A/N - Went through and fixed a lot of errors and weird sounding things in the story.
GhiraLink pairing written in a... less than serious tone... (chapter 9 huehuehue). Might through in some random angsty LinkxZelda, but it won't be as a pairing.
Disclaimer - I don't own Skyward Sword, Nintendo, or any of the characters. They are property of Nintendo. ~
Prologue - Ghirahim POV
I felt each clash and clang of the boy's blade against myself. It was an odd feeling, being weld, after all, I hadn't served as my Master's blade in over a millennium. It also brought me a feeling of remorse. The last time he had been forced to use me as his weapon had caused the creation of the broken era we all live in now. It was almost the same battle as that time, just different circumstances. The hero, clad in an outfit almost identical to that which the hero of old had worn, brandished the same ancient blade against Demise. He wore the same look of determination, those same blue eyes- cold and prepared for whatever action was to come. The hero thought that so much was at stake – mainly that floating rock, Skyloft and the Spirit Maiden, but his ignorance was sad. The last hero had an entire kingdom as well as Hylia in her divine form which he was charged to protect. I was sure that when Demise won he'd take away the sword away, kill the Spirit Maiden, but leave everything else as it was, though he might also take the hero as a trophy. He didn't have a reason to kill them, and didn't like needless killing. It was Hylia that made everyone think that all that Demise wanted was the eradication of mankind, to rule the world, etc, but that was far from the truth.
I was a sword spirit, and it was my master, Demise, that made me into the person I am - a powerful and mighty demon lord. He gave me purpose and that was why I'd go to any lengths for him. I had spent countless years scouring texts trying to find a way, anyway, to bring him back after that wench Hylia sealed him at the bottom of the Seal Grounds. I didn't understand how one could be so unintelligent. She starts a war against him with no good reason, and then when the person she started it with ends up overpowering her, she discards her immortal form to rid the world of him. Hylia wasn't getting resurrected in a mighty form as my master was. She was going to be reincarnated as a mortal for generations to come. She was practically useless, and with her aside we'd usher in a new era. Not the one of death and suffering that the last remnants of Hylia's people feared, but a different one. They could stay on their floating rock for all I cared, but the demons, on the other hand, would take this surface as their own.
I could say I almost felt sorry for the boy and his plight. Despite only having a short amount of time to train in comparison to me, he managed to go as far as matching me in combat - when I went easy on him. He went even farther when he destroyed my master in the present, but sadly for him, the very time gate he went on a quest to reassemble, would end up being the very thing that caused him to lose. My master was now alive in the past courtesy of some quick thinking on my part, and as soon as the boy was defeated, we would return to the present via the time gate, and create a world very different from the current one. Those who did not accept Demise most likely would not like this new world, while those willing to accept him as the new king may actually come to appreciate him.
The battle was drawing on, but I wasn't able to see what exactly was going on in my current state in my sword form. Driven by curiosity, I inhabited a sort of omnipotent spirit form in which I could survey the battle from an above point of view. As I was now, the sword served as the vessel in which my spirit existed, but in my form, just like the hero's sword, I was able to project myself outside of my blade as a sword spirit. I took in the scenery my master had arranged – it was simply breathtaking; a true image of his fury. An endless black sky spanned off into the distance. A few stars could be seen in the sky, but most were covered by blood-red clouds. If there was a sky in hell, this would be it. The floor of the place reflected everything in vivid detail as it was a depthless pool of water, yet the two were able to stand upon it as if it were solid glass, but when either of them took a step, ripples danced with circular patterns on the surface. The place was to serve as, as my master put it, the boy's "tomb for eternity." That it shall be, if he didn't allow him to escape, for my master surely couldn't lose to the boy. He had eons of experience over the boys month or so that he had gained through his questing, as well as confidence in his ability, and unwavering hatred. He was not going to lose to the God's, or anything that was a product of them.
The arena complimented my Master perfectly. He was huge in comparison to humans. Built stocky, yet still towering at least 2 feet above the boy. His body was similar to that of a reptiles. He was covered mostly in shiny black scales, while the skin on his chest was lighter colored in comparison to the rest of him. His hair, quite literally looked like the flames of hell and made him appear almost another foot taller and behaved as though it wasn't indeed hair, but rather his head was on fire. He wore no clothes accept for a skirt-like wrap around his waist that was short in the front, but flowed to the ground in the back. In his right hand he held me - me as in me in my sword form. I looked much like a larger, jagged version of the Master Sword. While the Master Sword was straight, the blade of my sword was cut much like diamonds. Other than that they were very similar in form, both even having a triforce design near the cross guard and the same proportions. The triforce on my blade had a reversed orientation when compared to the one etched into the Master Sword.
