Link clambered up onto the platform and shook himself off. He wasn't sure what Mipha had treated his armor with when she'd made it, but whatever it was made water slide right off. It made swimming easier than ever and even kept him warm to some extent.

Sidon slapped the water, and he turned to face the Zora prince. "This is as far as I can take you, Link. I'll head back to the Domain and help repel the invaders. Show the enemy no fear."

"Thank you," Link said with a smile. "If it would be possible, could you keep an eye on Midoriya, Ashido, and Yaoyorozu? They've never been part of a large battle before, and while they're more than capable of defending themselves, I still worry."

"But of course!" Sidon flashed his signature grin before a shadow crossed his face. "And Link? Finish the job."

Link opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. Instead, he nodded and saluted, clapping a fist to his chest. Sidon returned the salute before twisting around and diving back into the depths. Link watched the ripples for a moment before steeling himself and turning.

He let his eyes run down Ruta's side, taking in the lines and trying to get a feel for the environment. In many ways, the Divine Beast resembled the Sheikah shrines. All the surfaces were made of the same shiny black material covered in the same twisting brass-gold filigree, except a hundred times more massive and shaped into an elephant. Unlike the shrines, however, piles (mounds? Banks? Gobs?) of Malice dotted the surface, an outward manifestation of the corruption that had filled the Divine Beast.

He slowly started to walk forward, still taking everything in. On the far side of the platform, a massive archway opened into Ruta's body. The inside seemed to be a combination of waterfalls and more Sheikah architecture, but he couldn't see it clearly enough to get a full picture.

And then there was the platform itself. As he slowly strode across, he realized that it was, in fact, a giant Teleport sigil, though it was currently inert. The central pad where people would materialize wasn't lit currently, though if he had to guess… Yes, there was a pedestal nearby. He quickened his pace and slipped over to it. No wonder he hadn't noticed it sooner; it blended into the wall behind it.

The pedestal lit up as he approached, glowing with the orange of inactivity. When he slipped the Slate into place, it performed the familiar whirring and spinning before lighting up blue. Behind him, he heard the pad activate, and he nodded to himself. He could bring in reinforcements if needed. He knew that normal people weren't supposed to be able to pilot the Divine Beasts, but he didn't know if that extended to being on them.

As he slipped the Slate back onto his belt, he heard the faintest of whispers, almost so quiet that he missed it. After a moment, it repeated. "Link… you're here."

Link's throat suddenly felt very tight. "M-Mipha? Is that you?"

The voice—Mipha's voice—was just as soft and refined as he remembered it. She sighed in that way of hers, and he could hear the smile on her face as she said, "Oh, it is you. Yes, dear one, it is me. I am so happy to see that this day has finally arrived."

Link glanced around, but didn't see her anywhere. "So… you are dead then."

"I am. I… am sorry, Beloved." Silence rushed back in as Mipha stopped talking, but before Link could respond, she continued. "Forgive me, I lost my composure. Now that you're here, Ruta can be freed from Ganon's control."

"And you."

She laughed, the sound like the rushing of a stream. "Beloved, you wound me. Ganon may have imprisoned me, but he will never control me."

"I never doubted it for a moment." Link straightened and felt a strange, almost giddy warmth, like a small fire, kindle in his chest. "You know the territory; guide me."

"You'll need a map to prevent you from getting lost. The guidance stone in the next room contains the information that you will need. I will be with you as much as I can, though I dare not stay too long, lest Ganon discover your presence prematurely."

Mipha's voice faded away, though Link thought he could still detect a glimmer of her presence. He grimly equipped his sword and shield and activated them, casting a ring of cool blue light around him as the ancient weapons sprang to life, before carefully advancing into the entryway.

Inside, a wide, two-tiered ramp ran up into the central chamber. Malice coated the top, jutting upwards in odd pillars and blocking any passage. In the center, a singular, orange eye extended from the mass, watching him.

He glanced at the walls of the ramp, but quickly dismissed climbing past. He needed to purge the infection, and besides, Sheikah walls were impossible to climb when they weren't wet. He could poke it, but he didn't really want to get too close to the thing. However, he could shoot it.

