I had regained consciousness during the journey when I heard a metal gate loudly close, fear overwhelming me as I recalled what had transpired earlier. The past few hours had been utterly terrifying. I not only witnessed Dark being brutally beaten, but we were also forcibly separated, and I found myself in a place beyond my wildest imagination. A damp, unpleasant odor filled my nostrils, mingling with a pungent, decaying scent. As I struggled, attempting to free my hands, a hand reached out and yanked the bag covering my head, simultaneously tugging at my hair.
"Stop moving. You're not going anywhere," a voice warned me.
"Let me go!" I hissed through gritted teeth.
"Feisty, are you? You want to leave? Fine, then go," he retorted as he removed the bag, revealing our surroundings. We were enveloped in complete darkness, with only a faint light guiding our path. I couldn't even see my surroundings, yet I could sense this place was filled with evil, as I felt my energy drained and my breaths heavy. I heard a man chuckle.
Bound with my hands tied behind my back to the carriage, I had no choice but to comply with the captors' orders. Not being able to see the surroundings of our location only heightened the sense of dread that loomed over me.
During the long and tense journey, I took a moment to reflect on the ambush and the cryptic words of the men who had captured us. I hoped to glean some insight into their motives or origins, but my thoughts continually circled back to the blinding surge of light that had erupted, seemingly in response to an imminent threat. At that time, as my mind was grappling with what I was witnessing, a wave of emotions had swept over me - pain, fear, and anger. The image of Dark in peril, the desperate desire to help him, and the overwhelming need to thwart our assailants were all that consumed my thoughts. And then it happened. It was a phenomenon that baffled me, leaving me questioning whether I was capable of such a display of power. The very idea was confounding.
Then, it struck me like a bolt of lightning - the words the leader had uttered. He had been familiar with Dark, and had known about him. The realization coursed through me, connecting the dots of our predicament. It was evident that Dark had acquired enemies, and this ambush had been orchestrated with him as the target. It aligned with what Dark had previously shared about being pursued.
However, a perplexing detail remained. The leader had mentioned another name, a name I recognized - Link. I couldn't exactly recall when I had heard this name but the mention of Ganondorf's search for Link left me bewildered. Was this all a misunderstanding? Had Dark and Link been confused by our captors, entangled in a web of deceit that had led us to this dire situation?
As we ventured further into the unfamiliar territory, a conspicuous tall building came into view, radiating a brilliant light that starkly contrasted with the nearly engulfing gloom that blanketed the terrain.
Our journey came to an abrupt halt, my hands were untied and I was forcefully pulled from the carriage, then ushered forward toward the building's entrance. As I cautiously moved ahead, my gaze fixed upon a colossal statue positioned at the building's center, adorned with four piercing eyes. A sense of solitude washed over me as I surveyed the surroundings; I found myself entirely alone.
The thought of escape briefly crossed my mind a couple of times, but just as I mustered my courage to act, the statue's mouth widened, and a freakish figure emerged. This entity, possessing a tall and emaciated frame, had skin as dark and crinkled as burnt wood. Its intense, blood-red eyes bore into me, accompanied by a malevolent grin that revealed a set of dark and twisted teeth. It looked like a literal skeleton was walking towards me. It wasn't hylian anymore. It exuded an aura of darkness, and its very presence seemed to emit wisps of eerie smoke, shrouding it in an aura of gloom. The fear I felt in its proximity was overwhelming, almost as if an instinctive knowledge of my impending demise coursed through me. I was tired of feeling this way, always scared and worried, my senses always heightened, my mind always overthinking. It was draining. I didn't want to fight anymore, but I had to.
I instinctively sought to maintain the greatest possible distance between us. My heart pounding in my chest, my stomach in a knot, I knew this entity was powerful and evil. I observed him, in a broken laborious walk, slowly cross the room, his bare feet barely making a sound.
"Do you recognize me?" His harsh voice resonated bearing a touch of enigma and eeriness. "I mean, do you know who I am to you?... Zelda?" He inquired. I chose to remain silent, but I could tell he had discerned my surprise from the smirk that crept across his face. With his flowing crimson locks and the distinctive Gerudo jewelry gracing his neck, there was no doubt - this figure had to be Ganondorf, I assumed. He bore a striking resemblance to the historical depictions of him. His intense, wild gaze bore into me, and it was as if I could sense the burning intensity.
"I had the advantage of knowing your mother, such a beloved woman, so elegant, so formidable..." he continued, his tone soft and seemingly sincere. Yet, his words carried a hint of sarcasm, his mournful expressions appearing forced.
His gaze locked onto mine with an unsettling intensity, his satisfaction evident as a malicious grin twisted his features. "In fact, I summoned you for a purpose," he revealed, his words laden with an eerie sense of intent. "I require something from you... If you would be so kind as to offer me your life, that would be most agreeable."
In an instant, with a mere gesture of his hand, dark matter erupted from his palm, enveloping the entire room in an ominous shroud. However, as the swirling mass of darkness expanded, it seemed to slip from the man's grasp, spiraling out of his control. To my growing horror, it was now hurtling directly towards me.
