by N Felts
contract in irrevocable blood. A pact etched onto his very soul. Pried off the ground by a rush of gravity, Link slowly merges with his shadow as an aura of black spins around him like a serrated blade. Time rapidly resumes its natural flow as Mai meets unearthly resistance, a fierce wind slowing her descent until she finds herself being pushed away by the torrent. Consumed by the darkness, Link doubles over and thrashes where he stands while the orb of shadow spinning around him expands. Black shapes of their own law and element whip about like tentacles as the darkness grows even larger. A howling roar unlike anything ever uttered by any creature to walk the earth explodes from Link’s throat while his left arm inadvertently rises outward and straitens grotesquely. Blasting out from within himself, a dreadful triple-helix blade rips out of his body, metastasizing until he holds the enormous handle firmly. Horrific in appearance, the sword spirals up to its point, broken and twisted in sections like a series of vines choking the life from an invisible tree. Primarily black, the misshapen blade has traces of gold along with several swirling specks of light, spinning and weaving about the weapon. Whipping his head upward and arching his back, his power multiplies exponentially, the unstoppable force annihilating the entire castle in a nuclear explosion of black and golden light.
The moonlight shining down across all of Hyrule is blinked out of existence for the lasting moment the eruption of power requires to subside. Barely able to shield herself from the atomic blast, Mai’s very essence boils with anger to have been stopped so close to her goal. Far from immune to such unchecked power, her ensemble has been shredded, her vessel’s appearance now that of a starved ghost thirsting for blood. The moon casts a silvery glow upon what remains of the castle’s foundation, lofted above the river and canyon bordering its perimeter. A steady rain of stone blocks, and metallic supports seems as though it will never end, the blast throwing debris to untold heights. Staring daggers at the dark creature standing before her, Mai has no intention of losing now, slowly circling her opponent and ready for anything. Her absurd ability checked by the outburst, she now walks upon the ground again, carefully choosing her footing as she prepares to strike. Holding his gargantuan sword boldly outward, Omni-Link has retained very little of his original appearance. His blonde hair, fitted into his signature green cap has turned a dark, shimmering gold, lazily waving about his head as gravity has lost all effect upon it. His blue eyes have turned the same shade of gold, sclera and all. The only remaining article of clothing upon him is what remains of his pants, ripped apart by the transformation process. Sporadic cracks and crevices mar his thoroughly beefed-up physical form, randomly glowing an eerie shade of gold as if an orb of light were floating about within his chest. Breathing heavily, Mai exhales with a faint growl before initiating the final battle.
Still infinitely faster than her opponent, Mai splits into multiple, hazy clones between each series of attacks, expanding then receding in formation to make her approach impossible to predict. Able to wield his horrific blade surprisingly fast, the demon of light and shadow counters perfectly, but even so, his blade does not find its target. Landing several successive strikes, the goddess decides she will simply wear her opponent down, sticking and moving to utilize her speed advantage to its fullest. Fed up with the prodding attacks, Link spins his sword overhead before stabbing it into the ground viciously. A sphere of divine, golden light rapidly expands around him, its base infested with thrashing black tentacles of shadow as it throws Mai back a considerable distance before fading away. Immediately charging like a crazed bull, the shadow creature spins into a blinding combination of masterful sword techniques, each strike unpredictable and perfectly angled. Working her arms quickly, the goddess halts the blade long before it even comes close to her form, her outstretched hand seeming to wield an invisible blade as the twisted sword of darkness clashes against unseen resistance. A machine-gun series of clangs later, Link realizes the deity will not fall so easily, pressing down on his sword while her steady hand keeps it at bay. Suddenly splitting into three once again, Mai retreats in every direction at once, her distorted images of Rift splitting again as the number of antagonists multiplies. Now surrounded by dozens of oncoming foes, the sword-wielding demon clenches a single fist near his chest, slamming his palm to the ground just as the dozens of opponents bear down on him. A massive shield of translucent shadow entombs him, the sphere stopping the multitude of assailants in their tracks while the real Mai smashes through the defense with ease.
