Sin of Sheikari Chapter 3
Chapter 3: Facing the King of Evil
Zelda could have reached out and snatched a handful of the malice that twisted around her adversary, threatening to submerge her at any moment. She didn’t dare so much as turn her head for fear of Ganondorf’s awful vapor grazing up against her skin and seeping into the growing pit in her stomach.
His hateful eyes glowed faintly, and the surrounding haze began to whirl into the heavens, rumbling and bubbling over until the sky was filled with bulbous, black storm clouds that boomed and crackled, nearly on the verge of bursting.
Ganondorf peered down at Zelda from atop his black destrier. His horse alone dwarfed her completely, yet all she could focus on was that he was here, the King of Evil, the very person she’d come to face.
And defeat.
His eyes trailed behind Zelda, noting the unconscious Gerudo warriors and the blazing inferno she’d left behind. Then his gaze returned to the princess, a malicious grin spreading across his face.
“You are too kind, Your Grace,” his deep voice swept over her like a filthy tide. “To spare my warriors’ lives, it is truly honorable. You even allowed the remaining sentry atop the tower to live. Your restraint is admirable, if not foolish. Now then…”
He held out his hand, a sphere of transparent, yellow light materializing in his palm, hovering steadily. Zelda felt a chill run down her spine, but she maintained her focus, her eyes locked directly on the curse as it continued to swell.
“Our reunion is long overdue,” he continued as the sphere’s surface hummed and sizzled with electricity. “Tell me. Do you truly think you stand a chance against my power?”
Zelda straightened herself up to her full height, immediately steeling her resolve. She wouldn’t be intimidated, not by him. Not by a madman.
“Of course! I am the princess of this kingdom!” Zelda called out as she grasped her kodachi. “Your reign is over, Ganondorf! It ends today!”
Ganondorf’s sneer could have put out a row of lit torches on its own. Without another word, he flung the spell at Zelda, who knocked it away with the back of her free hand, the orb unceremoniously dissipating before it could scorch the earth.
“Good,” Ganondorf’s eyes glowed once more, the air around them thickening as if the haze would soon congeal into a pungent slime. “You can at least do that. I was afraid you wouldn’t present a challenge at all.”
Zelda wouldn’t wait for him to charge another spell, using the opportunity to call upon Din once more. If she started off strong, she could at least gauge his strength. Physically, she couldn’t overpower him, but speed could make up for power. She needed that advantage.
As if she’d lit a spark in the palm of her own hand, a globe of fire sprung to life and hovered just above her fingertips. She hurled it at the sorcerer before he could react. The spell connected, and within seconds both Ganondorf and his steed were covered in flames.
At first, Zelda wondered why he hadn’t tried to dodge it, though she remained vigilant all the same. It couldn’t have been that easy. Ganondorf, though depraved and scornful, was an immensely talented magician. This was only the beginning.
Even with the fire’s intensity, she could still make out the pair’s outlines in the blackening haze, Ganondorf sitting atop his destrier unmoving. Neither of them seemed as if they’d react any time soon, instead continuing to stand still as if patiently waiting for Zelda’s next move.
She readied another spell when the inferno roared upward, so intense and bright that she could no longer make out either of their figures. Just as quickly as it picked up, the flames fizzled out, letting out one final, repulsive hiss as they vanished.
Ganondorf floated lazily before her like a feather caught in a gentle summer breeze, his black destrier no longer anywhere to be seen. He now held a long trident sporting a sharp blade on each of its three prongs. Yet his free hand was still on fire, its fingers tapping against his leg impatiently.
Zelda glowered. She understood now. “A phantom! You’re still at Hyrule Castle, aren’t you?”
“Of course,” Ganondorf raised an eyebrow, as if Zelda should have known this already. “I won’t waste my time with someone as weak and pathetic as you! This puppet will do!”
