Chapter 14: The Light to Banish Darkness
Zelda could tell that she was having what she referred to as a "Hylia dream" based on the fact that everything seemed distant and faded, but all immediate all the same. In addition, she also felt trapped, like she always did when she had a dream of the goddess's memories, inside a body that was not her own, even though she could see everything that was going on and could make use of her other senses as well.
This particular dream was of a memory that Zelda was not familiar with. When she had acquired Hylia's memories, she had only received what was important to carrying out the goddess's plan to defeat Demise. Everything else had been left out, but occasionally the girl would get glimpses of Hylia's past life, before she had cast off her divinity. It was through these dreams that she had pieced together both Hylia's history and her personality. The goddess herself had been very serious, but also dedicated to the land she was charged with protecting. She was dutiful, and for that reason, she rarely showed any signs of weakness, including emotion. But as Zelda shared with another memory with her past life, a sense of dread and worry pervaded her own feelings, which were being influenced by Hylia's thoughts and feelings. What the goddess could have been worried about considering her stoic position was beyond the girl, but she devoted her attention to the scene that she was not only watching, but also taking part in.
Hylia stood in the center of the Sealed Grounds, before the recently created spike that had sealed Demise into the earth only mere moments before. A newfound sense of calm settled over the land, and life started to stir once more within the war-torn area. But the goddess's gaze was locked onto the clouded skies ahead, looking to the heavens where the humans and the Triforce had just been sent to live in peace. Zelda couldn't exactly read Hylia's thoughts, but she gathered that the isle in the sky was not really her concern at the moment. Rather it was aimed towards an unknown source, one that the girl couldn't figure out.
With a quiet sigh of dread, Hylia used her powers to teleport in a flourish of light from the demon king's prison to the vast field, which was soiled with blood from the recent battle that had been fought against Demise. As she slowly walked through the field, he goddess did not look at any of the dead bodies of the various surface races who had been mercilessly slaughtered for her sake, but Zelda saw them all and on her own merit, she felt guilty for their deaths. They had all risen up to defend their land against Demise and his demonic hordes, for the honor and glory of the goddess, but they had laid down their lives in doing so. And what made her feel even worse was that there were even a few decaying human bodies among them as well, clearly showing that even though she had been able to spare most of them by sending them to the sky, she had not been able to save them all.
Hylia stopped dead in her tracks and her breath caught when she spotted something green lying on the ground several feet in the distance. Zelda couldn't make out what it was at first, but as Hylia broke out across the field in a run towards it, it started become clearer to her. It was a person, though the girl was unable to make out too much about them as their back was turned to her as they lied somewhat propped up against a rock. The goddess stopped once more when she was only a few feet away from the person and she stood still for several moments as a rush of fear and grief spilled into her heart. This gave Zelda a chance to better examine the figure who laid before her and the same feelings of sorrow and angst started to fill her as well. For as she looked upon the person, whom she now knew to be a young man, she sensed something intensely familiar about him. His torn, dirt-soiled green tunic and cap were so inconspicuously familiar that there was no mistaking her suspicions, as much as she wanted to prove them wrong. The only difference seemed to be the tattered red cape and golden mantle, but those did little to distract from the fatal wound torn into his side, the blood from it still fresh, but no longer flowing.
Warm tears started to flow down Hylia's face and Zelda shared them with her, praying and hoping that it wasn't true. Hesitantly, she stepped closer towards the fallen warrior and knelt down beside him, taking in a shaky breath to prepare herself for what she knew she was going to find. As she reached over to take his cold, yet strong body in her arms, he did not stir at all, confirming what both the goddess and the girl had feared. An ill feeling of pain and misery came over Zelda, one she knew would never go away as Hylia stroked the injured hero's pale blonde hair and let her tears of mourning fall onto his unfeeling face. Zelda was too overcome with grief to notice that there were in fact differences between who she thought this was and who he really was, but all the same, she joined Hylia in a tearful cry of woe, one that echoed throughout the field as the both cried out the same name in unison: "Link!"
