Drawing the Master Sword from his back, Lloyd pushed open the big, double door. It revealed a great, round room that had a high tower. Something seemed to be hanging there, its shape being a cross between a gross cocoon and a heart.
"Eesh, what is that nasty thing?" Zelos commented.
"It's all drippy and beating." Sheena made a face as she observed.
The group stepped further in the throne room, eyeing the whole place, looking for any danger. All was dark and quiet, next to heart beats.
"I think, it's Ganon." Colette said after studying the thing from a distance; none of them stepped closer, knowing that would be stupid.
"Have you seen anything like this?" Lloyd asked, looking at Vera.
The Sheikah shook her head, her red eyes set on the thing. "This is new. But I do not doubt Colette's words. I can sense the sheer malice coming from it."
She was right; they could all feel it. It even seemed to be dripping on the cobblestone floor, coloring it dark and goopy.
Zelos looked over to his buddy, who had the master sword at the ready. "Well, what are you waiting for? Cut it down."
"I doubt it is that simple." Kratos spoke up. "I am sure that as soon as its approached, the real battle will ensue."
"Yeah, you're probably right. Are you all ready?" Lloyd looked at every one with him.
"You asked that before. Come on, bud. Just get it over with, don't worry about us. We got your back."
"I know." Showing a smile, Lloyd was very thankful he had his friends with him. Even though it wasn't all of them, and one of them was his biological father. Still, he was glad he was here. In his own way, he'd always been there for him.
Shade had been watching the group from the darkness this whole time, his ruby eyes mostly focused on the teen that called himself Lloyd. How was it he was able to handle the Sheikah Slate? Why could he defeat all the Divine Beasts? Where did he come from?!
Honestly, he had expected a couple of people, not this big of a group. They seemed so out of place judging by their looks and styles. He had decided to observe, as it was foolish to face them all on his own. He hated to admit it, but he wouldn't stand a chance.
As Lloyd stepped closer, the strange shape started to shudder and move. Something inside seemed stir. It let loose and fell to the floor, cracking open almost like an egg but slimier. A big figure stepped out, stomping down hard.
The floor beneath them started crumbling and before they knew it, the group fell down a long shoot. Colette, Kratos and Lloyd were fast enough to spread their wings. Colette caught Sheena, Kratos grabbed Zelos and Lloyd went for Vera.
Letting them down gently, they arrived at the lower level, landing themselves right after. It was a large, circular room, with a dome high upon the very top. Across from the group, the figure became clear before them.
It had a spider like look to it with almost human features to its face, including a full beard. The eyes were off; they were big and glowing bright red.
Ganon took a moment to observe the people who had awakened him. It was surprising to see such a resistance when you were only expecting one. Still, one of them was armed with the bane of evil. Even though he did not look like the hero, he was able to wield it, judging by that bright blue glow.
Meanwhile outside, the four Divine Beasts stood ready, the beams aiming at the castle intensifying until they each launched their attack simultaneously. It hit Ganon's form four different directions, cutting through all the walls in between.
Despite this powerful attack, it seemed Ganon just shook it off. He then stood up to his full size, making an intimidating stance towards the group facing him. They were not fazed; this was what it all was leading up to. It was time for the final battle.
The ugly spider like being known as Calamity Ganon was rearing to go. Each of his legs were holding a different kind of weapon and Lloyd noticed they were matching the weapons the bosses of the Divine Beasts carried. Not only that; two of the legs were just like a Guardian's.
The very elongated body of this creature seemed to be made out of miasma, which was dripping everywhere. The face, framed by a red beard, had a yellow gem glowing on its forehead. The eyes glowed red as it growled from deep in its throat.
"I suggest we go for the legs first." Kratos remarked, calm and collected as always. He did not seem to be put off or intimidated by this gross creature at all.
The others nodded to the skilled fighter's words, getting ready to charge. However, before they could do so, it swung the big, red glowing sword one of the legs was holding, trying to sweep them all at once.
While some jumped back to dodge, others rolled under it. It was clear for Ganon that he was facing some experienced fighters. He directly followed up with a stomp on the floor, which created a shockwave.
It hit those who had come to close; Sheena, Kratos and Lloyd stumbled, doing their best to quickly recover. Ganon took the chance to swing his big sword again, however this time fire also came from the blade, shooting off into different directions.
Colette used her chakrams to block most of the flames, as Zelos swung his sword. Vera instead rolled out of the flame's way. Sheena threw her cards at as many legs or arms as possible, to hopefully immobilize the creature.
