Chapter IV:
A Second Side to All of Us

The Temple of Time was a place of emmaculate beauty, standing very tall in the very center of Hyrule, seen by all of the land from far away. The white-stone walls look unusually clean as if the temple was built just a day ago. The blue marble rooftops of the temple dimly reflected the sun's radiance. The courtyard at the foot of the stairs leading to the entrance were lush and green, no blade of grass dried up nor showing any signs of becoming brown anytime soon. It was as if time didn't exist here, which may be why it was called the Temple of Time; the temple never seemed to age at all. The walls surrounding the temple and courtyard, made with the same stone as the temple walls, stood tall and strong to protect the grand structure. The sages have created an edifice that could make anyone gaze upon it with great inferiority, but the outside did not come close to comparing with what was inside. What was said to be housed inside was the golden relic itself, the Triforce, housed in a chamber that was sealed off and protected by a large slab of stone called the Door of Time. I knew the trip had something to do with the Triforce. Maybe I finally get to obtain it, I thought to myself. It was a great wish I had, because it was such an overwhelming idea that I could be able to harness such infinite power. I anticipated the whole way there for it. It was too exciting to be so calm about.

We halted to a stop at the large gate into the courtyard. The stone doors looked strong, unable to move no matter how much force could be used to push it open. I wondered how they'd open the doors, but something unexpected happened.

"Zelda," Nohanse called out. He looked at her with a serious expression on his face. Zelda hesitated for a moment before she got off her horse and walked to the stone doors. When she walked past me, I saw a look of fear on her face. Just what is she about to do, I wondered strongly.

Zelda placed her right hand on the slit between the stone doors. Closing her eyes the princess breathed slowly and steadily. I watched with curiosity as to what she was about to do. Soon after light was emmitted from under her hand on the doors. It wasn't long when the doors just opened up with ease, but she didn't feel all that well when I saw her fall down to her knees in exhaustion. Seeing this, I became quickly worried and dismounted from my horse to aid her to her feet.

"Are you ok, your highness?" I asked concerned.

"I already told you," Zelda replied, sounding tired. "You don't have to call me that."

"Here, let me he..." and she pushed my hand away, getting up herself. I didn't know what I did wrong that she had to ignore my aid to her, but I must've done something to piss her off before.

"We have to get inside the temple, Lee," Zelda forcibly said through the fatigue she gained after opening the doors, with whatever she did. "We cannot waste time."

I got up myself, and followed Zelda. The king and the four guards who accompanied us followed behind, still on their horses. The other two horses were taken by one of the guards so that they didn't wander off. The king didn't look like he had any sort of concern for his daughter's safety, which pissed me off a bit. He was Zelda's father, he should've been concerned for her. I don't know if he was just trying to have faith in her safety, or he just didn't care, but he had no intention of helping her at all. Something was definetely going on, and I needed to know what.

My thoughts washed away as I noticed something very odd. When I entered through the gate the temple was not as magnificent as it was before. The sky was black, no light from the sun, and the temple lost its emmaculate radiance. The courtyard had brown grass instead of the lush green grass that it was supposed to have. It did not give that "new" look, since the temple looked more like a dungeon. Nothing past the temple gates had any logic to it. Outside the temple gates, the walls were as white as snow, and the rooftops were always lustrous, but inside it was as if it aged a thousand years. Just what is going on, I wondered incomprehensibly. Once again, my day was becoming more and more perplexed every moment time passed by.

"Lee, we must go on," Zelda commanded me, grabbing my attention. "We cannot waste time here."

"A-alright, I'm coming," I replied. She sounded serious about getting inside, so I didn't want to get her angered. It was strange, though, that the princess acted so serious. Before, in the bedroom, she acted timid and gentle, all innocent-like and kind-hearted. Watching her with such an attitude was like watching rain fall up; it just wasn't normal.

Nohanse dismounted from the horse with the aid of a guard. The guards also dismounted from their horses, following the king up the steps. he ordered two of his men to watch the oustide and guard the entrance. The other two were ordered to follow him inside. However we couldn't enter because, just as the gate, we cannot open it by simply pushing it open. That's when Zelda did the same procedure. I became more curious as to what she was doing, but at the same time afraid for her safety. It drained more of her energy, and made her more tired. Just what was she doing? After that, she fell again to her knees. I went to her aid, but again she pushed my hand away. I felt like I lost her trust, but I hardly did anything to her.

"Quickly, we must get inside, Lee," she said, in her demanding tone. She was in such a hurry, I began to get a bad feeling about this trial. Needless to say, though, my anticipation was growing more and more as we delayed our entrance into the Temple of Time, but my anticipation became fear when I saw the inside.

