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The echoes of footsteps resonate throughout the underground cavern as two individuals descend a long, weathered stone staircase. The first individual, a softshell dressed in royal purple and gold, carries a torch in one hand as he investigates the walls of the tunnel as they descend. The other, a young woman dressed in a green tunic with a blue and yellow scabbard and sword strapped to her back, keeps pace with him.
Aside from their footsteps, it’s quiet, though it is of little comfort. A strange, reddish smoke wafts up from the depths, brighter red flakes akin to embers flickering in the low light. But the smoke hangs low to the ground, swirling around their feet before continuing upward. Despite this, there is no draft, leaving the air feeling stagnant and suffocating. A thick layer of dust also coats any horizontal surface, and cobwebs wrap around the decayed fixtures on the walls.
“The strange gloom appears to be getting thicker as we descend further into the depths,” the softshell notes as his eyes scan their surroundings.
The woman hums, looking down at her feet as the gloom wafts around them.
The duo turns a corner, and they both gasp as the stairs continue to descend into the depths. In the distance, they can hear the roar of falling water.
The softshell turns to his companion. “We’ve been descending for a while now. These tunnels must be deeper than my calculations predicted. I should have packed more of my tech with me for this journey.”
The woman lifts an eyebrow. “And sacrifice the prime cut jerky Mikey made for you?”
He gasps, placing his free hand over his plastron. “April! I would never!”
She giggles as a smile dimples her cheeks, “Just messin’ with ya, Donnie.”
Donnie pshaws, gently shoving her shoulder while rolling his eyes. The two share a quick laugh, enjoying the lighthearted moment. But the levity quickly fades as their laughter echoes down the tunnel.
April’s lips turn into a frown as she looks into the darkness below. “Though you’re right, we’ve been descending for a couple of hours. What do ya think could be down here?”
Donnie shrugs as he turns back around. “I’m positive we will find out soon.”
The softshell begins descending the stairs once more, and after a moment of pause, April follows.
The stairs finally end, bringing the two into a large cave, with luminous stones glowing faintly in patches along the walls. The low light from the stones and Donnie’s torch reflects off a nearby body of water. The light also catches the edges of fragments of man-made structures, though their original purpose is lost to time. The wisps of gloom pervade the room, not leaving a single inch untouched.
Donnie pauses, scanning the room and humming. “Our people have been falling ill after coming into contact with the gloom drifting through these caverns. I am confident we are getting closer to discovering the source, but it’s still misty and not concentrated enough to harm us. But why?”
He lowers his torch, as if to inspect the foreboding mist, before raising it once more. “We will keep going. With it coming from beneath Hyrule Castle…”
He pauses, his eyes suddenly darting upward and staring straight ahead. April’s brow furrows as his entire body goes rigid, his grip tightening on the torch in his hand.
“Something wrong?” April walks closer to him, her hand already on the hilt of the Master Sword.
Donnie blinks, sucking in a sudden breath before looking to his companion. “I–no. It’s… ok. Though we don’t know what awaits us below, so we must be ready for anything.” He relaxes as he turns to face her. “But I know I’ll be ok with you, April.”
April relaxes as well, her hand returning to her side as she gives Donnie a quick nod.
Donnie turns back around and begins walking across the cavern. “Let’s solve this mystery, together.”
They continue their expedition, walking down several more flights of stairs and passing by the remains of more strange architecture. The gloom, while still harmless, continues to swirl around them as the air grows heavier.
Donnie stays quiet, looking onward while April constantly scans their surroundings. It’s still quiet as they descend into the depths, with only the sounds of their boots and the burning of Donnie’s torch echoing in the halls.
“I never imagined this was all deep beneath Hyrule Castle…” Donnie mutters as they round yet another corner in the winding tunnels.
April hums, scanning the tunnel walls. Everything seems so ancient, belonging to an era that was forgotten by time. Whether that was by accident or on purpose, she is not too sure.