While this was being done, father and son charged in, going for a single leg with their swords. Ganon retreated from this onslaught, unexpectedly climbing up against the wall. He walked along the circular surface like it wasn't directly vertical at all. It was a strange sight, but then again, this was a spider like creature.
As he crawled along the wall, Ganon attacked again, this time summoning two large cyclones to overwhelm the group. They were all hurled into the air, not expecting this kind of attack.
"Lloyd, you go on for the attack. I will take care of the others." Kratos recovered quick, letting his wings appear and going for Vera and Zelos. Colette set herself right to go catch Sheena.
Doing as he was suggested, Lloyd unfurled his own wings to gain momentum for his forward stab. Ganon rose his other front arm, which turned out to be a canon from which several shots fired. The teen managed deflect the first, ducked under the second and for the third, he called upon the protective shield of Daruk.
His attack hit Ganon right across his chest in a diagonal line. The creature let itself fall from the wall, causing another shock wave with the impact. As must were still in the air, it did not do very much.
Seemingly angered, he roared. For a moment, the same kind of shield seemed to appear around him, giving him a red glow.
"What is going on?!" Zelos called out as he was set back on his feet, along with the others.
"Did he just... absorb Daruk's shield?" Lloyd wondered, stunned by this action.
"Does that mean we can't hit this thing now?" Sheena informed.
To test this theory out, Colette threw a chakram. Indeed, the weapon was just deflected before it could hit the creature. A barrier was completely protecting it.
"Darn, what do we do now?" Lloyd muttered more to himself.
Ganon swung his sword again, causing fires, which had them dodging back.
"If only I was able to summon here. I would even welcome Volt." Sheena remarked as she ended up next to the teen.
"Volt... Lightning! Let's try this." Remembering the move lady Urbosa showed, Lloyd snapped his fingers as his pointed to their enemy.
It was not clear to any one where this came from, but lightning did strike Ganon dead on in a bright flash. The red glow around him seemed to dissipate and they couldn't let up this opportunity, charging in for an attack right away.
This did not last long, however. The shield came back fast, forcing everyone back with a strong gust of wind so that Ganon had the chance to climb back up against the wall. He created a fireball at the opening of his canon, aiming at Lloyd specifically as it was fired.
Lloyd did his best to outrun the fireball while Vera drew her bow and started to shoot arrows at the creature's face. Colette and Sheena joined in throwing their own respective weapons.
"Hey old timer, you got enough mana to fly, so you can use magic too. Use that to force that thing down!"
Sighing at Zelos' remark, Kratos could only nod. He did not plan to go all out like the former Chosen had done, however. He settled to cast a simple 'lightning' spell, which still proved to be enough to bring down the shield.
"Lloyd, try to bring that fireball back to its maker." Vera called out.
"Good plan!" The teen was still running; luckily the room was big enough to allow it. He made a turn, leading it back towards Ganon.
The creature still kept itself up against the wall as it was assaulted by cards, arrows and chakrams. It was too busy to notice its own fire coming back at it and was hit dead on. This forced it to fall back to the floor yet again.
Ganon had fallen between Lloyd and the rest of the group, effectively dividing them. The teen stared at the back of this being as he did his best to keep his footing during the impact.
Finally, Shade saw his opening. Now was his chance. Going in for a surprise attack, the shadow wielded a dagger for the time being. The brown-haired teen felt a sharp sting, going straight into his right shin.
Looking down, Lloyd saw the silver dagger, digging deep into his lower leg, and then the black hand attached to it. The black face, white hair and red eyes followed soon after.
"Augh!" He called out in pain, swinging around the Master sword to drive back his surprise attacker.
Shade narrowed his eyes as he jumped back from the sharp blade. He spotted a familiar green glow coming from the teen's pack, as it went over the cut he'd just caused, healing it in a way as if it never happened.
"You darn bitch!"
How in the world? Lloyd needed a moment to remember Mipha's power, which she had used on him before in Vah Ruta. He was hazy back then. Still, he was happy she gave this healing power in the form of a green orb. The blood still dripped from Shade's dagger, the only proof left he had done any damage.
In the meantime, the others set to gang up on Ganon. He tried to defend with his many legs, combining that with using his claw and scissor, throwing a spear in a last-ditch effort.
As the people were driven back, the creature shuddered, miasma dripping out of its body everywhere at this point. It tried to get up, instead exploding in a bright light, black and purple goo going everywhere.
