The sound of the barrier surrounding Hyrule Castle shattering like a stained-glass window echoed in Krystal’s ears as she ran across the plains on the other side of the castle bridge. She could feel the burn in her legs and the sweat gathering on her forehead, but she pressed on, heading for the dark tower in the distance. Broken pieces of stone and wooden structures littered the sides of the path she was following, hinting at the life that once walked these fields, but she didn’t slow to take pictographs. All she could think about was getting to Tetra as well as the destroyed statue of the Hero of Time inside the castle and King Daphnes’ words.
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“I’m certain Zelda has been taken to Ganon’s Tower.”
“Ganon’s Tower?”
“Long ago, Ganon’s Tower was an impenetrable fortress that took shape on the spot where Ganon returned to this world. It was a desert stronghold; not even the daring and dauntless Knights of Hyrule could hope to assail it. Even without the monsters protecting it, the desert around it would drain the life out of all who tried to cross it. None who valued their lives would dare go near it.”
“If that’s where Tetra has been taken, then I have to go there. How do I get there?”
“Beyond the bridge, make your way towards the tower until you reach the remnants of a stone archway going over a fissure in the ground. Ganon’s return upturned the earth in the surrounding area, raising a rock wall and creating a deep chasm around it. Passages under the ground were created for Ganon’s monsters to spill out through the natural barrier to attack Hyrule. One of those passages is at that archway, and while it was once filled with monsters, I am certain that Ganon has not had a chance to recall all of his monsters down here to prevent your approach. Take that passage to reach Ganon’s Tower and rescue Zelda, Krystal!”
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Krystal finished dealing with a Darknut and turned to look back at the path in front of her. She was standing in front of the archway that the King had mentioned, directly across from the opening in the rock on the other side. The archway was barely recognizable as such; just a single arch on her side, a small chunk of land with an arch over it in the middle, and the arch on the other side. She noticed round metal plates in the center of each arch that looked like they might make good Hookshot targets. She tried using it on the first one and it caught, the chain pulling her to the arch, so she used it on the third one to complete the crossing. She put the tool away before running into the opening.
She didn’t know how long she’d been running, but she eventually slowed when she saw a rock wall up ahead. As she got closer, she noticed a partially open round door in the rock marking the entrance to the tower. She was able to squeeze through and found herself in a chamber with magma bubbling up from below. Fortunately, there was a path leading to the round middle, where a stone bridge was attached leading to an opening that went into the tower proper. She ran across and found a set of stairs leading up. She made her way up, dodging around waiting Bokoblins and Miniblins dropping from the ceiling, stopping at the top and sending them all flying back down with a Spin Attack before going through the door across from her.
She found herself in a circular room that had a door on each side and a wall in front of her that had a marking on it that reminded her of how Ganon had been portrayed in the legend. The door to the left led to a room with a small channel of water in the floor, the water presumably coming from somewhere beyond the darkness past the opening. There was a strange ring of purple-colored darkness pulsing above the water, which King Daphnes said, through Tetra’s stone, had to be the passage that Ganondorf used to move between Hyrule and the Great Sea. She found almost the exact same room through the other door, except instead of water, there was simply a drop into darkness. A stone slab near the back of the channel mentioned something about sword hilts pointing the way to… someone. Unsure what else to do, she jumped down into the darkness.
Light suddenly cut through the darkness and Krystal found herself in a circular room with a domed ceiling and four doors around her. Before she could think about which one to try, a chill ran up her spine and she turned to see Phantom Ganon appear, floating in the air behind her. He attacked her the same way he did at the Forsaken Fortress, but this time when she knocked him down and rushed forward to attack, it only took one slash for him to disappear. She noticed his sword remained, however, and as she looked at it, it turned slightly before falling, its hilt pointing towards one of the doors.
