Chapter 35: The Imprisoning War
"Alright, Zelda."
Link felt night-chilled stone beneath his feet. He stood on a smooth stone path through immaculate gardens, stonework interspersed with pristine hedges and trees, and artfully arranged flowerbeds, all bathed silver in the moonlight.
"We are alone, as you requested," Sonia went on, and Link noticed her walking away from the tall double doors leading into what must have been the palace. Zelda followed at some distance, and Link felt a prickling at the back of his neck as he noticed the cold expression on her face.
That's… not Zelda, he realized in alarm, the stab wound in his back stinging as if in response.
"What was it you wanted to discuss with me in private?" Sonia continued calmly, without turning around to face the puppet.
Link's heart lurched as he saw the puppet withdraw a knife from the folds of her dress – a wicked, curved blade, the very same one that he'd seen dripping with his own blood in Hyrule Castle's Sanctum. "Goddesses, no," he breathed, taking a half step forward and looking at Sonia desperately, hating his inability to intervene.
"You are far too trusting," the puppet smirked, flinging the blade towards the Queen of Hyrule's back. Link flinched, hissing as the wound in his back seemed to pulse with sympathetic pain –
But there was no startled cry from Sonia, only a soft chime. Link let out a relieved breath, seeing that the blade had been frozen midair, and his heart leapt as he saw the real Zelda step out from behind a pillar, golden magic wreathed around her hand.
"We know who you are, puppet of Ganondorf," Zelda told the lookalike fiercely. "You've been going around at night, testing out your powers, trying to convince everyone that you were me."
"Fortunately for those of us who know Zelda, you possess none of her warmth and kindness," Sonia said with a calm smile. "We've been aware of your deceit for quite some time, I'm afraid."
Link felt Sonia's words like a stab in the gut, acknowledging that he had been convinced by the puppet. She's… she's right. The puppet is nothing like Zelda, and all of the signs were there to tell me it wasn't her. I was… I was blinded by desperation, and… that almost killed me. Just like Ganondorf wanted. He groaned inwardly, pressing his palm to his forehead. It's just like Impa said – I can't just let myself be driven purely by emotion, when it comes to the people I care about.
Shame burned through his stomach, as he recalled how warmly Zelda had spoken of him to her newfound family. Seeing what actually happened to her… how could I have ever doubted her? How could I have underestimated her strength like that?
Zelda rewound time on the puppet's knife, sending it spinning back and clattering at her feet. The puppet looked at it disdainfully for a moment, and then a cruel smirk twisted her features and she began to laugh, red splotches appearing across her body and consuming her entirely until she dissolved into a floating cloud of blood-red magic. Eyes widening, Zelda hurried to move protectively in front of Sonia, but the cloud made no move to attack, instead disappearing entirely, leaving only the knife behind.
Then suddenly Sonia let out a terrible gasp, and Link spun to face her, his heart jolting as he spotted the bloodied tip of a katana protruding from the front of her dress, the hulking shape of Ganondorf behind her. "No!" he shouted, his voice mingling with Zelda's own despairing cry and Sonia's agonized scream as Ganondorf yanked his blade free and tore the necklace from Sonia's throat in the same fluid movement.
"Sonia!" Zelda exclaimed, her face bearing a devastated expression that Link had seen once before – his own near-death on Blatchery Plains. She rushed to the fallen queen's side, her eyes glittering with tears, as Ganondorf began to laugh, low and menacing, gripping Sonia's secret stone in his fist.
Link raced to put himself between Ganondorf and Zelda despite the burning in his back, his heart racing, feeling weak at the terrifying knowledge that whatever would happen, he was utterly powerless to try and stop it, no matter how he tried to act as a barrier. Rauru, where are you? Guards – someone – anyone!
But Ganondorf turned away, and Link recognized that he had what he wanted – a secret stone.
"Finally," the Gerudo man growled, lifting the stone skyward and grinning as red-tinged darkness spread across its pure surface. "Finally it is mine!" The stone floated up from his palm and affixed itself to his crown, and in the same moment, dark, bloodred tendrils of Gloom began rising up from his feet, and he gasped in astonishment. "I can feel my strength surging," he breathed, an almost giddy, unhinged note to his voice.