The boy, whose name I had learned to be Link during my encounters with him, was beginning to show his fatigue on his face. He had managed to survive my Master's onslaught up to this point, and for this I had to commend him. Admittedly he was a handsome young man. Dirty-blonde locks hung framing his face, but his ridiculous green hat hid the majority of his hair. Every time I had seen him, his hair always was a mess, but nonetheless, it was cute and added to his personal flair. Did I just think it was cute? I mentally reprimanded myself for thinking something like that. He wore his usual green tunic with a white undershirt and chainmail underneath, baggy beige pants, and a pair of leather boots that stopped below the knee. Various belts and straps held pouches that probably contained pots among things, as well as the scabbard that belonged to the Master Sword. When I had saw him in the past, I always, despite the fact I should hated the child, wondered what he was like outside of combat. In my presence he was a defiant boy, seeming very reserved in comparison to my haughty self. He always tried to hide his emotion, often outright refusing to talk to me during our meetings, but I saw past that and could usually read his emotions easily.
The fighting continued. Link was sharp, landing many swift cuts on my Master's midriff, which he made the tactical error to keep exposed. My Master seemed frustrated with his assault, and stepped it up by raising me- his sword into the air. Link barely had enough time to dodge the bolt of energy that was sent flying in his direction. After recovering, Link mimicked Demise and generated his own Skyward Strike to send at my master. Not expecting that he had this ability, and the amount of power the boy was able to put into it, Demise was hit full on by the strike. I winced when I felt him tremble. Link wasted no time while the Demon King was vulnerable and slashed away at him until the energy from the strike wore off and he was able to bat Link away.
At this point in time, Link had managed to gain the upper hand over Demise, which wasn't expected. Which wasn't, in any way good for Demise and I. Finding an opening, Link managed to hit Demise with yet another strike. They seemed to charge so much faster now that he weld the complete Master Sword rather than the incomplete forms that he had prior to its completion. Once again, Link rushed up to the large man and began attacking him with slash after slash from the Master Sword. The power of light that radiated from the blade was just too much, forcing my Master to the ground. As if to draw out his inner power, with a yell, the boy jumped into the air, blade in hand, bringing the sword down into Demise's chest, through his heart. I felt as his life energy began to wane, but he still attempted to get up, slowly rising to his feet, only to slump down, nearly falling, but using his sword to support his body as if it was a cane. They both knew it was over, even if he could continue fighting, he had barely scathed the boy. Link would easily just fell him again.
My body began to feel weird. Without warning I was sucked back inside of the sword, after that it then, I then felt myself starting to get pulled into oblivion…
"Extraordinary. You stand as a paragon of your kind, human," I heard his voice, but it sounded as though I was underwater, slowly getting farther and farther from him.
"You fight like no man or demon I have ever known. Though this is not the end. My hate… never perishes. It is born anew in a cycle with no end!" I was falling deeper and deeper into the water. Was it water? Or was I emotionally broken, realizing my purpose for living was going to die, and was drowning within my own mind?
"...I will rise again!" At those words the boy's eyes narrowed slightly.
Demise raised a finger at Link, "Those like you… those that share the blood of the goddess and the spirit of the hero… They are eternally bound to this curse".
His eyes narrowed ever so slightly more … "An incarnation of my hatred shall ever follow your kind, dooming them to wander a blood-soaked sea of darkness for all time!" With that he faded away, to face his fate, forever sealed within the Master Sword.
The area disappeared leaving the boy, now a hero, standing at the bottom of the sealed grounds near the hole that formerly housed the late Demise. He looked contempt, but at the same time worried. The worry was probably the caused by the foreboding warning that Demise gave him. The curse had initiated an endless cycle of heroes, spirit maidens, and evil. It was hard to absorb any way you put it: knowing that someone in a different time would have to go through the same thing you went through. The hardships, the pain, the worries.
Brushing that aside he began to head up the ramp to the Temple of Hylia. He ran excitedly, almost giddy, knowing that everything was over; catching gusts of wind every now and then with his sail cloth to speed the accent.
I watched him from my detached form. I felt as if I didn't truly exist; like I was just a bodiless entity of sorts. I felt so incomplete with my Master not being here anymore, he was a part of me, a part of me that I had now lost. It would surely take me quite a time to get used to the absence, but I would with time, hopefully. With my focus in life gone, I had plenty of time.
Eventually he disappeared from my view. Realizing more important issues, I transformed out of my sword form. After Demise was sealed, and the magic holding the battle area together no longer was in this world. When it disappeared I had been teleported - in blade form - to near the place the boy had entered the realm. I transformed out of my blade form, taking on my preferred form.
I was about to leave when a voice spoke into my mind, "Ghirahim, though I am gone, do not give up. Achieve our goal… I know you can do it, I believe in you." I considered what he had said.
I'd do something about it, sure, but for now, with a snap I disappeared in a flurry of diamonds.