The Legend of Zelda: The Magnum Opus
By LinndogMore Info / Reviews
Chapter 11: The Rematch
Link found that sleep came at a heavy toll. The soft bed brought no comfort to his weary mind and the warm cauld supplied little relief in his aching bones. When he did pass into subconsciousness, nightmares overcame his thoughts with visions of Hyrule’s destruction. He watched Death Mountain fall into a gorge and Lake Hylia boil amidst flames. Hyrule Castle was reduced to rubble and its surrounding field was layered in a blanket of snow. Lightning struck down over the Kokiri and sandstorms invaded the sanctity of Zora’s Falls. The resulting wasteland had him tossing and turning until he shook himself awake and sat upright with cold beads of sweat pouring from his pores. He instinctively grabbed his sword, shield, bow and quiver and soundlessly crept from the sanctuary of the Kokiri Forest.
Stepping slowly through the entrance to Hyrule Field, Link looked through the fog at the hill over which he would find Lon Lon Ranch. Something was different. The morning sun had yet to break from the eastern horizon and chase away the dew that drenched his leather boots. Then he looked to the sky and saw that the black clouds that had covered Hyrule for months were dissipating. The raining had stopped.
Link inhaled deeply and squinted through the misty haze. He could feel the presence of another in this field. It was then that he located the body. It was him, the young man from Headstone Palace! Link focused on the man as he sat there on his mount, perched high on the hill and looking over the meadow to the fires that consumed Hyrule. Then, as if knowing that he had an onlooker, he snapped his head to face Link. Without a moment’s passage, Link whistled for his horse. The young man kicked his horse into a gallop towards Hyrule City while Link leapt to his mare’s back and sped after him. Despite the lengthy lead, the unidentified man’s horse couldn’t outrun Link’s swift mare and was caught from behind as Link rode up next to him. With a grimace of frustration, the man kicked at Link but couldn’t connect the blow. Instead, he left himself vulnerable for Link to hurl himself from his own horse and tackle the man from his saddle. They landed in a heap of rolling arms and legs, tumbling down the hill where gravity and their momentum pushed them to its base. Upon reaching the rain soaked lull, the young man kicked Link over his head and separated the two combatants. Link flipped mid-air and landed on his feet, turning to see his adversary rising from his knees.
“Who are you?” Link breathed heavily from his racing lungs. He then noticed two spheres hanging from the man’s neck. They reflected the sky’s dim light so brilliantly, they could only be those which Link feared most. He shook his head in disbelief but knew that all of this was too coincidental to have been otherwise.
“The name is Syphon,” the man returned, pulling his sword from its sheath. “It’ll be the name on your lips as you fade into darkness.” Link grabbed his sword in turn and lowered himself into a fighting stance. Syphon glared at Link, “You were fortunate to have escaped me after our first encounter. It won’t happen again.”
“Enough!” Link shouted has he jumped, soaring through the air with his sword over his head, and landed with a thunderous clash of swords that sent Syphon sliding backwards in the muddy grounds. Syphon countered with a horizontal slash that Link blocked with his sword, returning with a sharp jab of his blade. Syphon rolled away from the attack and parried with a spinning upward slash to Link’s backside that he could only block by aptly holding his sword behind him, leaving him vulnerable to a hard kick from Syphon that sent him rolling back up the hill.
Link used his motion to spring to his feet with his back to Syphon and leaped into a backwards flip, driving his sword in a downthrust towards Syphon. Syphon was the one who rolled this time, but Link caught his cape, ripping through the lower half with his sharp blade. Syphon brought himself to his feet and grabbed his cape with his free hand, eyeing it with a scowl before tossing it away and pointing his sword at Link.
“You’ll not come that close again!” Syphon yelled as he charged Link. Link held his sword vertically in front of him and closed his eyes with a smirk on his face. As Syphon grew close, Link sailed into the air with apparent ease, flipping over Syphon and slashing a great blow across his back. Syphon screamed at the pain of the large gash that coursed the backs of his arms and through his shoulder blades. Link landed gracefully on the ground and turned with his sword’s tip planted in the mud. Syphon turned and screamed once again, holding the palm of his free hand out towards Link.
