Chapter XX – King of Darkness

Ganondorf stared at the old iron in front of him when he sat there with his one arm braced on his knee. He noticed the cold crawling inside his body due to the restricted movement but also because of the pain that weakened his body, especially the headache and his shoulder tortured him.

One time he grit his teeth when he encompassed two of the bars and pushed them apart, putting all of his strength into it and even growled with the effort. The iron looked old, the rust already crumbled down from it and he could not imagine it to be robust. They proved him to be wrong as they did not move, not even a bit. He only achieved getting a stronger headache and burning shoulder.

Ganondorf gave up the attempt and fell back on the bars behind him. This way, he would not get out. No chance. He lacked any other idea how to escape. Though his captures never cared to take off his armor, they retained his sword. He grinned desperately when he dropped his head against the bars. As if that thing would have helped him against sorcerers.

Forlorn, Ganondorf gazed at the flickering light until he heard footsteps again. His throat dried up while he remembered those horrifying words about him being an offering. For the first in a very long time, he felt how an old agony crawled up in his consciousness. One he believed he had long since rid himself of. Fear. Just blank fear, causing his hands to grow clammy and his body to tremble.

The moment it tried to gain entire control of him, he shook it off, pressings his nails into his palms to regain his fighting spirit. In no way would he allow himself to turn into a weakling. Again. The one time back when he lost the tournament was enough. It was not the first time he faced an awkward, even deadly situation, but certainly, this here would not be his last either. It must not. He had not survived more than a decade of battles to death and fought his way out of slavery only to succumb to a madman now.

The blood rush overshadowed his pain, he barely noticed the hammering in his head and the burning in his shoulder when he stood up, waiting for the men to come. Once Ganondorf saw the sorcerer nearing, he was surprised. He believed them to be a whole cult and since he should be such an important sacrifice, expected more to come. Instead, he only met the man from before in the company of the undead creatures that showed no hostility towards him.

Not even for a second let Ganondorf go of the man whose face was filled with joy, only interrupted by the madness he possessed in his eyes. "The time, it has arrived. Finally. For long I've waited. Long. Long. Far too long." A touch of melancholy accompanied his voice, turning into one of bitterness. "But he is so strong. Too strong. They won't make it, alone." The man stroked one of the Redeads on its head, carefully as if it had feelings of its own, yet it only moaned in its deep voice.

Ganondorf lacked any words for the situation as he could not think of a moment more bizarre than this man petting a lifeless creature. He shook off his confusion as soon as it came to prepare himself for the battle to come when he braced his muscles. He might only have his fists to defend himself and just a slim chance of gaining victory, but he would not make it easy for them. If they wanted a piece of him, they had to struggle for it. Just like the beasts in the arena had to.

The man stayed the whole time in the front of the cage, not making any movements. "See, see his strength. He's bursting with strength. Just bursting. Such a perfect sacrifice. Perfect!"

The shrill laughter echoed through his ears, but Ganondorf ignored the pain as he needed to concentrate on his foes. They had to open the door to get him and this was the only chance for him to try to beat his way free. The man still did not move towards it. Instead, he held his hands in front of him, mumbling weird words. Ganondorf noticed the black ball the man formed in them.

"He's too strong. Too strong for them. Far too strong," he whispered to himself, but loud enough for Ganondorf to hear. "They won't make it alone. No, they won't. But they aren't alone. No, they aren't."

Before Ganondorf could question himself what this man was about to do, he released his incantation. At high speed, it pierced through the bars without damaging them, crashing into Ganondorf and smashing him against the wall behind, engulfed in the particles spreading from the spell all over his body.

A scream of pain echoed through the oubliette. He could not hold himself together. He just could not. The burning inflicting his body was far worse than the one when he awoke. Such pain. Such destruction. And such unbelievable power. So that was what black magic meant to be. Now he understood Esbern's dread before such a might. A forbidden might mortals were never meant to handle.

Ganondorf crumpled on the floor, robbed of all his strength and on the edge of losing his consciousness. He hated it. He loathed it. The fact that he had to succumb. But he could not do a thing. Nothing at all. Against this power, this might, he was helpless, just helpless. Barely he heard the madness of the man, "Yes, yes, yes! He survived. He's a master. The true master of darkness! The one true king of eternal darkness!"

