Legend of Zelda: Cursed
Note: This contains information from the game Soul Calibur. You do not have to have played this game to understand. However, there are characters here that you may not have heard of before.
Disclaimer: I don't own either the Soul Calibur series nor Legend of Zelda.
Without further ado, let us begin.
They had called it a Cursed Blade, the Everlasting Evil, and the Ultimate Weapon. It was said to be an instrument of destruction, able to rip the soul of a man out of his body. Legends said that whosoever touched the blade would carry the Curse.
The Curse of Soul Edge.
He had seen it only once before, but once was plenty enough. It was a truly horrid sword, large enough to slice ten men in half in a single stroke and absolutely covered in blood. The more blood it was covered in, the brighter it shone, and the more tempting it was to grasp it. But most horrible of all was the eye upon the sword. The All- Seeing eye, which gave the sword the breath of its unholy, wretched life.
The origin of the blade itself was simple enough. He knew it to be made by mere mortal hands, a simple sword made for a simple life. But after being bathed in the blood and hatred of battles countless times, it was reborn. It became a weapon of demonic might and gained a wicked soul: Inferno.
Those who wielded the blade were driven insane. The Curse of Inferno would infect the mind like a parasite, bringing even the most righteous man down to his knees. Only those with the most disciplined of minds can ever use the blade, but even then, their soul would be chained to it forever.
He remembered quite well that the sword was a shapeshifter as well. It could morph itself into the weapon of the user's choice. It was able to become anything from a sword to a whip. And that was just another example of its horribly demonic power.
Anyone who came in contact with the sword, or even a fragment of it, was cursed. The sword would prey on their weak wills, slowly consuming their minds. It fed off the host's inner sinful deeds of bloodlust, controlling and manipulating them into a creature beyond words. Normally, those who wielded Soul Edge would become monsters, horrible shadows of their former selves that were forced to take the souls of those they defeated in battle to keep them alive. It was said that once touched, you would be lost forever.
He knew that there was no way that that power could ever corrupt him. What lay in his soul was Courage. A young woman, Xiang Hua, had told him so. If Courage rested in his soul, then there was no way that the Power could ever come to him, that the Curse could ever touch him.
And thus he set out on his quest.
That horrible, horrible quest.
It had all started quite suddenly one day. He and Queen Zelda were enjoying each other's company. He remembered that he had played his little Ocarina for her. It had been a beautiful morning and Hyrule seemed completely at peace.
But it was not to last. Hyrule was attacked by yet another wizard, this one almost as powerful as Ganondorf had been. Although Link had easily defeated this man, it soon became evident that the source of his power was beyond him. Packing up his gear and saying a single goodbye to his prinecss, he had set off on a quest to find the source and destroy it once and for all.
He had travelled through many worlds, searching for the source. Along the way, he met and fought with many people, many of them wishing to destroy the Soul Edge for different reasons. Kilik, a young man who fought well with a Bo Staff, wished to destroy the sword to avenge the death of a young woman he once knew and to prevent the Evil Seed, the negative energy of the Soul Edge, from spreading. Talim, who fought with blades attached to her wrists, wished to prevent the ungodliness of the sword from spreading to other lands. Ivy, who fought with a sword that could turn into a whip, wished to fulfill the last wishes of her late adoptive father.
But there were others as well, those who wanted to use the power of Soul Edge, not destroy it. Rafael, who fought with a rapier, wished to use Soul Edge's power to create a new world for him and a little girl whom he loved above all. Cervantes, a former wielder of Soul Edge who used dual blades, wanted to reclaim what he saw was his. Astraroth, a great golem who wielded a gigantic axe, wanted to give Soul Edge to his creator, Ares, so that he may dethrone Zeus.
Link's journey had finally come to an end with that final battle with the evil incarnation himself: Inferno. As the final blow from the holy Master Sword struck the terrible being of flames, Soul Edge ripped itself away from him and Inferno disappeared, seemingly destroyed. It had been a costly battle, but miraculously, Link seemed not to be wounded.
There was a scratch on his left hand.
It was the smallest of things, almost unnoticeable to all but the most trained eye. It was one of those things that should've healed within a day.
But it didn't.
It had been one year since the journey and still, the thing bled.
She welcomed him back with open arms. He, who had been gone exactly one year, was welcomed back to Hyrule without question. The entire court had feasted and feasted until the moon had long been in the sky. She welcomed him back with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
The place where her lips brushed him still burned.
Something told him that he had to see her tonight. He had to see her tonight or he would die. Something else told him that he should bring his sword.
Without another thought, he obeyed.
"Link?" she sat up sleepily as he entered. "It is the middle of the night…"
He loved the way the moonbeams fell upon her shoulders. It illuminated her white face in a beautiful, ghostly glow. Her blue eyes, still clouded over with weariness, shone like precious stones. Her slim body, clad in a thin nightgown, moved fluidly as she slipped off her covers.
A smile crossed his features. A smile that was unlike anything he had felt before. Here was he, strong, handsome, and fit as a bull. There was she, beautiful, fragile, and above all, vulnerable.
He moved towards her. He couldn't help but notice that he moved much more swiftly now. His hands were on her shoulders, his lips crashing down on hers before she could so much as squeak. For a moment, she returned his kiss. For a moment, his mind was clear.
But he soon descended into madness again.
He pushed her body harder against his, so hard that it hurt. She whimpered in pain as she tried to break the kiss, tried to tell him to stop.
He couldn't stop.
He stood in front of her grave, head bowed, eyes solemn.
It had been one year.
One year since he had returned.
One year since she had died.
One year since her soul became his.
Hyrule had changed much since her death. He had changed much as well. After all, it was not every day your Queen died and the people were forced to crown a new King. And it was not every day that this new King made one Captain of the Army.
His sword had changed as well. The Master Sword now burned whenever he tried to touch it. He did not understand why. But it didn't matter. The Master Sword had been shattered long ago, ripped to shreds by the greater power that resided in the sword and shield he wielded now.
They were of simple enough design, a regular looking sword and a regular looking shield.
He cleaned them regularly, but always, they carried the deep red shine, as if they were forever coated in blood.
They spoke to him often, these weapons, giving him wise words and advice. He was always happy to listen to them, as listening to them gave him even greater prowess in battle. Best of all, they asked for a tiny, tiny price in return.
Souls.
They needed souls.
And he was the eternal collector.
"Master… the new King has chosen to agree to a peace treaty to end the war…" the Sword hissed. "You must stop… the soul of your sweet Queen calls for it…"
Link turned his back on the grave, slowly sauntering away as he continued to listen to the Sword. This war had to continue, he knew. Hyrule must be forever bathed in blood. He looked down at the sword and locked his own blue eyes with its single eye.
The All-Seeing Eye.