As the idea settled in his head, he slowly swapped his weapons out, keeping a careful watch on the eyeball. It neither looked away nor blinked, almost as if it was trying intently to take in everything that he was doing. It retained that same look up until his arrow embedded itself in the iris, causing the thing to swell up and explode in a cloud of Malice, taking the rest of the barrier with it.

Link waited for the cloud to clear before cautiously advancing up into the room—and immediately firing another arrow into the eye of a Guardian scout as it whirred to life. The machine clattered to the ground. Link nodded to himself and drew another arrow while scanning the room.

It was a large, open chamber of a design that didn't make a whole lot of sense to him. To his left a pool of water covered the floor, though there seemed to be some kind of walkway in the center leading to a gated archway covered in Malice. On the far side of the room, another doorway led back outside, and to his right was yet another door with a ramp leading downward.

Above him, a massive water wheel made from the same gold-bronze material stood locked in place. He could just make out something glowing in its center, but he had no idea what it was yet. He had time enough to figure that out, though. First, he needed to find that guidance stone.

A subtle nudge from Mipha that felt like someone had poked his brain directed him to the left, and he obediently marched over that way, splashing through the watery basin until he stood in front of the gate. From here, he could see that the Malice had cemented it in place—unfortunate, because the guidance stone was just on the other side.

'So I need to clear the Malice first. I'm willing to bet… yes, there's another eye.'

The eye in question was watching him from just below the waterline. He would have missed it entirely if it hadn't blinked as he was looking at it. He stepped back, took aim, and released.

Once the Malice cleared, he stowed his bow and returned to examining the gate. It was, for everything he could see, a simple lift gate, though he doubted he was strong enough to lift it himself. He glanced down at the bottom again and noticed that it stopped just short of the waterline. 'I wonder…'

Almost idly, he pulled out the Slate, selected Cryonis, and activated the rune. A pillar of ice rose out of the pool and pushed the gate into the ceiling. He would have smiled, but he had a sneaking suspicion that the Divine Beast was far more like the shrines than he had originally realized, and he hated the fact. Still, there wasn't anything for it but to work with what he had. He slipped past the ice and into the small guidance chamber, where he inserted the Slate.

[Sheikah Slate authenticated. Distilling map of Divine Beast.]

The familiar blue text lit up on the guidance stone, streaming down toward the Slate. The liquid information coalesced and dropped, and the same mechanical voice confirmed what Link already knew.

[Map of Divine Beast distilled. Divine Beast controls have been enabled.]

Divine Beast controls? He picked up the Slate and pulled up the map. It looked more like a schematic, with a handful of glowing points on it and a series of floating purple notches above the schematic.

"Good, you've obtained the map of the Divine Beast. You should see several glowing points on the map; those represent terminals that control Ruta. There are five auxiliary terminals and one command terminal; you will need to activate the auxiliaries first."

Mipha spoke in a quiet rush, but placed each word with the care that he had come to recognize from her upbringing. As soon as she had finished, she lapsed into silence once more, leaving him to examine the map. From what it was saying, the first terminal was directly behind him. He stashed the map and went back into the main room.

On the wall opposite him, next to the ramp leading down to what he could only assume was the command terminal, was a large metal crank attached to a set of gears. A set of chains wound around the top gear before stretching down into another pool of water.

"You've got to be kidding me," Link groaned. The crank extended over the pool as well, and there was no way he could reach it without some help. He pulled out his Slate and swapped over to Magnesis and—yup, the crank was magnetic. He latched onto it and spun it around a few times, retracting the chains and slowly raising a platform with what looked like the top half of a guidance stone on it. He got the platform up to the point that he could activate the terminal before deciding that was enough and releasing the crank.

"Calamity take these ancient Sheikah and their need to stick their little gimmicks in everything."

Mipha snorted, but otherwise didn't offer any comment. He tapped the Slate to the terminal and the blank pillar lit up, intricate blue lines running from the base up to the top, which blinked a solid blue.

[Sheikah Slate authenticated.]

