself off the shield with all his strength and out of the way of both the tentacles and fire. Link managed to escape the fire and one of the tentacles, but the other one succeeded in cutting a gash across Link's left leg. The Mirror Shield meanwhile, no longer having anyone holding it, was sent flying to the wall by the Fire Elemental's attack.
Link cried out in pain at the wound on his leg, but now that he was shield-less he knew he could not afford to rest in one place for even a few seconds. He rolled on his side several times before biting his lip and in one swift motion getting back on his feet. His leg nearly collapsed beneath him, but Link steadied himself quickly. He knew that the Fire and Water Elementals had to be the next ones to go. With quite a bit of distance between them, Link once again took out his bow and created another Ice Arrow. Without hesitation he then fired it at the Fire Elemental.
The arrow flew dead on, but as it got closer the aura around it vanished and the ice around the arrowhead actually began to melt. All that hit the Fire Elemental was a regular arrow, which was incinerated the second it hit. That obviously was not going to work, no matter how cold he made the arrow. Link contemplated trying an Ice Arrow on the Water Elemental, but realized it was pointless as all it would have to do is melt and reform itself and it would be as good as new. With no point to it now, Link put his bow back around his shoulders and then jumped sideways to dodge an incoming fireball.
The second he landed Link regretted his decision to jump as a sharp pain instantly shot it's way up his leg. He didn't have time to dwell upon it, however, as the Water Elemental sent a torrent of water his way. Link couldn't dodge in time and was caught square in the chest. The column of water sent Link flying through the air, slamming him into the wall and pinning him there. The pressure on his chest was making it extremely hard to breath. The Water Elemental let up his attack, which sent Link slumping to the floor, but only so it could once again turn its arms into piercing tentacles and send them flying in Link's direction. Struggling to get air into his lungs, Link saw the tentacles and pushed himself forward off the wall with both his hands, the tentacles flying harmlessly over him and puncturing the wall.
Though having just nearly died, it had given Link an idea. If he could get the Water Elemental to fire a jet of water at the Fire Elemental, that would kill it. Of course it would never do that knowingly, but luckily Link had a way to direct the attack there himself. Link lifted his head and began searching the walls for the Mirror Shield. He soon spotted the shield, its shiny surface glinting quite a distance away. Link got to his feet as fast as he could, and then sprinted toward the shield as best he could, all the while ignoring the now burning pain shooting up his leg. All the while the Fire and Water Elementals threw attack after attack in his direction.
In a final ditch effort Link dove for the shield, just narrowly missing having his head cleaved off by one of the Water Elemental's tentacles. Link grabbed hold of the shield and quickly brought it up as the Water Elemental luckily launched the very attack he was looking for. The impact nearly sent Link toppling over, but he resisted and then fought with all his might against the immense pressure being exerted against the shield to angle it and redirect the stream of water back toward the Fire Elemental.
The water hit the Fire Elemental full force, a painful, earsplitting screech sounding from it as its fire was extinguished. The Water Elemental quickly cut its attack, but it was already too late, the Fire Elemental was laying on the ground, its body looking like molten rock. Its body sputtered in several places as it tried to reignite itself. With little time to spare Link used Farore's Wind to teleport himself beside the Fire Elemental, and then using the Master Sword he decapitated the Elemental and then drove his sword into its chest just to be safe. The Elemental's corpse burst into a cloud of black smoke before dissipating into nothingness.
Link was not to be allowed a breather as out of the corner of his eye he saw that the Water Elemental had once again melted into a pool of water and was rapidly snaking its way toward him. As it did it formed and shot forth tentacles which Link hacked at with the Master Sword whenever they came near. It wouldn't be long before the Water Elemental would be upon him, so Link had to think quickly or perish.
Link's mind flew back to the beginning of the battle, when the Fire Elemental and Water Elemental had launched their attacks. Link had dodged them, causing them to impact and cancel each other out; the fire had reduced the water to nothing more than steam. If Link could rapidly heat up the Water Elemental and turn it into steam, then it would be no more. Unfortunately, the Fire Elemental was now dead, and his Fire Arrows wouldn't be able to pack enough punch to do the job, no matter how many he shot. His only hope lied with casting Din's Fire.
Link quickly began gathering the energy necessary to cast the spell. He had little time as the Water Elemental quickly closed the gap between them. Just as the Water Elemental reached him it instantly transformed into a giant wave that threatened to come crashing down right on top of Link. In that instant Link cast Din's Fire. An aura of intense fire and heat formed around Link's body and spread outward in a dome like shape. The spell engulfed the Water Elemental's entire body, vaporizing it upon contact and filling the surrounding area in a dense cloud of steam.