Link swallowed thickly, his heart pounding hard in his throat, spreading his arms defensively out to the side over Sonia and Zelda. Goddesses, please – don't let them just be struck down like this! Let me do something!
But Ganondorf's power seemed only to grow. Gloom engulfed his body, and dark wispy tendrils of magic floated up throughout the gardens as the sky turned an ominous red. A mighty cry tore from his lips, and the Gloom surged around him, swirling into a massive funnel spraying crimson sparks in every direction.
When it cleared, the Demon King turned around to face them with a wicked smirk.
Crevices in his skin, now black as ebony, shone a bright red. His hair billowed behind him, writhing crimson tendrils that reached down to his feet. His robes seemed burned into his flesh, cracked and sizzling with Gloom. Horns protruded from his brow, and claws burst from his fingers and toes. His eyes burned a bright, bestial yellow around slit pupils, the whites of his eyes turned charcoal black.
With a threatening grin, the Demon King stretched out his hand and raised it slowly skyward. A pillar of blood-red magic engulfed him and speared skyward before exploding, sending out writhing, fiery tendrils all across the nearby lands and beyond. Link stiffened as he heard monster cries tearing through the night, coming from the city and wilderness all around the palace.
Then at last Link heard the palace doors opening behind him. He turned around, begrudgingly accepting that he could do nothing, as the first King of Hyrule raced towards them.
"Sonia!" Rauru cried out in despair, kneeling at her side, his eyes wide with horror. Link's heart ached as he noticed the blood staining Sonia's dress red, and the puddle already forming beneath her, as her breaths grew weaker and weaker.
"You are too late, Rauru," the Demon King snarled, his voice oddly distorted, much closer to the way he sounded when Link had encountered him. "You took for granted the godlike power you had in your hands. Do you now see the potential you squandered? As for her… she is merely the first victim of your arrogance!"
Rauru's ears twitched as he tenderly stroked Sonia's colorless cheeks, and as he turned his gaze on the Demon King his lips curled back, revealing a deadly set of canid fangs.
"You tried to control me, Rauru, and you will die knowing you failed!" Ganondorf grinned.
"Ganondorf!" Rauru bellowed, surging back to his feet and charging towards the waiting Demon King with his third eye open and vibrating in sheer rage.
"Rauru!" Zelda exclaimed desperately, and the first King of Hyrule stopped abruptly. "Sonia needs you!"
But the Demon King was already preparing a familiar writhing orb of blood-red magic. Link's heart jumped as the magic shot forward, and Rauru brought his hands up at an angle, a familiar shield of light – much larger than the one Link had conjured – materializing and blocking the attack at once.
Ganondorf continued his attack, his brow furrowing as he funneled more evil magic towards the shield. Link noticed worriedly that it seemed as though Rauru was struggling to maintain it – Goddesses, as powerful as he is, even he can't stand beneath Ganondorf's magic!
And then Zelda's secret stone began to glow, and she, Sonia, and Rauru all disappeared into orbs of light that drifted steadily upwards and disappeared.
The blood-spattered garden scene faded away, and Link was left with the somber discovery of just how Ganondorf had gotten so familiar with Zelda's powers.
– his right arm pulsed painfully, the corruption within him sensing his inattention, sensing its master's power in his visions, but it could do nothing more than that. Link's own light magic, and of course the power of the Light Dragon beneath him, kept it from taking advantage of his unfocused, drifting mind –
Link found himself next in a stone building that felt cool, with stale, moist air implying it was underground. His eyes widened as he recognized the four masked figures standing next to Zelda and Mineru before Rauru.
The ancient sages. But… without their secret stones.
"King Rauru," the Sage of Water said gravely. "We just received word that the last free village in Gerudo Desert has fallen. At this rate, the Demon King's army will soon overwhelm us."
King Rauru did not visibly react to the news. Link noticed at once that his demeanor was different. There was a darkness to him now – anger, simmering just under the surface. And grief, deep as a Chasm, in his gaze.
