POST-CALAMITY FUTURE
The Depths Beneath Hyrule Castle
Crowl gazed upon what, to him, was a divine sight.
The mummy, the half-corpse that was Demon King Ganondorf, lay before him with Rauru's arm holding it in place.
"It's him! The Magnificent One!" Raiga exclaimed.
"How do we free him, though?" Higa questioned.
"Everyone, spread out! There should be a seal around here!" Crowl ordered. The Yiga obeyed.
That was a lie, though. Crowl knew that all he had to do was remove the Secret Stone from Rauru's arm. As the Yiga inspected the walls, he plucked it from the back of the hand.
It was all then set in motion…
--
West Hyrule, Royal Ancient Lab Area
"We have to hurry!" ZeldaC urged as she rode her horse as fast as she could.
The others weren't far behind her. They knew it was urgent. Sooga had brought them dire news, and they needed to act.
If Zelda's intuition was correct, Crowl was already on his way to awaken the Demon King.
Sooga himself had departed back to the Yiga Hideout to inform Kohga of Crowl's betrayal.
It wasn't just the Champions accompanying her. Her other self, both Links, Impa, Ertis, PurahC and RobbieC were with them.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and the sky… turned red.
"What?!" Zelda lC's horse stopped.
"Princess! The Castle!" Mipha pointed to the East… where Hyrule Castle was seen rising into the sky.
--
Hyrule Castle Town
"Everyone! This way! Don't panic!" Paya urged in a raised voice. She was evacuating the citizens of Castle Town as the Castle continued to rise into the sky.
Her efforts were helped by the fact that the King of Hyrule stood beside her, helping garner the attention of the panicking masses.
Also aiding her were various Shiekah of that era as well as the Sages. Shirana and Vistro were adding their aid as well.
It was a good thing they acted so quickly, because soon, from the gaping hole in the middle of town where the castle used to be, monsters began to emerge. Monsters imbued with Gloom.
It wasn't just regular monsters, though. From the hole emerged Colgera, Marbled Gohma, Mucktorok, Queen Gibdo and a Seized Construct.
"Those monsters again… so the Demon King has indeed awakened!" Sidon growled.
"Wait! Isn't this a little quick? How could he be this powerful already?!" Paya exclaimed.
"We can worry about that later!" Tulin pointed out, "We just need to beat the monsters in front of us now!"
"The others are undoubtedly on their way!" Riju proclaimed confidently, "We just need to buy time for them to join us!"
"We can take most of them, Paya! You guys handle the big Construct!" Yunobo ordered, arming himself.
"Wait! You are not alone in this!" King Rhoam proclaimed, "Not this time! Hyrule's army shall assist you! The Demon King won't take our Kingdom without a fight! Right, men?!"
With that rallying cry, the soldiers standing with them cheered.
"Men! We fought hard for the peace we've earned! Now we have but one more battle to ensure it lasts! This will be a fight to end all Calamities once and for all!"
--
Hyrule Castle Town West End
It was near pandemonium when they arrived, but at least the citizens were safe.
"We really are too late…" ImpaC bemoaned.
"No time to complain now!" Revali piped up, "This whole mess begins and ends with the Demon King! As long as we fight together, he's no match for us!"
There was suddenly a stunned silence.
"...What?"
"I never thought I'd hear you talk about fighting together like that!" LinkC pointed out.
"Man, this really must be the end of the world!" Daruk laughed, lightening the mood in spite of what he said.
"I suppose I should be thankful he learned the right lessons from Tulin!" ZeldaU chimed in, "Besides, he's right! We can do this!"
"Right you are, little bird!" Urbosa encouraged, "It seems the last battle has already broken out. Let us join them!"
"I'll go round up the rest of the Sheikah! We'll handle the small fries!" Ertis volunteered, "We'll also gather the armies of the other four races! If this thing truly is bigger than the Calamity, we'll need them!"
It was then that Josha ran to meet them.
"Guys! There you are!" She exclaimed, "The others are already fighting! We think the Demon King is still down in the hole for some reason!"
What could he be planning? LinkU had a grim premonition…
--
The Depths, Gloom's Origin
The Demon King Ganondorf stood in the center of the room, a dried up husk that was once Raiga in his fully restored hand.
Nine other husks littered the chamber. Three other Yiga and six other Seers, each drained of their Gloom and life force. It was now just Ganondorf and Crowl.
"Now…boy." Ganondorf addressed a shivering Crowl, "You say you come from a time where I have perished… and that the perpetrators are on their way here?"
The arrogant Ganondorf could hardly believe such words, but he was not uncautious.
"Yes…Yes milord! They seek to slay you as they did on my time! But I can help so that such a fate does not befall you!" Crowl spoke with reverence mixed with fear.
He cared not for the fates of Ronj, Lusha, or any of his other followers. They had always been mere tools for his own ends. His place, in his own mind, had always been at the Demon King's side, wielding the power he felt it afforded him.
To Ganondorf, he could tell this boy was not lying. He'd be able to tell if he was. However, he saw not a loyal vassal in Crowl, but another tool, as he would any "subject".
Ganondorf smiled, reaching down and picking up the Secret Stone that had fallen from Rauru's hand.
"Very well… take this and be of great use to me!" No living being could use two Secret Stones…but he could still make use of this one.
"My lord… I graciously accept!" Crowl teared up with joy and placed the Secret Stone on his own head, unaware of just the kind of deal with the devil he had just made…
TO BE CONTINUED