Yes, that is a Pendulum song title... sue me. No, don't actually sue me.
Nothing much to say other than this is (another) idea I'm working on, but I'm taking a (hopefully) different approach to it... All the good ideas I have are for later in the fanfic. I hope I can get that far, ahahah...
Any and all feedback is appreciated~!
Warnings: torture
His eyes never change.
They are the defiant flame that burns bright in the smothering darkness, unyielding, unfaltering even in the face of impossible circumstances. Their brilliant blue is unnatural in the otherworldly ambience, out of place as the sun would be shining in the dead of night.
They stare straight ahead, the spirit behind them fixed, determined, even as his body undergoes vicious punishment. Surely it would be enough to break a mere human, but his will tells a different story. His spine arches as lash after searing lash tear into the skin of his backside, but nothing more than a small hiss of air passes his lips with each strike, his instincts to vocalize his torment steeling themselves.
His captors are as impressed as they are infuriated, seeing something known to be of such a fragile species endure such physical strain. It does not deter them from their efforts, however. They do not cease until the prisoner hangs limp in his restraints, his skin shredded as though having been torn at by some great beast's claws. His breathing comes fast and shallow, pained noises forcing themselves out between his bloodied lips. His chin falls against his chest in a gesture of defeat, but he is far from broken.
His captors know as much.
Their hissed taunts slither through the darkness, finding their way to his ears. The prisoner gives no indication he hears them, but his body jerks violently as another strike bites into his already abused flesh, a cry finally managing to escape him. Their loud, mocking laughter fills the air.
"Why don't you scream louder for us, chosen hero?"
As always, he awoke with a yell, eyes snapping open and chest heaving. He bolted upright, heart hammering against his ribcage in a panicked tempo. For a few sickening moments, he had no recollection of where he was or what was happening to him. His hands grabbed at his aching backside, but the skin felt smooth, unmarred.
Gentle hands gripped his shoulders, easing him back down onto the bed. A soft, but worried face came into view above him, eyes sad as they watched him calm from his disoriented state.
"Again…?" His childhood best friend asked quietly after a few long moments.
Link could only lie there, floored by the vividness of his dream, the pain still so sharp in his system. He nodded once, cringing as the sheets rubbed against his skin with an uncomfortable burning sensation.
Zelda's frown deepened as she brushed a few sweaty strands of hair from his forehead.
"Link…"
"I know." He swallowed, his mouth dry. "I'm sorry…"
"I'm just worried for you is all. There's no need to apologize," she insisted. But Link could see the defined lines under her eyes, knowing he was the reason for her loss of sleep, and for that he felt guilt.
"Was it the same dream?" She asked after another short silence had passed.
Link could tell the feeling was mutual as these nightly occurrences had only begun after his journey had ended, and had only gotten worse since then. Her presence had helped him sleep peacefully for a while, but it had little effect now, and more often than not he found himself (as well as Zelda) waking up to his own tortured screaming. He didn't blame her for associating these happenings to the quest she had inadvertently put him through, though he wasn't quite sure that was the sole cause.
The hero shook his head to her question
"I could hear them this time…" he confessed, managing to push himself up onto his elbows. Most of the time he merely felt rather than saw or heard in these dreams, and it disturbed him because it was as though the more time passed, the more real they seemed to become…
The goddess incarnate sighed, stroking his cheek comfortingly. "Do you want to go back to sleep...?"
The last thing Link wanted to do at the moment was return to his nightmares.
"No." He shook his head once more, sitting up completely and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He rubbed at his eyes before turning his head to look out the window. The sky was still dark, stars dotting its endless black expanse.
"I think I'll go for a walk." Link stood, reaching for his tunic and sword. "I'll be back in a little while."
"Alright…" Zelda replied after some hesitation. He heard the shifting of her laying back down on the bed.
Fastening his cloak around his shoulders, the hero exited the house and stepped out into the night.
The village was quiet and still, the huts dark as he passed them – nothing out of the ordinary. He stepped onto a path, heading towards the Faron Woods. A gentle fall breeze blew by, its cold failing to reach him through the layers of clothing he wore. In the distance he heard the faint call of monsters, but they were hardly any threat, especially now.