A dark cloud formed above their heads, swirling up into the shoot, firing off past the dome and disappearing right after. Bright light blinded everyone for a moment and the next, they suddenly found themselves outside, standing upon Hyrule field, the castle close in the background. Even Shade and Lloyd were taken along, a distance between them and the rest of the group.
"Ganon..." They all could hear the voice of Zelda as she seemed the speak from nowhere. "He was born out of a dark past. He is a pure embodiment of the ancient evil that is reborn time and time again."
Something started to form in between them. Out of black and purple whirling clouds, a giant creature emerged, completely dwarfing the previous spider being. It had hooves and tusks, mostly matching the look of a very, very big boar.
"He has given up on reincarnation and assumed his pure, enraged form. If set free upon our world, the destruction will be unlike anything ever seen before." Zelda continued to say.
White and red flames ran along the body of the boar like creature, even the eyes seemed to be made out of it.
"Oh, will you shut up!" Shade yelled out, going for a full-on attack on Lloyd, this time wielding a Royal Guard's sword. Lloyd blocked the attack quickly with the Master sword.
Rings of light started to appear along the body of Ganon in the meantime. "Those are points of vulnerability. I bestow upon you the Bow of Light. Whomever wields it, shoot its arrows at those points. Only then will Ganon be brought down."
The bow appeared in a bright light, floating down towards the group. It had a crescent moon like design and looked very intricate of make. Vera, being the closest, took it in her hands. When she touched the string with her other, an arrow completely made of light materialized.
"Lloyd!" Kratos called out to his son. A much bigger creature was now blocking the way between them, but they could still see each other passed the hooves. They were on fire however, so not easily passed.
"Don't worry about me! Bring it down, I'll be fine!" Lloyd called out as he was still blocking attacks from Shade.
The roar of the beast shook everyone and everything. It was very clear what the biggest threat was, just as Zelda had told them.
"You." The dark shadow glared at him over the edges of their clattered swords. His eyes seeming to be glowing with anger and despise. "You ruined everything. Taming the Beasts, giving people hope again, even taking a weapon that should not be yours to wield. Who the hell do you think you are?!"
Some more crossing of swords followed, as it seemed Shade more so was fighting in blind anger.
Lloyd really wandered what had gotten this being so angry. "I just did the right thing. I was put into this situation and could only do what was best."
"Enough!" Shade shifted around like the shadow he was and ultimately rammed the teen against his right side.
"What the..." Lloyd tried to quickly recover, but his opponent shifted again, pushing him hard against the back the next moment.
The teen lost his footing, falling to his knees. Shade was aiming to get the Master sword, reaching out for the weapon that was now loosely in Lloyd's hand. In the second that past, the teen could see the faint outline of a golden triangle, shining on the back of the shadow's hand.
Before he could touch it, Shade drew back his hand, seemingly being burned by it. "You still deny me, you blue bitch?!"
So much anger and hate. Lloyd still didn't understand where it came from. Both parties jumped back, eyeing each other from a small distance.
"You were the one who tried to get this sword, to take it from the forest. You hurt those poor little seeds."
Shade snickered. "I was prepared to burn down that whole damn place. Just as a big 'fuck you' to that stupid old tree."
Geez, what was this guy's problem?
{ Master is lost. } The voice of Fi said in Lloyd's head.
Huh, Master? Wait a minute. That shape, on the back of his hand. "You can't mean he's..."
"She should be serving me!" The shadow called out, charging at him once again.
Having no time to elaborate, Lloyd deflected expertly, taking the time to look at the dark appearance more closely. He has seen the picture of Link more than enough times, there were some similarities. Still, it was hard to tell because of the dark look.
Making some attacks of his own, he drove Shade back. "You... You are Link, aren't you?"
Shade made a backflip avoiding a forward strike, swinging down his sword against Lloyd's. He brought it up after quick, resulting in a shallow cut on the teen's left cheek. There were just a few steps between the two.
Lloyd quickly wiped off the blood with his left hand, never losing sight of the appearance across him.
"My name is Shade now." He didn't even deny it. This surprised Lloyd for sure.
"But... you are the hero. What happened? Why? Did someone do this to you?"
Shade started to laugh, a dark and disturbing one. Lloyd could not fight the shiver it gave him as the laugh reminded him of Mithos'.
"My eyes were finally opened, that is what happened."
