Fan Fiction ❯ Ethereal Eternity ❯ Descent ( Chapter 3 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

By: Deya_X

This chapter will not feature POVs-it will be told using the 1st person view. Once again, I would like to explain that this chapter will not feature any POVs. There will be a few thoughts from the characters, but no POVs. If there is any confusion, please read through the past chapters if needed. Thank you for your time.

Hot beads of sweat streamed down the face of the young Hylian, and each bead carried a thousand emotions. His heart was pounding with the rhythm of fear-and the rhythm was an unbearably fierce one. He felt as if poison was streaming through his very body....but at the same time, he felt cold and confused....like a tiny wolf cub heading straight into unknown danger. Thoughts of his beloved maiden continued to stream through his mind at an uncontrollable rate-it was as if his body was being controlled by an unseen, unknown force of venomous power. The apprehension flowing through his body was making him immensely uncomfortable-he had no details about the activities occurring in the castle, but his heart refused to look away from the flames of fear.

The merry townspeople around him were no more than mere blurs. The ground beneath was practically non-existent. All of Hyrule Castle Town was non-existent. The only place in his world that existed at the moment was Hyrule Castle itself-his heart was telling him to reach it as soon as possible, without taking any stops-and he was determined to listen to the wishes of his heart. His sapphire blue eyes were burning flames of tension....and among the tension lingered anger......an anger that was directed at the unknown force of evil. His feet were on fire, but at the same time they were numb-he was practically immune to exhaustion because of the fiery tension flowing through his bloodstream. He felt frightened, and the emotions flowing through him were making him feel immoderately uneasy....but since he was being driven by the mighty force of apprehension, the force of his fear pleased him.

He knew he had to reach his maiden before anything could happen to her.

“Link! Wait up!”

Navi, the Hero of Time's companion, was desperately trying to catch up to her friend, but trying to reach him was like trying to teach a Cucco to dance. Her friend's body had been swept up into some mysterious force of speed and time....for unknown reasons. His sudden mood change eliminated the serenity of the morning, and sent her into a world of confusion-why did her friend suddenly become so upset?

Epona was at her side, searching for her devoted rider. Both of them were soaring through the fields of Hyrule, wanting to see their dearest friend and guardian.....but he seemed to be long gone. Something had thrown him into a totally distant dimension, and he was nowhere to be found. The fairy felt as if she were in the middle of an unbelievable fairy tale-all of Hyrule was so peaceful and warm several minutes ago....and now she was in the middle of an immense tidal wave which was about to consume all of her world.

Epona knew that something was amiss as well. The horse was silently soaring through the fields, searching for her friend with the fairy from Kokiri Forest. A part of the horse's heart knew that the Hero of Time wasn't any near them, but she knew that they had to continue their search.

The heavens weren't any different from the fields of Hyrule.

The empyrean meadows of life were filled with the mists of anguish, and the black clouds of fear flowing through the skies were portraits of impending annihilation. It was silent, yes-but the silence was painfully loud. The only things that could be heard were the ballads of anxiety and destruction, and those songs pleasant at all. The goddesses of the Empyrean Fields were wrapped in tumultuous ribbons of pain, for they knew of the danger that was about to fall upon their world, but there was nothing they could do to bring it to a halt.

There weren't any options available.

Five minutes passed, but time no longer held any meaning to the Hero of Time. He found himself at the front doors of the castle, overwhelmed by enormous trepidation. The rhythm of his heart had increased dramatically during the last several minutes, and the pain of the rhythm was beyond control. His eyes were still flames of steadfast vigilance, but they were radiant, ethereal sapphires of eternal promises...teardrops of sunlight were swiftly entering them the way raindrops fell from darkened skies, and the beating of his heart continued to elevate. The soldiers at the front, who were usually cheerful, were instantly confused by their friend's dark mood, but the Hero of Time was unable to explain things. It was strange...it was as if he was the only one that had the ability to feel what was going on. The earth beneath him was trembling violently, but the guards were standing perfectly still...the sky was a dark, abysmal void of evil...

