Captain Huntley ducked beneath the wide, overhead swing from the serrated blade of his Darknut adversary, the sword harmlessly grazing the top of his helm. As he did so, the second Darknut went for a cross-body chop. Huntley twisted his body to avoid the fatal blow, then dropped fully to the ground to relieve the strain he had put on his spine with his radical contortion. Normally, he'd have leg-swept the nearest enemy at this point, but since Darknut armor was so thick he knew all he would accomplish would be breaking his leg.
Before either Darknut could capitalize on his current vulnerability, Captain Huntley rolled out of their reach and leapt to his feet. Almost before Huntley could get his defenses up the Darknuts were charging forth. The one in the lead went for a thrust, which Huntley quickly parried before bringing his sword back up to block the attack coming from the second Darknut. It continued on in this fashion, first one Darknut and then the other attacking, working in perfect tandem. Huntley blocked every blow sent his way, but each hit sapped more and more of his strength away. Not only that, but he was being driven backward, and with his attention focused on the two Darknuts before him, he had no idea what he could possibly be backing into.
Captain Huntley wished he could at least fight back, but Darknut armor was nearly impenetrable. Only Gorons had the raw strength to break through the armor, but even that was only after repeated hits. Darunia could achieve such a feat with one hit, but that was only cause his punches were augmented by his Sage powers. The only true weakness in their armor was the eye slit of their helms, which had been discovered by Malon the previous year. Still, Captain Huntley doubted he would get the chance to make such an attack, nor the accuracy to actually pull it off should he get such an opportunity.
Princess Ruto was faring no better. In terms of defense, she was untouchable. She was way too fast and flexible for either of her Darknut opponents to even come close to landing a blow upon her. In terms of offense, however, she had no form of recourse. Her fins, while useful against normal enemies, were as useless against Darknut armor as regular swords were. She did have her magic to fall back on, but the Darknuts were pressing their attack firmly, giving her little time to summon an attack powerful enough to take them out.
Ruto wasn't sure how much longer she could keep it up either. All of her fancy maneuvers were taking their toll on her, and all it would take was one slip up and she'd be finished. Coming out of a backward handspring, Ruto spotted the pile of debris from where she and the others had blown a hole in the wall and an idea came to mind. Landing back on her feet, she quickly raised her right hand out in front of her and a translucent shield surrounded her body. The closer of her two adversaries swung his blade, but it slammed harmlessly into the shield.
The Darknut was undeterred, however, and swung his sword again, and again, repeatedly hitting the shield to no apparent avail. When the second Darknut caught up, he pitched in, attacking the shield without mercy. Despite the combined power of both Darknuts, the shield held quite firmly. Ruto herself wasn't faring as well. It required a considerable amount of concentration to maintain the shield, and the repeated hits it kept taking only made it that much more difficult. Ruto's eyes were clenched tightly shut to help, but her body was beginning to shake from the strain.
Keeping as much of her focus on maintaining the shield as possible, Ruto split her concentration to perform her real plan. Ever so slowly Ruto's left arm began to rise pointing out to her side. As she did this, one of the larger of the boulders in the nearby debris pile began to shake before slowly rising up into the air. The boulder was easily four times Ruto's size, and it's entire surface was jagged. Once clear of the debris, Ruto snapped her left arm out in front of her and the boulder hurtled toward her like an arrow.
The two Darknuts stood next to each other as they continued to assault Ruto's shield, hoping that attacking the same place would destroy the shield sooner. They were completely unaware of the boulder flying toward them at breakneck speed. The boulder collided into first one, and then the second Darknut, pinning the two of them to itself as it continued on its suicide course, finally coming to a rest as it slammed into the side of the Black Tower with an earth-shaking impact.
The boulder was buried a good several feet into the side of the tower with large stress cracks having formed around the impact crater. With little chance the Darknuts survived, Ruto released her shield and collapsed onto her hands and knees. Her breaths were coming in large, heavy gasps, and her body was covered from head to toe in sweat. Ruto slowly raised her head to look over at the boulder, and satisfied that there was no movement from it whatsoever, allowed herself a small smile as she let her body recover.
On the other side of the battlefield, Nabooru sidestepped a thrust from the front and then quickly ducked as a second Darknut swung at her from behind. Nabooru planted both hands firmly on the ground and then pushed off, nailing the Darknut behind her with both feet and sending him sprawling to the ground. The Darknut before her went to capitalize before Nabooru could recover, but she immediately rolled to the side and came back up, both of her scimitars held at the ready. The Darknut swung wide, which Nabooru blocked with one scimitar and then slipped in through his defenses and aimed her remaining scimitar at the Darknut's neck, hoping she could penetrate what she hoped would be weaker armor.
The Darknut was too quick. He brought his sword back around and went for an overhead strike, putting as much force behind the attack as he could. Using both her scimitars Nabooru blocked the attack before it could cleave her skull in two. The three blades were now locked. The Darknut refused to give up on the attack and continued to put his strength into it, pushing down with all his might while Nabooru held her ground, matching him strength for strength. By this time the Darknut she had knocked to the ground was back on his feet and charging toward Nabooru to deliver the killing blow while she was distracted.
As the Darknut charged forth, the ground beneath him began to shake. He slowed his advance and began looking around himself for anything out of the ordinary. The ground directly in front of him cracked and split, and as the Darknut looked down to inspect a large, glowing fist followed by the rest of Darunia's body came crashing through the ground and directly into the Darknut's chest. It all happened in the blink of an eye; the Darknut had no time to respond as Darunia's fist drove straight through his chest and out through his back.
The Darknut's body fell instantly limp. Darunia climbed completely out of the ground and threw the Darknut off his arm, its body collapsing into a heap upon the ground. The Darknut's blood dripping off his arm, Darunia stared at the heap, thankful that his and Nabooru's plan had succeeded. He turned his head to see if Nabooru needed any assistance and saw the blade of a sword heading straight for his neck. Without a second to spare Darunia curled himself up into a ball, the sword strike passing by harmlessly overhead, and started rolling away from the Darknut to gain some distance.
Out of the corner of his eye Captain Huntley witnessed Darunia's successful surprise attack and inwardly cheered. Despite being outnumbered at the beginning of the battle they were now all even. Unfortunately, he was still the only warrior still forced to fight two Darknuts at the same time. He sidestepped a vertical strike and spun his sword around hoping to catch the Darknut off-guard. His sword connected, but glanced harmlessly off the Darknut's armor. Huntley silently cursed as he was then forced to jump away to avoid the second Darknut's attack from behind.