The man released another incantation. Ganondorf was not even able to scream anymore as it overpowered his last senses, leaving him only to the dark.

A constant moaning pestered Ganondorf's ears and this time, this moaning was not his own. Still dazed, he tried to seal them off with his hands or at least move his head away from the source. Due to his missing control over his body, he achieved nothing and had to endure it for longer, together with the burning pain which tortured him.

Ganondorf slowly opened his eyes. His field of vision showed him a blurred sight. The position he was in felt uncomfortable, his arms stretched to both sides and his feet barely reached the ground as well as a cold embracing his wrists and ankles which was not caused by his armor. Once he tried to change his position he could not move a muscle.

When he regained most of his senses, he noticed he was chained to an iron construction in the form of an upsilon and two Redeads stood by his side causing the moaning. They showed no hostility and only watched him with their eye holes. In vain he attempted once again to free himself, but he was solidly attached and the fetters proved to be thick enough to be unbreakable by mere strength alone.

Ganondorf groaned, annoyed to find himself in a situation bound to the will of another without a chance to free himself on his own. Disapproved, he let his view wander around the room lit up by the torches attached to the wall. Due to the instruments of torture and the brown to black stains ranging all over them as well as on the walls and grounds, it must have been one of the many interrogation rooms used in the Great War.

Now the room seemed to be a laboratory, seeing all the benches with apparatuses of glass and metal as well as shelves full of ingredients, bottles filled with different colored liquids and other grotesqueness, of which some probably were once parts of living beings. When he looked at the dead eyes swimming within the liquid and watching him, it sent a shiver down his spine. He had seen many disgusting things once humans were torn apart by beasts or swords in the arena, yet to store remains in such a clean state showed that this madman truly did not know any borders concerning his experiments.

Ganondorf turned his view away to the ground, only to be confronted with the next abnormality: circles emitting a green light consisting of runes and other symbols he never had seen before surrounded him. It eliminated every last hope he was not meant to be a sacrifice.

He felt his inner dread and wrath awaken once more, letting his blood rush faster through his veins. He did not want to die this way. He swore to fall at least with a sword in his hand and not as a prisoner of a lunatic who repeated his nonsense over and over again. Ignoring all his pain, he stretched the chains as far as he could, forcing all his strength and weight into his attempt to break free, releasing a loud scream.

Despite the gritting sounds of the chains, the metal only bit into his flesh and kept him bound to the deformed cross. His efforts did not go unnoticed when the sorcerer entered the room in the company of two Stalfos. "He makes such a noise. He should not. Just should not."

"Keep your cursed trap shut up and untie me, you brain-dead bastard!" roared Ganondorf when he still jolted on his chains.

"He is far too noisy. Too noisy. He is scaring the spirits. Scaring them," responded the displeased madman, but the insane smile returned on his lips. "But he is lucky. Very lucky. The time. Now the time has come. He is allowed to be the sacrifice for him. For him, the Shadow Beast."

"Untie me and then just go die with your cursed Shadow Beast no one gives a damn about!" yelled Ganondorf once more, but at the same moment, the Stalfos stepped towards him, one grabbing his hair, the other his jaw and forcing his head back. Since the construction offered no pole to push it against, it left his throat entirely open.

He struggled to free himself of their grasp, yet with his arms and legs unable to perform any movements and his head held by the two Stalfos, he could do nothing. He only heard the metallic sound when the man grabbed a dagger out of the shelves and moved towards him.

"His blood. His breath. All offered by a king. It shall be for him." He mumbled other bizarre words, probably ones for the ritual while Ganondorf only felt his doom drawing nearer, starting from his chest and slowly nearing his throat. It was over. It was all over. He closed his eyes, feeling the fear of death arising, the only thing a doomed man dreaded.

An outcry of pain filled the air, followed by a clashing sound of metal. Even the Stalfos loosened their grasp and with a grunt they let go of him, rushing away, accompanied by the Redeads as their moaning vanished as well.

Ganondorf could get a view on what was going on and stared directly into a ranging battle of knights against undeads while a well-known one hurried mutely towards him. Or at least towards the sorcerer forced down on his knees with an arrow sticking out of his shoulder.

Before Link could get in the near of him, the lunatic recovered, throwing a magical ball at him. Link jumped aside to avoid the impact and it crashed into the wall, while Link rushed towards the sorcerer again.

