by N Felts
the room, and the entire realm. The queen can’t help but assume that at this point, there is little of him left, and with no alternative, Zelda releases the purifying projectile to banish Mai’s vessel. Realizing the trap being lain far too late to voice a warning, Link’s eyes double in size as the brilliant ruse comes to fruition. Unsure what the boy’s motives are, or what Zelda is shouting about, Midna decides enough is enough.
“Be gone,” the queen of Twilight breathes, launching her dark arrow at the boy. Dropping to his knees in horror, the hero watches the contrasting attacks cross in a narrow X, Mai appearing and shoving her chosen out of harm’s way the instant before they would have exiled him. The arrows strike the walls nearly simultaneously, and two portals to the Sacred Realm are opened. The vacuum of light is too much for Midna to resist, while the dark portal immediately lays claim to Zelda. Sucked out of the room instantly, like helpless fish tumbling over a waterfall, each of the woman utter a brief squeal of shock before the portals slowly close. Left alone at the room’s center, Link quakes with emotion. He has lost everything. He had a chance to be the hero, but just as Garo warned, he failed. The master sword remains incomplete, and it is no one’s fault but his own. Needing a moment to wrap his mind around everything that has happened, he is denied the opportunity when he hears a ruffle of clothing descending from above.
In an impressive display of power, Rift smashes the spot where the hero rested an instant before. Rolling to his feet, Link unexpectedly dives at the boy, taking him by surprise. An onslaught of haymaker punches has Rift backpedaling, each strike knocking his guard aside. Leaping backward to recover, the boy must rapidly dash away as a surge of arrows screams past him before Link throws the useless weapon to the ground. Everything he cares for has been taken, and now the hero’s kill switch has engaged. Unable to get a moment’s rest, Rift attempts to counter another mighty punch, but Link’s newfound fortitude doesn’t even register the heavy blow to his ribcage. Several successive hooks to the body feel like torrential cannon fire, each blow forcing the air from the boy’s lungs. Finishing the combination with a terrible scream, Link bashes the boy’s chest with a double fisted attack, bouncing him off the ground and sending him soaring the remaining distance into the wall with a heavy crunch. Nearly losing consciousness from the assault, Rift regains his senses in time to see the massive chunk of stone the hero has just launched at him. Five times his size, the fragment of the room’s foundation tumbles in slow motion as it flies across the room at terrifying speeds. Unable to move, he glances toward the ruined throne and finds a flat portion of the wall that hasn’t yet been destroyed by the fighting.
“Now!” He weakly cries, a window appearing on the approaching mass of rock allowing him to step through unharmed. The chunk of stone smashes into the wall with a dreadful crunch, but unfortunately for Farore’s chosen, it hits without Rift behind it. Landing on unsteady legs, the boy sees that Link hasn’t spotted him just yet, but even so, he won’t last much longer at this rate. Even his superior tactics and techniques are suddenly being overwhelmed by the hero’s unrelenting determination.
“Rift,” Mai calls, appearing to his right. “Let’s finish this together,” she offers, opening her arms. Finally locating the boy, Link begins to charge but quickly reconsiders when he sees Mai awaiting her chosen’s embrace. Rift’s arms fall limply to his sides as the white-haired child slowly walks into his goddess’s arms. Squeezing him into her bosom lovingly, they both begin to glow radiantly, and when the light finally subsides, the hero knows he is in trouble. Floating an imperceptible margin off the ground, Rift seems to be upheld by a sourceless whirlwind, his hair and clothing rippling as he slowly glides forward. His head hanging like a marionette, the boy is clearly possessed, drifting past the throne on an uncertain path. Slowly coming into view, his face tilts up revealing his soulless eyes, his expression that of a calm, collected exterminator. Stomping on the edge of a circular shield, formerly belonging to the dark imposter he dispatched, Link no longer knows what to expect as he catches and fits it onto his arm, the daunting deity skating steadily closer while watching his every move.