Regaining his footing, Huntley pushed off from the ground and lunged at the nearest Darknut. The Darknut was turning around to face him, so was unaware of the attack coming his way. Knowing the blade would be useless against the armor, Huntley drew his sword back, and when the opportunity presented itself he brought the hilt of his sword up into the chin of the Darknut with all the strength he could muster. The Darknut staggered backwards, which Huntley immediately followed up with a leg sweep, tripping the Darknut.
Knowing the Darknut's compatriot wouldn't be far behind, Huntley spun around just in time to block a powerful strike. The force of the hit shattered Captain Huntley's blade and sent him sprawling backward to the ground. Before he could even get a sense of what had just happened, Huntley saw the Darknut jump into the air with both his sword and knee aimed right at him. His eyes wide with shock, Huntley rolled out of the way just as the Darknut's sword and knee came crashing down into the ground where his body had been.
Captain Huntley quickly jumped to his feet and looked down at the broken sword in his hand. He glanced quickly at the Darknut and saw that he was still trying to pull his sword free of the ground. An idea hit him; a most foolhardy plan but it was all he had now. Gripping the hilt tightly, Captain Huntley charged the Darknut, screaming as he did. The Darknut turned to look at him and Huntley slammed the broken blade of his sword through the eye-slit of the Darknut's helmet. The Darknut fell over dead, and Huntley breathed out a sigh of relief.
Out of the corner of his eye, however, Huntley saw the Darknut he knocked down earlier get back to his feet. Now weaponless, Huntley attempted to free the Darknut's sword from the ground. It was heavier than he had imagined. The Darknut's had to have trained quite profusely with those swords to wield them so proficiently. Still, Huntley managed to get the sword up in time to block the Darknut's strike. Without being able to truly wield the sword himself, Huntley dropped it after his successful block and began to run away from the Darknut.
Darunia was faring hardly any better. He had since uncurled himself due to there being too many weaknesses the Darknut could have exploited, and was now running, the Darknut close on his heels. Darunia had to admit, the Darknut was a lot faster than he had originally thought. Now that Darunia was running and not rolling, the Darknut would easily overtake him, so Darunia had no choice but to stand his ground. He sensed the Darknut swinging his sword behind him and rapidly spun around, crossing his arms in front of him to protect his body. The strike hit hard, the Darknut's blade cutting into the rock-hard skin of Darunia's right arm.
Darunia winced at the pain, but summoned his strength and thrust his arms out, pushing the Darknut back. The Darknut recovered almost instantly and swung his sword low. Darunia realized he had no time to dodge the attack. Using his magic, he caused a small pillar of stone to erupt from the ground. It slammed directly in the center of the Darknut's chest, sending him flying backwards several feet, but it hadn't been quick enough. Though Darunia didn't lose his leg as was originally intended, the Darknut's blade cut quite deeply into it.
Darunia's legs immediately collapsed beneath him and he fell to the ground, immense pain shooting through his leg. He sensed someone approaching from the left and readied a fist to defend himself, but as they got closer he sensed a familiar aura and relaxed. Ruto knelt down beside him and immediately began to examine his wounds.
"These wounds are pretty bad," she said worriedly. "I'll do what I can though. If only Saria were here, this is her specialty."
"Just get me well enough so that I can go back out there and bash some heads," Darunia replied with a lopsided grin.
Ruto smiled at him and then placed both her hands upon the wound of his leg. Her hands began to glow in a blue light that was seeping into the wound. Slowly, the wound began to close. The clanking of armor soon caught their attention and Ruto and Darunia both looked up to see a Darknut with a dent in his chest plate standing before them, his sword held high above his head. Darunia and Ruto knew their was no time to react as the Darknut began to downward swing. Their eyes clenched shut and bodies tensed as their inevitable death drew near. Instead, their faces were splashed with a warm liquid.
Opening their eyes, both Darunia's and Ruto's mouths fell open, their eyes widened, and their bodies went numb. Standing there with his back to them was Captain Huntley, the Darknut's sword wedged deep into his abdomen. The blade had sliced diagonally from his left shoulder down almost to his right hip, very nearly severing his body into two. There was no life left in the body, yet it continued to stand there simply because of the sword buried within it. Roughly, the Darknut yanked his sword free and Huntley's body collapsed upon the ground, the pieces almost separating as it fell.
Nabooru, who had been dueling her opponent not to far away, had watched in horror as Huntley was cut down. An intense rage overtook her as Nabooru threw down her swords and took off at a full sprint toward the Darknut who had killed Captain Huntley. As she ran her right hand began to glow in an orange aura. She kept her fingers straight out and pulled back her arm as if ready to thrust her hand straight out. The Darknut's back was to her and so had no idea she was coming, but even if he had heard her approaching, at the speed she was running he wouldn't have been able to turn around in time. As Nabooru reached her goal she thrust her right hand straight ahead of her, instantly piercing the Darknut's armor.
Darunia and Nabooru watched as the Darknut's yellow eyes went wide in surprise. An inhuman, earsplitting screech soon followed as Nabooru gripped her left hand upon the Darknut's shoulder and appeared to be pulling something with her right hand still buried in the Darknut's back. The Darknut's body arched as if something was being wrenched from it. As Nabooru's hand was slowly pulled out, her hand was gripped tightly around a translucent, silvery substance. As more and more of this substance was pulled out, it began to take the form of the Darknut itself, and the Darknut's screams only worsened. Then, in a bright flash Nabooru yanked hard and removed the silvery substance fully from the Darknut. The Darknut's screams ceased instantly, and it's body crumbled to the ground. The silvery substance had taken the form of the Darknut completely now, and its limbs were flailing wildly as the screams were now emanating from it. Nabooru released it and the substance floated up into the air before exploding in a bright light.
As silence once again fell over the battlefield, Darunia and Ruto looked up at Nabooru. She was panting heavily, but her eyes were still full of rage. Nabooru had used the most powerful weapon in the Spirit Sage's arsenal, one that she believed she would never use. Nabooru had literally ripped the spirit, the soul, of the Darknut from his body. The pain of such an act was beyond words. It was said that the pain was like having one's skin ripped extremely slowly from their body, only a hundred times worse. Once free from the body, the soul was destroyed as if it had never existed in the first place.
The sound of armor in the distance caught her attention and Nabooru spun around to see the remaining two Darknuts standing there, their weapons held at the ready. Darunia, whose leg had been healed enough to stand upon by now, and Ruto walked over to stand by Nabooru. They stared at the Darknuts, and then turned to look at each other. Without words, Nabooru and Ruto nodded at Darunia, who nodded back to each of them. They knew it was time to end it.
