Seashells | BotW

Chapter 17 -

T.w.
Electrocution
Blood
Corruption

3rd person POV

"Link!" Sidon called, running across the bridge towards him. Link hopped off the horse, running on his aching legs towards the Prince. Sidon scooped Link up into a hug and squeezed him tightly.

"Hi, Sidon," Link breathed out quietly. Sidon let out a quiet sob. Neither one of them asked any questions, neither said anything about the situation; they just enjoyed each other's embrace.

"Oh, Goddesses above, I missed you so much, Link," Sidon said. Link smiled and hugged Sidon tighter.

"I missed you, too," Link said, not quite lying nor telling the truth. Had he felt time pass while in the grave, maybe he would have missed his friend. If he had control over his own mind as he roamed Hyrule for the last few months, maybe he would have. But he didn't feel time pass, and he didn't have control of his mind. He felt nothing.

Sidon pulled away from the hug and smiled at Link.

"It's good to see you," he said. "We should tell my father that you're alive." Link smiled and stood up with Sidon, and they walked to the Throne Room together

"Father!" Sidon called as he walked into the Throne Room. "The Hylian Champion- he lives!" King Dorphan sat up and looked down at Sidon, Link and Zelda.

"Link!" He called happily. "My, my, you are alive! What happened?" Link smiled at King Dorphan.

"I was severely injured during the fight with the Calamity, and malice took over my body. I'd decided I didn't want it to take over my body, and that my own death would be better for everyone because I was no longer of any danger."

King Dorphan hummed. "Taking your own life to save the lives of others.. You truely are one of a kind, Link." He smiled.

"The Blood Moon brought me back," Link continued, "and the Malice had taken over my mind. I remember it very vividly. I wasn't in control of my own thoughts or actions. Zelda found me in Hyrule Field and killed off the Malice, and I regained control over myself."

"Do you have any concerns regarding the malice, Link?" He asked him.

"No, not really.." he said. "Not about the Malice that had it's control over me, anyway. That's gone. But I am worried about any that's still around Hyrule, if there is any." Sidon suddenly put his hand to his head and sat down.

"Are you alright, Sidon?" Zelda asked him. He nodded in response.

"I'm fine," he said. "Just a headache."

"Are you sure?" She asked him.

"Didn't you come into direct contact with the Malice on Link's body when he arrived here after the fight, Sidon?" Zelda asked him.

"I think so," he said. "Is that important?" Zelda shrugged.

"Possibly," she said. "I'd advise you to monitor your behavior and tell me if you notice any differences." Link tugged on Zelda's sleve.

"Can I speak with you?" He whispered. "I've heard that malice can travel by contact. It scares me, but he might have some on him. And, if he does, he could have given it to the other Zora." Zelda paused and looked back at Sidon.

"Prince Sidon?" She asked him. "May I please take a look at your hands?" Sidon nodded and Zelda knelt next to him, examining the palms of his hands. They were stained dark red and purple, unlike any Zora scale pattern. Link groaned lightly and backed away.

"Sidon, you'r-" Link's sentence was quickly cut short by Sidon standing up tall, his eyes glowing a deep red and malice suddenlycoveringhishand and part of his arm and fins. They looked outside of the Throne Room and saw every single Zora in the Domain had the same eyes and malice on their bodies.

Sidon leapt at Zelda, pinning her to the ground. Link pushed Sidon off of her, pulling her up.

"What is happening?" King Dorphan boomed.

"It seems the malice that was on Link's body has contaminated the Domain," Zelda said. "Now all of the Zora are corrupted by it. Except for you, it seems."

"No one can touch him," Link chimed. "He's up there. He's safe from it." Zelda exhaled sharply.

"King Dorphan," she said. "We are going down there to see if we can stop this. You stay up here and don't let any malice touch you." The King nodded and Link and Zelda ran down the stairs and into the main area. Link grabbed out a Thunderblade and rushed himself and Zeld across the Great Zora Bridge.

"Stay on this side of the bridge," he instructed. "The malice makes anything it touches stronger, so they won't be killed by this."

Before Zelda could protest, Link raised the Thunderblade above his head. Sidon suddenly jumped on him, biting into his stomach. Link yelled loudly and pushed Sidon off of him. Link stood and raised the Thunderblade above his head again, stabbing it into the smooth floor of the Domain. The electricity from it spread across the wet floor and throughout the Domain, shocking the Zora. The lightning stopped, and all of the Zora collapsed.

Link pulled the Thunderblade out of the floor, gasped and collapsed forward onto the grass, pressing his hands against the bloody bite wound on his side. Zelda knelt next to him and pressed her hand against the wound as well.

"Zelda, you know how to stop the malice, right?" Link asked her. She nodded. "Go help the Zora, then. They're all alive; I can see them breathing. Go, get rid of the malice on them. I'll be fine." He sat up and leaned against the edge of the bridge, getting a bandage and cloth to clean his wound.

Zelda nodded at him, stood, and began to kill the malice off of the Zora's bodies. Link continued to bandage himself on the bridge. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the natural stone wall next to the bridge, letting his hands rest on the blood-covered bandage around his stomach. He exhaled softly, resting there for about ten minutes before he heard footsteps approaching him and he opened his eyes.

"Hey there, my friend," he heard Sidon say gently to him. His eyes had returned to their normal yellow color, and he had blood on his teeth and mouth. Link smiled at him.

"Hi, Sidon," he replied weakly. "How do you feel?"

"Better," The Prince replied. "..I'm sorry for biting you. I don't know what happened." Link chuckled, coughing a little bit.

"It was the malice," he said. "It's not your fault. You didn't mean to." Sidon smiled at the gesture and picked Link up in his arms. Link wrapped his arms around Sidon's neck. "And, I'm sorry for electrocuting you." Sidon scoffed playfully.

"I'm glad you did, actually," he said. "You might have died otherwise. None of us could have had our malice killed off if you didn't. And it wasn't that bad of a shock." Sidon frowned suddenly.

"What's up?" Link asked, noticing his sad expression. Sidon set Link down on the ground, sitting next to him in the grass.

"We've gotten some reports about Calamity Ganon sightings."