Sonia… would not have survived that wound, Link thought, his heart aching. He had not known Sonia, other than her gentle guidance in his dreams, and he had known Rauru himself for only a few days, but he had seen how deeply they cared for each other – and how deeply Zelda had cared for them as well. Sonia's death would have been a devastating blow.
"I understand," Rauru said quietly, lowering his head. "Our only hope is for me to defeat the Demon King."
"Rauru," Mineru said, a pleading note to her voice. "He is not someone you can stop by yourself."
Rauru didn't look at her, his gaze forlorn and empty, fixed at nothing in particular on the ground. "I must try."
Mineru narrowed her eyes. "Look at me, brother," she said sternly. "And look around you. You are not alone. You have the Gerudo, Goron, Zora, and Rito leaders, as well as Zelda and I."
The regional leaders around her nodded their affirmation. Their green stone masks obscured their expressions, but they stood tall and determined. Zelda's face he could see, resolute and brave, and he felt his chest swell with love for her. She really is the perfect recipient for sacred magic that destroys evil, he thought, missing her fiercely. Once, she was motivated to fight the Calamity by duty alone, and the expectations of others. Now… now she fights because she knows it's the right thing to do, and because she loves the people she's protecting.
Rauru dipped his head solemnly, as if bowing to his companions. When he raised his head, there was a new spark in his gaze. "There's something I'd like to show you all," he said mysteriously, and beckoned them to the back of the room, where two great stone doors joined by a dragon ring loomed. Link frowned, recognizing the shape – it was the same style of door at the entrance of the original Temple of Time.
A familiar green crest made of light appeared within the dragon ring, and Rauru activated it with his right hand, a motion Link was so familiar with by now that it felt strange seeing someone else do it, as if he was watching an echo of himself. He glanced down at his own right hand, his skin prickling uncomfortably at the realization that Rauru had just used that very same hand to open these great double doors underground.
Weird. In so many ways.
Link followed the leaders of Hyrule into the next room, recognizing at once four secret stones, unclaimed and shining a bright white, hovering over seven oblong stones jutting out from the ground around a large white and green waterlily carved from stone.
"Zonai secret stones," the Goron leader murmured in awe.
Rauru turned to face them, the secret stones at his back. "Stand with me," he asked solemnly. "I need all your aid."
One by one the leaders of Hyrule each stepped up to a stone, and held out their hands to accept it. White stones flashed to blue, red, green, and yellow, familiar Zonai characters engraving themselves upon the otherwise unblemished surfaces as the sages awakened.
"We all," the sages said in unison, hands over their hearts, bowing their heads in Rauru's direction, "gathered here, swear on our lives, to serve Rauru, the King of Hyrule and Sage of Light."
– the Light Dragon was flying faster now, weaving through the sky with purpose. Link fought to hold on to the golden strands of its mane, icy winds rushing all around him, wondering what it could be so urgently driven by –
Rauru knelt in the chamber that once had held secret stones, before a narrow, oblong boulder lying in freshly turned earth, surrounded by a ring of rocks. Tenderly he placed a flower in the middle of the ring – a five-petalled blossom that glowed a warm, gentle gold, similar in shape to the Silent Princess flower.
"Sonia," Rauru murmured, his voice aching with grief, and Link realized that the grave was the queen's.
I… was right. She's dead. He felt a tightness in his chest, staring at the grave and the flower so similar to a Silent Princess, and for a moment imagined that it was a Silent Princess, that the grave belonged to another royal of Hyrule, and his eyes prickled with tears as he clutched a hand to his chest.
Goddesses, may it never be so, he prayed painfully. You – you know I would sacrifice myself instead of her in a heartbeat! Please… please don't take her in this place where I can't save her!
He swallowed, his heart twisting as he heard soft footfalls and saw Zelda herself coming up behind them.
"King Rauru," she greeted quietly, deep concern in her eyes, and the first King of Hyrule turned to look at her. "Before we face the Demon King tomorrow, there is something I must tell you." She averted her gaze, her brow deeply furrowed. "I came… I came to this era after finding a man underground."
Link felt as though the underground room had instantly gotten much colder. She knows. She's… she's figured it out now.
