Prologue
Link
The rain poured as the Hero fought on. He was exhausted, more exhausted than he had been in his life, but still he continued. Link had to win, had to defeat the Demon King who had taken so much from the Light and Twilight realms, who had taken so much from Link himself. He had thought the battle won when he defeated the beast, Ganon. He had allowed himself to feel relieved, to let his guard down. He had longed to run to Midna, to tell her everything was all right, she could return home again.
He remembered the crushing feeling defeat when he saw Ganon rise again, when he had attacked them and Midna had sent himself and Zelda away. Link looked the Gerudo in his eye as they fought, wanting nothing more than for everything to be over, for it to end. And Link fought recklessly, without the skill or finesse he had picked up on his journey to that point. Technique didn't matter, not when he was out for blood. Ganondorf had killed Midna, and Link had to avenge her.
He was breathing heavily, and his clothes were soaked from sweat and from rain. His sword felt heavy in his hand. He lunged forward, imagining the Sword of Evil's Bane piercing Ganondorf's armor, ending everything once and for all. The Gerudo laughed and stepped aside. They had been fighting for what seemed like hours, and Link wondered how the man had not tired. Though, Link had been the one largely on the offensive.
He swore under his breath, realizing he had been toyed with. The man before him had fought this battle before, had fought the previous Hero, the one who had trained Link himself. He had been a fool not to recognize that Ganondorf was purposefully reserving his energy, saving his strength while the Hero exhausted his.
He saw the blade before he felt it, heard it scrape across his skin. It had happened so suddenly, he hadn't had time to react. He cried out and stumbled back, only for the larger man to push him backward, onto the wet ground. He gasped for air, the wind knocked out of him. "And here I thought you would be a challenge," Ganondorf laughed darkly, towering above the Hero on the ground. From the corner of his eye, Link saw Zelda, shouting something he could not make out, watching as she tried in vain to get through the magic barrier.
He cried out again when the Gerudo stepped on his chest, feeling sick to his stomach when he heard and felt his ribs snap under the weight. "Pathetic," Ganondorf shook his head. "That this is the best the Gods were able to come up with to defeat me." He chuckled and lowered his blade to Link's throats. The Hero took in a sharp breath and tried to move away, only for Ganondorf to slash his blade across the Hero's face. The Hero hadn't expected that move, and cried out once more."And where are my manners?" he questioned and snapped, the magical barrier disappearing. "Of course the Princess should watch the last hope her kingdom has die."
"Please," Zelda begged and ran over to them. Link wanted to call out, to tell her to run far, far away, but the words wouldn't come. His eyes re-focused on the blade at his throat, and he tried to think of a way in which both he and Zelda could live through the encounter, though no idea or plan would come. "The people will never follow you," she said to the older man. "Spare him, and I will back you."
"Zel..." Link started to say, but was meant with a harsh kick to his side. The pain had caught up to him, and he wanted to scream, to beg for it to end, though no sound escaped him. Black spots clouded his vision, combining into one, and the Hero drifted into unconsciousness, wondering if he would ever wake again.