As she looked down at it, the words on the slab flashed in her head: “The sword-hilts of my servants who lurk deep in the darkness shall be the guideposts that point to me.” She looked up and ran to the door it was pointing at. She entered another room like the one she was just in. Phantom Ganon appeared again a second later, multiple copies of himself moving in to attack Krystal. She nodded to herself as she moved to avoid their attack, “Okay, I get it.”
She continued to take out Phantom Ganon every time he appeared, using the hilt of his sword to select the right door each time. She eventually entered a room that was slightly different from all the rest. As soon as she entered it, bars slid down over the door behind her, preventing her from going back. The door on the other side of the room was also barred and was the only other door in the room, and the floor and walls had a different color, like they had fog pressed against them. Phantom Ganon appeared again and went down just as easily, but after he disappeared, a chest appeared in the middle of the room. Krystal opened it and found a spark of life that attached itself to her bow and infused it with light, giving her new Light Arrows. As soon as it finished settling, the bars over the other door slid up, allowing her to leave.
Krystal found herself back outside the maze, back in the room with the marked wall in front of her. She had barely taken a few steps off the glowing circle she had appeared on before Phantom Ganon appeared again. He began to gather black and red energy over his head between his hands, but Krystal had had enough of his constant appearances here. She decided to try out the Light Arrows on him. The glowing yellow arrow was ready by the time Phantom Ganon finished his attack. He didn’t get a chance to unleash it as Krystal’s Light Arrow hit him in the chest, causing his attack to break apart as light shone out from the spot the arrow had hit, causing him to spasm and convulse as he became enveloped in white light, soon consuming him completely.
His sword clattered to the ground and Krystal walked over to it. She tried picking it up and was surprised that it was lighter than it looked. Or maybe that was the Power Crystals giving her strength. She looked at the marking on the wall and then back at the sword. She made her way over to it and raised the sword above her head, swinging it down at the wall. A white light began to shine out from behind the wall that caused it to vanish in a cloud of black smoke after a few seconds, Phantom Ganon’s sword fading out of existence a moment later.
An opening lay behind where the wall had been, leading to more stairs going upward. Moblins and Darknuts patrolled every few flights of stairs, trying to stop her advance when they saw her. She fought her way through them, choosing to save her magic for Ganondorf. She made it to the top after a few minutes, where a pair of red doors decorated to look like Ganon were. After the last Darknut fell, she pushed one door open slightly and slipped through the opening.
The room beyond was circular and very… high. The ceiling looked like it went up even higher than the chamber in the Wind Temple, and there were all sorts of supports and beams stretching across it. The floor between the stone ring that circled around past the doors and the stone circle in the center of the room was covered in water. It wasn’t deep; it only went up over her feet, but it made it hard to be silent as she waded towards the center of the room.
A translucent veil hung down from the ceiling over the raised square in the center like a fancy sleeping curtain. Underneath was a bed with a torch burning beside it. And through the opening, she could see Tetra on her back under the covers. Krystal paused and gasped softly, her eyes going wide at who was standing beside the bed with his back turned towards her: Ganondorf. The man turned to look at Tetra a moment later and asked, “Do you sleep still?” Krystal tensed up, bending her knees to get into a battle-ready stance with the Master Sword at her side and the Mirror Shield in front of her. Ganondorf’s eyes moved up in her direction as he said, “Wait! Do not be so hasty, fox…”
He returned his gaze to Tetra, raising his right hand and holding it above Tetra’s forehead. “What are you doing?!” Krystal snapped. Ganondorf didn’t flinch. He just stared at the girl for a few moments.
“I can see this girl’s dreams…” he murmured. “Oceans… Oceans… Oceans as far as the eye can see… They are vast seas… None can swim across them… They yield no fish to catch…”
Krystal glared at him. “What are you saying?” she demanded.
“What did the King of Hyrule say? …That the gods sealed Hyrule away?” Ganondorf questioned. He stood up and stared directly at Krystal. “And they left behind people who would one day awaken Hyrule?!” He huffed before laughing and saying, “How ridiculous… And you believe him, do you? He’s had you wrapped around his finger this entire time…”
Krystal blinked at his words. “What are you talking about?”