The shadow shifted, this time going straight forward, going for a charge. Lloyd needed to call upon Daruk's shield to protect himself, the impact knocking the former hero back. Using this opportunity, the teen decided to force his opponent against the ground, pressing the Master sword lightly against his throat.
"Who did this to you?" Lloyd still demanded to know, being rather sure someone had manipulated the hero in some way.
Despite his position, the shadow still grinned. "You got it wrong. I always wanted this to happen. You have no clue what it's like to be tied to destiny. Having to do its bidding without being able to have any input of your own."
Lloyd shook his head. "You're the one who's wrong. I do know what its like, and if you don't like it, change it. You ultimately have the power in your own hands. The only who who decides your destiny, is you."
There was a moment of silence, followed by an irritated growl as the shadow sunk into the ground and whirled around to create distance.
{ Ganon's malice is too great. I do not think your words will reach him. } Fi's voice told Lloyd.
The teen looked over his shoulder for a moment, towards the great beast. His friends and father were fighting him in full force, keeping him busy. Only one ring of light was left, glowing brightly on his forehead.
Lloyd's eyes landed on the legendary sword he was holding. { Hey, Fi. Can you do me a favor? }
{ What is your request? }
"Make this sword fly!" The teen called out loudly, taking the weapon in both hands and throwing it in full force, aiming it right at that beast's forehead.
A glow came from the Master sword, as it was guided to the target by the spirit within. It hit right in the middle of the circle. Ganon let out a loud, pained roar as he flailed his head. Cracks appeared over his whole body, seemingly showing light from within, as if it was destroying him from the inside out.
"Why you little..."
Lloyd turned around at the voice, looking at the shadow. It seemed to be flickering, the real human shimmering through. He set one step closer at that.
"I understand your pain, your suffering. You are angry, I get that, truly. Revenge isn't going to solve anything. If you are a good person, you can proudly live your life however you want."
Shade's face contorted, it looked like he was fighting himself with the way he was standing; his hand was on his left arm, like he was holding himself back.
"You can conquer this, I know you can." The teen stepped closer again.
"Shut - up!" Both his hands were on his sword in an instant, as he jammed it forward in full force.
Lloyd had no time to react. The blade entered his stomach, ran through and pierced back out his upper back. As air escaped him, he could hear voices call his name, falling to the ground the next moment.
Kratos saw it happen; he saw the shadow run the sword straight through his son. When the weapon was pulled back out, it was completely covered in blood. Seeing the same red before his eyes, the Seraphim charged in.
Colette as well as the others, looked on with horror as it happened and hurried to get to Lloyd. He couldn't die, not here, not now!
A golden shield showed up to protect Shade against the rage attack from Kratos, driving him back with some force. The image of a blond girl seemed to stand behind the barrier, her hand held up. Despite that, he was ready to attack the barrier, intend on destroying it.
"Kratos, we need healing!" Zelos called out to him.
It kind of broke the rage, as he looked over his shoulder. The former Chosen was already trying to apply his healing art, but with the very limited mana he had, it would not be enough. The others were kneeled around Lloyd, the stab wound bloody and clear to see. There was even some blood coming from the teen's mouth.
Kratos was rather sure he would not have enough mana, and even if he did... this wound was too much. He looked at his son, a mix of rare emotions in his red eyes.
"You promised me, you wouldn't die before me. You always do your best to keep your promises."
"Hold on bud, please!" Zelos begged, struggling to keep his voice from trembling.
"You've won so many battles. Please don't let this be your last." Sheena said softly, tears in her eyes.
Vera couldn't do much more but look on, staring in disbelieve.
Colette took hold of right hand in both of hers, tears already running down her face. "Please, not after everything we've been through, all the hard work you have done..."
Looking guilty and in pain, Lloyd tried to talk, instead coughing up some blood. His friends, his father, they came here, just to see him die?
"I'm sorry, I don't want to. It seems... I have no choice."
"Don't talk like that! We'll get you to that fairy, she'll fix you right up!" Zelos said desperately.
Feeling life slipping away, Lloyd shook his head faintly. His eyes fixed on one girl.
"Colette. I should... no wanted to say this for some time. Three simple words, and still, so hard. I... I love you."
"I love you too." Swallowing the lump in her throat, her voice was shaking. Colette could feel him slipping too, powerless to do anything to help.
Despite everything, Lloyd managed a smile. His head then sagged to the side, his hand falling limp from hers and smile fading.
Lloyd Irving was dead.
(just as a notice: this is NOT the last chapter).