Darunia curled himself into a ball and encased his body in a red aura. Nabooru and Ruto then placed their hands upon his back, each one pumping whatever magic they still had left into him. As they did so, blue spikes formed upon Darunia's back, but Nabooru's magic didn't immediately manifest itself. The Darknuts weren't about to just stand idly by and began to charge forth. Once Nabooru and Ruto had finished transferring all their remaining power into Darunia, they removed their hands from his back and Darunia sped off at full speed toward the charging Darknuts leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.
Darunia was augmenting his speed with his own power, a shallow trench being formed as he raced along. He was spinning so fast that the blue spikes on his back appeared to form together into a single blade. As the gap between Darunia and the Darknuts grew smaller, Darunia's body became engulfed in an orange aura and appeared to split, an exact copy of Darunia splitting off and heading toward one Darknut while the original headed toward the other. Both Darknuts brought their swords around to counter, but the two Darunia's were too fast. They slammed into the Darknuts, the spikes slicing through the armor and piercing the enemies within, killing them both.
With the last of the Darknuts dead, the two Darunia's rejoined. He then came to a halt and uncurled himself, the auras having vanished. He turned around and saw Nabooru retrieving her swords and Ruto peering down at Huntley's body.
"Come on guys," Darunia said as he turned to look at the tower, "we've got to go rescue the prisoners."
Ruto and Nabooru both nodded and took off toward the entrance to the Black Tower. Both of them were able to fit through the entrance easily enough, but Darunia was forced to walk through sideways, and even then he still had a hard time squeezing his body through. Roughly halfway down the hallway, Ruto, who was in the lead, stopped at the stairwell leading down into the depths of the earth.
"The prisoners are down there," Ruto said as she looked back at Nabooru and Darunia. "I can sense Saria down there."
No sooner did she say this then the sounds of an intense fight came echoing back to them from the room at the end of the hallway. All three of the Sages turned and looked in the direction of the sounds, but none were able to see into the room beyond.
"Maybe we should . . ." Nabooru began to say.
"No," Darunia said, cutting off Nabooru. "Our job is to rescue the prisoners and get them out of here. Besides, we've all exhausted our magic and would be more of a hindrance than a help to whomever is fighting in there. Link and Navi have their jobs, and so do we. Ruto, lead the way."
With one last look toward the end of the hall, Ruto turned and began her descent down the stairs, followed closely by Nabooru and Darunia. The stairwell opened up more so Darunia was now able to walk comfortably down the stairs. The stairwell seemed to descend forever, and if not for the torches placed along the walls they would have been in complete darkness, unable to see even an inch in front of their eyes.
When they finally reached the bottom they were in a large dungeon. Dozens of prison cells ran the length on either side of the room, almost every one of them occupied. Most of the Kokiri within them looked on the verge of death. Their skin was pale, and most were listless. Even those who were aware and saw the three Sages standing there barely showed any sign of hope or excitement. Perhaps they believed they were merely seeing an illusion. Without hesitation the three Sages went to work opening the cells and freeing the prisoners. It wasn't long before Darunia found a familiar female Kokiri.
"Saria, are you okay?" Darunia asked after ripping the door off her cell and walking up to her.
"It's about time you guys showed up," Saria replied with a weak, yet grateful smile. "I was starting to think you guys didn't love us anymore."
"Glad to see Lord Arcana hasn't broken your spirit," Ruto replied back. Then, looking around she asked, "Where's Zelda?"
"Saria's face darkened slightly. "Arcana came and took her a while ago. I haven't seen her since. If you guys are here though, I bet it's safe to assume he's using her as bait for Link."
"Damn!" shouted Darunia.
"What do we do now?" asked Ruto.
"We get everyone out of here and to someplace safe. Zelda's fate is in Link's hands now."
"By the Goddesses!" Nabooru shouted, causing both Darunia and Ruto to look in her direction where she stood before a prison cell. "It's Impa!"
Sweat poured from Link's brow. He slackened his grip upon the Master Sword, but still held it firmly planted deep within Lord Arcana's heart. Link was panting, but with each passing second his breathing became more and more steady. His eyes were fixed upon the ground, and the smile on his face had yet to vanish. Letting out a deep breath, Link turned his head to look up at his handy work. As he did so, a gauntleted fist flew through the air and connected with bone-crushing force into the side of Link's face.
Link flew through the air, crashing to the ground several feet away from where he'd been moments ago. A sharp, fiery pain ripped through Link's face as he got up to his hands and knees. He brought his hand up to cup his face and felt his warm blood seeping out of the cuts caused by the metal plates of the gauntlet, but as far as he could tell his jaw at least was not broken. Bright spots danced before Link's eyes, and he tried to blink and rub them away, but it wasn't until the pain in his face reduced itself to a throbbing numbness that his vision started to clear up.
Unable to fathom what had just happened, Link looked up. His jaw dropped, sending a new wave of pain through his body, but the pain didn't even phase him as much as the sight before him did. Even Zelda, still magically chained to the wall, was staring in disbelief. Lord Arcana was still standing, and even moving his body, with the Master Sword still sticking out of his chest. Arcana simply stood there, a wicked grin across his face as he flexed the fingers of the hand he punched Link with. Then, after tightening the gauntlet on his hand, he turned to face both Link and Zelda and laughed.
Both Link and Zelda were at a loss for words. They just continued to stare on in disbelief as now Lord Arcana reached up and gripped the hilt of the Master Sword. His face winced immediately upon grabbing the sword and he started to grunt in pain before even attempting to pull the sword out. When he did start to pull, it was slowly rather than one quick yank. As he continued to pull, the metal of his gauntlet was beginning to glow red as if heated. Once the blade of the Master Sword was fully removed from his flesh, Lord Arcana wasted no time in tossing it to the other side of the room. He then brought the palm of his still glowing hand up to his face. Once the metal stopped glowing, he flexed his fingers slowly, wincing as he did so.
"Apparently the legends are true that the Master Sword cannot be wielded by just anyone," Arcana said more to himself than anyone as he continued staring at his hand.
"I-impossible," Link finally managed to stutter. "Y-you're . . . y-you're . . ."
"Dead?" Lord Arcana finished, lowering his hand and staring directly at Link. "Come now, you didn't really think I wouldn't have planned for my own death; did you? Besides, if my own son couldn't kill me a year ago, then what made you think you could do it now?"