Zelda awakened with a jolt, her breath completely lost and her heart pounding despite the fact that she had not been in any danger whatsoever in her dream. Her eyes were still damp with tears, ones that wouldn't stop falling from her eyes as she sat up and hugged her legs, pouring out her sorrow and fear for several minutes. Her mind tried to make sense of the dream that she had just had, but the only thing she could actually focus on was the inner pain she was feeling. Never before had one of Hylia's memories brought her so much heartache and the girl knew the reason why this one had. Though she didn't know how to explain it, she had seen her hero lying cold and dead, and she had been far too late to help him. But now that she was fully awake, something bothered her about the dream. Though he had looked quite similar, the hero in her dream just didn't appear to be her Link. Zelda wasn't sure what to make of that realization; it could mean a number of things and the fact that she had seen it all through Hylia's eyes didn't make coming to a conclusion any easier. The girl sighed as she placed her head against her legs, trying to chase away the headache brought on by grief and confusion that she had developed. So instead of thinking about her dream and what it could possibly mean, she instead remembered the task at hand: finding a way out of the Interlopers' stronghold with her life.
Taking in a deep breath, Zelda peeked out of the small nook that she had been resting in and when she saw that the cost was clear, she stepped out into the hallway and glanced around, trying to remember her original direction. There was no question that she was lost within these maze-like corridors, but at the very least she had not been foolish enough to run into any of the monsters or traps that Veress had warned her about. But all the same, the girl wanted nothing more than to escape from this place and get back to Link, especially after what she had discovered during the Interlopers' meeting. However, getting out now wouldn't be as easy as she had initially hoped. Because of her failed attempt to destroy the Interloper's power source, they were certainly on the hunt for her throughout the temple, meaning that now, she'd have to rely on stealth as well as direction. But she knew that there had to be a way out of the temple; who would build a strong hold without creating an exit for it? And even if there was only one way out, Zelda was determined to find it, no matter what it took.
Gathering her bearings once more, Zelda pressed on, heading ever deeper into the darkness as she let her mind wander. She didn't particularly think back to her disturbing dream, so instead she thought about what Veress had said about Link earlier. The word that the rebel leader had used, "corruption", still bothered the girl immensely. According to Veress, this corruption had the intent and capability of somehow claiming the hero's soul and spirit, but to what extent and by what means, Zelda didn't know. She knew for a fact that Link's spirit was unbreakable; it was the very reason why Hylia had chosen him to be her hero. Perhaps Veress had simply lied to her followers about it to raise their moral or maybe she had just miscalculated in her theory. But all the same, Zelda couldn't shake the feeling that whatever this corruption was, it was related to how the hero had almost attacked her right before they were both attacked by the Interlopers. The only things that she was absolutely certain of were that all of this had started right after they got back from Termina and that Link knew exactly what was going on, but he had neglected to tell her anything for some reason or another, much to her frustration. But at the moment, all Zelda could really do aside from find an escape route, was hope that Terminus could provide her with the answers she craved to a problem that she only prayed could be resolved. She wouldn't know what she would do if she lost Link. It just wasn't an option for her.
Eventually, after what seemed like hours of walking and taking paths down random hallways, Zelda happened upon a large set of stone doors, bigger than any she had seen so far. She knew that something important just had to be beyond them and besides, any other path that she could have taken led right into a dead end. If there was a way out of the temple, then this had to be it. Mustering up all of her strength, the girl pressed her full weight against the towering doors, and though it took some doing, they finally budged, slowly opening the path to the next room.
Upon passing through the doorway, Zelda found that she had finally escaped from the seemingly endless labyrinth of hallways, though she still wasn't free yet. The room that she had just entered into was apparently large and arid, but very dark; in fact it was so blackened that the girl could hardly see a few feet in front of her. And yet there was one small source of light coming from the high ceiling on the far end of the room, many feet away. And what excited Zelda even more was that it appeared to be natural light pouring into from the opening, rather than fire light, which meant that it was hopefully just the escape route she had been searching for. With a small smile crossing her face, she started to run towards, hope filling her more and more with each step.
However, when she was halfway across the room, the ground beneath her began to shake, and it quickly grew into a violent tremor, one that almost knocked the girl off her feet. She glanced around quickly through the darkness, but she could find nothing until she happened to look up and see the giant human-like hand coming down from above to crush her. With a frightened gasp, Zelda barely managed to roll out of its path as it slammed down on the ground, causing it to rumble even more. Another hand coming down several feet to her right also resounded and no more than a moment later, they both drew themselves back up into the air. With wide eyes, the girl noticed that the hands were independent of any arms, or even a body at that, despite the fact that she really couldn't see them that well in the darkness. As the hands lowered themselves back to her level once more, a bright red light flooded the area from a single source: the lone eyeball of whatever creature she was now encountering. And as Zelda stared into its malicious scarlet gaze, she realized that this monster was certainly a creation of the Interlopers and it certainly intended to halt her escape, if not kill her then and there.
