The king nodded.
—I accept without reservation.
The room reacted immediately.
Sidon smiled as if he had just won an invisible bet.
—You will build these for us and teach us how to use them —the king continued—. In exchange, the Zora Domain will provide your people with weapons in sufficient quantity.
Eric exhaled slowly.
—Then I'll stay for a few days —he said—. I'll need materials… and time.
Dorephan nodded.
—The Domain will provide you with lodging and an escort.
Eric lowered his gaze for a second… then smiled faintly to one side.
—Perfect.
Sidon tilted his head.
—Is there anything else we can help you with?
Eric looked up.
—Yes —he replied—. Tell me where the most… electrical problems around here are—
The atmosphere shifted.
—Mount Ruto? —a guard blurted out—. It's infested with electric Lizalfos. And Invocantis have been seen channeling the storms—
Eric nodded.
—Exactly what I was looking for.
Sidon blinked.
—Looking for?
—I need sacrifices in large quantities —Eric said with complete naturalness—. And there's no better place than one where the rain empowers monsters… and the terrain forces them to cluster together.
The king studied him with renewed attention.
—You plan to hunt up there… while you build the carts?
—Exactly —Eric replied—. Monsters are highly useful resources.
Dorephan let out a low, restrained laugh.
—You are a strange boy.
Eric inclined his head once more.
The audience concluded.
As they left the hall, the rain continued to fall…
—I'll leave you here. I want to see my wife, I miss her dearly. In any case, thank you for clearing the marsh of monsters. I thought it would take me months to deal with that massive horde settled there—
—No problem —Eric replied, dismissing him with a brief salute.
Sidon stood in front of the carts, bent slightly forward, circling them slowly.
He touched the wood, studied the wheels, crouched to watch the axles spin… and smiled as if he had discovered a treasure.
—HOW DOES THIS WORK?
The question hit Eric before he even had time to announce himself.
He rolled his eyes with practiced patience.
—Your Highness —he said—. I see protocol remains… very much dead in you. Perhaps you shouldn't be showing me the Domain.
Sidon ignored him completely and pointed at the wheels.
—They don't stop? —They don't get tired?
Eric sighed.
—It's ancient technology —he repeated—. Recently rediscovered.
Sidon blinked.
He went still for a few seconds.
Then his eyes lit up even more.
—Wait… —he said slowly—. —Ancient technology…
He brought a hand to his chin.
—My sister used to tell me about things like that when I was little —he added—. Ancestral machinery, like Ruta. Things that looked like magic… but weren't.
He looked up at Eric.
—Is it similar?
Eric raised an eyebrow, surprised.
—Quite —he admitted—. The origin differs, but the goal is the same. To protect Hyrule from the cataclysm—
Sidon nodded with renewed enthusiasm.
—Now I understand! —he said—.
—Then stop staring at them like they're about to run away with you —Eric said.
Sidon laughed without a hint of shame.
—I can't help it! —he replied—. —They're… beautiful.
Finally, as if remembering something important, he straightened abruptly.
—Oh! —he exclaimed—. —Forgive me. How discourteous of me.
He placed a fist against his chest with formal pride and a brilliant smile… far too bright for human eyes.
—I am Sidon —he said with a wide grin—. —Crown Prince of the Zora Domain.
Eric inclined his head.
What a surprise, he thought, eyes rolling internally.
—Eric Thalren —he replied aloud—. Improvised builder of things that should be extinct—
Sidon burst into laughter.
—I like you! —he said bluntly—. —And I think those things… —he glanced again at the spinning wheels—. Are going to change a lot around here.
Eric followed his gaze.
—That's the plan.
….
Two days were enough.
Two days of constant storm, of arrows whistling through lightning, of scaled bodies tumbling down the slopes.
And then, a rumor spread.
—They say it's a boy… a Hylian. —Fifteen years old.
—Fifteen? —Impossible.
—Mount Ruto and Thunderhead Peak have been… unusually quiet lately—
The news spread through the Zora Domain like warm water flowing through cold. Scouts returned with consistent reports: electric Lizalfos had nearly vanished from the high routes.
The Invocantis that had been channeling the storms were eliminated one by one.
Not forever. Everyone knew that.
But at least… until the next unnatural phenomenon, the mountain would no longer spew monsters.
And that phenomenon was still far away.
High on the mountain, where the rain struck with the greatest fury, Eric had done the unthinkable.
He had set up camp.
A reinforced platform, fire shielded from the wind, supplies neatly organized, and a full view of the Zora Domain below.
From there, Eric hunted. Rested just enough. Then hunted again.
The final obstacle had been the worst. Manageable, but irritating due to the hostile terrain.
At the summit.
A Lynel.
The king of the mountain.
When Eric brought it down, the thunder seemed to pause for a single second. The colossal body collapsed among rock and rain, and the peak fell silent for the first time in weeks.
From below, the Zora saw not the battle, but the result.
—By the gods, he defeated that Lynel alone!—
—He finally brought down that wicked beast!
—Tonight we're definitely having hearty salmon for dinner!
The looks changed.
He was no longer just the boy with the wheels.
He was a warrior.
A Hylian who had climbed alone to places many Zora avoided… and had cleared the path with little effort.
Eric, soaked and exhausted, sat on a flat rock near his camp. He looked up at the sky choked with black clouds and let out a long breath.
—Something is better than nothing —he murmured.
Now that he had lived within the Zora Domain, he truly felt a deep irritation mixed with anger at the relentless rain and thunder.
He had no idea how the Zora had endured it for so many years.
After drying himself by the fire, Eric reviewed the loot with the same focus others reserved for prayer.
Spear after spear.
Shields scorched by electricity.
Curved blades still humming with residual energy.
The weapons of electric Lizalfos and Invocantis were perfectly aligned.
His system inventory was overflowing, so the excess was carefully packed into wooden crates.
—Too much —he muttered—. Definitely too much to carry by hand.
At that moment, the sound of water changing rhythm caught his attention.
From one of the nearby waterfalls, a red figure ascended with ease.
—ERIC! —Sidon greeted him with a massive smile—. I knew I'd find you up here!
Eric barely looked up.
—Uh-huh.
Sidon blinked.
—That's it? —he asked, amused—. You know they call you the walking spear down in the Domain?
Eric kept counting.
—Thirty-two… thirty-three….
Sidon laughed.
—You're practically a living legend —he continued—. The scouts say Mount Ruto is calmer than it's been in years.
Eric did not respond.
He had stopped counting.
His gaze was fixed beyond the camp, beyond the rain.… on the colossal silhouette moving atop the waters of the Domain.
Vah Ruta.
—How great it would be… —he murmured to himself—. To have one of those.