Hey Guys, the idea for this has been sitting in my head for awhile now. I own naught but the story. Enjoy!
Prologue: Hero of the Sky
Link's POV
I enter into the vortex after Fi dismisses and watch as the energies around me begin to swirl and collide – bringing me around until I come to rest on a flat surface, and I blink my eyes as I quickly regain a sense of awareness.
The most remarkable thing about this place is that at first glance it appears to be among the clouds. Upon further examination, I realize the ground I'm standing on isn't stone – but water. Strange enough, of course, but the whole of this place appears to be covered in it, and it stretches off into the distance – as far as the eye can see.
What's most unusual is that the ground seems to have no trouble supporting my weight, despite the fact it appears to be reflecting the sky above me, and my boots make small splashes even as I walk unsupported across it. Directing my attention forward – I can clearly glimpse the sun and its light, and standing in front of me, glaring into the distance is my enemy.
Demise, the Demon King, formerly the Imprisoned – standing completely motionless before me, even as I draw nearer to him – my footsteps purposefully loud.
He slowly turns his head and I catch a glimpse of his searing red eyes. There's a ghost of a smile on his rocky lips, and I can swear that I hear a silent chuckle.
"Ah, so you've decided to meet your end in battle after all." He says nonchalantly. "It pleases me greatly to see such misplaced valor, human."
Before long I find myself drawing back, but Demise merely turns to the other side in a slow and deliberate fashion. He makes no attempt to attack, or even to raise that enormous black sword.
"Take a moment to appreciate your surroundings. For where we stand shall serve as your tomb for eternity." He states it not as a threat, but as a fact. He's sure of himself – sure that he'll beat me, the first human to ever challenge him.
"The hate for the Gods that has boiled in my veins…" He continues, pacing and only occasionally glancing to the side. "You will taste all of it in the bite of my blade."
With that, he stops but a stone's throw away, his back still partly facing me.
"The only question left is how long you manage to remain standing before I take your life. Try to keep it interesting for me, would you?" He says, turning to face me fully. There is no more smile on his rugged features, but he clearly is thrilled at the prospect of fighting someone for the first time in millennia – and probably the first human.
Even though I have no intention of losing, I still find myself slightly quaking at the thought of Hylia…no, Zelda's soul being devoured by his evil.
If the ancient stories and my nightmares are anything to go by, Demise has fought undefeated since the beginning of time. His power is immense.
"And when you do fall, know that your world and everything in it is mine to dominate, mine to subjugate, mine to rule!"
The Demon King speaks the truth. Although Groose and I bested him when he was imprisoned, ultimately only the Master Sword can truly vanquish him.
"When I finish with you, you can take solace in knowing your friends and kin will soon follow – as I wipe all who oppose me from the face of this world!"
He outstretches one clawed hand and suddenly the skies change and the clouds begin to swirl and turn grey – blotting out the sun and plunging us into darkness.
Instinctively I raise the Master Sword and draw back into a fighting stance. Demise does the same – raising that massive black blade into a token salute, a rare respectful gesture from a demon to human. No, a gesture between warriors – each of us prepared to fight to the death.
"It won't be long now. At last the almighty power I've sought for millennia…" He turns his blade into a side stance. "The Triforce will be mine…and the world shall be under my foot for eternity!"
And with that, the duel begins.
I back away as the skies begin to clear around me. The rain ceases, and so does the lightning.
Demise rises to his feet – his breathing is heavy and labored, and with an effort he raises his sword, as though trying to continue the battle – but he loses control and the weapon stabs into the watery ground before him.
I blink as the black blade slowly dissipates – and from the residual energy, I can tell that Ghirahim is gone as well. This time forever.
Demise looks up at me; his searing eyes are a vision of fury and respect.
"Extraordinary…" He manages with an effort. "You stand as a paragon of your kind human." Oddly, it sounds as though he means the compliment. "You fight like no man or demon I have ever known, but this is not the end…"
He pauses and points an accusing finger at me, and with a fleeting realization – I can see his skin beginning to shudder and fade.
"My hate…never perishes. It is born anew in a cycle with no end!"
I blink again, and the demon continues to fade before my very eyes, although his voice still rings clear and strong before me.
"I will rise again! Those like you, who bear the blood of the Goddess and the Spirit of the Hero, they are eternally bound to this curse."
A curse? What does he mean? Before I can ask, the smoke from his limbs and body increases in intensity and he begins to laugh – even as his frame begins to fragment into a misty nothingness.
"An incarnation of my hatred shall ever follow your kind, dooming them to wander a blood soaked sea of darkness for all time!"
And with that, Demise completely fades away – and all that remains of him is a black vapor that slowly dissipates.
The Master Sword begins to glow, and I feel it urging me to point it towards the remnants of my enemy – and as I do so, the mist begins to swirl and flow into my blade.
From elsewhere, I hear Fi's voice speaking.
"I have confirmed the eradication of the demon king. His residual consciousness has been absorbed into the Master Sword, and is now sealed away."
Behind me, the vortex reopens – and as I step inside, I take one last look around at the battleground – and I wonder what this means for the future. My enemy may be gone, but he's still left behind a lasting legacy.
Demise's POV
In all my years of battle I had never seen a human who had ever been brave enough to face me in battle, let alone beat me. Perhaps I had yet to gain my full power since my resurrection, or my arrogance got the better of me. Whatever the case I lost. I was Strong enough to resist being sealed within the Master Sword, but they didn't know that. So at the last minute I created a doppelganger that would take on my form, and had it sealed in the sword, making them them think it was me. My curse that someone would be reborn would still work, and now I would be around to see it.
The Master Sword had temporarily drained almost my power, so much that was as if I wasn`t even alive. Instead of being the great Demise, the Demon Lord, I was now just a dark spirit who could create monsters. When the human started to go back to his time, I quickly followed. For years I followed him and haunted him, even tormented him, but I could not destroy him. The human eventually died, but the spirit of the hero would simply be reborn. I knew I could not destroy the spirit of the hero and return to my full power…at least not yet.