Categories > Games > Zelda > The Legend of Zelda: The Veil of Darkness
Chapter One
"I'll finish herding these critters, Link. Go see what the ruckus is about down in the village, will ya? They're giving me a headache!"
Yelling his thanks to Talo, Link spurred Epona toward Ordon Ranch's gate, nearly bowling over a panting Ilia. "Jeez, Ilia, do you want to die young? How complicated is it to look where you're going?" Mutely rolling her eyes, the seventeen-year-old girl beckoned him to accompany her. Curiosity peaked, the young man, seven years her senior, shook his mount's reins and together they hiked down the path to Ordon Village. Presently, Mayor Bo's house hove into view along with a vast crowd of people: brightly clothed men and women interspersed by clanking soldiers bearing the Hyrulian crest. The community's population of thirty regarded the strangers, heavy shawls over their shoulders to ward off the cold. Conversations ebbing, everyone glanced in Link's direction. Urging his mind to function, he inwardly winced at what tumbled forth. "Don't tell me Her Highness is renovating the castle and booted you out to fend for yourselves!"
"Were that the case, we wouldn't have disturbed your village," Chudley replied as the young man rode up to him. Bowing to Ilia, he inspected Link intently. "Gracious, how you've grown on seven years, Link! I can't detect a scrap of fat on your bones! Saving Hyrule must agree with you!" The general's joviality transformed into despair. "Oh, it's awful, just awful! Princess Zelda was in the throne room when it collapsed, I'm certain of it!" Lin's jaw dropped wordlessly. "More than twelve-hundred of us fled in fear of being butchered like cattle if we chose to linger. For the third time in Hyrule history, the seal has fractured, releasing him."
"Seal?" Ilia repeated, exchanging glances with Mayor Bo, her father, who shrugged. "What seal? Link, does this concern your extensive absence you still refuse to discuss?" A chorus of cries forestalled Link's response. Eyes were cast north where the mid-morning sun was being consumed by pale green clouds. Clutching Mayor Bo's arm, his daughter took several deep breaths, evidently on the verge of hyperventilating. "Dad, what's going on? Is there a storm on its way?" Rumbles of thunder reverberated in the frost, static charged air. The residents of Castle Town shuffled uneasily, reminded of the previous night.
"Ganondorf! Damn it to hell!" Link snarled, knuckles white on the knob of Epona's saddle. Noticing his friends' puzzled expressions, he explained. "Remember how, almost a decade ago, Hyrule Castle was ringed by a barrier, then was eventually demolished? Well, guess where I was? Battling Ganondorf to liberate the kingdom. That guy-monster, really-is no pushover, considering he wields the Triforce of Power, which grants him near-immortality and magical abilities. Anyway, I 'supposdely' defeated him, the Light Spirits disposed of him in the Sacred Realm, and Hyrule prospered for seven happy years. Now, Ganondorf's back to dominate the land." Epona snorted, stamping a hoof on the frozen ground as a chill wind blew. "Have anything you want to add, General?"
"Yes, I do," Chudley said, wringing his hands nervously. Flakes of snow drifted in the air, coating the soil. "Mirath, Princess Zelda's only heir, is lost in Faron Woods. I'm asking you, Link, to find him...lest somebody else does. None of us dare venture ourselves because of Ganondorf's unpredictable nature. We've seen what he's capable of, and we're no match against him. Should the sorcerer discover Mirath while bent on revenge...." The general shuddered at the notion. Haunted brown eyes pleaded with Link.
"Kid can't hide forever," the young man remarked, nudging Epona into the throng. "Be back in a jiffy!" He galloped beyond his home, Ordon Spring, and across the bridge spanning the chasm separating Ordon Woods from Faron Woods. Trees creaked in the gentle breeze, causing Epona to prance. Muttering soothingly, Link coaxed her to a trot. "Easy, girl, it's okay. Mirath, are you out there? Yell if you can hear my voice!" Strained seconds ticked by before a warbling scream that was quickly extinguished sounded, startling the young man. "That can't possibly be good!" Continuing his search, he reached a fork in the road. One side was shimmering with a familiar illumination, the other was shrouded in shadows.
"Hero of Time, I sense you are near! Be cautious, for a great evil has taken the child!"