In a brief instant he saw again their first encounter with the Demon King, withered away to little more than a corpse… held in place by a disembodied arm leaking spirals of green magic. Zonai magic. Rauru's arm.
And in that moment, he wondered whether it was truly a blessing for Zelda to have come to the past and be welcomed into Rauru's family. Link had known that the arm was Rauru's, but this was the first moment, here in his visions of the past, that the knowledge seemed truly to permeate his mind with understanding.
She gained a father and a mother, and now she's going to lose them both. It seemed a brutally cruel fate, to give her a taste of the belonging she had once so desperately craved, only to snatch it away so shortly after.
"Go on," Rauru prompted, his voice grim.
"When I witnessed what the secret stone did to Ganondorf… at that moment, I knew for sure," Zelda said, her voice pained. "What we found underground – that was him! He was still alive… still powerful…" She swallowed, looking at Rauru desperately, her eyes glittering. "He continues to live on, all the way until my time! In tomorrow's battle, no matter how strong we think we are, we won't be able to defeat him. He'll survive!" Her gaze dropped again, only to fall upon Rauru's right arm, and she closed her eyes tightly, tears squeezing past her eyelashes. "And – and you will…"
Rauru lifted his right hand and placed it comfortingly on her shoulder, his expression somber but kind. "Maybe so," he murmured, nodding slowly. "But it is my duty to try." He exhaled quietly. "It was my hubris that set us on this path. I must atone for my error in judgement… for Sonia's sake. And above all else… I remain the King of Hyrule. As with any leader, it is my duty to safeguard and protect my people, even if I must give my life."
Link regarded Rauru consideringly. This man has lost his wife, watched his kingdom fall to ruin, and was just told that his battles will prove fruitless.
And… he's determined to continue the fight anyway. Not out of anger or hatred, or a desire for revenge, but to protect those he cares about.
It was a concept Link had thought he understood well, after fighting the Calamity and nearly giving his life. Yet here and now, watching Rauru's actions, he felt that he was gaining new insight into what it meant to protect – what it meant to lead.
I… I always had some hope that it would all be worth it in the end. That after everything, Zelda and I would get married, have a family, live out a quiet, peaceful life after everything we've been through. And the vision of that future – it drives me to fight, to continue on no matter what.
Rauru… doesn't have that future. He has nothing to gain, personally, from waging war against the Demon King. At the end of it all, even if he wins, Sonia will still be dead.
And he is determined to fight anyway.
"If, after all we can do, it proves impossible to fight Ganondorf," Rauru continued, his voice firm with hope, "we rely on your knight, and that legendary sword he carries. Our last line of defense will be Link."
Link's insides squeezed at Rauru's words, a deep sense of shame and inadequacy filling him like acid. I can't do that, he thought. I can't… I can't fill those shoes, Rauru. I couldn't do what you are doing. And Ganondorf has beaten me so many times already…
Zelda did not look the least bit comforted, and Link could guess what was going through her mind. The last thing she saw of me was my arm being destroyed, and the Master Sword shattering, he recalled, his chest tight. She… doesn't even know that I'll survive that.
Rauru tilted his head slightly, concern in his gaze. "Remember how much you've grown since coming here," he advised her. "You're stronger, more confident than you were at first. And with your dedicated practice and study, your magic has grown in power as well. Zelda… I believe there is a reason you were sent to us. It has to mean something."
He offered her an encouraging smile, lightly squeezing her shoulder before moving past her, out of the chamber that had become Sonia's resting place, leaving behind the grave and the warm, golden flower.
Zelda's eyes were wide and unseeing, a sudden look of stunned realization across her features. She blinked, her lips slightly parted. "The reason… I am here," she echoed slowly, and Link's breath caught, his heart beating faster in worry and dread –
– the Light Dragon's speed was slowing, enough that Link managed to lift himself up off of its back enough to peer over the side of its body, down at the lands below. He could see Death Mountain far below, and a geoglyph painted across one of the rocky crags clawing upwards, the image of a sword with an unmistakable winged crossguard –
Link's arm prickled as he investigated his new surroundings – a dark chamber that stank of Gloom, with rings of stone across the ground. The Demon King himself stood in the center of the chamber, a cruel grin on his face as he slowly lowered his hand, presumably after a successful magical attack.