Ganondorf’s expression didn’t shift. “Fool… It was nothing but a contrivance. Sealed away by the gods… No.” His frown deepened. “Destroyed by the gods. And him? Did you really think he lingered all this time just to leave his kingdom at the bottom of the sea? He wants the same thing I do. He just didn’t bother to tell you.”
Krystal kept her arms steady, but her step back betrayed the crack in her resolve. “Stop it…” she muttered, though her voice wavered.
Ganondorf continued to press, “He is using you. All to restore his rightful place as king… I must admit… I’m impressed.”
Krystal shook her head and glared at him once more. “Enough! You can talk all you want! You won’t convince me to turn and leave, not after all you’ve done!”
The corners of Ganondorf’s mouth curled upwards in a grin, “…Good. I have been waiting for you, girl. For one like you… Yes… For the hero. Do not betray my expectations.”
Krystal expected him to attack. Instead, a sound like bones cracking came from under the curtain. As she stared, Ganondorf’s arms stretched out, extending to both ends of the bed, his shoulders widening as both he and the bed lifted up into the air. Krystal stared up, horrified as his body began to contort and expand, becoming more monstrous by the moment. In less than a minute, a giant pig-like monster stood towering over her, but there was something uncanny about it, like it wasn’t a flesh and blood creature but something more fabricated, like a marionette. Looking up further, as the curtain lifted, she could make out a single red string and several blue strings stretching down from the ceiling, the blue strings lifting as the beast raised its arms and slammed them against the floor to her sides.
Krystal eyed the strings as the… puppet began shuffling around, guided by them. She also noticed a light blue orb on the end of its tail as it swung to and fro. She returned her attention to the strings as she began to move to the left, opposite the puppet. Maybe she could cut them and limit the puppet's movements.
She pulled out her boomerang and took aim at the strings, throwing it when the puppet slowed slightly. It hit several, but the strings didn't break. Each one that was hit did cause the puppets limbs to jerk involuntarily when the spinning projectile hit them. That seemed like a good sign, so she tried it again. This time, the string controlling the left arm snapped when the boomerang hit, causing the limb to flop uselessly to the floor as it was moving towards her to punch her. “Okay, so that does have an effect on it,” she thought. The rest of the strings twanged when they were hit, but she knew she could cut them now.
She was able to cut the rest of the strings aside from the red one on the next attempt and the puppet’s head and limbs flopped to the floor. It continued to spin around, held aloft by that single string, but it couldn't really move, so Krystal grabbed her bow and aimed a Light Arrow at the orb on its tail. It hit, but the orb only cracked a little. The puppet rose up towards the ceiling and came back down a second later with new blue strings. Krystal grumbled, but reached for her boomerang again anyway.
Krystal was able to cut the blue strings and hit the orb two more times before the puppet dropped to the floor, going still. She stared at it for a few moments before relaxing, only to tense up again when the red string pulled taut, lifting the puppet off the ground, its limbs hanging limp. As it dangled in the air, its limbs retracted into its body, its torso shifting and undulating for several moments, its body getting darker. Suddenly, smoke exploded out of it and something dropped to the floor in front of her.
Krystal gasped at it. It still had a pig-like face, but its body had changed into a large spider, its eight legs splayed out on the floor. Its eyes continued to rove around, pointing in different directions. With a jerk on the red string, it lifted up towards the ceiling.
As she looked up at it, she spotted the cyan orb on its… rear, the wide cracks no longer visible but with smaller cracks running across it like spider silk. It began to spin in a circle quickly, making it harder to track the orb as she tried to aim up at it. It paused suddenly, but Krystal hesitated, wondering. She realized it was coming down and dove to the side to get out from under it, narrowly missing being crushed under one of its legs.
