Link lay sprawled across the cave floor. Flickering light from the torch played shadows all over its looming walls. Strange, but the air here seemed to be frozen as it touched Link's body. It stung in his wounds just as the dripping sweat did.
It was out there: that nameless thing, that darkness. Nameless, but it must have been ageless. Nameless, but it knew Link's name. Surely it had known that forever. Ever since the birth of darkness, Link's name had gone slicking through its foul mind. Surely it had known his name, because that shadow had been tracking him from the day he was born. And Link didn't know if he could run any longer.
Give me the dust of my fathers.
That heavenly ash and ancient debris of vacated memories. Hand over the shattered fragments of what was, and what led to this. There were fingerprints of old stained across the whole of things to lend a dark and bleeding hue.
It all came down. Now Link felt those eternally tremorous inchings. The stuck stone beneath began to shake. It had taken to this as he himself convulsed, and that stole away feeling of it. This breaking apart of bindings was nothing new, and such a fact struck deepest chords of fear.
Stand on the face of the ancients
The ancients: the shadow and Link. They'd been running round this circle for so long that the beginning wasn't even real anymore. All they had was this track. That overshadowed everything. Link didn't know if anything was real outside of that conflict. The air felt hot in his lungs, but all Link knew was the he felt cold.
Bare the secret flesh of time itself
Link had done everything he was supposed to. He had left behind his childhood to protect a future he didn't know. He had fought to save a world that wasn't his, all for the one light in it all. He had done this and set it free in the process. The only way he could have avoided this was to let Hyrule burn, to decay and fall apart. The goddesses knew he wouldn't do that, couldn't, and so he was locked into the cycle. The cruel irony was that only in ending could the cycle progress.
Follow me
Like a lamb to slaughter. Link had been taken straight to the end, and nothing could stop him. Nothing could save him. Of course, that was because he couldn't even save himself. The shadow was out there, somewhere. It had probably found the mouth of the cave by now. It was coming for him. The shadow could feel him: where he had been and where he was. The most perfect tracking: to be tied like string. Forever like a length of damned string. The tie went both ways as Link felt the darkness there at the edge of his mind. It squirmed like an itch in his head, always desperate in its advance. The darkness was coming. The darkness was always coming.
Follow me
In the end, there were only two. The pain that screamed for him to stop, and the deep drumming voice that senselessly said go on. Drums worked feet into motion, and Link had marched into the mouth of his enemy. No fire could turn him back. No fear could send him away. As he had been so long ago, upon finding himself alone in a loveless world, Link was a machine. He moved with one goal, and nothing remained in the world that could appease the fuel deep inside. Link marched into the desert, toward his own death, rather than that of the world.
I've come so far I'm behind again
He had tried so hard, though. Link had fought every step of the way and grappled each day with fate. He'd been dragged back by what must happen and he'd overcome. Link had found a way through the night and back to her. So many times this had happened, but never again. How could it when there were only two options? Either die or let it all burn…
All he'd done was for nothing. That sentiment stabbed through Link and taunted every wound. Before, he'd endured the pain of his broken body for knowing he would return to Malon. He'd pushed through it all, knowing that he must return. But there could be no returning. He'd fought so long for what was always damned away from him, though that had never been so apparent as now.
Follow me
Down into the nothing. Through the darkness, through the blackness, and deep into what lay beyond. All the meaning was gone, and all the hope. Only a few certainties remained, and they were all tortuous. The darkness was certain, but that would go. For a short time, Link was certain, but he too would disappear. The world would remain, but surely in a different place. What could follow the loss of all certainties? Past the nothing which lay behind all existence, and into another place which was not really real. There wasn't really anything, was there? Only the blood of when he fought the darkness, and the blood which came before. Was there anything between? Of course not, because what torture would that be? All Link had was the times he fought, and the times before that he did not know well enough to enjoy. Soon enough they were gone, both were gone, leaving only nothing.
I wish so hard I'm there again
And she swam in Link's head like the air in his lungs. There was never a moment that Malon escaped from his thoughts, because she was the only thing left to keep him grounded. She was the stone that protected him from slipping off into grim territory and the pained destruction that had always haunted the edge of his world. Malon had lived this role since childhood, since the first moment they met. Link remembered it all so fondly, so clearly. Her memory was the most important thing in the world to him, and the countless happy days they had spent together. Those scenes were the only happiness left for him. Everything else had taken the shade of nightmares but, if Link just closed his eyes, he would be with Malon again.
All that I wanted were things I had before
What he wouldn't give to be back there with her, just once more. Link would tear down the stones of this cavern until it was dust, just to feel her skin once more, to smell her hair. To see her sleeping and to have just one more kiss. Just once more. That could never happen, though, because the only way to save her was to be without her forever.