With quick movements, the beast moved its two disjointed hands together in an attempt to crush the girl in between them, but Zelda was fortunate enough to evade them once more. Her heart was pounding in fear as she tried to see if there was a way past the monster, but unfortunately it was completely blocking her path to the exit and looking back towards the way she had come in, she saw that the quaking earth had caused a large amount of rubble to collapse in front of the doors, trapping her with the monster alone. She had no idea how she was going to survive this one without any sort of weapon or defense, but she had to try. For Link's sake and her own.
Taking in a deep, yet uneven breath, Zelda turned to face the monster once more, locking her gaze onto its hands as they raced towards her in an attempt to grab her. Acting completely on adrenaline, she ducked out of their reach and hurried over to the opposite side of the room to place some distance between them and her. But the dark creature was persistent; it wanted it prey and it had every intention of getting it. It lifted its hands high into the air once more, so high that Zelda was unable to see them through the darkness. Fortunately she had a vague idea about what the beast intended on doing: it was going to send its unseen hands down in another attempt to crush the life out of her. Coming up with an on-the-spot plan to outsmart it, the girl continued to run around the floor in random patterns, never once stopping lest the hands come down upon her and crush her where she stood. She did this for several minutes, until one of the hands finally came crashing down in an enraged fist a few feet behind her, causing the ground to shake violently once more. Zelda barely maintained her footing but she hardly let the rumbling earth phase her. She carried on with her previous plan, doing her best to remain calm and level-headed despite the fact that her heart was pounding with fear.
As the second hand came down several feet away from her, Zelda spun around to glance at the creature's main eye, standing out amidst the thick darkness of the room. She knew that she only had a moment to strategize, so she used every second of it. The creature's main body, if it even had one, was blocking her only exit from not only this room, but the entire temple. But perhaps if she could somehow maneuver around the monster while evading its hands, she could hopefully make it out of here alive, despite the fact that she had no weapon. She knew that it wasn't the safest plan, or the smartest, but at the moment, it was all she had.
Eying the distance of several feet that it would take for her to cross the remainder of the huge room, Zelda wasted no time in rushing for the creature, taking unpredictable directions to get there so its hands would not see through her plan. Fatigue was starting to get to her, but she tried her hardest to ignore it; there would be time to be tired later if she made it that far. She had made it to a point several feet away from the exit when she made the fatal mistake of glancing away from her intended path to look into the blackness above to see if she could locate the monster's hands. In that one moment, she crashed right into the creature's glowing eyeball, only slightly damaging the beast itself, but angering it much more. In a sudden panic, the girl backed away from the monster as it screeched out in fury and her eyes widened when its eye shut altogether, cutting off the room's only light source and leaving her in the dark. Zelda strained her eyes to see through the darkness, trying to find the slightest glimpse of either of the monster's hands, but unfortunately, thanks to her impaired vision, there was no way she could have seen one of them rush towards her faster than she ever could have reacted to it.
In one fell swoop, the giant hand grabbed the girl and grasped onto her tightly. Zelda screamed in fear as the monster lifted her high into the air, tightening its heavy grip on her and restricting her air flow. Unable to struggle against its near bone-crushing grasp, she could do nothing as the monster held her upside down as its eye opened again directly in front of her face, staring at her with its piercing red gaze. Tears of pain began to fall down the girl's face as she stared in terror at the monster that was slowly crushing the life out of her. Why had she ever thought that she would have been able to stand up against such a twisted beast of darkness and come out of it with her life? She had been foolish trying to do this on her own. She knew that if Link had been there with her, her chances would have been so much higher. Veress had been right; there had never been any chance of her escaping this temple, and because of her inability to save herself and those closest to her, everything was going to fall into darkness and destruction at the hands of the Interlopers.