Only four more to go. He slipped the Slate out and started to open the map, but then hesitated. "Mipha? I know you said you can't talk much, but can you point me in the right direction?"

The warm feeling in his chest expanded, and he felt a tugging sensation toward the only other exit from the room. He glanced around the rest of the room before jogging across and out. He still wanted to check the command terminal, but that could wait until he'd finished everything else.

The doorway led out onto a small platform and ramp that led up to the next level. More patches of Malice dotted the path and wall. Beyond the ramp, he had an excellent view of the western side of the lake. He stopped for a moment as he caught sight of something dark and shadowy leap down from one of the ridgelines. Whatever it was, it must have been big if he could see it from here. 'I hope everyone's all right.'

Mipha gently tugged again, and he reluctantly turned away and continued up the ramp. It was still hard to let go and acknowledge that he couldn't be everywhere. Poking around in a monument to his failure didn't make it any easier.

As he neared the top, a feeling of caution flooded his awareness. "Guardian scout. Around the corner. On standby, but armed."

Link nodded grimly and ignited his sword again. It was time to move fast. He edged up to the doorway, took a deep breath, and then darted into the room.

The Guardian reacted immediately. Its eye ignited, and it extended upwards to release its weapon.

Link didn't plan on giving it that chance. He lunged forward and impaled the robot in the center of its head.

FFFZZZZT-POP!

The light in the Guardian's eyes dimmed, flickering between blue and pink. Link twisted the sword in place before wrenching it from side to side. The scout's head tumbled from its torso, and the entire robot collapsed.

He waited for a moment, shield raised, but the robot didn't move. "Another one down," he sighed in relief. "Thanks, Love."

Warmth replaced the cold caution as he lowered his shield and surveyed the second floor. Probably twice the size as the first room, with two gears; the locked one he had spotted earlier, and one that was being turned via a spout of water gushing out of a duct. Behind the duct was a large platform covered by a half dome—Ruta's back, if he had to guess. Rather than being sealed, Ruta's spine and back were missing, leaving the central wheel exposed to the elements.

From where he was standing, he could see three of the remaining four terminals. Two were within the gears—water wheels, he realized—and one was up on a platform where Ruta's head should be. Her brain, he guessed. He couldn't see the last one, but he had the feeling it would be somewhere ridiculous.

By far the closest was the one in the spinning waterwheel. He watched it for a moment, trying to figure out what could possibly have possessed the designers to put it there, before shrugging and looking for a solution.

The easiest thing would be to stick a Cryonis block underneath one of the blades, but he had the feeling it would shatter from the pressure. Maybe he could freeze the water flow? He swapped his sword for the Slate, thumbed over to Cryonis, and waved it at the spout.

KA-THUNK

The wheel ground to a halt as the water froze, the terminal suspended from the top. He allowed himself a small smirk as he broke the ice block and let the wheel start spinning again. The smirk grew into a full smile when he froze the water again, freezing the wheel with the terminal resting in a pool of water.

"Maybe this won't be so bad," he murmured as he sloshed through the pool. He tapped the Slate to the terminal and watched it light up.

[Sheikah Slate authenticated.]

As the voice faded, several loud thunks echoed through the Divine Beast. Link jerked around, searching for the source.

"Oh no," Mipha gasped, her mental voice sounding muffled. "Ruta's defenses are coming back online. Reactivating the terminals is required to restore her, but plagued by Ganon as she is, the defenses are reacting negatively to your presence."

"Wonderful," he grumbled. "Since I'm apparently a plague, can you warn me of any surprises?"

He didn't wait for a response, instead slogging through the water to the other side of the room. On this side, he had a much better look at the central wheel. A walkway extended out from the wall toward the center, right up to the terminal. It looked like the wheel was designed similarly to the first and had, by sheer, dumb luck, stopped in the correct position when the water was shut off.

It looked like the only way to get to it was to get up to the next floor. Link didn't see any stairs or ramps in the chamber, so he assumed that the way forward was out through the opposite door. Remembering Mipha's warning, he walked back over to the Guardian he'd just downed and rifled around in its exposed torso for a moment before grunting in satisfaction and extracting the hilt of another sword.

