Author's Note: I was on my way to the fishing hole in Twilight Princess, and got distracted by the rushing Zora's River…that, mixed with the mood I was in, inspired this.
He has never been afraid of taking it too far. He is the Hero of Time; he fears nothing.
The light of the moon illuminates the water before him, and even the soil that he steps upon. He begins to walk forward towards the water, his boots squishing in the bordering silt. His gaze falls down to the rushing water, so fast and so vibrant. He breathes.
He has done this before.
At the edge of the water, he leans down to put on his Iron Boots, and then wades into the water slowly. He drifts, and then he sinks, and sinks, and sinks. The Hero of Time can't breathe. The Hero of Time cannot think of anything besides the fact that he could die; he could die tomorrow in battle, he could die the day after tomorrow in a horse-riding accident, or he could die right now, by his own accord.
The Hero of Time doesn't want to die; he just doesn't want to breathe for a few moments, and he can't. He can't breathe. He looks up, and he sees the shining moon, and he smiles as no air is allowed to fill his lungs. Just when he thinks he is on his last moment of pre-collected oxygen, he allows himself to sink a meter more, and then he pushes one boot off with his foot, and then pushes the remaining boot off with his palm.
Everything begins to seem so much closer as he begins his journey to the surface. Life. Death. The moon, the sky. He reaches for the moon, and he swears that he can almost hold it in his hand. His heart pounds, and he can feel the end, just as he can every time he battles. The adrenaline that pushes him to survive courses through his body, and makes his brain throb violently, and his heart beat so rapidly. His legs begin to kick out of instinct, urging his body into survival, and, when his head meets the surface, his body lunges onto the shore. He coughs and coughs and coughs, and he breathes heavily for so long, his body attempting to soak up the needed air.
He smiles, though; despite it all, he smiles.
You know those days, where you think you just can't take it? Even the Hero of Time has those days.