The Legend of Zelda: The Return of the Twilight

Chapter 5: The Hero of Time

The sacred Hero smiled, and extended his hand to Link. Link looked at him, confused.

“I am sorry that I never said anything before”, he said. “My purpose was to help more than anything”. His smile was filled with joy. Link smiled back.

“This is my tomb”, The Hero of Time continued. “I’ve been in slumber since I was silenced; by Ganondorf, then I was awakened when he escaped the six sages…” The room fell silent. The Hero of Time then clutched his chest, as if he got a stabbing pain suddenly. Link seemed to get a mild chest pain as well.

“What did truly happen, on that night?” Kifan asked, breaking the calming, yet awkward silence. “I only found your corpse in the middle of Clock Town before it caught flames.”

“It is a long story”, he replied. “I’m here to give you a mask. The mask that will give you the properties of a Deku Scrub.” He raised his hands in front of himself, and a mask appeared, floating like a feather towards Link’s hands. He studied it, looking at the details, and admiring the artifact.

“But, how will both of us get to the temple?” Kifan asked.

“You can’t”, replied the Hero of Time. “Only one can go”. Michiko then crossed her arms and looked down in disappointment.

“Aw, I was looking for some action. The past fifty years have been a bit boring for me”. Link was a bit anxious now. He liked it when someone else was with him, especially in a temple that could take days, even weeks to go through before seeing humans again.

“There are, all together, four masks to collect”- The Hero of Time continued –“The deku mask, Zora mask, Goron mask and the Fierce Deity mask. In Woodfall temple, lays the Goron mask. In Snowhead temple, there lays the Zora Mask, and in Great Bay Temple, the key to the oldest temple in Termina, the Stone Tower Temple.” Link wasn’t prepared. He did not know that there were temples to go through, so most of his items are back at home.

“Do not let me down…” The Hero of Time said as he began to fade away with the tomb.

A couple of hours later Link woke up back in front of the temple in wolf form again.

“You’re finally awake”, Kifan said, tail swaying with the breeze. “Put the mask on”. She slid the deku mask towards him with her elegant snout. He stared at it, and then he placed his face into the mask carefully. Adrenaline rushed through his body and a sharp pain stabbed into his heart as he began to transform. He howled in pain and his vision blacked out for a few seconds. When he woke up again, Kifan was smiling slightly.

“Well, good luck, Link. I’ll be waiting for you out here,” she said as she sat down and started licking her paw which had a cut in the sole. Link stood above the large flower and spun into it. After a few seconds, he shot out, hovering with two flowers acting like propellers. He sailed to the entrance and he ran inside. As Kifan finished with cleaning her small wound, the column shook and a large claw-like hand reached towards her. She backed off, back arched, fur standing, teeth shown and snarling as the Shadow Beast came towards her and tore at her left side. Despite the bleeding and pain, with her tail raised, she leapt at the Shadow Beast with her sharp canines ready to sink into its flesh…

Link ran in full of zeal inside the temple. He was untouched and indestructible as he destroyed all that lurked in the shadows. After ages of solving puzzles, killing evil monsters with his sharp teeth and finding keys, he finally made it to the Boss Room. Shaking, he placed the key inside the hole and turned. The lock and chains fell to the ground. He hopped over them and ran down a long, dark corridor.

After what felt like hours running through the temple, going through different rooms, solving many puzzles, he finally came to a large room. He cautiously stepped into the room, then, the door behind him sealed shut. He tried finding a way to open it but it was no use. He walked into the center of the room. Suddenly blood dripped onto his nose. It smelt familiar. His eyes widened. It was the blood of Kifan! He looked up to see her dangling in the air with her back legs tied together with a long piece of rope that went to the roof. She was unconscious and blood was dripping from a large wound on her left side. Link began to bark to get her attention, but the only attention he got was a blood curdling scream. The large shadow beast lord leapt down from the roof and slashed at Link. He just dodged it, getting a small bit of his fur scraped off. The shadow beast lord then looked up at Kifan's unconscious body, and leapt up. Link tried to stop it but it was too late. The Shadow Beast leapt into her body. Her paw moved slowly, then, her eyes opened.

Her beautiful emerald eyes turned into glowing blood red eyes of a demon. The Shadow Beast used Kifan as a puppet. She tore at the rope, falling and landing on her feet with a loud thud. On the center of her back laid a mark like what was on the Shadow Beast’s mask.

“Such a beautiful body this is”, the shadow beast said through Kifan. Its voice was mixed pitched of Michiko’s female tone and the Shadow Beast’s low tone. “It’s so strong, so elegant, and so healthy. It’s been long since I entered a mortal’s body with such flawlessness. If you want me dead you’ll have to kill her too”. It began to laugh evilly. After stopping, she leapt for his throat. Link tried dodging but she was too fast. Instead she got his right foot. He felt a sharp pain run up his leg, making him collapse. The Shadow Beast gave out an evil laugh then ran around the room. Link was powerless against her. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he wanted the beast out of her body. He then noticed the glowing mark on her back. He assumed that it was a weak spot. He got up, watching Kifan run around the room, then finally she leapt towards him. He dodged it well this time and her back faced him. He dug his teeth into her back as she just realised that her weak spot was exposed, but it was too late. A painful howl filled the large empty space. Kifan shook him off, and blood began to trickle down her back and from the wound on her left side. After a few more attempts, Link bit down one last time.

A soundwave filled the room as Kifan howled in pain. It then turned into a shriek as the Shadow Beast came out of her back. It tried walking but black ooze gushed out of its own back. Finally the Shadow Beast collapsed dead. The body disappeared, following the mask which exploded into the pixels of the Twilight Realm, reforming into a ball of light which teleported Link and Kifan's lifeless body to another fairy fountain. Link stood as a human once again. Kifan, on the other hand, was a lifeless body on the ground, covered in blood and her clothing torn. Link ran to see if she was okay. He pressed his hands onto her neck to feel a pulse. Even with all the loss of blood and pain rushing through her, she was alive, but only just. Link sighed in relief, but still worried she might die. A great fairy came out of the fountain and spoke.

“I am Numachi, the great fairy of Woodfall. Thank you, Link for saving this land. I was in slumber, until you returned the ball of light to me. Do not fear about Kifan. She will awaken. Though weak, she will be unable to fight for a while. Give her time to heal and head off to the mountain. Take this. It will help you on this journey”. A mask formed in Link’s hands. It was shaped like a Goron’s face. He placed it into his satchel and nodded his head in thanks. The great fairy smiled as the scenery began to disappear…