Darkness Within

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Chapter 34
Darkness Within

Link scrambled to dry land, the mask falling from his face and clattering onto the polished stones. He pushed himself to his feet just as a tingling sensation spread across his neck. He gasped, clasping his hand to his neck to reveal smooth skin where there had been gill slits moments before.

Clutching the smooth stone wall beside him, Link felt wretchedly ill, his breathing ragged from his hurried swim. He must have accidentally swallowed some of the tainted lake water, judging by the horrid taste in his mouth.

Steeling himself and catching his breath, Link glanced about at the interior of a dimly lit cave. There were two spheres of flickering light hovering on either side of the doorway, casting a blue glow upon the arcane runes and carvings etched into the cavern walls.

He turned his eyes to the doorway, which lay beyond an alcove inside the stone jaws of an eel-like creature. Two tiny fins protruded from behind the creature's mouth, and there was a frill around the beast's neck, its small sapphire eyes watching the temple entrance in an endless vigil.

As he examined the statue, Link noticed specks of blood leading towards the eel's mouth. He felt a chill that had nothing to do with the icy waters from which he'd emerged.

Ruto?

Judging by the small size of the stains, her injury was only mild.

I better find her quickly, Link thought, sincerely hoping Ruto hadn't come to any more harm. This entire plan to retrieve the medallion had been a disaster, and as far as he knew, the remaining Zora were scattered. They should have been right behind him, but as each precious second passed, nobody emerged from the water.

He was alone.

Where are they? he wondered.

With time already running short, he'd have to make a decision. He could either wait, and risk Ruto's life, or venture alone without any knowledge of the temple's layout. If it was as vast as the last two temples, his chances of finding Ruto in time were slim.

I probably have as much chance at finding Ruto as they do, Link thought. There was no way to know where in the temple she was. If he found her before the Zora, there was less chance of Dark Link massacring them as he had upon the lakeshore. As he recalled the sight of the dead, mercilessly cut down by the red-eyed demon, Link made up his mind. He'd search for Ruto alone.

Link pressed forward, unable to ignore the growing unease in the pit of his stomach. He was so very alone. Even in the darkness of the Dodongo's Cavern, trapped between ravenous reptiles and a wall of rubble, Navi had still been there with him.

Navi can't help you now, he thought.

At that, he wondered if the other Sages could still communicate with him. He whispered their names, a hushed sound echoing off the walls as he did so. Nothing... Perhaps he was too far from their temples, or perhaps his proximity to the curse was preventing them from communicating with him. The morpha was in here too, and he had no way of knowing where. It had beaten him to the temple, and Link did not know how long he had until the creature regenerated. Was the source of its strange powers in here too? Like the crystal that Ganondorf had so cruelly thrust into Volvagia's neck? Finding it was the key to stopping the morpha, or so Link hoped.

Ruto first, Link reminded himself. He'd deal with the morpha later. For now, he had to stay alert and rescue the Zora queen. That was going to be easier said than done.

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