It had been just over a year since the fall of the demon king.
Initially Link had felt relief. His journey was over and Zelda was safe. He'd laid the Master Sword to rest in the Sealed Temple not too far off from where he currently was. His duties as Hylia's Chosen were finally over. All that was to be done now was relocate Skyloft's inhabitants to the surface (now aptly named Hyrule) and make up for the time lost between him and his best friend.
Of course it had been so easy to believe that once his mission was complete everything would be set right once more. He could live with Zelda, carefree and happy, down in Hyrule. So much of its land was left unexplored, there was still so much of it to discover…
He'd quickly found his assumption that things would just go back to the way they were to be a naïve one, made by the boy who had grown up living on that floating outcropping of rock, blissfully unaware of what lay beneath the clouds. Things could never be the same because he himself wasn't the same, and he never would be. Those months of Zelda's disappearance, of sleepless nights, of facing impossible enemies, of traversing through dangerous foreign land had taken something from him. Something that could not be regained.
Instead of feeling at ease by the freedom he now possessed, he felt misplaced and restless. He wondered, after all they had gone through, did Zelda feel like this as well?
If she did, she certainly didn't let on.
Link sighed heavily, weaving his way among the trees. For some reason, whenever he took walks like this he always felt drawn in the same direction. Soon enough, a white stone structure came into view. He approached the viewing platform, heading up the steps to the top of it. The bird statue glowed faintly at his presence, but he merely walked by it, seating himself on the railing overlooking the woods. From there he merely… thought.
He recalled when the dreams plaguing his sleep had first begun, which had been a short while after Demise's defeat. Truthfully, he wasn't really surprised by them at first, almost expecting being prone to nightmares after having experienced his fair share of unpleasantries during his quest.
Only when the nightmares became more and more frequent, escalating to the point of haunting him almost every single night, did he realize that something was truly, truly wrong.
Even if he didn't quite remember what happened in them each time, the terror and pain were so palpable that they pursued him long into his waking life. Sometimes he would lie for hours in bed, writhing and moaning over the ghost of some particularly severe injury he had sustained in his unconscious mind. He didn't know why this was happening to him, and why now of all times. Even Zelda herself had no explanation for this.
But his dreams all had one common characteristic: the administers of such brutal torment were always unseen, hidden in the depths of an infinite darkness.
It took Link a moment to register the aching in his knuckles and he looked down to notice he was gripping the edge of the rail with more force than necessary. He slowly uncurled his fingers, using his hands to pull his cloak tighter around himself, and turned his attention to the horizon line, where the first traces of light were beginning to show themselves.
Something tugged at the back of his mind like the most uncomfortable of prickling sensations, something he had been unwilling to think about since the day Demise had been vanquished. The hero had thrust it far away from his consciousness, not allowing himself to dwell on it for even a moment. But, despite his efforts, it was beginning to resurface once more.
A slow shiver worked its way down his spine. He could have sworn he heard a whisper carried along with the wind's breath…
"I'll make the affair so excruciating, you'll deafen yourself with the shrill sound of your own screams…"
The blond shook away the ridiculous thought. Demise's blade had been destroyed in their confrontation. He'd seen it shatter, its pieces drifting away like dust.
But he couldn't deny the fact that the air felt off, even if it didn't have anything to do with what, or rather, who he was thinking of…
Link turned his head, eyes narrowed skeptically at the darkened entrance to the deeper woods.
Even if his suspicion was a product of his lack of sleep, even if he had sensed it for only a second, he was sure that something was out there.
His body crumples to the floor as the restraints around his wrists release. He has no will or strength to make any attempt at holding himself upright and lays there rather pathetically, like a puppet with its strings cut.
A river of red droplets flow from the lacerations criss-crossing his backside, staining the stone beneath him. His captors jeer, one of them raising their foot to scornfully kick his battered figure. He doesn't move. He doesn't fight. But when they lift his motionless form from the floor it is clear that his will has not diminished one bit.
His eyes meet mine.
Oh no, what's going on...?
R&R!