A muffled, metallic ping resounds behind her, but before she has a chance to turn around, she hears Donnie gasp. “April! The Master Sword…”
Without a moment's hesitation, she pulls it out from its sheath. A bright blue glow envelopes her as she pulls the legendary sword out. It hums with energy, and she can feel its power underneath her fingertips. She holds the weapon up for both of them to see.
“It must be sensing something!” Donnie looks ahead, his drawn-on eyebrows furrowed. “I knew we had reason for concern! Ever since the Calamity, the castle has fallen into neglect. I knew we’d find something, but I never could have imagined we’d find anything like this.”
“We haven’t seen any enemies yet, which concerns me,” April adds, glancing between her sword and the path up ahead with a frown on her face.
The prince hums in agreement. “We must be careful as we move deeper.”
They continue on their journey, passing through a rigid archway leading directly into an architectural structure that somehow survived whatever destroyed the stairs and pillars before.
“April! Look here!” Donnie runs over to a fallen pillar with a dragonic design cut into its surface.
His knight follows, a bit more skeptical, the Master Sword ready in her hands.
The prince leans his torch closer to the pillar, illuminating the surface. “These ruins are from an ancient civilization. Hold on… Something is written here.” He puts a hand on his chin as he narrows his eyes, as if trying to read the ancient text. “Might these ruins be… from the Zonai?”
April looks closer, and her eyes widen. “Maybe. They kinda remind me of the ruins in Faron Woods.”
Donnie hums and stands back up, continuing to look around the abandoned structure. His knight stays close, not wanting him to get out of her sight.
“Oh! Look at this!” Donnie approaches a carved dragon coming out of the side of the stone wall, a smile on his face. “These carvings… I think you’re right, April! They are Zonai in origin. They even resemble the designs I’ve been researching in my studies.”
He pulls out his Purah Pad and snaps a few pictures before scrolling through them. “The Zonai are said to have lived long ago, in the time of earliest legend. They possessed godlike power and had a prosperous civilization in the sky. History books tell us about them, but they fail to give us the full picture.”
“Don’t forget about their tech, which you’ve been desperate to get your hands on,” April teases, walking over and looking at the photos on the screen. “Think we might find anything down here?”
Donnie looks at her, his eyes sparkling. “I hope so! It would be a monumental discovery, and I would love to figure out how their technology works. It could revolutionize our Sheikah tech.”
He puts his tablet away and nods his head. “We should keep going.”
They walk further down the hallway, and soon they arrive at another archway. However, at this entrance, there are two strange statues on either side of a being that neither has ever seen before. With a wolf-like muzzle and gigantic rabbit ears, the statues tower above them.
“Is this what the Zonai looked like? They seem so different than us, with such large ears.” The softshell takes out his tablet and snaps a few more pictures before lowering it and looking at the statue once more. “How did the ruins from an ancient civilization in the sky end up here, underneath Hyrule Castle?”
April shrugs, not having even a clue as to why. But still, Donnie’s question and the ruins around them make her feel nervous. Something just doesn’t feel quite right, and the continued glow from the Master Sword doesn’t ease her anxiety.
Maybe they shouldn’t be down here…
“It looks like the path ahead goes even deeper. Let’s continue, April.”
They continue down another set of stairs, passing by a few more statues and another entrance before walking into a large room. The sounds of chittering and screeching and heard, followed by the familiar glow of keese eyes.
April leaps into action, cutting down the flying nuisances with the Master Sword with ease before they have a chance to bother Donnie.
The prince runs over to his knight as soon as the last monster falls. “You’re not hurt, are you, April?”
She turns around. “It was just some keese, no biggie.”
Despite this, the prince still gives her a quick look over before sighing in relief. “Good.”
Donnie then looks around, gasping as something catches his eye. April follows his gaze, and her eyes also widen.
