Chapter 3: Song of Healing
As the trio continued to walk across the field, Terminus couldn't help but eavesdrop in on Link and Zelda's conversation and feel somewhat envious of the close bond that they obviously shared. There had been a time when she had shared a relationship like that with her own hero, before he had been transformed by the evil demon into the Fierce Deity. He had been a simple young man from the growing village, who seemed to be quite ordinary upon a first glance. Terminus remembered fondly what he used to look like: dark brown hair, light green eyes, a lean, yet sturdy build, and a kind smile. And beyond that, his heart was generous, gentle and pure. His skill with a blade had been unparalleled throughout the land of Termina and his loyalty to its goddess was without question. And it was for that reason that Terminus had chosen him to rise up against Majora in her stead. She had given him this task in person, and it was at that moment that a bond began to form between the two of them almost naturally. In between preparations for the oncoming battle, the two of them would spend almost every waking hour together, building something that quickly escalated into a passionate romance. He seemed to not care at all that she was a goddess and that he was a mere mortal and when she was with him, she seemed to forget that fact herself. As far as they were concerned, they were both equals, and nothing else mattered. For several weeks, they were each other's entire world and all was blissful. They spent many happy hours together, until the fateful day came when the hero fought Majora and suffered from its corrupting touch. In the aftermath of the battle, he lost himself entirely and was transformed from the hero that the goddess had once loved dearly, into a fierce warrior with only one agenda: to merciless kill the one he had once loved as well by the command of his unrelenting demon master. And, even though the Deity could no longer love his goddess any more, there was no question that, even though she was forced to wage war against him, Terminus still loved her hero and always would.
As Terminus was lost in her bittersweet memories, she almost didn't notice that her former hero had snuck up on her and was ready to strike her down. In fact, she wouldn't have noticed at all if it hadn't been for Zelda's surprised and terrified gasp coming from behind her. The goddess of Termina turned her head just in time to see the Fierce Deity towering over her, his deadly blade poised to murder her in an instant. Unable to react out of fear and shock, she closed her eyes and turned away so she wouldn't have to watch his sword come down. But much to her great fortune, it didn't. Instead the loud crash of clanging metal sounded throughout the field. Terminus opened her eyes to find Link standing between her and the Deity's blade, defending against the attack with the Great Fairy's Sword.
"Both of you, run!" he shouted, clearly struggling against the formidable physical power of the Deity. "Now!"
Zelda didn't hesitate to follow his command and began to hurry away from the battle scene, until she saw Terminus, still frozen in terror, her eyes wide with fright. Gathering up as much courage as she could, the girl rushed towards her twin and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her to her feet and dragging her out of the Deity's reach until they were a safe ten feet away from both heroes.
Despite the Deity's great might, Link managed to muster the strength to push the corrupted hero back, creating a distance of several feet between the two of them. The Deity stood still for a moment as Link caught his breath, giving him and Zelda a chance to take in the frightful appearance of Terminus' former hero. He was at least eight feet tall and looked to be quite muscular and strong. He wielded a large blade that used to be two separate swords, their metals now twisted and fused together in the shade of a double-helix. But as Zelda looked between him and Link, she noticed something that unnerved her quite a bit: the Deity looked extremely similar to her own hero. It was true that there were quite a few physical differences, such as their contrasting blades and the Deity's eyes, which were pure white and pupil-less, along with the red and blue war paint markings on his face and his snow-white hair. However, they shared many characteristics as well: their facial structures and builds were about the same aside from their heights, and they both wore a cap and tunic, though Link's were green and the Deity's were light blue, coupled with thick metal chest armor and gauntlets and black leggings. And, as Zelda noticed these uncanny resemblances, she realized something important: in the same way that Terminus and Hylia were counterparts to each other, each from a different, yet parallel world, so were the goddesses' respective heroes. But she had no time to dwell on the fact as she watched Terminus' former hero raise his double-helix blade into the air. A strange glow began to form around it as the overcast skies above grew dark and a storm started to brew. A clear barrier surrounded the makeshift battle field of the two heroes, much to Zelda's dismay as she realized that neither her nor Terminus would be able to help Link at all because of it. This would be a battle that he'd have to fight entirely on his own, and if he didn't win, it would certainly mean death.
Link, on the other hand, barely noticed the barrier as he kept his eyes locked on his opponent, unsure of the Deity's fighting style or weak points. What he really could have used at the moment was the infallible advice of Fi, the spirit that dwelled within the blade of evil's bane, the Master Sword. When the hero had been on his initial journey on the surface to find Zelda, Fi had been his constant companion, sharing her wealth of knowledge with him, especially on the various enemies and monsters that he encountered. Her help certainly would have been invaluable now, especially in dealing with the mysterious Fierce Deity, but the spirit had sealed herself away into an eternal slumber inside of the Master Sword upon Demise's defeat. But as much as he wished for her presence, Link could only think about her for a second, as the Deity was already coming in for his first attack.