Zelda shook her head, chuckling in disbelief, before meeting her adversary’s gaze once more. “You can mock me all you want, but I won’t allow you to lead this kingdom into further ruin! I’ll destroy this ‘Phantom Ganon’ and reclaim Hyrule!”
That arrogant sneer returned once more as Ganondorf brought his hand up to his face, his visage disappearing behind a sickly green cloud of energy. When he lowered his hand, the cloud faded away revealing his face to be covered with what looked like a white skull mask, though it didn’t appear to be the skull of a human.
Long, slender horns now protruded from his brow and curved upward like inverted elephant tusks. One row of jagged, frayed teeth hung from the mask’s upper lip, and a glowing yellow circle pulsated from his forehead, matched by two sets of bright, golden eyes. All but the rest of his head, save for his fiery red hair, was concealed in shadow.
“You no longer have any claim to this kingdom!” Phantom Ganon’s voice could have shattered every window in Kakariko Village as he hurled a burning finger in Zelda’s direction. “And you will do nothing but fail!”
Zelda summoned another fireball, watching as it came to life at her fingertips once more, before she set it upon Ganondorf’s puppet. Yet, Phantom Ganon swatted it away with his trident as if it were merely an annoying fly.
He lifted his free hand towards the sky, and the haze began to twist and gather around it, extinguishing the flames. “You believe the Goddesses favor you, but you are nothing but a foolish child!”
He snapped his hand forward, a thunderbolt burning away the surrounding haze as it snaked its way toward Zelda. She moved to deflect it, this time with her kodachi, but the magic latched onto her blade instead, rippling across every inch of her body. She cried out as she sank to the ground, barely able to maintain her grip on her sword.
“Come now…” Phantom Ganon’s chuckle seemed to drip with irritation as his eyes landed on Zelda’s trembling hands. “Surely you can withstand at least that.”
Zelda took in as deep a breath as she could manage as she jumped to her feet, though her hands were still shaking. “I come to you as the true heir to the throne of Hyrule! Your destiny is to be nothing but a temporary usurper, just as the Hero of Time warned us!”
She cast yet another fireball at Phantom Ganon, imbuing as much passion and fury as she could into the spell. Yet, the specter merely raised his hand, dismissing the fireball into the surrounding haze which devoured it without hesitation.
Zelda’s eyes widened, her free hand tugging at her chest. How had he gotten so powerful so quickly? Phantom Ganon continued to levitate before her, seemingly taking in her words and measuring her reaction.
“I see…” he finally spoke. “That’s why you’re here, because of that lie your ‘hero’ told you.”
“None of it was a lie!” Zelda shouted, her fingers clenched so hard she could see the whites of her knuckles. “He knew you would betray the royal family and all of Hyrule!”
“Betray…” Phantom Ganon scoffed. “You speak as if you know what is predestined, but I know the truth. Hyrule is a land caught in a perpetual cycle of light and darkness, of those who are righteous and wicked. I am simply an inescapable consequence of that cycle.”
“Now you lie!” Zelda pointed her blade directly at him, shifting into the battle stance Impa had taught her when facing a powerful opponent.
“Don’t tell me you mean to challenge it,” Phantom Ganon shook his head, a hint of disbelief seeping into his tone. “You would be challenging fate itself, and I know you aren’t foolish enough to do that!”
Yet Zelda maintained her stance, refusing to allow his words to erode her resolve. “As long as I can call upon the Golden Goddesses, I can stop you!”
If Zelda had blinked, she might have lost the fight right then and there. One moment Phantom Ganon hovered before her, tapping his fingers impatiently. The next, he was inches away from the tip of her blade, already poised to strike. She narrowly dodged his trident as he swiped at her, and it was all she could do to hide her shock.
“The Triforce will be mine!” Phantom Ganon swung his trident once more, and Zelda managed to parry it with her kodachi despite its blade’s short length, another technique she’d inherited from Impa.
