Link's POV
The Great Sky Island (???)
Sheik sighed in relief. "I apologize, Astor. That spirit was interfering with our Corruption spell. Now, I have a few questions for you."
Not really wanting to argue right now, I just sighed. "Okay."
"Are you aware of how much time has passed? And do you remember what events took place after we were both teleported out of the shrine?"
"Both...? Oh, whatever," I didn't really care at this point. "No, I don't know for either of your questions."
"Well, Astor, it just seems impossible to me for so much to happen in such a short amount of time, if only minutes or hours have passed." Sheik pointed to the sky around us. The clouds were gone, and I could see the surface now! Unfortunately, it looked like utter chaos in Lanayru, Gerudo, and Tabantha/Hebra.
~~~
Sheik's POV
The Great Sky Island (Right after the events of last chapter)
"A...a Hollow..."
The creature had only been summoned for a moment, but Astor's control over it had been incredible. He summoned it using nothing but pure will, and easily returned himself to his original body.
A...a powerful, courageous hero.
"Well then, Astor, I see that my decision to spare your life is not something I will regret," I said.
I... I don't know...how I got here, but I need to keep trying...to...
The dark hero glared at me. "Leave me alone! I don't know what you want from me, but you're in for one hell of an adventure if you want to keep trying to...control me, or whatever.
His glare...hurts my soul...
I laughed. "If you weren't aware, this is the trial you must complete in order to join us. If you fail, well... just know that we are capable of much stronger Corruption magic than you may think.
That's a lie... I know my own mind better than anyone else's, ha... I remember every single interaction with...Ganondorf, every second of him telling me...his plans, every...sec...ond...
I'm losing energy...
I need...
...to do this...
...now...
"Link, go! You need to make it to the last Shrine of Darkness, or-"
No.
I fell to the ground. This again...?
~~~
Ganondorf's POV
Beneath Hyrule Castle (After Sheik collapsed)
My creations are almost complete.
All I need to do is unleash them.
And then...
The Rito, stuck in an endless snowstorm, starving to death...
The Gorons, hypnotized into oblivion, horribly weakened...
The Zora, ill from the sludge, unable to defend themselves...
The Gerudo, trapped in their desert, left to die to the Gibdos...
...Will no longer be able to aid the Hylians once I inevitably summon my army of monsters once again.
This era will not survive.
This era will not-
...
Something's wrong...
Sheik!
My Corruption spell has severely weakened... I need to unleash the...
~~~
Sheik's POV
The Great Sky Island (After some dialogue that I am not going to write lol)
"I-I'm not some joke. Just because I act silly sometimes doesn't mean I'm not a good hero," Astor says. "I'm willing to help you if I can get off this island."
"Thank you for complying, Astor," I told him. "I will help you master the final ability we have given you."
This could go badly...
The new recruit still put up his cold "hero" act, as if trying to intimidate me. I knew he could save me...save Hyrule...and finally become the terrifying beast of destruction he is destined to be, with our help, of course.
I cannot let us break him...he's already stopped protesting the name Sheik gave him...
How far can the servants of darkness go...?
I guided him to the final Shrine of Darkness, using Corrupt on the few enemies we encountered on the way. It was a short journey, and a silent one as well. He refused to speak to me.
A wise decision...as always, M-
~~~
Zelda's POV
The (Forgotten Temple) Temple of Light (???)
"King Rauru..."
The Gerudo hero, the Sage of Lightning, began to speak. Her voice sounded slightly distorted with the strange Zonai helmet she was wearing, which hid her face from servants of darkness.
"We just received word that the last free village in the Gerudo Desert has fallen."
Gasps could be heard from around, even though we already knew that everyone would have to fall eventually. I couldn't bear to hear such horrible news, but I didn't show much of a reaction. We had to keep our sights on victory for now.
We had to defeat the Demon King.
Gathered around the table were the Sages. The masters of Wind, Water, Lighting, Fire, and Spirit had all come here from every corner of Hyrule to annihilate Ganondorf.
The Sage of Lightning began to speak again. "At this rate, the Demon King's army will overwhelm us."
"I understand," said Rauru, looking defeated. His kingdom was being destroyed as we spoke, and there was nothing we could do until the great evil was destroyed. "Our only hope is for me to defeat the Demon King."