Glancing behind himself, Link cringed as he took in the sight of the sages – bruised, scratched up, black markings across their clothes like a weaker version of the Gloom attack that had destroyed his arm. They were all leaning heavily on their weapons, their breaths strained, clearly at the limits of their strength. Link's heart lurched as he spotted Zelda leaning against a wall, feeling a stab to the heart as he caught sight of the blood oozing slowly from scrapes across her face and shoulders, and he rushed to her side, feeling a choked sound that was almost a sob clawing its way from his throat at his ongoing inability to do a single damn thing to protect her.
Though Rauru looked every bit as battered and tired as the rest of them, he still somehow exuded a calm sense of determination. His gaze determinedly fixed on Ganondorf, he raised his hands at an angle with his fingertips pressed together, the now-familiar sign of his magic.
At once the other sages leapt into action. Much to Link's surprise they threw their weapons at the Demon King, and somehow he dodged blade, cudgel, arrow, and trident. Then Zelda flung out her hands, golden magic springing to life in her palms, and the weapons hurtled backwards.
"I've seen this before, Rauru!" Ganondorf snarled, turning his back slightly to evade the attacks now coming from behind.
"That pride will be your downfall, Ganondorf!" the first King of Hyrule exclaimed, and Link's eyes widened as his right arm shone a bright, pure green, Zonai characters spiraling in rings around his hand as his secret stone gleamed white. Even as Ganondorf hurriedly spun to face him head on once more, Rauru's fist met the center of his chest with a devastating crack. Rings of green light burst from Rauru's arm and circled rapidly around the two of them before spearing into Ganondorf's chest and vanishing with a pulse of light like a heartbeat and a soft chime of magic.
Rauru's eyes narrowed. His hand flashed blindingly bright for a moment, and then tendrils of black and red Gloom rushed into him with unsettling speed, and Link took a step forward in horror, clenching his fist absently. Rauru's thick mane of hair danced as if driven by a fierce wind, and in the next instant, a spiraling green light burst from his back, winding its way upwards like a cyclone.
Ganondorf groaned through clenched teeth, his demonic eyes burning with hatred. "You – bind my heart," he grunted. "And – steal my magic… You plan to hold me here! What a clever way to solve your problems." A pained smirk twisted his lips. "But – are you ready to pay the price for this?"
"Don't be so smug," Rauru growled. "I know exactly what it will cost me."
"Rauru!" Zelda cried out desperately, stepping forward as if to go to him, but the Sage of Lightning held out her arm to stop her.
Ganondorf laughed grimly, as the strands of Gloom flooding into Rauru's hand and the spiraling green magic shooting from Rauru's back began to slow. "Thousands of years will pass in the blink of an eye… you only delay the inevitable."
"You're wrong," Rauru said, his voice grim but bright with hope. "Years from now, someone will appear with the sword that seals the darkness."
Link felt his heart lurch, a whirlwind of emotions he couldn't name flooding him at the faith in the first King of Hyrule's voice.
"A swordsman with the power to defeat you," Rauru continued fiercely. "Link." His eyes narrowed. "Remember this name."
Ice dripped down Link's spine. His heart pounded rabbit-fast.
That's… that's how he knows my name, Link thought numbly, his mouth dry. And… that's why Ganondorf was so quick to attack me when we first came across him, and why he made such a big deal about my knowing his name. It was revenge – revenge for what Rauru did.
And indeed, the Demon King's grin widened. "Link," he echoed thoughtfully, his voice dripping with malice even as the life and color began to drain from both himself and Rauru. "Interesting… I look forward… to meet…ing… him…"
He went still, his face frozen in a final cold grin, and Link shivered.
That you certainly did, he thought bitterly, his arm prickling. He bit his lip, looking at the pair of them, petrified in the pose that he and Zelda would eventually discover them in, Rauru's arm glowing bright green and magic spiraling steadily upwards out of his body.
Thousands of years, indeed… you held him for just long enough, Rauru. Even if, by then, nothing was left of the first King of Hyrule but his arm.
