Ok... So i feel like a jerk because I promised you guys that this chapter would start the climax... but it doesn't. Yeah, I kinda got carried away with the romance/angst in this chapter and so I decided to postpone the start of the climax until next chapter, which means this is another relatively short one and it might sorta feel like filler, but you gotta have a little calm before the storm, right? So anyway, thanks to 1 up for following! Now onto the reviews! (BTW I FINALLY HAVE OVER 200 REVIEWS FOR THIS STORY! YAY! :D

YueMelHamchi-Hahah you certainly were right! Azula was my total main inspiration, mostly cause she is like one of my favorite Avatar characters! (I love crazy characters! :D

TheJediAvenger: True true, that was the theme I was trying to get across there! :D (BTW u rubbing ur hands together reminds me of a certain Zelda villain... o.0 (Ghirahim) lol

Kai2: The whole Light to banish darkness thing will certainly come into play in later chapters, so its great how everything worked out! And will Zelda shoot him? Well.. we'll just have to find out later!

ShadowNinja1011: Yeah interesting thing was that when i first started writing this, I didn't even realize how similar Veress and Azula were myself but then when I did I was like "Mind. Blown." :D

RandomButLoved: Glad the atmostphere and general feeling of the last chapter hit home! That was what I was aiming for! And no, I'm afraid we have to wait another chapter to see what's going to happen with the corruption (but just to get you excited, allow me to say that I cannot WAIT to write it!)

anon-Lol yeah Azula is straight up nuts and now, so is Veress! :P

Nikrael-Interesting... We'll just have to see how everything plays out though, won't we? ;)

Jarvis R. Yeriel-She certainly is denying that she is losing and that might just be her downfall... Though granted, she is still a force to be reckoned with considering all of her power, despite her insanity. We'll just have to see what shall become of her later I suppose...

LooneyCat55: Yes! Avatar certainly is amazing! :D As for Wisdom and Courage... hm... I would say that at the point that I am in with the edits of it right now, there's nothing that would spoil the rest of Blood and Spirit too too much... And hopefully when we get to the big important parts of W&C I'll be all done B&S so I don't see why not. Enjoy it! :D

Nintendoman01: You kinda gotta feel sorry for Veress though. Villainous breakdowns are not pretty D:

Yeah that's pretty much it for now. So, let's get started!

Chapter 32: Dawn of the Final Day

"How unfair, its just our love.
Found something real that's out of touch.
But if you'd search the whole wide world,
Would you dare to let it go?"
-Not About Angels, Birdy

The sun had yet to rise over Kakariko Village and yet most of its residents were already awake. The past several nights had been sleepless for both the Sheikah and the Skyloftians, as everyone wondered and waited to see if the conflict between them and the Interlopers was finally over. After all, they had managed to capture most, if not all of the rebels and transport them to the prison awaiting them in the desert. And yet, there was still a mountable level of uneasiness and anxiousness amongst those loyal to the goddess, for they knew that this war would not really be over until the Interlopers' power source was destroyed and their treacherous leader was brought down. Unfortunately, Veress and the Fused Shadow were nowhere to be found; no one, not even Sheik, Zelda, Link or Fi, had been able to find a way into the rebel stronghold, much less spot the elusive Interloper leader anywhere on the surface. And so, all anyone could possibly do now was simply keep a careful watch and wait for something to happen once more, something that would hopefully lead to the long-awaited end of this violent war.

In the midst of the vast numbers of restless sleepers in the village, the girl and the hero were certainly among them. Though Zelda had managed to fall asleep and rest peacefully for a few hours, she soon found herself shaken awake due to Link tossing and turning in his sleep beside her as he muttered incoherently in obvious dread. Biting her lip nervously, the girl slowly sat up in bed and frowned sadly at her husband, knowing that once again, he was suffering from yet another nightmare. There had not been a single night since he was freed from the Interloper stronghold that he had not relived the torture he had to endure there in his dreams, and Zelda pitied him greatly for it when she saw how weary and exhausted he was during the day. In addition to this, over the past two days alone, Link had suffered several brief, unexpected bouts of corruption, though fortunately, they had not been too intense and he had not managed to hurt anyone during them. And yet, it was becoming increasingly obvious that the hero's short time was almost up, and that soon, he would be conquered by the evil force claiming him once and for all.