After narrowly leaping out of the path of the long, sharp blade, the hero attempted to counter using his own sword, but the Deity was quick to block it. After clashing swords once more, both of them leaped back and prepared for another strike. Link was the first to race forward upon coming up with a quick strategy as he rushed towards the Deity, who stood more than ready to defend against him once more. However, instead of trying for a direct attack, Hylia's hero ran past Terminus's hero, and slashed against the Deity's open back, sending the former hero reeling forwards from the heavy blow.
Zelda smiled in relief as she watched Link finally land a direct hit, but as she glanced over at Terminus, she could sense the clear dread on her sister's face. And it was in that brief moment that she realized that Terminus and her hero must have close, and that simply watching him get hurt, even if it was possibly for his own good, brought her the same amount of pain as if she had been hit herself. Zelda couldn't really blame her though; she knew that if their roles were reversed and she had to watch her own hero suffer in such a way as Terminus' had, it would definitely bring a great deal of pain to her as well. But even so, it was a strange, yet interesting turn of events; that the two counterpart heroes, who were similar in appearance, yet contrasting in allegiance, were forced to fight each other in such a way. Though one boasted near god-like strength and power, the other was of great courage and determination. And perhaps it was because of that fact that, even though they didn't appear to be, both of the goddesses' heroes were more equally matched than one would think.
It only took seconds for the Deity to recover from the strike and the moment he did, he spun around to face his opponent, widely swinging his large sword into the empty air around him, unleashing a lethal beam of raw energy towards the hero's turned back. Link spun around just in time to see the wave speeding right for him and he reacted in the only way he had time for: by raising his Hylian Shield in front of him, hoping that the indestructible shield could protect him from the deadly blast. The beam struck the shield with a tremendous amount of force, sending it out of his grasp completely and throwing him backwards to the ground, knocking the wind out of him.
Zelda gasped in fear when she saw Link land roughly. She pounded her fists against the invisible barrier in a futile attempt to get to him, watching the Deity slowly make his approach towards the semi-conscious hero and knowing that there was no way he could defend himself against another brutal attack now. "Link!" she shouted to warn him as she nervously watched him start to weakly pull himself back onto his feet. Still disoriented from the blow, he glanced over at Zelda when he heard her calling his name and that was his fatal mistake. For as he did so, he was unable to see the Deity start to rush for him until it was too late. The Deity struck the hero in the stomach hard with his fist, using her sheer physical strength to send Link reeling back several feet onto the ground. Zelda couldn't help but scream in horror as she saw Terminus' hero take advantage of the fact that Hylia's hero was fully unconscious now due to the harsh blow. With wide terrified eyes, she watched as the Deity easily pick Link up by the front of his tunic and hold him up like he was some kind of trophy. And, in a movement so quick that Zelda barely saw it, the Deity sliced his deadly blade across the hero's chest, leaving a long, deep cut before throwing him to the ground roughly.
"No!" Zelda cried in desperation, tears streaming down her face as she pounded on the barrier harder than before. "Terminus, we have to help him!"
Terminus was silent for a moment, her face cold and emotionless as she kept her gaze locked on her former hero, who now stood completely still before Hylia's fallen hero for some reason. "There is nothing we can do..." she whispered hollowly. "This is his fight now, not ours. If he fails... then he fails..."
"How can you say that?!" Zelda shouted angrily, not wanting to sit by idly just to watch Link suffer. "He's badly hurt! If we don't do something, then... then... he'll..." She trailed off, unable to even utter the terrible thought. But at the same time, she was still frustrated with Terminus for being so passive at such a dire moment. It was as though she didn't even care about what happened to Link at all, something that enraged Zelda. But, she knew that the goddess of Terminus had been right. As much as it pained her to think about it, there was nothing either of them could really do. The only thing that could save the hero now would be a miracle.
Upon this bitter realization, Zelda tearfully glanced away from Link only for a second to look at Terminus. Her sister still did not turn her gaze away from the Deity, but now there was clear pain painted upon her face. Tears of deep sorrow slipped down her cheeks and her green eyes were distant, as if lost in long-gone memories of blissful times that could never return. She took in a deep breath and looked down as she closed her eyes, unable to look at the sight of Hylia's near-dead hero and her own corrupted hero any longer. Seeing that Terminus was unresponsive, Zelda looked back to the battle field to see something that completely shocked her.
Though the Deity still did not move an inch, Link began to stir, much to Zelda's relief. However, she had no way of knowing that something was terribly wrong. The hero pulled himself to his hands and knees in a daze, feeling far away and distant from everything. The gash in his chest was certainly painful, but strangely it made his entire body feel both hot and cold at the same time. Multiple voices seemed to be whispering incoherent things to him from out of nowhere as all of his senses began to dim into complete oblivion. He collapsed onto the ground once more, until he slowly rose to his feet a moment later to stand strong and unshaped, ready to start this fight anew. It was as though he was totally unaffected by his still heavily bleeding wound as he stood holding the Great Fairy's Sword poised to attack the Deity, his expression uncharacteristically distant and unreadable. Though Zelda was confused about what had brought Link back from the brink of death and unnerved by his odd manner, she watched in awe nonetheless as he backed up strategically away from the statue-like Deity. When he was a good distance away, the hero started racing forward, his sword brandished as he leapt high into the air and brought it down on the Deity's chest, completely shattering his armor and knocking him to the ground in defeat.
