A/N: Hi everyone! I hope something good happened to you today.
The story I'm writing here is a concept that has been bouncing through my head over the past eight years or so. I've thought on it and written it before, and literally cringed when I rediscovered my old version of the story, and ... yeah. I don't wanna talk about it. But I still liked the concept, so I've decided to take another stab at it.
As usual, constructive criticism is appreciated. Hope you enjoy!
PROLOGUE
Resurrected, without cease, just as his god had promised him. With one problem, though: his mind and soul may be intact, but thanks to his enemies his body was no more.
When he felt himself live again, Zant's first thoughts were of destroying his enemies: Midna, the insolent princess who stole the right to rule from him, and her sword-wielding dog from the world of light. The two of them were probably on their way to face his master that very moment … How could he come to the aid of his lord and master, when he no longer had a corporeal form? Surely his master would create a new one for him ….
The empty, dark void that he thought he would occupy for eternity vanished, and before him Zant saw the throne room of Hyrule Castle. He sat on the throne, looking forward to see them – Midna and Link – approaching him.
"Welcome to my castle." It wasn't Link or Midna who spoke, or even Princess Zelda. Zant looked to see the body he occupied, and it wasn't his. This person, in who he currently resided … this had to be his master.
"So you're … Ganondorf," Midna said to him.
Zant listened and watched as Ganondorf and Midna traded barbs with one another, Link silently standing nearby (that insufferable boy had always been one of few words) with his sword brandished – oh how horribly it shone with the supposedly righteous light of this realms' gods!
Master, I am here with you … give me corporeal form … let me aid you … we can crush them ….
Ganondorf continued talking, bragging about how he fed off the suffering and hatred of the Twili people to grow strong again.
Zant in particular. What a convenient tool he made.
He heard that statement, in Ganondorf's voice, as if he was thinking it. Could he hear his god's thoughts? And if so, what did he mean by that?
Master, hear me! Please!
Either Ganondorf was not aware of Zant's presence, or he chose to ignore it. Either way, Zant watched helplessly as Ganondorf inhabited the body of Princess Zelda and tried to use her to kill Link, followed by a battle of beast against beast as Link and Ganondorf faced off, each in their respective beastly forms.
A tool? Was that all I was to him? That can't be true! We had a bond. HE CHOSE ME!
Why do you forsake me? I AM HERE WITH YOU! HEAR ME!
Perhaps you are waiting until you have defeated our enemies. I could help you, please grant me a new body ….
I devoted myself to you – mind, body, soul – everything. Only to be ignored like this? We could have established victory by now! GANONDORF! MY GOD! MY MASTER!
… why …?
Ganondorf stood in Hyrule Field, astride an armored horse, holding Midna's helmet high in the air for Link and Zelda to see. Witnessing the destruction of Hyrule Castle – and Midna – lifted Zant's spirits slightly. With her out of the way, he finally had his kingdom.
The Twili are so pathetic. Their own powerful ruler fell against me, and now both realms are mine. I shall join light and shadow together, eliminating the Twili and creating a new world of my own.
Master? Master! Zant heard Ganondorf's voice again, even though he did not speak.
You promised me my kingdom! What kind of god breaks his promises?!
Unless … you are no god!
His power – the power given to him by the gods – the gods who rule over him – what is he without it?
Zant found his thought process abruptly interrupted when Link plunged the Master Sword into Ganondorf, directly beneath the sternum. Ganondorf let out a bloodcurdling scream, then staggered to his feet, clearly dying but not ready to give up.
"Do not think this ends here … the history of light and shadow will be written in blood!"
Could Ganondorf see what Zant saw? Before him, Zant saw a light, with pulses of red radiating from the center, forming into a large golden triangle, shining and glowing while surrounded with a red aura. Zant could have sworn it called out to him, begging him to take it. The triangle drew closer and closer, until it completely enveloped him.
This had to be a trick of the light spirits, Zant thought, to present him with an irresistible-by-design object of light in order to get to him. But when the light subsided, he found himself directly facing Ganondorf. The scene before him, previously covered in twilit storm clouds, now existed in a bluish haze. Zant looked all around him, then down at his feet – his feet! In the same shoes! And his body, somewhat transparent, still dressed in the same robes as before. He reached his hands up to touch his face, to see if this was real, but he felt nothing ...
Neither Link nor Zelda reacted to his presence, so he assumed that they could not see him. Ganondorf did not seem to see Zant either; instead, he looked down at his left hand to see the mark of the Triforce fade away. He let out a desperate gasp. He must still be reforming, Zant thought, and he felt fuller and more alive with each passing second. A look down at his hands showed something that surprised him: the mark of the Triforce on the back of his right hand, with the topmost triangle glowing brightly.
Zant! You have taken what is mine. Return it to me.
No, Ganondorf. It is yours no longer. What a disappointing god you turned out to be.
Zant swiftly snapped his neck to the side and watched as Ganondorf's eyes turned white, and then closed.
Now, with the mighty power Ganondorf once possessed, Zant could finally have what he wanted. In no time, his body would be fully restored and he could establish himself as king over both the light and shadow realms.
So he thought, until he went to the Arbiter's Grounds, looking to find the Mirror of Twilight, only to find it gone. Small pieces of glass and glimmering dust lay on the ground.
No.
He cried out in rage, stomped up and down, cursing Midna for destroying the Mirror and the gods of the world of light for stranding him.
Finally, he collapsed to his knees, pounding his fist on the ground in continuation of his crazed fit of rage. It wasn't right, or fair! How could he not be allowed to return to the Twilight Realm, his home? Did Link, Midna, and Zelda presume him to be dead? What was he to do?
Zant rested for a moment as his rage subsided slightly and a wave of despair overtook him.
"Ganondorf … you ruined me … may you rot in hell!" he spat, even though nobody else was around to hear him.
He looked up at the great black slab of stone, opposite of the pedestal where the Mirror used to stand, and thought of the remaining Twili. Midna probably sat herself on the throne again, feeling oh so confident about having won against him … she must be gloating to everyone about how powerful she was, how noble she was, how she saved them all from certain doom at his hands …. They all didn't realize that he wanted to save them from her. She's perfectly content with the status quo, he thought bitterly, letting the Twili live their destitute vapid lives as long as it benefitted her. Was he the only one who ever wanted more for himself?
He scooped up a handful of dirt and sand, catching bits of glimmering dust and a shard or two of glass. This was more evidence of Midna's arrogance, her belief that light and shadow could not permanently mix. If she would only open her mind, expand her horizons, tolerate other viewpoints, then it could be possible. He was so close to proving it! Yet in the miniature shards that gleamed in the twilight, Zant saw something else: opportunity. His newfound power would surely aid him in rebuilding the Mirror of Twilight.
No matter how long it took, he would do it. As long as he lived and held the power bestowed upon mortals by the gods of the world of light, he would not stop until he had dominion over both of the realms. And his vengeance, too - he remembered that there were still two that lived in this realm who had a hand in ruining him … and he would make them pay.
