Hyrule's Inferno 3.

The midnight sky was no light at all. 

Its peaceful beauty had transformed into a blinding darkness. Emptiness covers the frozen landscape that was once Hyrule; sharp blades of lunar illumination poke holes into the night's black blanket, but there is no warmth or guidance from this light. Only the cruel, shivering bites of decay attack the rotting lands as Hyrule's tormented Princess closely follows a mysterious stranger into a haunting graveyard.

As The Stranger skipped carelessly through the yard's jagged and unbalanced gate, Zelda, exhausted and beaten, halted just in front of this macabre yard. The unholy aroma of the yard's tormented spirit engulfed her, casting a shadow of doubt. Should she continue to follow The Stranger or retreat into the dark depths of The Lost Woods? Clutching the Triforce, a sacred artifact that rested along her soft neckline and a symbol of her royal lineage, Zelda gestured a holy sign for protection. She stepped into the graveyard, her heart heavy with uncertainty, her every step echoing her inner conflict.

Stunned by the unpleasant sights of the yard's misshapen residential stones, each one a grotesque monument to the deceased, and the lifeless shapes that once belonged to nature's comforting purity, now twisted and decayed, Zelda's weakened blue eyes struggled to find any guiding light. Yet, this was not the worst of The Princess's troubles. As she wandered amongst the dead, a truly horrific sound pierced the silence. Bouncing off the cold, decaying grounds, a gentle and familiar song reached out to Zelda from the darkest depths of the void, sending shivers down her spine. 

" Heavenly, Father!!!" Zelda gasped, her stomach churning with a sickening dread as the sound fed on her fear.

Pretending she wasn't affected by what she found, Zelda slowly moved towards the twisted discovery, her heart pounding with anticipation and an even greater fear. Now moving swiftly through the vast nothingness of the dead, Zelda followed the song that called out to her, her every step a testament to her courage and fear. It wasn't very long before Zelda stepped out of the black void. Strangely, she seemed to be within the ruins of a small cabin that once belonged to an innocent child. It was small and practically empty, except for a few worn-out wooden stools and a tiny fireplace that no longer had the strength to provide a comfortable, warm glow. Haunted to hear the song fall silent, Zelda wisely began to turn back from whence she came.

" Why are you leaving, my lady?!" Spoke, a hollow and familiar voice, reached out from behind her.

Zelda's heart stops dead, and her soul drops into the depths of fear and truly dread. 

" You're not real!!!" The Princess whispered.

Once more, the gentle song returns more potent than before; Zelda now identifies with the hopeful notes of her family's music—a gift she had shared with a long-deceased childhood friend.

Exhaling, Zelda turns to face what she fears. There, sitting upon the stool with his unhealthily thin body hunched over sharply. Within his decayed hands, the once-hollow shape of a blue Ocarina, a ghoulish specter, gracefully played the song the Princess had given him from another time. A rotten, pale green drool from the specter's crooked jaws and dried lips poured uncontrollably over the violated installment. Zelda felt disgusted.

" Link!" Zelda's voice trembled as she looked at the ghoulish shape, " I... I..."

" I know!!!" In a rather blunt and out-of-character voice, the Hero lowered the Ocarina from his mouth and gently asked, " Why must you always claim everything is not your fault?"

Frozen by pure, raw emotions, Zelda struggled to construct a response. But with blind hope in her heart, Hyrule's Princess threw herself toward the ghoulish shape of her former friend and begged for forgiveness. For a moment, time slowed as the faint shadow of humanity whispered into the unfeeling spirit of The Hero's Shade. Acting with greater misunderstanding, the specter gestures comfort to the distressed maiden by caressing her golden hair; tragically, no warmth or feeling is conveyed by the Hero's cold, skeletal hands. 

Standing his transparent corpse upright, the Hero's Shade reaches towards the dark heavens, spreads his skeletal arms, and begins to chant in an ancient tongue. He slowly vanishes into the night, leaving Hyrule's failed Princess alone in the desolate nothingness. 

The third part of my gothic tribute is based on Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda. Respectfully, all rights are reserved by Nintendo.