Author's note: Whew! This chapter was a challenge. I had writer's block throughout the whole thing. Fortunately, I finished it. This is the last chapter of my extended prologue. I hope you like it.
I do not own Mass Effect or Legend of Zelda.
Chapter 4: Death is Only the Beginning
The colossal beast rose to the sky, watching the hundreds of mindless servants wreak havoc on organic settlements. Blue aquatic creatures attempted to hold back the hordes, only to be torn apart by sheer numbers and the firepower of the larger slaves. The survivors tried to escape through the water, but were electrocuted as a few small slaves jumped in and released an electric pulse. On the other side of the field, strange orange figures rolled through the clusters of minor servants, but fell against the projectiles released by both the larger servants and one of the few flying beasts the behemoth had released.
The massive squid felt nothing for his slaves' progress.
We have destroyed anomalous civilizations far more times than organics can fathom, the monster thought as it went beyond the clouds. There is no failure; there is only the Purge. All resistance is irrelevant.
With that, it travelled beyond the sky, heading for the stars. It never looked back.
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With a jolt, Link opened his eyes. Rather than the orange skies of Hyrule, he saw black. He looked all around him, seeing nothing but black. He raised a hand to his face, the sight of which slightly relieved him; his hand was clear as day, meaning he wasn't surrounded by darkness, just nothing. Link continued to look around, wondering how he had gotten here…
Castle Town nothing but fire and smoke, hordes of grey and blue husks, hanging on to a flying creature, PAIN!
He clutched his head, memories rushing through his mind, which scrambled for order. Once everything straightened out, Link came to a crushing realization: he was dead. Hyrule had fallen, and he was dead. He had failed.
The green clad warrior sunk to all fours on the invisible ground, despair and guilt eating at his heart. He failed them. He failed to protect Ordon Village. He failed to protect Renado and the Goron tribe. He failed the Zora tribe. He even failed…
…Ilia…
Tears rolled down Link's face as he remembered the blond haired woman, her emerald eyes full of fear and desperation as she begged him to be careful. He had reassured her, and made a silent promise to come home safely...and he broke that promise.
He had been a fool, trying to take on the gigantic metal demon all by himself. In his quest to end the Twilight Invasion he always had help, whether it was from the Adventurer's Guild or from his impish friend Midna. Even in the fight with Ganondorf he had help. The current crisis had been no different, so what could possibly make him think he could take on hordes of husks and a monstrous creature all by himself?
His distraught mind scrambled to make sense of his reckless actions….He had only been trying to save as many as he could…he didn't want anyone to share the same fate as Princess Zelda and all of Castle Town…he just wanted to protect everyone…
"It wasn't foolish," A familiar voice said. Link jumped and looked around, searching for the source of the voice. When he looked behind him, he saw a young woman dressed in a regal purple and white dress, an elegant tiara resting across her forehead. Her arms were covered by long white gloves, and her shoulders were protected by small decorated gold plates. She was Princess Zelda, the ruler of Hyrule.
"While it is true that rushing towards an overwhelming force was not the smartest idea," she admitted. "You had good intentions behind it. You knew that if you had gone back to Ordon, Kakariko Village and Zora's Domain would have been destroyed. You did what you thought would protect everyone, even if it meant facing the enemy alone."
Link lowered his head sighed, seeing the truth behind the princess's words. He had wanted to save everyone, not just Ordon Village. He couldn't bear making a decision that would ultimately result in sacrificing others; but now, thanks to his actions, everyone was doomed.
He felt a hand rest on his shoulders. Link raised his head to see Zelda give him a sympathetic look.
"I know how you feel," she said. "When I surrendered the kingdom to Zant, I also felt guilt toward my decision, knowing full well that my people would suffer. It was a tough decision, choosing either slavery or death for Hyrule, but it was one that I had to make. In the end, I chose the former because of the hope that one day someone would fight back the cursed Twili.
"Fortunately, someone did," Zelda smiled slightly. Link returned the smile, acknowledging the unspoken gratitude. His face fell again as he remembered his predicament. There was no hope for the outcome of his choice; he had been the only thing that stood between the people of Hyrule and the demon from the sky, and he had lost.
Zelda lightly shook him, bringing his attention back to her.
"Do not lose yourself in your guilt, for there may still be hope," She told him.
