Prologue

The underground of Hyrule Castle stretched before them like an abyss of darkness and mystery. The air was dense, imbued with an icy humidity that seemed to envelop every step. They both walked in silence, alert, while barely audible voices whispered in the darkest corners. They were ethereal voices, like laments pleading for help, but they vanished as soon as they tried to identify their origin, leaving them with a strange chill.

They advanced into a vast hall, where the walls were covered with stone panels engraved with ancient inscriptions. Zelda stopped instantly, her eyes illuminated by the excitement of discovery.

"Incredible... these inscriptions must be thousands of years old," she murmured, pulling out the Purah Pad and enthusiastically capturing photographs. Her fingers traced the engraved lines delicately, as if trying to unravel the hidden secrets in each stroke.

Her mind returned to the teachings of her Sheikah tutor, and she pointed to one of the carvings that depicted a couple united in what seemed to be a ceremonial act, perhaps a wedding. The figures were clearly of different races.

"The castle records speak of a legend about the origins of Hyrule's royal family. According to those tales, my ancestors descend from a union between the Hylian race and gods who descended from the heavens. If this is true... They must have been the Zonai!" she exclaimed with growing excitement.

Without waiting for a response, Zelda moved to the next mural, where a female figure lay in a horizontal position, while a monstrous presence loomed over her, holding a jewel.

"However..." she continued, "the legend also tells of a malevolent being that arose from one of the peoples of Hyrule. This being, endowed with immense power and supported by two sorceresses, betrayed the kingdom and stole something of incalculable value."

She moved to the next panel, where a horde of monsters formed a devastating army. To one side of the mural, a colossal figure seemed to command the forces of chaos. Zelda could barely contain herself; the legends she had heard all her life were taking tangible form before her eyes.

"Thus was born the Demon King. He led a brutal attack against Hyrule, and a relentless war was waged to stop his advance... the so-called Imprisoning War."

While Zelda spoke fervently, Link remained silent. His senses were on high alert, scrutinizing every shadow for dangers. The tension in the atmosphere made his skin bristle, and his instinct warned him that they were not alone.

Zelda stopped in a corner, where a pile of debris blocked part of the murals.

"What a shame..." she said, her voice lowering in tone, almost melancholic. "It seems these engravings are inaccessible. I wonder... What secrets might they hold? Was this place ever crucial to the kingdom?"

She remained silent for a moment, the air heavy with mystery and the feeling that something lurked in the shadows. Her mind wavered between fascination and unease. Finally, she turned to Link, her face marked by an inexplicable sense of fear.

"Let's keep going..." she said, trying to sound confident, but her voice betrayed a slight tremor. "Surely we will find the answers we seek ahead."

Link nodded, but a shiver ran down his back. A visceral chill seemed to emanate from deep within the dark corridor as he saw the Master Sword begin to glow—first with a faint light, then with a radiance that intensified as they moved forward.

"Zelda," Link whispered gravely, the tension in his voice vibrating in the air. "There's something there... something in that corridor."

Zelda lifted her gaze, her eyes anxiously searching the shadows Link indicated, but all she found was darkness—deep and suffocating. Her heart began to pound, fear rising in her throat. She stored the Purah Pad, and her once steady steps now wavered.

With each step toward the stairs, the air seemed to grow denser, almost palpable, as if the darkness itself was pressing upon them. A cold sweat ran down her nape.

"Link..." she murmured, her voice full of anguish. "No... I don't feel like we're alone."

But it was already too late. The darkness enveloped them, and deep in the corridor, something was watching them.

It was in the depths of the castle that they made an even more unsettling discovery. There, in the center of the chamber, lay a desiccated mummy, its features erased by time, yet still trapped by a metallic arm that held it fixed in place. The jewel embedded in the artifact glowed faintly, and from its top, a spiral of blue and green light emanated—a mysterious aura that seemed to envelop the figure of the mummy. As they approached, the metallic arm collapsed to the ground, and the jewel detached with a dull sound.

Zelda took it cautiously, feeling a strange fascination for the relic. She observed it closely, studying the rune engraved on its surface. Immediately, she recognized it: it was a Zonai rune, an ancient symbol charged with power. A shiver ran down her spine as she realized the magnitude of what they had just discovered.

Suddenly, something broke the silence and her concentration. A chill ran through her as she instinctively stepped back. The mummy, which had been dormant for millennia, began to awaken.

Link, always quick to react, pushed her aside, positioning himself in front of her to face the mummy. However, the horrors they unleashed were far worse than either had anticipated. Malice emanated from the mummy, cruelly engulfing Link. His scream of pain, as the malice touched him, echoed through the corridors. Zelda, powerless, watched in terror as the malice consumed him.

