The Legend of Zelda: Goddess of Secrecy

Boss 1 - Parasitical Overgrowth Vinios

            …only to have to pause as a horrible stench intruded his senses. Holding his arm up to his nose, Link looked around the room for what could possibly be creating such an awful smell as the door swung shut behind him.

            The room was made mostly out of dirt, like a lair, built in the grand hall of the temple. The fanged peaks of granite pillars stuck up through the base of the floor and the purple water that covered almost everything else. Vines coiled around almost anything they could touch.

Link noticed long hollow roots gaping near the ceiling of the room. Fresh water poured in from them, helping revive the putrid pool of filth. How plant life survived in this environment, Link would never know. Yet, something did live in here. Beside the vines, wide lily pads drifted around the pool, their roots catching on anything underground before breaking free again and drifting on with the weak current.

            In the center of the room was an island. It was big enough for about five horses to move comfortably on, and covered in dark green grass. Lying in the middle of the island was Derek. Even without seeing the young man’s face, Link recognized the tattered sigil of the Royal Guard hanging over his chain mail. It was enough to identify him.

            Bruce gripped his nose. “Goddesses, what is that smell?”

            “Toxin. Very deadly toxin.”

            Link turned his attention to a vine hanging above the room. A slender, pale shape hung upside down from it, swinging gently back and forth. It was a woman, or so it appeared. She had night black hair, with vibrate streaks of white, purple, and blue, and bright cyan eyes that chilled Link to the bone.

            “You are supposed to be dead!”

            “I am,” the woman replied as she righted herself on her perch. “It’s a hard thing to fool the Drex, so wise as you are. But I did fool you, didn't I?”

            “Link. This woman…she is not…she is a corrupted sorceress. My people slew her but a month ago. This…this cannot be. Link! Find a way out of there! Quickly!”

            “Oh, hush, now,” the woman said, waving her arm in frustration. “I’m not here to fight him. I’m just making sure he’s alive. Quite a nice age…unlike the last times he’s met with my Master. A proper age for a hero. You are, aren’t you?”

            Link opened his mouth, to answer, only to be cut off as Yore dove down in front of him, his wings flapping violently.

            “Do not answer her, Link. Zeal is dangerous. Her words are powerful, and she will use them against you.”

            “Now there is a good description of me, Endeavor, though I'm not sure how I can use his age against him much,” Zeal stated with a tip of her head. “But, like I said, I’m not here to kill him. That would be simply too easy. Come back and visit me when you have a powerful sword, Hero, and maybe we’ll cross blades then. If you survive this, of course.”

            Zeal snapped her fingers, the noise much higher pitched than it should have been. It resonated through out the room, and something stirred inside the water. Link watched the water slowly drain as a large mass raced to the surface from where it had been lying on top of the drain.

            The island in the center of the room turned out not to be connected to the floor, and lowered with the water. Link knew that once he jumped in, there would be no turning back. He would have to find another way out.