Link's head jolted up and his eyes widened at the comment, but it was only for the briefest of seconds. Still, Lord Arcana had noticed the action and smiled. "Ah, yes," he continued, "you never even considered that did you? It never even crossed your mind how I survived being fatally stabbed by Ganon. You were too busy focusing on the here and now; too busy focusing on what I was up to and how to stop me rather than asking yourself why and how I was here."
"You're immortal," Link blurted out.
Lord Arcana just stopped for a second and stared at Link, his face completely expressionless. Arcana soon started to snort and then broke out into a full fit of laughter. Both Link and Zelda simply stared at him.
"An interesting assumption my dear boy," Lord Arcana said when his laughter had died down enough for him to speak, "but no. Only the Goddesses are truly immortal and only the Triforce could grant immortality to someone. No, I live because you can't kill that which has no soul."
"What?!" Link shouted, unable to process what he was hearing.
"You're a monster," Zelda spat.
"Oh, quite the contrary my dear. I am no different than either of you. I of course have a soul, but it currently resides within another vessel."
"But that's impossible," Link said, dumbfounded.
"Not for somebody as skilled in magic as I am. You can think of it as one of the ultimate forms of magic, the ability to transfer one's soul to another. I had performed it before my invasion last year, and so when my son stabbed me I only pretended to die. I even transferred a small amount of my power to him just to make the illusion seem real."
"Wait," Zelda interrupted, "you said transfer to another. Then that means . . ."
Arcana smiled. "You don't think I'd be foolish enough to put it in some inanimate object do you? That's too risky. No, I put it inside a living being, something that can defend itself, and in turn defend me. Of course, it can't be just anybody either. Not only must they be a skilled warrior, but they must be completely loyal to me. As long as they live, then nothing you do to this body will kill me."
Link's eyes widened. "Gerik!"
Dozens of sparks burst forth from each impact of Navi's and Gerik's blades. Both Navi and Gerik were putting their full strength behind each attack, and each could feel it in their own arms as the blades collided. The swords themselves vibrated violently which each hit. It was a wonder that neither blade had yet broken under the stress. Still, the wear and tear of such powerful blows had given the two swords the appearance of a weapon that's seen a year's worth of combat.
Spinning out of a blocked attack, Navi came around and swung her sword up, which Gerik deftly blocked. Navi then quickly dropped and went for a leg-sweep, but Gerik saw the movement and back-flipped over the sweep. As he was coming down, he watched as Navi thrust her hand out toward him with ice daggers being flung from each of her fingertips. Gerik brought his sword up, but was only able to block three of the daggers, the other two grazing his arm and leg. Gerik winced from the hits and grabbed at his wounds, but they were far from life threatening. In fact, they were nothing more than minor inconveniences.
Navi knew she couldn't afford to give Gerik even a second to catch his breath, so she quickly infused her sword with magic and swung it in his direction sending slash like beams of energy at him. Gerik watched the beams carefully waiting for the right moment. As they drew near Gerik twisted his body, the beams just narrowly missing him. Before he could even straighten his body, Navi was upon him bringing her sword down hard and fast. Gerik knocked his own legs out beneath him and fell hard down to the ground, but Navi's attack missed and she was stumbling forward as she tried to regain her footing.
Gerik knew he didn't have enough time to get back on his feet to capitalize before she recovered, so he grabbed a dagger and tossed it at her back. The dagger hit her square in the lower back, embedding itself within her flesh right between the joints of her chest and waist armor. Navi screamed in pain, but wasted no time in spinning around to keep her eyes trained on Gerik. Once assured of where he was, she reached behind her and removed the dagger. Bringing the dagger up to her face, Navi quickly examined the blade to insure there was no poison on it before tossing the dagger to the side.
Gerik was about to capitalize, but Navi had turned around too quickly putting a stop to any advantage he would've had. Instead, he simply picked himself up off the ground while she was busy removing the dagger and examining its blade. Once she had tossed it away, Gerik flashed her a smug grin and threw down a Deku Nut. In a flash he was gone and Navi immediately tightened up her defenses, scanning the entire length of the room for where Gerik would make his next strike.
Navi knew Gerik was anything but predictable, so he could strike from any direction. He had already tried attacking from above earlier, but even so Navi kept watch on her own shadow just in case he tried it again. Slowly, Navi rotated her body in place, making as little noise as possible so she could hopefully hear Gerik's approach. Sheikah, of course, never made any noise but she could still hope.
She finished her rotation without even a glimpse of Gerik. There was no way to attack her from below, so that left only above. Navi quickly looked up and began scanning the ceiling for Gerik's hiding place. No sooner did she look up than several daggers came flying toward her, yet there was still no sign of Gerik. Sensing the deception, Navi fired a massive fire ball to deflect the incoming daggers and then spun on her heels, deflecting Gerik's thrust as she did so. Gerik simply smiled and jumped back to put some distance between them.
Navi wasn't going to give Gerik the space to try another maneuver like that and charged forth, driving her sword at his heart. Gerik parried the thrust and attempted to chop her sword hand off, but Navi grabbed his arm with her free hand in an ironlike grip. The two of them locked eyes. Navi's eyes were full of anger and rage, while Gerik's were just cold and filled with almost amusement in them.
"What's the matter sweetie," Gerik said with a smile, "that the best you can do?"
Navi gave him a look of disgust, but had no time to reply, with words or actions, as Gerik kicked her hard in the chest. Her grip on his arm was released and he was free to act again, but as Navi stumbled back she fired an energy blast from her hand. The blast hit Gerik square in the chest and sent him flying into the wall behind him. He hit the wall hard and started to fall forward, but he was quickly thrust up against the wall again and pinned as Navi gripped his shirt and placed her sword against his throat.
Despite the cold steel pressed up against his throat, Gerik just smiled as he peered down into Navi's face. Navi was just one stroke away from finishing it, from ending Gerik's life, yet she made no move. Gerik could see the hatred in her features, yet still she hesitated. Gerik didn't feel like waiting for her to finally decide to finish him off and so jabbed the hilt of his sword into her solar plexus. The breath having left her lungs, Gerik grabbed hold of her arm and flipped her to the ground.
"I knew you couldn't bring yourself to kill me," Gerik stated simply as he looked down upon Navi.
"Ah, so you do have a brain," Lord Arcana said humorously. "You are correct; Gerik is my current vessel. Little good it does you now though. Soon, you will be dead, as well as your little Guardian friend."
"You bastard!" Link shouted as he got to his feet. "You've been controlling Gerik this entire time, making us believe he had turned on us!"
Link balled his fist and took off at a run straight for Lord Arcana. Arcana simply stood there with an amused expression on his face as Link approached. Link pulled his fist back and then thrust forth with all the strength he could muster at Arcana's face, but Arcana simply sidestepped out of Link's path and stuck his foot out before him, which Link tripped over falling flat on his face.