"Joy, more swell news!" Link grumbled, goading Epona down the right path. Veering sharply east, he arrived in front of Coro's shack and brought her to a standstill when a feeble called his name. Probing the area, he spotted the lantern seller propped against a boulder, his chest covered in blood. "Faron, I know you're listening! Inform Mayor Bo that Coro's been severely injured!" Slapping Epona's hindquarters, the young man passed beneath the structure marking the end of Faron Woods and rocketed into southern Hyrule Field, anger sparking at what he saw. "Leave him alone, you snake!"
"Didn't your parents teach you it's rude to bother someone unannounced?" Ganondorf grated irritably, confronting Link, hand grasping Mirath's arm. Waving nonchalantly, he summoned vine that plucked the young man from Epona, immobilizing him on the ground. In the distance, Hyrule Castle's diamond-shaped barrier glinted like a beacon. "Since you're here, you might as well stay to witness an ancient ritual." The sorcerer produced a dagger with an oval jewel inches above its hilt and straightened Mirath's arm, raking its keen tip on the vulnerable flesh. Collecting the flowing blood, he elevated the blade so it trickled down the steel until it touched the opaque stone. Abruptly, the weapon's entire shaft turned a vibrant blue. "Behold the combined powers of the Netherworld and Royal Family blood!" Flicking his wrist, Ganondorf drove the dagger into the soil, which promptly heaved as though in the throes of an earthquake.
Had the vines not been holding Link so firmly, he would have bounced like a rag doll. After five minutes, the ground's tortured moans quieted enough for him to hear Mirath's muffled sods. Opening his mouth, the young man felt the thick vines slither underground. Lurching to his feet, he unsheathed his sword and lunged toward Ganondorf, skidding to a halt when his nemesis spun. "I don't know what you just did, but I'm going to make you regret it!" Sweeping his blade in a broad arc at the sorcerer's head, Link was unprepared for what occurred next.
Evading swiftly, Ganondorf threaded his arm through the young man's and snapped it taunt, eliciting a pained grunt. Catching the sword that fell from numb fingers, he lobbed it into the snow tinted green by the clouds overhead. No matter how much he struggled, Link could not break his captor's hold. Within him, the sorcerer was conscious of the being sharing his body clamoring for control. Yielding, he let it surface, altering his features. His eyes burned white, his hair lengthened along with his teeth, and the nails of the hand gripping Link sharpened to points. Grinning at the evaporating confidence on the young man's face, Ganondorf spoke in a dangerous resonant voice. "Whelp, you have the audacityto challenge me, Mahliel, an entity a thousand times stronger than the body I inhabit? I could vaporize you on a mere whim!" A bolt of lightning impacted the ground scarcely ten feet away, throwing dirt into the air. "However, I'll offer you a proposal. Meet me in Hyrule Castle nine days from now. There, we shall see who is the most powerful." Shoving the young man, Ganondorf/Mahliel grabbed Mirath and they both disappeared.
Rubbing his throbbing arm, Link stalked to where his sword was, put it in its scabbard, then whistled for Epona. Clambering into her saddle, he kicked her back the way they had came. "I think Chudley forgot to mention a few major details. Boy, won't he be surprised when I jog his memory!"
**
Nibbling his lip, Chudley paced Mayor Bo's den, occasionally glancing out the windows. The tension in his shoulders eased as he saw Epona cantering toward the house, all but hidden by the blowing snow. "Praise the goddesses, he's alive!" He hurried for the door, leaping back to avoid getting struck as it swung wide, Link filling the space, fuming. Entering, he locked the door and faced Chudley, aqua eyes glacial. Clearing his throat, the general chanced a guess to account for the young man's scowl. "I-I take it you ran into some complications in rescuing Mirath?"
"Complications?! Ganondorf nearly killed me, no thanks to your lousy information!" Link shrieked, attracting Mayor Bo and Ilia."While I wasn't being manhandled or threatened with electrocution, I gleaned two interesting facts. First, the sorcerer's a hell of a lot stronger, and second, he's gone insane. Maniac used a jeweled dagger to slash Mirath's arm to get his blood! He mentioned a ritual, then plunged the blade into the ground." The young man paused, carefully gauging Chudley's impassive countenance. "You work in the castle, so spill it! Are there any rituals dealing with the Netherworld, Royal Family blood, and makes the earth go haywire if said fluid is injected? Oh, Ganondorf claims to be possessed by an entity called Mahliel."