"Link?" Zelda whispered with deep concern as she placed a gentle hand on the hero's shoulder, hoping that she wouldn't startle him out of his fitful slumber. She couldn't help but wonder what horrors he was being forced to endure, but she realized that she would most likely never know the agony that he was going through both inside and out. Fortunately for the girl, he didn't feel her soft touch however, as he struggled to push the anxiety that he was facing inside of his dreams away to little avail.

"No…" Link muttered quietly in his sleep, his voice weak and strained as he clenched his hands into tight fists. "Please…" Zelda bit her lip once more as she theorized that he was begging for the mercy of either the demon in the hopes that it would relinquish him from its tight reigns of corruption or the Interloper leader in remembrance of the pain he had been forced to go through at her hands, both of which were mercies that certainly would never come.

However, before the girl could even attempt to try and coax the hero back into consciousness, he somehow managed to break free from the terror of his nightmares on his own. "No!" he shouted in absolute fear as he bolted upright in bed, his vermillion eyes wide and wild with intense fright. Zelda immediately retracted her hand from his shoulder, looking at him with both surprise and worry as she watched him catch his breath and stare straight ahead with unmistakable horror in his eyes. She was about to say something reassuring to him in the hopes of calming him down, but he cut her off right before she could do so.

"Fi!" Link said tensely, his voice sounding small and shaky amidst his broken gasps of breathing. He had not so much as even glanced over at Zelda since he had awakened, despite the fact that she had not taken her eyes off of him for a moment.

"Yes, Master?" the sword spirit responded immediately from her vessel, which was sitting right at the hero's bedside as it always did at night.

"How long?!" he asked harshly, though the girl had no idea what he was talking about.

Even Fi seemed to be confused by his question. "Master, I apologize, but I do not understand what you are referring-" She began, but she was quickly cut off.

"How long do I have left before I'm completely corrupted?!" Link demanded, clear desperation in his voice. Zelda frowned at him with anxious pity, but the hero refused to return her sorrowful gaze as he thought back to the intense nightmare that he had just broken out of, in which the demon had relentlessly goaded him once more, this time telling him that his time was incredibly short. He wanted nothing more to know that Majora had been lying to him once more, but somehow, he had an unshakable feeling that it was true, as much as he wished it wasn't.

Upon hearing his panicked request, the sword spirit emerged from the Master Sword in a flourish of light, looking at the hero with solemn sadness for quite some time as he returned her gaze with one that was still filled with fear and dread. "Master Link…" she said with a sigh of remorse. "I am so sorry… I wanted to refrain from telling you this for as long as possible… But I suppose you deserve to hear the truth more than anyone else. But… your grace," she said hesitantly, addressing the girl this time. "Are you sure you want to hear this?"

Finally, Link glanced towards Zelda, his frightened expression softening into one with concern for her rather than himself. He didn't say anything to her as she gave him a brief sad smile, taking his hand and holding onto it tightly, dreading the news that Fi was about to deliver to both of them. "Yes," she said firmly, wanting to be strong when her hero couldn't. "I do."

"Very well then," the sword spirit said with a frown, averting the couple's expectant gaze. "Master, I've known this for quite some time… I am sorry for not telling you this earlier, but now I have realized that it is my unfortunate duty to repot this. From my most recent analysis, I can now calculate that your corruption levels have reached 98%, which is dangerously high. Based on this information, I can estimate with 99% percent certainty that you will become terminally corrupted within the next twenty-four hours…"

Zelda was quick to cover her mouth to suppress her gasp of shock and grief upon hearing this terrible news as she looked over at Link, who didn't seem to be showing much of an external reaction at all. On the inside however, he felt as though this revelation had struck him harder than any blow he had ever suffered from. To think that he only had a few hours left to live before every part of his being would be taken by corruption made him almost sick with fear. While he realized that his long struggle was almost over, he took no solace in that fact; rather, he was overwhelmed by anxiety and horror that his time was so short. The hero had been expecting this day for quite some time, but now that it had finally come, he found that he was still not ready for it, for in the end, nothing could have prepared him for his inevitable doom.

"Master…" Fi said softly, gently placing a hand on Link's shoulder in the hopes of giving him some sense of comfort. "Again, I cannot express how much this news pains me. Know that if there was anything I could do to stop this, I-"

The sword spirit found herself cut off by the sight of her master merely shaking his head resolutely, not wanting to hear what he had already heard a thousand times. Pity wasn't going to do anything to save him now, and that was something the girl understood well as she hesitantly refrained from wrapping her arms around him in consolation. Fi simply nodded, knowing that there was little else to be said about the situation as she solemnly and silently returned to the Master Sword, leaving the couple alone to take in the heavy aftermath of what they had just discovered.