Right before Zelda fell into unconsciousness from lack of air, the monster finally seemed to grow tired of playing with her and so it lifted her high into the air and threw her with a great amount of force across the room. Barely alive, the girl crashed into the stone wall and plummeted to the ground limply, as the monster reveled in its easy victory.
Zelda found that she was being drawn out of the void of unconsciousness, despite the fact that she was still surrounded by a thick darkness everywhere she looked. It was as she stood in the midst of this vast emptiness that she realized just how incredibly weary she was of darkness and how much she yearned for light once more. And though she had not voiced this opinion out loud, it seemed as though something had read her thoughts perfectly. "What you desire, my child, is the light to banish darkness..." a calm female voice resounded throughout the area. Zelda immediately recognized this voice and as she turned around to face its source her wondering expression did not change.
"Hylia," Zelda said emptily to the goddess. She had convened with Hylia in her dreams before and every time it made her wish that she had been born as her own person, rather than as the goddess's reincarnation. Though her grace had many respectable qualities such as firm, yet fair leadership and wise judgement, every time she spoke to Zelda, it seemed that she did not approve of the choices that the girl had made on her own accord regarding the surface, the Triforce, and their safekeeping. Her serious and often downright condescending manner gave Zelda even more reason to have distain for this part of herself, even though she knew she couldn't get rid of it.
"You do not seemed very pleased to see me, Zelda," Hylia said in her stately tone. "Why is this?"
Zelda glared down at the floor, knowing exactly why she was angry with the goddess and this time, she intended to let her know. "Why?" the girl said hotly. "You know why! You expect me to be just like you. You think we're both one and the same, but we're not. I was Zelda way before I was ever Hylia and I'm still Zelda, no matter what you or anyone else says! I'm supposed to think like you, and do everything in the same way you would have done it, but we're two different people! I may be you reborn as a mortal, but I never asked to be..."
The goddess glanced down to ground, remaining silent for a long moment. "I... I believe I understand..." she said slowly, her melodious voice quiet and wizened.
"No you don't," Zelda snapped bitterly. "You were never a mortal until you were reborn as me and I used to be completely mortal until I found out I was you! Do you even know how hard that was for me? I went through my entire life, thinking I was one person and then I suddenly find that not only am I someone else, but I also have this huge, life threatening destiny that effects the entire world thrust upon me, one that my best friend was thrown into as well, without either of us really wanting it! And even now that Demise is gone and its all over, we're still both in way over our heads! I bet even you could have never predicted that the Dark Interlopers would rise up and cause all this trouble because all you ever cared about was getting rid of Demise and keeping the Triforce safe."
"That was certainly not all I cared about!" Hylia admonished firmly, a sudden flash of anger showing on her beautiful features.
"Then what did you care about?" Zelda asked piercingly. "Because it certainly wasn't about all of the danger and turmoil that Link and I had to go through to fulfill the 'destiny' that you laid out for us before we were even born. We're both just kids! I don't know what you expect from us. We're doing our best to keep this land safe, but clearly that's not good enough because its in trouble again!"
Hylia took in a deep breath and stared at her reincarnation for a long, silent moment before letting out a relenting sigh. "Zelda..." she began, understanding in her voice. "I realize that I have not been fair to you or Link... And I am sorry... But in a situation such as this, there was no way I could have been fair. What I did was necessary for the salvation of the surface. Demise needed to be stopped and this was the only way I was able to do it. I will not deny that I used both of you... I accept the full blame for all of the hardship that both of you have endured then and now. It is because of me that danger has befallen the surface once more and you were right; I never could have predicted it. But my time in this world as my own separate entity is over now. It ended when Demise was vanquished. Now, it is your time to defend this land. That is why this is the last time we will ever convene face to face..."
Zelda's glare faded as the goddess spoke, and it was replaced with a look of regret and sadness. "Oh, Hylia... no... I... I didn't mean..." she stammered, unsure of what to say to apologize.
"It is fine, Zelda," a small smile crossed Hylia's features. "For the world is entering a new era. In it, life for both the dwellers of the sky and the dwellers of the surface will change forever. Wars will be waged, lives will be lost, and once more, this land will face grave devastation at the hand of a great evil. But from the ashes of this dying age, a new world will emerge, and it will be one birthed by your generation. I represent an age long past, but you, Zelda... You represent a bright future..."