– he felt a deep, bitter sense of failure like bile in his gut, remembering Ganondorf's words at their first meeting – "Rauru placed his faith in you, and that was all you could do?"
But Link had survived – he would continue the fight, he would not give up, Ganondorf would fall, he still had a chance; he just had to find the Master Sword and pray it was enough this time –
Zelda was standing in a large room with a high ceiling and an altar in the center, massive gears turning at the back. The Temple of Time, Link realized, swallowing back a mixture of dread and curiosity.
"We managed to restrain him somehow," she murmured, clasping her hands in front of her and gazing at the altar. Her brow furrowed deeply over her grim eyes. "But, Link… I am not sure you'll be able to stop him."
Link's heart leapt hopefully, and he jogged closer. "Zelda?" he called out, looking towards her. "Do you… can you hear me?"
She didn't react, and he sighed quietly, running a hand through his hair. No – of course not. She's… she's just talking.
She knelt at the altar for several moments, lifting her hands in prayer, her eyes closed. Then she arose, steely determination in her gaze, and set out for the gears leading to the back of the temple – the same route Link had taken, so long ago now, when the Master Sword disappeared. His heart tightened as he followed her.
The Temple of Time was not airborne, as he had known it to be. A lush field of grass and wildflowers stretched out on either side of the long path leading to the altar outside.
Zelda inhaled deeply, holding out both of her hands over the alter. "You survived, Link," she murmured. "I know it. You were… you were wounded, but I must have hope that you overcame those wounds, that you'll return to fight the Demon King. But the Master Sword…" She swallowed, a crease appearing between her brows. "Sonia said… that to utilize my time magic, I must think about an object's memory. Ask the object where it was, how it got there… and coax it back to its original position. Could I… could I do that backwards? If I knew exactly where an object was at a given point, could I coax it to travel through time, to me?"
She drew in another deep breath, her eyes closed once more, and her secret stone flared to life as she gathered up an orb of golden magic between her hands, above the altar of the Temple of Time. "Find me," she murmured. "Goddesses, please… lead him to this place. Let him find me here…"
Link stood at her shoulder, studying the orb of light, remembering how he had seen it glowing over the altar of the Temple of Time in the current day. He had placed the Master Sword inside, as per the sacred blade's request –
And now here, in the past, the Master Sword appeared, summoned by Zelda's powers over time, and fell lightly into her outstretched hands. A tear dripped at once down her cheeks, an expression of fear and heartbreak passing briefly over her face. "So I was right," she murmured, her voice barely audible.
The Master Sword chimed lightly, and a small smile stretched Zelda's lips. "You're telling me… that Link is safe?" she echoed. "You helped him know what to do… so that you could find me, and… recover your strength…"
She nodded slowly, her lips pressed tightly together. "I know why I am here," she whispered, closing her eyes briefly. When they opened, they were filled with tears and determination. "It's… something only I can do. We will finally stop him." She gripped the Master Sword's hilt in both hands, closing her eyes tightly as it chimed comfortingly at her, flashing blue. "I'll be… forever changed."
"No," Link whispered, his voice raw, taking a step forward. "No, Zelda, you – you don't – you just pulled the Master Sword thousands of years into the past! You –" His voice cracked. "You are strong enough to send yourself back!"
"Link," she called out, her voice clear and determined, and his blood turned to ice as he recognized the tone with which she spoke and knew exactly what she would say next. "You must find me."
– it hadn't actually been her voice, in the present, when she said those words. The discovery cut him to the core – that which he had used as evidence that she was here, now, could no longer be treated as such. It had been merely an echo, just as Rauru had said – an echo of words she had uttered long, long ago in the past, looking forward into the future –
Link found himself in another familiar location – Mineru's library, looking entirely unchanged from the last time he had been there, complete with the tea-brewing steward constructs. He looked around with rising, nauseating dread, his heart pounding wildly, finding Zelda standing before the Mineru with the Master Sword gripped in her hands. His stomach dropped to his toes as he recalled what the Zonai woman had said previously – "There are stories, about the secret stones and a forbidden act called draconification."
"So you're saying that sword traveled through time the same way you did?" Mineru said, squinting at the ruined sacred blade. She didn't seem to be in particularly good condition; her skin was still marred black and red in places by Gloom.
