Rated M for violence, language, and drama. >.> Reviews appreciated.
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Prologue
Footsteps echoing against the cold, hard cement, his legs carried him swiftly forward through the city of the dead. He had reached the final leg of his long, arduous journey, and now the time had almost come. He had finally returned to this place of death, where he could at last put to rest the pain and anguish of the multiverse.
The dark, violet landscape assaulted his eyes, as it had once so long before. He remembered the last time he had been here, and cursed himself for not ending it then, before so many had suffered. He could have brought it all to a head so long before, if he had only known...but now, as he walked through the cold, dark night, he knew he couldn't afford to waste too long in regret.
His sword clasped firmly in his left hand, with his cold, metal shield strapped to his right arm, the man called Link wondered how much farther he would have to go before he would find the Emperor's tower. He could see it in the distance, standing powerful against the dark, red sky on the horizon, and it was still so far away. It stood like a monument of evil, taunting him, telling him he was weak.
"HUMAN!" He heard the voice screeching through the air to his left, cutting the air like a knife. It was a voice he had heard so many times before, one that had hounded his every move since this journey had first begun. It had hunted him across many worlds, through many realms, seeking only his head for its master. He had fought it, eluded it, but it was stronger than any beast he had known in his home.
Skidding his boots against the cold pavement, the warrior turned to face his hunter. Lowering his sword and angling it towards where the voice had come, while lifting his shield for protection, his eyes watched carefully for the beast he knew lurked in his shadow. He knew this hunter all too well, and knew that if he dropped his guard, he would die. Silence on his lips, sweat beading on his forehead, he waited for the first–
CLACK
Hearing a clatter, he whipped back to the left, thrusting his sword out to his left side and angling the blade forward, while thrusting his shield forward. There was nothing, however, but a stone rolling across the cracked, broken street, cast by his hunter. The distraction had worked, and suddenly Link knew he was dead.
Diving forward, he dodged the initial strike, as a long blade formed of bone tore through the air mere inches above his left shoulder, but the creature was not going to give up so easily. Rolling to a crouch as he hit the ground, he leapt/fell quickly to the right when the beast stabbed down at him, spinning to land on his back and raising his shield to block another impending blow. Hearing the clang as the enemy's blade struck his shield, he thrust his left hand up, only to find that his sword had fallen from his grip during the skirmish.
This was bad. He knew this was bad, but he didn't have time to think. Jamming his left leg into the hunter's right, he managed to bring it down just enough that he could thrust his shield up into its face. This had the effect he was looking for, driving it back just enough that he could scramble to his feet, his eyes racing furiously over the ground looking for his dropped weapon.
There, he saw it, resting on the ground over twenty feet to his left, in the cracked pavement of the dead street. Before him, the beast was shaking off the attack, and had opened its mouth in a vicious snarl. He knew he only had one shot at this, and he knew he had to make it count. Staring into the creature's angry, malicious eyes, he raced towards it with shield out front, knowing that the slightest mistake would be his death.
The creature leapt into the air, rising high above Link as he raced for his sword. Diving for it as the creature came down, he felt himself pinned when its left blade traveled straight through his left leg, trapping him in its grasp. He could see the light blue hilt of his blade just inches away from his fingertips. Reaching his arm, stretching it as far as he could, he strained for the weapon that would mean his salvation.
The beast raised its right blade, ready to strike. Link could feel the cold metal just barely in his grasp, his fingers lightly brushing it, trying to pull it into his grip. Blood oozed from the horrible gash in his leg, where the creature held him pinned, and he knew in only a few seconds he would be dead. His arm strained, struggling with every last ounce of strength towards his last hope, the only chance he had for survival.
It was hard to believe that just three years before, he had thought his days of fighting, his days of war, were over. He could see it flashing in front of his eyes, could see his life up to this point. He found his mind wandering, found himself returning to a point years before. A time of peace, before he had ever heard of the Emperor, before he had ever heard of any of these other worlds. He remembered her face...remembered the horses, the fields...he remembered...
