A Minor Test of Strength

Hopeless

I stepped forward, by boots clicking on the ancient stone.

"Do you mind?" I asked. If he was in the middle of something, the last thing I wanted to be was an annoyance.

"No,"  said Link. He turned back to the statue, and I knelt down on my knees beside him. The silence of prayer stretched on, both of us deep in our connection with the Goddess.

I winked an eye open. Link was still there, but looking down at his hands. I assumed it was an okay time to talk.

"So how are things back at the capital?"

Link jumped. My heart squeezed. I shouldn't have disturbed him, I shouldn't have come here. I shouldn't have-

"Lonely."

My heart soared. Oh my Goddess, was he opening up to me? I shouldn't have been happy that he was lonely, but it was a sign that maybe he missed me.

"It's pretty lonely in Zora's Domain too. I wish we could all train together," I said.

"How's Vah Ruta?" he asked.

"Difficult. I've poured over books and manuals every day, but the aquatic maneuvers are just so confusing!" I sighed, exasperated. Suddenly, I could feel the floodgates opening. "Its so scary. Knowing that I'll have to use this machine against the greatest demon Hyrule's ever seen, and I'm struggling to even learn the controls. I wish I could be back at the castle, with Urbosa and Daruk and... even Revali... and you."

Link smiled when I mentioned Revali. I smiled too, but I knew it was a sad smile.

"What if I let everyone down? Some days I just don't feel like a Champion of Hyrule," I whispered. I knew I was right in the middle of the Spring of Power.

"Mipha. You're not the only one." he whispered, glancing at the statue. "Every day I hide behind a mask of distance and bravery. And every day it eats away at me."

I noticed how close we had gotten on the floor of the grove. "Do you know what I think?" Link said. "I think you're stronger than you believe. You're smarter than you know. And I wouldn't want to work alongside any other Hylian."

I could feel myself blush, burning from head to toe. My heart was about to drown in the blue of his stare. "Me neither."

And then we were leaning forward, so close, and I closed my eyes and-

A shrill cry pierced the air. We startled apart, standing up and brushing the dirt from our clothes. Throwing one last glance at Hylia behind me, we both broke out into a run out of the woods. The alarm sounded again. Once under open sky, I spotted a figure silhouetted against the sky circling the East Gate. Link whistled, and his horse Epona galloped out of the forest behind us. How could I have been so unprepared? Link swung himself onto the beast.

"Link! My horse is still in the forest."

He seemed to know what I meant. "Climb on."

I wrapped my arms around his waist and held on for dear life. Wind roared in my ears. We were going so fast, and several times I almost fell off. I had to bite my tongue to refrain from screaming.

Sweaty and alert, we jumped down to meet Urbosa, Daruk and Revali under the stone arch in the mountains. 

"Looks like the two lovers finally decided to show up," sneered Revali. The two of us blushed and shuffled awkwardly to take our positions at the ends of the line,  looking out across Hyrule Castle. I noticed Princess Zelda in the middle. She was shaking, and I could see tear tracks staining her perfect cheeks. 

"It's Ganon. He's back," the princess said, her voice cracking. The rest of us squinted into the sun, watching the castle for any menacing demons. 

"Princess, are you sure-" Daruk started, but he was interrupted by a slight trembling in the ground that grew into a full-blown earthquake. Rocks tumbled down the sides of the valley. We covered our heads but kept our eyes glued to the castle. 

Our nightmares became our reality. 

We watched in horror as black and red malice poured out of every opening of the palace. A dark shape emerged from the uppermost tower, shattering the stone and glass. Lightning crackled in the thing's wake. Thunder crashed through the valley. Stones continued to fall. Link raised his shield, knocking rocks away from the stunned princess. Even Revali was-I don't know if he was scared or what- to fly. Daruk activated his shield. I realized I had left the library weaponless- a Champion expectation. I was unprepared when it mattered most. 

"Everyone to their Divine Beast!" Urbosa shouted above the din. Ganon roared, and I saw the first lines of defense attack it at the king's command. 

Link handed me the reins to Epona and leaped onto Zelda's white steed. The two galloped away towards the castle. Revali took to the air and headed back towards Rito Village. Urbosa took her borrowed horse from one of the stables, and Daruk rolled towards Death Mountain. I was alone again. Panic mounted. 

Back at the East Reservoir, I boarded Vah Ruta. Prince Sidon was leading every healer and remotely combat-trained Zora to the gates. I lead the Beast towards the Calamity, and Vah Ruta hummed. She knew it was time.

Navigating Hyrule's water systems, together we charged towards the demon. I saw the other three approaching from each corner. This was the moment we had trained and studied and prepared for since we were seventeen. 

Suddenly, Vah Ruta stopped. I urged the controls forward, but nothing was working. All around, none of the other Divine Beasts were making any progress either. The lights flickered and went black. Sweat poured down my back, and my breaths became shorter. Now was not the time to develop asthma. Malice poured in from outside, turning the sky dark and choking my throat. Something shrieked from behind. I ran to the central hub, and found something out of my nightmares.

A figure was forming from the malice, materializing from pure evil. The body grew arms, a hideous mane, and a piercing blue eye. Smoke whirled around me. A long, pointed spear generated in its arm, poised to strike.

Waterblight Ganon. 

I read about the possibility of blights, weaker versions of Ganon himself. They copied the Sheikah technology to use our own weapons against us. Thier only weak spot was their eye. 

I ran back to the front control room and grabbed a bow and a quiver Sidon had left there earlier. Dashing around the floor, I shot at the thing's eye. One hit. It was going to take a lot more.

Pulling another arrow from my back, I took aim again. Miss. Waterblight drew back and threw its spear, missing me by inches. I had to work hard to control my shaking. The monster spun around, drawing a deep slice in my ankle. I screamed. Blood pooled under me and stained the water red. I limped back, trying to ignore the burning spreading up my leg. I drew an arrow. Waterblight sensed its opportunity. I shot, it threw, and everything flamed. My body was burning, searing, and my vision flickered with spots of white. I couldn't even muster a groan. Everything felt mangled and broken. I tasted blood in the water below me. The demon had hit me. 

As I lay in the water at the bottom of Vah Ruta, I could feel the life ebbing out of me. My conscious was stretching and distorting into the Beast around me. After a few dizzying moments, I was looking down at my own broken body. My spirit was trapped in Divine Beast Vah Ruta.

My last thoughts before going dormant for 100 years were sad ones. I though of my fellow Champions, the princess, and my family. I thought of the Zora, and King Roham, and the other people I had failed. 

I thought of Link, and our almost kiss. Our almost relationship. 

If Calamity Ganon had given us a little more time, it could have happened.

But I knew now that it was really just hopeless.