“The game is over now,” Rift declares in a voice not his own. Time itself slips out of the hero’s grasp as the possessed boy splits into three translucent figures, each of them dashing at the swordless warrior at absurd speeds. Two of the distorted forms circle around to attack from the sides while the third leaps into the air to descend upon him. Lifting his shield overhead ends in disaster as the figure to his right reveals itself to be the real assailant. A powerful roundhouse kick bends Link’s body to the side as he recoils, the spirit of Mai far too fast for him to so much as consider defending against. As she dashes in for the kill, Link evades the tornado kick by drawing his hookshot and latching onto the chandelier overhead. Assumedly safe for the moment, Mai proves doubly effective in the air, dashing past the ascending hero repeatedly in a hurricane of quick strikes. Unable to even perceive which direction she will attack from next, Link feels the pangs of defeat upon him when two hands firmly latch on to each side of his head from behind. A spirit destroying knee digs into his spine as his hookshot slips from his grasp. Splitting into several distorted phantoms and spreading in every direction, the Rift-clones collect in front of the hero, flipping into a devastating overhand right to his chest. This time it is his shield flying away as he is assertively knocked downward by the possessed opponent. Splitting and remerging beneath him, the boy violently catches the falling hero upon a single raised palm, throwing him across the room as if he were weightless. Only able to climb to a knee, Link stares through tired, unbelieving eyes as Rift glides over to him, his head rocking back as Mai partially emerges from his form. Dangling lifelessly at the elbows and waist, the boy is clearly not in control of his actions, Mai’s upper half controlling Rift’s hands and forearms as she reaches the only obstacle left in her path. Gently seizing the broken hero by the back of his neck, the goddess lifts him to eye level, staring into him with compassionate eyes as she palms his face.
“You’ve always thought yourself fearless,” she smiles, holding him close. “But there is fear in you. You feared your feelings toward the one called Zelda. You feared time would betray you if you sought out the Master Sword. You feared you wouldn’t be able to protect the ones you love. Now that they are lost to you, tell me, is there anything left in this world to fear?” She asks, brushing a loose strand of hair out of his face. Her words do the damage to Link’s mind her fists have already done to his body. Failing in every way to understand what else she could possibly want from him, the hero has no words to offer. “I thought so,” she grins, idly tossing him back to the center of the room like a ragdoll. “I am sorry for what I’ve put you through, but do not fret, your suffering is at its end,” she assures, slowly skating closer. Scarcely breathing, Link awaits her promised end with dread, but not fear. Disappointment, but not worry. After all, Garo’s words reigned true, and now that his love is gone, he feels no ties to this realm any longer. The Hero of Time has finally met his demise, though he never imagined it would be at the hands of such an entity. Snapped together again like a treasure chest lid slammed shut, Rift and Mai reunite, the boy’s temporarily dead eyes glowing brilliantly white once again. A portal opens beneath the goddess’s feet, and upon dropping through she reappears high above, falling right through the original portal again. Rapidly gaining speed, Link realizes this is it. The death blow. Over and over again she plummets, quickly becoming a ghostly blur until a window of light opens directly above the grounded Hylian. Staring up in wonder, he realizes the small circle so high above must be his calling to ascend to the heavens. As time starts to slow, the angel of death falls upon him, her remorseless expression shining through her vessel’s face as time stops completely.
“This doesn’t have to be the end,” a familiar voice points out. A though not his own, spoken from the depths of his mind in his own voice, though it se
ems distant and warped. “We can destroy her together,” he insists in a friendly, cavalier tone, still yet to make an appearance. “Abandon your quest for valor, and the Gods who led you to ruin,” he demands, finally appearing above, and leaning over Link’s motionless form. Dark Link, the embodiment of all greed, lust, and hatred the hero has dedicated his life to suppressing now stares down at him enigmatically. The translucent shadow of himself does not act threatening, or imposing, but instead like a long lost friend who has come to his aid. “Join me,” he proclaims, offering a hand. “You’ve nothing left to lose. Let us fight as one, and we will reclaim what has been taken. Our pride.” His father’s words a distant memory, Link’s suffering presses down upon him like a thousand chains of consequence and duty. Of sorrow and regret. His very end paused above him, a survival instinct more so than any other rational mode of though drives Link to use the very last of his strength to clasp the shadow’s arm just past the wrist. A signing of a