For the longest time, neither one of them said anything, for what could they say? They were far beyond words of grief or comfort, as they had all already been used before. All that was really left for them to do now was begrudgingly accept it and move on, hoping that the last few hours that they had together would last as long as possible.

After what seemed like ages, Zelda finally worked the nerve to speak up to her husband, who looked just as blown away by the news they had just heard as she was. "Are… are you ok?" she asked softly, placing a light hand on his shoulder, despite the fact that his back was turned to her.

Link didn't respond for quite some time, but when he finally did, he seemed to have ignored her question entirely. "In my nightmare, it told me that today was going to be my final day," he said quietly, his voice subdued and distant. "I guess it was right for once…"

"It?" the girl questioned in slight confusion.

"Majora," the hero sighed, a hint of ire in his tone for the demon that was dragging him down into an eternal servitude.

"Oh," was all she could really think of to say, even though there was so much more she wanted to tell him before he was gone forever.

"But do you know what else it's always told me since all of this began?" he asked somewhat bitterly, slightly lost in his own thoughts. "It said that this has always been my destiny; that this was all I was ever meant to become since I was born. And… I think it might actually be right…"

"But you're not gone yet," Zelda said reassuringly, wanting to convince him that what the demon had told him was nothing more than a lie. "You still have a little time left…"

"Not enough…" the hero said sadly as he finally turned to face his wife.

The girl's already mournful frown deepened even more as she tried to find any words she could to give him solace at such a dark moment. "You know very well that this has never been a part of your destiny, Link," she said with both firmness and kindness in her tone. "Destiny is never absolute. There are paths laid out for you to take, but ultimately, you're the one who chooses which one you follow and no one else. Not even a soul-corrupting demon."

"I wish that were true, Zelda…" he said with a fake, bitter grin. "But be serious. I mean, just look at me and tell me that this wasn't always meant to be."

For a long moment, she didn't reply as she did as he said and gazed upon her falling hero, her eyes warm with oncoming tears. He certainly looked little like the boy she had grown up alongside and had fallen in love with. The corruption had taken a heavy toll on him physically, so much so that he almost looked like an exact copy of the Fierce Deity. His once honey-golden hair was now completely snow white, not a single lock of its natural color remaining. His skin was still unnaturally pale, making the bold red and blue markings on his face stand out even more. Based on these things alone, it was easy to tell that the corruption was deeply rooted within him, to the point that there was almost nothing that could possibly even hope to drive it away. Zelda remained silent as she remembered the one thing that could end his suffering forever, even though if she were to implement it, it would greatly multiply her own.

"Please," she said softly a few minutes later, a hint of sorrow in her tone. "Please, Link… Don't tell me that you're giving up now…"

"I'm not," Link said, though Zelda was certain that he wasn't being sincere. "But I've been fighting so hard and for so long… I thought that maybe, just maybe, if I fought hard enough, I could stop it. But I guess nothing could have…"

"Link, no…" the girl said, holding back a grieving sob. "You can't… you can't just give up like this… I need you… more than you could ever know because… because…" She trailed off before she could reveal what had been haunting her mind for the past several days, something that she knew she had to tell him, but she just didn't have the heart to, even though she knew she was on the verge of losing him any hour now.

"I told you. I'm not giving up," the hero said in growing frustration, even though he knew he was lying. In actuality, he knew that there was little he could do now but accept the fact that he could be completely corrupted at literally any moment now. "I… I just…" He sighed, hating that he was obviously coming off as so hopeless and weak in front of his wife. "I just need to be alone for a while…"

Zelda opened her mouth to protest as Link rose out of bed, but she held her tongue upon hearing how despondent he sounded. She wanted nothing more than to give him words of loving comfort and encouragement in his final hours, to make sure that there would be no doubt that she loved him more than anyone else and she always would, no matter what could possibly happen once he was gone. But instead, she simply let him leave the room as no words came to her in the aftermath of the devastation that had sunk in along with the realization that they were about to be torn apart, regardless of how much they loved each other and how much they did not want to lose each other.

The dark night's sky began to turn lighter with the arrival of dawn, splashes of orange, pink, violet and gold coloring the hills that rolled on for miles beyond Kakariko. In solemn silence, the hero sat on the back porch of the house, simply watching as the final day of his life began and knowing that this beautiful sunrise would be the last one he would ever see. Thankful, the demon had decided to leave his mind alone for some reason, something that had been quite rare recently, as every single moment that Link had found himself alone, he would always seem to be mentally assaulted as his corruption steadily intensified. Perhaps Majora, knowing that it had already won this long-going battle, had decided to relent for once, allowing the hero these last few, fleeting hours of freedom before he would be dragged into an everlasting servitude. He gladly welcomed the tentative peace though, as it gave him a chance to gather his thoughts perhaps for the last time ever.

