Chapter 8: The Temple
In a flash of green light, I appeared in the Sacred Forest Meadow, a spot I had visited several times before, to see that the stump that Saria normally sat upon was empty… the sky was bright orange, and there were strange black squares floating in the sky. I felt as if my spirit would leave my body if I had not been wearing Gauron's Mask at the time. Above me stood the large Forest Temple, a place I had been to when I became the Hero of Time… Seeing the tree that hung over the large, broken staircase, I took out the axe at my side, hooked its chain to my right arm, and threw it over the branch, hooking like a grappling hook.
As I climbed, an evil aura encased the entrance to the Temple. It had once again been corrupted. After retrieving my axe, I ran into the Temple, unaware of the things that may await me inside…
Inside the Forest Temple, two trees stood, like they always had,and a single door marked the entrance to the next room. Upon going through it, a large, black spider shot down from its hanging place above me. Normally, I would find Skulltulas In this room, but for some reason, they had been replaced. These new spiders had the same way of attacking as the Skulltulas I would usually find, and I found that my axe was more than sharp enough to pierce even the front of their armored body. Upon defeating them… I heard a familiar creepy laugh…
"Ohohohohohohohohoho…" the voice from behind sounded. "We meet again, child… I thank you ever so much for returning Majora's Mask to me." I turned around to find the Happy Mask salesman behind me, wearing his large backpack filled with the merchandise he collected. "It seems you have obtained yet another powerful mask, wouldn't it? There seems to be a need for the warrior whose shape you are currently in here… In fact, I feel a ghostly experience may befall this Temple in the future… You may have to come back someday… Ohohohohohohoho…" With that, he dissapeared into the shadows.
I soon found myself inside the main chamber of the Forest Temple, looking upon the elevator that would take me down to the room where the walls themselves moved. The red, blue, green, and violet flames stayed lit as I walked up to the device, undisturbed by the possesion of Poes. I stepped on the elevator, letting it take me down to the bottom level of the Temple…
Inside the room with the moveable walls, I found no doorways leading anywhere. The spaces in which the walls could be pushed was noteably absent, and the only thing I saw in the room was a large jewel, floating in the air, while holding an unconsious Saria. She awoke, and looked at me.
"Look out!" she screamed. I turned around to find five creatures that bore a strong resemblance to Stalfos. They laughed, brandishing their blades. Three of them were rusted with dried blood… Gauron's blood. They were solid black, like the spiders I had faced earlier, and had strange glowing red marks on them, making them easier to see.
So… I thought, contemplating my strategy… These are the creatures that killed Gauron… He said he couldn't face them alone… But he's not alone anymore… I brandished my axe and charged at the Stalfos directly in front of me. My axe was so strong that it penetrated the creatures shield almost instantly. The strange creature fell to pieces, suddenly shattering into small squares with light blue edges and flying into the sky. I turned to find a blood-stained blade coming at me. I quickly blocked the oncoming blow with the broad side of my axe, wrapped my chain around the black monster, and swung it around the room, destroying the other three creatures. I looked at the last one, the one who bore a wicked smile and the blood of the only person who I could have ever thought of as a father, and ran towards him, slicing him as much as I could… After he died, I noticed that there were no creatures left… The crystal that held Saria gently floated down, and dissapeared. Saria looked up at me, unaware of my true identity…
"Thank you…" she said. "You saved me, and I don't think I'll ever forget you… What's your name?"
I paused, thinking. This was Gauron's body, so I figured I had to use his name. "Gauron…" I said bluntly. Saria laughed and waved good-bye. She ran off towards the Kokiri Forest upon our exit of the Temple. I quickly romoved Gauron's Mask only to find that the spirit of Gauron himself stood before me…
"Thank you, Link… I knew I could count on you, my boy. Thanks to your deeds, I can now find peace. Please, don't cry over me anymore…" With that, Gauron dissapeared. All that was left was the song of the Forest to fill the air. The strange light that pervaded the air had subsided, and all was well again…
I played the Prelude of Light on my ocarina to set out for the castle once again, now that my work was done…
I walked up to the large wooden doors that marked the entrance to Hyrule Castle, and they opened. The entrance hall was quite empty, save for one person… I walked into the room and fell to my knees as Zelda ran over and held me as tight as she could…
"Gauron is at peace now…" I said. "And Saria is safe…" I couldn't stop the tears from welling up in my eyes…
"That's good…" Zelda started. "Were you hurt?"
"No…"
"Good…" Zelda looked me in the eyes… "Link…"
"Yes, Zelda?"
"I… love you… so much…" Zelda embraced me even tighter than before as she said the words that made me wrap my arms around her equally.
"I love you, too… My Princess…" I stated, and we held each other like we would never let go…