Feeling a little more comfortable with another of these ancient marvels in hand, he hooked it onto his belt and fished out the old one. Better to use up one tool at a time. With another glance at the platform, he crossed the room again, activated his sword and shield, and stepped out through the doorway.

Link took in this side of the Divine Beast in a glance, confirming that it was basically the same as the prior. His attention, however, was immediately drawn to the two Guardian scouts scuttling about on the ramp leading up to the next level. The instant he stepped out onto the platform, the two activated. The rearmost's eye began to glow as it charged energy. In front of it, the second rose up to its combat state and extended an arm. A pole shot out of the arm, and a blade of energy ignited on the tip.

"You weren't kidding about the negative reaction," Link grumbled. Calamity, this was going to be a pain.

As if they'd read his thoughts, the shooter unleashed a small barrage of bolts while the spear scout scurried forward.

Ping-Fzzzzt!

Link smiled as the bolts deflected off his shield. The blue construct rippled from the impact, but held up quite well. The way they bounced gave him an idea, but he needed to take care of the spear scout first. An odd pressure settled in his mind as the robot reached him, and as the scout lunged at him, the pressure crystallized into a single instinct: dodge.

Link dodged.

Everything around him slowed down as he slipped past the Guardian's spear, which was leisurely gliding through the spot he'd just been. He allowed himself a small smile and unleashed a flurry of light blows. He struck at the arm, the legs, the "head"—anything to disable it. Time began to speed up, so he landed a final blow and, with what little of the bullet time he had left, spun around and swung his shield at one of the incoming bolts.

Fwip!

Ping!

Bzzzzt-CLANG!

Time returned to normal, giving Link a beautiful view of the results of his counterattack. The spear robot disintegrated, parts sloughing off in all directions and either clattering to the ground or dropping to the lake below. Ahead, the shooter had been bowled over by the force of the bolt impacting its eye, and even as he watched, it slowly rolled down the slope, coming to a rest near his feet.

Mipha filled his head with a sense of mental applause, and he preened under the unspoken praise. Flicking the sword off, he picked up the spear and spun it around. It was divided into four segments, and like the ancient short sword, it was extraordinarily well balanced. Near the top of the first segment was a small switch. Link thumbed it and nearly dropped it in surprise when the blade flicked off and the entire thing folded in on itself, becoming a bar no more than a foot or two long. He thumbed it again, and it unfolded back into a solid spear.

He grinned in delight and thumbed it off again. Grumble though he might about how contrived the ancient Sheikah had made things, he couldn't help but admire their technology. He carefully slipped the spear bar into his quiver, noting its location, and then went up the ramp.

No further surprises waited for him at the top of the ramp. He poked his head back into the main chamber and nodded in satisfaction as he took in the ramp. It was one of those odd grated walkways the Sheikah seemed to prefer, but they were sturdy enough. He slipped across to the terminal and, keeping an eye on his surroundings, tapped the Slate against it.

[Sheikah Slate authenticated.]

Shhhk-thhnk!

A slot along the wall slid open, and another walkway snapped into place, connecting the one he was standing on to the upper floor area he had noted earlier. A ladder he hadn't noticed before also slid into place, allowing easy access between the two floors.

As he looked, another pair of Guardian scouts detached from the wall and fell to the floor, their lights indicating their standby mode. "Yeah, we're gonna deal with these the smart way," he murmured, unslinging his bow. Two rapid shots later, and both scouts had collapsed, each with an arrow in its eye.

That taken care of, he hurried across the catwalk, eying the opposite side. Aside from a doorway set into the center and a large button that he was pretty sure activated a waterfall to the first floor, there wasn't much here. There was a ladder up to the fourth terminal, the one where Ruta's brain would be, so activating that one wouldn't be a problem. That just left the last one, and he'd not seen anywhere it could have been stashed.

Frustrated, he unhooked the Slate and opened up the map. There were the terminals he'd already activated. That one was the one he could see, and the big one below was definitely the command console. So where was the fifth? He squinted at the map, panned around it again, and then his eyes went wide.

"You've got to be kidding me."