It was a strange, sad feeling to know that he only had a few hours left in his existence, but Link was able to find some sense of relief in knowing that his prolonged, difficult struggle was almost over. But all the same, he was still going out with quite a few regrets, among those being the fact that he had not been able to help put an end to the Interloper War and restore peace to the surface. And yet his greatest regret would always be that he was going to leave Zelda distraught and alone in such dire times and that he would certainly be forced by the demon to hunt her down and kill her. Like the situation as a whole, that was one problem that the hero absolutely had no idea how to solve; part of him was tempted to try and distance himself from the girl again for her own safety, but he had promised her that he was going to stay with her until the end. All he could do now was hope that she would be able to defend herself against him once he was trapped within the cold grip of corruption for eternity.

Unbeknownst to Link however, Zelda had been standing at the open back door for the past half hour, silently gazing upon her hero, her heart aching with love for him and grief over his cruel, impending fate. After weeks of anxiety and uncertainty, the dreaded day had finally arrived; she was about to lose the man she loved once and for all and the girl knew that once that love was gone, she would never be able to feel it so strongly for anyone ever again. The two of them were meant to be; of that they were both certain. And yet, as much as they were destined to be together, they were also destined to be torn apart. Their love was certainly deep and rich and passionate, but perhaps a love that great was not meant to last.

Unable to be apart from her hero any longer, Zelda finally worked up the nerve to go sit beside him. Link didn't glance over at her as she joined him, but instead he kept his gaze fixated on the light of the rising sun, though the natural light of the girl beside him seemed to shine just as brightly. For what seemed like ages, another long, terse silence lingered between them as they were both reminded that these were some of the last few minutes they would ever share together, a thought that was unbearable to both of them.

The hero was the first to break the spell of quiet between them, managing a small, somewhat sad smile as he watched the light of the fledgling sun wash over the green hills. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" he asked with a hint of longing in his tone, a longing that certainly came from a desire to have more time, one that could never be fulfilled.

"It is," the girl nodded, a smile forming on her lips as well. "This must be a new sight for you. After all, you're almost never awake to see the sunrise, sleepyhead." She let out a small, bright laugh, hoping to ease the heavy mood, though he did not join in. Zelda frowned as she saw Link's smile fade, his expression becoming cold and contemplative once more. She glanced down for a moment, taking in a deep breath before speaking up once more. "Can I be honest with you?" she asked with returned seriousness, deciding to put off telling him what she knew she would have to eventually for the moment. "I haven't seen you act like this… so sad and distant, since… since they died…"

The girl regretted bringing the sore subject up almost immediately after she said it, knowing that the topic of the hero's deceased parents had not been brought up between them in what seemed like ages. Almost seven years ago during a terrible storm that had struck Skyloft, one that had killed many of the town's residents, including Zelda's mother and both of Link's parents. Like many things that the two of them bonded over, both the girl and the hero found yet another thing in common as they had both lost people who were very important to them at the young age of ten. They had always been close friends, even before that tragedy struck, but after it, they found comfort in each other's presence and became inseparable as they helped each other cope through the grief. But even so, there were still times in which both of them lamented over their dead parents with each other, looking back on the love that they had received from them and wishing that they were still around, not taken away from them by the often treacherous forces of nature. After all ,there were some kinds of pain that no amount of time or coping could ever really heal.

Upon seeing that the hero did not respond to her comment, the girl sighed softly, glancing away from him upon realizing how tactless she had been. "I'm sorry…" she muttered quietly, partly hoping that he wouldn't hear her.

"Its fine," Link said with little emotion, having caught onto her words after all. After another moment or two of silence, he spoke up again though, still staring at the ever rising sun and silently wishing he could stop its ascent. "How do you think they would feel about all of this?" he asked thoughtfully, little signs of grief or sorrow in his tone.