Zelda sighed and shook her head in sadness. "No..." she said morosely. "I don't... Everything seems so hopeless, Hylia... The Dark Interlopers have the power they need to take the Triforce and use it to destroy everything and there's no way I'm strong enough to stand against them on my own..."
"But you are not on your own, my child..." Hylia said consolingly.
The girl closed her eyes as a stray tear slipped down her cheek. "If I can't find a way to help Link, I will be..." she said with grief in her tone. "And without him... I... I don't really see any point in trying to fight at all..."
Hylia glanced down, feeling great pity for her reincarnation. "Zelda, I..." she hesitated in what she was trying to say, realizing that now was not the right place or time for it. "I must tell you something you must never forget..." she said with a small smile as she went off on a different tangent. "So long as there is light to banish darkness, it will never extinguish hope. Never forget that. Let it carry you through the darkest times and you will come out of them with both light and hope, two of the strongest forces in this world."
"Well I don't have much of either of those..." Zelda said with no hope in her voice at all.
Hylia was silent for a moment as she came up with a comforting response. "Well then," she said with a kind smile. "Since you are in need of them, and considering all of the hurt I have put you through, it is only fair that I provide you with one of them. If I give you the light, do you promise to find the hope on your own?"
Zelda gave her a confused look, but nodded nonetheless, unsure of where Hylia was going with this. She watched closely as the goddess held her hands out in front of her and almost instantly, a bright light began to surround them. As the light grew to near blinding levels, it flashed brilliantly, sending off a wave of strong power throughout the area. When the light dimmed down, Zelda was able to see the item that had appeared floating over Hylia's hands: a bow, beautifully crafted and glowing warmly amidst the rest of the darkness that surrounded both of them, driving it away and creating a landscape of light.
"What is that?" the girl asked, amazed by the splendor of the holy weapon.
"This," Hylia said, glancing down at the bow with pride. "Is the Bow of Light. It is a sacred weapon, crafted from the pure light of the golden goddesses and enhanced by my own power. It does not use arrows made by the hands of men, but rather arrows drawn from light themselves. It is truly the light to banish darkness and now... it is yours..." She held the bow out towards the girl, waiting for her to take it.
Zelda hesitated as she stared at the perfect weapon, knowing simply by looking at it that it certainly held abundant power, more than she would ever be able to use properly. "Are you sure?" she asked the goddess with uncertainty. "I've never even held a bow before..."
"There is no need to concern yourself with that," Hylia said reassuringly. "After all, though we may be different in some ways, we are still the same in others. You will remember everything when the time comes..."
Feeling somewhat more encouraged, Zelda finally took the Bow of Light in her own hands and the moment she did so, she felt a rush of warm, sacred power course through her. It strengthened her and reenergized her, and not only that; it also somehow renewed some of her lost hope. "Thank you..." she said so Hylia with a more confident smile. "I... I'm sorry for ever doubting you..."
"And I am sorry for ever believing that there was the slightest chance that you would not lead this land into an era of peace," Hylia said. "In the days when I reigned over the surface, there was a great war and though I did everything I could, in the end, I could not protect what was most important to me because I myself didn't even realize what that was. But you... you know without a doubt what you hold dear above all else. The surface is on the verge of war once more, but this time, I feel as though things will end differently. This time, light will triumph over darkness. I am sure of it."
Zelda took in a deep breath, finding comfort in the goddess's words. If Hylia believed that peace would reign and that everything would turn out alright for her and Link in the end, then so did she. "I am too," she said with a firm smile.
Hylia nodded as the light surrounding them began to grow, taking Zelda away from the goddess and back to the waking world. "I wish you luck in your endeavors, Zelda," the goddess called out. "Even though we shall not meet again, know that I am a part of you and I always will be. And remember what I told you!"
Zelda smiled as she clutched the Bow of Light tight in her grasp, ready to take on any obstacle in her path with its sacred power. "So long as there is light to banish darkness," she answered as the goddess's image faded away for the last time. "It can never extinguish hope!"
As Zelda truly awakened, she didn't feel any of the pain she thought she would have considering how much the dark beast had injured her. Whatever had happened in the realms of her dreams had apparently carried over into the realm of consciousness, as not a scratch was on her and even more than that, she still held the Bow of Light in her hands. She stared at the glowing weapon in amazement as it provided a light for her to see by. The creature did not pay her any mind, as it believed her to be dead, but the girl was far from it as a sly smile came across her face. This was the perfect opportunity to launch a sneak attack on it and now that she had a weapon, escape was finally within reach.