Recoiling as if Link had physically slapped him, Chudley's stammered response is cut off when Ilia suddenly exclaimed. Looking behind him, he found Coro hobbling down the hall, skin pale with blood seeping through his chest bandages. "He's luck to have encountered Ganondorf and survived, Link, given the sorcerer's current condition. Faron transported him here because the trip would've agitated his state." Sighing, the general gestured for them all to sit. "Unless you want a full-blown panic on your hands, nothing of what I am about to tell you leaves this room.
"Thousands of years ago, one of the six province kings-their names don't concern us-bid his court of mages to devise a method that would deter his enemies from attacking. Intact manuscripts describe the ritual in great depth. All eight sorcerers slit their wrists and sprinkled their blood on the ground, invoking a score of arch-demons to do their commands. Bloodthirsty, the creatures scoured the land, killing anyone in their paths. For centuries, the Cursed Summoning of Arch-demons remained unchanged before a mage skilled in dark magic developed a manner in which only a single person was needed to guide the fiends. Opening a portal to the Netherworld, he fashioned a ceremonial dagger that had a transparent oval piece of jade and presented his idea to the king, who agreed to test it in the morning.
"Six advisers loyal to the king joined him, acting as overseers. Extending his ruler's arm, the sorcerer cut him and gathered the blood. The dagger turned a stunning shade of cobalt. Stabbing it into the ground, the mage had everyone stay where they were. At first, the earth trembled gently, then more vigorously. Unknown to the dolts on the surface, the gap between our realm and the Netherworld had been beached, permitting a demon of enormous power to claw toward them . Just when the king was about to have his sorcerer executed, flames seared the sky from horizon to horizon."
"Yeah, yeah, we get the picture, Chudley, " Link intervened, staring into the blazing fire in the hearth, thinking furiously. "The king tried to control Mahliel, wound up destroying his kingdom, then the goddesses stepped in to send the beast into the Sacred Realm. Only he got a one-way ticket to freedom inside Ganondorf. I don't understand why Mahliel performed the ritual if-Hold on a sec, that's it!" Chudley gave the young man a blank look, eyebrows cocked. "Rather than conjuring arch-demons, the ritual's new version weakened the boundary bridging our realm and theirs. So, I'm willing to bet Mahliel's striving to bring his brethren to Hyrule as an act of revenge against the goddesses." Knocking abruptly rattled the front door, followed by a wild voice. "Now what in Din's name is happening?" Mayor Bo answered the summons.
"Come quick, Mayor!" Pergie said, leading the group toward the creek east of the main village, shooing bystanders away. Her husband, Jaggle, stood with their seventeen-year-old daughter, Beth, his features pinched. Indicating the water, Pergie twisted a lock of her hair in distress. "A few minutes ago, Beth hollered 'bout dead fish in the brown water. Me an' Jaggle, we went outdoors and she was right! Dozens of fish, belly-up for no no good reason!"
Link dipped his hand in the murky liquid, cautiously smelling it. "Poisoned! Seems we've got more to contend with than rampaging ghouls. Mo fresh water equals easy conquest. Ganondorf's using his head for once." Drying his fingers on his shirt, he approached Epona. "Excuse me, but I have a deadline to keep. The Master Sword's out there somewhere and I hope it'll be enough to get the job done. Princess Zelda needs the Hero of Time to rescue her again, for the thousandth time." Smiling, the young man galloped from sight, the snow muffling Epona's hoof beats.
**
Tremors wracked Hyrule's six provinces, a result of the gigantic amount of demonic energy unleashed by the Cursed Summoning of Arch-demons. Permeating the water supply, it tainted the fluid so that any animals or humans who drank it died instantly. Grotesque figures crawled out of steaming fissures in the ground, fangs glistening with lethal saliva. Many took to the sky to escape exposure. Creatures native to Hyrule not affected by the toxic water endured dramatic external changes.
Kargarok doubled in size, achieving a wingspan of over twenty feet. Talons normally three inches long became six inches, curved to a sinister ripping point. Lizalfos grew to a staggering seven feet tall, their hands large enough to heft even a Gorgon sword. Deku Baba and Baba Serpents tripled in mass, forsaking the soil to hunt abroad.
Atop the pinnacle of Death Mountain, safe from prying Gorgon eyes, Mahliel-having suppressed Ganondorf-surveyed the land below him. In eight-and-a-half days, he, the Demon Lord of Chaos and Destruction, would confine the planet of the goddesses in eternal darkness with the assistance of the Triforce. Then Mahliel would fulfill his quest in ruling both realms. Slinging Mirath's flaccid body over his shoulder, the Demon Lord vanished.
Hyrule's countdown to the ultimate battle had commenced. Would Link be able to dispel the demon in time?