The inside was the same as the outside, except it was, well, inside. The halls were massive in size and dark, and the windows served no purpose as well, but fortunately there were chandeliers overhead that emitted just enough light for us to see where we were going. Every sound made, no matter how soft it was, could create such a loud echo that would almost sound as if something enormous was walking toward you. The walls were brittle and looked like they were about to fall apart and collapse the temple on top of you. What made that even worse was that tiny debris was falling from the ceiling, notifying me that it was about to fall. The dark shadows in the hall shrouded much of the room off to the side, giving me an uncomfortable feeling that something was about to jump out and attack. It made no sense to me. Why did such an enormous structure fall so easily. Why is it that time just seemed to go a thousand years into the future once my foot stepped through the gate? Maybe it was time itself, but was there any significance to it all? Or was it all random occurences that I was witnessing?

As we approached the Door of Time, the king stopped and his men did the same, as Zelda approached the door. The king stayed a good distance away from the door, like something will explode from behind the door or something as dangerous. Zelda took a deep breath, and began concentrating her energy on the large door. I became frightened even more, because it was such a large door compared to the other ones she opened, and those ones before took a fair amount of energy from her. From the looks of things, seeing the king far behind Zelda, I had a feeling that she might not make it out on her own two feet.

The door successfully opened, and Zelda turned around to look at me with a faint smile, followed by falling from dizziness. Seeing this I reacted quickly and jumped to her rescue. I caught her before she hit the ground, and held her head up. Her face was unusually pale, and her skin was abnormally cold. She didn't seem to have fainted like any normal person would. It's as if she was dead, but thankfully that wasn't the case since I heard her breathing. I needed to get her out of the temple, and fast.

"Lee, we must go on," Nohanse demanded. "We cannot waste any time at all."

He wanted me to go through the Door of Time, but where was his concern for his own daughter? Anger built up inside from hearing nothing about his daughter, who was lying down from severe exhaustion, and who needs help.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" I asked furiously. "Your daughter fainted from exhaustion, and she needs help now! All I hear coming out of your mouth is, 'We have to keep going,' but where is your concern for your daughter?" I looked at him with distaste. "You're her father. Act like one!"

My anger became soothing relief when I felt her hand touch my face. I looked at her, and she looked at me. Even when she's feeling cold, her smile is the only warm and calming thing that appears.

"My father is right, you must press forwrad," she said with a weak voice. "If you don't continue, you won't be able to achieve what is rightfully yours."

I looked at her incredulously. "But you need help. I can't think of myself at a time like this!"

"I'll be fine," Zelda assured me. "Just forget about me and go."

I hated the idea, but I could never go against a lady's word. I gently put her head down, and ran forward instead of walking to quickly conclude the trial. I ran toward the end of the hall, to where light shone brightly. I knew that that was where I had to go, so I ran faster. When I got to the end, surprise and shock crept up onto me.

At the top of a small flight of stairs, standing from a pedestal, was the Master Sword. It was the blade used by the hero, who wore the green tunic, during the war that nearly wiped out all of Hyrule. It was that same blade that struck down the Evil King and ended that same war. No Triforce, no golden relic floating in the air talked about in legends. Just the Master Sword, something that could never be touched by anyone other than a descendant of the hero. Then why was I here?

"What are you waiting for, my boy?" shouted an impatient voice. Nohanse came running into the room, with his guards following behind. "Pull the blade out, quickly!"

"Are you insane?" I replied distressed. "Only a descendant of the hero could pull it out. If someone else tries to pull it out, then..."

"Do not waste time!" The king became irritated. "You are wasting too much time, and my daughter needs you to quickly pull it out before it's too late for her!"

I began having bad feelings about the whole idea. If I touched the hilt of the sword, my life would be drained from my body and added to the sword. If I didn't do it, Zelda's life could be in jeopardy because of my cowardice. It was a lose-lose choice, but I was brought here to pull this sword out. I had no choice.

I had my hand ready to pull it out. I took a few quick breaths to keep calm before I attempted to take the sword out. After a short moment, I did it all in one motion; I grabbed the sword's hilt, and pulled it out with all my strength. Next thing I knew, light came from the blade and shrouded everything in pure light. It only took a few seconds before I could see anything, and what I saw were white walls with windows that let light into the halls. The floor was made of white tiles, with a black, carpet-like path from the pedestal, all the way down the hall. I first thought it was a totally different place, but I soon realized it was the same temple I was in since the beginning. I was bewildered by the events, but I was glad it was all over.

"You finally did it, my boy. You have obtained the blade of evil's bane; the Master Sword."

I fel the sword giving its power to me. It was a long blade, meant to be held with two hands. The blue hilt was long enough so that I may use it properly. On the blade was the Triforce engraved onto it, as well as text. It read, "Power, Wisdom, Courage," on one side, and the other said, "Blade of Purity." It sang to me as I swung it through the air. It was just stunning in my opinion to see such a blade in my hand.