A dot at the very tip of Ruta's trunk glowed cheerfully up at him, as if it was happily oblivious of his incredulity. That wouldn't have been too much of a hassle, except that Ruta's trunk was currently suspended in the air.

Link stared at the map for a few more moments before lurching for the doorway. It opened up to Ruta's front, where the trunk towered overhead. It looked like the Sheikah had built steps into the trunk, but its current angle meant climbing them would be next to impossible. There wasn't any way he'd be able to reach it.

He felt despair threatening to wash through him, but he bottled it up. Ruta's builders had been fairly considerate of navigation so far. If they built a terminal up there, there had to be a way to access it. If only he could ask them…

The thought had barely entered his mind when another realization broke over him. He wanted to bang his head against the wall, but settled for just rolling his eyes as he asked, "Mipha? Do you know how I could move Ruta's trunk?"

After a moment, she said, "Check your map."

Link frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Conserving strength, Beloved."

That didn't bode well. He opened the map again and examined it. Nothing had changed, except that the terminals he'd activated were no longer glowing. There wasn't anything... wait. The purple notches. He'd noticed them before, but hadn't paid them any attention. As he studied them now, he noticed that Ruta's trunk seemed to line up with one about halfway up. Hesitantly, he tapped the third-lowest notch.

Ruta began to tremble as the trunk jerked and slowly began to lower into place. Link watched in satisfaction as it lowered—and winced as Ruta trumpeted once it had reached its position.

"I can't believe that worked," he muttered as he started down the stairs. He was immensely grateful to whoever had included them, but the lack of guardrails meant he had to take it slow; one wrong step or one big gust, and he risked slipping back down into the lake.

Eventually, he made it over to the tip of the trunk, which was spraying water high into the air. He'd gotten lucky with his guess and had managed to get the tip of the trunk to rest at an even angle. He glanced at the map again, frowned, and walked to the far side. Below him, the fifth terminal jutted out cheekily, waiting.

Carefully, he lowered himself down to the terminal and tapped the Slate to its console. Before Ruta could announce that the Slate had been authenticated, he had already pulled himself back up. For once, he was grateful for the weird stonework the Sheikah had included in everything; it was unsettling to look at, but it did occasionally give good handholds.

[Sheikah Slate authenticated.]

He smiled grimly and hurried back. Rather than take the stairs, he leapt off the trunk and used his glider to drift back down to the doorway. From there, he hurried inside and up the ladder to activate the final terminal.

[Sheikah Slate authenticated.]

Mipha's anxious sigh drifted over Ruta's notification. "Now for the final step. You have a terrible battle ahead of you, Link. I'm sorry."

Link walked over to the ladder and began climbing down. "What are you sorry for?"

"For my failure. You are about to face the… thing that killed me a hundred years ago. I put up as much of a fight as I could, but in the end…."

He winced. "I'm so sorry, Mipha. I know what that feels like. If I'm being honest, I'm still struggling with failing you all."

"And yet… yet, you are handling it. You have support?"

"Yeah, I've made some friends. Kids, heroes in training." Link thought back to Midoriya's constant analysis, Ashido's cheerful smile, and Yaoyorozu's quiet dignity. "They've helped me keep myself together."

A sense of satisfaction filled his chest. "Good. If I cannot be there to turn the currents of your self-doubt, then at least you have companions who can. They sound delightful."

He chuckled. "They're a handful, but yeah, they're nice. Maybe you can meet them when this all is done."

They lapsed into silence as he slid down the final ladder. Left unsaid was the fact that Mipha was, currently, very dead. Still, if Link had come back, surely there had to be a way to bring her back as well?

Much as he wanted to puzzle over that, he pushed the thought to the back of his mind as he entered the terminal room. It was large, with plenty of space to move. It probably doubled as a storage room or barracks back when the Sheikah were running it. Now, however, it was barren. A sheet of ankle-deep water covered the floor, reflecting the orange glow of the main control terminal. Interestingly, it looked exactly like the ancient furnace at the edge of Hateno, down to the weird pipe things that extended into Ruta.