The spider lifted up again and performed the same routine. This time, Krystal didn't bother trying to hit it while it was once the ceiling. She instead tried to position herself under it as it spun around and when it stopped, she ran towards the orb, rolling forward to get out from underneath it before it landed and turned to hit the orb with a Light Arrow. She hit it two additional times before the orb broke and it was raised up off the ground, its legs retreating inside its body. “Did that do it?” she wondered.
She got her answer a moment later when, in another burst of smoke, the puppet turned into a large snake-like creature, still with that same pig-like face. It began to slither as much as a puppet held up by a single string could, and it did so fast and without much direction. Krystal did have to dodge out of its way when it started moving, but in less than a minute, it hit the wall a dozen times. She couldn't tell if this did anything to it, considering it continued to wear the same blank expression on its face.
It had the cyan orb at the end of its tail, which was now covered with hairline cracks, but the puppet's fast movements made it difficult to hit it exactly right. It was hard to even get out of its way when it was barreling towards her. There were wooden ledges along the room's wall that she could use the Hookshot to get on top of to avoid the puppet, but it didn't make aiming at the orb any easier. If anything, it made it harder since she was feeling the vibrations when it hit the wall more.
She didn't know how she did it, but she managed to hit the orb with three Light Arrows, shattering it once again. The puppet's body bounced towards the middle of the room where it was yanked up, its body dangling like it was being yanked by a collar or a noose. It hit one of the ceiling beams and exploded, the red string falling and dangling just above the floor afterwards. Krystal, standing in the circle of water on the floor, let out a sigh of relief, her hands on her knees as she panted. That snake form in particular had taken a lot out of her.
“You are indeed powerful.” Krystal straightened up at that, looking up towards the ceiling to see Ganondorf standing on top of the lowest beam, looking down at her. “But you hold yourself back, just like he did.” He was holding Tetra in his arm, the girl still asleep. “Your time has come. Come! Stand before me!” he urged.
Krystal looked up at his unmoving form a moment longer before her gaze went to the red string still dangling down. She put her bow away and ran over to it, jumping up and grabbing onto it in order to climb up. She climbed as quickly as her aching muscles would allow, the rope remaining still all the while. She glanced down at one point and saw how high up she was going before looking back up.
As she neared the top, she heard Ganondorf say, “Yes, good. Push yourself past your limits, fox. Just like he once did. Just like the King expected you to, pushed you to.”
Krystal reached the top and grabbed the rim of the circular opening there to pull herself up. She rested her elbows on it as she raised her head above it, panting for a moment turning to look at him over her shoulder. “He ‘pushed’ me because of you, because of what you've done. Your presence could be felt as far as Outset.”
As she finished pulling herself up, Ganondorf effortlessly leapt up, moving back to land on the next beam as she knelt and turned to look at where he'd been. She tilted her head up as he said, “The Royal Family has been full of fools who are too set in their beliefs to entertain any idea contrary to their own.” He shook Tetra slightly, causing the sheet still wrapped around her to fall away. “Her ancestor is the only one who possessed any sort of awareness for danger. He is not the sort of person you should be trusting so easily.”
Krystal remained focused on navigating to the outer perimeter of the wooden beams where there was a spot she could use her Grappling Hook to follow him up, but she responded to him as she did. “Do you think it hasn't crossed my mind that he might be hiding something? He still saved my life after your bird kidnapped my sister and threw me out to sea.” She pulled out the Grappling Hook and started to swing it around.
As she was climbing up, Ganondorf said, “A mistake. I was too quick to pass judgment on you.” He leapt to the top beam as Krystal finished climbing. “But that's what sets me apart from him. I do not mince words. I have not twisted meanings and wrapped you up in lies.” He leapt across to a wooden ledge that led to an opening. “Had I taken you in, I would have been as open with you as I am now.”
Krystal climbed up to the last beam and made her way around to the ledge. “Open about what?” she asked as she reached for her Hookshot, Ganondorf disappearing through the opening before she was pulled over to the ledge. “That you're the one in the legend my grandmother read to me like a bedtime story? That you've been kidnapping girls across the Great Sea? All of this? What…” She trailed off as she stepped out through the opening and saw the desert surrounding the tower below.