But despite my pride over this magnificent weapon, my attention turned towards Zelda, who was still lying down on the floor. My attention turned to her safety, so I quickly went to her aid. I ran through the hall, but when I got to the Door of Time, Zelda was nowhere to be seen. I knew very well that she was in no condition to leave on her own, however there were guards here to look after her. I figured she was taken outside to get some fresh air and get better as I was in here. Then the king came to the main hall, and became confused,

"Where are they?" he rhetorically asked, perplexed by the sight of his guards' disappearances. "I specifically said to stay here while they waited. What is this disobedience from the Royal Guards of Hyrule?"

Hearing that from the king, I wasn't liking what was going on. Suddenly, just when I thought it couldn't get any worse,

"Come out from there, your majesty!" I heard a voice call. "We're waiting patiently for you, so don't keep us waiting!"

Once outside, the first thing I saw was that the sky was blue and the sun shone. The grass was also lush and green, not dead like it was before. I then noticed all the guards on the floor, dead and covered in their own blood. It wasn't until I heard a sinister laugh that I noticed bandits surrounding both Nohanse and I. They were all wearing worn-down armour, each holding a variety of weapons, from spears and halberds to swords and maces. One of them stood out the most since he sat on a horse; on of the white horses that we rode on.

"So, this is the kid we were told about," the bandit said, disgruntled. "You look nothing more than just a ****-covered street rat."

"Where is she!?" I ordered. "Where is Zelda!?"

"Oh, you mean her?" Two men came from behind, holding Zelda by her arms. She still seemed weak from opening the doors, unable to stand on her own. The bandits holding her were ruthless, forcing Zelda to stand up regardless of her condition.

"Let her go, you bastard!" I demanded. "Or else..."

"Or else what?" the bandit, supposedly their leader, taunted me. "You don't look like you'd be worth my time, but I was given a great deal for your dead body."

All the bandits around me had their weapons in a ready position, impatient to attack me. The sheathing of swords and the stretching of bow strings made me feel afraid to figh them all, but I coudn't have let them hurt the princess. It was either my life or her's, and I wasn't willing to lose her life over me.

"Ok, boys. Rip him apart!" The leader yelled. "And leave the king alive. He isn't ours for the taking, yet."

Their battle cries made my blood rush, but the feeling was too powerful to ignore. I couldn't do anything except to embrace the feeling, and I soon felt relaxed. It was a familiar feeling, but too strange to think so. Nonetheless, I used it to my advantage, and knew I was ready to take them on.

I collided with a sword, blocking the attack that was directed to my side, and went after him with an upward slash. The same went for the next attack that came to my head; I blocked the spear from hitting me, and countered with a horizontal swipe to the stomach. I ducked a few swipes, and blocked multiple strikes that were initially for my back, stomach, chest, head, or neck, and I countered them all with attacks of my own. Swords shattered at the might of my blade, and arrows hit nothing but the ground and the stone wall protecting the temple courtyard. Blood flowed like a raging river in a storm, falling from the bodies of the slain. It was bloodshed, but I was happy. I could not control myself, and I became hungry for more victims to cut apart. It was nothing but insanity. It wasn't the urge to save Zelda, nor was it to protect myself from death, but it was pure carnage. What made it worse was my need to find more people to kill. I wasn't myself, just like when I fought the moblin in the castle. I was losing myself, but to what? To myself, or to something

Once the last drop of blood fell to the ground, after all the bandits had fallen, the leader became frightened. The two bandits who held Zelda captive ran off in fear of dying, leaving the one in charge with no way of possibly winning the fight.

"Don't come any closer," he exclaimed hesitantly. He grabbed Zelda by her hair, and held a knife to her throat. "If you come any closer, I'll slit her throa..."

His threat was interrupted by my blade. I threw my sword into his heart, right through his chest. He fell from the horse, slightly twitching as he slowly died. The bloodshed was finally over after he became nothing more than a slain corpse.

I came out of the carnal state I was in, and saw all the bodies lying on the ground, the grass painted with blood. I fell to my knees from the traumatic scene I created, unable to have stopped it. I knew it was happening, i witnessed every move I made during the fight, and I didn't stop it.What's happening to me?

"Lee! Lee, are you alright?"

Zelda called out to me, shaking me to wake me up and get my attention. After finally waking up, I looked at her with fear.

"I killed them. All of them."

"I know."

"I killed them all, and I enjoyed it. I know they were trying to kill us, but they were still human!"

"I know," she said again. "Get your sword. I'll explain everything on the way back."

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Team Hybrid (Coming Soon)
[Spearhead] [Heat Surfer] [Gunslinger] [Behemoth] [Reaper]