"My, my, such anger," Lord Arcana said as he kicked Link hard enough in the side to send him rolling away several times before he came to a rest on his back. "Believe it or not, but I hold as much control over Gerik as I do you. His decisions are of his own free will."
"Liar!" Link croaked as he struggled to get back to his feet from the vicious kick. "Gerik would never . . ."
"You're thinking too one-dimensionally. The Gerik you fought side-by-side with would never turn his back on his friends, but is that truly all there was to him? Whether you want to accept it or not, there is darkness inside each and every one of us, including you."
Link was stopped by Arcana's words. 'Every one of us has light and dark within their heart. We must, for just as neither light nor dark can exist without the other, neither can we exist without both in our hearts.' Minerva's words rang in Link's head. Lord Arcana was saying the same thing she had, but Link didn't want to believe it. He couldn't believe it, otherwise that would mean the Gerik he had been fighting was they very same one that he had befriended.
"When I had first faced your friend in combat," Lord Arcana continued without noticing Link's stunned silence, "I could sense the darkness within him. It was a lot greater than I would've imagined in such an honorable and steadfast young warrior. I assumed some great disaster must have recently befallen him, but in any case I was quite surprised by his skills. I knew the moment I fought him that he would've made a powerful ally indeed if I could have him, but at the time nothing would've turned him against Hyrule."
"That only proves it's not the same Gerik," Zelda said almost crying, apparently not wanting to face the reality of it anymore than Link did, "that it's a fake facing us."
Lord Arcana turned toward her with a smug look. "After my son had 'killed' me, I slunk away to heal my wounds, but I still kept an eye on the battle. I watched as your friend sacrificed himself, and at that moment knew the opportunity to recruit him had come. As you both have witnessed from the scores of undead I've sent against Hyrule, my skills in necromancy are matched by none. A couple weeks after he was buried I snuck into the graveyard and went to work. Using my powers, I raised Gerik's lifeless corpse from his grave and gave him a second chance at life."
"You desecrated a grave simply for your own selfish ends," Zelda shouted, her defiant spirit returning. "That was not the same Gerik you brought back. It was one you manipulated."
"I did no such thing. All I did after reviving your friend was give the darkness already within his heart a small push. After that, it was up to him which side to follow. If the darkness in him won through, then I had my new disciple. If he had fought against and overcome the darkness within himself, then I would have killed him right where he stood and deemed him a lost cause. Luckily for me, the poor boy's spirit was so crushed and damaged that he was overcome by his own darkness in mere moments. After that, well the rest is history."
"BASTARD!" Link shouted, finally coming out of his paralytic state.
Lord Arcana's head, which had been staring in Zelda's direction with a smile planted across his face, snapped in Link's direction. Link was on his feet and charging Arcana. Arcana just sighed and shook his head disapprovingly, his body as relaxed as could be. When Link was close enough he threw a punch a Arcana's face, which he dodged simply by tilting his head out of the way. Link threw another and another, but Arcana dodged each one in turn. Link then attempted a roundhouse kick at his head, but Arcana saw that coming as well and simply ducked his head below the strike.
Standing up straight, Lord Arcana clenched his hand and nailed Link hard in the stomach, making him keel over. Arcana then wasted no time at all in driving his elbow down full force into Link's back. Link's body collapsed fully, his face smashing into the marble floor beneath him. Lord Arcana wasn't done, however. Before Link could even attempt to get back up, Lord Arcana reached down and grabbed Link by the throat. Using just his one hand he then lifted Link off the ground, his grip around Link's throat tight, but not enough to strangle him, yet. He brought Link's bloody face on level with his own and stared into the boy's weary, yet staunchly defiant eyes.
"Such a waste," Lord Arcana said, genuine disappointment in his voice. "You would have made an excellent addition to my new order. Such fire burns within you. Oh well, tis a pity, but no use whining over it. It's time to end this, once and for all."
With the flick of his wrist, Lord Arcana tossed Link to the floor. Link hit the ground hard and skidded to a halt. He tried to get back up, but his arms collapsed beneath him and he fell down once again. His strength had left him. He had nothing left in his bruised and battered body. What was worse was that he had forgotten Minerva's training; he had given into his anger and let it control his actions and now here he was a broken man at the end of his life.
Link could still move his head and turned to look at Lord Arcana. He watched as Arcana walked over and picked up his sword, Dragonflame. Turning to stare at Link still lying there, Arcana smirked and began walking over. Link knew this was it. If he didn't do something and fast, Arcana was going to kill him. Unfortunately, he could barely stand up let alone dodge sword strikes. Before Link knew it, Arcana's iron clad boots were standing before his face.
"And now Hero of Time," Lord Arcana declared, "you will die."
"No!" screamed Zelda as Lord Arcana's sword came crashing down.
Link's eyes involuntarily clenched shut as he heard Zelda scream. He had just a few precious seconds before his life would be ended. He willed his body to summon whatever strength he had left, but knew it wouldn't come fast enough. An idea sprung to mind, but he wasn't sure if he could accomplish it. With no time to waste debating it, Link summoned every last ounce of magic left in his body and unleashed it. Just as Dragonflame was about to hit, Link's body became encased in the diamond-like shield of Nayru's Love. Dragonflame slammed into Nayru's Love in a shower of sparks, but was unable to pierce the ultimate magical defense.
Navi just stared up at Gerik, shock evident in her eyes. She couldn't believe that she had frozen like that. Gerik had been defeated; he was pinned to the wall and just one stroke away from death, yet Navi couldn't bring herself to do it. As she had looked into his eyes, all she saw was the man she once loved, and that brief pause had given Gerik enough time to turn the tables on her. Now she was lying on her back, her lungs still struggling to fill with air, with Gerik standing over her.
While shaking his head and making 'tsk tsk' noises, Gerik raised his sword and brought it down upon Navi. Wasting little time, Navi quickly teleported herself far out of Gerik's reach. She reappeared back on her feet and her sword held at the ready just in case Gerik was already on the move. When she looked up, however, Gerik was still standing where she'd left him, his sword held in mid-swing. He just raised his head to look at her and smirked.
"So you have some more fight in you then," he said. "Good, I was hoping you wouldn't give in so easily."
With that Gerik took off at a full sprint, pushing himself off the wall for an added boost. Navi adjusted her stance and quickly scanned the room. If she was going to defeat Gerik she was going to have to try something a bit unconventional, and in order to do so she would need to lure him into the middle of the room so she would have the biggest possibility of success. Instead of going for a frontal assault, when Gerik was close enough he quickly sidestepped and went at Navi from her side. It all happened in one fluid motion, no pauses at all, that Navi almost wasn't able to bring her sword around in time to block.
