The moon was slowly approaching with every hour that passed. The orb of stone glared down at the clock tower with the hatred of a god. Despite staring up at the face of their demise, Termina still functioned as its denizens scrambled over the land and sea to carry on their lives. Compared to the problem plaguing every corner of their homeland, the problem of a falling moon could wait. Even then, not all were convinced that it was going to fall. Their hearts changed their tune as the days leading to the Carnival of Time progressed and the moon only grew larger in the sky.
The Carnival of Time was an unusual festival in Veran's eyes. No doubt it was a wonderful celebration, the true reasons for its performance had been lost to the pages of history. She had halted the caravan in the fields yet again, feeling an all too familiarity with the day. The past three days had been repeated over and over again for what felt like weeks. To her dismay, she seemed to be the only one aware of this repetitive cycle and it seemed no matter where she went everyone always reacted the same way. She was trapped on a one way ride and just wanted to get off.
Adding further insult to injury was the fact that any progress she made on her masks was undone with the reversal of time. Veran had been drained of inspiration to complete her works and was now sick of the carnival. She just wanted it to be the day after the whole debacle so she could move on with her life. She shook her head and growled at the moon "What are you glaring at, ugly!? Just fall already and be done with this land!"
It answered by making the earth tremble and quake wildly, sending Veran to her knees. In a flash she was back on her feet as she yelled at the sky "ENOUGH OF YOUR GAMES MAN-EATER!"
"Veran?" Onox was surprised to find her shouting at nothing. In all the years he had known her, he never seen her behave so erratically. "Are… are you alright?"
She let out another scream before turning to him "No, I'm not, I feel like I'm going insane. We've been living through these past three days for Giants know how long now!"
"I admit, the moon is a bit scary, just hanging over Clock Town like that…" Onox laughed nervously "But to think we've been living the same three days? You must be going crazy."
"I'm not, Termina is being punished yet again by the deities," Veran's voice returned to its icily calm pitch "The Golden Goddesses must be laughing at us from their precious sacred realm."
"Now I really think you're crazy," Onox shrugged as he announced "There are no other deities other than the Giants and that's that."
"You're wrong, they do exist and some wish to eradicate Termina. No doubt this is just another twist of fate decreed by the Golden Goddesses." Veran saw the mortified look on his face, his body was physically trembling as his mind reeled. She placed her hands on her hips "What's with you?"
"So… it's true isn't it? Termina is a realm for lost souls…"
"Wait I never said that, in fact where did you even hear that?"
"Iris told me and Sable believed it instantly… it's, it's why we had a falling out."
In that instant everything clicked into place as Veran finally understood. The abrupt departure from Romani Ranch, the constant drifting at Onox's request and the reluctance to go near the Southern Swamps, all were signs leading back to this discussion. Veran narrowed her eyes at him "You mean we left that ranch weeks ago because you were too pigheaded to listen to your friend!? And here I was thinking that you were a gentleman? HA!" She stormed over to the caravan "Some gentleman you really are. You're as foul mannered as a dragon patriarch!"
Onox followed after her, he was enraged as he bluntly admitted "I was scared, alright! It's just… I…" he shivered all over, his voice was rough as he struggled to contain his anger "I couldn't believe that all this was just some illusion. We're real, we do exist."
"I think you misunderstood the meaning of this realm," Veran retrieved a small telescope from her satchel "This is where souls can wander and be someone else. Not everyone is pleased with their place in weave of fate, so we live here instead with the wild deities for company. We're not monsters or insignificant because of it. This world is as real as anything those Golden Goddesses crafted." She stood a nearby hill and said without turning "Grow up, you're acting like a bratty child you idiot."
Silence echoed from her words, shocking Onox into contemplation. He finally mustered up the words and the nerve to ask "Why do you know all this?"
"If Argorok ever accepts Sable as her new master, I'll tell you." Veran put her eye to the lens of her telescope and looked at the scenery.
"You know what, forget it! I'm sick of being in the dark all the time!"
"Only because you overreact like a moron when you're faced with the truth."
She heard grass and twigs being crushed under heavy boots followed by growled curses. A glance over her shoulder revealed Onox storming off into the wilderness alone. At least that was a deviation from the usual routine of the three days. However she doubted he would even recall it by the end of the day, when the moon falls and engulfs Termina in fire. The lucid memories of being burned alive were hard to shake and Veran did her best to quell such morbid recollections.
Through the telescope, a strange figure entered her vision. A young boy dressed in green clothes on the back of a horse. A sword and shield rested on his back as a golden fairy tried its best to match the horse's pace. Never before had Veran seen this child roaming the fields in the repeated cycle of Termina's demise. The most curious detail about him were his eyes, he may have possessed the body of a young boy on the cusp of his teens. Yet his eyes, blue as the heavenly sky, reflected a determined maturity seen only in veterans of war and victims of misfortune.
With awe, Veran lowered her telescope with wide eyes. She had finally caught a glimpse of all too familiar soul. Even though he was wearing a different skin, there was no doubt that a fragment of the Fierce Deity, the Oni, was present in the blue eyed youth. For the first time since this damned cycle began, Veran felt a glimmer of hope that Termina may be saved.