Before he knew it, he found himself dashing through the halls of the castle, searching for the one he loved more than anything. The soldiers around him were immeasurably confused by the Hero of Time's behavior...

But they were also oblivious to everything occurring around them, and beneath them.

--I am unable to shake off this anxiety flowing through me...

I can hear my heartbeat clearly.

My beloved warrior...please be all right...

“Princess?”

“Oh! Sorry, Impa! I guess my dreams whisked me off again. I do apologize for being such an `airhead'.”

“But you aren't sorry about it at all, are you?”

With the innocence of a mischievous child, the beautiful, heavenly Princess of Hyrule shook her head and smiled at her dear guardian. “Nope.” she replied proudly, her eyes shining with radiant happiness. Impa gently placed a hand on her shoulder, and gave her a warm smile in return. “Being an airhead isn't really a crime.” she said to the princess, sounding as if she were truly explaining something important. She ruffled the long golden yellow hair of the sovereign affectionately, and the two of them continued on their way to the throne room...

What's...what's going on?

Why is the ground trembling? Could this be my imagination?

I can't possibly be-

Link continued to make his way through the halls of the seemingly endless castle urgently, searching for his beloved, precious maiden. The ground beneath him continued to tremble, and so did his heart. The world around him slowly went through a strange metamorphosis, and his heart continued to race. He wanted to catch a glimpse of his dear one, he had to find her, see her...

Protect her.

Something's wrong. Something's horribly wrong.

“Princess.” Impa said to her friend firmly, her once calm eyes filled with concern. The divine gemstones of the sovereign were glued to the ground, and filled with great fear. “What is it, dear one?” the guardian asked her urgently, taking her hand.

The princess looked into her eyes fearfully, bearing a resemblance to a child that was about to walk into a dark, unknown world of solitude.

“I can feel...dark forces...coming from...”

The body of Hyrule's maiden was seized by the same power that had seized her mate's body. Her eyes were torn away from the ground, and they were placed upon the walls in an instant. The walls of the castle were emitting waves of dark, dynamic energy, and the ground was no different. The sky was the very portrait of darkness-cold, empty and dreadful.

Zelda's eyes widened and they became solid pools of purple radiance.

What's going on?

Impa embraced her dear friend gently, and she too became aware of the changes in their environment. Both of them were trapped inside of a dream, a dream that was rapidly altering the world they knew. The castle chef, the knights...all of them had dropped from sight. It seemed that they were the only two living beings inside of the castle...

“This isn't right. Princess, we've-”

The eyes of the loyal, devoted guardian widened in the same way Zelda's had widened, and they instantly filled themselves with immense fear. The sovereign of Hyrule was trapped in translucent ribbons of dark light...and the ribbons were composed of the energy streaming from the walls of the castle. The ribbons were demonic beams of light, and they placed both hearts into a world of unknown horror-

I...I can't breathe...

“Impa...”

Horribly loud silence consumed the body of the princess mercilessly, as horrifying visions of death clouded her vision and her soul. She fell to the ground slowly, unable to control her body, unable to react at all...her dear guardian vanished from her side in the blink of an eye...

She was all alone.

I can't move....what's happening to me?

Please....find me...

I need you...

Zelda's Triforce began to glow, but as soon as she realized it, eternal pain seized her entire body and began to tear it apart. The pain caused a scream to rip itself from her throat, and it pierced the very windows of the castle...millions of glass shards fell into the darkened void of Hyrule as her scream lingered upon the silent air...

And millions of tears united with the shards of crystal.

Please...please be all right...

“Zelda!! Zelda!!! Where are you?! Zelda?!”

Where are you?!

“The throne room, my dear Hero! Enter the throne room!”

That voice belonged to none other than Rauru the Sage-

But why-

The Hero of Time continued to soar throughout the castle he had come to know and love, teardrops soaring from his blue sapphires of eternal devotion-

“Zelda!!”

Pain continued to tear away at the Princess's body ruthlessly...and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Millions of tears continued to flow from her darkened eyes, which were filled with the mists of death...and her heart...

Was breaking into millions of crystallized shards.

“Link....my dearest Link....I'm sorry...”

I'm sorry...I really am...sorry...