Link never saw the magical blast coming. The purple ball of light flew with amazing speed and accuracy from Syphon’s shaking finger tips and hit Link with enough force to knock him back over the hill that they had just crossed. Link grunted when he landed on the ground and stiffly rose to his feet, running back to the hill’s crest in anticipation of a second round of battle. When he reached the top, however, Syphon was gone. Link rubbed the back of his aching neck and looked around. His horse, too, was missing.
It was then that he noticed that it was missing. Link frantically moved his hand around the back of his neck, but it was gone. He could not find the leather twine that had held his pendant so close to his heart. He had hoped that it only fell into the mud. He became erratic, sprinting down to the base of the hill and waving his hands through the soaked soil. It had to be there somewhere. But no, it was gone. Link held his dirty hands to the sky, begging for the rain to return and wash them. He tilted his head to the heavens and screamed into the clouds that scarcely covered the quickly rising sun.
Without further sulking in his own defeat, Link sprang to his feet and dashed towards Hyrule City, knowing exactly where Syphon would be heading. Everything around him disappeared. Not Zelda nor Corbin, Sahasrahla nor the Deku Tree could permeate his thoughts. The terror that ripped through his veins pushed him even faster towards his destination. Time slowed to a crawl as the field passed beneath his feet and he arrived at the broken gates of Hyrule City.
Leaping over the downed drawbridge, Link pulled his sword and cut through the midsections of two armored guards. He rifled through the entrance way, beheading another guard. The sound of collapsing metal alarmed the lookout and he sounded the horn, alerting the surrounding men of Link’s presence. Link, with a green light beginning to emanate from his eyes, ducked down an alley, stabbing his sword through the torso of yet another oncoming guard, and turned the corner to that which he sought.
Rapidly climbing the steps, he burst through the doorway with an intense burning in his soul. He made his way down the long corridor and through the great hall before coming to a stop and dropping to his knees.
“No…” Link whispered through his heaving breathes. He was too late. The pedestal was vacant. The solitary slot in the stone laughed at his sorrow, ridiculing him in his failure. All that he had done was for nothing. Every measure that he had taken to ensure its eternal slumber had been undone. He dropped his sword to the side and covered his face with his hands. Then he heard the sound.
A thunderous boom rolled through the clouds overhead and shook the building which contained him. The ground began to vibrate, softly at first but increasing in intensity. The circle around the pillar began beaming with light, emanating towards the ceiling in a luminescent pillar. A sphere of darkness began swirling behind the pillar, cracking with lightning and growing in diameter. A deep purple fog crept forth from within the orb, which had become a man’s height in size.
Then, Link heard the chilling and haunting laugh that he could never escape…
Stepping slowly through the entrance to Hyrule Field, Link looked through the fog at the hill over which he would find Lon Lon Ranch. Something was different. The morning sun had yet to break from the eastern horizon and chase away the dew that drenched his leather boots. Then he looked to the sky and saw that the black clouds that had covered Hyrule for months were dissipating. The raining had stopped.
Link inhaled deeply and squinted through the misty haze. He could feel the presence of another in this field. It was then that he located the body. It was him, the young man from Headstone Palace! Link focused on the man as he sat there on his mount, perched high on the hill and looking over the meadow to the fires that consumed Hyrule. Then, as if knowing that he had an onlooker, he snapped his head to face Link. Without a moment’s passage, Link whistled for his horse. The young man kicked his horse into a gallop towards Hyrule City while Link leapt to his mare’s back and sped after him. Despite the lengthy lead, the unidentified man’s horse couldn’t outrun Link’s swift mare and was caught from behind as Link rode up next to him. With a grimace of frustration, the man kicked at Link but couldn’t connect the blow. Instead, he left himself vulnerable for Link to hurl himself from his own horse and tackle the man from his saddle. They landed in a heap of rolling arms and legs, tumbling down the hill where gravity and their momentum pushed them to its base. Upon reaching the rain soaked lull, the young man kicked Link over his head and separated the two combatants. Link flipped mid-air and landed on his feet, turning to see his adversary rising from his knees.
“Who are you?” Link breathed heavily from his racing lungs. He then noticed two spheres hanging from the man’s neck. They reflected the sky’s dim light so brilliantly, they could only be those which Link feared most. He shook his head in disbelief but knew that all of this was too coincidental to have been otherwise.