Zelda nodded. "I believe so," she said. "I knew that I could likely get the sword to a certain location, and coax it back in time, to where I was standing." She swallowed. "The secret stones impart some knowledge, and a surge of power upon first accepting one. In the moments leading up to my acceptance of the stone, some part of me knew, I think, that I would soon be somewhere else entirely. And when I touched the secret stone, and felt that surge of power… I knew where I would be. I took myself back in time, where Sonia and Rauru would find me."
Link's mouth felt dry as he remembered her shift in behavior as they had neared Ganondorf's resting place. "That green light in the distance… I'm having the strangest sensation," she had told him. And then, moments later, "I have this feeling that we need to continue – that something disastrous will happen if we don't… Please – trust me."
It had been Impa who said that he and Zelda were both 'spiritually attuned.' Surely… if the Goddesses had been trying to tell him and Zelda something about how to defeat the Demon King… she was the one they would reach out to first.
So… that's how it all happened. Zelda… took herself back through time.
"So you can return home," Mineru said, smiling tiredly. "You figured it out – excellent!"
"Not… not quite," Zelda murmured, her gaze drifting across the ravaged blade. "In my original time, the Demon King was vulnerable to even the smallest piece of this sword. We can't just leave it broken."
Mineru's eyes widened. "Even… someone like him has vulnerabilities," she realized. "And… he's vulnerable to this sword, but… it doesn't seem to be in great condition. Is there a way to fix it?"
Zelda nodded, biting her lip. "Over time, the Master Sword is able to absorb sacred power. It can heal itself – and even grow stronger."
Link's chest felt tight as she echoed the Great Deku Tree's words. And… the Master Sword itself assured me it was going into sacred power to grow stronger.
"Curious," Mineru hummed. "If we were able to empower it in that way, it could be the key to defeating the Demon King. How long would it take?"
Zelda winced. "I've seen the sword damaged once before," she said. "It took a century to heal, and… in that time, it was not able to grow stronger, and ultimately it was the Demon King's power that reduced it to this state."
"So it would take well more than a century for it to grow strong enough to stand against the Demon King's power," Mineru sighed, shaking her head in disappointment. "I do not see how this could be done. It would be impossible for you to provide it with sacred power for so long."
"I can… think of one way," Zelda said quietly, resting her fingers on her secret stone.
Mineru gasped, surging forward in her chair. "You mean…"
"Yes," Zelda acknowledged softly. "I can do it. I have to."
"I've told you!" Mineru exclaimed desperately, and Link prayed she would be successful in dissuading Zelda, fully aware that she was perhaps the only one capable of doing so. "That act is forbidden for a very good reason! It would mean throwing yourself awa– " She doubled over, clutching her chest, coughing hard, blood spattering against her hands.
"Mineru!" Zelda said, rushing forward and shifting the Master Sword to one hand to help Mineru back down to her chair.
Mineru closed her eyes wearily, breathing hard. "You… won't be able to change back," she croaked.
Zelda nodded somberly. "The moment I had the sword, I knew what to do," she murmured. "I knew this was why I came to this era." She met Mineru's gaze resolutely. "I will restore the Master Sword, and deliver it to Link."
Mineru looked at Zelda pleadingly, her expression stricken with grief. At last she looked away. "I understand," she whispered. "You really… have made up your mind?"
Zelda nodded.
"Very well then," Mineru sighed, and Link's hopes plummeted. "As a Zonai, I bear my share of blame for these events. So I too will devote myself to this goal, and to this hero of yours. For the swordsman Link, I will do everything I can. When my body perishes, I will still be with you in spirit. We worked together on that construct made to house my spirit, using my secret stone. I can preserve my spirit long enough to make it to your time."
Zelda shook her head. "I appreciate it, Mineru," she said. "But… Rauru and Sonia's children need someone to take care of them now, to help them grow into the wise leaders of Hyrule they must be. They need you much more than I do."
Mineru nodded slowly. "Of… of course. I can do that." She smiled sadly. "They'll really miss their favorite auntie, you know."