Link was stunned, disbelief in his eyes. How could there be hope for a situation like this? What could she possibly do that could change this predicament?
"It is not much, and it may not even save Hyrule" She sadly admitted. "However, it can give you one last chance to defeat the colossal creature responsible for all of this."
Defeat the creature, but not save Hyrule? Then what is the point of it (whatever it is)? What good would it be to destroy the metal squid if the damage had already been done?
"I know it sounds confusing to you, Link," the princess said. "But listen to me. That beast came from the stars beyond, which means that among those stars are other lands where life exists. Life that is just as vulnerable to this monster as we are. If we cannot save ourselves, then the least we can do is spare other worlds the pain and suffering that demon has caused us."
Link pondered about it for a moment. Though it sounded far-fetched, there can be no denying the fact that the massive metal thing was not of this known realm, nor of any nearby kingdoms. Plus, it had seemed to come directly from the sky. If that thing could exist out amongst the stars, then there's no telling what else could be out there. If life did exist out there, then the princess was right. He could hardly bear losing all his friends and loved ones, so the thought that someone else could experience such loss was horrid.
Link's once tear-ridden eyes quickly became hard. He would not let the metallic behemoth take one more victim. He would not let others feel his pain. The gigantic squid's reign of terror ends now. Hyrule may fall, but at least it will do so fighting!
Zelda smiled as she saw the fiery determination appear in the hero's eyes. She already knew the answer, but she asked anyway.
"Are you willing to stand up against our newfound enemy one last time?"
Link nodded without hesitation. Zelda then bowed her head and clasped her hands, whispering a prayer. After a few moments, four balls of light appeared, surrounding the princess. The lights then moved to surround the green-clad warrior. Link watched as the balls glowed brighter and brighter, until he was enveloped in the gold light.
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In the middle of a field, a corpse's once empty eyes burned with new life, while the marking on its right hand glowed its brightest. A gold aura outlined the body as it twitched and slowly raised itself up. It picked up a blue hilted sword that had fallen nearby, the blade glowing the moment the glowing figure touched it. The figure then stood up on its own two feet, its armor a bright gold and the sword resting in his right hand.
Link, the hero of Hyrule and the savior of the Twilight Realm, had returned from the grave for one last fight.
Link grunted as he felt the power pulse inside him, begging for release. He clenched the hilt of the sword, whose blade glowed brighter as the energy shifted towards it. He looked up into the darkening sky, just barely able to see the departing form of the demon that had destroyed Hyrule.
With solid resolution, the hero twisted his sword arm behind him as he concentrated all his energy into the sword. The sword glowed brighter and brighter as the hero kept his eyes on his enemy, watching it try to fade into the night sky. Then, as the sword shined its brightest, the hero swung his sword straight up into the air, his free hand clasping the hilt as the pent up fire inside the sword was released in one powerful beam of light.
The beam soared through the night sky as it came upon its target. When it struck, it pierced right through the beast's invisible shields and tore right through the creature's metal hide.
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Impossible….
The colossal squid writhed as it tried to save itself from the unexpected attack. Whatever it was that hit it had torn right through the creature. Power was rerouted, damaged parts were disconnected. It racked its omniscient mind for a solution, but every idea only delayed the inevitable: it was dying.
I have obliterated armadas…
It began to drift in space, unable to steer itself anymore.
Ripped through every defense…
The blue lights crisscrossing its hide flickered and died one by one.
And withstood against the organics' most powerful weapons…
The yellow lights of its eyes began to dim, as the squid began to drift towards a red planet.
So how could inferior organics manage to wound me?
…How….
…
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Above a green and blue planet, gigantic metal figures flew back to the stars from which they came. Below them, fires burned were civilizations once existed. The creatures didn't bother with hunting for survivors; their slaves would take care of that. Though they suffered one casualty, the Purge had been successful, just like it had in the past. Soon the organics would be extinct, and all that would remain of their existence would be piles of rubble…
…and a statue of a warrior with his sword raised above his head, a triangular mark glowing dimly on its right hand.
A/N: Goodbye, Hyrule. Hello, Derelict Reaper!
Just like the title implies, Link's fight with the Reapers isn't over yet!
Review if you guys want me to continue on to the main story, where Commander Shepard and Link finally team up!