It was too easy. Link glanced around the room and activated his shield. He took a deep breath, unhook the Slate, and tapped it against the console.

Vapor-like clouds of Malice erupted from the base of the terminal and swirled up to obscure it from view. Link stepped back and quickly swapped the Slate for a sword. As the energy blade snapped on, ribbons of blue energy similar to a teleport signature zipped out of the terminal, passed Link, and spun around into a figure of nightmares.

The creature was an amalgamation of Malice and Guardian tech. Its floating body and arms were long and thin, but covered in well-defined Malice muscles. Rather than a hand, its left arm ended in a holster that, as he watched, flipped over and ignited into a twenty-foot spear. A single Guardian eye gazed balefully down at him, and behind the armored horns, Link swore he could see a billowing mane of red hair. As it fully formed, it let out an ear-rending shriek of rage.

"Be careful of its spear! It has a much longer reach than it appears."

"Duly noted," Link grunted. He hefted his shield and sword, waiting for the monster to make the first move.

He didn't have to wait long. The blight—the name flashed through his mind, oddly fitting of this abomination of nature—reared back and lunged forward, shockingly fast for something so large. Link barely got his shield up in time, and even then, he only just managed to deflect the blow. He recovered just in time to avoid a repeat attack, the blight's spear tearing through the air where he had just been.

'Calamity, she wasn't kidding; this thing's got incredible reach!' If he stayed back like this, it was only a matter of time before it broke through his defenses. As the abomination started to recover from its strike, Link seized the opening and charged forward. Though it hovered overhead, it had remained close enough to the ground to swipe at him, putting its waist (did it have a waist if it was just a floating torso?) level with him.

Bzzzt-Clang! Bzzzt-Clang!

The creature screeched in surprise and spun its spear around before bringing it down on top of him. Link saw it coming and ducked out of the way, but as the spear impacted the ground, it created a shockwave of energy that caught him and tossed him across the room. He wheezed as he crashed into the wall, and he felt something in his chest give.

A wave of fiery, needling pain washed over him. He suspected that something might have broken from that, but he couldn't take the time to examine it right now. He forced himself to get up and move, snarling at the blight.

"Demise take you," Link cursed. "You want to play rough? Fine, let's play rough."

Link dashed at the blight again, shield raised. This time, however, when the spear came thundering down on him, he didn't try to block it; instead, he dodged.

He breathed a quick sigh of relief as time slowed around him. Thankfully, he'd been able to practice with the Guardian scouts earlier; otherwise, he wasn't sure if he would have been able to get the bullet time off right. He used the momentum of his dodge to launch himself at the blight's waist once more.

Bzzzt-Clang!

Bzzzt-Clang!

Bzzzt-Clang!

Bzzzt-Crmmpt!

Something in the abomination's waist gave way under his assault, and as time resumed its normal pace, the blight crumpled to the ground. Link grinned savagely before smashing the sword down on its exposed head. He got in several solid blows, each echoing with the same resounding clang as the last, before the monster managed to get its bearings and pull itself up again.

Once in the air, the monster hissed at him and turned back into a writhing ball of blue energy that zoomed to the opposite side of the room. Link started to run after it, but noticed something was wrong with his sword. The blade seemed fuzzier, and, now that he had noticed it, the hilt was unusually warm—and was continuing to heat up.

Link didn't pause to think; he whipped his arm back and threw the blade at the reforming blight as hard as he could. It crashed into the abomination's head just as it rematerialized.

FZZZZT-KRAKOOM!

The sword shattered in a brilliant blue explosion. The force of the blast blew the creature backwards and smashed it into the wall, where it slowly slid to the floor. Seeing the opening, Link pulled his ancient spear from his quiver and dashed forward, thumbing the activation switch. The spear snapped into place just in time for Link to drive it deep into the creature's torso. It felt a bit like stabbing mud, but with more give. With a grim twist, he ripped the blade upwards, tearing a long, jagged gash in its chest.

The back of the creature's free hand collided with him. Easily as large as he was, it tossed him back across the room like a rock across a stream. He skipped across the water a few times before splashing to a stop against the far wall.