Zelda returned the smile, tears glittering in her eyes. She blinked several times and continued. "I have already spoken to the other sages," she said. "They will help awaken new sages in my original time. And they will construct layers of protection, to hide away their secret stones until the time is right for those sages to awaken. I… I feel that you should do the same, instead of using your construct. I've seen the Demon King use his power to corrupt machines, even those connected to an individual's spirit and… it can be devastating."
"I understand," Mineru nodded, although she seemed disappointed. "I'll keep working on the construct, see if I can make it impenetrable to such an attack, but… I will honor your request, and make sure my secret stone is safe and hidden before I die."
"Thank you, Mineru," Zelda said warmly, smiling. "And… for what it's worth, you're my favorite aunt."
Mineru chuckled. "At least that one makes sense," she said sadly. "You're quite the great-great-great-great-great-great-grand niece."
– they were nearing the Rist peninsula, a spiraling stretch of land near Tarrey Town; Link had always wondered about its bizarre shape –
Zelda was alone when Link saw her next, standing once more at the altar outside of the Temple of Time. The Master Sword lay across the altar, and Zelda looked at it intently, her gaze calm and determined.
"Link," she whispered, and he limped to her side despite the pain in his back, his heart beating wildly as the dread writhing in his soul reached a new peak. "I will restore the Master Sword for you." Her voice shook slightly. "I will care for it until the time comes. I will pour my sacred power into it – it will be the weapon that defeats the Demon King."
She took the secret stone from her necklace and held it in her cupped hands. Link's heart lurched, his breaths coming fast and painful, and desperately he gripped her shoulders. "Zelda," he said, his voice raw and pained. "Zelda, please – you can't do this! Take it to the Great Deku Tree – he healed it in a century; maybe he could help it gain power too! You – you could at least ask him!"
She closed her eyes, deaf to his voice.
He swallowed thickly, his soul burning with grief and despair at his inability to intervene. Goddesses, please! I'll do anything! I'll do anything, you know I will – don't take her like this! There were tears burning in his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight, his breaths short and ragged.
"Please don't," he whispered into her hair. "Please, Zelda, don't do this. I'm begging you – please."
His heart hammered violently in his throat as he brought his shaking hands to her shoulders once more, peering desperately at her closed eyes.
She opened her eyes, determined. "For you," she breathed, and brought the secret stone to her mouth –
"No!" Link exclaimed, as a sudden fierce wind began to blow, dark clouds gathering to obscure the stone. He watched Zelda desperately, his heart squeezing as her eyes darted rapidly to and fro, a queasy expression on her face.
All at once a powerful blast of magic and light radiated from her chest, sending him flying flat onto his back with a cry of pain hissed through his teeth. He scrambled back to his feet, sucking down a sharp gasp at the sight of her hovering slightly off of the ground, her back arched sharply, her arms spread out to the side, her secret stone glowing visibly beneath her skin. "Zelda!" he shouted, rushing towards her as she clutched desperately at her chest, gasping for breath, her face twisted in a mask of unimaginable pain. She flung a trembling hand out desperately for the Master Sword, and her fingers met the hilt as Link reached her side.
"Link!" she choked out, her voice strained and terrified.
"I'm here," he managed, his vision smearing through his tears as he wrapped his arms around her. She burned to the touch, burned as if she were the sun itself, but he was far past caring about any of his own physical discomfort. He held her tightly, the Master Sword between them. "I'm – I'm here, Zelda."
She opened her eyes wide, meeting his gaze, looking more frightened and pained than he had ever seen, and for a moment it seemed that she truly saw him. "Save us all," she whispered, her green irises swirling dizzyingly and the whites of her eyes turning violet.
And then an orb of light engulfed her entirely, and Link was completely blinded. He felt her torn from his grasp and cried out, reaching out even though he could not see. Then he heard a familiar great, deep-throated roar, close enough that his ears rang. Despair crashed like an ocean wave over his shoulders and his knees buckled; he craned his neck skyward and watched as the Light Dragon raced into the sky, a beautiful streak of blue and gold and white winding steadily upwards, higher and higher until she disappeared beyond the clouds.
Leaving Link staring at the empty sky on his knees, alone.