Ganondorf stood at the top of the open winding staircase she was at the foot of, his gaze also on the tower's surroundings. “My country lay within a vast desert.” Krystal blinked, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow. There was no sneer in his voice, no condescension or condemnation. Instead, his voice sounded distant, nostalgic, like he was remembering something dear to him.
He turned and walked onto the roof of the tower, prompting Krystal to run up after him. He kept walking as he continued, “When the sun rose in the sky, a burning wind punished my lands, searing the world. And when the moon climbed into the dark of night, a frigid gale pierced our homes. No matter when it came, the wind carried the same thing… death.” He stopped near the edge on the other half of the circular roof as Krystal stepped onto it. “But the winds that blew across the green fields of Hyrule brought something other than suffering and ruin. …I… coveted that wind, I suppose,” he admitted, still staring somewhere off in the distance.
Krystal walked slowly across the roof towards him as he set Tetra down and stood up again. "So, why all this, then?" she asked, gesturing with her arms at everything around them. "Did Hyrule not want to negotiate with you? Were the terms unreasonable? And what became of your people? Why did it become all about the Triforce for you?"
Ganondorf was silent for several moments before saying, "I don't know. I wanted to help my people. I set out for Hyrule with the intention of swearing allegiance. And yet... when I set foot onto those fields, something changed. It was as if something dormant inside me had awakened, driving me to the furthest corners of the kingdom in search of the Golden Power. It can only be called fate."
Krystal paused, raising an eyebrow. "Fate?" she questioned.
Ganondorf continued as if he hadn't heard her, "That here, I would again gather the three with crests. …That I should lay my hand on that which grants the wishes of the beholder. That when Power, Wisdom, and Courage came together, the gods would have no choice but to come down... The power of the gods... The Triforce! Whoever touches it will have whatever they desire granted!" He looked down at Tetra, "Already, the crest of Wisdom is mine." His eyes shifted towards Krystal, who was standing past the center of the top of the tower, "All that remains..."
Krystal tilted her wrist to look down at the triangle on the back of her left hand. She looked up at him, "Perhaps you have been truthful all this time. But I wouldn't have condoned your methods if you had tried to reach out to me over the King. You kidnapped countless other girls in your attempts to find the Triforce, and that's before you kidnapped my sister. Surely, you can understand why I say I can't just give you this Triforce." Her ears caught the puff of air he exhaled through his nostrils. Not a huff, not a snort; more like a sigh of resignation, like he knew she was going to say that.
He turned to face her, the air between them charged and heavy with tension. Then, suddenly, he leaned forward before rushing towards her with a shout. She reached for the Master Shield and Mirror Shield, but he was upon her before she could fully pull them out. The first strike to her left cheek sent the Mirror Shield clattering across the roof, and the second against her right cheek sent the Master Sword spinning through the air, the blade coming to a stop near Tetra. He grabbed the top of her head with his left hand and punched her directly in the face, knocking her across the roof. She landed on her side with a pained grunt a short distance away. She was still conscious, but her vision was blurry, her eyes half-lidded as Ganondorf walked closer.
As he stood over her, he said, "Do not fear. I will not kill you... I merely have need of the power that dwells within you." He bent down and wrapped his fingers around her left arm just above her elbow. It wasn't a crushing hold, but it did elicit some movement from Krystal as she felt something painful where his fingers were wrapped around her. Whatever it was, it felt like something was burning her skin, not quite like fire, but some sort of force that burned like she had dipped her arm in something slightly caustic. As he held her arm up, Ganondorf bared his teeth, not quite in a grin. "You do not even belong in this world, yet here you are. You became a ‘hero’. Are you satisfied? Was it amusing, pretending to take his place? The Triforce is beyond you. It belongs not in your hand, but mine! Now, let us put an end to that which has brought us together!"