Yet the force of the impact was more than she’d anticipated, her knees shaking as if she’d just finished running a marathon. No, this was much more than she’d anticipated. She needed to end this quickly.
Phantom Ganon raised his trident above his head, unleashing a vast web of lightning bolts that struck all around him. Zelda had wanted to reserve her magic for offensive spells, but she was no fool to think she could withstand his magic unprotected. She called upon Nayru, the translucent shield cloaking her instantly.
“The Triforce is the power to rule the world!” Phantom Ganon roared, his voice still crisp and clear over the booming and crackling of the lightning bolts.
“No!” Zelda shouted. “The Triforce-“
She was cut off as a massive bolt of lightning struck the shield, knocking her back several feet. She yelped in pain as she fell to the ground, the shield blinking in and out of sight. Phantom Ganon’s voice grew closer as she closed her eyes, steadying her breathing so that the shield could hold.
“Enough,” Phantom Ganon sighed. Zelda slowly opened her eyes and tried to stand but fell to one knee. She looked up just as Phantom Ganon lifted his trident once more. Another bolt of lightning struck Zelda’s shield, the impact so intense it felt like her skin was on fire.
“He’s not coming,” Phantom Ganon began churning the air above him, the thickening haze ripening into a mass of yellow fire. The trident absorbed the fire, now glowing faintly as he peered down at her.
Without warning he began lashing at Zelda’s shield over and over again. With each hit, she shouted as shockwaves threatened to burn her from within. The shield finally shattered, vanishing from sight completely before Zelda could react.
“You will pay for your stubbornness,” Phantom Ganon’s voice felt like it was echoing through her very being now. It was all Zelda could do to stay conscious as she mentally fought off each new wave of miasma that accompanied his words. “Your hero has abandoned you.”
That was when Zelda was certain she didn’t have the strength to cast another spell, lift her kodachi, or even run. How could she have lost this quickly? All of her training, meditation, learning to use her gifts from the Golden Goddesses, it couldn’t have all been in vain.
She closed her eyes and reached out with her spirit, calling out for someone to come to her aid. If ever there was a moment for a hero to show up, it was now.
She braced herself, waiting for everything to fade to black after he struck her one last time, when she heard the trident meet someone else’s blade.
She gasped. It couldn’t be. Had he finally arrived? She heard Phantom Ganon’s voice once again.
“Stand aside, Sheikah.”
“I will do no such thing, Ganondorf.”
Zelda’s eyes snapped open, Impa’s form slithering into view amongst the haze and lightning flashes above them. Her back was to Zelda, while the sorcerer’s puppet hung in the air a few feet away from them. Had she managed to drive him back?
“Zelda, you must leave here.”
Zelda rolled onto her stomach, clawing the earth as she tried to reach her guardian. “Impa, you can’t take him on alone! Let me help you! I can still fight!”
“You are injured and will only get in the way.”
“You’ll die!” Zelda’s head was swimming as she tried to stand, stumbling like a tavern regular before she collapsed to her knees.
“I am here to protect you,” Impa’s long silver hair billowed out in the wind, the only part of her body that would be moved. “If that is all I can do, then so be it. Now leave!”
Zelda managed to stagger to her feet once more, fighting against the ground as she tried to keep herself upright. “I call upon Farore, great Goddess of Courage, please…”
Phantom Ganon flew at Impa, and the Sheikah warrior didn’t flinch. Zelda wanted to cry out, to say anything that would convince Impa to run away.
“Take us from this place! Please!”
Zelda jumped at the touch of her hand gripping Impa’s arm, not realizing she’d managed to close the distance between them so quickly. The tip of Phantom Ganon’s trident was mere inches from Impa’s face when she and Zelda found themselves engulfed in a dazzling green light.
Zelda’s grip on Impa’s arm began to slip as the light grew so intense it was all she could see. Then, all at once, there was nothing but darkness.
And she fell, plunging into the abyss.