Upon seeing Link strike the Deity down, Terminus was broken out of her melancholy and remembered the task at hand. She gasped in surprise and slight distress as she watched her former hero fall, but she knew that it was for the best. Knowing that she only had a brief time to make her move as the barrier around the battle field faded away, Terminus nodded to Zelda and they both rushed towards the Deity and the hero. Zelda stopped short for a moment however as she watched Link draw his blade out of the Deity's chest. There were two specific things that unnerved her; the first was the fact that the Great Fairy's Sword was painted with the color of the blood of Terminus's former hero, which was pearl white instead of red for some strange reason. And the second was Link's still blank and stone-cold expression, his light blue eyes not seeming to focus on anything at all. As Terminus continued to hurry towards her hero, Zelda slowly approached her own hero, knowing that something must be wrong with him, but having no idea what it could possibly be. Taking in a deep breath, she moved to stand in front of him and gazed into his face after taking a brief glance at the cut on his chest. He didn't so much as look at her, much to her confusion. Biting her lip nervously, she gently placed a hand on his shoulder, thinking and hoping that he was perhaps simply in deep thought. "Link?" she whispered tentatively and the moment she did, the hero gasped and opened his eyes wide, collapsing to his knees and groaning in agony from the extreme pain in his chest, apparently returned from whatever trance he appeared to have been in. Zelda lowered herself down to his level and looked into his now focused eyes, still somewhat disturbed by what had just happened, but glad to see that it seemed to be over now. Feeling pity for his obvious misery, she embraced him gently, tears softly flowing from her eyes, knowing that she had been so close to loosing him.
At the same time, Terminus kneeled down near her own hero, who was lying on the ground in defeat and gazed into his unblinking, pure white eyes with grief. A few stray tears slipped down her cheeks as she looked at what he had become against his will and her sorrow only magnified as she watched her sister and her respective hero locked in a warm embrace. She was silent and still for a moment as she watched them, pining to have the love of her own champion back and wishing with all of her heart that she would be able to fall into his arms once more, but knowing that there was good chance that she never would ever again.
"You had me scared to death..." Zelda whispered to Link as they continued to hold each other. "I... I thought you.. I thought you had been... killed..."
The hero didn't answer her immediately, as he was lost in his own racing thoughts. He still felt quite numb, but at least now he was aware of what was happening, unlike he had been when he defeated the Deity. He couldn't remember what had happened at all between the second time he had fallen unconscious and when Zelda had somehow brought him back from it. It was as though something had taken control of him entirely and he had not been in control of his actions whatsoever. He had no idea what it could have been, but whatever its was, it helped him defeat the Deity nonetheless. But even so, Link was still bothered by it and he had an unshakable suspicion that it might overtake him again in the future.
"Zelda..." he moaned quietly, growing weaker from the pain in his chest. "I... I need to tell you something..."
"What?" she immediately responded, glancing at his wound worriedly. It needed attention, and soon, otherwise it could end up killing him after all. ""What is it?"
The hero was about to tell her about what had happened, but he was interrupted by Terminus, who had risen to her feet and had taken the Ocarina of Time out and poised it to play. "Hylia," she said to Zelda. "It is time. We must try to heal the Deity's soul. It is perhaps the only way that we can free him from Majora's evil grip."
Zelda nodded solenmly as she stood, taking out the Goddess's Harp and positioning it. "Follow after me and play this, the Song of Healing," Terminus said as she placed the ocarina to her lips and began to play a slow, calming, yet somewhat morose melody. The instrument echoed the tune across the field in a lovely flow, sounding rich and beautiful. Zelda followed her sister's notes perfectly on the harp, adding the sound of the light strings to the song as its volume grew. Both sacred instruments began to take on a soft glow as they continued to play the duet, and soon enough, that glow was transferred to the Deity. White light enveloped the former hero until it surrounded him completely, and as the Song of Healing reached its full crescendo, the light flashed and when it had faded, the Fierce Deity was completely gone.
With their healing melody finished, the two sisters put their respective instruments aside. Wanting to make sure that Link was still alright, Zelda hurried over to him and kneeled down beside him, putting a supportive arm around him and checking over his wound briefly before looking back to Terminus. The goddess of Termina had her gaze fixated on the now sunny sky above or rather at the small ball of light that hung several feet above her. Tears started to fall from her saddened green eyes once more as she shook her head in dejection. "It is too late..." she whispered in grief. "Majora had corrupted every part of his spirit... We cannot restore him..." She sighed and hung her head for a moment, before looking to the light that was representative of her hero's lost soul. "But, at the very least, he is free from the demon's control..." With her eyes still filled with tears, Terminus raised her hands towards the light and it began to flow towards them. The goddess looked down as the light touched her outstretched hands and flashed brightly for a moment, before fading to reveal a mask bearing the face of the Fierce Deity. She lowered the mask and gazed into its empty eyes with heartbreak, knowing that she would never have her hero back again. "It is done..." she said in immense sorrow, clutching the Fierce Deity's Mask against her chest tightly. "My hero... is no more..."