Suddenly, in that moment of desperation, Dark miraculously appeared in my peripheral view amongst the smoke, and lunged forward, thrusting his dagger deep into the entity's form. The blade, bathed in the radiant glow of the luminous stone, pierced through the dark skin of our adversary. In response, its very essence exploded into an unending torrent of swirling, inky smoke. It spiraled and billowed like a tempest, filling the chamber with a malevolent presence.
Dark stood resolute, unwavering, even as the chaotic storm of shadows and smoke surged around him. The sheer power emanating from Ganondorf's disintegrating form was so overwhelming that it spawned furious winds, one that sent us hurtling backward, struggling to maintain our footing.
Reacting on pure instinct, I darted behind Dark, my fingers finding the hilt of the dagger, my hand aligning with his. Together, we pushed the weapon deeper into the gaping wound. Yet, as we did so, an excruciating heat coursed through our intertwined hands, a searing pain that threatened to consume us. I watched as a cyan light coursed through Dark's arm, causing his skin to flake and burn. The light shone brighter by the second, but before I could react, an abrupt and forceful surge blasted us away from Ganondorf's dissipating form. The dagger, now wrenched from our grasp, spiraled into the obsidian void that enveloped the chamber, leaving us utterly defenseless.
Darkness swallowed us whole, leaving me disoriented and struggling to make sense of our surroundings. Through the shroud of blackness, I strained to detect any flicker of light or glimmer of hope amidst the profound, all-encompassing void.
"Dark?'' I said as I stood up painfully. "Dark, are you okay?" Distant flickering lights cast a feeble glow that barely pierced the pervasive darkness of the room.
"Dark?" I heard someone chuckle. Slowly, as my eyes adjusted to the eerie illumination, a discernible shape began to form in the midst of the chamber. The silhouette took on a sinister aspect, revealing the menacing figure of Ganondorf, his presence half-solid, partially formed of smoke and shadow that swirled around him. In his malevolent grasp, Ganondorf clutched a broken and battered Dark. His body appeared to have borne the brunt of some terrible ordeal, his arm marred by what seemed to be burns, or perhaps an affliction from the events that had transpired. Strangely, an unnatural cyan hue tainted his arm, a disconcerting sight, though my immediate concern was for his well-being.
"Dark?!'' Ganondorf let out a loud laugh that resonated in the hollow room. ''You really thought you could change your name and become a new person? The darkness that enshrouds you isn't another person, Link, it's in you. All of the crimes, the cruelty, that was you. You cannot hide from it, and you never will!" His words dripped with malevolence.
"And you dare defy me, boy! I, the one who fostered you all these years, the one who took you in. Poor little kid you were, alone and scared. Your disobedience is repugnant."
At that moment, I felt my heart drop. So many things were going through my mind and my brain couldn't seem to process it. I stood there, cursing myself for finding myself in such situations. The man I had come to know, the one I had shared my journey with, had been working for the very enemy that sought to plunge all of Hyrule into darkness. And his name was Link?! So it was really him they were looking for. A profound sense of betrayal and hurt welled up within me. I had been utterly gullible as he had revealed his true nature from the very beginning and deep down, I had sensed it. But I chose to ignore my instincts, falling victim to his web of deceit and falsehoods.
The scene before me was a nightmarish tableau, an unholy fusion of darkness and torment. My heart ached with despair as I watched him, the man I had known as Dark, hang limply in Ganondorf's grip, a mere puppet to this malevolent entity. His throat was held in an iron grip, rendering him utterly defenseless. It was as if the sinister forces that swirled around had not only enveloped him but also infiltrated his very being, their maleficent tendrils insidiously creeping within him. He was being swallowed by the suffocating darkness emanating from Ganondorf, his very own leader. Confusion swirled within me like a tempest. If he had been loyal to Ganondorf all along, why would he have attempted to kill him?
The abyssal shadows consumed him, twisting his once familiar features into a nightmarish visage. His eyes, once a deep and reassuring hue, now glowed a menacing crimson, as if some malevolent force had wrested control of his very being. Ganondorf released his grip, allowing a battered form of Dark to step forward, each movement strained and agonized. It was as if an internal tempest raged within him, a battle of wills threatening to tear him asunder.
The frigid stone wall pressed against me, a cruel reminder of the unforgiving reality that surrounded us. A wave of sorrow washed over me, mingling with the dread that gripped my heart, as I braced myself for what seemed like the inevitable.
As he drew nearer, I couldn't tear my eyes away. His struggle was etched into every line of his form, a silent scream echoing through his twitching muscles, a testament to the inner torment he endured.
His hand reached out, finding its way to my face, the heat of his touch searing against my skin. I watched as he grasped his chest, pain etched across his features in a raw display. A surge of empathy coursed through me, mingling with the ever-present fear.
His body stiffened, and his trembling hand found its place against my cheek. For a fleeting moment, it was as if he was truly present within himself, the turmoil momentarily subsiding. With strained movements, his fingers dragged across my cheek before hovering at my neck, trembling with a tension that mirrored the chaos that raged within him. Staring into his eyes felt like peering into the very heart of Ganondorf's malevolence.
As his grip tightened, sealing my fate, I squeezed my eyes shut, unwilling to witness the darkness that threatened to engulf us both. The impending void was inescapable, yet even in that moment of impending doom, a spark of hope flickered within, a silent plea for a miracle to intervene.