A/N: I started this monster on tumblr, and I'm finally filling in the beginnings so it will posted here fully in order as it's done! For new readers, this will be established in-depth ghiralink, exploring a lot of possible aspects of their relationship as well as their personalities/backstories etc etc. There's just a bit to get through before the meat of it, trying to get better at writing build-up. Reviews are, of course, encouraged!
Link took deep pants of air as Ghirahim fell to his knees and clutched desperately at his chest as he faltered. In the sudden stillness between them Link could see the gem behind the demon's hand, the shattered shards that stuck inside. But worse was the metallic skin around it, cracking and flaking from the damage. He'd been perfectly smooth and shining before the fight had started, and now he was a dulled, mangled body. Link's anger ebbed at the sight, rather than feeling triumph, like he probably should. All he had gone through had led him to this end, to this victory over the demon despite the assured threats of the enemy, but as the adrenaline of the ferocious fight settled, it left an odd gape in his chest to see this fate the other had so often spoke of coming to life. Still, fierce fire glinted in his eyes at the demon's words of incredulity.
But that died away quickly. Link suddenly had a terrible sense of foreboding at the nonchalance of his enemy, then – no!
He heard a rushing static as he witnessed his worst fears come to life. The very thing he had tried to prevent all this time – all for nothing. Ghirahim's cackling rang in his ears, his heart pushing so hard against his chest as instinct shied him away from the foul evil of the creature coming back to life. But none of this showed on his face. A sheen of determined calm had all of this seem simply as background noise. Not even despair found him here, staring down the resurrecting monster with a warrior's quiet strength. He knew what needed to be done. He knew he had to be the one to do it. Fear and doubt were long past.
As Demise rose to his full height and colour filled his body, pulsing like a heartbeat, Link's eyes actually traveled elsewhere – finding the demon lord standing off to the side, hand on his chest in a proper bow. For all his emotion he had vented to Link about how important this was to him, it felt strangely surreal to watch it happening. This arrogant, powerful being who had haunted his quest now stood straight and pleased before this horrible creature, something Link couldn't picture before, and found unsettling now.
Suddenly, Demise shot out his hand, having ignored the spirit's welcome. Link's eyes widened as Ghirahim fell to his back, grasping at the air as though surprised as to why nothing held him up any longer. Dread prickled over Link's skin as then Ghirahim began to rise, held in place by whatever magic hold Demise had on him, his arms spread as though mounted. Link clenched his sword tighter. Something about this was wrong. Terribly wrong.
Then a choked gasp forced itself from the spirit, a horrible grating noise rending through him as a bright light shone from his damaged chest. And… he began to laugh. It was a maniacal, out-of-control sound that was so out of place for the horrific thing Link was witnessing. His heart squeezed in his chest, sudden aching sadness pulsing through him. Sadness? Why sadness? Fear and uneasiness made sense, but not this. The anger and hatred that usually overtook him when he looked at Ghirahim felt like it had been ripped out of him, his throat closed over silent words that rejected what he was seeing. He wanted it to stop. He wanted Ghirahim to stop laughing – at least scream instead. Somehow that would make it more bearable. But not this. It was a sound of utter defeat, and despair – he laughed like there was simply nothing else for him to do.
A sword rent itself out of the being's chest and flew into Demise's hand. Link's eyes widened. It looked like an awful, twisted version of the Master Sword, and it gave him a sense of ominous dread.
Ghirahim had gone quiet, Link realized, looking at him suspended high above the ground with his head slumped now. He had an urge to go to the spirit, to take him away from his cruel master, no matter how cruel he himself was. This was wrong - Ghirahim had been wrong. This wasn't to be their fate. This couldn't be it. This couldn't be the end of the intertwining thread that bound them together. He didn't understand what implanted such a thought, such a intense wish for all this to change.
With a soft groan, the spirit began to fade away, melting into light that was pulled into the hilt of the sword. Link's stomach twisted as he disappeared, evaporating from his sight and from his reach. Then Demise bared the blade at the hero, and Link could only look at it as Ghirahim's prison – or what may be his grave. That thought had once given him great satisfaction, but now it only spurred sorrow. He had realized what Ghirahim was, confirmed the moment he displayed his true essence for that brief flash, but the way this scene had played out gave him none of the feelings he had when he saw Fi and how she dwelled within her respective blade. It should be the same, he thought. It shouldn't even matter to me – he's my enemy, and apparently will fight me yet again. But regardless, he still felt shaken and sad. The absence of the demon felt so absolute, so concrete that it sent an icy chill through Link. And the thought of never again seeing Ghirahim was a jarring hammer in his head. He didn't understand why – wasn't that what he wanted? For him to go away? But something in what he had just witnessed revealed something to Link, something that he didn't know what to do with… perhaps there was far more to Ghirahim than the spirit had let on. The uncertainty pained him, distracted for that brief moment.
But Demise went on to address him as though nothing unusual had happened, and Link faced him with a fighting stance and piercing eyes once again. Ghirahim was gone now, and there was work to do. And something about that scene triggered a hardening in his heart, because for all the warnings about the cruelty and horror of this demon king, it was hard to fully grasp. But this display had laid it out in wrenching truth to the hero, showing him the full reality of this monster he was to fight.
He stepped forward and raised his sword in challenge.