The Wind Waker

XXXV

"YOU HAVE finally done it Link," the King of Red Lions said, "you have found it."

"Yes," he said. He was extremely tired.

The carved figurehead smiled slightly. "Retrench yourself. You have great ability with you now, but it does not make you invincible, and will not last forever."

"I really have it," Link asked, "the triforce of courage?"

"Yes," the king said. "You have done well. You have truly exemplified the virtue, and persevered through all you have faced."

Link breathed, timid at the whole situation.

"Kneel on the earth," the king said.

Link did so.

"From henceforth," the king said, "by the people of Hylia, by the races of this world, by all of your ancestors and descendants, you shall be known as the Hero of Winds."

A fierce breeze struck him, yet it didn't feel forceful. It flowed around him, enveloping him with energy. It... it felt like... singing.

 The challenger has come.

All is lost. All is won.

The sliver of the past is in his hands,

Yet his prize he shall not have,

but he shall have rare power,

To bring forth a world renewed,

shall bring the goddesses again to light,

but will cause their past to disappear into memory.

It shall vanish on the wind.

He shall vanish on the wind.

Link took a sharp breath. He felt the wind fly into him, shaking his bones with an energy nearly as great as the moment that he first obtained the triforce.

"How do you feel?" Tetra asked.

"I... "

He saw worry on their faces.

"I feel... great. I feel... it isn't just an energy, a vigor in me. It is something more. A passion, a striving, a motivation. I feel ready. Ready to final fight Ganondorf."

That was true, of course. But there was something, something in that wind that unnerved him. He recognized the words. They were very similar to something in the Codex of Time. He would have to return to it, and study what it said.

"I am straining my power greatly to project myself here Link," the king said. "And I feel it crushed even further. Ganondorf knows you have the triforce of courage. He is waiting. He expects you to fail."

"And I expect to win."

It was almost surprising to him. There was not even the slightest hesitance in him. He was not going to allow for doubt. 

"What now?" Tetra asked.

"Nothing remains," the king said. "But Ganondorf is gathering his army. He is not prideful fool. He will not simply let you walk up to him. He won't feel unsatisfied if you are killed by one of his creatures. He simply wants to accomplish his goals."

"I think there's an important question that needs to be answered though," Medli said. "Where even is he?"

"Yeah," Link said, "Valoo torched him alive."

"He's withdrawn," the King of Red Lions said, "to his tower fortress beneath the sea. He's no longer trying to mask his presence. He's trying to crush me."