Krystal tried to struggle, but she was still weakened by Ganondorf's earlier barrage, and whatever was burning into her skin was draining her strength further. She went limp after a few moments, but she was still conscious enough to register that the Triforce of Courage was leaving her hand. She vaguely registered Ganondorf holding up his free arm over his head, the light from his hand shining brighter as the Triforce of Power left him. The Triforce of Wisdom left Tetra as well, all three golden triangles joining together in their alignment in the air above the center of the roof. Ganondorf let Krystal fall to the ground, the skin on her arm a burnt red that was visible under her fur, as he stepped forward, laughing triumphantly.
The Triforce floated down, hovering just above the ground as Ganondorf stopped in front of it. "Gods! Hear that which I desire!" He raised his right hand up over his head, "Expose this land to the rays of the sun once more! Let them burn forth! GIVE HYRULE TO ME!" He grinned as he lowered his head and brought his hand forward to place it on the Triforce.
"Whoever touches it will whatever they desire granted... That is what you said, is it not, Ganondorf?" King Daphnes stood before him, his right hand outstretched and placed firmly on the Triforce of Courage. He didn't give the Evil King a chance to respond; he simply looked skyward and spoke, "Gods of the Triforce! Hear that which I desire!" He paused for a moment, as if gathering strength for what he was about to say, before continuing, "Hope! I desire hope for these children! Give them a future! Wash away this ancient land of Hyrule! LET A RAY OF HOPE SHINE ON THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD!"
A moment of silence passed on the rooftop, Ganondorf’s hand hanging in the air between them. Then the Triforce began to glow brightly, prompting King Daphnes to lower his hand and glare at the Evil King. “And let our destinies finally be fulfilled… Ganondorf! May you drown with Hyrule!” he cursed him as the triangles separated and began to float up and away. Ganondorf’s hand dropped to his side.
Then he began to laugh. He genuinely began to laugh. It started as a low, deep thing as the Great Sea above began to break through the magic seal that had been placed over Hyrule, waterfalls spilling in from above. Then it grew louder and sounded more unhinged until he threw his head back and laughed loudly over the sound of the water falling around them in the distance, a raucous sound of disbelief. It wasn’t just the sound of someone who had just heard the obscenest thing in his life. It was the sound of someone who’d waited patiently to get what he wanted, only for that waiting to not pay off, for his prize to be snatched away at the last second.
Amidst his laughter, Krystal regained consciousness and, slowly, rolled onto her back and pushed herself up. The rain falling around them soothed the burn in her left arm a little, but her right arm did most of the work as she raised herself off the ground, her hand going around the spot as she stood, hunched over. She glared at Ganondorf as much as she could, one eye closed and the other half-lidded. “What are you laughing at, Ganondorf?” she growled low.
Ganondorf lowered his head a moment later, not turning to face her as he huffed, “This is foolishness… A future… for you?”
Krystal rolled her shoulders slightly to try to shake out the stiffness as she asked, “What would you know about having a future? You waited hundreds of years for this chance, only to lose it. I don’t think you know what it means to have a future.”
She looked back when she heard Tetra say, “She’s right, Ganondorf. You’re insane!” She saw her hobbling over with the Master Sword clutched between her hands. She smiled at her, “Sorry, Krystal! I overslept!” She winked at her, “I think it’s time for us to say goodbye to this place. I don’t know what he was talking about, but even if it’s true, the world above is your home, no matter what!” Krystal returned her smile as she took the Master Sword back from her.
They returned their gazes to Ganondorf, who remained motionless for a moment before he raised his arms out to his sides. “Very well, then… Allow me to show you…” he said in an unusually low, unnerving tone. With a flick of his wrists, he produced a pair of large, ornate swords, their blades angled upwards. “Your future… Yes… Allow me to show you… Just what hope you have…” He whirled around with a shout, a wide, mad grin on his face, his eyes narrowed, but they didn’t flinch at the sight. “…See how much your precious Triforce is worth!” he declared.