Before them is a wall completely covered from top to bottom by a mural. Carvings of Moblins and Bokoblins pop out from a sea of dark, foreboding red, covering nearly the entire wall in front of them. Human and yokai soldiers alike are carved into the corner of the scene, but they are overwhelmed by the sheer number of monsters.
“Look at these murals!” The prince exclaims as he walks closer, his eyes glued to the depictions. “The written histories of the royal family include stories of a great war fought long ago. It was a fierce conflict between allied tribes and someone only referred to as the Demon King.”
“I recall those tales,” April murmurs, her brow furrowed and lips tight.
The prince, too absorbed in his thoughts, doesn’t hear her and keeps talking. “Is it possible? Do these murals depict the same legend?”
Donnie notices that the mural begins much closer to where they entered, and he runs over to the first depiction of this story. He slowly walks by each scene, his free hand animatedly moving in the air as he explains the carvings on the wall. About how the Zonai descended from the heavens and formed a union with the Hylians at that time to establish the kingdom of Hyrule.
April walks with him, remembering bits and pieces of her studies back when she was first becoming a knight—now more than a hundred years ago. A soft smile spreads across her face as she watches the prince talk.
They arrive in front of the mural where the first sign of that dark red begins to creep into the carvings. In it, a menacing man stands on the right with his arm raised, and on the left, a woman seems to levitate in the air. Above them is a strange, tear-like carving, and red swirls around the two individuals.
“This figure…” Donnie brings a hand to his chin as he looks at the figure on the right. “He seems to be stealing something of incredible power from the young kingdom.”
The prince then bolts over to the next scene. “And then this depiction! It must be showing the Demon King and the fierce battle against him!”
He then takes a few steps back, taking in the entire mural. On the right is the same male figure from before, but sporting what appear to be horns on his head and an impressive set of armor. A piece of a deep red orb is in the top center of the piece, and below are the hordes of Moblins and Bokoblins that first caught their attention. The Hylian knights, so few in number, remain in the lower left corner, overwhelmed by a sea of monstrous red.
“If the individual depicted here represents the Demon King, then this mural must be the great war recorded in the royal histories! This is the Imprisoning War, and the events that led up to it!” Donnie twirls around, a huge grin on his face. “April! This is a monumental discovery! We have to take pictures to show the others.”
He immediately reaches for his Purah Pad, but has trouble getting it out of his pouch. April notices and sheathes her sword before walking over and taking his torch. The prince looks up and thanks her briefly before pulling out his tablet. He starts taking photos, making sure to capture each scene of the mural.
Meanwhile, April looks to the right of the Demon King and notices a pile of stone blocking the rest of it. “Hey Dee, looks like you won’t be able to get everything.”
“Hmm?” Donnie lowers his tablet and looks toward his knight before noticing the rubble. “Oh, well, that’s unfortunate. We will have to return at a later date to uncover it.”
“Yeah, we could get help from the Gorons,” April suggests as her prince takes his torch back from her.
“We could, they would be able to make quick work of the rubble,” Donnie states as he looks around. “First, we still need to figure out what the source of the gloom is. But… what even is this place?” He gestures around the room. “There’s nothing in the royal histories or geographical texts about this!”
April shrugs. “Considering the first Calamity occurred over ten thousand years ago, and the Imprisoning War is much older than that, I’d say it was just forgotten to time. Either by accident or on purpose.”
Donnie grumbles, “Regardless of the reason why, we must find an answer. Perhaps there are more clues farther ahead. Let’s keep going.”
The duo leaves the grand room with the murals, approaching another archway with yet another tunnel connected to it. As they travel down the hallway, April notices that the gloom is no longer swirling around their feet. In fact, the dark and foreboding smoke suddenly seems to be getting thicker, rising straight up out of the ground rather than travelling parallel to it. More of those bright red flakes burn in the air as well, lighting up the tunnel almost like a sea of fireflies.