To Ganondorf's chagrin, he had no chance in entering the battle himself to help Link in slaying the madman. He could only be a witness of how the soldiers took down the Stalfos and Redeads while Link tried to get in the range of the sorcerer who tried to smash him down. There was nothing he could do. Just nothing, yet he was thankful for Link making it just in time.

The pain caused by the surprise attack apparently slowed the madman down and reduced his aiming ability which Link used to his advantage. Link landed a skillful strike, slicing through the chest and stomach, leaving the sorcerer to make a painful outcry before falling to the floor in front of Ganondorf's feet.

He looked down at the man and his twisted face of pain, pressing his unharmed arm against the bleeding wound. Ganondorf grinned maliciously at the man who suffered in his misery. Finally Link had learned how to handle such foes and that these only deserved one thing. Death.

Link pushed the arm away to step on it, preventing the sorcerer from using his magic again and pointed the sword under his chin. Ganondorf saw Link only from the side, but he noticed the fierce expression and the burning anger in his eyes. It was time that the lunatic got his punishment.

To Ganondorf's surprise, Link commanded his followers, who got rid of the undead creatures in the meantime, with a sign to chain him. A few moments later, they lifted the madman up on his feet again, though due to his wound he remained in a hunched position.

"So, this is what has become of you, Naotz. Never thought you would be the one I find here, but seems I was mistaken," said Link with a hostility Ganondorf never had heard from him before. Even his expression showed nothing of the kindness he normally carried around. He turned to his two men. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, lieutenant," they answered.

"And what about you?" He looked at his three other comrades who made sure that the undead had found their true eternal rest.

"Everything is alright."

He did not turn around to look at Ganondorf. Not even after some seconds had passed by. "I'm fine, too! Thanks for the concern."

"No problem," responded Link, still with his back towards him. Although Ganondorf never bothered much about the way people reacted towards him, Link's behavior struck him as unusual. Very unusual.

Before Ganondorf could answer, Naotz screamed in panic, "He's the man! The last man of the century!" He struggled to get free, but stopped because of his sealed magic and his injured condition. "Don't let him be! Don't! Just don't! His head, cut it, cut it! Cut it off! Before it's too late and the blood will be shed! He's the king! The true king of the black might! Of darkness! Eternal darkness!"

"Make him shut up and take him out of my sight before I lose it!" demanded Link when he glared at Naotz, before turning to his other men. "You three, go with them. I'll come as soon as I'm finished here." The knights nodded and left together with their prisoner. Only then Link turned around to Ganondorf with a doubtful expression. "Seems like you left a 'good' impression on him. You have a true talent for this. Yet I didn't understand a word of it. Did you?"

"No. I only understand that his voice was driving me crazy just like he is," responded Ganondorf.

Link sighed forlornly. "Yes, this is what happens to those who open themselves to the darkness. You must know, Naotz was once a respected priest on our court. Yet about five years ago, he developed an unexplainable affinity towards the black arts, obsessed by experiments better left forgotten. He was exiled because of it and apparently lost his sanity when he lurked too deep into the abyss of darkness. Yet it makes me nervous how he was able to learn such advanced magic. I doubt he could've done it on his own."

Link viewed the undead creatures, now laying motionlessly on the floor before he returned to Ganondorf, gazing fiercely at him. "However, before you get any strange ideas because of your twisted morals, I can tell you that there are only very few who ever mastered the black arts in a way that it wouldn't destroy themselves. Luckily for us, those grand masters are long since extinguished. I doubt you'd like to become a lunatic yourself, do you? So better keep your hands off."

"Yeah, fine. I got it. Now, untie me, it's getting uncomfortable here and your lectures are of no help," grumbled Ganondorf, not getting why Link reacted that aggressively.

Link raised an eyebrow and he sounded far too serious for Ganondorf's liking. "I'm not sure if it may be better if I just let you hang there and let time decide over your fate."

"Oh, come on now," groaned Ganondorf, pushing annoyed his heels against the iron. "Just what's wrong with you, comparing me to this pathetic excuse of a megalomaniac? I'm a warrior, not some insane idiot who wants to raise his army of undead minions to conquer kingdoms or whatever."

"Certain?"

"Of course!"