All that I needed, I never needed more
Beyond reprieve, what could he wish for? Pain soaked to every corner of his consciousness now, but somehow Link had a wish greater than simple escape: just another moment with her, to see her eyes and hear her voice. Link wanted to say he loved her. He wished for more time, but these were wishes that could never be granted. She was too far away now, and Link lay on the edge of death.
And most of all, there was a faint noise from farther up the tunnel. A shuffle? A scratch? Maybe a hiss or a whisper of evil intent? It did not matter what vibration marked its passage, because any would mean the same. Those were all voices of the same hated end.
The darkness was here. Finally here, and headed down after him. Link tried to scowl as he had before, but the strength seemed to have gone away. All that remained was dreadful, cutting conviction. It ended here, so there could be no turning around. There never was any chance of that, but still Link recognized the final moment of imaginary possibility. The last way out was gone, and Link had been sealed in with his fate.
He had since the moment of birth.
And all of my endings are waiting to begin
Link strained his ears to hear the darkness's slow approach. That was a rasp against the floor, a wheezing movement that told of the enemy's wounds. That would have been an advantage if Link were not wounded just as grievously. He was a corpse waiting to fight a corpse, and in the end they would both die. That was how it was meant to happen.
Link wrapped his fingers around the sword's hilt, gripping tighter and tighter until the knuckles strained and popped. The sword was old, but he was older. Link and the darkness, Link and his shadow, they were remnants of the beginning. That eternal interplay of light and darkness. One lay burned and bleeding inside a slightly fire lit cavern, while the opposite dragged itself forward to final finish this incarnation of their terrible struggle.
And, battered as he was, Link could only wish for that same end.
All of my questions are answers to my sins
Here it was, and Link knew there was no escape. There had never been any. This was what needed to happen, because without this everything would unravel, and Malon would go with it all. Here was the end, and only now did Link find himself fearing that void. There was no escaping it, though. He steeled himself for death and for the preceding pain that lay just moments off.
I know the way, but I falter
The weak fingers of his off hand curled around a withered, smoldering torch. The fire which perched crippled by the tip was sweltering, but necessary. Every inch of his skin wanted to push the thing away for the pain it brought, but he could not. Link wasn't sure how well he could lift his sword, and the darkness was not far away.
A dull spot of recognition flared in the back of that frayed mind, and Link forced his knees to tortuously unbend. It was a struggle to pull himself up, but there was no more time. His arms shook, his whole body shook, but Link somehow managed to keep a grip on the sword and to lift the torch overhead.
Shadows melted away before that flickering light, all but one.
I can't be afraid of my patience
Link did not move. He just stood there staring at what the darkness had become. Fear dug into his gut and made its parasitic nest. And relief filled his heart. Malon was safe, and so far away from him. That was the only happiness Link could imagine as he stared down at this evil. Something burned inside of Link and he knew it was time.
There's a secret place that keeps me safe
As Link lifted his sword, its reflection mirrored that move. Finally, they were the same. Link stepped forward, but the darkness did not succumb to his advance. It retreated narrowly backward, holding its distance. That dark sword trailed on the floor much as Link's had, much as it soon would again if he were forced to hold it for any great time. But what would constitute a great time? How long did he have before the weakness overcame him?
The darkness was waiting for him to make the first move, so Link obliged as well as he could. He took another step and lashed out in a clumsy arc. The blade slid off its shadow wrought brother and struck the cool floor. A harsh noise sprang up from that contact. Link could do nothing but continue forward with the momentum, or else fall backward in a heap. The second strike dug deep into the darkness, biting past a sluggish defense.
Follow me
Link tore his blade out from the dark flesh and stabbed it in again. The darkness quivered and struck out at Link with its own blade. The dark sword ripped a hole in Link's thigh, and that left burned scars in its wake. Link could feel the meat of his body being torn away and destroyed. Was the darkness's sword equally injured by this? Was Link's?
It did not matter.
Link tore his blade out and stabbed it again, and again and again. The darkness was shaking, and Link could not keep from joining it. The whole world seemed to tremble around their conflict. The torch dangled from his right hand and cast shadows all about as they fought. Disorientating scenes played over the walls, but Link could not pay attention to the mock enemies all about. The darkness cut him again, ruined another portion of flesh with dark steel and evil. Blood ran freely and dripped down to the floor. It seemed there were no more safeties of scarring, only the coming end.
I've seen so much I'm blind again
He stabbed it again and again, and with coming strikes the darkness began to shrink away from him. That dark body was quivering across the floor, either in flight or seizure or fear. Some hope slipped through Link at this sight. Was this its death? Could it be possible that he was killing it? They had said it would never die without him, but here he lived and it died. Maybe he had beaten their game this time. As Link drove his sword into the darkness once more, he thought that maybe, just maybe, he could see Malon again.
