The plague lifts from the control unit and the system glows a welcoming amber. You take deep breaths and tell your racing heart that it's over. Link walks over to the unit and scans the Sheikah Slate at last. The final divine beast glows blue once again and is free from Ganon's control.

"Great work, my friends!" Daruk called with a closer voice. You and Link turn and see the Goron's spirit walking forward with arms open wide. He drops his arms once he remembers that he is no longer quite solid enough to give his signature hugs. "I owe you big for this," he continues with sincerity. "Because of you, my spirit is finally free. Can't thank you enough!"

He pauses for a second and looks at the ground. "I feel like I should apologize," he says and scratches his head. "I was doing all that I could to protect Hyrule when that thing got the best of me. Sorry that my resting with the rubble caused such a mess. The good news is Rudania is now back under our control! That means our century-old Ganon beat-down plan can finally go into effect." He forms a fist with a grin.

"I'm going to take this down the mountain," Daruk claims. "I'll get a better shot at Ganon there. And then, once you've made your way into Hyrule castle, we're gonna light that thing up!" He cracks his knuckles with the sound of boulders breaking. "Little guy," he turns to Link as he put his fists down, "I want to give you something. It's a special power of mine called Daruk's Protection. It is no good for me now that I am a spirit... but it might be useful for you. Here it comes!"

He claps his large hands together and used all of his energy to spread them apart, where light begins forming in between. It spins together like twine and glows a faint but brilliant orange. He throws it forward and gifts it to Link, absorbing it into his chest.

The new magic lifts him off his feet and into the air with particles of fire dancing around him. He lands on the ground again and crushes his fists together, testing the power, and materializing the geometric shield around him. He stares at his hands and flexes his fingers, marveled at the new ability.

"From this moment forth, the power of protection, from the depths of my soul, now lives inside you." Daruk pats his chest with a fist before turning to you. "Commander," he addresses, "you received quite a hit. Maybe go and visit those hot springs again, y'know, for old times' sake," he suggests with a cheeky wink.

A smile spreads on your face and you nod as a light begins to glow around you and Link, ready to transport you back to Goron City. "Good luck, my friends," Daruk bids farewell. "And give my regards to the princess," he salutes.

You salute back and your vision fades to white.

~

You find yourself back at the entrance of Goron City, now with all four Divine Beasts on your side.

You had done it. The four major quests were complete.

You can hear a faint mumbling again in the voice of the princess. Your ears perk up as you listen closer. Next to you, Link can hear the voice as well.

"...(Y/N)... Link... Thank to you, all of the Divine Beasts have returned to us, and the spirits of the champions are free. We will be awaiting your clash with Ganon at Hyrule Castle."

You and Link both look at each other and a mutual smile spreads to your faces. You take an involuntary step towards him, and before you knew what you were doing, you wrap your arms around him in a hug.

He slowly raised his arms before returning the tight hug.

You did it together.

The both of you eventually pull out of the hug and give each other sincere looks.

"Hey! Hey!" the enthusiastic voice of Yunobo calls. You look forward at the path in front of you and see the young Goron waving frantically.

You and Link both walk towards the champion descendent who was smiling widely. "Hey! Brothers! Thanks so much for appeasing Rudania, goro!" he cheered, nearly laughing. "I don't exactly know what you were doing in Rudania, but... Well, it seemed to have calmed down, goro! Ya know, when I was up there, I could've sworn I saw Lord Daruk standin' on top of Rudania! I wonder," his face turned grave, "was that his ghost?!"

You couldn't help but smile, which he noticed and returned.

"I dunno how to explain it," he continued, "but somehow, I feel a lot braver now, goro! Oh that's right!" he suddenly jumped. "I talked to boss about the two of you, and he said to bring you to him. An order from boss can't be refused. Move it, goro!"

You and Link slightly raised your eyebrows as you watched Yunobo roll away towards Bludo's house. You walk after him and cross the metal bridge over a river of lava. "Over here!" Yunobo calls as you draw nearer.

You approach the boss who was grumbling by default. Once his beady eyes find you and Link, his heavily wrinkled face twisted into a rare smile. "Hey! It's you two!" he booms. "Yunobo told me everything. You really are somethin' else, brothers. Ya know what? I can't believe you conquered Rudania... Color me impressed. But good grief... did ya really have to do it just as my back pain went away? I was all ready and rarin' to go at Rudania myself," he scratches his bald head.