Finally able to take a short rest, and with the steam providing cover, Link turned his attention to his leg, which was still bleeding quite profusely. It was times like this Link wished he had learned at least one healing spell. He would have to do without though, so Link ripped off a piece of his pants and wrapped it tightly around the gash in his leg to stymy the blood loss. Just as Link was finishing up tying the knot, something gripped Link's arm tightly and flung him across the room. He ended up landing haphazardly into the throne in the middle of the room, intense pain ripping throughout his body.
Forcing his eyes open through the pain, Link watched the Earth Elemental running over to him. Link barely rolled off the throne in time before the Earth Elemental slammed its fist down into it, shattering the throne into thousands of pieces. Link crawled beneath the Elemental's feet before quickly getting to his own, eyes quickly scanning the area for where his sword had landed when he was thrown. He spotted the Master Sword not too far away and ran full speed in its direction. As he ran, Link felt as if something was missing. He looked behind him real quick and saw that his bow was lying at the Earth Elemental's feet, broken in half, apparently from when he had been thrown.
Though that bow had been with him a long time, and had saved his life on more than one occasion since he retrieved it from the Forest Temple, Link had little time to lament over its loss. Link retrieved his sword and turned around to see both of the Earth Elemental's hands plunged down into the very floor. He watched confusedly as the Earth Elemental then lifted its hands high above its head, ripping out a huge chunk of the floor as it did so. The Earth Elemental then wasted no time in tossing the huge boulder-like piece of the floor in Link's direction. Link waited, watching to be sure of where it would land, and then side-stepped out of the way as it came crashing down right next to him. Looking at the chunk of floor, Link had no idea how he was going to defeat the Earth Elemental.
"Link, heat and cold," came a female voice.
Link knew that voice; it was Zelda. Whether she had yelled it to him or sent it telepathically he didn't know, but he understood what she meant. The Earth Elemental was made of rock. If he superheated it and then quickly cooled it off, the rock would shatter like glass. Upon this realization Link looked up and turned in Zelda's direction. As he did so a big, rock-hard hand wrapped itself around his throat and began to squeeze, even going so far as to lift Link about a foot off the ground.
Link didn't struggle. He knew to do so would only kill him faster. Though it was hard with the grip around his neck getting tighter by the second and his eyes threatening to pop right out of their sockets, Link remained calm and concentrated the best he could. He would use Din's Fire to heat the Elemental, and then finish it off with the Ice Arrows. Since he was starting to become lightheaded and lose consciousness, Link had no choice but to try both spells simultaneously.
As he was summoning Din's Fire, Link reached behind him and grabbed one arrow in each hand. Then, using only his hands, he began transforming the arrows into Ice Arrows. Casting two spells at once was difficult, at least for him, but doing spells that were complete opposites only made things worse. Still, using all his willpower left Link managed to transform both arrows. Once that was done he unleashed Din's Fire, engulfing the Earth Elemental in the intense aura of fire and heat.
Once the spell was over Link looked to see the Elemental's body glowing a red-orange. With his life on the verge of slipping away, Link summoned what strength remained and slammed one of the Ice Arrows into the Elemental's wrist. The wrist shattered and Link fell to the ground in a heap, the stone fingers releasing themselves from around his throat. As fresh air made its way into Link's lungs, he could hear the Earth Elemental writhe in pain. Looking up, however, he saw that the Elemental had recovered and was swinging its remaining fist straight at Link. Still too weak to dodge effectively, and not wanting the Elemental to cool off, Link flung the other Ice Arrow up at its head. The arrow hit its mark, shattering the stone head. The rest of the body simply fell backward and crumbled as it crashed down upon the ground.
Link was breathing slow and heavy and his body was already quite sore, but although his battle with the Elementals was over he still had Lord Arcana to deal with. He rose to his feet smoothly, his wounded leg a little unsteady at first. The bleeding seemed to have ceased and the leg was now mostly numb so it wasn't as much a hindrance anymore. Link calmly turned to face Lord Arcana, finding him standing in the same spot he had been in. Link then proceeded to remove his near empty quiver of arrows and unhook his sheath from around his shoulders, letting both simply fall at his feet. Free of the extra weight, Link took the Master Sword and Mirror Shield in his hands and stood at the ready.
"Impressive," Lord Arcana said, clapping his hands several times in a slow, amused fashion. "Your skills have definitely improved since that night we faced one another. There is something different about you; you're calmer, much more at peace. This certainly promises to be interesting, even if the end result will be the same."
Link kept his composure, waiting for Lord Arcana to make the first move. He watched as Lord Arcana drew out Dragonflame in an almost taunting fashion. His grip upon his sword and shield tensed slightly, but more out of anticipation than anger or succumbing to the taunts. With his sword fully drawn, Lord Arcana smirked and rushed forward at blinding speed. Link held his shield out before him as he pulled back the Master Sword into position to counterattack. Just before reaching Link, however, Lord Arcana vanished.
