Noble by Nature

Chapter 14

Link was lost.
     Everything around him was pitch black, and there was not a sound to be heard. The putrid smell of Malice stung in his nose, and he didn't dare extend his hand in fear of touching the foul stuff. He hardly dared to move at all.
     But he had to. No matter what he'd have to go through, he would find Zelda. He was not going to leave her behind. Not with that... thing.
     Link took a deep, burning breath, before finally putting out his hand. There was nothing there.
     He took a cautious step forward, and then another. Painfully slowly he made his way through the dark, alert on any sign of life.
     Eventually his eyes got used to the dark, and he started to see the very faint glow of Malice, coming off the ceiling, the walls, even parts of the floor. It was all around him.
     A sudden noise startled him, and his head shot up so that he was blindingly staring into the darkness. There it was again. It was faint and muffled, but unmistakably a human voice. Screaming.
     His heart nearly pounded out of his chest as he stepped forward, anxious to get closer. He had to find out more. If only it wasn't what he feared it was.
     He now reached a hallway, with nearly every available surface covered in the thick, oozing mess, filling the air with the horrible smell of burning acid. In places the stuff was so thick that there was barely any room left, but he managed to squeeze through.
     He now found himself in another room, so large that he could not see the other side of it. He carefully shuffled forward, avoiding a big patch of Malice on the floor, still listening for another sound.
     A sudden high-pitched scream pierced the darkness again, much closer this time.
     He recognized that voice.
     Link's heart clenched, and he threw all caution overboard as he sprinted to the other end of the room. To his immense terror, there was nothing there.
     Another scream sounded, and he could tell it was right on the other side of this Malice. But there was no way through.
     'No...' he muttered, searching for a gap in the Malice, frantically making his way along the wall. 'No... there has to be a way.'
      Another scream. Much louder this time, shrill in fear and pain.
     'Zelda!' he screamed back in panic. 'Zelda!' A sob tore through his body as he fell to his knees, defeated. He couldn't find a way through.
     The next scream held on for much longer, with a high pitch right before it cut off.
     He couldn't bear it. He had to do something.
     Link got up again, anger boiling in his veins, as he searched the wall again with his eyes. He could tell where the doorway should be, but a large web of Malice covered it, making it impossible to get through without touching it.
     'So be it,' he muttered to himself, and he put his hand through a small hole.
     Indescribable pain burst through his body, instantly setting his insides on fire. With a loud gasp Link yanked his hand back, his eyes wide as he stared at the wall, panting. This couldn't be happening.
     He shook his head. Anything but this. Not again.
     He had recognized the pain, and he had sworn himself to never go through that again. He would sooner end it completely than give in to that fire again.
     Memories of the poisoning came back up to the surface, and he suddenly felt sick to his stomach. He had spent weeks fighting that horrible stuff, tied to a bed to prevent him from hurting himself. Those had been the absolute worst days of his life, and it still haunted him in his nightmares.
     How could he willingly go through that again?
     He wouldn't. He couldn't.
     He stepped back, his whole body now trembling. There was no way he would survive that hell again. He would rather die.
     Another high-pitched scream echoed through the room, piercing his foggy mind and pulling him back to the present situation. Zelda needed him. The thought of her experiencing that same nightmare was simply too much to take.
     If there was one thing that could make him walk through fire, then it was her. He would give his soul to keep her safe.
     He worked himself back to his feet and tried to take a few deep breaths. It was very likely that his soul was indeed the price for this. Or at the very least his sanity.
     He took another deep breath, hoping against hope that he would stop trembling. That the mortal fear that held him in its grip would let go. It was hopeless though. No amount of breathing could prepare him for what he was about to do.
     Before he could think about it anymore, not giving himself the chance to break down, he smashed both his hands into the Malice and tore at it.
     Pain exploded in his entire body, clouding his mind and making his chest constrict. His breathing became shallow and irregular, and he had to do everything he could to stay conscious.
     Images shot through his head, taking him back to those days after the Battle of Castle Town, when he had been lying in bed, hopelessly staring at the ceiling. The fire that had consumed him then seemed almost tickling compared to this. It was as if his body had to experience every injury he had ever sustained, five times worse than it had ever been.
     He screamed at the Malice, clawed at it and screamed louder, no longer able to tell the difference between the anger boiling in his veins, or the toxic effects of Malice setting him on fire.
     He screamed and screamed, and clawed and wrestled and pushed and pulled, screamed more and louder, and pushed his entire body into that nightmare.
     He no longer felt human at all. He was just a floating conscience, a glimmer of a soul in a burning pool of hatred and fire.
     It was as if he could feel bits and pieces of himself being chipped away, attacked and consumed by pure evil. There was no escaping it. It was everywhere, crawling into every opening and tearing away at his sanity.
     Link could feel himself losing grip on reality, but he didn't understand what was happening. It was like a dream slipping away from him, and the harder he tried to comprehend it, the harder it became.
     He only knew pain. Pain was everywhere. It was his ever present companion.
     But then there was another scream, and it wasn't him.
     That scream was the one he was trying to get to. It was why he was being burned alive, why he had to fight through it.
     With renewed determination he pushed forward, letting the pain fuel his anger, and letting his anger fuel his strength. He would tear down the world if he had to.
     He knew he could.