It’s unsettling, and April rests a hand on the hilt of the Master Sword, ready to draw it out at a moment's notice.
They round another corner, and Donnie stops. “Wait… I hear something.”
April comes to a halt, her grip on the Master Sword tightening. “What do you hear?”
“I… I am not sure,” Donnie starts, “It sounds like the rhythmic thumping I heard earlier.”
The knight quirks an eyebrow. “Wait… when did you hear this before?”
“It was before the Master Sword started glowing!” Donnie shrugs sheepishly. “I just thought it was natural cave sounds or something.”
April gawks at him, her free hand quickly finding her hip. “Dee, you’re tellin’ me that you heard strange rhythmic thumping earlier, and ya didn’t bother to tell me until now?”
“I didn’t think it was anything serious!” Donnie defends, “I thought it was just, you know, running water or rocks falling.”
“Really? Rocks falling in rhythmic patterns?”
The prince sighs and holds up his hand. “Ok, ok! You’re right, April. Sorry for not telling you earlier.”
“It’s ok, Dee. I just wanna make sure you’re safe.” April pulls out the glowing Master Sword, not wanting to take any chances. “Can you still hear it?”
There is a moment of pause. “...Yes. It’s much louder now, too.”
“Stick close to me,” April orders as she gets in front of the prince, “Let’s tread cautiously.”
They begin descending down another stairway, though this one seems to stretch on for much longer than all of the previous ones. The stone architecture is gone, replaced by disheveled rock that almost seems scarred by some unnatural force. More of the gloom emerges from the floor, still harmless but doing nothing to comfort either of them.
As they reach the bottom of the stairway, a soft green light illuminates the sides of the walls. But as they exit, a strange and foreboding sight awaits them.
While the lighting in the room leaves much to be desired, a swirling strand of green light can be seen originating from something, or someone, in the center of the room, but neither can quite make it out from a distance.
And it’s at this moment that April can hear the rhythmic thumping that Donnie heard before, echoing faintly throughout the open cavern. The hair on the back of her neck stands up as her grip instinctively tightens on the Master Sword.
“What is this place?” Donnie mutters under his breath, staring ahead of them for a moment before turning to his knight. “Let’s continue. We must be close to finding our answers. But we must be extremely careful.”
April nods. “Don’t have to tell me twice.”
Together, they approach the source of the swirling energy, and the light of Donnie’s torch finally illuminates the source. It’s a corpse, with exposed, sinewy purple muscles barely covering its skeleton. Massive armor—tarnished and dirty—hangs off the body, with strange clawed gauntlets and greaves covering his hands and feet, as well as a helmet with five sharp horns sprouting around its face. He’s arched backward unnaturally, and in the center of his chest is an arm that’s certainly not the mummy’s.
The hand, glowing bright green, is latched onto the center of the mummy’s chest, and green energy swirls out of the end of the arm. A gold, geometrical band encases the entire arm, and a white stone glows at the center of the hand.
As soon as Donnie gets close, the arm loses its grip and falls to the ground, the strange white stone becoming dislodged and tumbling toward the softshell. Cautiously, the prince picks it up, and it begins to glow brightly in his hand.
Before either has time to determine what it is, the thumping picks up tempo and grows louder.
Then the mummy starts moving. Its body jerks and twitches unnaturally, and suddenly its head snaps toward the two before blazing red eyes ignite in its eye sockets. Out of its chest emerge several tendrils of gloom, whipping around the room violently. One of the tendrils heads straight for the prince.
“Not on my watch! Apriiiiil O’Neil!!!” She shouts, blocking the attack of the gloom tendril effortlessly with the Master Sword.
But as she raises her sword to block the next blow, the tendril grabs onto the blade and travels down it and up her arm in an instant, leaving her no time to react. Her eyes widen as horrible, excruciating pain travels up her arm, rendering her absolutely speechless. Tears well in her eyes, the burning sensation overwhelming.