“The name is Syphon,” the man returned, pulling his sword from its sheath. “It’ll be the name on your lips as you fade into darkness.” Link grabbed his sword in turn and lowered himself into a fighting stance. Syphon glared at Link, “You were fortunate to have escaped me after our first encounter. It won’t happen again.”
“Enough!” Link shouted has he jumped, soaring through the air with his sword over his head, and landed with a thunderous clash of swords that sent Syphon sliding backwards in the muddy grounds. Syphon countered with a horizontal slash that Link blocked with his sword, returning with a sharp jab of his blade. Syphon rolled away from the attack and parried with a spinning upward slash to Link’s backside that he could only block by aptly holding his sword behind him, leaving him vulnerable to a hard kick from Syphon that sent him rolling back up the hill.
Link used his motion to spring to his feet with his back to Syphon and leaped into a backwards flip, driving his sword in a downthrust towards Syphon. Syphon was the one who rolled this time, but Link caught his cape, ripping through the lower half with his sharp blade. Syphon brought himself to his feet and grabbed his cape with his free hand, eyeing it with a scowl before tossing it away and pointing his sword at Link.
“You’ll not come that close again!” Syphon yelled as he charged Link. Link held his sword vertically in front of him and closed his eyes with a smirk on his face. As Syphon grew close, Link sailed into the air with apparent ease, flipping over Syphon and slashing a great blow across his back. Syphon screamed at the pain of the large gash that coursed the backs of his arms and through his shoulder blades. Link landed gracefully on the ground and turned with his sword’s tip planted in the mud. Syphon turned and screamed once again, holding the palm of his free hand out towards Link.
Link never saw the magical blast coming. The purple ball of light flew with amazing speed and accuracy from Syphon’s shaking finger tips and hit Link with enough force to knock him back over the hill that they had just crossed. Link grunted when he landed on the ground and stiffly rose to his feet, running back to the hill’s crest in anticipation of a second round of battle. When he reached the top, however, Syphon was gone. Link rubbed the back of his aching neck and looked around. His horse, too, was missing.
It was then that he noticed that it was missing. Link frantically moved his hand around the back of his neck, but it was gone. He could not find the leather twine that had held his pendant so close to his heart. He had hoped that it only fell into the mud. He became erratic, sprinting down to the base of the hill and waving his hands through the soaked soil. It had to be there somewhere. But no, it was gone. Link held his dirty hands to the sky, begging for the rain to return and wash them. He tilted his head to the heavens and screamed into the clouds that scarcely covered the quickly rising sun.
Without further sulking in his own defeat, Link sprang to his feet and dashed towards Hyrule City, knowing exactly where Syphon would be heading. Everything around him disappeared. Not Zelda nor Corbin, Sahasrahla nor the Deku Tree could permeate his thoughts. The terror that ripped through his veins pushed him even faster towards his destination. Time slowed to a crawl as the field passed beneath his feet and he arrived at the broken gates of Hyrule City.
Leaping over the downed drawbridge, Link pulled his sword and cut through the midsections of two armored guards. He rifled through the entrance way, beheading another guard. The sound of collapsing metal alarmed the lookout and he sounded the horn, alerting the surrounding men of Link’s presence. Link, with a green light beginning to emanate from his eyes, ducked down an alley, stabbing his sword through the torso of yet another oncoming guard, and turned the corner to that which he sought.
Rapidly climbing the steps, he burst through the doorway with an intense burning in his soul. He made his way down the long corridor and through the great hall before coming to a stop and dropping to his knees.
“No…” Link whispered through his heaving breathes. He was too late. The pedestal was vacant. The solitary slot in the stone laughed at his sorrow, ridiculing him in his failure. All that he had done was for nothing. Every measure that he had taken to ensure its eternal slumber had been undone. He dropped his sword to the side and covered his face with his hands. Then he heard the sound.
A thunderous boom rolled through the clouds overhead and shook the building which contained him. The ground began to vibrate, softly at first but increasing in intensity. The circle around the pillar began beaming with light, emanating towards the ceiling in a luminescent pillar. A sphere of darkness began swirling behind the pillar, cracking with lightning and growing in diameter. A deep purple fog crept forth from within the orb, which had become a man’s height in size.
Then, Link heard the chilling and haunting laugh that he could never escape…
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