After Link had loosened the chains by pushing the two joints of each bond simultaneously and turning the lever around, Ganondorf felt relieved to finally move his limbs to his will again. He followed Link out of the room, along the corridor, where he looked down at slain monsters and undead alike. "How did you make it past all those things?"

"By keeping our heads down and attacking them by surprise." Link stopped in his tracks, looking thoughtfully at him. "I guess you called this tactic a childish play of 'hide and seek'. A tactic not worthy for men like you because it's better to just rush in and… get sacrificed. One day, you must explain me how this is method preferable to mine, because I'm afraid I don't get it."

Ganondorf released a mere grumble in response, as he himself still had a hard time believing what happened to him in the course of probably a few hours. Just like he still wondered about Link's unusual behavior as he rarely used sardonic comments and even the threat of letting him hang there, in that serious intonation, did not fit him. Before he could lose more thoughts about it, Link asked him, "Do you have enough strength left to give me a helping hand?"

Ganondorf grinned self-confidently. "You're asking me if I have strength left? Seriously?"

Link released a desperate sigh as he nodded and opened the door next to him. A cold draft carrying a stench of rotten flesh greeted them. Once Ganondorf's eyes familiarized themselves with the darkness, he recognized that oubliette. It was the one in which he got incarcerated.

While he still wondered about the reasons for coming here, Link headed straight for the cage in which Esbern's corpse lay. The lock was broken and Link swung the door open. Inside, he gave Ganondorf a sign to help him getting Esbern up, yet he only raised an eyebrow. "You're aware that he's dead, aren't you?"

"Of course I know! Yet I won't let him rot here," responded Link harshly. "So would you at least once in your life be so kind and take your aversion aside to take him along with me?"

Ganondorf fulfilled Link's request without commenting on it again and followed him into a nearby chamber, even though his harsh demand did not fit his liking. Together, they embedded Esbern's remains into an empty coffin and hefted it to lay it in its rightful place again. Link remained a few minutes by his side while Ganondorf waited for him at the entrance.

Wordless, Link walked at the front when he led them through the Shadow Temple. Link did not look back to him even one time. Ganondorf had stopped to think about his odd change as he would not figure it out anyway. Then again, he had his own secrets why he himself behaved strange within the last weeks and said nothing as well.

Link stopped. "I'm sorry, Ganondorf."

"What?" He did not trust his own ears and almost bumped into him.

Link looked up to him and sounded sober, without a touch of causticity. "I've said things I shouldn't have said, in a way and at a time that can only be called insensitive if not downright reprehensible. As well as throwing assumptions at you about contemplating with black magic when exactly this was the reason you almost died. I hope you forgive me my remark about letting you hang there. That one was inacceptable and I was rude. Very rude, considering the situation you had faced."

Ganondorf stared at him, caught off-guard and to a degree in suspicion. Though Link apologized to him at times and he acknowledged Link's courage to admit he made faults and tried his best to correct them, he did not get why he suddenly addressed it. His bafflement left him speechless.

Link explained himself further, "One should assume since I've been a lieutenant for a long time and have been often enough confronted with death that I'm used to it by now. But every time I have to deal with a fallen comrade, it gets to me. In this regard, you're hardened way more than I, maybe even to a degree I'll never reach." His voice gained a touch of bitterness. "You know, when we found Esbern, I assumed you had already been killed as well. And when we finally reached Naotz, I was caught in my fury over you two being dead that I didn't even realize that you are still alive. Until now."

A smile appeared on Link's lips. "I'm truly glad you're still with us and haven't fallen victim to this madman. Truly, even though everything indicated you're both dead. I truly am. But…" He stopped and only looked at Ganondorf for a few seconds. "No, I'll save the 'but' for now. At the moment, I'm just glad that you made it as my comrade. The superior has to wait until we're safe at home and you've recovered. The last has the highest priority by now, you must have suffered the worst down there."

Even though Ganondorf felt relieved to have the explanation for Link's behavior, he felt that his action of rushing ahead together with Esbern would have consequences. He could not estimate how severe or even what they would look like, but at least Link still called him his comrade and after all the things that happened, that felt good. Really good. He even smiled. It had been long since the last time he grinned because of joy without a touch of wickedness or desperation.

That was how it felt if people did not care for the achievements of a person but for the person itself.