The King knew he was dead. He had died when the Calamity had emerged from below the castle. There had been no sign it was down there. He hadn't had the time to order the evacuation; even if he had, the evacuated would have been killed by the guardians.
He could feel his daughter fighting desperately in the remains of the castle. When he didn't feel the Hero with her, he knew that something had gone terribly, terribly wrong. He could, however, feel a very faint presence in the Great Plateau.
His lack of body meant he could now make it to the plateau easily and after going through a few mountains, he realised he was in the Shrine of Resurrection. His daughter had been studying this place, which was supposedly capable of bringing people back from the brink of death, hence its name. The Hero was there. While his daughter was fighting to hold back the Calamity, the Hero was fighting to stay alive.
The King didn't know what had happened to the Hero, but he knew that his final moments had been spent protecting the Princess. He'd done his duty until the end.
"He will need a guide when he wakes up," a voice told him.
He turned to see Impa, a sheikah scientist that had been working with his daughter.
"Robbie says that there are high chances that he won't remember much, if anything, when he wakes up," she continued. "He will also likely have only a fraction of his strength."
"I will stay here and be there," the King- the old man- declared. "There isn't much I can do. I cannot rest easy until the calamity is gone."
Impa nodded. "When he wakes, send him to Kakariko village, to me. By then, I'll most likely be the elder. Princess Zelda has left me with some messages for him that I will transfer to him when he is ready."
The old man nodded. "I will be there."
Impa left then, heading back to Kakariko.
The old man started making preparations. He was glad he'd at least listened to some of the Princess' ramblings, so he could help the Hero as much as possible.
0o0
The Champions could do nothing but wait and think of what they could've done differently while fighting the scourges. They were trapped now, not able to do anything or even leave their Divine Beast.
The Champion of the Skies regretted that he'd been so rude to his fellow champions. He did appreciate and even admire them, but it was hard for him to put it into words. If he ever got the chance, the first thing he would do would be to apologise.
The Champion of water wanted dearly to see her father and brother once more. She wanted to see the Hero and the Princess again. She had lost all hope that she would ever see her friends and family again.
The Champion of Fire was angry at himself for not being able to protect his fellow champions. With him dead, he couldn't cheer them on and and watch their backs. He could only wait and hope that the little guy would pull through.
The Champion of the Desert was angry at herself for letting herself be defeated by the scourge. It had even dared to use her own fighting style against her. She could only hope the whereever she was, the princess was safe. She hoped the same for th other champions and the Hero.
One hundred years passed.
The destined princess' power was fading. She knew it was only a matter of time until her power ran out and the calamity was allowed to run free. She could allow that.
She reached out for the connection between her and the Hero, but felt nothing.
The Hero's heart had stopped.
The Hero was dead.