In the chaos, Zelda hadn't realized that Astor had joined the fight. The Harbinger spun around, focusing its attention away from her. In that instant, she saw him—standing in frozen panic under the looming shadow of the Harbinger's bladed arm.
Time itself came to a horrible stand-still. She could not act in time, and she stood in the same crippling fear. But Rhoam had perceived the threat before Zelda realized anything was amiss.
Her father bounded into the fray, knocking Astor aside and taking the brunt of the Harbinger's blade in his place.
Astor flailed backward to the still dampened grass a safe distance away from the force of the king's shove. The Harbinger's blade came crashing down, ripping through the air with a sickening whoosh. It plunged into Rhoam's spine, and he crumbled to the ground soundlessly.
Zelda's heart wrenched in her chest. Too stunned to make a sound, she stared after her father for a long moment, at a loss.
In her mental disarray, her eyes met Astor's, seeing his hollow expression of disbelief. The atmosphere had grown unsettlingly surreal, although not altogether silent.
It was as though Zelda had become deaf to the gurgling sound of malice. Not even the soldiers stirred in their horror. And then the mutated Harbinger's grumbling roar shook the ground beneath her feet, bringing her back.
She lifted her voice in ire and thrust her hand high to summon her divine power and lashed out at the machine mutated by malice. There must have been a strength in her intense sorrow and rage because the Harbinger let out a shriek of terrible pain and lumbered away. The beast retreated into the night, and Zelda did not think to give chase.
She stumbled to her father's side. His blood had pooled around him and she knew.
"Father…?"
She couldn't hold back the desperation in her voice.
"Come close… I wish to speak with both of you before…" Rhoam began and then trailed off, his speech labored.
She knelt as instructed, glancing over her shoulder to look back at Astor. He gaped, having heard Rhoam's request as well. For a moment the two stared at one another in the discomfort of uncertainty. Astor's yellow eyes wavered in apprehension at what Rhoam might say. Slowly and carefully, he got to his feet to join them, swiping at the bottom of his tattered robes as if anticipating dirt and debris.
Zelda reached out her shaking hand to touch her father's shoulder.
Her father peered up at her with heavy eyes as he lay on his back, very still. "Zelda, the kingdom of Hyrule is now in your hands…"
"No, no… You're going to be just fine." Zelda felt the words fall from her lips before she had time to consider them. "You're going to live on and…" But the sentiment died in her throat.
Despite Astor's predictions as he and Zelda had lounged in the grove behind Fort Hateno, Rhoam did not have years to live, only moments. He would not come to know his grandchildren. He would not hold them or bounce them on his knee.
Rhoam closed his eyes, shook his head. "I have…been a detriment to you for far too long…That is unforgivable."
"Don't say that." She nearly snapped, though not in anger. His words were too painful to hear.
"Over the past ten years, during your training, watching you struggle to awaken to your power, I admit I became increasingly foolish and cruel in my words… I can see now your true gifts of steadfastness and unconditional love and how they have saved that man from a path of self-destruction. Had my eyes not been opened, I likely would have caused you further grief."
There was a lump in her throat she fought to overcome, not knowing what to say. How easy it was to overlook years of stern rebukes and disapproving scowls at even a scrap of a heartfelt apology—let alone this. And so she forgave, despite knowing full well the adversity he would have caused them had he gone on—adversity she and Astor would almost certainly have to bear regardless.
Zelda set her jaw, pinching her lips tightly together, holding everything within and without, her rapidly accumulating sorrow tearing at the back of her throat.
Her father had never been a sentimental man, yet a deep regret reflected in his eyes, even as they dimmed.
He sucked in a gasping breath, struggling to form words. "I think you should have this back." Rhoam feebly reached within the pocket of his blue velvet coat. He produced the Sheikah Slate and lifted it, shakily to her. "The screen will need to be repaired, but it is working."
Zelda accepted it, noting the long crack that ran across the screen with a bittersweet ache, realizing he must have found it among the wreckage of the Master Cycle.
"I'm sorry if I frightened you, Father." A shuddering breath escaped her and hot tears slipped down her cheeks and splashed onto the blackness of the busted screen.
"Don't cry for me, Zelda. You held well to your composure for your mother when you were but a mere child. Remember your role. You are a princess of Hyrule," Rhoam said with difficulty, though the timber of nobility hadn't left him.
Rhoam turned his head to Astor, who crouched behind Zelda with his hand on her back, perhaps in comfort. Astor's dark downcast gaze conveyed nothing. He lifted his eyes to meet Rhoam's scrutinizing glare.
"Astor… Hylia, help us…" Rhoam began, as if not believing himself the words he was trying to articulate. "You're the most incompetent fortune teller I've ever dealt with…"
Astor set his eyes into a searing look, squinting unevenly, but staying silent.