"I'll finish herding these critters, Link. Go see what the ruckus is about down in the village, will ya? They're giving me a headache!"
Yelling his thanks to Talo, Link spurred Epona toward Ordon Ranch's gate, nearly bowling over a panting Ilia. "Jeez, Ilia, do you want to die young? How complicated is it to look where you're going?" Mutely rolling her eyes, the seventeen-year-old girl beckoned him to accompany her. Curiosity peaked, the young man, seven years her senior, shook his mount's reins and together they hiked down the path to Ordon Village. Presently, Mayor Bo's house hove into view along with a vast crowd of people: brightly clothed men and women interspersed by clanking soldiers bearing the Hyrulian crest. The community's population of thirty regarded the strangers, heavy shawls over their shoulders to ward off the cold. Conversations ebbing, everyone glanced in Link's direction. Urging his mind to function, he inwardly winced at what tumbled forth. "Don't tell me Her Highness is renovating the castle and booted you out to fend for yourselves!"
"Were that the case, we wouldn't have disturbed your village," Chudley replied as the young man rode up to him. Bowing to Ilia, he inspected Link intently. "Gracious, how you've grown on seven years, Link! I can't detect a scrap of fat on your bones! Saving Hyrule must agree with you!" The general's joviality transformed into despair. "Oh, it's awful, just awful! Princess Zelda was in the throne room when it collapsed, I'm certain of it!" Lin's jaw dropped wordlessly. "More than twelve-hundred of us fled in fear of being butchered like cattle if we chose to linger. For the third time in Hyrule history, the seal has fractured, releasing him."
"Seal?" Ilia repeated, exchanging glances with Mayor Bo, her father, who shrugged. "What seal? Link, does this concern your extensive absence you still refuse to discuss?" A chorus of cries forestalled Link's response. Eyes were cast north where the mid-morning sun was being consumed by pale green clouds. Clutching Mayor Bo's arm, his daughter took several deep breaths, evidently on the verge of hyperventilating. "Dad, what's going on? Is there a storm on its way?" Rumbles of thunder reverberated in the frost, static charged air. The residents of Castle Town shuffled uneasily, reminded of the previous night.
"Ganondorf! Damn it to hell!" Link snarled, knuckles white on the knob of Epona's saddle. Noticing his friends' puzzled expressions, he explained. "Remember how, almost a decade ago, Hyrule Castle was ringed by a barrier, then was eventually demolished? Well, guess where I was? Battling Ganondorf to liberate the kingdom. That guy-monster, really-is no pushover, considering he wields the Triforce of Power, which grants him near-immortality and magical abilities. Anyway, I 'supposdely' defeated him, the Light Spirits disposed of him in the Sacred Realm, and Hyrule prospered for seven happy years. Now, Ganondorf's back to dominate the land." Epona snorted, stamping a hoof on the frozen ground as a chill wind blew. "Have anything you want to add, General?"
"Yes, I do," Chudley said, wringing his hands nervously. Flakes of snow drifted in the air, coating the soil. "Mirath, Princess Zelda's only heir, is lost in Faron Woods. I'm asking you, Link, to find him...lest somebody else does. None of us dare venture ourselves because of Ganondorf's unpredictable nature. We've seen what he's capable of, and we're no match against him. Should the sorcerer discover Mirath while bent on revenge...." The general shuddered at the notion. Haunted brown eyes pleaded with Link.
"Kid can't hide forever," the young man remarked, nudging Epona into the throng. "Be back in a jiffy!" He galloped beyond his home, Ordon Spring, and across the bridge spanning the chasm separating Ordon Woods from Faron Woods. Trees creaked in the gentle breeze, causing Epona to prance. Muttering soothingly, Link coaxed her to a trot. "Easy, girl, it's okay. Mirath, are you out there? Yell if you can hear my voice!" Strained seconds ticked by before a warbling scream that was quickly extinguished sounded, startling the young man. "That can't possibly be good!" Continuing his search, he reached a fork in the road. One side was shimmering with a familiar illumination, the other was shrouded in shadows.
"Hero of Time, I sense you are near! Be cautious, for a great evil has taken the child!"
"Joy, more swell news!" Link grumbled, goading Epona down the right path. Veering sharply east, he arrived in front of Coro's shack and brought her to a standstill when a feeble called his name. Probing the area, he spotted the lantern seller propped against a boulder, his chest covered in blood. "Faron, I know you're listening! Inform Mayor Bo that Coro's been severely injured!" Slapping Epona's hindquarters, the young man passed beneath the structure marking the end of Faron Woods and rocketed into southern Hyrule Field, anger sparking at what he saw. "Leave him alone, you snake!"