His attack blocked, Gerik immediately flipped his body over Navi. As he came down, instead of landing on his feet, he thrust both his legs out behind him scoring a direct hit at Navi's back, sending her stumbling forward. Before she could recover, Gerik quickly spun around to perform a leg sweep. Just before he could trip her up though, Navi teleported herself out of his reach once again. It was now or never. Gerik wasn't exactly in the center of the room, but it was good enough. He was away from any walls which he could use to his advantage and Navi had a full 360 degree arc from which to attack.
Navi reappeared within Gerik's line of sight and immediately launched a fireball straight at him. As soon as the fireball left her palm Navi once again teleported out of sight. Gerik wondered what she was up to as he easily sidestepped the fireball. His ears pricked up, however, as he heard the faint sound of several small objects flying towards him. Gerik spun on his heels and crossed his arms in front of himself to protect his face and chest as ice daggers rained into him. His forearms took the brunt of the attack, a few grazing his shoulders and stomach. When he looked up Navi was nowhere to be seen, but out of the corner of his eye he saw a ball of light heading his way. With no time to remove the daggers, Gerik was forced to jump out of the way.
Navi continued this method of attack, teleporting from one area of the room to another, staying in one place only long enough to launch a magical attack at Gerik. She randomized her jumps, sometimes reappearing behind, other times to the sides, so Gerik wouldn't be able to anticipate where her next attack would come from. Navi also randomized her attacks so Gerik couldn't plan how to dodge the next attack when it came. Gerik was being hard pressed to dodge so many attacks one right after the other, especially since Navi was now launching her attacks so that dodging one would land Gerik directly into the path of another.
Gerik deflected what attacks he could and dodged the rest, but even with his speed and nimbleness Gerik was finding his muscles straining beyond their limit. He couldn't keep it up forever, and already he was beginning to slip. Several of Navi's attacks had grazed him. The hits weren't bad enough to stop him, but they did slow him down even more. Luckily, he knew Navi couldn't keep this up forever either, and that she had to be running dangerously low on magic by now with the sheer volume of attacks she was performing.
Gerik narrowly missed another attack as he sideways somersaulted. As he landed, he felt an icy, sharp pain hit his feet. A chill instantly ran through his body as first his feet, and then his legs started to become numb with cold. Looking down, Gerik saw his feet and lower legs encased in a thick layer of ice. He tried to move, but the ice had him firmly glued to the spot. Gerik took his sword and started stabbing at the ice. He did risk stabbing himself by doing so, but it was a risk worth taking as it left him completely vulnerable.
Looking up, he saw Navi reappear before him on the other side of the room. She sheathed her sword and then cupped her hands together. Gerik watched worriedly as a ball of pure energy began to form between her palms. His eyes then went wide as Navi thrust her hands out before her, firing a beam of pure, magical energy straight at him. As the beam sped toward him, Gerik now frantically stabbed at the ice, not even caring if he cut his own legs off in the process. He broke off enough of the ice to free one leg, but his other remained firmly rooted to the spot. The energy beam collided full force into Gerik, engulfing him and sending him flying all the way to the other side of the room.
Having used the last of her magic, Navi fell down to her knees. She was exhausted, but refused to let her body quit on her. She looked up to see Gerik's body lying prone, smoke rising off his body. A small smile curled on the edges of her lips, but quickly faded as the realization of what happened hit her. There was a rapid movement over from Gerik's body, but Navi's body wasn't fast enough to respond and she soon felt a sharp pinch in her neck. She reached up and pulled out a needle, and then felt her entire body go numb. Her arms and legs became paralyzed.
Navi quickly turned her eyes from the needle back toward Gerik. She watched as he struggled to stand up, small wisps of smoke still coming off him. He had somehow survived, but was far from unscathed. She could especially tell by the way he slowly, limped toward her. It wasn't his limp, but rather his face. His arrogant smirk was nowhere to be seen. Rather, his expression was quite serious. As he got nearer, Navi was able to see that his hands were quite severely burned, and his sword looked as if it had partially melted and warped. He had apparently held his sword out in front of him to block as much of the attack as he could.
"Nice try," Gerik said as he stood before her, his tone cold and harsh. "Now, it's my turn. Goodbye Navi."
With anger in his eyes, Gerik gripped his sword in both hands and raised it above his head. In a rage he then brought his sword down with full strength. Despite the paralysis, Navi simply knelt there, her eyes fully opened and watching as her death approached. Unflinchingly, she watched as the sword sped toward her face, and then stopped a mere hair's breath away. Blinking in surprise she looked into Gerik's face and saw tears rolling down his cheeks. His hands were shaking as if he were struggling with something. Navi looked into his eyes, and saw in them not the coldness or rage she had seen recently, but rather the kindness and joy she had seen in them the first time she had ever met Gerik.
"I . . . I . . . can't," Gerik struggled, his voice not harsh but soft, as he threw his sword away from him and took several unsteady steps away from Navi. "I . . . won't!"
"Gerik?" Navi said, the paralyzing effect on her body beginning to wear off.
Gerik looked up at her, tears still streaming from his eyes. "Navi," he said, "I . . . I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I couldn't control myself. The darkness . . ."
"It's okay. Everything will be all right now."
"No! You . . . you have to kill me."
"What?! N-no, I can't. You're you again."
"You have to. I can't hold back the darkness forever, and if it regains control I won't hesitate to kill you. I can't kill myself. If I tried I'd lose control again. You have to do it. Now, while I still have control."
"But I can't," Navi cried, tears starting to form in her own eyes. "You can fight this Gerik; I know you can. You've never been one to give up before, so don't start now. Fight!"
"Even if I could, it wouldn't matter. Lord Arcana . . . he's tied his own life with mine. As long as I live, he cannot die. That means Link's and Zelda's life, all of Hyrule, is in danger as long as I live. Now kill me! Don't let me lose control again! If you love me, then KILL ME!"
Gerik threw his arms out to his sides and puffed out his chest, exposing himself fully to her. His body continued to shake as he tried remaining in control. The tears rolling down her cheeks now, Navi stood up shakily, as the paralyzing effects had not completely worn off yet, and drew her sword. With bleary, tear filled eyes, Navi stared into Gerik's face and saw an almost pleading in his eyes. Then, mouthing the words 'I love you,' Navi plunged her sword into Gerik's chest. He grunted for a brief second, and then fell silent as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his body collapsed into her arms taking Navi down with him.