By himself?!
"Rauru." It was Mineru. "The Demon King... He is not someone you can stop by yourself." Rauru sighed. "But..." Mineru continued, "You are not alone. You have the Gerudo, Goron, Zora, and Rito leaders, as well as Zelda... And of course, you can count on me."
Rauru closed his eyes for a second. He seemed to be thinking. Then, he slowly rose. "There's something I'd like to show you all."
The king put his hand against a strange, glowing Zonai symbol and it disappeared. I heard a rumbling noise. The large stone door was beginning to move.
Once it had fully opened, what was inside the room was revealed.
"Zonai...Secret Stones..."
Rauru turned back to us. "Stand with me. I need all your aid."
We entered the room, marveling at the precious Zonai artifacts that were just floating above the stone table. Reaching our hands out to the Secret Stones, the Sages embraced their incredible power. The Stones flew to the Sages, becoming physically attached to each of them in some way.
"We all, gathered here, swear on our lives to serve Rauru, the King of Light."
~~~
Sheik's POV
The Gloom Void (After Link saved them)
...stor...
...Astor...
...saved...me...
I sat up. "A-Astor! What-"
"No! Stop talking!" He exclaimed. "I-I don't know why you did that, or how I knew how to save you, but-"
"Astor..." I said. "What happened...?"
Instantly, he started yelling about how I just almost died and shut down and he couldn't wake me up so he brought be to the Shrine of Darkness and somehow revived me and-
"Okay, okay, I-I think I understand now...I'm sorry, I'm not sure what causes that, and I really can't control it, but I'm thankful you saved me. But since we're here..."
"What?!" He exclaimed. "You've just woken up from who-knows-what and the first thing you want to do is teach me this "final ability" or whatever?! I thought you'd be more...like...a normal person. Like, not doing stuff right after you pass out!"
Ganondorf's failed attempts at shutting me out of Sheik's mind shouldn't cause much of a problem to them, aside from passing out until the Demon Lord's power revives them...but they will feel fine after a minute.
"I...come to think of it...I do feel a bit..."
"What?"
"No, never mind...I'm sure it's nothing..."
Just that...odd voice...
I'm not sure it's real.
"Well, in any case, Astor, you must learn to use Obliterate."
"Obliterate?" He seemed intrigued by the name. Or maybe he just wanted to know what it was since he would have to use it in a little while.
I began explaining it to him. "Obliterate is an ability that allows the user to destroy small objects with relative ease. In order to-"
"Why is it called Obliterate, though?"
I sighed. "Because the object is obliterated, Astor. Now, you'll have to-"
"Why not use a word like 'destroy' or 'break', though? Why specifically 'obliterate'?"
"You know what, Astor?" I threw a blob of Malice at him. Within seconds, his mind had absorbed the information I gave him. It took a lot out of me to use that spell, but it sure was efficient...
I'll make another attempt soon. Sheik is low on energy...
~Timeskip~
Everything was set up.
Everything was perfect.
The former hero stood at the start of the course, looking nervous but trying to hide it. I would be, too, if I were taking a test that would determine whether I joined the Demon King's army as myself or not, with failure meaning that a new mind would be placed into my body.
I used a bit of magic to summon a (Corrupted) Hover Stone as a platform to watch Astor from. I decided that was enough time for him to get ready. I watched him destroy the last rock in the pile I had given him to practice on, and sent a small strand of Gloom to notify him that the trial was starting.
"Are you ready for the final test, Astor?"
"Ready as I'll ever be."
The former hero took a deep breath.
It was time to prove he was strong enough to join the Demon King's army.
~~~
Author's note
Hellooooo guys! I'm back! Waiting until KOSA takes effect and ruins lives and makes a lot of minors commit suicide! So uhh- what are you doing?
I'm still updating, don't worry lol. Once I get this far into a book I physically can't quit because then I feel like a disappointment. And don't worry! I promise to not take a year-long hiatus like I did with Sanitized! (sorry about that, Sanitized readers)
Uh oh. I have a sudden craving for chocolate frozen yogurt. It's 12:18 A.M.
What do I do.
...Uh, actually, I think ending this chapter would be a good start. Bye!