Follow me
The darkness was at his feet, shaking, shivering. It did this so violently that the cavern shook along with it. Dust and gravel cascaded from the unseen ceiling and fell across them in handfuls. Link stabbed the darkness again, and it screeched out something painful. That dark sword flew upward in a feeble strike, missing Link's heart by too far to catch anything but his wrist. It was surely losing its strength, and here he could still stand. That reflection lay across crumpled across the floor and hardly moving. The torch fell from his injured arm and into the dark mass. Its light was instantly swallowed by the crippled body.
I feel so bad I'm alive again
In his sudden blindness, Link could do nothing to find the darkness. He slashed his sword at the place it had occupied, but the attack was met with a useless clash of metal on stone. Link waved his blade at the air straight ahead, hoping to mar the shadow in flight. He struck at something which trembled, but then the body was gone. The darkness was fleeing, but not away from Link. It was not fleeing away from anything, but toward a light which hung further toward the cave mouth.
Follow me
Link could only stare at that light for a moment, confused. Was that a torch? A lantern? Why would there be… The observation fell to a halt as Link noticed the nearby movement. Link advanced on the darkness and was about to drive his sword in when a voice called out, echoing across the cave walls and down into Link's ears. There the words spawned dread.
"Link, are you there?
All that I wanted were things I had before
Everything became ice. A thousand questions raged through Link's mind as he struggled to force his legs toward motion. How had Malon found this place? The darkness was already flying off in that direction. He'd left the general location in that damn letter. What had compelled him to do that? He should have seen this coming. Oh goddesses, what if it reached her first? He loved her more than all the world and the darkness knew that. It was moving toward her so fast. After such a long time clamped there, Link heard his sword finally drop to the stone below. He couldn't let it outrun him. There was no more time.
Oh goddesses…
All that I needed, I never needed more
Link ran faster than he ever had. His body was broken and torn apart but he ran. Everything was uncertain and each step seemed to swing him about but he ran. How many muscles were already gone? What if he couldn't run fast enough? Maybe the darkness would reach her first. Link saw what would happen then. It would destroy her, and he would be forced to watch that. To watch the only thing he loved die.
He couldn't let that happen. Zelda had told him, and the goddesses had told him what needed to happen. Told him how he would die. And now the time had come. Link threw himself forward and flew down toward the darkness. He landed roughly on top of it, and felt the corrosive bite of it digging into him. Link grappled with it as the thing squirmed, but he did not let go despite the searing, throbbing pain.
All of my questions are answers to my sins
And it was just like he had known. Link absorbed the darkness even as he infected. They were both going away, and that was a slow, horrible process. He would fade to nothing form each point of contact, as they both consumed each other.
But Malon was here. He saw here through the corner of his eye, saw her staring. It would happen and nothing could change that, but Link couldn't let her watch. He looked up at her as best he could.
"Malon…" He groaned as the burning took out his bones. It was torturous, unbearable, but he could do nothing. "Malon… turn off. The lan… tern…" It was a lantern, but what did that matter? What did anything matter except getting her away? "Get... out…"
But she couldn't move. The lantern had fallen from her grasp and lay cracked, burning across the cave floor. Malon could only stare down at the terrible transformation he underwent: slowly burning out of existence. She couldn't do it, so Link would for her. He pulled himself across the floor, scraping his raw body against that. It felt as if bones were broken by very movement and surely they were.
With one last burst of effort, Link threw himself over the small fire. Glass and metal crunched beneath him, and the flame sizzled for a moment. That died, and then there was silence.
All of my endings were waiting to begin
There was nothing but darkness and that distant slit of the cave mouth.
"Malon… go…" Link sputtered. Soon he would be unable to speak for the destruction of his lungs.
"I... I can't leave you here…" She was crying. Link heard it in her voice, and it pained him almost as much as dying.
"Leave…" his voice was frail, brittle, on the verge of collapsing.
"I can't."
Link wanted to reach out and touch her, to wipe the tears out of her eyes and to hold her and tell her it was going to be all right. But he couldn't, because Link hardly had the strength to breathe. All the remaining breath went into one final phrase.
"Malon, go. Please… go. Leave and forget me."
Beyond that he could say no more. There was silence, and Link knew she was gone.
Link hoped that she could be happy again, somehow. However, a voice returned to his mind. It was old, older than everything. In desperation before he had not heard it, or not understood. While Link fled, one of the goddesses had called something after. Now it returned in full voice.
"You can't save her."
He had, though. Link had protected her from the darkness. She was safe. She was alive.
But, Link realized, he couldn't save her from his death.