Navi was now sobbing uncontrollably as she sat upon the ground, cradling Gerik's body within her arms. She removed her sword from his chest, tossing it to the side, and then closed his eyelids with her fingers. Navi continued to cry as she rested her head upon his chest.
"Son of a . . ." Lord Arcana shouted when he saw Nayru's Love encircling Link's body, his attack a complete failure. "You're only delaying the inevitable. You can't win, and these delaying tactics only serve to prolong your suffering."
"There's always hope," Zelda said from her place on the wall. "Gerik taught us that, and as long as we breath we will not give in to you."
"Such strong and noble words my dear princess," Lord Arcana replied, anger rising in his voice, "but have you already forgotten what awaits Hyrule whether I live or die? I cannot lose."
"You're arrogance is beginning to show Arcana," Link said as he continued to lay there, collecting what strength he could for when the shield went down.
"You think so whelp? Well then, look above you at the manifestation of all my hard work."
That said, Lord Arcana kicked at Link hard. With Nayru's Love still up he couldn't harm Link, but he could still push him. The impact of the kick rolled Link over and onto his back. Link's eyes went wide and his jaw fell open as he had an unobstructed view of the ceiling, and what floated up there. It was the Triforce. Its golden color was nowhere to be seen, however, as its surface was as black as coal. Swirling energies surrounded the Triforce, yet Link could clearly see the three triangles. As he continued to stare, one thought crossed his mind that caused a lump to form in his throat; Zelda had foreseen this in her vision.
"That's right," Lord Arcana said smiling, "it's the Triforce. I bet you thought it had simply vanished after you had made your wish upon it, didn't you? It's physical form may have perished, but not its power. The Goddesses had designed the Triforce so that once a wish had been made upon it, its power would then be distributed among all the living things of Hyrule. Knowing this, it was just a simple matter of recollecting that energy to reform the sacred triangles."
"But how?" Link simply replied in disbelief.
"Oh, it wasn't easy. I spent the entire year after my failed invasion devising a way to recreate the Triforce. I eventually discovered a way to draw out the powers of the Triforce from Hyrule, but it required not only something to channel the energy, but a powerful nexus of life energy."
"This tower, and the Lost Woods," Link realized.
Lord Arcana laughed. "That's right. Though dead, the Lost Woods is still the most powerful nexus of life force in Hyrule, so this is where I chose to construct my tower, which would serve to channel and mold the power it collected back into the Triforce. At the same time, I fed my own evil desires, my own darkness into the collecting energy, as well as feeding all of Hyrule's fears, hatreds, and other negative emotions, which has in turn transformed your sacred relic into a corrupted manifestation of its former self, and only I shall be able to wield its power."
"I won't let you," Link declared, finally getting up onto his hands and knees. "You will not make that wish."
Lord Arcana turned to face him with a smug look. "That's the best part. I am nowhere near the status of a deity, so I cannot fully recreate the Triforce. I can summon the power and mold it, but once completed it will not be able to remain in the shell I've put it in. If I don't make my wish shortly after the Triforce is completed, its energies will build up within the shell, which will then crack and break, unleashing all that built up power resulting in the complete and utter destruction of all of Hyrule. You see, I can't lose. Hahahahahahaha . . .ugh . . . Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Lord Arcana's face contorted in pain as he screamed out and clutched at his heart. He began stumbling around the room, several times appearing as if he would fall over. Link stared at him stunned, unsure of what to make of it. Zelda, however, realized what was happening and smiled.
"Link!" she cried. "Gerik's been defeated. He's mortal again. Now's your time to strike."
Link looked from her toward Lord Arcana, who's screams had died down and he was now standing there, panting. Link got up shakily to his feet, but his body was still far from recovered.
"I don't know if I can," he said, "I . . ."
"Yes you can. Lord Arcana's wounds have not fully healed so he'll be on an even . . . Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Link watched in horror as Zelda was interrupted by several bolts of electricity flying into her body. Zelda's body convulsed as much as her bonds would allow as the electricity continued to pour into her, her screams becoming louder and louder. Link turned to find the source of the attack coming from the end of Arcana's fingertips, his other hand still clutching as his heart. He was still panting and their was sweat evident on his face. After what seemed like minutes, Arcana ceased his attack. Zelda's body slumped in her bonds, her head falling to her chest. Smoke rose from her body, but she was still breathing.
"That's enough from the peanut gallery," Lord Arcana said coldly.
Lord Arcana turned his attention toward Link. When that shield of his went down, he was going to have to finish this fast. Zelda had been right, which is why he shut her up. As soon as he had removed the Master Sword from his body, Lord Arcana had begun a regeneration spell on himself, otherwise he'd have died the second Gerik was killed. Such spells took a long time, however, and the worse the wound the longer it took. His heart had since sealed itself as well as his skin, but they were still fresh and could easily tear open again if he exerted himself too much. That meant he would have to fight Link without any flashy moves, yet still kill him as fast as he could.
Link stared at Lord Arcana, his hands clenched tightly. Nayru's Love did have its drawbacks. It might have protected him from any attack, but at the same time Link himself couldn't attack otherwise he would have already charged at Arcana. Still, he felt it was for the best as Link used the time to calm himself down, to allow himself to think rationally. Zelda had said they would be on even footing, so Link could not screw that up by making simple mistakes. He abandoned Minerva's teachings once already; he wouldn't do it again.
Sensing that Nayru's Love wouldn't last much longer, Link spotted the Master Sword over on the floor and took off toward it. Lord Arcana saw where Link was heading and quickly fired a fireball, realizing only after he'd shot it that it would simply bounce off Link's shield harmlessly. Berating himself for his stupidity, Lord Arcana grabbed Dragonflame and took off toward the Master Sword as well. Lord Arcana was slightly closer than Link was, but just as Nayru's Love finally dissipated, Link dove toward the Master Sword, grabbing it in his hand as he rolled and came up facing Lord Arcana ready to fight.
Lord Arcana stopped where he stood and raised his sword. Neither one made a first move. Instead they began to circle each other. Lord Arcana couldn't even begin to imagine where this boy's strength was coming from, but he greatly admired his drive and determination. The Triforce was nearing completion, and Lord Arcana wanted to be ready to make his wish. That would be quite difficult while also fighting a battle to the death, and Lord Arcana had no desire to perish with the rest of Hyrule if the Triforce exploded. With that in mind Lord Arcana finally stepped forward launching a powerful cross body chop.