The gloom tendril withdraws, and April stares down in horror at what remains. Her Champion tunic and armor have been completely burned away, and her arm is covered in horrific burns, with some parts even glowing bright red, though if that’s from the gloom or her blood reacting with something, she can’t tell. The smell of burning flesh and blood hits her senses, and it almost makes her gag.
But the Master Sword.
The once pristine blue blade is blotched by glowing red malice, tainting it with evil. April can just barely feel the sword’s energy pulse underneath her fingertips, like it’s screaming in pain from the assault.
But she doesn’t have time to assess her wound or the sword, as another bright red tendril shoots out from the mummy’s chest and aims right for her. Gathering what strength she has left, she lifts her injured arm—nerves screaming and her vision almost going white—and swings the sword at the tendril like she did earlier.
Only this time, instead of it perfectly deflecting…
…the Master Sword shatters.
“April!” Donnie screams, staring in horror at what remains of his beloved knight’s arm and sword.
“Was that the sword that seals the darkness?” A strange, gravelly voice echoes through the room.
The prince and his knight go completely still as their eyes turn back to the mummy.
“A blade that shatters so easily against my power cannot save you from me.” Unnatural cracking noises from bones rubbing against each other echo in the room as the mummy stands up straight. “Donatello… And you, who carries that fragile sword… are April.” The mummy turns around to face them, his eyes glaring down at them in disgust. “Rauru placed his faith in you… and that was all you could do?”
“How do you know our–” Donnie stammers before correcting himself, “How do you know my name?”
The mummy doesn’t answer, and instead summons more swirling gloom out from his chest, his hands moving to shape it into a ball before shooting it straight upward. Above them, the ceiling rumbles and lifts upward while large stones dislodge and fall around them. Despite the thundering of the earth being forced to move, the angry roar of the gloom shooting upward and lifting the earth overwhelms it, paralyzing both Donnie and April.
Meanwhile, the platform that the mummy stands on begins to fall, and the figure falls with it, his arms outstretched. The darkness quickly consumes him, and he disappears from their view.
The excruciating pain, now overwhelming, is the only thing April can focus on. She falls to her knees, her free hand clutching her injured arm. But the mere act of touching the wound makes her vision go white, and a pained groan escapes her lips.
“April!”
Donnie’s voice sounds muffled through the blood pounding in her ears. Still, she makes the effort to turn her head around and look at him, her vision blurry and unsteady. She tries to offer him a smile, some sort of comfort and reassurance that she’s not dying.
But the smile quickly fades as Donnie loses his footing, the ground giving out beneath him and plunging him backward into the darkness below.
She drops the Master Sword without hesitation, leaving the broken blade behind as she lunges after her prince, injured arm outstretched to grab him. The movement in of itself causes another pained noise to leave the knight, but she hardly hears it.
Time slows down as April dives after Donnie, both of them reaching for the other. In that moment, all they can focus on is each other, their eyes glued to each other’s hands.
She’s so close! Almost… almost…
But Donnie’s fingertips brush against hers, and the prince falls out of her reach.
“Donnie!!!”
As April watches him plummet to the darkness below, tears falling freely from her eyes, something in his hand begins to shine. The bright golden glow quickly envelopes him, and in a bright flash of light, he disappears.
Before she even has a chance to process what just happened, something wraps around her good arm and halts her fall. She looks up, and through bleary vision, she sees the green hand—looking much brighter than it had mere minutes ago—grabbing onto her and preventing her from falling. It pulls her upward into a flash of green light, taking her… somewhere.
But in this moment, April doesn’t have the energy or the strength to see where she’s going. The gloom-damaged arm continues to radiate pain throughout her entire body, sharp shocks hitting her nervous system with every minuscule movement she makes. It’s so immense that her mind cannot handle staying conscious any longer.
As her eyelids flutter closed, she can only hope that Donnie—by some divine miracle—is safe.