With a fraction of an instant to react, Link flips his sword handle around within his palm, holding the blade in reverse as he slashes at the goddess’s vessel, descending upon his back with ill intent. Able to stop the weapon from striking her, Mai is thrown off course just the same, flipping to her feet and taking evasive action. Gaining a better feel for his new form, Omni-Link increases the pace of his offense drastically, spinning and slashing at his elusive prey as he combines his own style with that of his dark counterpart. Now unable to find a window to strike, the fierce deity splits apart once again, her heart sinking when Link randomly chooses to assault the correct doppelganger. A leaping stab in the form of a superman punch grazes Rift’s armor as the absurdly quick attack catches Mai off guard. Thrown to the ground after pushing the blade aside, the goddess rolls into a feral position, growling much more audibly this time around as she pounces upon the shadow. A spinning knee hits its mark as Link pulls his sword from the ground. Giving him no time to recover, Mai combos into a devastating elbow to the temple before dropping back to the ground. A twisting upward kick is enough to lift the demon off his feet before the goddess springs overhead, bashing him back to the ground with a fist-in-hand attack. Now sprawled out in the dirt and rubble, Omni-Link’s internal glow dims noticeably as he lies inert for the moment. Grinning with satisfaction, Mai is briefly confused when she spots a falling piece of debris, frozen in time by unknown forces.
“That’s enough, sister,” a voice insists from behind. Spinning on her heels, Mai finds all three of her sisters standing before her. At the forefront, Nayru eyes her knowingly before continuing. “We’ve let you bend the rules, but you have gone too far.”
“Nonsense!” Mai blurts out, remaining within her vessel, though a revealing light causes Rift’s features to vanish where it touches her form. Her disheveled, feral appearance is the antithesis of that of her sisters, radiating grace and poise as they address her. “You have lost, and now you speak to me with petty threats! How far you have fallen. All of you.”
“This is no game,” she states with a blazing sincerity. “Not any longer. The entity you face is no creation of ours. He has grown beyond our control, and far beyond yours,” she explains as Farore nods knowingly.
“I will not bow to Farore’s chosen,” she instantly retorts. “I have shown you he is not pure of heart, and now you will watch him fall.”
“That, dear sister, is where you are mistaken. He is the purest of heart, and if you will not heed our warnings, he will use an entirely new force to defeat you. A force born of his own soul,” she explains, not expecting to reach her, but feeling the need to impart her wisdom. “A force beyond even that of the Triforce.”
“Meaningless talk,” Mai boldly proclaims, briefly eyeing Din’s condescending glare. “I am the harbinger of death. I cannot be destroyed. You know this to be true.”
“You are immortal,” Nayru agrees, pausing for a moment. “Your chosen however,” she starts, feeling sympathy for the foolish boy.
“He is mine,” Mai growls, pronouncing each word slowly and with emphasis. A sad, somber look steals over each of the goddess, their compassion infinitely more adept than that of the Fierce Deity. With her wisdom offered and rejected, Nayru turns to her sisters, and departs as time resumes its flow. Turning back to her opponent, Mai is surprised to see the golden glow within him not only returning, but growing exponentially brighter. Utilizing his sword like a cane to climb back to his feet, Omni-Link ho
lds the handle in a peculiar way as he crouches into an attack stance. With his sword hand reversed, but his supporting hand still orthodox, he summons every ounce of energy he possesses for his final attack. The golden particles whirling about the blade increase in number and speed, the sword glowing with light and darkness simultaneously. The ground beneath his feet splits and jumps apart, as a growing rumbling grows deafening just before a heart-stopping bass drop. While Mai debates how she will defend the coming attack, Link’s long silent lips part to speak a single word. His augmented voice shakes the very air in a deep bellow with the pair of syllables.
“Justice,” he breathes, slashing his sword diagonally in an imperceptible instant. A world-destroying wave of radiant light and swarming darkness screams out of the blade, bearing down upon the goddess in the moment between heartbeats. Her foolishness now all too apparent, Mai sheds a preemptive tear for the unparalleled act of betrayal she is about to commit. The void slows time as best it can, but it is not nearly enough to save them both. Emerging