Rhoam continued. "But I'll take that as a sign Calamity Ganon chose you in error. All I can ask of you now is to take care of my daughter. Give her the happiness she has earned…no, deserves… The task of rebuilding Hyrule falls on your shoulders, Astor… And I expect you to repay this heavy debt to your kingdom."
Astor exhaled thinly and returned a silent, shallow nod.
"May the Goddess guide and bless you both. I only pray Hylia will permit me to see my queen once again on the other side..."He smiled faintly. "Zelda… I am proud to have been your father."
Those stern green eyes Zelda knew focused on the sky above and he exhaled his last breath. That harrowing and damning hush resumed its hold over those who remained.
Zelda's chest ached. Grief's sting coursed through her every nerve, washing over her in seizing waves. A grievous wail threatened to tear forth from somewhere deep within. She forced it down as long as she could until it came out as only a pitiful and awkward whimper.
Her eyes flitted around to see the soldiers of Fort Hateno, Link and Impa had gathered around. They all stood agape, trying to wrestle with and understand the sacrifice the king of Hyrule had made. A haunting gravitas hung in the air, though it was penetrated by the subdued murmuring of the soldiers.
Her shoulders quaked. Her thoughts raced, not interpreting the words of those around her.
Just another casualty of the Calamity… Zelda clenched her fist. A hole had formed in her very soul, and she could feel the ages to come whistling through it. She fought the urge to run far far away, slowly rising to her feet as an uncanny numbness crept in.
She was only vaguely aware of Impa and Astor standing on either side of her, the latter stroking her tear-stained cheeks with his thumb.
Impa's unsteady voice broke the silence. "Long live the Queen!"
"Long live the Queen!" A few soldiers shouted in unison. It gained traction, amplifying until the fort resounded with the emphatic chant, "Long live the Queen! Long live the Queen!"
oOo
They set out for Hyrule Castle the next morning, flanked by a small army of soldiers. Some looked at Astor with extreme dislike, others with curiosity as the strange man slid his arm around the princess's waist and she leaned into the comfort. For this man, the king of Hyrule had sacrificed himself. What must they have thought of him?
No one, aside from Zelda, spared a word to him directly, the soldiers only shooting Astor a fleeting and wary glance when they thought he wasn't looking.
Astor kept to himself, still holding onto the sword dropped by one of the fallen soldiers the night before. Without his powers, he would have to learn how to wield a sword if he were to be of any use in the battle ahead. And so he watched the soldier's movements as they engaged the hoards of Ganon's minions that were growing more and more commonplace once they neared central Hyrule.
He did not feel as though he belonged and knew he never would.
As they traveled, his thoughts turned to the past, and where Calamity Ganon had led him. He thought of the others who had dedicated themselves to Ganon, although not quite chosen as he had been. The memory of them, all dressed in their matching robes lying dead at his feet, (although not by his hand) flashed through his mind's eye.
He had answered what he thought was fate's call that night, paying no mind to the six lifeless bodies around him. They had been the first to welcome him. But In the end, they all dropped dead, and he had just carried on serving Ganon without a second thought. A spark of shame ignited within him.
If the Goddess hadn't seen fit to intervene, break down his walls, and reverse the trajectory of his life…
He glanced at Zelda, still with an abject sense of wonder. To think that she could love him had been so unthinkable— and still was. She was even smiling now in a light, hopeful way despite the battle that lay ahead of them.
oOo
Zelda and her party neared central Hyrule field, her gaze settling on the ominous silhouette of her castle in the distance. The Divine Beasts were waiting, along with the countless Gerudo, Goron, Zora, and Rito forces who had come to support their respective Champions in battle.
Evening's fading light shone through dark clouds drifting overhead as Malice writhed around the castle like an infection.
Zelda's entourage gathered before the Divine Beasts and everyone awaited her orders. The battle for all of Hyrule was about to begin.
A single Silent Princess swayed gently in the breeze. There would be more soon, Astor sensed, seeing them within his mind's eye, growing as abundantly as in the ethereal glade hidden within the Lost Woods. It was difficult to reconcile that image with this dreary field.
What was to come…would be a blissful vengeance against Calamity Ganon.
Zelda stared up at the mechanical wonders, which stood like three immense fortresses with Vah Medoh hovering above. She couldn't help but feel a sense of awe at the complexity of the ancient technology, and perhaps even nostalgia for an era in time she had never lived. What must her ancestors of that age have been like? Would she be successful in sealing the Calamity just as the princess had so long ago?
"This…will be the greatest battle Hyrule has faced in ten thousand years," Zelda said austerely, her eyes sweeping across the group of soldiers, and finally meeting the gazes of Impa and Link. "First, we'll strike with the Divine Beasts, and then I need everyone's help in holding back the hordes of monsters as I seal Ganon away. Yes… I think that course of action will do."