"Didn't your parents teach you it's rude to bother someone unannounced?" Ganondorf grated irritably, confronting Link, hand grasping Mirath's arm. Waving nonchalantly, he summoned vine that plucked the young man from Epona, immobilizing him on the ground. In the distance, Hyrule Castle's diamond-shaped barrier glinted like a beacon. "Since you're here, you might as well stay to witness an ancient ritual." The sorcerer produced a dagger with an oval jewel inches above its hilt and straightened Mirath's arm, raking its keen tip on the vulnerable flesh. Collecting the flowing blood, he elevated the blade so it trickled down the steel until it touched the opaque stone. Abruptly, the weapon's entire shaft turned a vibrant blue. "Behold the combined powers of the Netherworld and Royal Family blood!" Flicking his wrist, Ganondorf drove the dagger into the soil, which promptly heaved as though in the throes of an earthquake.
Had the vines not been holding Link so firmly, he would have bounced like a rag doll. After five minutes, the ground's tortured moans quieted enough for him to hear Mirath's muffled sods. Opening his mouth, the young man felt the thick vines slither underground. Lurching to his feet, he unsheathed his sword and lunged toward Ganondorf, skidding to a halt when his nemesis spun. "I don't know what you just did, but I'm going to make you regret it!" Sweeping his blade in a broad arc at the sorcerer's head, Link was unprepared for what occurred next.
Evading swiftly, Ganondorf threaded his arm through the young man's and snapped it taunt, eliciting a pained grunt. Catching the sword that fell from numb fingers, he lobbed it into the snow tinted green by the clouds overhead. No matter how much he struggled, Link could not break his captor's hold. Within him, the sorcerer was conscious of the being sharing his body clamoring for control. Yielding, he let it surface, altering his features. His eyes burned white, his hair lengthened along with his teeth, and the nails of the hand gripping Link sharpened to points. Grinning at the evaporating confidence on the young man's face, Ganondorf spoke in a dangerous resonant voice. "Whelp, you have the audacityto challenge me, Mahliel, an entity a thousand times stronger than the body I inhabit? I could vaporize you on a mere whim!" A bolt of lightning impacted the ground scarcely ten feet away, throwing dirt into the air. "However, I'll offer you a proposal. Meet me in Hyrule Castle nine days from now. There, we shall see who is the most powerful." Shoving the young man, Ganondorf/Mahliel grabbed Mirath and they both disappeared.
Rubbing his throbbing arm, Link stalked to where his sword was, put it in its scabbard, then whistled for Epona. Clambering into her saddle, he kicked her back the way they had came. "I think Chudley forgot to mention a few major details. Boy, won't he be surprised when I jog his memory!"
**
Nibbling his lip, Chudley paced Mayor Bo's den, occasionally glancing out the windows. The tension in his shoulders eased as he saw Epona cantering toward the house, all but hidden by the blowing snow. "Praise the goddesses, he's alive!" He hurried for the door, leaping back to avoid getting struck as it swung wide, Link filling the space, fuming. Entering, he locked the door and faced Chudley, aqua eyes glacial. Clearing his throat, the general chanced a guess to account for the young man's scowl. "I-I take it you ran into some complications in rescuing Mirath?"
"Complications?! Ganondorf nearly killed me, no thanks to your lousy information!" Link shrieked, attracting Mayor Bo and Ilia."While I wasn't being manhandled or threatened with electrocution, I gleaned two interesting facts. First, the sorcerer's a hell of a lot stronger, and second, he's gone insane. Maniac used a jeweled dagger to slash Mirath's arm to get his blood! He mentioned a ritual, then plunged the blade into the ground." The young man paused, carefully gauging Chudley's impassive countenance. "You work in the castle, so spill it! Are there any rituals dealing with the Netherworld, Royal Family blood, and makes the earth go haywire if said fluid is injected? Oh, Ganondorf claims to be possessed by an entity called Mahliel."
Recoiling as if Link had physically slapped him, Chudley's stammered response is cut off when Ilia suddenly exclaimed. Looking behind him, he found Coro hobbling down the hall, skin pale with blood seeping through his chest bandages. "He's luck to have encountered Ganondorf and survived, Link, given the sorcerer's current condition. Faron transported him here because the trip would've agitated his state." Sighing, the general gestured for them all to sit. "Unless you want a full-blown panic on your hands, nothing of what I am about to tell you leaves this room.