"Your parents?" Zelda asked for confirmation, already knowing that he asking about his impending corruption. The hero nodded, finally glancing over at the girl, who thought for a moment before responding. "Well… I remember that your parents loved you very much, just like my mother loved me…" she said with a sad, reminiscent smile. "They were just like you are: strong, determined… stubborn…" she let out a small, light laugh before she continued, one that Link actually smiled along with. "I know that they would have given their lives for you and, if they were still around today, I know without a doubt that they would be completely miserable about losing you, just like I am. They'd do everything in their power to try and save you and they'd tell you exactly what I am: to not give up, even though it's hard… But even so, I doubt that they'd be as miserable as I am over losing you…" Her smile faded as she felt the oncoming tears behind her eyes but she refused to let them come.

Somehow, the hero managed to work up a small smile, thinking back on his kind and loving parents as the girl spoke and realizing that a part of him was glad that they were not around to join in his suffering as she was. But all the same, he was genuinely touched by her statement, his former sorrow and grief over being corrupted slowly ebbing away. "They always really liked you," he said to her, reaching out to take her hand in his. "Do you know what my father once said when we were kids? He told me that I'd be the luckiest man alive if I managed to marry you one day. And so I guess I'm luckier than I could have ever hoped to be simply to have been married to you for the short time that we've had…"

"Oh Link…" Zelda sighed tearfully as she smiled warmly, rising to stand up with him as the morning light covered them both. "I'm so lucky too. All my life, I had dreamed of us being together. And while some of the dreams that I had for us may never come true, at least this one has…" The couple slowly wrapped their arms around each other in a tender, loving embrace, holding each other close for perhaps the last time ever. Without another moment's thought, their lips simultaneously met in a passionate kiss, one that lasted for quite some time, but not nearly long enough.

"Please, promise me that you won't give up," the girl whispered with slight desperation as the two of them broke apart but remained in each other's arms, their faces still only inches apart.

"I won't give up," the hero said, this time with nothing less than absolute sincerity. He knew that in light of everything that had happened and all of the pain he was putting her through, he at least owed her any last resolve and determination he had left. "I promise…"

The two of them kissed once more, letting the sensation of being one mind and body fill them with ecstasy and joy for one last time. As they broke apart once more, they took the time to gaze into each other's eyes for a long moment and that was when the tears began to flow. Zelda was already weeping softly as soon as their most recent kiss had ended, her breaths coming out in broken, shallow sobs of sudden grief and heartbreak. It was only as Link placed a gentle hand on her cheek and used his thumb to softly caress her tears away that they slowly started to fall from his own eyes. The girl's breath caught upon seeing the tears start to steadily flow down the hero's cheeks, but unlike her, he did not sob in indignity nor did he weep inconsolably. Rather, his tears were silent and solemn, but mournful and morose all the same. She had only seen him cry a handful of times, but this was the first time in which he had not tried to hide his tears away from her out of shame or embarrassment. There was no real point to now though; after all, they were both lamenting over the same exact thing: the fact that their deep, beautiful love was going to die right along with the hero. Never again would they get to enjoy each other's warm, comforting embrace or lose themselves in the passion of a tender kiss. And in realizing this, they both held onto each other even tighter as they both wept for their love, which had never really had a chance to thrive and never would.

"I love you…" Zelda whispered tearfully as she buried her face into his shoulder, letting her immense sorrow out as she felt her heart split in two from the pain of knowing that she was about to lose him so soon.

"I love you too," Link responded softly, an edge of grief and despair in his voice as he didn't even try to dry his own tears as he once again felt the overwhelming guilt over the fact that he was going to leave her all alone, as much as he didn't want to.

The warm morning sun blanketed the goddess and the hero in its golden light, as if it was trying to capture the fleeting silhouette of the two star-crossed lovers in their last fading hours. But both of them ignored it as they kissed once more, savoring every last second of it as tears continued to stream down both of their faces, tears spent in mourning of the dawn of their final day together.

So like I said, this was a short, mostly romantic/slight angst/slight tragedy chapter, but I thought it was needed for stuff that's coming up later on as well as some last minute moments of peace before the final battle begins and this time I can guarantee that it will be in the next chapter! yaya! But just for the record, I totally cried while writing this chapter. No joke. And I feel like there will be only more tears as I write the next few chapters as well! And so, to give you guys the updated list (which i will do at the end of every chapter from now on if you don't mind):

Chapter 33: Corrupted Hero
Chapter 34: Mortal Goddess
Chapter 35: The Flow of Time
Chapter 36: Lights in the Shadows (updated title)
Chapter 37: Curse of the Interlopers
Chapter 38: Song of Time
Chapter 39: A New Era
Epilogue: Blood and Spirit

We're getting down to it guys and I am SO excited! But for now, its past midnight and I have school in the morning so... goodnight and don't forget to REVIEW! :D Until next time!