In the back of his mind, he could hear Mipha's wordless screech of rage and fear, but he tuned it out, keeping all his attention on the blight. The monster staggered upright, Malice leaking from the wound on its chest, its flight wobbly and stuttering. It fixed its single eye on him, and he could feel its absolute hatred for him at that moment.

Which, honestly, he could understand. He had a lot of negative feelings for it, too.

Unfortunately, the blight could weaponize that hatred. Its eye began to glow, and a single beam of red light appeared, lighting up Link's chest. The beeping that he had come to associate with impending annihilation filled the air.

Beep.

He had one chance before it fired.

Beep beep.

Dropping his spear and deactivating his shield, he whipped his bow out of its quiver and strung it in a single, fluid motion.

Beep beep beep beep.

He drew an arrow, trying to drown out the increasingly frenetic beeping, and, with a quick jerk, knocked, pulled, and released.

Shnk!

FFFFFSCCHEEEWWW!

CRUUMPT!

The arrow struck true, piercing the abomination's eye just as it fired. The collected energy split around the arrow, fragmenting and blossoming into a brilliant explosion of blue and orange flame. Smaller beams of energy tore through the explosion, splashing against the walls and into the water.

Link quickly reactivated his shield and ducked behind it, but he wasn't able to fully avoid the lasers. Short bursts of searing pain jabbed at him as several small globs of energy splattered on his face and arms. It quickly faded to a dull throb, but he had a sneaking suspicion that he would have new scars after this.

However bad his wounds were though, the blight was in much worse shape. As steam from evaporated water filled the room, Ganon's abomination arched backwards, twisting and contorting as it let out a scream of rage. Its skin bubbled before rupturing at several points along its arms and torso, and streams of Malice poured out.

As more ruptures appeared, the Malice was replaced with a violent, purple light that quickly encompassed the blight. It dropped to the floor and let out a final shriek before going limp. Even through the steam, Link could make out its shape as it dissolved, blowing away like a handful of crushed leaves.

For a few moments, Link watched, his body tense and ready in case this was a ruse. When nothing happened, he breathed a sigh of relief—and immediately winced from whatever the creature had done to him. Slowly, carefully, he climbed his way to his feet, using his spear as leverage, and hobbled his way over to the terminal. The Malice that had clouded it had faded, the last wisps vanishing as he wearily clapped the Slate to the command surface.

The orange light faded into blue, and Link nodded in tired satisfaction. He'd done it. Ruta was theirs, and Mipha had been avenged. If only he'd been here a hundred years sooner.

As he turned to leave, he realized that what remained of the steam in the room was glowing an ethereal green-blue. Something about the color tickled the back of his mind, but before he could place it, a figure deeper in the steam moved.

"Show yourself!" he commanded, dropping his spear to point at the figure.

A giggle floated out of the mist. "Always so observant, Beloved. Would you spear your fiancée?"

The figure stepped forward, and Link felt like his heart had stopped. Mipha looked exactly as he remembered her. She wore her Champion's sash from left shoulder to right hip, her chest and arms covered in the jewelry that was the symbol of her royal status. The light surrounding her reflected off her red scales, giving them an enriched quality. Her hair-like headfins, which she'd told him resembled a ray's, framed her mouth as it quirked into a soft smile.

Beautiful.

He was pulled out of his thoughts as she giggled again. "Hello, Link."

Link gulped hastily, the full weight of what he was seeing crashing down on him. "H-hello, Mipha."

"Eloquent as ever," she teased.

"I wasn't expecting—you're alive?"

Mipha's smile faded, and she shook her head. "No. Because of your courage, my spirit is now free. And Ruta, as well. Thank you."

The happy, giddy feeling in his chest crumpled, but he pushed it away. Time enough to grieve later. "I'm just happy you're not suffering anymore."

"You cannot know the difference you've made." Mipha paused, and a flash of realization crossed her face as she chuckled, "Actually, you're one of the few who I believe would understand. Yesterday, I was awash in a pool of tears. I had nearly given up hope and resigned myself to being trapped here for the rest of eternity. But now you're here. All this time, my hope..."