Gripping the Master Sword with both hands, Link blocked the attack. Pushing Lord Arcana back, Link attempted to slip in under his defenses and drove his sword upward, but Lord Arcana was too quick. He delivered a knee straight to Link's gut, and only his knowing what was coming next allowed Link to jump out of the way before Lord Arcana drove his elbow down. Link was pushing his body beyond its limits, and despite Lord Arcana having his own disadvantages he was still much faster than Link. He wasn't sure how he was going to accomplish this.
Lord Arcana continued his offensive, pressing the attack against Link. He knew Link's body couldn't take too much more, so he would continue to beat him down until the last of his strength finally left him. When that happened, Lord Arcana would finally finish it. Still, Link blocked every attack that came his way, waiting and hoping for an opening. Arcana kept his defenses tight, however. With each successive attack, Link was being pushed farther and farther back. The wall behind him was quickly approaching, but Link decided to use it as an advantage rather than a disadvantage.
When he was only a couple feet from the wall, Link blocked an attack and then pushed against it, shoving Lord Arcana back slightly. Link then jumped backwards toward the wall. When he got close Link used his legs and kicked off of the wall, launching his body right at Lord Arcana. Link held the Master Sword out before him as he flew through the air. Due to the close proximity between him and Lord Arcana, Lord Arcana was forced to twist his body quickly in order to dodge the attack. As he did so he screamed out in pain and clutched his chest.
Once Link had landed on his feet he spun around ready to block any attack. What he saw instead was Lord Arcana clutching where his heart was, blood running between his fingers. Link smiled. He had reopened Arcana's wound and now was the time to strike. He charged at Lord Arcana, the Master Sword becoming surrounded in swirling energies as he ran. Lord Arcana noticed Link at the last moment and went to defend, but Link was already inside his defenses. Without a moment's hesitation Link plunged the Master Sword deep into Lord Arcana's gut. Lord Arcana let out a short grunt, and then fell to his knees as Link removed the Master Sword. To Link's surprise, Lord Arcana was smiling at him, blood dripping from his mouth.
"Con . . .congratulations," he said as he now started to laugh. "You've destroyed Hyrule."
Lord Arcana's eyes grew wide and then closed as his body slumped over. At the same moment Link heard something hit the ground behind him. Turning, he saw Zelda, now released from her magical bonds, lying upon the ground. Seeing her, Link limped his way over toward her as fast as he could. By the time he reached her, Zelda had already managed to get up on her hands and knees. She just smiled as Link knelt down beside her and wrapped his arms around her.
"It's over," she said as Link released her and stared into her eyes with a weary smile. "it's really over."
Link was about to reply, but as he opened his mouth the entire tower began to shake. Link and Zelda frantically looked about them. Dust and small pebbles were beginning to fall from the walls and ceiling as the tower shook. That's when both Link and Zelda looked up. The swirling energies around the Triforce were gone, leaving only the corrupted triangles remaining. Though hard to tell against its black backdrop, the Triforce appeared to be pulsating.
"Oh no, the Triforce!" Zelda yelled as she stood up. "What . . . what are we going to do?"
Link stood up, unsure himself. "We have to destroy it."
"Destroy it?! How the hell are we going to do that? There's no power in this world strong enough for that."
"I don't know, but there must be a way."
Link lowered his head, not sure of what to do. Hyrule was on the verge of destruction, and all he could do was stand there helplessly. Zelda was right; there was no power other than that of the Goddesses themselves that could destroy the sacred triangles. The sight of the Master Sword sparked something, and Link quickly glanced back up toward the Triforce. He looked back down at the sword, and then once again at the Triforce. He knew what to do, but turning to look at Zelda, his heart sank and a lump formed in his throat.
"I . . . I know what to do," Link said solemnly, his eyes closed, unable to look Zelda in the face.
"Really?" Zelda replied hopefully. "Well what is it?"
Link swallowed hard. Could he really do this? He didn't have much choice. If he didn't, then Hyrule was doomed. Minerva's words just kept coming back to him: 'Because what happens when you are forced to make a choice between the two? What happens if both Zelda and Hyrule are in danger at the same time, and you have time to only choose one? Which one would you forsake for the other?' The entire time he only considered himself losing Zelda, but he never considered it the other way around.
"Well?" Zelda asked, the hopefulness fading slightly as she grew worried.
"The Master Sword," Link replied.
"What?"
"The Triforce has been corrupted right? It is now a manifestation of evil. The Master Sword is the Sword of Evil's Bane. If I summon the full strength of the sword, and drive it straight into the Triforce, then I should be able to destroy it before it wipes us all out."
"But what will happen to you?"
Link turned away. "Chances are, I won't make it."
"No," Zelda said, shaking her head, "no, we'll find some other way. You can't."
"I have to! It's the only way. Besides, we don't have time to figure out another way even if there is one."
"But . . ."
"No buts. You're a princess. You know full well that the fate of Hyrule is more important than just one person; even the person you love. I'm a hero, and I know that sacrifices must be made, even if it's my own life."
Tears were free falling down Zelda's face as she looked at Link, her head shaking and her mouth repeatedly mouthing the word no. Link finally turned to look at her, his own eyes watery. Tightening the grip on the Master Sword, he marched over to her, leaned in, and kissed her full on the lips. As they kissed, Zelda could feel Link's tears now rolling down his own cheeks. After several seconds, Link reluctantly pulled away. Without looking at her, Link turned away and headed for the stairwell he had noticed earlier that led upward.
Zelda stood there watching him run off, crying and pleading for him not to do it. And then he was gone, vanishing into the darkness at the end of the room. She wanted to go after him, to stop him, but as much as she didn't want to admit it, he was right. Link had to do this, no matter what either of them truly wanted. After a couple minutes Zelda saw Link emerge out on a balcony near where the Triforce floated. She had to crane her neck to see, but there was no mistaking that it was Link.
Link had run up the stairs as best as he could, but when he reached the balcony he came to an almost complete halt. Hesitantly, he stepped out upon it, the evil reincarnation of the Triforce floating right before him. He stepped up to the edge and peered out. He spotted Zelda down below staring up at him, but looked away, not saying another word to her. This was already difficult enough without adding to it.
Link stared at the Triforce and began taking long, deep breaths as he summoned up his courage. As he did, the Master Sword began glowing in a golden aura, the power radiating off of it enough to create gusts of wind around him. Link raised the Master Sword up, and as he did so the blade changed right before his eyes, turning golden in color. The Master Sword now at full strength, Link pulled himself up onto the railing of the balcony. Letting out a cry, Link leapt off as he drove the Master Sword straight toward the center of the Triforce.