Link's eyes went wide with shock, yet he wasted no time in spinning his body around, raising his shield just in time to block the downward slash of Dragonflame. The blow sent Link's arm wide, leaving his body open, but Link managed to swing his sword around in time to deflect the return strike upward. The two blades became locked before Link and Lord Arcana both pushed back off each other, each coming back for another attack.
Link swung his sword high, but Lord Arcana ducked his head out of reach and made a thrust with his own sword. Link caught the attack with his shield and pushed back sending Dragonflame wide and leaving Lord Arcana open for attack this time around. Using the momentum from his first attack, Link snapped the Master Sword down but Lord Arcana was too quick and was able to bring Dragonflame back up in enough time to block the attack. As the blades hit Lord Arcana raised his massive boot and kicked Link hard in the chest sending him sprawling backwards to the floor. He then tried to capitalize by bearing Dragonflame down upon Link, but Link managed to raise his shield in time to defend himself before rolling out of harm's way.
Lord Arcana was already barreling toward Link with Dragonflame held in a thrusting position as Link got back to his feet. Link was ready and easily sidestepped the attack, using both the Master Sword and Lord Arcana's own momentum to send him stumbling forward a few paces as Link spun around on his heels and bashed Lord Arcana hard in the back of his head with the Mirror Shield. Lord Arcana grunted in pain, but didn't go down, instead swinging his sword wide behind him. Link was easily able to jump back away from the desperate move, landing nimbly on his feet and assuming a defensive stance as Lord Arcana whipped his body around, sword held ready to attack and defend.
"Not bad," Lord Arcana said as he brought his hand up to where a small trickle of blood was running down the side of his head, "but playtime is over."
Lord Arcana brought his hand back down so he could grip Dragonflame with it. As he held it before him with both hands, Link began to notice a swirling, red aura starting to surround the black blade. Lord Arcana was either invoking the sword's true power, or pumping his own power into it. Either way, it spelt major trouble for Link. He had no choice now. There was no more holding back. It was time for Link to unleash the full power of the Master Sword. Link just hoped that his training with Minerva had been enough. As Link freed his mind, letting himself and the Master Sword become one, a swirling blue aura began to surround the Master Sword's silvery blade.
His sword ready, Lord Arcana charged forth. Link quickly charged the Master Sword with energy and did a spin attack, unleashing the built up energy in a powerful wave. Lord Arcana was able to absorb most of the attack with Dragonflame, but the attack had stopped him in his tracks and even pushed him back. Link used this opportunity to capitalize and did a jump attack. Lord Arcana blocked the blow with his sword and at the same time engulfed his free hand in flames and threw a punch in Link's direction which he blocked with the Mirror Shield. Arcana scowled, but Link just smiled. It was now or never.
Link spun on his heels and went for an upper diagonal slash, which Lord Arcana blocked with ease, but Link didn't end it there. He quickly followed up with another slash, and then another. Link pressed the attack, sending vertical, horizontal, and diagonal slashes with an occasional thrust thrown in at Lord Arcana. Link never used the same attack twice in a row, and kept his combinations random so Lord Arcana couldn't memorize his movements. Each attack was decided upon by the way Arcana had blocked the previous one, and if Link's momentum threatened to end he threw a swing with the Mirror Shield to keep Lord Arcana on the defensive.
Link kept on the offensive, never letting Lord Arcana even a moment to breath, yet he blocked every attack sent his way. However, Lord Arcana was effectively pinned. There was not even the slightest opening for him to make a move, whether it be to counterattack or to escape the onslaught. Link couldn't keep this up forever though. He was still exhausted from his fight with the Elementals, and it would only be a matter of time before what strength he had left in him faded. He needed to find an opening and strike.
Each time Lord Arcana blocked, Link studied his movements, looking for anything that he could capitalize on. Unfortunately, Lord Arcana defended himself expertly, leaving absolutely nothing exposed even against such a barrage of strikes. Even with Link's attacks as randomized as they were, still Lord Arcana kept up an iron-clad defense. That's when it came to Link. Though his attacks were random, Lord Arcana still knew what types of attacks to expect. If Link was to have any chance, he'd need to pull out a new one.
Knowing he would have only one shot at this and that if he failed his momentum would be broken and Lord Arcana would once again be allowed on the offensive, Link steeled himself and waited for the right moment. Making a downward slash with the Master Sword, Link waited until Lord Arcana blocked and then quickly dropped down to perform a leg sweep. Lord Arcana was caught completely off guard, but still managed to jump back out of the way, albeit haphazardly. Before he could recover Link was already upon him and drove the Master Sword directly into Lord Arcana's heart. Lord Arcana's eyes went wide as the cold steel pierced his flesh, and Dragonflame slipped from his fingers. Link breathed in deeply as he stood there with the Master Sword still plunged deep in Arcana's chest, a smile on his face.