"Thousands of years ago, one of the six province kings-their names don't concern us-bid his court of mages to devise a method that would deter his enemies from attacking. Intact manuscripts describe the ritual in great depth. All eight sorcerers slit their wrists and sprinkled their blood on the ground, invoking a score of arch-demons to do their commands. Bloodthirsty, the creatures scoured the land, killing anyone in their paths. For centuries, the Cursed Summoning of Arch-demons remained unchanged before a mage skilled in dark magic developed a manner in which only a single person was needed to guide the fiends. Opening a portal to the Netherworld, he fashioned a ceremonial dagger that had a transparent oval piece of jade and presented his idea to the king, who agreed to test it in the morning.
"Six advisers loyal to the king joined him, acting as overseers. Extending his ruler's arm, the sorcerer cut him and gathered the blood. The dagger turned a stunning shade of cobalt. Stabbing it into the ground, the mage had everyone stay where they were. At first, the earth trembled gently, then more vigorously. Unknown to the dolts on the surface, the gap between our realm and the Netherworld had been beached, permitting a demon of enormous power to claw toward them . Just when the king was about to have his sorcerer executed, flames seared the sky from horizon to horizon."
"Yeah, yeah, we get the picture, Chudley, " Link intervened, staring into the blazing fire in the hearth, thinking furiously. "The king tried to control Mahliel, wound up destroying his kingdom, then the goddesses stepped in to send the beast into the Sacred Realm. Only he got a one-way ticket to freedom inside Ganondorf. I don't understand why Mahliel performed the ritual if-Hold on a sec, that's it!" Chudley gave the young man a blank look, eyebrows cocked. "Rather than conjuring arch-demons, the ritual's new version weakened the boundary bridging our realm and theirs. So, I'm willing to bet Mahliel's striving to bring his brethren to Hyrule as an act of revenge against the goddesses." Knocking abruptly rattled the front door, followed by a wild voice. "Now what in Din's name is happening?" Mayor Bo answered the summons.
"Come quick, Mayor!" Pergie said, leading the group toward the creek east of the main village, shooing bystanders away. Her husband, Jaggle, stood with their seventeen-year-old daughter, Beth, his features pinched. Indicating the water, Pergie twisted a lock of her hair in distress. "A few minutes ago, Beth hollered 'bout dead fish in the brown water. Me an' Jaggle, we went outdoors and she was right! Dozens of fish, belly-up for no no good reason!"
Link dipped his hand in the murky liquid, cautiously smelling it. "Poisoned! Seems we've got more to contend with than rampaging ghouls. Mo fresh water equals easy conquest. Ganondorf's using his head for once." Drying his fingers on his shirt, he approached Epona. "Excuse me, but I have a deadline to keep. The Master Sword's out there somewhere and I hope it'll be enough to get the job done. Princess Zelda needs the Hero of Time to rescue her again, for the thousandth time." Smiling, the young man galloped from sight, the snow muffling Epona's hoof beats.
**
Tremors wracked Hyrule's six provinces, a result of the gigantic amount of demonic energy unleashed by the Cursed Summoning of Arch-demons. Permeating the water supply, it tainted the fluid so that any animals or humans who drank it died instantly. Grotesque figures crawled out of steaming fissures in the ground, fangs glistening with lethal saliva. Many took to the sky to escape exposure. Creatures native to Hyrule not affected by the toxic water endured dramatic external changes.
Kargarok doubled in size, achieving a wingspan of over twenty feet. Talons normally three inches long became six inches, curved to a sinister ripping point. Lizalfos grew to a staggering seven feet tall, their hands large enough to heft even a Gorgon sword. Deku Baba and Baba Serpents tripled in mass, forsaking the soil to hunt abroad.
Atop the pinnacle of Death Mountain, safe from prying Gorgon eyes, Mahliel-having suppressed Ganondorf-surveyed the land below him. In eight-and-a-half days, he, the Demon Lord of Chaos and Destruction, would confine the planet of the goddesses in eternal darkness with the assistance of the Triforce. Then Mahliel would fulfill his quest in ruling both realms. Slinging Mirath's flaccid body over his shoulder, the Demon Lord vanished.
Hyrule's countdown to the ultimate battle had commenced. Would Link be able to dispel the demon in time?
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