Rising from the rubble that she had been lying in, Zelda grasped the handle of the bow with surprisingly the proper hand, despite the fact that she knew almost nothing about them. She realized that it was as Hylia had said it would be; the goddess's memories were guiding her in what to do. The girl went along with it as she held the bow up and placed her free hand near the golden bowstring. A soft glow surrounded it and almost instantaneously, a beautiful, shining arrow formed within her hand out of thin air. She gasped in surprise at this and continued to move slowly as she got used to the feeling of notching the arrow and drawing it back along the bowstring. Somehow, it was nowhere near as hard as she thought it would be; in fact, it felt natural, as if she had done it hundreds of times before. Taking in a deep breath, she aimed the tip of the arrow right for the creature's red eye several feet across the room and prayed that it would be true. She glared at the terrible beast as she let the arrow finally fly and sure enough, it hit its mark perfectly. Since it had not been expecting it, the monster let out a shrill shriek as the pure light struck its exposed eye. Both of its hands went soaring into the air in a blind panic and already, Zelda was making her next move.
The girl rushed towards the monster, hoping to hit it even harder with a closer attack. By now, the beast realized that its opponent had returned and was now putting up a fight, and so it decided to retaliate. In a furious rush, it threw one of its hands down towards her but Zelda dodged it with time to spare. She wasn't sure how, but she was moving with much more precision and agility now. She suspected it was Hylia's doing; the goddess was aiding her for the last time in this battle, but the rest she would have to do on her own. Zelda could handle that, but she was happy for the help this time. Maybe she had been wrong about Hylia all this time; maybe it was more of a blessing to be the reincarnation of the goddess than it was a curse.
Upon regaining a standing position, Zelda immediately prepared another arrow, though she kept moving the entire time so the monster's hands would not crush her where she stood. She waiting until just the right moment to let the second arrow fly and like the first one, it also was a direct hit. Light exploded upon the dark creature's eye and the girl knew that it couldn't take much more of this. Its hands fell to the ground in fists, causing the earth to rattle once more. In the midst of this, Zelda was finally ready to put an end to the battle. She raced forward, each step filled with righteous fury for the monster who had almost killed her and for the Interlopers who had not only imprisoned her here, but who had separated her and Link in the first place.
Thanks to Hylia's energy and strength coursing through her, Zelda was able to preform a magnificent high leap into the air and she landed squarely on top of the stunned monster's exposed eye. She was quick to aim her bow directly down to the weak spot beneath her and as she let the third arrow go, it pounded into the dark creature's eye in a flourish of pure light, which truly did banish the darkness as the beast let out an earsplitting scream of pain and agony. Zelda leapt off of the monster and watched as it was covered in light from her arrow, until the light finally flashed blindingly, destroying the beast with its sacred power. In the wake of its destruction, the light did not fade, but rather it pointed the way to a ladder against the far wall that led to the opening in the ceiling. Freedom and victory both belonged to Zelda and a fulfilling sense of accomplishment filled her, one that was only dimmed by the fact that Link was not there to share it with her. And as much as she wanted to end the separation between them immediately, she knew that there was something important that she had to go do first, without him. She had to return to Termina on her own and converse with her sister once more to help the hero. Only then would she be able to be with him again and she simply couldn't wait to be in his arms once more.
Zelda imagined that happy reunion as she hurried for the ladder. In no time at all, she scaled it and climbed up into the natural light of the surface. The midday sun bore down on her as she climbed out of the small hole that led to the Interloper's underground stronghold and as she took in a breath of fresh air she smiled confidently, proud that she had defied Veress and her followers just as she said she would. Perhaps there was a way to beat them after all. Perhaps not all hope was lost.
Realizing that she was standing in the southern end of the vast field, Zelda turned her attention towards the forest, which was just nearby. If she kept to the woods, she would not only make her way back to Termina, but hopefully she would be able to evade Veress and her underlings, who would certainly discover that she had escaped and peruse her soon enough. Taking in another deep breath, the girl reaffirmed her resolve as she started to walk towards the forest with the Bow of Light in hand, pining for her hero, reveling in her freedom, and reclaiming her hope.