"Now you've gone and made it look like I was just fibbin' about my back pain this whole time! Imagine that! Me!" Upon seeing your and Link's shocked and guilty expressions, he burst out laughing. "Oh! And I'm also happy to see Yunobo finally got his act together. I know that's your doing as well. But enough patting and other such nonsense, take a look at this!"

He gestures up Death Mountain where Rudania can be seen positioned at the rim of the volcano, face plates opened into a flower, with a ruby colored ray penetrating Hyrule Castle. "The Divine Beast Vah Rudania has calmed down and returned to its peaceful ways. Now we can get back to diggin' for ore around Death Mountain."

"Oh right!" he startled with a volume like he was talking to you all the way across the city. "I've still gotta thank you, brothers!" He turned around to face his house and gestured to his magnificent chair. You peered around his boulder-like body to look at what he was looking at. "There's some treasure in my house. Grab it. Keep it. It's yours. It's a sharp blade that Daruk himself once wielded. I'm sure you'll be able to make good use of it!"

"Thank you, again," he turned around and says with a clenched fist.

You and Link give him a nod in unison. You walk past the boss and into his house where a glorious weapon sat in wait. You walk up on the throne and pick up the Boulder Breaker. The weight was remarkable.

The sheer density of the rock blade forced you to carry it with two hands. It was a wonder how Daruk brandished it with ease in your memories.

Thanks to Hestu, carrying it was easier than what it could've been without his magic maracas. You take a deep breath and straighten your posture. You turn around and see Link watching secretly impressed. He fixes his stupid gaze with a smile, which you return proudly.

Even though so much was done, there was still a third of the day's worth of sunlight.

Seconds later, the pain from the blow you received from the blight settled into your chest and became amplified from the added weight. You physically wince and adjust the position of the breaker on your back.

"Yeah, no, hot springs sound really good right now," you nervously chuckle.

~

After heading south down the main road, you come across the Goron Hot Springs. A few Gorons were already basking in the water before you arrived.

Link hands you a fireproof elixir.

"Cheers," you hold the bottle out to him. He lowered his bottle from his lips before taking a sip and clinked it against yours. The both of you down the elixirs.

A refreshing coldness sweeps over you and the intense heat you didn't feel because of your armor no longer can hurt you.

You begin piecing the heavy flamebreaker off of you until you are back in the undershirt of the Hylian set.

You step towards the water and dip one foot in. The temperature was to die for. The amount of relaxation that swept over you just by putting one foot in was overwhelming.

You step fully into the water until you are waist deep. You find a small ledge and sit down, sighing in the bliss. You can feel all of your bruises melting away. The pain subsided into nothingness and was replaced with paradise.

Link joins you shortly after, also free from the heavy armor. He also sighed and closed his eyes upon feeling the wonderful waters. The both of you lean back and let your wounds be healed by the magical pools.

You can feel yourself nearly drifting into sleep in the late afternoon. Everything in that moment felt perfect.

The sun drifted down the sky into dangerous territory to be out of the city. The Gorons that were here before you began heading back to the village up the road. Upon feeling the small waves of water of the leaving strangers, Link opens his eyes in alert.

He looks behind him and sees the sun already painted the clouds orange. Monsters were on the brink of spawning.

He looks back at you and finds himself nearly smiling at your rare state of relaxation. Your guard was completely down as you drift in and out of a light sleep. "(Y/N)," he calls quietly and wades through the water to you.

You hum in response without opening your eyes.

"(Y/N)," he says again. "We should get out of here before trouble finds us."

"Five more minutes," you grumble.

"No, I--" he cuts himself off as he hears another presence around. He whips his head in the direction of what he thought he heard, clearly worried for your safety. "I think we should leave now."

You notice his tone and open your eyes to look at him. You completely stop.

He was shirtless.

"Okay..." you quietly say and cast your eyes away to prevent staring. The first thing you noticed was his abundance of scars, littering his form in a striking dull color. This was no doubt the work from his hundreds of enemies 100 years ago.

You stand up and ring your clothing before stepping out of the pool. The water dripped onto the sizzling ground and reminded you that you only had less than a minute left of your elixir.

You and Link both equip yourselves with the hefty armor and head back to town. Before you turn the corner to the clear back straight for the city, Link glances over his shoulder and sees Lizalfos stepping out of the volcanic cliffs and prowling the hot springs.

Link lets out a breath of sheer relief. He convinced you to leave just in time.