"Hey." Link hobbled forward, closing the last few feet between the two of them. Hesitantly, he cupped a hand to her face, surprised that he could actually feel something. There was a warmth and a somehow solid unsolidness. It reminded him of sitting on the sands in a warm pool. "I'm here, and we have time. Come sit with me?"

"I would be delighted."

The two drifted back over to the terminal and sat on its steps. For a long while, they just sat, hand in hand, her head resting on his shoulder. They didn't speak, but that was fine with him; he was comfortable with silence.

Eventually, Mipha broke the silence. "You know, on the darkest of days, when it seemed like the Calamity had won, I always had an inkling that you would come. I knew not what fate had befallen you save that you had been gravely injured, but I knew that that wouldn't stop you."

Link chuckled dryly. "It almost did. My recovery was complete, but at the cost of most of my memories. It would have been very easy, when the princess awakened me, to go off on my own. But something pushed me onwards, refused to surrender to the darkness." He smiled. "My companions definitely helped with that. Their enthusiasm for doing good is contagious."

"It must be." Mipha lifted her head and shifted around so that she was facing him. "I know that our time is short, but would you tell me what has befallen you since we separated on that terrible day a hundred years ago?"

"Gladly."

And so he did. He spoke of what he remembered of his and Zelda's flight, of Zelda's Awakened power, of his 'death.' He spoke of awakening with little idea of who he was and immediately being befriended—"Adopted, really"—by a youth with brilliant green hair and the sunniest smile he'd ever seen. He spoke of the trials, of the travels, of reuniting Midoriya with his friends. He spoke of the weight of his memories as they returned, of discovering his failure and all that he had lost—and the resolve that came from those discoveries.

Through it all, Mipha listened. She grasped his hands tighter during the difficult memories and laughed with him at the cheerful ones. As he finally finished, she remained silent for a moment, weighing his tale. Eventually, she said, "Truly, Hylia has blessed you. These companions sound like they will be powerful allies in the fight to come."

"They will." Sensing the shift in her tone, he repressed a sigh and asked, "So now what, Love?"

"Now we fight," Mipha said firmly, standing and pulling him up with her. "Ruta and I have our roles to fulfill, as do you. We have waited a long time for the moment we might unleash our vengeance. Together, we'll annihilate Ganon."

"There's the warrior princess I remember." Link's chuckle faded, his tone becoming more serious. "And when this is over? I swear that I'll find a way to bring you back."

Mipha's face twisted. "I do not know if that will be possible, Beloved."

"It might not be, but I have to try. The Shrine of Resurrection is still functional, and your spirit obviously knows how you're supposed to look. The goddess has granted me boons of strength and endurance; if I can find a way, I will ask her to transfer those to you."

A slow, hesitant smile tugged at her lips. "If such is possible, I would not be opposed. However, I would not be selfish; we must help the others.

The other Champions. He nodded. "Of course."

"Then we are of accord. I shall await the day, though… I fear, Beloved, that we will find the task impossible to achieve. Before we part, I have a gift for you."

"What?"

Mipha touched a hand to her breast. "Since I am now a spirit, my healing power would be wasted on me. I have no need of it. Therefore... I would like you to have it. Please accept... Mipha's Grace."

The palm of her hand began to glow, and she moved it from her chest to Link's. A feeling like being immersed in a warm bath rushed through him, swirling through from the tip of his head to the bottom of his feet. When it faded, the pain from his wounds went with it.

"Always have to heal me, don't you," he said affectionately. The remnants of Mipha's Grace settled in comfortably, reflecting the warmth in her eyes.

"Always." Mipha cocked her head slightly before darting in to give him a kiss. His eyes widened, but he wasn't going to complain, and he settled into the kiss. He wished it could last forever, but all too soon, the end did come. Mipha pulled back and smiled at him. "Now go, Champion. Place your Slate against the terminal, and Ruta will send you to safety. She and I have work to do, and it is past time to be about it."

Reluctantly, Link did as he was told. Golden light swirled around him, slowly lifting him off the ground. The last thing he saw as it engulfed his vision was Mipha's watery smile.