With his arm burning in unbearable torment, Link looked at the Master Sword, trembling, as he saw in horror that the evil had touched it, weakening its blade, making it vibrate with a sensation of disintegration. With his heart pounding in his chest and unbearable pain coursing through his body, he tried again, raising the sword toward the torrent of malice approaching. But what happened next was a mortal blow to his hope: upon contact, the Master Sword shattered into a thousand pieces with a horrifying sound. The only symbol of resistance, the only weapon capable of repelling darkness, broke like glass against the unyielding malevolence.

A shard of metal flew through the air, grazing the mummy's cheek, leaving a superficial wound. The creature's laughter intensified—now more cruel, more triumphant.

A grievously injured Link struggled to remain standing, his breathing ragged, his body on the verge of collapse. His sword, the Master Sword, lay shattered into countless fragments, its glow fading slowly, as if it, too, was losing its power against the encroaching darkness. Despite his exhaustion, he braced himself to face the creature once more, determined to fight no matter the cost. But the sound of the ground collapsing behind him made him turn swiftly.

Horror engulfed him. Zelda, who had been standing by his side only moments before, was now vanishing before his eyes. The ground beneath her feet crumbled, swallowing her into a dark abyss. Link reached out desperately, his fingers just inches away, but it was futile. His scream of anguish tore through the air—a sound of helplessness and terror as everything he had fought for was slipping away.

The darkness surged around them, chaos overtaking the chamber. The shadows rose like writhing serpents, devouring the light, while Link lunged forward, his injured arm reaching for her, a desperate cry escaping his lips. Every second stretched into an eternity, his body wracked with pain, but his mind focused on one thought: I can't lose her.

For an instant, he saw her form bathed in blinding light, warm and familiar. But as he stretched his arm toward her, everything dissolved.

The silence that followed was absolute. Link awoke some time later, his body battered and his arm wrapped in a strange glow. A voice spoke to him, explaining that it had been replaced to stop the spread of the malice.

He staggered to the surface, but what he found was no longer the Hyrule he knew. Above a fractured sky, impossible islands floated, and in his mind, a familiar voice resonated:

—Find me, Link…

He clenched his fists, the echo of Zelda's voice still reverberating within him.

Meanwhile, deep within the castle's underground, the mummy, now transformed into a monstrous titan, loomed in the center of the chamber, its grotesque form larger than ever, its dark presence dominating everything around it.

A deep, cavernous laughter echoed, crumbling the remnants of the past, and Hyrule Castle trembled under the weight of the awakened evil. The air was thick with an ancient, terrible presence—a sound that heralded the imminent destruction of everything Link had known. The Demon King had returned.

The Demon King raised his head, surveying his surroundings with a terrifying calm. His enormous, twisted form seemed to absorb the light, plunging the chamber into an even deeper gloom. Every move he made sent a reverberation through the castle's core, as if the very walls feared his presence.

—Everything that was once mine shall be reclaimed. Hyrule, its people, its history… shall fall before me. No one will live to remember it. No heroes, no legends… only ashes.

The darkness spread around him, the shadows obeying his will, slithering across the walls like serpents, engulfing all in their path. The air was heavy with a sense of inevitability. There was no escape. No hope left. The Demon King smiled, a cruel and merciless expression.

—None could stop me before. None will stop me now.

With a mere gesture of his hand, the darkness expanded further, enshrouding the castle in a thick mist. The shadows twisted and took shape, forming monstrous creatures, each an extension of his will.

Suddenly, the ground beneath the castle cracked, and a deep roar echoed through the earth. From the very depths of Hyrule, thousands of glowing eyes emerged from the darkness. The land trembled as if the entire kingdom was about to collapse, and the Demon King's forces surged forth like an unstoppable tide.

Across the kingdom—in the hills, valleys, forests, and fields—the land ruptured with an infernal tremor. Deep fissures carved through the terrain, linking the surface to the abyss beneath. From these chasms, hordes of creatures emerged, twisted beings corrupted by darkness, their eyes burning with rage, their grotesque bodies reflecting the evil that had birthed them. They flooded the fields and roads without mercy, spreading chaos across the land. Towering shadow giants and black-scaled dragons ascended from the depths, answering the Demon King's command, unleashing a storm of destruction upon Hyrule.

—The kingdom shall fall! —he roared, his voice laden with absolute power—. And with its fall, I shall be reborn, stronger than ever!

His laughter rang throughout the castle, a deep echo that seemed to consume everything in its wake. The earth trembled, and the sky, already shattered, darkened even further, as if the world itself was bracing for his absolute dominion.

In that moment, Hyrule—the once-prosperous kingdom—was dragged into the depths of darkness.

There was no hope. No light remained. Only the shadow of the Demon King, who had returned to claim what was rightfully his: the end of all resistance.

As the world plunged into darkness, the Demon King's voice resounded through the deepest corners of Hyrule, an echo that reached the farthest lands:

—No one will survive! This is the end!