Impa and Link nodded their approval and Zelda smiled a self-conscious smile. She had never commanded an army before.
Just as the battle was about to begin a voice rang out across the field.
"Hey, wait!"
Zelda and the others started as Kohga came lumbering into their peripheral, Sooga a few paces behind.
Astor held up a hand shielding Zelda. Link and Impa also braced for a fight.
"What are you doing here?" Astor glared at Kohga.
"We're here to get our sweet revenge against Ganon. So, uh…do me a favor and forget about all that assassination nonsense."
"So you've decided to be of use for once in your lives…" Astor furrowed his brows, lowering his guard.
Sooga cut in for Kohga. "Just remember, we are only allies for the moment. We are not your friends, false prophet. We are still bitter enemies. We may put aside our opposition to the royal family in light of what Calamity Ganon has wrought upon Hyrule and our clan, but for you our hatred is far more personal."
"Yeah, we don't care that you chose princess booty over Ganon—which, by the way, I called it—Ganon still chose you in particular, and that makes you FOREVER GUILTY!"
"Fine then…" Astor said, though his tone conveyed a different sentiment, none too pleased to find that Kohga still lacked a filter, even in front of an audience of soldiers from every race in Hyrule.
Zelda herself was trying to wrestle with the strange sanctimony of Kohga's argument, but said nothing, just thankful for the newfound allies, even if it was only temporary.
The two Yiga were the first to split off from the group, taking on the enemy hoards. Slowly, the other forces began to fan out across Hyrule Field, slaying monsters and Guardians as they fought their way forward.
The Gerudo forces were last, ranging in ages from adolescents up to battle-worn old women. They called out to each other in their native tongue as they began to disperse.
Astor and Zelda hung close, avoiding engaging in the battles going on around them as they made for the castle.
A group of Hylian soldiers surrounded a Guardian Stalker. It set its laser on Zelda and Astor as they ran by. She reached for Astor's hand and glanced over her shoulder to see Link emerge from the chaos to avert the automaton's attention. The knight leaped into the air and brought down the Master Sword on the Guardian swiftly ending its function.
Up ahead, a lynel towered over the smaller pig-like bokoblins. Astor pulled Zelda away, veering slightly off course. Impa cut through the hordes of bokoblins, kodachi in hand, gaining the Lynel's attention. The beast swung its sword in a horizontal arc. Impa squatted low to dodge before springing up to counter, Sheikah talismans raining down around her.
Astor and Zelda kept running as Rito warriors flew overhead, overwhelming their senses with the sound of flapping wings and arrows whistling through the air before striking their intended target.
As they neared Castle Town's gates, a Hinox wandered out into the field. For a moment Zelda braced herself for a fight, her footfalls slowing until she and Astor had come to a standstill.
Kohga and Sooga appeared in a burst of smoke in front of the Hinox. Impa came to join them, the Lynel's blood still fresh on her kodachi. Impa shouted something to Kohga in warning and the Yiga leader replied aloofly, "I'm always under the Hinox's crotch." Or at least that was what it sounded like to Zelda, causing her to nearly lose her footing as she and Astor ran past.
"May they be crushed…" Astor muttered under his breath.
The moment of levity passed in the next instant. They had arrived at the gates of Castle Town and they stopped to look back. It was like a sea of soldiers from every race of Hyrule cutting through the masses of bokoblins.
Zelda turned her attention back to the castle. The specter of Calamity Ganon swirled around the castle's foremost tower, opening its snout to an impossibly wide degree, letting loose a roar that reverberated and shook her deep down.
She felt her feet leave the grass and her eyes darted to Astor as they were both lifted by a force unknown.
Zelda gasped and fought back, flailing her arms and legs. "What is this?!"
"Princess!" Impa shouted, looking on in fear.
Those close enough to have noticed also watched with mounting dread. Their princess, their commander, was being ripped away from them.
Link gave chase only for his charge to vanish behind a barrier of dense, swirling malice that manifested around the castle. He hesitated, then attempted to break through the noxious purple murk. He uttered a sharp scream and collapsed backward. The sensation of pain was indescribable, close to scorching and immense pressure. He looked down to see the tips of his fingers and clothing singed black. He recoiled at the sight, watching the taint of malice slowly leave his skin.
The Champions watched individually from atop their Divine Beasts. None of them knew what course of action to take. A curse left Urbosa's lips as she looked on from Vah Naboris. If they were to strike now, would the blast have any effect on the barrier? What if it inadvertently harmed the princess? And so the pilots each unattended their Divine Beasts one by one and joined the forces on the ground.
Evening turned to night and the Blood Moon arose, bringing all the monsters that had been slain back from the dead.