Echoes of waves tossing frantically in the distance stirred her consciousness once more. Sable awoke to find herself beneath a makeshift roof of palm leaves and logs. All she could remember was curling up in a secluded inlet of rocks. With the impending extinction of Termina, she recalled wanting to come up with a solution the moment she awoke. Immediately bolting upright, Sable found Iris sitting a little way from her. Her head lifted towards the heavens as the moon appeared to have nearly arrived. The painful grimace upon the stone's face glowered at Termina as the land quivered beneath its gaze.
"Iris, how long was I asleep?" Sable clambered towards her, she grabbed her by the shoulder "What day is it now!?"
Iris remained limp like a doll, her voice was cold "It's the eve of the carnival."
"Great!" Sable gritted through her teeth "It's the day of the apocalypse and I've slept in!"
"It's not like we would've made a difference anyway. This is a game between the Oni and the Man-Eater, it is no place for mere mortals like us."
"But… we can't just do nothing?!"
"Nothing we can do can correct any of this," Iris stood with broom in hand "All we can do is take refuge and pray that Termina is still here in the morning. I'm going to return to the swamplands, I wish to see Mistress Koume and Kotake one last time."
The magnitude of the situation caused Sable's chest to tighten, she nearly whimpered "Then I'll go to Clock Town, Professor Shikashi was the only family I had for most of my life."
"I see… well…" Iris looked to Sable "I guess this is where we part ways for now. If either of us survives the apocalypse… we…"
"It's alright… I'm scared too. But we have to take refuge where we can find it. If the apocalypse doesn't happen I'll…" Sable's eyes welled with tears "I'll see you at the Carnival of Time!"
Iris nodded solemnly as she mounted her broom and took to the sky. Sable got to her feet, slinging her travelling bag over her body in one swift movement. As she made her way down the beach her mind kept reeling. She was too afraid to even look up, she could not even take the ghastly face of the moon staring back at her like the inferior bug she was.
On the path leading back to the fields, Sable noticed a new addition to the scenery. A grave was near a rocky cove marked with a familiar guitar carved from the skeleton of a giant Desbrekos. Out of curiosity she approached the monument to see who had died. An inscription read 'Herein lies Mikau, the legendary guitarist of the Zora tribe. He is to be remembered in song, and his lyrics are written here'. For respect of the dead, Sable bowed to the grave before resuming her journey back to Clock Town.
The white walls blocking her path proved to be no challenge as she shifted into the agile form of the Forest Fox. Ascending and leaping from the walls were simple, transforming back into her usual body beneath a veil of darkness. The shadows flecked from her to leave a trail of wispy darkness before vanishing into the air. By now her body had adjusted to shifting to that particular form so she found it easy to shift and did not feel the need to sleep excessively afterwards. Even if she wanted to, she could not rest now, not with the moon so close to Termina.
A trail of destruction led from the fields into Ikana Valley. Trees were uprooted, boulders were smashed into pieces and monsters cowered in hiding. Onox kept marching through the desolate canyons as he felt his rage boil through his blood. So consumed with anger, he did not even notice the few patches of verdant grass wither beneath his feet. He did not even care how long he had marched through the wasteland of the damned. Ever since confronting Veran earlier, his entire being was consumed with the need to destroy.
At that moment Link was navigating the canyons as well. He had proved victorious in the Stone Towers and freed the Eastern Giant. Oddly after the battle, the Giant's Mask he had found appeared to have lost all power outside the temple. Usually after conquering a dungeon he would feel relieved in seeing that region of Termina restored, but here in Ikana it was different. The air was still heavy with cursed, malevolent power. All manner of the undead still roamed the land, it was beyond him how Pamela and her father could live in such a place. However if King Igos was to be believed then it sounded like all Skull Kid did in Ikana was merely open the doors of the Stone Towers.
The entire kingdom disturbed him greatly and the fact that the Stone Tower Temple was so serene in comparison only unsettled him more. During his venture through the temple in his search for Twinmold, he remembered seeing all manner of idols and relics carved in the visage of Majora's Mask. There had to be a connection between that accursed mask and the towers. The earth trembled with fear once more as the sky took on the hue of blood. A soul chilling familiarity Link had been accustomed to as the eve of the third day approached. Nevertheless his mind was now focused and his path was clear, having freed the four Giants he could now face Skull Kid once more on equal footing.
Tatl roughly collided with the back of his head "Link, hold up! There's something wrong."
"I wish you'd stop hitting me like that," he grumbled and adjusted his hat "What is it? Another Garo?"
The fairy trembled "No, it's something much more malicious… much eviler."
Link instinctively ducked beside a nearby rock, he edged out a little to peer down the road leading to the fields. A large figure blocked his path, dressed in a mix of leather and iron armour he almost looked as massive and imposing as an Iron Knuckle. His blood red eyes pulsed with a dark energy as he snarled like a rabid beast. Given the precious little time he had left, Link armed his bow, recalling King Igos' final words, and equipped the Light Arrow he had found in the Stone Towers. He carefully aimed, aware that this man may only be cursed rather than a monster, and fired with precision.
Pain surged through every fibre of Onox's body as the holy light struck him with the intensity of lightning. The source of this blinding pain came from an arrow that struck his shoulder blade, narrowly missing his vital organs but positioned to incapacitate him. In that moment he felt his anger dim and his mind return to clarity. As he fell to his knees, a blue eyed boy with a golden fairy ran past. The boy said to him while he passed by "I'm sorry."